So, Chromagar Cave is a proper dungeon. It gets a bit faux maze-like in a few places, but not here. The obvious alcove dead-end right ahead here has... nothing in it. There's some stuff off to the sides here, though.

Oh right and its name is a mixture of "chrome" and "agar." Not entirely sure what makes it chromatic, but agar is a sort-of jelly that's used as an ingredient in desserts, along with being usable as a laxative, a vegetarian gelatin and even has uses in microbiology.

Or, well, that's what I thought at least! Forums poster Raitzeno, on the other hand, has a more sensible suggestion:

Raitzeno posted:

Chromagar is most likely a portmanteau of chroma and agar, not chrome. It's latin for 'color', so it's literally called the "colorful jelly ruins". Makes sense with all the different colored gummies all over the design!

We'll collect the stuff from the left-side first. Melon Jelly is peculiar, since it's a Spirit Up item but it has a bigger boost than Melon Jam. There's an equivalent for every stat up item, even, but aside from this one they're only obtainable via Amigo Mode stuff.



The other chest has some armor for Mokka.



Since it gives +10 Defense; +5 Spirit and +500HP it's not too bad. If you miss the Rock Robe it's pretty nice, but we didn't so I'll just stick with that.



The right-hand alcove has a couple chests itself. The cobalt studs are more worthwhile than 5000 bira at this point.



The Cobalt Studs give +2% MP Regen and +4 IQ. Not super great, but they're a wonderful update for Lassi. I just... sorta forgot to update her accessory for like ever, apparently.



The real dungeon part of Chromagar is... remember Yggsalad? Yeah, it's like that again. No signpost otters this time though.

We'll take the right ladder here.



There's a couple chests in this room, but this putty pea is the primary reason you come this way. That the other one is a bit hidden (by the scenery) sucks, but it contains some red worms.

The ladder on the bottom row here is progress from this area, so we'll take that one.



Brief aside, let's look at the most interesting enemy in the area. Reversios are Light or Dark elemental enemies, depending on what face is showing. Hitting them makes the flip, and they function exactly like reversi pieces do. It's a pretty cool idea, at least.



Oh and they drop Versatails, which is pretty cool. The only thing their facing affects is their elemental affinity, for whatever it's worth.



The other enemy of note here is the blue King Crab. It drops the Crab Husk for the Brawly Ball. I don't get one and I wouldn't really care much about it at this point. It upgrades the added effect to Spr Up and Def Up, so it's like Minty Freshness but with (non-elemental) damage and 4x the MP cost. And it being more annoying to use.

I'd just stick with Minty Freshness at this point personally.

Honestly, the worst thing about it is that it's not even the final husk! There's one more after this.



Anyway, where were we? Ah right. The bottom left ladder here lets you get a few red frogs but that's all. We'll take the northern ladder then.



This two-screen area lets us progress further in. The bottom-right ladder leads us back to the beginning. The two northern ladders lead to the same area, but we'll skip the closer one.



It's just more convenient if we do it this way, since it brings us closer to the northern hole in this corridor. The hole in the alcove on the far-left is where the other ladder would lead us.



Of the three ladders we'll be using, the top-most one lets us get the penultimate putty pea. There's only one more of these things and it's... well, it's incredibly annoying to get.

The other chest here has 8000 bira. Meh.

Heading back up, we'll skip the middle hole for the third one which lets us get...



A pair of shoes. Moccasins are an unusual pair to pick for Sorbet's ultimate footwear but whatever works I guess.



The ability to make moccasins is, uh, ancient lost technology. Apparently. They give Sorbet +1% MP Regen, +4 IQ and +9 Agility, so they're just straight up better than the Sandals. They don't have an added effect, but I'd still rather use these since Danger Sorbet isn't a fantastic build.



The alcove down at the bottom has a chest containing... yellow worms. Meanwhile, we'll just ignore that and go down the middle ladder since it leads deeper inwards.

If she's not, then we're way, way too late. Since there's some gummified folk at the entrance, she should still be mostly okay. Right...?



For the rest of this stretch of the cave, there's these areas where something sure seems to be have been burrowing. That hole from before is the biggest by far, though.

