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Of the Atelier games made stateside, SA's got almost all of them covered. Overrated Sage did Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana. Feinne did Iris 2 and Mana Khemia. And you did both the Arland trilogy and the Dusk trilogy. The only games SA doesn't have are Iris 3, Mana Khemia 2, Annie and Sophie.
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Jun 13, 2016 08:24
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I have to say that I'd love to see a Mana Khemia 2 LP, since the drat game didn't even get an EU release.
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Jun 13, 2016 18:03
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Sylphosaurus posted:I have to say that I'd love to see a Mana Khemia 2 LP, since the drat game didn't even get an EU release. It played a bit better than MK1, but honestly it felt completely different in tone. EDIT: The game where you could be heterosexual life partners with a tiny alien starfish seems way, way more serious than MK2.
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Jun 13, 2016 20:30
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Part XVI: The Man Who Hums So after Milla's quest, I had to pay another 100,000, simply because I was just rolling in the dough throughout the chapter, and there are many things to be acquired: 3 Friendship Potions, which you can use on any character to raise their affection for free, Jude's Minimum Damage skill, 4 Kitty Crisps, Jude's Recall skill (40% for a free revive, good once per battle), Leia's Minimum Damage, Alvin's MD, Ludger's No Jacket 1 outfit, and Alvin's Impregnable Guard (no matter what, Alvin's guard can't be broken, except for spells, I think). Not bad a haul at all.  But before we begin the next chapter, and get our final party member, let's wrap up some business here in Kanbalar and other areas. First up, this kitty cat is in the sole house in the residential area of Kanbalar. We have another to gather here.  In front of Castle Gaius, in front of the wyvern cage. No doubt the viscious beast was planning to break into the cage, devour the wyvern, and terrorize the peasantry. We must stop Corgan before it's far, far too late. And I trust anyone coming from Xillia 1 remembers wyverns. Unless I missed something, there's nothing of particular interest in Castle Gaius at the moment, so we'll mosey on back to the Nala Lava Tubes.  This is a curious sight, in one of the back areas of the Tubes past the lake. The old man this guy is referring to is just to Ludger's left, and if you talk to him, he'll basically mention powerul weapons not being worthy of someone who hasn't proven themselves in the coliseum. Even if you beat the only coliseum challenge open right now, he'll have nothing to say to you. This is yet another thing that won't open for a long time, so don't worry about it for now.   Welcome to the Sillea Tundra. There's definitely not a whole lot worth talking about here (hey, we do have plot content, y'know?), but I do know there is a cat (that I didn't find on this particular trip here), and an Elite Monster. We'll be taking care of the latter for now.  And here he is. I really have nothing of value to say for this guy. I heavy stun him a couple times, and overall it took me WAY too long to bring this guy down. Maybe five minutes longer... Anyway, here you are, for your consideration Bluetaur.  Continuing past Bluetaur, we have the Fezebel Marsh. This particular spot is where you fought the 4 Chimeriad, all at once, in Xillia 1, on the road to a showdown with none other than Gaius himself. If you're anything resembling a normal Tales player, you probably got your rear end kicked in the latter fight, though in typical Tales fashion, an "unwinnable" battle is winnable. It's just the power differential between you at that point in the game and Gaius was...considerable. Other than that, though, there is nothing at all interesting to do or see in Fezebel at the moment. No cats, nothing of interest to point out, whatever. Instead, we'll leave this as the end point of our Rieze Maxia exploration for now and we'll head to Aladhi to finally get back to looking for Julius.  And let's roll.  A humbled man  Well...that took long enough. Lady Mi-- Quit messing with my head, faker! What? First you drag me into this mess, then you call me names?! How dare you! I... Forgive me... She's stern in her own way, but it's just not the same. Yeah... I know exactly what you mean. So, the real one...still isn't back yet? No... Muzet is looking for her, but... I see... Hey... How come Mr. Rideaux is wearing those funny glasses? He's hiding some fancy footwork. I wanna see! It's pretty funny. Let's get this show on the road. Your wish is my command, sir! Dear Julius was last spotted here at the seahaven. Split up and root him out. All right, then. We'll take the western side of the trail. Well, in that case, I guess we'll search Hamil. Just like old times! And we'll check the sea routes. Have room for one more? Wha-- Why?! I'm interested in the work you agents do. Curiosity killed the cat...and king. I'll risk it. Just my luck getting stuck with these guys. I want Julius taken alive, understood? I need to return his "hospitality". Bugger, we only have three party members. We better hope for some backup when we get to Hamil.  Everything seems normal, but there's an unusual scent to the air around here right now...  A playful great spirit Don't tell me you're hurting these villagers! I would never do such a thing. Muzet! Milla?! Or not. But who might you be? Uh... I'm...the former Maxwell. Pleased to meet you. Beg your pardon?Fade out for an explanation for poor, addled Muzet... Alternate dimensions... The Land of Canaan... Does that ring any bells? Perhaps? Well, if it isn't that floating porange thief! Who?! Muzet?! Wait, so spirits can get hungry? Honestly? No. But Milla taught me the pleasure of eating a good meal. You did, huh? That wasn't me.But Ludger gets a ring to break up this awkward line of conversation...  An unauthorized agent entered a fractured dimension. We think it's Julius Kresnik. The probability of this dimension containing a Waymarker strikes us as very high. Ludger, let's go after him. Not so fast, children. I'm pretty sure that Julius fellow is expecting you.You know, lines like this make me wonder just how MUCH Ludger and crew filled Muzet in on. You gotta know a conversation like that has to start with "Well where do we begin?" They had to fill her in on a ton of stuff. All we heard from Muzet at Helioborg was that Milla was missing, and she didn't know where to find her. Even so...we're not about to pass up this chance. In that case, Ludger...would it be an imposition to take me along? Only a very uncaring man indeed could be mean to Muzet, so R1 is right out. Muzet's affection is usually pretty easy to raise.  If she's like my Milla, she's reckless. I-I don't need a babysitter. One more weirdo's joining the crew, Rollo! Hey! if she's a friend of yours, then one of you needs to pay up!Funnily enough, that cost of the porange Muzet took was 100 gald, which I know because you're charged for it after the above cutscene. Anyhow, Muzet makes our ninth and final party member of the game. As always, remember to set your skills for her as you deem appropriate, and be sure to enjoy this skit afterwards. So, Muzet's story is that she's a spirit much like Milla, who considers Milla her beloved sister, ignoring whatever Milla has to say on the matter. Her relationship with Milla was troubled at best in the first Xillia, but now that their feud is over, Muzet greatly admires her "big sister" and is pretty emotionally dependent on her approval. She has a very pleasure-loving, jokey personality and teases people all the time. She gets along especially well with Gaius, as she enjoys teasing him based on his completely opposite personality. Naturally, he keeps up the stoic act regardless of her provocations, which only encourages her. Basically, Muzet is a cool cat. In any case, once you're done with your usual preparations, we've got an alternate dimension to grind to dust.  It's the Kijara Seafalls this time. We won't be going to either Nia Khera or Hamil this time, so as you might expect, this is gonna be a pretty short chapter. Before we move on to the inevitable boss, let's introduce Battle Muzet a bit.  Muzet's Support Skill is Support Warp. If Muzet is your partner, and you perform a front-step, you and Muzet will instantly warp towards the target. For characters like Milla or Jude, this isn't particularly useful because they can already get around fast enough. For Gaius or Alvin, however, this is a really useful ability because of their slow movement problem (for Rowen, of course, most of his powerful attacks are spells, so he doesn't need to be close to a target to attack). Of course, if you need to back off from an enemy, Support Warp works in reverse. A back step will cover about twice as much ground as normal, so it can definitely get you out of trouble in a jam. Overall, it's a middling support skill in terms of usefulness, but that mobility can really help if you either need to get close to, or away from, an enemy very quickly. Situational, but that situation comes up quite a bit.  Combat-wise, we've seen her in action before. Remember the final battle of Chapter 7's fractured dimension on the Nia Khera Hallowmont? Muzet plays basically the same in battle. She has a wide array of elemental spells, as well as a variety of "more irritating than deadly" artes at her disposal. Muzet is also pretty good at simply avoiding damage in the first place, since she's fairly fast, and can break out of enemy attacks quickly with her special skill, where if she comes under attack from an enemy combo, you can double tap the control stick away from the attack to teleport away. Basically, Muzet's thing is harassing an enemy from a distance, then avoiding damage if an enemy comes after her. She lacks a certain killing touch, but is a valuable caster indeed.  Keep in mind for Support Warp, though, if you do perform it, you automatically interrupt any action the AI is taking. Once you get to the Central Area...  The cost of protecting Ooh! Get a load of that pretty shell! Don't run off like that, Elle! I don't get why you insist on bringing that child with you. I wonder... Perhaps humans are at their best when they have someone to protect. Is that how it was with you, too? Hmm... Who knows? I'm not human. Gotta say, neither Muzet nor Milla are selling me on the drama since the start of this update. Wonder what could be different... Indeed. While enjoying this nice quiet moment, there's some very loud humming coming from close by. Ludger decides to investigate. As a side note, sounds like a certain OP I've heard a few times before... Wait?! Where do you think you're going? He's just as bad as the little girl. Well, aren't you the happy little fugitive, just humming the day away. =  It's called the "Hymn of Proof". It's supposed to be about longing to see someone. Here's my brother. I guess it works. Actually, your so-called "Hymn of Proof" is just Song 4 U, i.e. this game's theme song as sung by Ayumi Hamasaki (who also sung Xillia 1's OP), but we'll ignore that for now and raise Julius' affection with L1. Don't you worry, though, we'll be hearing more remixes of Song 4 U before this game is done, including the final boss theme, which is titled "If It's For You -Song 4 U". It's a good one, and a good song to base it on. = No...you always did. Even when you were in diapers, I could just hum a few bars and you'd shut right up. Do you remember that camping trip, back when we were kids? You know the one where we got lost in the mountains. The poison oak, that grizzly bear, and then that huge thunderstorm. *nod*= But as soon as I hummed this song, you stopped scratching at yourself and started walking. I offered to carry you, but you stomped your feet and yelled, "No, I can do it!" We hoofed it all night until we finally reached that village, but my throat hurt worse than my feet after all that humming. Brotherly love's not why you led us here. = You can keep the pocketwatch. My priorities have changed. I want that girl, Elle. She has a father.= If you refuse, I'll have to take her by force. = Level with me here. Why do you keep Elle around, anyway? So R1 increases Elle's affection, but I chose L1. I didn't quite mean it in the way Ludger says (and evidently means), or apparently how Julius interprets this answer. = So you know about her power. drat it, Ludger! That power was never meant for you! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Elle's in trouble!  That monster over there used some weird spirit arte on Elle! Yeah, and healing artes aren't doing squat! That's...a stigma arte! Look out!  It's gone!= What's a stigma arte? It's a spirit arte that slowly corrupts one's life force. The only way to counter it is to eliminate the channeler. The channeler... You mean that monster? Yes...the Seafall Phantom. Wait, that's one of the Waymarkers! They're fortunately extinct in our dimension. They attack their prey unseen with stigma artes. When the prey stops moving...the beast drinks it dry.  You can't give up or Bunnykins won't come for a visit! But if you can hold on for a bit longer, I promise I'll bring him to see you. Elize, if you keep straining your mana lobe, you'll die along with her! But I... I made her a promise! Yeah, she promised her! And promises are important! Keep it up and both of you are goners... Another choice where you can raise the affection of a single NPC depending on your choice: L1 for Elle, and R1 for Julius. Again, one should prioritize Julius in cases like this, but Ludger's got a plan up his sleeve, so L1 it is. You'll what?! That's insane!  I think I'm gonna barf! You... You're using your own blood to lure it out?= So you'd go that far. She must mean a lot.*roar* Ready?! = Ludger!  You have to look closely, but preceding this screenshot, Julius took Maxwell's Temporal Blade out of one of his pockets and shoved it at Ludger. = No matter the cost!  Our next catalyst friend is weak to Fire and strong against Water, so you'll have plenty of ability to exploit his weakness, even without Gaius around. Actually, Ludger's current hammer is Fire-elemental, so before long I switch to Ludger (I was playing as Milla for the first few moments of the battle), and go to town on him.  Battle-wise, there's really nothing to say about this guy. He has the same attacks, more or less, that the Elite Monster in the Kijara Seafalls had long ago. He's big and predictable, which means his strikes will cover a lot of territory, but it similarly makes it easier to keep a bead on him and prevent him from doing too much damage.  Once you bring him down to near death, the fight is interrupted via mid-battle cutscene. If I'm not mistaken, this is the only boss in the game that has this particular gimmick.  However, the monster decides to ignore Ludger, Muzet, and Milla, and jump toward Elle / Elize. The situation looks dire, until..    Whoa...Chromatus Ludger looking a little different now. The chromatus! He changed?! Welcome to Chromatus Level 2. Level 2 is about the same as 1, except Ludger will do more damage and gain access to his Chromatus Mystic Arte. To use it, just follow the on-screen instructions. There's nothing more you need to do to take this guy out. Fun fact: the above mid-battle cutscene has Ludger transforming into whatever the highest Chromatus level you have while it happens. I only know this because I carried over a full Chromatus on my alternate choices playthrough, and Ludger transformed into Chromatus Level 4 in it. The more ye know.      One final thing to note about this battle is that thanks to Muzet being a tad higher in level compared to everyone else on the team, she hit level 40 and learned Power Charge 3 (Gaius may or may not have also hit level 40 from this fight). However, the team isn't far behind. I should be able to have Power Charge 3 on everyone by the end of the debt payment period, if that.  Peaceful resolution Before the dimension is destroyed, however, Ludger received the Seafall Phantom's Eye. Now we're in possession of 3 out of 5...  *nod* What a relief. How'd you get two?! Ludger got one, and Julius gave his back to us. Sorry about that. I was just trying to encourage you. I guess that makes sense. Well, anyway...thank you. The kid's not a brat after all! Of course not! Shut up, Teepo! Bunnykins doesn't have time for brats! Everybody knows that! Not sounding too formal will increase Elize's affection, so let's go with that, shall we? Edit: interestingly enough, both choices raise her affection. Guess that's your reward from doing her bonus chapter way back when. Well, traveling with you really toughens a girl up. Even the string bean over here's starting to look a little brawnier, wouldn't ya say?  For whatever reason, R1 is what increases her affection, but I steered hard to starboard. Of course, sibling difficulties are something Muzet is intimiately familiar with, even if her so-called relationship with Milla is a bit more light-hearted than what Ludger's got going on. I'm sure he's fine. Hey, Ludger!And she faceplants... Ouuuch! Like you, he has someone to protect. Well, I can't say it was particularly longer than Chapter 8, and it was probably a bit shorter. None of that having to travel through a trail area, and the Seafall Phantom went down really quick in comparison to Wingul. However, unlike Chapter 8's rather unremarkable post-plot stuff, Chapter 9 has a whole bunch (though, it could be true if I went for Muzet first when given the choice. Something for someone else to confirm). In any case, that is immaterial. In addition to the standard new line-up of jobs, Elite Monsters, and character chapters...  We've got a couple new towns to visit, including a new one in Elympios! Leronde is Jude and Leia's cozy island hometown. That town will lead to two new dungeons that I may or may not get to before I start Chapter 10. To get to Drellin the first time, all you need to do is take a train from Trigleph, then, of course, you can travel there from the world map instantly. Also, because you now have access to Chromatus Level 2, there's Kresnik 2, Trance, and Power Spoils available as skills. Assign as you see appropriate. Kresnik 2 is another upgrade to the Chromatus, where it decreases half as slow when Ludger is airborne during transformation. Note that this applies to Level 1, if you choose to activate it earlier.  Oh yes, and the Temple has given me another Tales-named cat. 41, and we still have quite a bit of the game to explore. No time like the present to get the remaining 59, right? Now then, for character chapters, there's one in Leronde, Trigleph, and Marksburg. We'll be taking care of Trigleph's first, but as I said, this chapter's post-plot content is quite large and it might take us an update and a half or so to get through it. We'll see.  Thanks to my Elite Genocide (though this skit *may* trigger later in the plot than when I got this particular skit, because of my Library record of defeating Elites), an amusing new skit. Although R1 increases Muzet's affection for this choice, but both results are funny. Anyway, good example of how well Muzet and Gaius bounce off each other (and how Muzet is hands-down the funniest member of the party).  Gaius truly is a special man, but it takes all sorts to do great things, right?  Of course, we have to choose some jobs to take. The most important is Poker Face, because, upon completion of it, you'll gain access to the "casino" in Duval's bar. It's not so much a "casino" as just straight poker, but there's a ton of really nice stuff there available once you've built up a large chip amount. However, we'll worry about that next update. We'll close out this update by finishing Gaius' first chapter.  Men on the run Name's Erston. I have an appointment with the manager. Mind fetching him for me? Sure thing. Just a minute. What are you doing here? And with Muzet...no less. Well, this is a surprise! You shopping too?  Come on already. We gotta get out of here. Hmm. They seem to be running away from someone. Oh? Just a little eavesdropping to keep me amused. I do have exceptional hearing. Muzet's stupid.Said in a whisper, of course. I heard that! You said "Muzet's amazing". Uh, yeah, sure. Those men... Neither choice matters in this chapter for raising anyone's affection, except for the last one, so we'll go with L1 for right now. I'm sure Gaius would not pay them notice if they were not of interest in some way. I'm supposed to be incognito. I want to avoid any unnecessary trouble. That's all. Ooh, looks like things are about to get interesting. I just told you, I don't know! Are you serious? Give me a break here. Heads up, Tanner! We got the fuzz at 10 o'clock. Act casual. No need to panic. Now, about that gang o' punks you saw. Tell me where. How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know! It may be prudent for us to withdraw. I will meet with the proprietor on another more convenient day.  But the two fleeing the cops crashed into our unfortunate protagonists...  All right. Round 'em up! Our reputation is on the line here! Kyle, run for it! How unfortunate. Why are you following us? They're gaining on us! We're just running in the same direction! Deal with it! Don't let them see your face! Head for the inn at the port. They won't find us there! Hmph. Am I seeing things, or was that woman floating? And the guy with black hair... He seems so familiar...And that we did...  The Boys' Luck Club Of course! Gotta give some credit to these guys, though. Why'd you bring 'em here? C'mon. Because they saved me. Ugh. You know, I still haven't gotten your names. I'm Elle! Muzet. And yes, I float. I'm quite sensitive about it, so please try not to stare. Uh, okay. I'll keep that in mind. Tee-hee. Thank you. I'm...Erston. This is Ludger. Erston and Ludger, huh. Nice. I'm Kyle. That's Tanner. He's a good friend, but he's also kinda the boss. Great to meet you. Tch. So you're all in some sort of club or something? Nah, we're just students. Not that we go to class that much, heh. We mostly just hang out. You're delinquents? That's not very nice. Where'd a little girl pick up a word like that, anyway? So are you guys free? It'd be awesome if you could teach me some of your sweet moves. You kicked some serious butt back there. Where'd you learn to fight like that?  Well...before we go see what Tanner's about, we have a skit.  And confirmation, as if we needed it, that Gaius is a total badass. Well, without further ado, let's get on over to the park in front of Ludger's apartment.  Distance between the two Yeah, I want you people to beat it. You're not welcome here. Is that so? To be honest, this is proving to be quite a fascinating experience for me. If you don't mind, I'd rather stick around and continue learning about your rough-and-tumble culture. I'm going to be blunt. We don't trust your kind. Well, seems Gaius has taken something of a liking to Kyle, since L1 increases his affection. R1 is...well, if Gaius is traveling incognito, best not to mention anything relating to kings, right? Yeah, Kyle's a moron. But I'm not. I know exactly who you are! What?! Heh heh. Dear me. Whatever shall we do? The jig is up. You're Rieze Maxians. You can't pull nothin' over me.Well...he's 25% right, to be fair. So that's the reason for this? I hate your kind. I want you out of Elympios! You acted all sneaky to meet us out here just to tell us that yourself? I'm a little disappointed, quite frankly. Make no mistake. I'm hardly the only Rieze Maxian hater around here. Ludger... Stay back. His fight is with me. If there's anything I despise more than Rieze Maxians, it's the traitors who protect them. You make me sick! Not as sick as we're gonna make you or your goons after this fight. As you might expect, this band of jerks does not exactly stand up to a bunch that humbled the Lord of Spirits, and in Gaius' case, commanded his power, if only briefly. There's a LOT of these jokers, but this fight isn't anything resembling a threat.  This is an example of Emergency Warp in action. It only works for combo hits (the enemy I was targeting was doing his charge attack), but getting out of trouble is something Muzet can do very well. Also, to get to Chromatus Level 2, just let it charge longer than level 1. Once the marker fills up twice, you can activate Level 2.  Clearly, we need to show no mercy. Note that if two enemies are hit with Grand Cleaver, and are relatively close to each other, Form Destroyer will hit both of them.  After you've KO'd (let's say that's what we're doing, because the alternative is quite gruesome) enough meat puppets, Tanner will show up. But first among meat puppets is still a meat puppet.  And that'll do it, with just the bare minimum of challenge on my end. What are you people? You're monsters! Don't say things like that. I'm a sensitive girl, you know. Tee hee. Give it up. drat it!And everyone runs off...  Is it because they're afraid? Seems we've a long way to go. We? You mean Elympios and Rieze Maxia? Yes.And that's that... Or is it? Update 16 alternate choice compilation Sylphid fucked around with this message at 22:41 on Jun 13, 2016 |
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Jun 13, 2016 22:33
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drat, is Gaius going to keep on being treated as this games special little star in the sky? Because as it stands now he's goddamn insufferable..
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Jun 13, 2016 23:08
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Sylphosaurus posted:drat, is Gaius going to keep on being treated as this games special little star in the sky? Because as it stands now he's goddamn insufferable.. What do you mean? Explain.
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Jun 16, 2016 02:44
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Part XVII: The Man Who Bets As mentioned, we've got a ton of important, and of lesser importance, stuff to do before we continue the plot. First on that list is hunting down one of the special cats, Catstantine the Third. The job board mentioned he was last seen in Trigleph station. Should be pretty easy to wrap this thing up.  Catstantine the Third, I presume? Meow? Don't tell me Marvin's the one who dressed you like this? The old man's been worried about you. You can't keep running off like this. Meow! Hey, wait up! Looks like they're playing cat and mouse! Except he's the cat and the cat's the mouse...and... Whatever, I'm lost. We should follow 'em. They're on the train for Duval.That we should. Gotta get that cat before it runs off into the shadows again.  Gotcha. Nowhere to run now. Meow! Rollo? Hey, Ludger, what're you doing here? We've been crossing paths a lot lately, huh? We saw a job posting too and were looking for Catstantine. Is that so? Well, here, why don't you take the little guy home for me? His owner's old man Marvin. I think he still lives in town. I've heard of him! He gave a big donation to the newspaper I write for! How do you know him, Julius? Let's just say I owe him one. Gramps and I go way back... He's helped me through a few things. "Gramps", huh? It's a long story. Where should I begin...Fade for explanation (maybe?), and also Julius leaving...  Great. Looks like story time's goin' on hold for a bit. *sigh* Meow.And after some tense negotiations, Catstantine the Third is free to add to your cat list, as you can pick him up right after the above scene. However, we're not quite done with this job, or our business in Duval. Case in point: there's a job called Rideaux's Request, that involves bringing 3 Mysterious Beads to Duval's bar. Luckily, we can fulfill that request now, and get a new scene.  We got a job posting for it at Spirius Corp. Aren't you the one who posted it? Darn it, Jolyne! I should've known she'd slack off. Why do you want such a disgusting object anyway? I'm using it to make medicine, if you must know. A special drug to counteract the side effects of aspyrixis. Wait a minute, on Rieze Maxia the Kitarl Clan uses these beads, but not as medicine... It's a poison they give to suffering monsters to give them a peaceful death. You don't mean... Now hold your horses, everyone. I'm a trained medic, remember? A poison and a cure are usually one in the same... It's being able to tell one from the other that makes a doctor a doctor. So even though it has the power to kill, you believe it also has the power to heal, if used correctly? Hahaha! Well, of course! That's what makes it all so thrilling, don't you think?! Good and bad, all in one! It's almost symbolic of human nature, wouldn't you say? Unlike the spirits. They only acknowledge the good... I don't think I like this guy. Ludger, you know what I'm talking about... More than anyone, you know! You've been at the mercy of insurmountable debt, the whims of the agents... Rrgh... Don't get touchy now. I'm saying I respect you. Toiling to pay off your debt, no matter how hopeless it seems... And working hard to destroy the fractured dimensions... It's all marvelous! It's a shame your older brother was Julius, of all people. *cough* *hack* Huh?! Whoa! Are you all right? Hahaha... Reality can be cruel indeed. Sometimes, to keep your place in life, you have to be willing to fight for it! And sometimes that means using any means necessary. Remember that. ....Well, we'll leave Rideaux to do whatever it is he's up to, and continue to the train station to finish up the Catstantine job.   Ah, my fuzzy little Julius! Guess he decided to fly the coop. You may want to let him outside once in a while... He was probably just feeling confined in here. You're probably right. Is the man right, Catstantine? Were you feeling all cooped up in here? I'm sorry, buddy! As long as you promise to come back, I'll let you out more often. Meow! Looks like everything worked out. I couldn't be happier... I'm embarrassed to admit it, but Julius is my sole pride and joy these days. After losing both my daughters about twenty years ago, he's about all I have left... Both your daughters? I'm so sorry. Meow. Oh, don't worry about me! There's plenty of folks out there who've have it much rougher than me. I may live with Catstantine here, but I still have a small fortune! And we get visitors! Please take this as a token of my thanks for finding him. Don't mind if we do! Wait a sec, didn't Julius technically find him? Julius?! Of course! Him and Ludger are brothers. He won't mind if we take the reward, right? So YOU'RE Julius' brother? That's right. This is Ludger Kresnik. He's a Spirius agent too, just like Julius. That can't be... Is something wrong, Marvin? I-It's nothing. Please excuse me. I'll set your reward up through the agency. I am truly in your debt, all of you. Thanks. (So Ludger became an agent as well. No... Julius, my boy, I wish I was able to grant your request...)So we'll have to leave that plot thread hanging, because that's the last we'll see of Gramps. Anyway, we've got a new town to visit...  There's a skit just after you arrive in Drellin, where answering with R1 will increase Elle's affection. Aside from that, let's see what this town on the edge of Elympios looks like...  Nice little burg. There's a pleasant little jingle playing, but aside from that, Drellin is only a one-map area, aside from the standard hotel, which is located on the side of Drellin to Ludger's left. There's a cat in there that we'll be getting to shortly. First, however...  A general upgrade in equipment is in order. Buying all the things I ended up buying, I spent about 60k, which is quite the chunk of change, but remember, we have yet to beat a single new Elite Monster, which will more than pay for things. Plus, all those upgrades will make us more effective. Win-win.  Next order of business is to apprehend this rogue Irish pop-singer and songwriter, known as Enya. This cat goes by many aliases, including Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin or Enya Patricia Brennan. Citizens are cautioned that this cat is clawed and extremely dangerous. Once this cat is captured, please return to Duval's bar. The suspect also is known to wear a Tengu Mask on her person. One final note, is that Enya is the third and final "special" cat that's not carried over via the Grade Shop. So my other playthrough is now back to 100 cats captured.  Now that that PSA has been delivered (can anyone remember the last thread I made a PSA in?), let's check out one more local oddity. Why it's an oddity, well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?  Inside the inn (which is a little hard to find, but it's the door that closest to Enya), there's a cat making quite the unsanitary condition inside the establishment. Let's fix their health code violation for them.   Awww. Anyway, the Catamar Heights here barely deserve a mention, but a couple things are worth pointing out while we're here.  Highlight the first: a cat in a most dangerous situation. Just moments before, I picked up another cat named Euler, from Kanbalar (he's one of the special cats, as you might guess). That brings us up to 47 overall, and we've still got quite a few locations to gather the felines from. Do note, however, you can't get all 100 cats until you get to the final dungeon of the story.  Highlight the second, Lake Epsilla. But...there's no lake here, is there? As you might guess, this location is more important than it may seem, but it would be hard to be less interesting than it is now. Only a couple gathering spots, a treasure chest with Stone Ward in it, and...  Wonder if we'll ever find out what's at the bottom of this path... But, that's all for the Catamar Heights. We're going to return to Drellin to continue Alvin's story. He's hanging out on the railing of the central fountain.  Crisis at Spirus Who cares? It doesn't matter. Yes it does! You just don't get it. Neither choice makes a difference, so I went with L1. Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. It's definitely not nothing! Oh, like which market stalls to eat at? Exactly. I can't stop at all of them. I have to keep my calorie count low. You know...you don't have to stop at any of them. Impossible! You sure love food... Sorry, better get this. Alfred? Can you get to the Spirius building? Something up? Yurgen's about to mix it up with the Skylark Exchange. Huh? Yurgen's doing what? He's crashing some Skylark product announcement they're holding at the Spirius building. What the hell... Is Yurgen okay? Apparently he's decided to pick a fight with one of the most powerful corporations in Elympios. That doesn't sound like a good idea. If it was, they wouldn't be calling me. Thanks Balan. I'm on my way. I better go check this out. Don't suppose you'd be willing to tag along?Our cooperation is implied at this point, don't you think? Thanks. Can I go too and write a story about it? You'd come even if I said no. *nod* Let's hurry to the Spirius building.Another character chapter without any required fighting. Happening a lot lately, huh? In any case, to the SCHQ we go.  Excuse me. I heard Skylark Exchange was holding a press conference here. I'm sorry, sir, but it's been canceled. They had some troubles with an attendee. Troubles? I don't suppose this attendee was wearing Kitarl Clan clothes? Pardon me, sir, but who are you, exactly? Well, it's true Alvin doesn't have credentials, it's his buddy who is in trouble, and we're getitng nowhere here. Let's show Alvin we're a man and raise his affection with L1.  Sorry! We're in a hurry! Ms. Vera will vouch for us! So, we don't really know where Yurgen IS, so I'll guess we'll start our sweep of the building on the 10th floor.  Deal with the devil Huh, that was easy. Yurgen! Alvin... What're you doing here? Ah, you're just in time to talk some sense into your friend. I've been trying to explain to him that no one has any designs on his business plan. So the fact that you're using my ideas, my contractors, my shipping methods... That's all just a coincidence? Precisely. What's that saying you have in your homeland? If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.Holmes really is one of those kinds of characters who most people who know that name know some things about him, but has never read the stories, nor would recognize an immortal line like that at first blush. Grr... A coincidence, huh? Sounds more like business as usual for the Skylark Exchange. What are you suggesting? Oh, I dunno. Maybe that you strung Yurgen along so you could learn the ins and outs of the Rieze Maxia market...and then tried to beat him to the punch with his own big idea. A new business opportunity comes along, and you decide that you saw it first and we stole your idea? Are those sorts of weak excuses "business as usual" in Rieze Maxia? I was under the impression we were trying to unify the two realms through commerce. Mr. Alfred Vint Svent. Will you help us achieve that goal? Wh-What?! You've got to be kidding me. Think about it. If we assist the fledgling markets of Rieze Maxia to stretch their wings and take flight...it will only bring your goal closer to fruition. The profits from our venture will trickle down into the economy. Everyone in Elympios will win as well. Even if your little theory holds water, the Rieze Maxians would never stand for it. Your cutthroat business style won't fly over there. So you're just going to turn your back on Elympios? Watch it wither on the vine? Let's say I was interested. Is there room in your team for Yurgen? If you want to join them, leave me out of it. And if that's the way it's gotta be for you and for Rieze Maxia, so be it. Well, Alvin appreciates L1, as it's not continuing the dogpile here. But this really seems like one of those situations that has no right answer...  .... Think long and hard about this, Alfred. Who would you rather do business with? A partner who freely shows his hand to a competitor? Or experienced businessmen with powerful connections in Elympios?Well, I suppose Alvin will make up his mind soon, but for now we need to find Yurgen. I'm just going to go out on a hunch and say he's heading for the entrance.  Partners no longer About what you said back there... How much of it did you mean? All of it. Sorry to get you mixed up in this. I dunno what kind of dealings you had with them...but this sort of thing happens all the time here. Especially after Spirius' sudden growth. Yeah. These kinds of stories aren't even front-page news in the paper anymore. Businesses have to play dirty just to stay in the black. Yep, just another day in the cutthroat world of Elympios. Enough! We have different values. I get it. And I'm sorry for leading you on with this, but...it's just not going to happen. What's not going to happen? Rieze Maxians and Elympions doing business together.  So that's how you really feel, huh? I'm sorry. I'm not looking for an apology! Whatever. Fine.  R1 for one final affection-increasing decision, but I think this is it... I'll pass. Alvin... Now what? *shakes head*"Now what" indeed... Well, for us, at least, it's time to head to Duval's bar and finish up the Enya sidequest.  You got my stuff back from that pesky, thieving little cat! You really helped me out of a bind! I'm so thankful! Super thankful! Super-duper thankful! I could almost cry! All right, all right, enough with the thanks. I'm so sorry, I've never been good at keeping my emotions inside. But I just can't help it! I wonder if that's good for business... Oh, don't worry about that! I've got an ace up my sleeve! Behold: my poker face! That's adorable. See? You can't tell I'm blushing right now! I'm calm as a cucumber. Cool as a kumquat. Smooth as a...mango! A bunch o' amateurs like you guys stand no chance against me with my poker face on! He's definitely got a different vibe about him... Kind of a creepy vibe though... How 'bout it? Do you have what it takes to make me show any facial emotion? Ha! I thought not! Give me your best shot! You can't penetrate my poker face! No one can! I recommend Muzet play for us. Right, Ludger? Y-Yeah! Ah, but my face is already red! You are powerless! Mwahaha! Hey! You KNOW I meant your face under that mask! Man, she's gotta work on HER poker face... That's right! That's right! Give in to your emotions! Display your feelings proudly for the world to see! This will be your undoing! Tell you what, you need this mask more than I do! I'll let you borrow it while you work on your poker face.So that's the Tengu Mask formally acquired (you actually got it after getting Enya), but the most important result of that scene is now you can play Poker against the guy. Well, you're not *actually* playing Poker against the guy. You play Poker by yourself, and win chips depending on the hands you get. But to get started, first you need to buy chips from the bartender. Oh, and also, my cats returned from Drellin just after that cutscene and got me a new cat, Ivan. That's 48.  10 gald per chip is pretty pricy, so I would advise you buy 1000 to get started. In addition, since there is a save point in the bar, you can very easily save scum Poker. 5000 is a bit too much, I think, and 10000 and "Buy as many as possible" is right out.  The rules are simple, friends. Poker seems to be a thing in Namco games (it's also in the Xenosaga series, at least the first game in that series), and I'm honestly surprised there's no iDOLM@STER betting game at this point. In any case, in addition to all the standard rules, there are Joker cards (featuring Elle and Ludger, no less). Here's a good trick for making a lot of chips fast: never bet under 100 chips per hand, no matter what (that's the max bet, you see). See, the thing to remember here are the laws of probabilities are very much in your favor in the long run. When you start getting a comfortable chip amount, you can eat any number of losses, because eventually, as long as you keep playing probabilities, you'll make more chips than you lose. Of course, this rule is *not* absolute, but no man is above the law, I'm afraid.  Once you get any hand higher than 1 Pair (which results in a Draw, where you get your bet back), you'll get a chance to double your money up to 10x.  In the double-or-nothing phase, you have to guess whether the next card will be higher or lower than the card the computer flipped over. In this phase, Jokers become a bit more volatile. If the AI turns over a Joker, ALWAYS bet lower. The Joker will act in whatever way will result in you winning (except in the event of a tie, which I'll explain next), but the key point is the Joker is the only card that is considered higher than an Ace, for some reason. However, if you tie the card the AI flipped over (so if I turned over a 7 in this situation), you lose, no matter if you picked higher or lower. In addition, for the purposes of this part of the game, Ace is considered higher than King, and will never count as less than a 2. In terms of playing probabilities, 7 and 8 are your worst cards, because the odds are nearly even between the next card being higher or lower, or in the event of the dreaded tie.  It was hard to walk away on that double-or-nothing Straight I got 64,000 chips out of (which I could have gotten a max of 256,000 out of), but this early in the game, the point is to get a comfortable chip amount so you can bet almost entirely freely from now on. 64,000 is more than enough where you can eat enough losses and STILL almost certainly make more in the long run, especially when one big payday can wipe out your losses and make a huge chunk of change at the same time. One final note about Poker is a Pair should be your default hand, even if you end up getting nothing out of it. This does not apply if you think you're close to a Flush, of course, but this way you can substantially cut the risk of losing a lot of chips and possibly clean up on 3 or even 4 of a Kinds. Oh, also, in my entire history of playing this game, I've gotten 5 of a Kind all of once, I believe. It was a glorious day.  So why are we doing all this poo poo? Well, the bartender has some really nice stuff for us, and is your only infinite source of affection points, in the form of Friendship Potions you can buy for 20,000 chips, as well as Kitty Dispatch time reducing items like Gummy Fishies or Kitty Crisps, and Royal Feasts (for 3,000 chips, which substantially increases the chance of your cats finding rare items). For now, though, picking up the first eight items will be very much to your benefit. 1 of those Extractors is Light and Darkness, two of them are 3-element, and the last two are 4-element, which you should be snapping up as soon as possible. You can also buy a bunch of synthesis materials, but until you actually need them for making new items, it's not really important right now. Well, if you want to see Sylphid The Card Shark in-action, turning 1000 chips into more than 230,000 in the space of 12 minutes, here you are. After my Poker-playing session, I also got a funny new skit. Oh yeah, and a little history of casinos in Tales games. I remember spending a lot of time in Abyss' casino in Keterburg (where all the games were crap and made no money except for, you guessed it, Poker. However, the first casino in this series is I believe in Symphonia, which technically did have a casino in the original GameCube release (but you couldn't do anything there. It was just for decoration). This was changed, however, in the PS2 version when you could actually play Poker there for fabulous prizes.  You know what we haven't had in a while? A good ol' fashioned Elite Monster. This is why I'm headed back to the Fezebel Marsh to fight the Dark Teagle. First of all, time to take out this Bacura, since they give some nice rewards.  They're really quite boring fights, I must say. But they are worth the time investment. Oh yeah, and after I loaded up my save to begin this recording session, Petunia was retrieved from the Nala Lava Tubes. 49. Anyway, the Dark Teagle.  The Dark Teagle is...pretty hard, actually. He'll start off with a little goon to help him, and has the chance of calling in more reinforcements, but the number of enemies on the field will never exceed 3. The boss cat has two really dangerous attacks. One is where it'll stop and brace itself, then rush forward with its mouth open to scoop up its target. This attack is powerful, and will hit even if the target blocks. You'll just have to dodge it, preferably with a quick step.  The other one is this, where it jumps up and crashes back down. The crash itself does damage, of course, but if a character gets hit by it, they'll also get Stoned. Note that this attack is a bit long-lasting, and if you run into the area, you'll also get Stoned, even if you didn't get hit by the initial attack. A devastating attack. As far as vulnerabilities go, he's weak to Wind and Darkness, which is why you'll find in the video I'm spamming Azure Edge. Wait until you find out how I screwed myself over this fight!  Lucky Cat is a pretty awesome Linked arte. Note this one of...I think three different cats that can fall from the sky.  After entirely too long, I finally brought down the Teagle. Now, in most situations where you fight multiple foes, with one powerful and a few weak, you want to take out the weak first. Not so in this case, as the Teagle will quickly replace the losses (except for the translucent dog), and the more time spent attacking his comrades, the less damage you're doing to him. Once the Teagle is down, simple mop-up operation.  And yeah, I got quite a few things out of this fight... (that's not even all the skills Ludger got).  Now, here's how I screwed myself over: I didn't equip Power Charge 3, even though Ludger et. all was level 40 going into the fight. The length and difficulty I had with that fight is entirely my fault.  Returning to Kanbalar to turn in the Dark Teagle's head, I went way over the line in terms of needed money, so here's Nova to let me know what's next.  However, it does seem she's in a spot of trouble. Pity, that. I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait as we continue to wrap up business here and in other lands. The next-to-last order of business for today's update is the last Kanbalar cat. Now, the job request mentions that the cat is in the residential district, and is near a snow pile. However, close investigation will note there are no cats near snow piles in the residential area. So what the hell?  If you head to the Temple, instead of going into it or on to Xialen Woods, head to the path to the temple's right and up the path.  You'll end up on the rooftops surrounding the city streets. It's a completely linear path until you get to your destination. Oh yeah, and Gaius usually busts this line out sometimes after you kicked the rear end of the last boss enemy you fought. I don't know if I'd say I kicked the Dark Teagle's rear end, but evidently the game disagrees.  Your destination, of course, being the cat. Now, Breezy is the 50th feline I've apprehended, so it's time for a skit, where you learn a terrible secret of Jude's.  Question: was this path in Xillia 1? Answer: yes, it was. You had to use it in the second act of the game when Exodus broke the dimensional barrier and occupied Castle Gaius. At this point in the story, the party had allied itself with the Chimeriad to reoccupy the castle to provide a staging base for an attack on the ESS Zenethra. And the rest, is history. After acquiring the cat and taking in the nice view of Castle Gaius, we have one final business to attend to. It requires taking Karla's request for 3 Migrant Plumes, and heading to Kanbalar's inn. She'll be standing toward the back of the lobby.   Wait... I remember you! That's right. You quizzed us back in Xian Du.Elize is referring to Karla's little sidequest in the first game. She first appeared standing beneath a statue to the party, without anyone knowing her last name, at the time. You learn more about her and her brother's ascension to power via sidequests. Of course! Elize, right? Looks like you and your friends are doing well. And you're the same as always. Well, what can I say? Though it seems my brother's got a greater burden than before. Karla is Gaius' sister, you know. What do you intend to do with the Migrant Plume? Wouldn't you like to know? Let's make a game of it, shall we? Here's your hint: "It's something you use in school." School? Hm... Will you make something to tickle students who fall asleep in class? Bzzt! Wrong answer! Second hint: "Leia has one too." Ah-HA! I know exactly what you're gonna use it for! A pen? Am I right? Bing! We've got ourselves a winner! It's said anything written with a quill made from a Migrant Plume won't fade for a thousand years. That would make it just the thing for writing a memoir. Memoir? You mean... Yep! I'm going to write a biography about my brother. Gaius? And those sort of leaders can go down in history as either a hero or a villain... It just depends on who's telling the story. I don't want to focus on his political life and his impact on history, one way or the other! I mean to write the sort of memoir that only I can write... I'm going to tell the tale of my brother, Erston Outway. How wonderful! You've changed, Karla... I like it! Tell me, you think my brother will mind if I tell the world he can't handle spicy food? Oh, I think it'll be just fine. Looks like you got some competition in being the first to get the scoop on Gaius, Leia! Oh yeah? You need more than a fancy pen to beat ME to a story!Well, Leia and Karla's war is just gonna have to wait for next time. Update 17 victory compilation (Gaius and Alvin's Demon Fang competition is one of my favorite victory screens in the game) Update 17 alternate choices compilation Sylphid fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Jun 19, 2016 |
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Jun 19, 2016 07:12
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I'm not sure "(So Ludger became an agent as well. No... Julius, my boy, I wish I was able to grant your request...)" belongs with a Ludger portrait.