Giant Larva

So, the Giant Larva here has an interesting gimmick. In theory, anyway. In practice, it just makes it kind of annoying at times.



See, sometimes when casting spells in this fight, the camera won't zoom in. That's already a bit of a clue that the GIant Larva is going to get to interrupt it...



With a unique non-elemental spell.



It actively just drains the spell and spikes grow out of its back. When it does this, your still lose the MP for the spell and all, so you might want to use cheaper spells just to mitigate that.

Or just not care, since it doesn't do it all the time or anything.



The Weapon Vortex is a setup for something else, but until that's done it just sorta uses physical attacks. Crush is just a generic multi-target one.



Anyway, after draining 3 spells it pulls out a powerful non-elemental spell. Megaburn Cannon really hurts...



Quite a fair bit, even. Mercifully it's single target, but it's pretty much guaranteed to drop whoever it hits. It gives the Giant Larva many drawbacks for some reason. Namely it makes the Giant Larva skip over its next few turns. And all the while it has Spr Down and Def Down for good measure.



Makes it very easy to finish off at this point. You could theoretically beat the Larva before it can drain 3 spells, even. It's pretty RNG but it's possible.

You may have noticed that the Giant Larva is Light elemental. As far as we care, the Giant Larva is the final boss that has a fixed Starsign. It has 25,000HP, and it doesn't give any items or money. There's a reason for that...

End

So, now that we've defeated the Giant Larva we can enter the final areas of Chromagar Cave. However! Defeating the Giant Larva is the point of no return, so we cannot turn back and leave Chromagar now. We've come this far, we need to see it through to the end...



Beyond the larva is a long, linear corridor. There ARE still fights here for if you don't feel prepared for what lies ahead, at least.



Along with the final HP Pot, MP Pot and Crash the Broker to get any supplies.



He has less stock than Ipo did, but he sells everything important at least. Frogs, worms, versatail to cover statuses and Wakey tails for if things get really bad.

The Green Frogs are almost certainly just so we can always use the MP Pot. That's really good design.



Just beyond there, we can find Master Kale. This is only the second time we've been in the same place as him, oddly enough.

Master Kale; Gummy Giant

Master Kale is, of course, named after the vegetable. This was even used as a joke on Puffoon way back when, as you might recall. Nicely enough, Kale's Japanese name is Jin Reo. You know the pattern by now, so you probably saw that and immediately realised that it's "orange" with the syllables backwards.

More important is that through the world of Magical Starsign, there are five things that have Starsigns varied based on your main character. Both Kale and the Gummy Giant are on that list. The Gummy Giant is always the same (here it's Light), whereas Kale is always the opposite (so he's Dark).



At the very, very start of the fight Kale - not the Gummy Giant - casts a spell to manifest a sword.



It's associate with the Gummy Giant, presumably, because its embedded into the Giant's back as a power source. We can't actually target the sword or anything, which'd be a cool idea.

That's because it's on the top-screen, so it's all visual.



Of the two here, the Gummy Giant is by far the more dangerous and should be dropped ASAP. It mostly just uses a very potent physical attack to lay into everyone.



This isn't its only attack, but it

basically the only one it should get to. Also if its left alone it uses this every single turn without variation.



Kale, meanwhile, is a very potent spellcaster. He pulls spells out from every element, varying between ST and MT as more appropriate.



He even has a unique non-elemental spell that's a sort of not entirely uncommon idea in Japanese media, apparently?

This is the third thing I've seen it come up in, at least. The other two being Hunter x Hunter and Metal Gear Solid 3.



Insect Bullets is 14 hits randomly distributed throughout the party. Each hit has a chance to inflict Spr Down, which helps make Kale more dangerous. He sure needs it, really...



Both Gummy Giant and Kale are sorta like half a boss, really. Gummy Giant has 14,000HP whereas Kale has 18,000. It's impossible to hit the Gummy Giant's weakness outside of bombs, by design, whereas Kale's always mutually weak to the main character.

It's an interesting idea, but it never really works out super well.

End

Once again, we get a minor interlude to seeing somewhere else.



In this case, it's a glimpse of what's happening all the way on Erd.