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Jun 19, 2016 17:02
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Really, I think New Vegas had the right idea for casinos. You played for actual money, your luck had a huge effect on how big you won and how often, and each casino had a sizable but finite purse you could empty, instead of just reaching the casino and having all that sweet gear be a save-scum or five away.
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Jun 22, 2016 04:50
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Part XVIII: The Woman Who Learns So we've got a lot to do still, and starting here is this cat in the Rusalle Highroad. We're on the road to defeating the Elite Monster at the Dimensional Breach (which I haven't yet explored in the prime dimension), so that's why I'm here.  And here we are. Hopefully no Great Spirits will be coming 'round to interrupt this fight. Veywind Stinger  This guy is *very* easy. Mostly because, while he is resistant to all elements, he's weak to all base elements (Slash, Strike, and Gun), so he'll constantly be in a state of getting Power Combo'd. That's not to say he doesn't have some powerful attacks, but because he's getting staggered so much, he just won't get much chance *to* attack.  When he begins to fly around, take out your guns and shoot him out of the sky. That's your chance to heavy stun him, but honestly, it doesn't make that much of a difference if you don't. Just pound on him, and he'll be mulch before you know it.  And that's how it's done.  But what's not done is all our business here. This easy-to-find cat is further down the path from where we fought the bug. Our next order of business brings us to Marksburg to continue Elize's story. Very briefly, mind, but still. You'll see why.  Racing culture "Race" is a generous word to describe what will come to pass. Ludger... Um... Elle, Jude seems to be looking for you. Jude? Why? Apparently they're handing out samples of Rollo's beloved Kitty Krisps in front of the station. There's a limited supply, so he suggests you don't dawdle. Eeek! I'll be right over! They're having a speed-quest competition today. Have you heard of it? Ah, an event in which players race to complete a designated job first? I believe it's a common competition here in Marksburg. People even wager on the results, or so I have heard. The prizes are boss! I heard today's winner will get a Bunnykins! Oh my. That trendy toy is sure to bring out stiff competition. But from what I gather, Rieze Maxians can't compete unless they have at least one Elympion on their team. Yeah. They're afraid Rieze Maxians will use spirit artes to cheat if they're not supervised. Little hint-hint, there, but the affection-raising choice should be obvious. Hey! We didn't even have to ask! Thank you! Oh, it is on! Then speed is what we need! Let us make haste to the reception area! Yes, let's!Just after that last scene, I got Elize's second affection skit. Speaking of which, also included is Rowen's second affection skit. Forgot to include it in an update many moons ago, but here it is. Alas, your next destination is Marksburg's bridge. Oh yeah, and I picked up a cat named Kittypants from the Lakutam Highroad via Dispatch, thanks to the Royal Feast. I'm pretty sure Royal Feast gives you much better odds of getting cats, too. Guess the game considers them "items".  The Bunnykins Job Then consider yourself registered! Godspeed! All you gotta do is clear the job selected by the agent, grab your prize ticket, and bring it back to me. The first one to bring me that ticket wins the grand prize! This year's hottest toy: A premium, limited-edition Bunniekins! .... Miss Elize? Sorry, I was just lost in thought. This is our big chance! We have to win this for Elle! Don't carry it all on your shoulders. You have our full support, you know.So let's head back to the job board, and...  How could I forget? Just outside the accessory job is this adorable Kitty.  In non-feline related news, this is the job you have to take for this Character Chapter. Here's the thing, though, if you're on a New Game+ and have carried over Library data...  You instantly complete the job (provided you did it normally on your first playthrough, of course). Normally, you're supposed to go to the Rusalle Highroad and take out the required enemies like normal. There's really nothing special about them, except they only appear for this chapter (and disappear after you're done), so yeah. I had to do absolutely no work for this chapter. Oh well, at least we'll make sure we won't lose.  So close, yet so far Let's just tally your completion time. Oh-ho! Looks like we have our winner! Congratulations on trouncing the competition! Yes! And now the moment you've been waiting for. Lemme grab your grand prize!  Elize is a kind soul, and is willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt. Still though, I sense some chicanery is afoot. We'll choose R1, but only because I'm in a generous mood. Yes, that has to be it. It's gotta be! I was under the impression the grand prize was a Bunnykins? Exactly! A Bunniekins! And not just any Bunniekins! This is an ultra-premium, signature-series, deluxe-plus-plus, handmade limited-edition Bunniekins! Any resemblence to any other Bunnykins is purely coincidental. Warranty not valid in Elympios or Rieze Maxia. Enjoy your Bunniekins responsibly. Oh? So it is! Look, the logo's slightly different. Cut the crap, creep! Anybody would think the prize was a real Bunnykins! Oh, no, no, no! Don't be absurd! The real Bunnykins was a limited production run. You're outta luck if you want one now! Which is all the more reason to cherish your brand new Bunniekins!The guy peaces out... This is terrible. Is that a text from Luna? Yeah. I told her what we were up to today. She was worried about me. I replied that we won, but that the Bunnykins was a phony. Again, Elize is really easy to raise affection for. Well said. You have nothing to be ashamed of, young miss. Luna just said the same thing you did. "Don't give up. I know Elle will be touched by what you tried to do for her. I'll see if I can find a Bunnykins for you." Sounds like you've made a true friend. Yeah. She's probably trying to repay me for that little thing I did. I made her a custom GHS ringtone as a symbol of our friendship. Her phone rings in my voice. Isn't that cool? Ah, like what you have. I wouldn't mind acquiring such a ringtone for my device. Sorry, Rowen. I can't give it to you. It's just for me and Luna. A limited edition?! I'm not giving up! I'm going to find a Bunnykins! I'd be a lousy big sister to Elle if I couldn't! It's the grown-up thing to do! Did you get any Kitty Krisps? Yeah, loads of it! Rollo's gonna get fatter than ever!And that's that. Still, we have one more character chapter to do. It happens to be in Leronde, one of the last towns we have yet to visit in this title. Since Leronde is an island, we'll have to take a boat from Marksburg or one of the seahavens we HAVE visited to get there. Luckily, we are in Marksburg.   Skit choice gives you a choice of raising Jude or Leia's affection. Choose wisely. I went with Leia, for the sake of balance. There is a job posting called Relaxing Leronde Lodge, which just requires you going to the inn with a party of Jude, Leia, Ludger, and Gaius. Also, upon returning, my cat horde retrieved another cat from the Mon Highlands, the creatively named Tom, making 55 cats currently in my employ. Those Royal Feasts really are doing a bang-up job.  Welcome to the Mathis Clinic. Unless you feel like talking with Jude's dad or disturbing the sick and afflicted, not much to do here other than getting a couple of stat-increasing herbs in the main room of the clinic, where the elder Dr. Mathis is. Let's move on.  Oh sure, rub it in, why don't ya... Anyway, only one more stop in Leronde: Leronde Inn.  Dad, is it true Mom's mad at me? Well... Uh... Ah! Well, look what the cat dragged in. Oh, uh... Hi, Mom! I'm happy to see you too! When'd she get here?! How'd she slip by undetected? Master Sonia is a martial artes expert. She was me and Leia's instructor. Rrgh! I could just THROTTLE you right now! I sent you more letters than I can count, and you couldn't take one second otu of your day to respond to a single one! Because it was all just a bunch of mom-questions! Do I have clothes? Do I have food? Am I safe? Is everybody being nice to me? You worry too much! Also, uh... Yeah, it IS kind a pain writing by hand sometimes... A pain? Is that what we are to you? A PAIN?! Your father and I were worried sick! You wanna make your poor father cry?! Is that it?! Dad and I talk all the time over GHS! Great. I was hoping that'd come up. What?! And how long has THIS been going on?! Mom, why can'at you just get a GHS too? Then we can talk whenever you want! It's super easy! I bet all you big-shot reporters use those things, huh? And neglect your mothers, while you're at it? I-I'm sorry! Leia, you should be sensitive to your mother's feelings. Love and family aren't about convenience. The fact that your mother went through such trouble to contact you should warrant your time to reply. Honey, I know you're at that age where you have more important things to worry about than your parents... But I can't send you cookies or laundry detergent over a text message, can I? Oh, Mom. I'm sorry you were worried about me... I've just been so busy with work! Well, THAT's not something I was worried about. I knew my daughter's a hard worker. You can say that again. Hahaha, that's my girl! No time for boys, huh? What?! Dad! By the way, you! The one with all black! Well said, back there. I sensed something special about you, just by looking. I like to size people up when I meet them for the first time... Oh? You don't say... That's, uh, good to know... Oh! Before I forget, I have something I think you'd enjoy! Here you go, dumpling! Aw, thanks, Mom! Leia, I'm adding your mother to the list of people I hope I don't have to fight one day. She's currently...the only one on that list.Sonia is clearly the Batman of this universe. Not Gaius. Oh, and the thing Sonia gave was the accessory item Mr. Frog. Which...I already have. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right? While it won't be apparent for a while, Leronde's lodge will allow you to buy / synthesize the best recipes in the game. But, they won't unlock for a while, but trust me, they'll be worth it, once we hit the bonus dungeon. Anyway, more recent business requires we head upstairs.  Rocky currently has this guy backed into a corner, waiting for a (hopefully) merciful death. Let's be a good citizen and save him.  In another room, a well-concealed chicken. Why did we pick this up, again? I cannot recall any use for this. Anyway, our final business in this quaint burg is Leia's third Character Chapter, over by the item shops at the port, which is...an odd beast.  Leia's epiphany Hmm... Well, Leia's touchy about people making fun of her intelligence (even if not entirely unwarranted sometimes... Just sayin'), so L1 will please her. Oh, hey Ludger. I got a text from my editor. He asked if I'd figured out the answer to his question yet. The question was something about what it takes to write an article, right? So do you have an answer yet? When we Agria in that fractured dimension, remember what she said about Elympions? How'd that make you feel? Hm, another interesting non-affection raising choice. I think Ludger is self-reflective enough, especially with that whole Skylark incident in Alvin's chapter, that Elympions aren't all that and a bag of chips. You hardly ever heard that expression anymore, huh? When you know people on both sides of the fence like we do, it's hard to take one side. I feel like this directly relates to my editor's question. And how I felt interacting with the station attendant. Elympions and Rieze Maxians have a different perspective. That much I now is true. But if I go beyond that simple thought...and I think about what's really important... I'm tired of thinking! I'll just do it. If it'll put this thing to rest, I'll write an article about what that station agent said! Now you're sounding like the Leia we know and love. So what's next? Go interview the guy in the station again? No. If I interview him, it'll be at the end. He's my inspiration for the piece. I need to interview a wider range of people, or the article will end up just being my own opinion. Gotta love the easy choices. Thanks. But where to start? I want to know what real people have to say. What they're really thinking. And then I'll put those thoughts together piece by piece. Sounds good. All right, now I'm fired up! I'm gonna go tell my editor! Later! Or not.After that scene, you'll get a series of three jobs from the job board (as suggested in the skit following that last scene), that involve bringing things or finding things for Leia. The jobs themselves are really straight-forward, so let's take care of them now. First one involves bringing...  A cat to her? Nah, she wants a Minestrone (Small) delivered to her, and she's waiting in front of the Spirius Building. If you don't have that recipe, you can buy it from the lodge.  Thanks a bunch! Now, I'll definitely get a real interview with that politician! So this whole thing's a bribe, huh? N-No! What kinda person do you take me for?! I already scheduled an appointment, fair and square! Oh yeah? Then why'd you need the soup? Well, it's like this... When I went to his office to make the appointment, he looked just totally gaunt! I mean, he's probably so busy with the Rieze Maxia negotiations he couldn't find the time for a decent meal. And that's where you come in, huh? You betcha! I need to get some juicy information from him. And what better way to butter him up than some good ol' home cooking? And hey... There's no harm making a good first impression, right? Say, Ludger! How 'bout you work some of your culinary voodoo on this soup before I hand it over? What... Ha! Looks like our little lady's got a knack for this stuff after all!And that's Job the First. Completing all three will affect, in some way, what happens in Leia's next character chapter. But, we might as well do them all, for completion's sake, and to make sure Leia doesn't screw up at this critical juncture. Next job is to find a sailor at Marksburg's Rieze Harbor. Allegedly the first merchant from Rieze to begin working in Elympios. Oh, also, got another cat from Dispatch named Winnie to my arsenal. The pieces are falling into place.  Hey, it's him! This guy's the first merchant from Rieze Maxia to open a shop in Marksburg! Oh yeah? Who's asking? I'm Leia Rolando, from the Daily Trigleph newspaper! I was hoping for a moment of your time for an interview, actually. Oh, an "interview", huh? Sorry, I ain't got time to play make-believe, kid. Make-believe?! Do you have any clue how many subscribers our paper has? Save it, kid. Even if this newspaper-thing's real, I can't waste my day chit-chatting with you. Hey, pops, there's no need to be rude to the girl, is there? Whoa-- Easy, cowboy! It's odd you mention "waste", because that's exactly what I wanna talk to you about! Specifically, in regards to the economic situation on Elympios. What I'd like to ask, sir, is if you think the Rieze Maxians will employ fair trade practicies vis-a-vis the Elympion economy, or if these negotiations are just wasted effort. Huh. Say, maybe ya know what you're talking about after all. All right, kid, ya got ten minutes. Ask away.Requisite fade to black... Oh, thank you so much! This is gonna make a great story. It'd better! We went way over time. Eh... Hehe... Sorry about that! Kid, ya only need to apologize if this whole interview was just a waste of my time... But I have a feeling it wasn't. No way! THis is all going to be part of a huge article I'm writing on the subject! The people need to know about this! Well, that's reassuring. Remember, kid, your actions are the only thing that determine if what ya do is a waste or not. Fair trade with Elympios is gonna be a struggle, but we all hafta do our part if we wanna see it come true one day.Leia's second job down. Next one is the only combat-oriented one, where we have to head to the Nala Lava Tubes to rescue some soldier from Kanbalar who went missing. What he was doing there is probably above our pay grade, so let's not bother with such matters and just do our job. ...But first, we have a minor thing to take care of, a job called The Father's Gift. It involves bringing Ludger and Jude to Duval Station with 10 Crown Feathers in tow.x   Hey, it's that kid! Huh?! Hey, it's you...with the feathers! Oh? Did you help her find all those feathers she used to make my muffler? Well, looks like both of us are in your debt! It's our pleasure! I made Daddy a feather muffler, and he made me a down jacket because he loves me. These are the fluffiest, warmiest jackets ever! Don't you wish you had one? I'm not jealous! I outgrew that kinda stuff a long time ago. Wow, so you're like a grownup, huh? Yep! I even got a partner to watch my back! A partner?! Wow, that's SUPER grown-up! Hey, who's that partner of yours, anyway? Why, my pal Ludger here, of course! Really?! Him? He doesn't look like much. Well, pretending not to look like much is part of his job! Oh wow, that's so cool! I want a weirdo-partner too when I grow up! *sigh* I'm sorry. Sometimes she doesn't realize what she's saying. It's all right. We've seen worse.Train stations and Ludger just don't mix, huh? Now, we have that errant sentry.  Along the way, and this is going to become a common theme shortly, Leia's going to be getting a TON of new skills, arte level increases, and artes themselves. It's pretty amazing, but only because her current Extractor is awesome. Oh, and Leia's costume theme is she's trying to usurp the title of Pinkist Princess from Elize, hence all the pink. Ludger's is, of course, he's a gambler and ready to put his life on the line, Jude's is a battle-ready swordsman with his dragon familiar, Alvin has gotten in touch with feminine side, Rowen's the evil sorcerer (purple being the new "evil" color, of course), Muzet's theme is "My eyes are up here", Elize is now a cat person, Milla is the angel to Rowen's devil, and Gaius is the fashionable swordsman.  Once your characters start hitting Level 42, they'll earn the Special skill, which allows you to activate that character's Mystic Arte during Over Limit. I'll demonstrate next update.  Once again, Gentlefreets are a REALLY good enemy for grinding at this point in the game, especially with Gaius in tow. Miracle Gels drop like flies with 2x item drop increases, or if you have the Monocle (+15% drop chance if the wearer defeats a particular enemy). To be fair, this was a Dangerous Gentlefreet encounter, which increased my EXP gain, but hey.  Boy did this guy get himself into a spat of trouble (this particular area is closest to the Xialen Woods Nala Lava Tubes entrance, which you should take to get here, but I did not.  Slaughter ensued.  But of course, we have to follow up.  We're glad you're safe! I'm Leia Rolando, the reporter who asked to speak with you. Oh, is that you? It must take a lotta guts for a Rieze Maxian reporter to work way out on Elympios! Our acquaintance here was a soldier in the battle against Exodus and in the Elympion invasion. Hmph. So you two're from Elympios? Maybe. On top of that, I used to work for Exodus, actually. What?! Well, no sense beating around the bush! I'd like to ask you a blunt question... Do you harbor any resentment towards Elympions? I guess I'd be lying if I said I didn't. A lot of my comrades were killed 'cause of the Otherworld Reactor Plan... And my family suffered.That was the name of the plan that the invaders from Elympios used in the first game. Basically the plan was to harvest Rieze Maxia and its resources to solve Elympios' resource problems. Obviously things didn't turn out particularly well, either for the Plan or Elympios, but hey, people are trying. I see. But then again, I guess the Elympions would say the same stuff about us. I should know... I took down plenty of their soldiers myself. And do you think the two worlds will ever be able to set aside their differences? Hm... Not anytime soon, that's for sure. But I guess one day, it's possible. They say what makes us human is our ability to be rational and not just reactionary. Yes, that does sound like a cheery little outlook, doesn't it? But I guess I have to agree somewhat, being an ex-mercenary myself and all... Exactly how I feel. As a soldier, I'm the one who has to actually take lives out on the battlefield. I have to believe that peace will exist, someday. I get no joy from killing, but there are those who do. And they'll do it. Not for self-defense or to protect someone...but because they want to. That's not human! Those people are the lowest forms of life there is. I never want to be like that. Ever. Thank you. You've given me some good stuff for my report, but...you also gave me a lot to think about! I won't forget what you said.Update 18 alternate choice compilation
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Jun 27, 2016 19:11
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Man, that actually felt kinda sorta like investigative reporting. You'll get there yet, Leia.
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Jun 28, 2016 00:52
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Part XIX: The Girl Who Fears Just screenshotting for posterity. I got a Full House on this here hand, and I managed to get all the double-or-nothing's right. It was pretty rad. Though, apparently I squandered all my luck on that, because I spent the next 25 minutes or so not making a single chip.  But I finally did it: I crossed 1,000,000 chips. Sadly, though, I didn't get the skit I thought resulted from getting over a million chips. I *think* it's 2 mil (won, not all at once, I believe), but I know one is there. It shall come.  Nova on the ropes But Nova needs our help, doesn't she?  Thank goodness you're here.Ludger does a  , which I guess means something to Nova. Honestly? I'm having a bad day. I had to freeze the accounts of one of my clients, and he did not appreciate that one bit, lemme tell ya! He gave me this death-glare! It really freaked me out! Well, I just can't bring myself to be mean to Nova, so we'll kindly remind her what her job is. But I ain't happy about it. Incidentally, I like how you have to be mean to Nova to progress in this game. The long arc of the universe bends not towards justice, but towards making Nova's life a little harder. Not to say she'll always taking it lying down, you understand. Give me a break! They don't pay me enough to deal with stuff like death-glares! If your boss told you to sprout wings and fly, wouldn't you tell him to shove it? Can't say she's wrong. Having a boss sucks. Is there something amiss? I think...maybe... I've been here with my daddy before. Perhaps your home is somewhere nearby? I dunno... Do you remember anything memorable near your house? Any landmarks? Maybe some super rare flowers, that kinda thing? Well...right in front of my house, there's this gigantic pond! Daddy would catch fish from it and cook 'em up for supper! I like grilled salmon the best. That's my favorite! Sounds like good eatin' to me. But a pond wouldn't have salmon. Not naturally. Are you sure it's not a lake? I'm trying to remember... Are there any lakes like that left in Elympios? Um, Lake Epsilla used to be nearby, but the last of its water dried up decades ago. Someone's got a bad memory. Oh... There's no reason to give her grief about it. Maybe it's nothing, but I just remembered they found some really old ruins at the bottom of that lake. They were built by some mysterious civilization that didn't use spyrix. It was the find of the century. That's intriguing! What else do you know about these ruins? Zilch... I guess they collapsed before the archaeologists could do their thing. That's unfortunate...A phone call from Vera... Can't believe we've gone a couple updates without that. DODA here. We have detected a fractured dimension with a high likelihood of a Waymarker. Please investigate. I know that voice... Hey, Vera! How's it hanging? Nova?! Why are you there?! Just asking Ludger and company for a favor. So, uh...what's a fractured dimension? It's Division business. Never you mind. Aw, how come you're always such a spoilsport? And you wonder why those blind dates never call ya back. Wh-What are you talking about?! My signal's breaking up-- Gotta go! Let someone on the B-team handle Nova's problem. Like Elize. I'm on the B-team?! B better stand for Best! Come on! This fractured dimension stuff can't be that important! Why don't you help her out, Jude? She seems like she's in way over her head with this. Yeah. The B-team can handle the fractured dimension just fine. If B is for best, I'm in! Fine. Her customer does sound like a pretty tough...customer. Any thug who threatens a young woman deserves a taste of his own scare tactics, at the absolute least. "Revenge served cold", and all that jazz? Count me in. Thanks guys! You're the best! Is everyone in the prime dimension this stupid? Milla, do you mind helping out Ludger for us?  So, from this chapter on, the plot's really going to kick into high gear. This chapter alone is gonna get pretty heavy, and it's only going to get more interesting from here.   Oh, and Nova's feeling better, I guess, because instantly after that scene, she shook me down for 100,000 gald (I had 158k going into this chapter, so it's understandable). But that's just for bonus stuff back in Trigleph, which...we'll get around to. Oh, and there's also a skit after this scene. L1 increases Elize's affection, R1 upps Elle's.  Now, you may have been asking in the above scene, "Why couldn't Muzet and / or Gaius help out the A or B for Best team?". The answer is that Muzet will be Muzet, and Gaius is not a man to shirk his obligations. We'll just have to manage.  Here in the fractured dimension, it's apparent there IS a Lake Epsilla here. If Elle recognizes Drellin, and she lived near a lake... Well, we might have finally stumbled on the lands Elle hails from. But Elle definitely can't remember the lake if it dried up decades before the events of this game. So that means...  It means we have Mystic Artes to demonstrate. Mystic Artes can only be initiated during Over Limit, and only during a Linked. As long as a Linked Arte's animation is playing, just hold X, and the character you are controlling will launch their Mystic Arte. If you want to activate your partner's Mystic Arte instead, just make sure they have the Special skill activated, hold L1 + X, and you'll launch your partner's (truth be told, though, I've never gotten this to work). Ludger's Mystic is Ritual of Destruction, where he hits the target with his hammer, swords, and launches a barrage of bullets to do a ton of damage against an enemy. Again, if one enemy is really close to another, Ritual will hit both of them, or as many enemies are close to the one you're targeting.  Oooh, a Gold Bacura. Your best bet for quickly getting these guys is just grind them down with regular (non-elemental) sword hits, while your allies slowly, slowly, chip away at it.  Level 2 Chromatus will also rip these guys apart, especially by spamming Dark Projection (up + circle over and over). This is especially good because it keeps you airborne (slowing the timer 50%), and if you have Trance equipped, if you defeat a Bacura using a different transformation level than when you last used it to transform, you earn a 2x more elemental orbs.  With how many Elemental Orbs I got, well... And that's just part 2 of what Leia alone got. Everyone in the party made out like bandits.  For a little skill advice, get and activate HP / TP Surge 1 / 2 as soon as you can. HP / TP Surge 1 gives you +30% recovery whenever a character is revived from KO, instead of the standard 15%. Surge 2 gives you 100% recovery. These skills are going to be incredibly useful when you start getting to the really tough enemies who can very quickly take down your dudes.  When you start getting close to the ruins, it starts raining. Well, this IS a fractured dimension, after all. Oh yeah, and I ran into another Gold Bacura on my way. You probably get the picture by now, eh?  Aw, another location completed, and in each area, you get a cute gold pawprint to mark your victory. Now a whole hell of a lot more to go. Also, I'm starting to feel it's belaboring the point to mention cats from Kitty Dispatch. I figure by now all you smart folks have gotten the point. I'll only mention cats that are out in the field.  The sound of thunder Wow...hard to imagine this was all a lake once. More blighted nature, courtesy of spyrix. That's why Jude's trying to create spyrites in the first place. To keep things like this from happening again. That'll be the day. You act like this doesn't affect you... How do you think Milla felt when she-- How should I know, huh? I'm not your Milla. Jude will succeed and save us. Milla sacrificed herself to give us this extra time. There's no way Jude will let us down. Something's glowing! Maybe it's those ruins Nova was talking about. If they haven't collapsed in this dimension, there's a good chance we'll find the divergence catalyst in them. Let's go!*crash of lightning*  Afraid of thunder, huh? What?! Me, afraid of a little thunder?! C'mon. I thought... I saw something on the ground right at that moment and-- There's no reason to be ashamed. No! You don't get it. When I... When I hear thunder, I... I think about what happened to daddy.*thunder crash* Please, just make it stop! Man...this thunder's pretty intense, huh! Let's focus on getting to the ruins. Milla Maxwell. The other one sure has some good friends... Well, the whole thing with Alt Milla is one of Xillia 2's more interesting plot devices, and it's worth asking her what she thinks about the entire matter. I mean, imagine if you were stuck in a situation like what Alt Milla's going through right now. It might be worth knowing what kind of person the people around you think you should be. L1 raises her affection, because Milla takes this stuff seriously. I suppose I do... Who knows where she is, but if I got the chance, I would. This is the first skill I got in Leia's "Item Master" category (a category I made up). Basically, Leia will be your Item Queen when she has all her skills and artes. She can throw them out without having to stand in place for a bit when one is used, she can potentially get back any consumable item she uses, she can have a single-target item applied to the entire party (the power is reduced, however), and, of course, she can steal. It's a very valuable service, I'll have you know. Well then, the entrance to the ruins is the passage that was blocked by fallen boulders in the prime dimension.  Eeesh, I hope these "ruins" aren't just a series of musty tunnels...  Lost ruins I...take that back... Get a load of this place! Nova wasn't kidding. No sign of spirit artes or spyrix here... I think it's still alive! Careful! The security systems might still be online. It's better than standing out in the thunderstorm and wetting ourselves... Just so we're clear, I'm not some 'fraidy cat, y'know. Surprisingly, neither choice matters, but Elle's a brave girl. And don't you forget it... Okay? She's pushing herself too hard. If she needs to cry, she should just let herself. She's just a scared little eight-year-old who's been away from her father far too long. I was only six when I destroyed the Exodus organization. You're a special case. When Elize was eight, crying was all she ever did... Poor Teepo was always sopping wet with tears... Yeah. I don't see him, either! Was Rollo with us when we entered the lift? I honestly can't remember. Um...that's a good question. He was, wasn't he...? We can't have lost Rollo. Such a notion is patently absurd. All right, Ludger... if you say so. If he's that sure, then Rollo must be around here somewhere, right? Okay, guys... We'd better look for the kitty. Rollo!  Who said that?! You may refer to me as Odin. I am the system that oversees Thor...the Ark of Time. Ark of Time... It's one of the Waymarkers. Yes, indeed I am. You're a Waymarker that knows you're a Waymarker? I know far more than that. I know about you, as well. All your weaknesses, to be exact. I warn you, leave while you can. Unless you wish to face your demise. Are we heading further in? This Odin fella sounds like he means business! There's only one way to find out. Let's go say hello. That just now? That's the Milla I know. You're right. Just after the above scene, a pretty nice skit. R1 increases both Elize and Elle's affections, but...   You want to hear about the dungeon, right? Well, the thing with this dungeon is it's probably the most elaborate (and large) dungeon in the entire game. The primary goal here is to recover three batteries, restore them to the appropriate elevators, and take the final one to where Odin is. There's all kinds of cool "future-y" effects, like the doors becoming wireframes when you get close to them, or the chests being white cubes that also become wireframes when you get close. And of course, seeing through walls when you get close. While the overall goal of the dungeon is fairly simple, you're going to have to cover a lot of ground, AND there are missable weapons here. One of them, for Milla in particular, is one you are really gonna want to pick up.  That's not to say there aren't a lot of valuable treasures here (this room has all four primary elemental rings in chests), but just those 4 items you can't get elsewhere.  These are the all-important elevators. But, of course, there's no power. So let's find us a battery...  These mooks, hanging out by themselves in certain rooms, are the foes you need to bring down to get those batteries.  Strong, however, does not necessarily mean "invincible against". Aside from some powerful-ish attack and a lot of health to chip away at, another encounter that's barely worth mentioning. Once you receive your Energy Unit from this fight, simply return to the elevator and choose the only option available, 2nd East gate.  Welcome to the above-mentioned. Odin's still trying to scare us, but we aren't gonna listen to him, right? The thing with this dungeon is the elevators will take you to one of three different parts of the dungeon (Blue, Yellow, and Red), but there are a number of cavernous passages leading from one area to the next. Because of blocked off or destroyed walkways, you'll frequently need to do this in order to get where you need to go. The areas themselves are highly symmetrical, so if you find a chest or chests in one half of a room, good chance there's something on the other side. Not always true, of course, but more often than not. Luckily, you can always check if there is something on the other side by just getting close the wall.  Yeah, see, that's gonna be a problem...  The screenshot in the Yellow area had a link to the Underground Cavity. Following that to the end will lead you to the third and final major area.  In here has the next monster you need to defeat for an Energy Unit. One to go.  You know where we're going next. See you on the other side.  This is the southern-west most room in the Red area. Inside is the final Energy Unit enemy. Now, you could go on to finish the dungeon by activating all the elevators (in the Red and Yellow areas), but we don't want to miss out on those weapons.  Problem is...where are they? Well, we're coming from Red, Yellow is on the left, and Blue is at the bottom. The only place we haven't acquired any chests from is the top half of Blue. Trouble is, there's no elevator that goes to that side of Blue, and, obviously the walkway is broken. But, you may notice a little yellow indentation in Blue's top right. Obviously, that's how we're getting there. Trouble is...there's no obvious place where it connects. Well, in matters such as this, makes the most sense to get as close as we can to it, and look for something we missed. Guess we'll head back to that T-intersection and see if we can find something.  Ah-ha, there we go. Very sneaky, Namco.  At long last, here we are. From top left to bottom right (going in a Z-pattern), we have Ludger's Sage Knives, Milla's Dual Edge, Elize's Fortune Rod, and Leia's Hanuman Shaft. All are considerable upgrades to whatever your dudes currently have, and have some neat passive benefits, like the Rod reducing Elize's casting time, or the Edge increasing Milla's Over Limit build rate from attacking. Actually, the Shaft has quite a history in the Tales series, going back to, I think, Eternia. I know for a fact it was in as early as Symphonia, though. Anyway, getting those weapons is really the last thing we need to do before finishing the dungeon.   Full map of the dungeon. We've covered a lot of ground. Once you've acquired all three batteries and are ready to head to where Odin is, head to the elevator in Yellow that has a save point next to it. This elevator, and this elevator alone, will lead you to 1st Main gate, which is obviously where you need to go.  But before we go get our Waymarker, we have cats to reassign. Note the Meow Blasters. These are special (though rather weak) firearms for Ludger. Their gimmick (aside from being cat-themed, of course), is that if Ludger defeats an enemy with them, the item drop rate is significantly increased. Not usually worth the effort, especially on Hard, and made rather redundant by the presence of my 2x drop rate carried over from the Grade Shop. 'course, if you are playing this from a new game, they might be right up your alley for a while. Your call. Every character gets one of these kinds of weapons.  And here we are... Jeez, someone's sprung for some nice interior decorating...  The ruin depths As I feared, you refused to heed my warnings. What is this place? It is all that remains of a civilization that collapsed 95,212 years ago by your reckoning. The sole survivors converted their corporeal forms into lifeform data and sealed themselves away. It was their hope that someone in the far future would find and resurrect them. And this is where they've sealed themselves. It truly is an Ark of Time in every sense. The lifeform data of 427,086 people, along with the collected works of their civilization, are stored here. Almost half a million? Indeed. Lives that have been long lost in other dimensions. This is their last hope. Would you be kind enough to hear the messages they prepared for their saviors in the future? Well, I mean...if you insist. See, the thing is, we don't really have a choice what has to happen next. Unless Odin's got some bright idea how we get out of here without getting the Waymarker. And that IS why we're here, right? Well, while we mull that over, let's see what these records have to say. I'm starting in the top right and moving clockwise, finishing off with the one in the center. Oh, and if you talk to Odin, he mentions these ruins are called "Thor". Thor was one of the dungeons in Phantasia, actually. The last of the second act of the game, where you had to return to the present to face Dhaos, picking up where the party left off in the first act. When it comes to Odin here, indeed there was a boss by that name in Phantasia, but he was a bonus boss, but remarkably, looked kinda similar to this guy. He had a robot-like appearance, carried a spear, and a shield. However, he was mostly grey in color. Phantasia kinda had a thing for Norse mythology references. Being turned into data sounds really scary, but... Mommy and Daddy will be with me too, so I'll be brave. They said if I can be strong now, then I'll get to play outside again one day! To you who have discovered this data, please hear our plea! I beg of you, you must find a way to give our children back their future... The arrogance of humanity has led us to our own destruction. It is this truth that I want to pass on to you, people of the future, so that you can avoid repeating our mistakes. These hold our poetry, our music, our art... Everything we've managed to preserve of our culture. They're the proof that we lived, and loved, and suffered. Please take good care of them. Greetings, friends from the distant future! I'm looking forward to the day we can meet for real. And the day we can start living together in harmony.Ah jeez  We're not doing this because we want to, y'know... That is but a small sampling of the data stored within this Ark. My purpose and only wish, is for the hopes and dreams of this civilization to endure. Scion of Kresnik, I beseech you most humbly. Do not extinguish our final hope.A world forever lost  Not for nothing, I sympathize. But a course once set upon, must be seen through to the end. We're not doing this because it's our job. The fate of the prime dimension hangs in the balance here. Too late for second thoughts. It's the only way back to your prime dimension. You need not worry. I will render you into a digital format and place you under my stewardship. Digital format? It means he'll lock us up in here. For the rest of time, probably. Thanks, but no thanks! Well, you heard the lady. I wished to avoid damaging you, but it seems as though it cannot be helped. You're pretty confident. I only know because you told me, or rather, a version of you from another world. Fractured versions of us?! Just as you have, they condemned this as a false world, and then tried to destroy it. So, agents from fractured dimensions are going around destroying other ones?! All the while, thinking that they're from the prime dimension.This is really, really turning into a mess. It doesn't seem like Ludger and pals can do anything resembling keeping a lid on this problem. The us you met before... What happened to them? They were defeated and digitized. Like this!   Elle! The pain is temporary. It will end as soon as your consciousness is digitized and your body disassembled. No way... What?! *angry yell, draws swords* You adhere to the same pattern as before.  In spite of his formidable countenance, and large stature, Odin's a pretty simple boss. He's pretty slow, without a particular wide range of attacks. Among this attacks are Radiant Cage, which throws up a bunch of light-elemental energy pillars around him, a quick stab with his spear, multiple thrusts with his spear, and a short-range flamethrower that sweeps in a short arc. Among other weaknesses, he's really slow, and is obviously a big target. As far as vulnerabilities, he's weak to Light, but you really should have Power Charge 3 by this point in the game. If I may make another Tales reference, I have to say I find it amusing this Odin is weak to Light, whereas Phantasia's Odin absorbed Light. I want to say that's just a coincidence, but you never know.  Once he starts hurting, he'll add a few more attacks. This one throws up a fairly damaging wide AoE attack, that I believe is Light-elemental. But, at the cost of using so much of his power at once, apparently, he'll stun himself.  Around the same time, he'll cast Null Field on himself, which automatically increases his resistance to all attacks, and, obviously, gets rid of his Light weakness. The name of the game remains the same, however.  He really does start changing things up quite a bit. Crimson Dusk here involves a short charge up, but will rain semi-powerful meteors down from the sky.  But of course, you can't have a thunder god without a lightning attack, Spark Cascade. With the exception of Thunder Fang and the flamethrower, most of his attacks take a good couple seconds to actually come out, giving you opportunity to run away.  Sorry man. You really gave us no choice.  *Elle gets released from her little prison and Ludger rushes over to her* Ohh... Hey... Ludger... Nya Rollo... The data's different! The deviation...is it because of that girl?!Oh sure, blame a little--  That girl is the true Kresnik. Forgive me, good people of Thor.  So I guess...we're gonna have a new Rollo tagging along for a while?  Calm in the rain    Whatcha doing? We all know about Elle and accusations of being scared, so let's be a good big brother to her, and raise her affection. Huh. Is that right? Sounds like glasses guy is pretty nice.  Teepo's jealous! Another affection-raising decision must be made. L1 will raise Elle's, whereas R1 for Elize's. I went with....R1.  Maybe Leia...and Milla. But Alvin and Jude are... I mean, well, they're just friends. It's a girl thing. Don't even try to make sense of it. Whooo boy, is this awkward. Nya. Nyaa! Huh?! Double the Rollo?! ...the fractured version of him! Aw... Rollo's sad about his double disappearing... You guys, what just happened? (What if two of the same thing can't exist at the same time in the prime dimension? If that's true...it'll be the same for Milla Maxwell and I.) Update 19 alternate choice compilation Update 18 / 19 victory compilation Sylphid fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Jul 3, 2016 |
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Jul 3, 2016 19:48
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Did the entire ruin collapse in the prime timeline, or have we still got a shot at hitting that archive? I mean, probably the former, but I figured I'd ask.
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Jul 3, 2016 23:59
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Glazius posted:Did the entire ruin collapse in the prime timeline, or have we still got a shot at hitting that archive? Definitely the former. "Try to make the player really sad" is sort of a thing that will keep going here.
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Jul 4, 2016 00:01
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I know, right. I felt like a real bastard after that chapter.
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Jul 4, 2016 02:25
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Spent the last 90 minutes of my life fighting the Elite Monster as Libari Hollow. Not...the most entertained I've ever been in the 25 1/2 years I've spent on this Earth. Even switching the difficulty to Moderate didn't help. Kinda thinking Namco got a *little* carried away with the difficulty of that fight.
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Jul 4, 2016 22:27
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Update: I recorded about four hours of this game today, about 95% of it the same drat Elite Monster. The good news is that I did beat him, but it was not pretty. Edit: Jesus. My recording setup creates temporary video files on my computer when it's done recording, but if they're deleted, it doesn't affect the final video in any way. Naturally, after such a catastrophe as was today's recordings, the two videos (I scrapped the first one, since it was going nowhere and all I had done was Jude's third character chapter), had a combined total of 50 GB among them. Yikes. Sylphid fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Jul 5, 2016 |
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Jul 5, 2016 00:51
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god gently caress that guy
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Jul 5, 2016 01:29
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I remember Odin being one of the few bosses I could beat on Moderate, because I am awful at this game. It's really the quick ones that are the worst, and also anything that has status effects because gently caress Bleed entirely.
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Jul 5, 2016 02:50
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Update 20 is progressing nicely, and should be done soon, so for the next few updates, I'm going to do a little something different with costume choices. I'll give three posters a chance to choose the costumes for three characters of my choosing. Junpei: Leia, Jude, Muzet wdarkk: Rowen, Gaius, Ludger A third party will be covering Alvin, Elize, and Milla
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Jul 8, 2016 01:23
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Make Muzet as sexy as possible. Minimal clothing, no accessories. Jude's going through a furry phases. Tail, dog nose, check. Leia's been eaten by the same dragon that ate Rowen! Le gasp! Hey, these things are actually kinda fun!