Shadra

Thanks to the sheer amount of magical energy unleashed, Shadra's cocoon rapidly drains it all...



...And as it hatches, Shadra's evolved state emerges.



The Giant Larva has become a Great Moth. Time to squash this bug!

Shadra

As our final boss, Shadra is a good test of the game mechanics we've become accustomed to. It also decides to add an extra complication thanks to Mokka having recently exploded.



Rather notably here, Shadra is... Wood elemental? Something about that seems weird.



Ah well, first off, Mokka always has his Unconscious sprite throughout this battle. He also starts with 1HP. That's not a big deal in itself, but...



Mokka has a couple complications thanks to it. Namely that he can't use physical attacks, move or use items. The item one is the most inconvenient, by far.



Much like Master Kale, Shadra can use spells of every element. Just one of each, though, and they are mostly multi-target.



When Shadra takes a decent chunk of damage, like say by having Pico become a dragon for a hot second, it sort of explodes. Nothing comes of that immediately, though.



More conspicuously is that after a couple turns, Shadra changes its colouration... and starsign. It's gone from Wood to Water. Just changes entirely at random and can be of any of the seven starsigns.



Oh and she does have a MT physical that has an added effect we've only seen once before...



Yep, it does MP damage. Hasn't come up as a thing since Gil Mudflap! You'd think it would be more common, but it surprisingly isn't.



After it loses about 30,000HP Shadra explodes and drops to the floor. Before evolving yet again...



...into this weird ant-like form. In its second stage, Shadra will maintain a static Starsign. As you might guess, it's the opposite of the main character so our Shadra is Dark.

It makes the most sense to have the thing named "shadow" be Dark elemental.



Shadra replaces its list of many spells with... three. It keeps Celestial Swap in both stages. It's rude enough to pick up the tier four Light spell here, so it can give itself Barrier for both physical and magical immunity. Rude!



But it also has a pair of unique spells, one for each of its possible signs. Its Light elemental spell sure does not sound like an attack...



Least of all one that involves it creating and firing six space lasers at random targets! It can even debuff, for good measure!

Its damage doesn't seem impressive here, but this is running into guarding and a Shield so the two kinda neutered it.



Alteratively it can use Big Crunch, which is incredibly appropriate for something that eats the sun!



This is boosted by Shadra having Aura here, but it's still more representative of what it can theoretically do.



Mostly, however, it just uses a single-target physical attack which has a fantastically dumb name.



As its only single-target attack, it's pretty decent at ~800 damage and all. It has nothing else special to it, though.



In its second form, Shadra has 18,000HP. At a total of 48,000HP and some decently strong moves and a really cool gimmick, Shadra is a cool fight concept. It's also totally unique and nothing else even comes close to pretending to be similar.

Probably for the best, since it helps make it memorable.

End

And as soon as the fight ends, Shadra explodes again. This time, it's an explosion of pure light...



It even explodes so far outward, that it's visible rom space.

Also, apparently Shadra is visible in space. The physical location of it here is peculiar, but just roll with it.

Oh, right! We should probably go do that!



...Oh. Uh, well then...

Ch-Chai's still okay, at least?

And just like that, the credits roll... our journey ended, the solar system saved, but we weren't able to do the one thing we originally wanted to. It's ultimately a bittersweet ending, as a result.



But it's not all bad. After all, even though this adventure is over...



There's always more where those came from. And since their epilogues might be a bit hard to read...

Even though it wasn't always the happiest, I hope you enjoyed our little space adventure!

See you next mission.

Lotus Aura fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Feb 10, 2019

MightyPretenders fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Feb 6, 2019

Raitzeno fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Feb 6, 2019

Bellmaker fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Feb 8, 2019

Do you like fights? Yes? Fantastic!



Okay, so immediately after beating Umbra and checking out the bottom of Razen, I came straight to Puffoon. About half of what we're gonna do here can be done much earlier, but half of it is explicitly post-game content.



And almost all of it requires access to the multiplayer.

Which, uh, I don't have. Obviously. Anything relating to Figurines (and some other stuff!) is locked away, but they're just items. That means they're in the game's code and I could give myself 99 of all of them.

I threw the other 98 into the Puffoon gift store.