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Jul 8, 2016 04:35
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Part XX: The Man Who Tries This is going to be a busy update, and not an altogether pleasant one to put together. I say that as I'm officially starting work on this update, but well-aware how much trouble has gone into it. You'll see why. But never mind that. We've got a lot of work to do.  But we first have another Poker update. I finally got a really rare hand! Straight Flush, baby! Let's see if Lady Luck is truly on my side...   But our journey really begins with a skit just after the last scene, where you finally have clearance to travel to all areas of Rieze Maxia, with the addition of the Fennmont Seahaven finally being open for business. Note that it's not actually a separate location. Fennmont is the biggest town in this game, with a couple sub-areas that are separate Kitty Dispatch locations, but the Seahaven is not one of them. There is also another skit immediately after. I chose the vastly more interesting option, about Vera's anemic love life, courtesy of her nosy twin sister. Though, the other option would have increased Elize and Leia's affection. Just as a note, there are a ton of skits coming this update. Oh, and in one of the little voice pop-up things after Thor, Milla decided to start grabbing at Ludger's necktie to fix it. I've seen this before...   On the subject of skits, two more in Drellin. First one pops in Drellin only, but the second one with Muzet pops up regardless of town. Oh, and Muzet continues being great. No points for guessing what "direct tethering" is a euphemism for, though. R1 in the Muzet skit increases her affection.  Moving on to Xian Du (if only for the reason that is Jude's third character chapter), we have a cat we really should have picked up earlier here in the coliseum. Felines are not in the coliseum rulebook, I'm afraid. The tribes that make up Auj Oule's political backbone would never stand for such an indignity. Their loss. But, now we get to see what's up with the good doctor.  *Actually*, we've got one small matter to attend to before we start Jude's chapter. You may be asking why this sudden reversal. All will be clear soon. Wind Stepper  So, all-in-all, this is about as basic an Elite Monster you can ask for. But trust me when I say "basic" beats the hell out of the next Elite Monster I throw down with. As his name would imply, he's very strong against Wind, but correspondingly, is weak to Earth. But again, elemental vulnerabilities aren't the best metric by which to judge a boss' beatability. Oh, and speaking of vulnerabilities, his weak points are all four of his legs, and his head. Attack-wise, he'll mostly focus on charging attacks, which, to be fair, do considerable damage and have a very good chance of inflicting Paralysis, and kicking with his hind legs. All said, pretty predictable and you shouldn't have a terrible lot of trouble with this guy by this point in the game.  Sunburst is a pretty awesome Fire spell that is unique to this game. The caster fires a gigantic ball of fire into the sky, and shortly afterward, will drop down and inflict considerable Fire damage. Unless your dudes stay constanly airborne (and to be fair to Muzet and Milla, they do have a considerable number of skills that allow them to dance around in the air, including giving them a double jump), it's impossible to avoid damage from this thing. But, of course, Magic Guard will block it well.  Once you've got a good rhythm on him, and are comfortable with the hitbox of his attacks, he's not long for this world. Let's see what my dudes think...  Buck up, ya bunch of whiners. It wasn't that hard, and I nearly beat 2 minutes from start to finish, on Hard! Anyway, that's a nice EXP haul I got there, thanks to a Small Spicy Chicken Roll that I got from Thor. Oh, and the debt payment this time is 200,000, and I'm sitting on 138k (Racer is worth 60k), before turning in this job. This'll be cake. Anyway, NOW we're headed to Xian Du.  A forced job The aerial arena is as lively as ever. I just can't get excited about it, though. This sort of thing has always been lost on me. This timeline's Ludger is considerate toward Jude, an ode to their shared Protagonist Status. Oh Jude, if only you knew what the other Ludger would say. Myself? I'd probably lean toward R1 personally. There's just something about the thrill of battle that's hard to describe, but maybe it doesn't apply to watching it. Nice to know you're not questioning my manliness or anything.A buzz on his phone, and... Hidey-ho! Nova here! Got a line on a monster-eradication job. You want it? Don't answer, I don't care! You're taking it! It's actually kind of a big deal. There've been civilian casualties and everything! So go get 'em, tiger. And don't feel obligated to thank me for the hookup, although I wouldn't turn down flowers or a free lunch! Anyway, no time for that now! You need to get your butts to Labari Hollow by, like, yesterday. Good luck! I'm guessing that was Nova. Mind if I tag along? What ABOUT Celsius? It has been a while since we heard from her. We'll raise Jude's affection with a question he clearly cares a lot about the answer to. We've been looking everywhere since she vanished, but still no leads. I'm tired of twiddling my thumbs. I want to get out and do something. I approve. A little action is good for you. I'll lend a hand, too. It's a lovely day to kill monsters.Aren't they all? Well, before we hit the trails again, we have a cat to nab. In a somewhat special location.  After crossing Xian Du's bridge, head up some stairs and to the left, to this elevator. After crossing a balcony...  If I remember this subplot of Xillia right, and admittedly I'm a bit foggy on the details after half a decade of not playing it, I believe this room was where Alvin's mom previously lived before she died. Yurgen's wife Isla has moved in instead, but she's not with child in this world, unlike the one fractured dimension when we destroyed those divergence catalyst rocks. That's neat and all, but why exactly are we here?  There's the reason. Harry here is disturbing Isla's rest. Thankfully, she's recovering well, thanks to Yurgen getting involved with Elympios and making money together with Alvin. I...don't think we need to fill the handmaid in with the details.  'cause we've got work to do. The Royal Hunting Grounds are completely unmemorable, except for some bizarre crabs that are basically invulnerable to everything except Fire, and sometimes not even then... It's complicated, and they're not worth the time.  What is worth the time is this kitty, hidden in the third area of this area. We're making real good progress.  As soon as we arrive, another Jude-centric skit. Although I would enjoy teasing him about turning his spyrite research into writing a love letter (we have no evidence it's NOT, to be fair), choosing L1 got me more affection points for Jude, and him admiring Elympion train schedules, so it was worth it.  Moving on, the Libari Hollow is a somewhat intricate dungeon (this is where the party discovered the truth about Teepo in the first game), where you'll have to cross bridges and wind in and out of small passages to make your way to the bottom. You don't actually have to go to the very bottom to complete Jude's chapter here, but we're going to have to get right on the border.  Passages like this. You'll wind your way down fast enough, but don't go too fast...  After crossing a second wooden bridge, you'll come to one door. That door doesn't lead to anything special, but the second one, further down the path, does. Inside is a four-chambered passage, and in the top left passage (you start in the bottom left), this kitty is not doing a great job of blending in. But it's clearly very lonely. No longer. It's pretty hard to miss this particular cat's location, as it's en route to your destination. The bottom right chamber of this area leads to the monsters we're hunting.  Hard choices Ludger! So this fight...it's definitely not hard, and not particularly worth commentating on, but for some reason my brain-dead allies were screwing up worse than usual. Oh well, it's not the worst thing that'll happen to me this update. That's coming up! Anyway, I'm not going to dwell on this fight much. Let's just skip right ahead...  I almost bought the farm, and without a single Heart Herb to show for it. Talk about tragic! You were looking for Heart Herbs? You were in the wrong place for that. You're better off searching closer to the Mon Highlands. You're kidding! I must've taken the wrong path from Xian Du. No wonder everything looked so unfamiliar. Wait, don't I know you? You're Dr. Jude Mathis, aren't you? Uh... Yeah, that's me. I knew it! My husband is taking part in one of the clinical trials of your new spyrite device! Oh, I had no idea. Please tell him I'm thankful for his help. Never mind that! Why did you cancel the trials? Oh, that... The device was really helping him too. We couldn't believe it when they insisted he stop using it! My husband is strong. He'll get by without it. But we're certainly not happy about the situation. Once you get used to doing something the easy way, it's hard to go back, you know? Ah... So the Heart Herbs are for your husband... If you're really grateful for our participation, then why not just let us use the device again? Nothing would make me happier, but unfortunately we discovered a defect in the device... A defect? When will it be fixed? Well... Don't tell me I'll need to keep gathering herbs for the rest of my life?! Well, we're not going to dogpile Jude here. He's plenty busy, not the least of which is helping Ludger out of a considerable jam, and it's complicated research. Best keep a cool head, particularly to win Jude's respect. What?! How dare you! I am perfectly calm, young man! No need to get angry with him, ma'am. I take full responsibility for stopping the clinical trials. We're doing everything we can to improve the devices. We just need a little more time. Please, will you bear with me? Well... I suppose I can hold out for a little while longer. A lot of people are counting you, Dr. Mathis. Don't let us down. The woman wanders off, and we're forced to decide. Surprisingly, L1 raises Jude's affection. Don't ask me. She certainly made an impression. Guess I was a little overwhelmed. But... I'm sure lots of other people share her feelings. Anyhow, we have a lead... I can't spend time moping. If I can just find Celsius again, I think I'll have a chance at the answer. I need to get back and review all the info just one more time. *nod* I can't give up now.But he'll have to do that reviewing on his own time, because that's the end of that chapter. Also, right after that chapter finishes, there's a door nearby that leads a short passage with a chest with 13,000 gald in it. Always helps the pocketbook. But even after that, we're not done yet.  At the very bottom of Libari, there's this cat hidden in a box, trying in vain to escape. Fun fact: one of the girls in my avatar is named Setsuna... it's the brown-haired one. I have to say, I was really pleased after I had that avatar made by a friend. It turned out just right. Very rare when that happens, y'know. Now then, I had other poo poo to do down here, namely trawling for treasure. I fought the nearby Erdas (the big turtle), but I deliberately wanted to avoid Big, Tall, and Purple that's also lurking around here. Um...  See, it went poorly, but hey. The big guy will probably get bored and wander away if I leave it alone. Of course, I didn't...  Son of a bitch! Exoplasm  Okay...okay...I promised myself I can do this... This fight SUCKS. It sucks the big one. It's easily the hardest fight since Volt, and even if Volt is the more unfair boss, I believe Namco managed to find a checklist of terrible things to add to a boss fight for this guy. First of all, start by eating Fruit Yakisoba for this. It increases P. ATK / DEF and P. A. ATK / DEF by 25%. Trust me, you're gonna need it, and if you feel like it's cheating, remember that he started it. If you really feel you can't do it, and I wouldn't blame you, remember that you CAN run from Elite Monsters. Rest and prepare yourself well. You're gonna drat well need it.  On the surface, he looks simple. Sure, he has some powerful attacks (this one being his most powerful, especially the final hit), he has one where he throws an electric skull at you to inflict Paralysis, and can inflict a number of status effects, but it's really nothing we haven't seen before. Unfortunately, he's strong against all elements, and has almost 750,000 HP. Sounds like this could be a simple matter...  Which is why it's imperative you start this fight out with a full Power Combo + Level 2 Chromatus + Form Destroyer. Why? Oh, I'm just getting started with this fight.  Here's a neat infinite combo I discovered with the Chromatus: Dark Projection, Dark Projection, Azure Edge, two basic hits, repeat. It works amazingly well, and deals a TON of damage to a single target, or even a group, since Chromatus Azure Edge is awesome and can hit multiple targets in the same general radius.  And that's how it's done. That's like 40% of his health, gone in a single combo. So, why do I dread this fight so much?  Mother of god... After, let's say, about 30 seconds into the fight, he'll use a move called Freedom Gaze, which creates two copies of himself at the cost of ~80,000 HP. That might sound like a lot, but that's out of 797,850. Okay, this is why I very highly recommended getting a highly damaging combo right at the start of this fight, when you only have one target to focus on. I would say if you can't do roughly what I did in terms of damage in your opening combo, you might as well forfeit and try again. You're really gonna need that head start. Now, his two copies are considerably weaker than him.  The other is weak to the opposite elements, Water, Earth, and Darkness, but also strong against the base elements. Here's a thing though, and it has NOTHING to do with the difficulty of this fight. Sometimes when you're focusing on one weak target, which is the smart thing to do, the game will just randomly shift to a nearer target, even if it is decidedly NOT the one you want to fight. It's just a *tad* bit bullshit. But that's beside the point, though. It is nearly impossible to fight this battle legit. The Chromatus will tear these guys apart, and honestly, that's how I would fight this. Play for time and hit the enemy when you're in Chromatus and you can use the above infinite combo to do a poo poo ton of damage to the clones and possibly destroy both of them.  I would advise, however, starting a Power Combo made up of at least a couple elements before you use the Chromatus. I would also advise targeting the original, the prime Exoplasm, if you will, because the others will get caught in the blast, and he's your real enemy, anyway.  Thankfully, the rat bastard really took it on the chin during that last Chromatus usage, and counting replacing his goons, he's now down to a little above 110,000 HP. We're not looking great, but we ain't dead yet. The big problem with this fight is it's just really, really hard to fight this normally, like we did for say, Odin or Wind Stepper. Any time you breathe in the general direction of a target, one of these guys will rush over to stagger you, and with these guys, one stagger can easily take out a single character, just because they just pile and pile attacks upon each other. It's unbelievably frustrating.  Under 10,000, but that's what they call The Longest Yard, folks.  You're done! You're done! Now, one really cool thing about Dark Projection is that because it just teleports to a target, you can seamlessly switch from Projection'ing one guy to instantly targeting another. Good stuff.  Now, when they're down to only 1, the survivor can still use Freedom Gaze, but it doesn't create another big guy, thank Christ, but the dynamics of this fight shift significantly in your favor. The one who uses Gaze does create two clones, but they're the Really Weak Exoplasms. If they're lucky enough to survive to your next Chromatus usage, that's going to rip them to shreds real fast.  Not exactly a resounding triumph, that's for sure...but he's dead. Dead and he ain't never coming back. It took me about 3 1/2 hours to beat this guy, and the worst part is I didn't even want to fight this guy until I was a lot stronger! The messed up part is this guy appears after the Gaius or Muzet chapters, and trust me, you are nowhere NEAR powerful to fight him then. Hell, I wouldn't advise fighting this guy before level 60. He's that hard. Luckily, we punched above our weight and won...this time. Oh, and thanks to all the artes I was doing together with Alvin, I got his third affection skit, too. Not the greatest cherry on any sundae I've ever eaten, but hey, Alvin was a sport for being such an excellent meat puppet that fight. Honestly, Jude was almost entirely useless, and Elize in his place might have made things considerably easier. I'm...not exactly willing to try and find out, though! Anyway, in real life I staggered back to a save point to take a break after all that nonsense. I earned it. Now, though, we're headed toward Fennmont. Last time we have to take a seahaven to get somewhere.  Nice-looking place, eh? The sky over Fennmont and surrounding regions, as well as much of Rashugal, is the result of Spirit Climes. Basically, artifically changing the weather via some magic doohickey or something. Not entirely sure why, but at least it leads to nice sights like this.  We've got a lot of cats to nab between Fennmont and its two sub-locations. so let's get started right here at the seahaven. Also, of course, a character from Final Fantasy X, but count that as one really famous game I've never played, and likely never shall.  Fennmont is also where the first game began. Jude was an average ordinary medical student here at Talim Medical School (it's the building Ludger is looking at), when looking for one of his professors resulting in him heading to a secret laboratory where work on the Lance of Kresnik was being done. Milla was also headed to the same research facility, to destroy the Lance. Things got...a little out of hand, and after the King of Rashugal deigned to designate Jude as a traitor, he and Milla fled Fennmont with Alvin's considerable help and...here we are, destroying dimensions with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. It's been quite a ride, and it's far from over. Back in the present, there's nothing of particular interest here at the medical school. Though, we probably shouldn't have expected such a thing to *be* interesting, y'know? Also, that building far in the distance is Orda Palace, the King of Rashugal's former residence. Now it's completely open to the public.  The central plaza of the city is brimming with activity. First, we'll turn in The Exoplasm Job and get a MASSIVE 175,000 gald and 52,500 merit points. That gald reward could almost pay back our debt in one blow. Naturally, I went way over the line and will be forced to pay Nova as soon as I exit out. However, getting those points also got me to Bronze Seal, and getting to Bronze Seal opens up a TON of jobs.    Jobs from other Tales characters! Now, it's well-established that all Tales games take place in the same overarching universe, connected by the World Tree, so this is hardly implausible. The thing with Sealed weapons, though, is...  They're *really* bad. Whatever your characters are using right now, are much better than the Sealed weapons. However, in typical Tales fashion, whenever you find an abnormally weak weapon, there's a way to make them game-breakingly strong. While the true form of these Tales Weapons are not quite game-breaking, they're really, really good. Catch is, though, you won't be unlocking their true power for a long time. A really, really long time. But they are very much worth the time investment. Every character gets two Tales Weapons (though Ludger only gets swords for his), that come with cool passive benefits and great stats. Jude here, for instance, gets Phantasia Restored and Seraphic Hearts when you finally upgrade them. Anyway, we've got a debt collector to pay off. Going into this, I was sitting on a really pretty 396k, so yeah, I think we can swing it. Exoplasm finally does something useful with his existence. Or I suppose as it stands, its lack thereof.  The resulting skit, is, of course, from our loveless friend Vera, who has a very important message for us...  Canaan is in sight. Still, though, I don't think that last Waymarker is going to go quietly... And, after that, we have yet another skit: Nova's Secret. Sounds juicy, and unless you were going for completion's sake, seeing every alternate choice, really like Rowen and want to raise his affection no matter the cost, or just have no soul whatsoever, you're going to want to pick R1 in this skit, raise Alvin's affection, and learn Nova's dark history.    The kind of dirt only sisters can dig up, it seems.  This feline is trying to order a drink from Fennmont's inn's bar. I doubt the management appreciates it.  In the city's big shopping mall, we find yet another. Just plowing through these jokers. There's an elevator to Ludger's right, but the guy standing next to them reports the shops upstairs are closed and we'll need to come back when our "business" is done. Our business, huh... Anyway, at the moment I'm mostly here to get a Leather Cape so I can craft the Earth Cape Dhaos wants. Though, the Earth Cape looks nothing like Dhaos' actual cape / cloak thing.  But never you mind that. We've got Muzet's story to begin! Her's is...quite a bit different from everyone else's. You'll see why.  The playful great spirit Why, whatever would you want to talk to me about, Ludger? Oh, Ludger. Always the ladies' man. Not that Muzet doesn't appreciate it, mind. Do you wish to tether with me? Hehehe. Oh my, what's a girl to do? Grr, I don't like this lady! Old enough to get jealous, are we? What if I let you tether with me, as well? I've never tethered with two people at once before. Sounds like fun.True to form, Muzet does not discriminate based on gender when it comes to her tethering, or who'd she like to tether with. One of her in-battle lines when you link with her is "Oh, you flirt". Gotta love her.  You're adorable. Enough with your teasing. Oh, Gaius. Is something the matter? There is one thing I need to know. How did you return to the human realm? I don't know. How did you? The power to cut through space-time. I lost the blade, but its power was mine to begin with. If it's just me alone, I can still transport myself between the spirit and human realms. Hey, Ludger! Balan! Hello again, little lady. Still as little as ever, I see. Kids don't just grow up overnight. I thought scientists were supposed to be smart! Ha ha ha. Not as smart as you, obviously. I'm just on my way back from the Laforte Research Center. One of the fellas there is researching communication between humans and spirits. You should go help him out if you get a chance. You're a spirit, right? Hmm? Me? If his research pans out, humans and spirits would be able to communicate from their respective realms. I bet our buddy Jude would be pretty happy about that. Yes... Yes indeed... Oh? Mesmerized by my beauty, are you? Very well. I'll help out. Really? That's great news! You're kinda intimidating, so I was afraid to ask, but now I'm glad I did. Go talke to Nigel at the Laforte Research Center. He'll get everything set up. Good luck! Well, then. Let's go see this Nigel. Oh? His research interests me. Then to the Laforte Research Center we go. Come along, everyone.Thanks to the above scene, Muzet's now at level one affection, so her first skit. Though, Gaius and Muzet are both lagging considerably behind the rest of the team. The skill I got from her is HP Absorbed, which, instead of gaining back TP from basic attacks, you gain health. Actually, I opted to activate that, because the TP you gain back is...inefficient, and there's no HP-equivalent when it comes to taunting. We'll see how it shakes out in the end.  The Research Center is one of the many branches of the central plaza. I believe that grate there is the same very same Milla took to enter the sewers beneath Laforte, where her side of Xillia 1 began. That also happens to be one of the very few locations that you were able to go to in the first game, but not this one.  It's a research center, what more do you want from me? This area also had Xillia 1's first boss fight, between Jude (and later Milla), and Agria, who was hanging around. It did not end well for Agria, to be fair. There are a number of laboratories in both areas of Laforte, and they hold various goodies.  Like cats. This one is Nanaly, yet another Tales reference, an archer from Tales of Destiny 2. She's probably best known, however, as one of the members of the Tales Quartet cameo battle in Tales of the Abyss, where she fought alongside Eternia's Reid Herschel, Destiny's Philia Phillis, and Phantasia's Mint Adnade to try and stop you. I still think Abyss' cameo battle is the best cameo fight in the series, and frankly one of the best fights in this series, period. Just an incredible battle, and if you fought it on anything less than Very Hard, you weren't fighting them at their full power. If you fought it on Normal, then what the hell is wrong with you?  Few things: one, that door with Japanese writing on the floor below me was, I believe, the door that formerly led to the Lance of Kresnik. Its last-known location? Breaking the Schism momentarily to allow Elympios to invade. The lab to the left is our destination, and the one on the right has a chest with Obsidian in it, which is good for a job that's currently on the job board. Otherwise, you can get Obsidian from Laforte Kitty Dispatch. But now, time to see what ol' Nigel's up to.  A woman's charm Pardon me. Where might I find Dr. Nigel? I'm not sure if I'm allowed to share that information. Maybe I could persuade you? I noticed in the first scene this chapter Muzet's tiara is way off. Not quite sure how that happened, looking back. Well, if you tell me what I want to know, I'll let you research me as long as you want.  What's wrong? Not interested in a spirit's physical form? Several choices don't matter this chapter, and this is one of them. However, I believe I know what's on Ludger's mind... Fade to black, and...your imagination fills in the gaps.[/i] Oh, my, is this the sort of thing you like? You humans are daring. N-Not at all... This is just...scientific curiosity. Then by all means, satisfy your curiosity. I bet you were imagining something filthy, eh? Muzet hovers out... Does Muzet's behavior surprise you? Ludger speaks his mind, however... She has never worn her true intentions on her sleeve.Spend enough time with her, however, and you'll find she has a surprisingly gentle heart.And onto the Quag we go. It's one of the exits from Fennmont, the other being Brauner Highroad. You'll have to go back to the Talim Med School area to get to the Quag, however.  Not the most pleasant place, this. But we won't be here long, thankfully.  But we mustn't be so hasty as to pass up showing Carolina a better life. Always been fond of that name. In the Northwest region...  The unusual doctor Let's see... Are you Nigel? The one and only. Why? What's with the getup? Hmm? Oh, this. I'm trying to communicate with monsters. Looks cool, huh? Not at all... Well, I'm sure it gets the job done. Balan asked me to help you with your research. Oh! Are you a spirit?! Yes. Well, obviously. This is fantastic! And you're totally willing to cooperate? Are you sure? Is there some reason she shouldn't be? N-No! No, of course not! Forgive me. I'm just so thankful you're willing to cooperate with our research! I'll zip back to the Laforte Research Center and get everything ready. Come as soon as you can! You sure this is a good idea? *shrug* We're certainly getting our exercise today, hm?And away we go. Luckily, you can warp right to the door of Nigel's lab.  Unfortunate connection A bracelet? Not just any bracelet! I made it so that I could chat with monsters, but it picks up the voices of spirits instead! So it's busted. Hey, sometimes science is busted. You should remember that, young lady! he just got cool, all of a sudden! So am I supposed to wear it on my wrist? No, not you! It's meant for humans, not spirits. Oh really? Well then why am I even here? When we contact the spirit realm, we'll need you to explain to them what's going on. We wouldn't want to tick them off. Hmm... Well, I guess that makes sense. Ludger is an enterprising lad, and willing to win Muzet's favor, so let's go with L1. R1 increases Gaius', however. Hmm... I pray for your safety.*Ludger puts it on...* Anything happening Ludger? Can you hear any spirit voices? (Milla will be so proud of me if this works! She'll absolutely love me! I plan on doing whatever it takes to make you look up to me as your big sister!) Ludger? What did the spirits say? Muzet is not one to let us off with no response, so... What is that supposed to mean? C'mon, did you actually hear voices or not? Nigel, explain what happened. I was afraid of this. Honestly, it's just a prototype. It still needs a lot of tweaks. Then you won't be needing us anymore. C'mon, let's head back. Wait! There's one thing I forgot to tell you! Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place? If you try to remove the Spirit Chat Yakkety Strap 2000, you'll die. The bracelet will detach once the calculatrics run their course. So don't futz with it. That's a nasty device to be stuck with. I'm terribly sorry, Ludger. This predicament is all my fault I'm afraid. (Yank that little gizmo off and he dies? No way!) Regardless of who's to blame, I think we can all agree to abandon this foolhardy idea.Ludger's going to need a break after all that silliness. See you next time... Alternate choice compilation Victory compilation Sylphid fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Jul 8, 2016 |
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Jul 8, 2016 18:11
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 Veigue was the protagonist of Tales of Rebirth, part of the PS2 Unlocalised Tales Trilogy alongside Destiny 2 and the Remake of Destiny. The childhood friend mentioned is Claire, his almost-but-not-really girlfriend.Caius is the protagonist of Tales of the Tempest, aka The Tales Game that Must Not Be Named, notable only for being so bad that it got moved from Mothership (Original Tales games) to Escort (sequels, crossovers and non-canon ones).
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Jul 9, 2016 03:50
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God drat it, Ludger, does everything you interact with have to doom you?
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Jul 10, 2016 20:17
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Actually the Lance of Kresnik was last seen in the Temporal Crossroads where it was being used to imprison Maxwell.
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Jul 10, 2016 20:21
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So I was recording Chapter 12 last night, and the final boss of the chapter was quite the revelation to me. Not because I didn't know who the boss was, but because of the music that played over the fight. See, when I was playing Zestiria a few months ago, whenever I had Rose in her Milla outfit and her music played, it was a tune I absolutely did not remember from Xillia 2, and thought it was, for some reason, an entirely new composition for the game. It's not. Rose's Milla's song came from that boss fight, and for whatever reason I could not find it on a Xillia 2 soundtrack survey. It's a shame, though, because it's a really good battle song.
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Jul 15, 2016 08:11
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Part XXI: The Woman Who Despairs Although we've done Muzet's chapter, and honestly we could just continue on with the story now, we're far from done in the Fennmont area, or our business in general before the plot continues. I'll try to make it as brief as possible. This job, for the mysterious Book of the Six, will take us to Orda Palace. Away we go...  Cool place. Orda's *quite* a bit bigger than Castle Gaius.  Orda has an elevator that you can access right in front of you, and will take you to any one of three floors. Might as well start a clean sweep of the premises.  All of the rooms more or less look like this. This room in particular, on the second floor, has two really nice pieces of armor for Ludger, Jude, and / or Leia. The room on the opposite side (still second floor) has a sword for Gaius.  Up on the third floor, on the right-most room, we have a little library. This cat is scratching at this old book constantly, we must remove it at--  This looks like a history of high-elevation agriculture. Oh, that one's great when you can't sleep! You should borrow it. I found it! "The Dissertation of the Six".One of the lesser-known Holmes stories, I'm assuming. What's that? The Six are the six bloodlines of Rashugal nobility that name themselves the Scions of Kresnik. Their histories are documented in an ancient text known as "The Book of the Six Ruling Houses".Never mind, then... It's supposed to be the most accurate account of the split between Elympios and Rieze Maxia. Exactly. And this dissertation backs up that information. But it asserts that all documents were lost over a thousand years ago, and historians had no record of what had really happened. Well, of course. Anyone possessing such records would've been killed immidiately. By me, at the time, incidentally. R-Right. Origin's Trial and the schism were all older than that, though? About two thousand years ago? Yes, but Origin's Trial came first. The original Maxwell had a hand in its inception. But after the Trial was created, Maxwell created the schism and separated the two worlds. As a result, several of the Canaan Waymarkers were isolated on Rieze Maxia. You think Maxwell's actions increased the severity of Origin's Trial? I do, but I'm not sure how much was intentional... In order to obtain the Waymarkers, he had to first find the fractured dimension in which the schism didn't exist. But that no longer became necessary once Jude and his friends dispelled the schism. And then, after Ludger awakened with the Key of Kresnik, everything needed to clear Origin's Trial was in place. Is it all just coincidence? Hm... Hang on, I think I found something. Read it out! "The Book of Alpha: The Successor of the Will. We who follow Maxwell, Lord of Spirits, are the true successors to Kresnik's Will. We shall not be lain waste to by the curse of Time and Space, nor shall we be subject to vacuous Law. Our souls are immortal. The Elements will return them to their true form. The Cycle is eternal, and it shan't be undone. All under Heaven, all on Earth, all in the Universe is true paradise." What's all that gibberish mean? It's a declaration, refusing Origin's Trial, from those Maxwell confined to Rieze Maxia. At least, that's my best guess. Are they saying Origin's Trial has no bearing on Rieze Maxia? I think that's the case. Originally, the circulation of souls in time and space relied on Origin, in the Land of Canaan. But in Rieze Maxia, the circulation was handled by Maxwell himself. Of course. Guess that's why they wouldn't care what happens anywhere else. A neverending, repeating paradise... Apparently. Or at least, in theory. But the Rieze Maxians and Elympions are no different from each other. Nothing good comes from one group thinking they're special and ignoring another group altogether. I agree. I think it's all part of a plan set in motion by the humans and spirits to build a true paradise. I really believe that. Anyhow, this book's awfully beat up. Looks like a cat used it as a scratching post. Well, the client didn't specify it needed to be in good condition... Let's report back to the agency. We got what we came for. Your lack of enthusiasm is just the sort of thing that could bring about the end of the world, you know that? Hm... You might be right! I'll have to work on being more enthusiastic! Heh...That was some pretty heavy stuff...and we still don't know what the failure condition of Origin's Trial is, or, indeed, if there is one...  Anyhow, don't forget to nab this kitty on the way out. Keele is from Tales of Eternia, probably the least memorable character from the party (or maybe that would be Chat... Yeah, maybe Chat). He was one of the party's two main mages (Meredy being the other), and was the resident jerk scientist who thought Meredy was a bit touched in the head at best. In a game with, let's say, not so great English VAs, or at least, not the best direction / attention paid to the dub in the first place, Keele's was probably the worst. But, I think we're all agreed Reid had the funniest / most appropriate voice. I would say Farah had the *best* voice, but that's not saying a whole lot, by the by. Anyway, I liked Eternia quite a lot, but in comparison to Tales games that came immediately after, and even before, it's a strange beast. However, unless my Destiny knowledge is off, it was the first Tales that had two different worlds as a plot device. Phantasia *kinda* had multiple worlds, but only in the sense there were three different time periods you went to. It can be argued either way. Oh, one final note about Eternia: it had, in my Tales experience, the worst game-spanning collectathon in the entire series: the Lens. drat those things to hell. Anyway, there's nothing of particular value on this floor, so let's move on up to the Audience Chamber.  The loneliest throne. However, there is another warp behind the chair, so let's where we end up.  Just a transition area. Alright then.  The very very top of Orda Palace, with a great view of the city below. However, we're done in Orda Palace. In the three chests, from left to right, is an Exceed (+1 AP), Gaius Dumpling (apparently Gaius loves these things), and a Tourbillon, a considerable upgrade for Rowen. But only because I haven't been buying many weapons for Rowen. I tend to buy every other weapon for everyone, anyway.  The next leg of this long, long journey brings us to Voltea Woods, on the same island Leronde is on. Again, just don't have a lot to say, except about those big monsters. If you're grinding for title challenges, like combining all 9 elements into a single combo + Mystic Arte, they're really good to do it on, because they're strong enough to survive that long, but not really strong enough to be any challenge to you. Anyway, there are two "dungeons" that you can go to from here. The first is at the far end of the woods, the direction Ludger is facing. The other...  Is not here! But, inside this little cave in the second area is Monty the Cat, so, y'know, you should nab him on the way.  No, this is where you want to go, a bit further down the path in the same area.  The Old Vicalle Mine is...really boring, and an almost entirely worthless area of the game. There's one character chapter that takes you here, but otherwise, aside from the one cat here, this area is Dullsville, man.  And here's the loneliest cat. For this one, go into the big area in the above screenshot and head to the top left. There's a drop there that will bring you to this corridor. Take that cat, and if you don't really care about random treasures and such further on, there's really nothing else to do here. For the sake of the LP, I'll return here for the character chapter, but probably won't dwell on this place much. Instead, we've got a ton of important stuff to do this update that we really should get to. We will return to the Spirius Building to get a very important show on the road.  One little catch We're on a roll, lady! We should get out there and grab the last Waymarker! It's not that easy. Something's preventing entry into fractured dimensions. We think it's the Spirit Maxwell. The CEO will bring you up to speed on all the details in his office. Ludger! Hey! This is no time for small talk, you guys! All you need to know is Maxwell's stopping us from getting the last Waymarker! Wait, Maxwell? Things are getting interesting. It would seem I need to have a chat with these Spirius overseers of yours. We're coming with you. Fine, just hurry up!  Gah! This is really not the time, Nova... At least with this payment, I've finally crossed 1,000,000 gald repaid. Anyway, let's sit down with ol' Bisley. It's been a while.  The problem with Maxwell I believe you have something to tell us, Mr. Bakur. Yes, something about Maxwell. My goodness... No one said you brought a VIP. Please pardon the intrusion. I am the King of Rieze Maxia. Call me Gaius.With his jacketless costume on, drat Gaius is ripped. Probably has more muscle mass than the rest of the male cast combined. Or the entirety of the party, for that matter. Though, I think Bakur could probably bench press a tank. It's a pleasure, Highness. Bisley Bakur, CEO of the Spirius Corporation. Are you certain you're safe here, what with the peace accord ratification ceremony fast approaching? Fear not... He is under my protection. Who's she? Trusted. Oh, I'm just a humble spirit. Don't mind me. You're a spirit... I see. What happened? We've detected the fractured dimension that contains the final Waymarker of Canaan. Unfortunately, there's an obstacle somewhere within the dimensional abyss that's blocking all attempts at entry. I wonder if there's a way to circumvent it. We tried to force our way through, but were ever-so-rudely evicted...by the power of the Four Great Spirits. The power of the Four?! Milla! Indeed. Milla Maxwell herself stands between us and the final Waymarker. It was Chronos who put her there. But, escaping from the abyss should be child's play, if she has the Four with her. Perhaps it's not a matter of wanting to return, but of being unable. Milla looks downtrodden, and Elle looks at her, concerned... Regardless, the final Waymarker is beyond our reach until something is done about Milla Maxwell. I would like to request the help of Rieze Maxia with this situation. Very well. We'll look for a solution on our end, too. The solution is clear, isn't it? Hey! Where're you going? Everyone runs off except Muzet, Gaius, Bisley, and Vera... Gaius also gets a call. Yes, Rowen... What is it?But we'll have to find out what the call was about later, because we need to find Milla and Elle. Before we find them, however, we have to stop by our mailbox to collect some rewards, I think. My batch of bonuses includes Kitty Crisps, Elize's Minimum Damage, Jude's Restore Plus (his chance of reviving a downed ally from KO with Recover is more than doubled, from 30 to 70%), 2 Friendship Potions, Gummy Fishes (15% off Kitty Dispatch return), and Elize's Recall skill (chance to recover from KO once per match. She also has Angel's Cry, which is a guaranteed revive once per match. Recall and Angel's Cry can be turned on at the same time). That's all well and good, but where are those two? Well, the one place in Trigleph I'd go to brood at is the dock, so...let's start there.  Gut check Hey, Ludger... Milla's sad, but I don't know what she's sad about. You get it, don't you? Milla only got like this because the conversation back at Spirius was about the Prime Milla, so... That's right. The one who's keeping your Milla from returning is me. How do you know? Because two identical things can't coexist in the prime dimension. This world's not big enough for two Millas. Yours can't return until I'm gone. Milla, wait. The way to bring her back into her rightful dimension is obvious. You have to kill me. What? No point hiding it. It's the truth. Yeah, well, it's gonna have to wait. Gaius just called. He got word that Exodus is plotting a whopper of an attack. Don't tell me they're targeting the peace accord ceremony! He wants our help "nipping this thing in the bud," so to speak. Whaddya say? Let's go. L1 for Jude, and R1 for Milla. Since I don't think Alt Milla has long for this world, R1 it is... Wh-What do you mean, "we'? Am I going, too? Nya. Very well. It would hurt less if they just didn't care. Time to hurry, then. Gaius is already on his way to where they're holding the ceremony in Marksburg. He gets out his phone... It's me. Put me in touch with those Exodus lowlifes, would you?On that ominous note, the scene ends, but we have a skit immediately after. Neither choice matters, so feel free to choose what you wish. See you all in Marksburg...  Actually, one thing to take care of. I wanted to craft an Elemental Ribbon for Milla, which provides defense against the four main elements, but I didn't have a Ribbon. One feature that's frequently overlooked in this game is, if you highlight a town on the world map menu, you can press triangle to bring up shop information. Very helpful to find equipment needed for crafting without having to look all over the place manually. The Ribbon is sold in Aladhi Seahaven, so I made a short pit stop there. Though, now time to continue this tale of woe.  Exodus in the shadows What's happening? Based on our documents, we're rounding up Exodus agents who've slipped into the city. Quietly, of course. Yeah, it'd be bad news if the public found out. If people found out, you could just erase them from history. That's your specialty, right? Milla, take it easy. There a problem? Yeah, I don't think mocking Milla is how Ludger is gonna play this. Then again, neither choice is great. I'm sure it's nothing to you. You destroy whole worlds. Taking me out is trivial. Taking out Maxwell? Everybody stop fighting! The ceremony is about to get started. We've captured most of the Exodus members in the city. Now we just need to guard against attacks from without. Oh, sorry about that, kitty! Marcus? Huh?! Hold up! He a friend of yours? Uh-huh. From back when I ran with Exodus. We'll tail him, Gaius. You keep an eye out for suspicious types at the city gate.Everyone runs off, except for Milla, who is a little slower to the draw... One more thing. If the Milla we know had to die to fulfill her duty, you should know she wouldn't hesitate for a moment. So what? I don't even know what my duty is anymore. Hey! Hurry up, slowpoke!Luckily, Marcus hasn't made it very far. He's in the same place where we first met Leia way back when.  The plot revealed Marcus, buddy. Thought I told you to ditch Exodus and fly right. I...I'm sorry! So you still roll with those guys? Maybe... As what? Wimpy cowboy? In what world is this guy a terrorist? Yeah, he's harmless. Just hangs out with the wrong crowd, that's all. Whenever the plan calls for a disposable stooge, he's their guy. Ugh, you're right... I got played, as usual. What do you mean? Well... I heard a transmission from the main group. The Exodus guys in town are for show. The real action's out there. Where? You're ambushing the Chancellor of Elympios?! Hoo-boy... We'd better tell Gaius about this. It's too late. Exodus agents are onboard posing as crewmembers. They should've struck by now. You dumbasses! Chancellor Marcia is a moderate! She opposed the Otherworld Reactor Plan! Meanwhile, lots of other politicians are yelling at Elympios to put the screws to Rieze Maxia. If you guys take out the chancellor, the peace process dies with her. I didn't make the drat plan. Look, there's no saving her. Exodus has definitely got the upper hand here. Not for long. They're not wasting the time Milla gave us. I brought Gaius up to speed. All right! It's time to board this ship! This update is all about Milla, so... Oh, and it raises Jude's affection. The alternate choice raises Jude AND Alvin's affection, but I think R1 raises Jude's by more. It's complicated, see, and ultimately won't make a drat bit of difference. You didn't even think about it. I knew the answer. No need to think about it. Just like I know I'm stopping their ambush. There's too much at stake. What's to say they haven't already taken her out? Nothing... And that's why I'm going to need everybody's help on this. Ludger. Elle. Thank you. You're Milla, too. face it. Okay, count me in! But, you know, this won't fix all the problems between Rieze Maxia and Elympios. Not by a long shot. I mean, if we stuck our heads in the sand on this, nobody would be the wiser.This line is the start of an Alvin Bonus Scene.  L1 raises his affection, but...I think we're gonna call his bluff. He is bluffing, right? Of course I'm not right! Why'd you bring it up, then? See? He knew I was messing with him. We should go. Sorry, Jude. Didn't mean to get us sidetracked. Sorry, I just liked the look of this screenshot. What, why me?! And thanks for agreeing to be our decoy while we board the Pelune. Decoy?! But I didn't agree to nothing! Well, if you're gonna be like that, might as well hand you to the cops. Wait... Okay, okay, I'll do it. Attaboy. Way to be a team player. Ugh... You treat me worse than Exodus does, and those guys are a bunch of terrorists! You need better friends. Nya.And that's that. After that scene, feel free to prepare weapons / armor / accessories / consumables as you see fit. The Pelune is very much a gimmick dungeon, and you'll see what it's all about soon enough. As soon as you're ready to roll, just talk to Marcus again and declare your assent in beginning this counter-terrorism operation.  Daredevil  Exodus goons. It's happening.Alvin gives the go-ahead... I'm Marcus with infiltration. I need to talk to the main squad. Freeze. You're in violation of mission protocols. Wait! C'mon, you guys. Just hear me out! Save it for the holding cell. This is bad. I thought for sure they'd take the bait. It was late, okay! I wasn't thinking clearly when I selected R1... L1 raises Milla's affection, you see.   Let me go! Man, we've come a long way from Tales of Symphonia models awkwardly acting out cutscenes, huh... Gotta keep your head about you or you'll lose it. So what if I do? Isn't that what you want? No! Of course it isn't! What about you, Milla?! Is that what you want?!Milla looks troubled, then... Where's the chancellor? Oh... I know that. She's being held in the central hall with her aides. I owe you one, Marcus. You don't seem like a total loser. You should quit doing bad stuff, okay? Maybe you're right. She's not wrong. We do have to get a move on...  As soon as you find this person shortly after entering the holds, examine the fallen, and Jude will help out. You'll get a short scene thereafter. Th--Thank you for saving us. Can't imagine we'd have been attacked at sea. They're a well-trained group. Please, be careful. We'll be sure to hide... Here, take this. Hopefully it'll prove useful.They give us two Melange Gels. You never know when they'll come in handy. There's gotta be a lot more out there injured if things are this bad. What are we supposed to do? I don't want to abandon anyone, but let's get real: we don't have the time, either! Considering the size of the ship and the time that the terrorist incident occurred, it should take about thirty minutes to make it to the rear of the ship. And from the looks of things, I'd say we need to get to those who are injured here in about the same time frame. Let's get on it! Gotcha. So the plan is we're going to help those injured while moving on ahead ourselves, right? Don't need to tell me twice. It's just human decency to help 'em. But remember: our top priority is to quell the terrorists here. Make sure you got that.After this you get a series of pop-ups that explains the major gimmick here, but the gist of it is this: you have thirty minutes to complete the dungeon. This is not necessarily true, as once you get to the room before the boss, the timer stops. Along the way, you can find a bunch of neat treasures, and of course, injured folks. Helping them out will give you a short scene that I won't transcribe, but I will point out locations. The timer runs when you're traveling around, in battle, or navigating the menu with triangle (the start button will pause the timer, though). This timer does not run during skits or when observing the Pelune's map with square. What happens if the timer runs out? I'd imagine a Game Over, but I've never even gotten close.  Of course, because of the usually tight environments you're forced to navigate, avoiding battle can be tricky. There's nothing in particular to fear from these Exodus dopes, or even the timer, as a full survey of the Pelune + a fair number of fights will leave you somewhere in the neighborhood of 16-18 minutes on the clock. Just make sure to hustle during fights. The first group of injured is at the very end of this area, on the right walkway. It's a dead-end, but they're lying on the floor all the same.  Where Ludger is now. I would advise looking at the map often, just so you don't get turned around. Rooms on the side of halls look roughly like this...  None of these side rooms are particularly big, but most of them have treasure in them. You definitely have enough time to check all of them for stuff, and have way more time than you might think, if you keep in mind where you are and you're backtracking by accident.  Moving on to the next junction, the bottom left path is completely useless, whereas the next two will head to different walkways in the next area of the holds. Jude takes this time to note the Pelune is the same model ship that the Elympion invaders were using in Xillia 1, and Alvin takes the time to note the irony of Elympions attacking this ship. The next group of fallen civilians is toward the back of this area, on the left walkway, near a door. You get a Specific from the guy Jude saves, which is a really nice item that restores 30% of the party's TP instantly. The equivalent for HP is a Treat. The nearby door has a treasure chest with a Shock Ward in it. Eh. On the other side of the area, the far door will lead to another cutscene...  The thorniest question Milla tripped just prior to this... Gotta watch your step, MIlla. Hey. Telle me the truth. Is it difficult for you to call me Milla? Why would it be difficult? You're Milla just as much as she is. Not to you, no. To you, I'm just a double. A counterfeit. I don't think that way. How do you think of me?! I think Jude's trying to Snap Pivot out of this conversation. Can't let you do that, man. Raises her affection, while the opposite does the same to Jude. Seriously, Ludger? *big sigh* Look, this isn't real versus not real. My Milla and you are two different people. That's all there is to it.Which...is a pretty good response, all things considered. Well, thanks for telling me. I get the message. You know what? Of all the Millas, you're my favorite. Course, I've never met the other one, so... Are you trying to cheer me up? No! I don't care! I just like your cooking an' stuff. That's why I said it. Fair enough. When this is all over, I'll make you a big pot of soup. If you're gonna make it anyway, then sign me up!  Got a bit more ground to cover, but we're sitting on 7 minutes right now. We're fine. Taking the only available door to the third holds area, cross over to the opposite walkway, and at the end (going in the direction of the door you just took), there's another critically injured civilian, who gives up a Pudding Cake (Medium), which restores 25% TP after a battle for 5 battles. Acceptable. After a couple more side rooms...  The price of action What if I am? I've finally found you!Oh hey, it's Cam Clarke.  In spite of the short cutscene, he goes down as easily as any of these other dopes.  Get back! Milla, are you okay? He blew himself up because of me. Hate is too weak a word to describe Exodus' feelings for Milla. It's her own fault. She didn't finish them off when she had the chance. I'm glad she didn't, at least. Huh? My father is an Elympion. He used to be a member of Exodus. But he fell in love with a Rieze Maxian. My mother. Once I was born, he gave up his life as an Exodus agent. .... Wait, what? Looks like they're onto us. We better move. So does that mean...in my world, I killed Jude and his father when Jude was just a baby?We...probably shouldn't dwell on questions like this, Milla. The situation is very far from resolved. This is another "junction" room, where the top right leads to another wounded couple, who gives you a very cool 20,000 gald upon rescue. Nova bugged me immediately after about money, but we've got bigger problems than our debt right now, so no dice. The cabin nearest to the above couple has a Fruit n' Cheese (Small) in it, which restores 30% HP and TP for three battles. Really handy. Moving on to the next big area, the walkway on the right (using the top left exit from the junction), has a door that leads to the outside, for a change. You can pick up two Pineapple Gels and a Nightmare Helm from the two treasure chests there. The Helm is a huge improvement over what Alvin is currently using to protect his noggin, so he'll be wearing it.  The door behind Ludger has nothing behind it, but there is one of the fallen at the end of this path (you can make out the top of her head), and the door to her left has a Balanced Blade weapon for Milla in it. While being an improvement to her Dual Edge, this weapon is not particularly special...except for it being in a dungeon you can't go back to, and for another reason. You will know why next update.  And the final big area. Unlike what you may be thinking, the staircase does *not* lead to the final area of the dungeon. The staircase does lead to a wounded couple, and a door that leads to...nothing of interest. Also nothing of interest in any of the other doors (aside from a vending machine for consumables in one of them), except for the far door.  Swanky pad. The skit's choice doesn't matter, but I went with R1, just 'cause I'm a nice guy like that. Don't move so fast that you forget there's another wounded off in a corner. However, this woman drops a line that a "man in red" was spotted further in. I must have forgotten that Tales of Legendia's first big villain was making a cameo appearance in this title. And we have one more casualty at the top of the first flight of stairs, who gives you a Rune Mail if you help him out. Very good piece of armor, that. In any case, once you enter the only other door here, at the top of the stairs, the timer will stop, and you'll be in the room before the boss of this dungeon and chapter.   But before I part with you all for now, full survey of the dungeon. I take it back, THIS is definitely the biggest dungeon of the game, in terms of sheer real estate. Still takes longer to navigate Thor, however.  Apologies for leaving on an anti-climactic note, but we've got a whopper of a scene coming up. Next time will be fun, I think. Update 21 victory compilation Update 21 alternate choice compilation
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Jul 20, 2016 02:48
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No, Alternate Milla, you're not identical to Prime Milla. You're human and she's a spirit. Those are two different things. Marcus there was also named Marco over in Japan. There was also a character outright named Marcus in Japan. Marco -> Marcus Marcus -> Marvin The localization name changes are so very confusing, if hilarious.