As with Glissini, everything here is a recolor of something else. None of them are quite so brave to reskin the final boss, but one does come close!



The Hot Lava figurine can be obtained by using Tag Mode with a Male hero and tagging with another Male hero. Or finding it in a chest in Capsicum Caverns (Amigo version).

The Hot Lava enemy is level 28, Fire elemental, has 800HP and is a reskin of a Mud Jammer from Erd. If we weren't level 99, the Hot Lava would be worth an awe-inspiring 1 EXP.

Nothing here gives any money and very few have drops. But the ones that do? They're all end-game (or better!) equipment... well, except two but they don't matter.



I'll be going through these in level order, which is roughly the same as bestiary order. It does break down a little at the end but it's fine. Nimbus here is obtained the exact same way as Hot Lava.



It's an evil cloud with a little cat friend! Nimbus is a reskin of Choker and Mistral, two Amigo Mode exclusive enemies. Choker is in Will-o'-Wisp Academy and Mistral is in Capsicum Caverns.

It doesn't do anything fancy, unfortunately, but it's an evil cloud with a cat friend. What's not to like?

Nimbus is level 29, Wind elemental and has 780HP.



The Three Brothers figurine is next and this spawns the most unusual of the fights here. The figurine comes from being the Boy Protagonist and Tagging with someone that has the Girl Protagonist. Or vice versa. Or find it in a chest in... Capsicum Caverns.



The figurine enemy here is the Happyboy (the orange one at the back), but he brings his brothers Prettyboy and Loverboy!

Prettyboy is the blue one, and he's level 8. He's normally found in Will-o'-Wisp Academy. He has 500HP and drops Wakey Tails. How nice.

Loverboy is the pink one, and he's working for the weekend level 16. When not hanging out here, he's otherwise found in the Carbonara Jungle (Amigo version). He has 460HP and also drops Wakey Tails.



All three use their bows to fire arrows all over the place. They don't hurt us much but they can blind, which is something I guess.

Happyboy is way stronger than his siblings, since he's level 30. He has 860HP, and all three of them are Light elemental. Happyboy drops nothing, because he's a scrooge.



Spiky Nut is next and is much lesss interesting than the Three Brothers. Its figurine even goes back again to being the same as Hot Lava.



It's level 31, has 600HP and is Wood elemental. Next!



Wee Tadpole is nice enough to be different, at least. Its figurine is in Capsicum Caverns, of course, or found by having two Girl Protagonist save files tag. Variety!



As an enemy, the Wee Tadpole is a recolour of Frigitad and Wendigo. Both are Amigo dungeon only enemies, and Wendigo is a lower level but stronger than the Wee Tadpole.


(i let it get a turn on purpose)

Wee Tadpole here is level 32, Water elemental, has 800HP and drops a pair of gloves! In particular, it's the Flash Mitts for Sorbet - +2 Power, +5 IQ and... +30% chance to inflict Sick. Yeah, for whatever reason, her Ailment Up equipment is in the multiplayer.



Buffalope Herd is next up, and this figurine is obtained the same way as the Three Brothers.



The actual enemy is spawns is six Buffalope Herds. You might recall the Buffalopes as regular enemies on Carbonara that summoned a demon.



These guys don't do that. They just call for more of each other, breaking the rules of turn order and getting as many turns as they need at once to refil their ranks up to six! Rude!

They're level 33, Earth elemental, have 450HP each and can drop... Green Frogs. Welp.



Next up we have a Skeleton Bone Warrior, which is obtained from... the same way as Hot Lava. Dangit.



It's a skeleton enemy. Like the Galcium or Armagel, except thoroughly in between the two of them. It's level 34, Dark elemental and has 999HP.



Panic Alarm is next then. You can probably guess how its figurine is obtained. I'll give you a hint: it's the same as something rhymes with "rot java."



It's a little sheep bell at least. Like Bellber, except not at the bottom of an end-game optional dungeon. Noteworthy is that their both reskins of Bellcharm, a very weak enemy from the Will-o'-Wisp amigo dungeon which drops Gold Frogs. They suck as healing items but can be sold for 12,000 Bira a piece!