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Jul 20, 2016 03:18
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i know i'm an update late but i waited until after beating the game to fight exoplasm and i don't feel bad about it because that fight is unimaginably bullshit
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Jul 20, 2016 06:30
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So Andrew is one of those guys who'd rather endure anything than face the actual consequences of his actions?
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Jul 21, 2016 04:47
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I've recorded all the content for the rest of this chapter + payment period, so now it's time for another costume round. This is gonna be special, since Part 24 is gonna be BIG. And I mean that in a plot sense, as anyone who has finished this game can attest. So, this round is gonna be special. Me: Ludger, Alvin, Leia alchargia: Milla, Elize wdarkk: Jude, Muzet Junpei: Gaius, Rowen
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Jul 26, 2016 00:33
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Part XXII: The Woman Who Returns Uhhh...wasn't this Exodus' operation in the first place? Who the hell wasted these guys? Some of the survivors mutter about a man in red attacking them, but for all we know they're making excuses. Hey, maybe Marcia's bodyguards were worth a drat. In the back left corner (from where I currently am), there are a couple chests with a Wind Crest and a Reverse Doll in them. Technically, the Crest is superior to Milla's Elemental Ribbon in terms of raw stats, but the elemental protection the Ribbon gives here is more advantageous than the minor stat gain the Crest resulted in. Equip responsibly, folks.  Dance of a Great Spirit  Oh man, is this awkward. Rideaux... Why are you doing this?!  He's a Chromatus user, too?!  Rideaux proceeds to get himself in a 1 vs. 4 fight, and holds his own pretty drat well. After knocking Milla to the ground... What the hell are you talking about? Spirius knows the calculatrics arte for summoning Maxwell. Yeah right, Rideaux. And I'm the King of Rieze Maxia. Would you still think I was bluffing if I said Spirius was founded by Kresnik, the first human ever to summon Maxwell? If only the arte weren't so messy. First of all, you need to have a living circuit.Rideaux pulls an Albert Wesker and sends Jude and Alvin flying across the room with the palms of his hands...   Just prior to this, Milla took a swipe at Rideaux, but, continuing the theatrics, he knocked it away and backflipped.    Ludger! Milla! drat you! There's no need for you to feign anger, Jude Mathis. You miss Maxwell, don't you? Your beloved wandering spirit.  I see you're quite a hit with the kids, phony. She's no phony! Milla is... Milla! Elle!  drat... This is not good, but we can't abandon Milla, not now. Just let me go! He'll kill Elle! Don't give up, Milla! No matter what. Isn't that rich. You're the one who needs to give up. Goddammit! Still, she can't give up...not now. I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to leave the rest to you.  Please! Look after Elle!      Milla... How nice of you to join us, Milla Maxwell!Our...old friend goes over to Elle, who is still holding Alt Milla's sword...  May I borrow that sword from you?  How nice of you to summon me here.Milla gives us a brief demonstration of The Four...  So that's how it is. Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the abyss! Ah this fight. One of my favorite fights in the game, if only because we finally have the one, the only, the original, Milla Maxwell tagging in for us. In addition to that, it's genuinely a fun, chaotic boss fight with a ton of action and a great battle song. So, what's different about Original Milla? Well, she has the power of Efreet, Undine, Sylph, and Gnome at her disposal. All except Undine are straight elemental-damage dealing moves, in their expected categories. Undine is a bit different. It's Milla's healing move (all characters have at least one), and as well as removing negative status effects from any characters in the blast radius around Milla. It's basically Jude's Healer and Restore in a single move, but beware the AI will drain through Milla's TP really fast. The sooner you can get TP-reducing accessories, give them to Milla. In addition, she also has access to her Mystic Arte. Since it very much relies on the power of The Four, Alt Milla never got it. However, the only way to use it in this fight is if you lose this fight, and are sent back to the menu screen, where you can set it. However, don't let it come to this. Give it your all, for Alt Milla's sake. Also, Rideaux has a bunch of his goons along for this fight. The goons themselves are very much more annoying than they are deadly, but they can throw out healing items (as can a few other human enemies), so you'll want to take them out as soon as possible, hopefully while the AI is keeping Rideaux and his Fauxmatus busy.  Speaking of the big man, if you chose to fight him way back in Nia Khera, you should have an idea how Rideaux fights. He's vulnerable to a lot of elements, and has a wide variety of close and long-range melee artes, though all of his moves generally have a longer reach here. A few are upgraded, and he does have access to his Mystic Arte, though evidently he did not feel the situation appropriate to use his not-so-trump card right now. His loss.  One arte that is significantly changed is Dancing Bayonet. It sends out the four magical buzzsaws like normal, but then they change into tornadoes. It's still simple enough to dodge them.  Overall, aside from Rideaux's relative unpredictability, he still doesn't have a whole lot of health or defense, and his elemental weaknesses will be his undoing. Good fight to introduce our old friend with.  I hope you'll go after the Waymarker with a similar sense of fervor.He starts slowly walking backwards, and...  Oh no. After all that crap, we're not finished here. Well, maybe you are. Yet they always do when someone says that. Oh, forget it, then. I'm sure we'll meet again. Fade to black for classy transition to Marksburg...  You have my thanks. You're here from Spirius, right? But Ludger doesn't want to shake hands... Could be employment trouble coming up in his future. Hey Ludger. Where's Milla? The other one...is gone. Huh?  Aftermath No way! It's really you. Milla! I searched everywhere for you! Sorry, Muzet. I didn't mean to worry you. Any of you. Aw, I wasn't worried! We knew you'd be okay. It's good to see you again. *nod*Gaius is not a man to let old grudges rule his life. Remember, the last time they met, they were mortal enemies. I wasn't worried about you! There's another Milla, y'know! And I'm worried about her! ...She needs us right now. As you can guess, this raises her affection, as well as the two "Hold on to Milla" choices earlier raised her affection. Couldn't break the drama, you understand.  She's supposed to cook for me. She promised. What happened here? Well...Fade to black... Y'know, I wonder what game started this whole "Fade to black in the middle of a conversation implies exposition delivered to those not present for events described" first started. Personally I first noticed it during my first Tales of the Abyss playthrough (of...many, to be fair. I've probably spent somewhere around 300-350 hours playing that game, which is actually not far behind the hours I've put into this game. For the record, I crossed the 300 hour threshold right before I got the pre-Thor cutscene at Lake Epsilla a couple updates ago. I can't believe it. It's a brave thing she did. Madam Chancellor. Because of her and her selflessness, we can proceed with ratifying the peace accord. King Gaius. Prime Minister Rowen. For foiling this assassination attempt, you have my most sincere thanks. You'd have done the same. Given what's occurred, perhaps you'd like to sign the treaty here and now? Harmony between Rieze Maxia and Elympios would please me very much. Here on the ship? We've heard that many high-ranking Elympion officials stand against the treaty. Don't you worry. We'll employ this attack as our chance to press the offensive against them. No doubt many of them have ties to Exodus. And if we can't find proof, we'll make some up. Figuratively speaking, of course. Didn't hear what? I was just thinking aloud. But whatever you choose to do with that tidbit is up to you. You're certain, madam? I pay my debts in full, Prime Minister. And besides... If I were too much of a do-gooder, you wouldn't trust me.I dunno, Jude seems to be doing pretty well for himself. Are we really that easy to read, madam? I so look forward to dancing the diplomacy two-step with you, Your Highness. Fade to black, that transitions into a Gaius Bonus Scene. By your signatures, the treaty is ratified. Very good. We've crossed the first bridge, at least. A bridge of mere paper and ink. *nod* The gap between this deed and the will of the people is not easily traversed. A difficult road still awaits us. Gaius ain't wrong about that, but he's not the relentlessly positive type. If this were Jude talking, L1 would definitely raise his affection, but Ludger asking what's on Gaius' mind will raise the King's affection. Actually, both choices increase his affection. He calls L1 a cliche, which, to be fair, it is, but calls it appropriate in this circumstance. Who wouldn't be? After all, I'm only human. I have my share of fears and regrets just like anyone else. In that, we are alike. *gasp* You were a great help to me, as well. It's not much, but consider this a small token of my thanks. Just to be clear, this isn't a bribe.Well, we didn't exactly take this on commission, but no one has to know about this but us. Milla, we have little time. You're right. Let's review the situation. Don't call her Milla! Every time I hear it, I wanna barf!Elle runs off... We regain control after that, but the rest of our party will only tell us variations of go after Elle or regretting Alt Milla's loss. Elle's hanging out in Marksburg's Rieze port, so let's just skip right on over.  Stakes of the Trial Ludger...why'd you do it? Why did you let Milla fall back there? L1 it is... It's not wrong, but is it the whole truth? Neither choice is. So, it's my fault? She's gone because of me. More than anything, she wanted to keep you safe. How would you know, huh?! I just do. She was her own person, but she was still Milla Maxwell. We did sacrifice her. I can't deny it. I'm just a kid. Get to the point already, would you? Fair enough. I'll say it more simply, then. Elle, I want to go with you to the Land of Canaan. I want you to see what I do there. Sounds like you mean business. You speak of Canaan. What's going on there? The soul-purification has reached its limit. In the abyss, I saw it with my own eyes. There are too many fractured dimensions. Canaan is the only realm across all dimensions where the reincarnation process occurs. Thus, it stands to reason that the impurity which must be cleansed from all those countless dimensions must be flowing into Canaan. If we do not eradicate those dimensions, the soul-purification process will break down. In other words, the fractured dimensions are not only dispersing soul energy, they're also concentrating this "impurity"? Wonderful. Sounds like either one is enough to destroy the world on its own. What happens if soul-purification breaks down? The resulting poisonous miasma will probably overflow. Couldn't the Great Spirit Origin step in and stop that from happening? Only if he thinks humans are worth saving in the first place. I think that's the whole point of Origin's Trial. So be it. We've no choice but to reach Canaan and pass the Great Spirit's trial for the sake of all humanity. It is clear what wish we have to make to Origin. "Destroy the fractured dimensions...so this one may live."Vera calls... We have detected that Maxwell is no longer blocking the passage. What kind of orders did Spirius give that Rideaux maniac, anyway?! Did something happen with Director Rideaux? Just checking. That means we can hightail it to the dimension containing the last Waymarker, right? Correct. However, right now the dimensional abyss is highly unstable. It will be some time before you can enter the rift with any degree of safety. We'll contact you once we've made our preparations. Selfish bastards. I'm the reason. I unfortunately caused it when I harnessed mana out of the schism to take on a physical body. With the Temporal Crossroads gone, you merely did what you had to.The Temporal Crossroads was where Maxwell was hanging out in the events of Xillia 1, as well as being the final dungeon of the game. The final battle took place in the same arena the party fought Maxwell earlier in the game, before they reached Elympios. It's basically a place, as the name implies, where spirits like Muzet can easily travel from the spirit realm to the human one. It's taboo nonetheless. I'm using mana meant for preserving the world to maintain my physical form. Hold on. *nod* I can only remain in the human realm for a finite amount of time.Another call... Hope it's not from who I think it is. Probably wouldn't be appropriate right now. Hey hey hey, Ludger! It's Nova calling to gab about gald again! How goes the cash dash? Is the dough rolling in? Are you have a gald rush?! I get paid by the pun, ya know! *sigh* Aw, come on. Not even a snicker? Wait, is something wrong? ...You could say that. I... I had no idea. My boss just told me to give you a little push, so... I'm so sorry!Ludger hangs up. We have a bit of time. We should prepare for our final trip into the breach while we await Vera's call.  I miss you, Milla.Alright, so, that was some pretty heavy stuff. For now, though, keep in mind OG Milla joins your party in the exact same state Alt Milla left in. She has all the same skills equipped, same equipment, same affection level, etc. I'm told it's just a coincidence, but I'm skeptical. Speaking of affection, remember when I linked all of Alt Milla's affection skits at once back when she joined the party? This was the reason. Unless you dump a whole bunch of Friendship Potions on her, or use Linked Artes with her constantly, you almost certainly won't get all of her skits before she leaves the party. Milla has her own affection skits, though none triggered right now. Also, why did I call the Balanced Blade (Milla's current weapon) special? Well, that's because, if you preordered Tales of Zestiria from some retailers (Amazon being one of them, which is how I got it), you got a Tales costume DLC set, and one of the party members, Rose, gets OG Milla's outfit, as well as a "Milla's Sword" accessory anyone could use (I had Sorey wearing it, along with Yuri's sword, so he had three sowrds hanging off his belt for my first playthrough), which looked exactly like the Balanced Blade. So, that's Milla's sword, as far as I am concerned. In Zestiria, using Milla's costume also made the battle music change to the boss fight music we heard just a moment ago, which makes it one of the best costumes in the game. At the time I was playing Zestiria, I really liked the song, but couldn't find it on this game's OST. I am pleased that situation has been rectified. It made for one particularly intense battle song on the very very special New Game+ fight to carry over equipment between playthroughs. Well, as for Nova's question, we have a nice seat on the gald train at the moment. 140,797 gald out of 200,000 needed to advance the plot. We have a bunch of new Elite Monsters to topple, so something tells me the final fractured dimension will be stabilizing soon. Also, one final note before we hit the trails yet again: a skit immediately after, with another chance to raise Milla's affection. Since this is the only skit I got during the course of this update's events, well, there is no "compilation" video this time.  The next leg of our journey begins in Nia Khera. As expected, OG Milla has her first story here. Note that it's called Milla Chapter 3, lest we forget about about Alt Milla's two adventures.   Where to go from here It's been a while. Has everything been going smoothly in my absence? Yes! Thanks to the myriad blessings of Lady Milla, our lives remain free of want or worry. Very well, that's good to-- Hey, can you cook? Cook? Hmm, I've never tried. Did you want to taste my cooking? Not really. I just remembered what a good cook Milla was. Elle... You know what? I'm never calling you by her name. I only know one Milla! Very well. If that pleases you. This doesn't tick you off? I mean it! I'll never call you by her name! That's fine. And if you decide to change your mind one day, that's okay, too. Why would I change my mind? That's for you to decide. You sure are cold. Cold? I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to come off that way. Saying you're sorry doesn't fix squat! I suppose you're right. But maybe you'd be interested in being friends? F-Friends? Where'd that come from all of a sudden?! I'd just like to know you better, Elle. Not just for my sake, but for the other Milla too. I... I hate you! *runs off* This is a delicate issue, and Milla well knows how complicated this all this. R1 will raise her affection, to give her a chance to offer her views on how things are. I'm not upset about the name thing. And I suspect that getting angry would only backfire. So you really do want to be friends with her. *nod* I know it can't be easy for her to overcome the loss of someone so close. But I do want her to get on with her life. All humans have that capability. Still, I think that probably wasn't the best time to ask her to be friends. Next time, how about trying to gently support her feelings? Hmm. Supporting her physically is easy enough, but feelings can be so difficult. Of course, Milla's got the do-gooder / optimist thing going on, so we'll be going with R1, to raise her affection. Thank you. I appreciate the gesture. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time left. How come? As I said before, maintaining my physical form here is consuming precious mana. I must resolve this situation as quickly as possible and return to the spirit realm. Yeah...you're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound cold. I guess I'm pretty lousy at supporting your feelings, too. That's not true! I know that you're always by my side. And you always will be. Jude... Good man... Though, Jude does have a tendency to say stuff like this before thinking, if some of his conversations with Ludger have gone in the past.  Speaking of the Nia Khera area, one of our latest Elite Monster friends has arrived here at the summit of the Hallowmont. Personally, I like my mountain peaks spectral beasts-free, so let's take care of this.Goddess Touch  Not too terrible much to say about this guy. He's vulnerable to Light and resistant to Darkness, but hsi major advantage is the number of status affects he'll throw, particularly Poison. It's not so much deadly as just really annoying, especially with Poison sapping away at your dudes' strength while he continues his fairly damaging attack line-up.  That's...about all there is to say about this guy, seriously. Next item on our long agenda is a special job called Traces of Kinship 2. As you may recall, the first one was a job to deliver a data disk to Spirius, that disk being a partial record of Julius' early days as a dimension-destroyer. So, it stands to reason this new disc, to be acquired from some joker in Xian Du's coliseum, will contain similar content. Let's see...  Oh great, we have to talk to him again. What are the odds the...unpleasantness will be mentioned? Likely zero, considering this job actually became available last chapter. Well done. So this is the data Julius left then? It's probably just more useless recordings on trivial matters... Or it could be logs of something interesting like your past performance evaluations. I guess we'll find out, won't we? ...33 fractured dimensions destroyed at this point. The power of the chromatus has oddly not increased at all over the past year. Is this really the utmost limit of my power? The clan... Oh, how I've failed them... It was fifteen years ago that former Director Julius destroyed 33 of the fractured dimensions. ...35 fractured dimensions destroyed now. Heard a strange rumor from Rideaux today. He's always been the type to get excited over rumors and nonsense. But that said, I think this one time, he may actually be onto something worth investigating... That son of a... ...38 fractured dimensions destroyed now. Turns out those rumors about the so-called "bridge" were true. Claudia's actions alone are proof of this. In order to protect him, she... It was a mistake! Even though it was pure coincidence I found Claudia and the others... It's...all my fault that Claudia died. Claudia? Hm... ...49 fractured dimensions down. I now fully understand the limits of my power. Despite my best efforts, I have not reached my full potential. I cannot activate the full chromatus. At this rate, Rideaux and I will just be pawns for him. I've realized there's only one way I can escape all this. The Kresnik clan has always used their own family to achieve their ends... And now i know, I too must do the same... So it was true all along then. What's he talking about? Julius never told you, Ludger. He was using your watch as thought it were his own, right? Your watch is the key to activating the chromatus. It's a one-of-a-kind item the bearer is born with. Julius made himself stronger by siphoning power from you! No! That's impossible! ...Grandfather believed me and agreed to alter the family registry and aid me in my endeavor. Now, he belongs to me. A whole life lies ahead for me now. Hear that? Straight from the horse's mouth! He used your watch to steal your power and activate three-quarters of the chromatus' potential! He probably also interfered with your joining the company, so his little plan wouldn't be discovered. ...Well, we know this for a fact, and Julius didn't deny it back in Nia Khera. We were set up by big bro, right from the start. I'm sorry, Ludger. Hahaha, so you were a desperate man, huh, Julius? Just like me.Well, given my next order of business is Gaius' second chapter, and we don't have enough room for that this time. Here's to you, Alt Milla... Update 22 alternate choice compilation Sylphid fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Jul 26, 2016 |
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Jul 26, 2016 17:57
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I can't believe Alt Milla is loving dead. In honor of Alt Milla we should give OG Milla a Milla's Bangs Replica. Also Rideauxs's Shades because sunglasses work on Klingon rules. And Spaz Glasses in order to break the ice with Elle. Also the Dhaos outfit because it is loving canon. Elize has developed a Stand from the Bunnykins subplot. The Stand is Bunniekins' Red. It's floating behind her head. It's given her some sinus problems though, so she's got a bit of a drippy nose. Color variation. Aviators (bright pink because she is a pinkist.)
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Jul 26, 2016 21:10
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So, wait, if he'd killed someone else, would Milla have reincarnated as them instead?
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Jul 27, 2016 02:36
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Glazius posted:So, wait, if he'd killed someone else, would Milla have reincarnated as them instead? Technically you don't need to kill someone at all, Rideaux is just an rear end in a top hat/needed to free up Milla's spot.
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Jul 27, 2016 02:37
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Glazius posted:So, wait, if he'd killed someone else, would Milla have reincarnated as them instead? Even if he had, Alt Milla would have disappeared soon after the original appeared, anyway.
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Jul 27, 2016 03:35
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Rowen and Gaius need the finest clothes for the fancy cross-continental ball! Rideaux is the assiest rear end to rear end an rear end.
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Jul 27, 2016 05:32
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Spirius's summoning ritual specifically does require a living sacrifice to complete. Alt. Milla was just convenient because having a Fractured Being in the Prime prevents the Prime counterpart being from returning to the Prime if they were absent. If a Fractured being enters the Prime while the Prime counterpart is still there, the Fractured being is pushed back to their Home Dimension. If the Home Dimension is gone, then they're pushed to the Abyss where Prime Milla just was. This is all exceedingly irrelevant because Fractured Milla is a human and Prime Milla is a spirit, so really they both could have survived just dandy together.
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Jul 27, 2016 20:09
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Jude: Color Variation, Elf Ears, Headband, Harpy Feather Hairpin. Muzét: Xillia Outfit 2, Horns, Devil Wings, Devil Tail (resize it until it's easy to see).
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Jul 27, 2016 20:21
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Part XXXIII: The Man Who Reflects Just after the last job, I got a skit outside of Spirius HQ. Neither choice matters, so choose as you feel. It feels especially appropriate this update, as it's all about kings.  But before all that, we have a few jobs to bring home. This one in particular is special. While it may not seem so right now, Hassle at the Tatalian Abyss is the first in a looooong series of jobs that eventually results in a bonus boss. Don't ask me how that works, but that's just the way it is. This job is actually the reason I've waited on going to the Abyss for so long. That will soon be fixed, but not before we take of other important business. While I was at the job board, I also acquired Sealed Innocence from one Ruca Milda, and Gaius' Sealed Eternia from none other than Meredy. I am disappointed Quickie does not make a cameo in this game, like he did in Symphonia. But, in-between Goddess Touch and a few random jobs, I got to 299k, which is...way over the 200k needed, so we get a new skit.  Nova's frankly pretty bummed every time you call her or she calls you... Understandably, though. Sad Nova I just can't cotton to, though.  Vera's quoting Bakur here. Can't wait to see what this new dimension's story is. And, of course, who the Waymarker is... After that is another skit that pops up in any town after you've made the required payment. It's...an odd one. However, L1 increases Milla's affection. The reason we're in Trigleph, other than the Traces of Kinship job, is because Gaius' second chapter is in the inn at Trigleph Port. Let's see how things have shaken with Kyle and his bunch since last time...  A complicated relationship Hey, Erston just got here, too. I take it you were curious as well? Oh, you didn't hear? Hear what? Kyle had something he wanted to talk about. Thanks for coming, guys. I owe you one. What's this about? The thing is, no one's seen Tanner in a long time. I heard he talked to you guys. I thought you might know something? *exchange glances* Oh, so you do know! C'mon, you have to tell me anything that might help.Gaius fills 'em in... What... What the hell?! Why would you guys beat up Tanner?! He left us no choice. Bastard! Ah... I knew Tanner had his problems with Rieze Maxia...and I always hated that part about him. But he's still a good friend! I've known him since we were kids!Everyone runs off, and Ludger gets a call. A fractured dimension! So they found a new one.Guess it was like a text message or something. Vera must be busy these days. You have a job to do, Ludger. Let's go. Huh, guess we stepped into a bad storm in the Mon Highlands. Well then, guess we're headed to Kanbalar, as Gaius here is suggesting. Might want to keep our wits about us, though, especially in this nasty storm.  The Long Gone Four   Oh drat. Hopefully they're still cool with Gaius in this world. Things...could get messy otherwise. Though, it'd be interesting to have a fractured dimension where, let's say, the Gaius of this world was dead and here he is, standing before them. Fractured dimensions can lead to all kinds of wacky scenarios like that! But anyway... The group ducks behind a large rock... I doubt explaining the situation is going to work. I will draw their attention. You all keep moving. Yes. His Majesty King Melard has been looking for you. It sounded important.It's been a long time since I played Xillia 1, and he's only mentioned in this game during this chapter, but was King Melard mentioned at all in the first game? Melard... So he's still alive in this world. Is His Majesty ahead? Yes.Gaius walks away... Wait. You don't seem your usual self, Erston. We've reached the bitter end of our long battle. I'd think even you would be excited. Yes, of course. I am. And once that's it's all finally over with, think of the outcome. It will be our time to shine.  If I lost you guys in the process, it would be pointless. Huh? I can't agree with you more. That goes for you, too, you know. Don't ever forget it, Erston. Heh. This touchy-feely stuff obviously isn't your thing. How adorable. Who's there?!  What happened was that Wingul threw his sword at Ludger / Muzet, and Gaius very quickly got out his sword to deflect it. Wingul will shortly pick it up, because, you know... An imposter? One of Nachtigal's spies? What? Impossible! But he looks just like him. On your way to assassinate the king, are you? Haaaaaaaargh! Clearly, there is no reasoning with you in your current state. (You dare persist in your ruse! Give it up!) Forgive me for getting everyone involved. It's okay. Now! You know, goon squads for the main villain have a long history in the Tales series, going way back to Symphonia and the Desian Grand Cardinals. Abyss of course had the God-Generals, and Xillia 1 and 2 (technically, I suppose) have the Four Chimeriad. One more notch in another Tales Tradition. Oh yes, I'm supposed to talk about this fight. Well, anyone who played Xillia 1 remembers the big fight between the party and Four Chimeriad before the party's first battle with Gaius, and you should know that every member of the group fights rather differently. Wingul, as we've seen before, focuses on extremely fast movement and attacking speed, sacrificing killing power, but we have three new friends to greet. Jiao, who I'm currently fighting, focuses, as you might guess, on heavy, slow strikes. On the magic side, Agria (who has previously been seen in one of Leia's chapters), mixes magic and melee artes. However, she's fairly slow and it's pretty easy to see her attacks coming, and they're almost all short-range, in any case. Rounding out the cast is Presa, the woman with long velvet-white hair and a blue outfit (she and Alvin used to be involved. It's complicated). She mostly sticks to magic from a distance, but will occasionally rush in for some slow melee artes. Again, it's normally pretty easy to see her attacks coming. So, 4 vs. 4 might seem a pretty hard fight, no? Well, the thing is, all of these guys are really weak. Even though they all have Mystic Artes, and can link together to back each other up, they're just not that deadly. It's more a matter of outlasting their status effects / volume of attacks and taking them out one at a time. There's no real "wrong" person to focus on first, but Presa is the most minor of the threats, which is why I would advise focusing on Jiao or Wingul first.  All of them have weaknesses, too, but they're mirrors. Jiao is strong against Earth, but weak against Wind. Wingul is just the opposite. Agria is strong against Fire, but weak to Water. Presa is the reverse.   Of course, I couldn't forget to use Gaius' Mystic Arte here. His incantation is my favorite: "Prepare yourself! My sword cries out! The one blade to vanquish evil!! Absolute Domination! Fool!" I heard this so many times in the final battle of Xillia 1 on my second, Jude, playthrough. I also like how Gaius always feels to mock his enemy right after he's done dealing damage with "Fool!" at the end there. I actually have a particular familiarity with the name Absolute Domination, outside of Tales. Before I had played Xillia, I had played Agarest War Zero, and the final boss' (kinda, it's complicated) ultimate super move was called, as you might be guessing right now, Absolute Domination. When Gaius first used it against me in the final battle, I'm like "Oh hey!"  I mean, Agria's Mystic looks impressive, but again...it just doesn't do much damage. Thank god, but still.  A red tint over the target means they're currently Linked (in this case, Agria). In this case, Agria can be combo'd like normal, however, Agria will come to Jiao's defense if he's the one under attack, just like we can do. However, while they are Linked, they both take damage from attacks, again, just like we do.  Agria is down and out! Jiao fell shortly thereafter.  Presa's MA is...also not impressive in terms of damage.  Poor Wingul. You just didn't have what it takes. Presa went down not 10 seconds later. Overall, poor performance, indeed!  All joking aside, this is a really fun fight, if only for how chaotic a 4 vs. 4 fight usually turns out. This...will not be the last of those kinds of fights in this title. Count on that...   Why'd he apologize? That wasn't meant for me. Are you...okay? I'd thought us otherwise indifferent to each other... Were we friends all along?Well, for a refresher... Agria was the scion of a noble family in Rashugal. She didn't get along with her family at all, and ran away at an early age, from what I remember. She fell in with the Chimeriad because she basically had no where else to go. Presa was, as I mentioned, involved with Alvin for a bit before they kinda-sorta broke up on bad terms. I don't recall her reason for joining the Chimeriad, but it's not as if 3 / 4 members had any particular reason for joining with the others or for serving Gaius in the first place. I believe I mentioned before that Agria and Presa fell to their death from the Nia Khera Hallowmont. Wingul was from a rival clan in Auj Oule that challenged Gaius' claims to the throne. Gaius was able to unite the tribes that make up the country's power structure, and took the throne on sheer force of personality and the fierce loyalties these tribes had towards him. Afterwards, Wingul served without hesitation from that point on, before meeting his end at the Temporal Crossroads. Jiao was a criminal on the run from the law (being the one behind the death of Elize's parents and all...), and like Agria and Presa, just had nowhere to go, before he wound up falling in with the Chimeriad, and by extension, Gaius. I actually forget the exact circumstances of Jiao's death, but rest assured, he's pushing up daisies these days. Let's hurry on. Muzet asked about Melard, just for reference for this screenshot. Gaius is clearly not a fan.  Funny thing about this line is that it disappears *really* quickly. Like, you take 4-5 steps, and it automatically skips to Muzet asking Gaius if he's okay. Very strange. Anyway, getting closer to Kanbalar, we find...  The great unknown Is Melard not the divergence catalyst after all? It's possible that this thing already eliminated Melard. I'm going to guess this is our target then. Show no mercy!  ... Otulp here basically fights similarly to how Odin did. Primarily spear-based attacks that have surprising length / power, including a really powerful move where he throws his spear like a boomerang in front of him. Gaius makes an excellent choice to play as, since this guy is weak to Slash and Light, both of which he can hit fairly easily. However, you'll still need that oh-so-precious stagger to really get started on him. However, he lacks Odin's wide variety of attacks, making directly in front of him being by far the most dangerous area. He shares Odin's sluggishness and lack of long-range prowess.  The thing with Power Combos going during Linked Artes in Over Limits is that Mystic Artes do a TON more damage even with only like a 175% multiplier. So, before that timer runs out, consider throwing out the MA really quickly. Form Destroyer is kind of an exception, though. It's actually considerably weaker than the other MAs, which is kind of strange for the kind of power the Chromatus has, but...we haven't seen the Chromatus' true power just yet.  But that's one nice EXP haul there.    I suppose I am. Perhaps you'll see them again in another dimension. Possibly. This has all helped me realize something. Ludger, I need to find Tanner. Will you help me? ...Let's see where he's going with this, and raise his affection. Thank you. I'm glad to have you as an ally. Let's return to Trigleph.Thanks to us being such good buddies with the king by this point, we get Gaius' second affection skit just after the above scene. I'll see you all in Trigleph.  The King's lecture Specifically, in front of Ludger's apartment building. Huh? What do you want? Kyle was concerned about you. He even threw a punch at me. He what? Whatever. Me and him are through. If that's the case, let me tell you a story. Huh? It was a time when I had people I could call friends. They sacrificed their own lives so that I might achieve my goal. Now...they are gone. Never heard of friends like that. That sounds like something else. Perhaps so. They were subordinates first and friends second. I'm sure each had his or her own hopes and dreams. But circumstances got in the way of those dreams. We had obligations. Which is why I now stand before you...alone. You don't seem too broken up about it! There was a time when I lost my composure. And because of that, when Kyle struck me, I did not know how to respond. Hah! So you do regret what happened to them. No. it just made me think...about how things would've been different had we merely been friends. Where are you going with this? What's your poitn? What the hell are you trying to say? That I envy you, I suppose. For having friends who would stand by you even when they hold different beliefs. .... Tanner! Erston... Listen, about what happened... My story is done here. I'll be on my way. What about you? I'm not gonna say nothin' with you watching. Heh... Fair enough.All's well that ends well. But I have a feeling we'll be hearing from Kyle and Tanner in the future. I can tell you this story has a twist I bet you're not thinking of. It's...something.  But for the moment, we have a "new" dungeon to delve. The Abyss is near the Dimensional Breach. Can't really miss it if you're looking for it.  This place is about the same as we briefly saw during one of Jude's chapters. There are a variety of dangerous enemies, including the Merfish enemies who can throw out a move that can cause insta-death, and the dragons are really annoying because they burrow a whole bunch, but there's also a lot treasure, and, of course, a few cats to be found.  Of course, don't forget to defeat the required number of Burrow Goblins. That's why we're here at this particular moment in the history of the world, other than the Elite Monster at the very bottom of the dungeon.  First cat is right near the entrance. Still, can be a little hard to see if you're moving at a brisk pace.  Waay down in B3F, you'll find an elevated bunch of rock platforms in a small branch of the map. Climbing up on top, you'll find this mischevious little kitten observing the land like a great lion. Capture him, or face his wrath.  And finally, on the very bottom floor, we've found our Elite Monster, who is...a bit less impressive than I would have thought. It's gotta be a gag, right? Fortune Stepper  This is...a very strange fight. Strange, but easy. You'd think an Elite Monster in this game would be very difficult, but this guy... Guess I should say something productive, though. This guy is nearly invulnerable to stagger, but he cannot ignore Power Charge 3, of course. He also starts with a vulnerability, but his special power is he can shift his weaknesses around. That, too, does not help the fact he rarely attacks, is not particularly powerful in doing so, and is slow. Oh, and you can heavy stun him like crazy.  If there's some other gimmick going on with this guy, he didn't show it. Another easy one.  Another forced payment gives me a new batch of goodies. What's in store for us back at the apartment building is...Gummy Fishes and Rowen's Minimum Damage and Impregnable Guard skill. Yawn. Speaking of the geezer, though, his next chapter, and our final part of today's update, brings us to Xian Du.  The challenge of peace Ah, it's good to see you. Look out! Huh? Rowen? Are you okay?! Get out of here! Run back to your precious Elympios, traitor! Are you hurt? I think we'll live, but we'll raise Rowen's affection to check on him. That rock looked pretty big. Yeah, don't worry about us. You're the one who got hit! Why would they do this? It's all right. I'm fine. So you're one of 'em too! Another stinkin' Elympios-lover! Close one...but Elize's reflexes aren't the best, so we'll be backing her up. As you might guess, R1 increases Elize's affection, L1 the reverse.  Th-Thank you. Stop being so mean! Typical. He cowers behind bodyguards.The jerks leave... That was terrible. Does this kind of thing happen to you a lot? Oh, no. Only on occasion. Xian Du is a city of tradition. Many extremists who oppose peace call it their home. Yeah, they were all like, "Down with Elympios!" Peace will not only benefit Elympios and its citizens, but also the people of Rieze Maxia. If only more people took the time to look at the big picture and realize that. They will. At this point, the best thing I can do to convince everyone is to show actual results.And we've got a call... DODA here. I'm sorry, is everything okay? *shakes head* Anyway, I'm sorry if this is a bad time for you, but we have detected a new fractured dimension. The rift appears to be in Fennmont. We've sent you the coordinates. Please take appropriate action. Would you mind if I accompany you? I feel it would be prudent for me to leave here for a time. *nod* It's a message from Driselle. Huh? Is there something wrong, Elize? It's nothing. I'll come, too.Fennmont, eh? Wonder who our next divergence catalyst will be... Once you arrive, first order to business, of course, is to ascertain what kind of world this is.   Seems the Nachtigal of this world is quite different from the cruel overlord he was in the prime dimension. Something tells me we're gonna need to pay a visit...  As you might expect by now, all the treasure chests in Orda Palace are stacked with new stuff in the fractured dimension, so it's in your best interest to check on all the old rooms for nice goodies like this. Me, though, I'll be heading right to the throne room.  The eternal promise   Audience hours have concluded... Ilbert. Surely I can drop by for a friendly visit without requesting an audience. Heh. If I ever got to the point of turning you away, that would be a bad sign. That's quite the entourage. I presume this is something important. No, just killing time on a sleepless night. Well, I was fully prepared for a dreadfully dull evening. Shall we drink until dawn, like old times?Huh...Nachtigal looks and talks normally enough (I mean, not like the real one, but still). Guess he isn't the catalyst at all. That ornament in your hair... How striking. A pity that it's now a memento. Princess Carrie... When wearing this, I can't help but be constantly reminded of the weight of my duty to our people. Hah... Even now, I can practically sense her wagging her finger at me. I see... So, in this world, a simple ornament like that has kept you from straying from your path. Hm? To think that you and I might have lived out our lives as friends. Rowen... Wait... You're not Ilbert, are you? Princess Carrie's ornament... Might i borrow it from you? Hmph. I don't know what your game is, imposter, but you're welcome to try and take it! We've fought enough for one lifetime. But if I must... Give me everything you've got. I want to see just who I'm dealing with. We'll give you what we have, alright. Veterans of the first game should know how Nachtigal fights. Basically exclusively with his spear, which, to be fair, does pack a punch. His most common attack is called Massacre Arc, where he'll quickly stab forward with his spear, and anyone on the business end, blocking or not, will take quite a bit of damage from the stab + smack down. He also has slashing combos, and some other powerful artes (including a Mystic Arte that, as you might guess, does a ton of damage).  Overall, your strategy should be the usual Power Combo + Chromatus, but as for his attacks, wait for him to finish an attack, then quickly engage. He can pretty quickly overwhelm 1-2 your allies with powerful strikes that they can't get a word in edgewise from.  He'll also bring out Apocalypse Toll at some point, where he'll do a minorly-damaging swipe with his spear, that if he connects, will also actual a magical hex on the target which will explode after a few seconds. Milla has an arte that does the same thing, but only to a single target.  Overall, not an overly difficult boss, but it's tougher than it might look at first glance. Certainly tougher than Otulp was.  Who exactly are you? Just an old man who was to serve you loyally for the good of the country. Loyalty to me? Tell me something. What do you think of Rashugal today? I believe it is a thriving nation. A good one. The king leads his people and the people support their king. Suppose that I tried to destroy it all. What would you do about it? I would do everything in my power to kill you myself, or die trying. Heh... Ha ha ha ha ha! Some time ago, I asked the Ilbert I know the same question. And he gave me the same answer. Are you certain? I did tell you to take it from me by force. At the end of the day, I'm not sure who you are and where you came from...but you are Rowen Ilbert through and through. Thank you. Despite the unpleasant circumstances, I am grateful for the chance to speak with you again. Heh. We certainly livened up a dull evening.  Remember when we had this question with Gaius? Rowen takes a different tack from his master, as you might guess, when it comes to matters like this and raising his affection. Yes. This world is destined for destruction. And besides...it is a world I've already lost. But, don't you want to hold on? Indeed. Very much so. What? Before I bid farewell, Nachtigal, please allow me to renew my vow to you. I will never retreat from my duty again. I will give everything to accomplish what must be done.  Rowen's secret Rowen... Are you okay? *bows* Oh, pardon me. Yes. Yes... Ah, in regards to that... Can you spare a minute? Hm? Just follow us! Teepo! Shush! Please, let's head to the inn. Don't tell Rowen.Doing just that... The linked video also incorporates the above scene.  Driselle here sent me a text. She said she's got something important to show us. Just us! No Rowens allowed! I apologize for the secrecy. Just read this. It'll be quicker. "If you're reading this, then I have already shuffled off this mortal coil." What is this? It seems to be his will and final wishes. A maid found it hidden in one of the spare rooms. There's one for each of you. Might as well ask...Driselle was she thinks of it. She knows Rowen fairly well, I think. He can't be... He did vow to "give everything to accomplish what must be done". Including his life?! No way! Please, look after him for me. Of course. I'm counting on you. *nod* Driselle, you look so pale. Sorry, I'm fine. Everything'll be fine. I'm not letting someone close to me die again.She's referring to her husband, Clive Sharil, who was killed by Nachtigal agents during the course of the first game. Following that, Driselle became the Lady of Sharilton and has been in charge since. But, since we're on the cusp of a major point in the story and the start of the next chapter, I think we'll call it quits for today. Next couple updates are gona be some HEAVY stuff, so stay tuned! Update 23 alternate choice compilation
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Aug 5, 2016 05:12
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