Panic Alarm is... not that. It's level 35, Light elemental and has 1100HP. No drops either, unlike the other two sheepbells.



Next up we have one that's fairly noteworthy, not for what it is or does but, well, you'll see.



It's an Atomic Bat, but purple this time. It's level 36, still Fire elemental and has 1400HP.



More important is that it drops this accessory. It's not particularly great NOW but...



It's Pico exclusive, and is obtained relatively early. It doesn't do anything exciting, but it's a solid stat boost at +2% MP Regen, +3 Power and +3 Defense.

There is a particularly special drop coming up soon, so remember: all of these are theoretically obtainable about halfway into the game.



Storm Judge is not the one, unfortunately.



It's a grim reaper cyclone thing, except now it's a darker purple. Exciting.



Level 38, Wind elemental, 1444HP and drops beads for Lassi.



Hippy beads, even. +3% MP Regen and +3 Agility is incredibly "not bad" but not exciting either.



Whimsy Salad is the first one in a while that isn't "two boys or in a chest." It's the same as the Three Brothers, which is nice of it.



It's a Leafwich, but yellow now. Level 37, Wood elemental, has 2500HP and doesn't even drop anything.



Witch Waif is next up and boy does she not look like you'd expect. Figurine is obtained in the most common way, of course.



She's a palette swap of Meloniac, which you might vaguely remember seeing in a Chromagar screenshot once.



I let her try and do things but she just cast Jackpot (rank 2 Dark, random buff). And that's it. She's level 37, Dark elemental and has 1820HP.



Chatterbox looks more like a Witch Waif. Her figurine is even obtained by tagging between two girl protagonists!



She's an especially noteworthy figurine enemy, not so much for what she does but what she drops.



See, she's level 39, Water elemental and has 1300HP. It's very easy to drop her in one as a result, without being super overlevelled. Pack some Slippy Oil and snag that Mirror Cloak.



It's Sorbet's ultimate armor! +3 IQ, +8 Defense, +10 Spirit and a nifty pain split effect. Sorbet only takes half damage from everything with it on, and the other half is transferred to a different party member entirely at random.

It's pretty neat and ties well with her Sandals, since it makes a Danger Sorbet strategy more functional.



The final regular figurine is the Bagagong and you know how to get it by now.



It's also the tankiest enemy in the game, without exception. How tanky? Well...



Let's have a dinosaur divebomb it for a second.



It took a whopping 42 damage. On a timed hit. On a weakness. Yeesh.



Bagagong is level 45, Earth elemental and has a tiny 300HP. Just to be, y'know, fair. How generous.



The Crystal Hat would be great if we didn't have the Pigheaded Hat. +6 IQ and +10 Defense is nothing to turn your nose up at, but it has no added effect.

Since every figurine from this point on is post-game exclusive, let's take a second to look over every equipment set we havn't seen yet. Except one.



Including the Winged Set, since it's the last one that's obtainable in the main game. Every piece of it comes from drops on Shadra, so it's not too hard to get.

• Winged Hat: +1 IQ
  
• Winged Bangle: +1 Power; +1 IQ
  
• Winged Shirt: +1 Defense; +1 Spirit
  
• Winged Boots: +1 Agility
  
• Winged Studs: +1 IQ
  
• Set Bonus: +6% MP Regen; +9 Power; +12 IQ; +2 Defense; +2 Spirit; +19 Agility; First Strike
  

It's an interesting equipment set with a very good bonus ability. I didn't bother farming for it earlier, but I really probably should have. Guaranteed first strike is fantastic, especially if you get the fullset for everyone. Can really run through things much more conveniently that way. Like, say, the Securitron 3 or Cybersaurus 2.



Now we're into the Amigo Mode exclusive sets, including one that is much more literal than the rest. All of these (bar two) are obtained via randomly finding them in chests in Amigo Mode dungeons. Couldn't tell you which ones, though.

• Monocle: +1 IQ
  
• White Gloves: +1 Power; +1 IQ
  
• Tail Coat: +1 Defense; +1 Spirit
  
• Dress Shoes: +1 Agility
  
• Loupe: +1 IQ
  
• Set Bonus: +4% MP Regen; +2 Power; +9 IQ; +2 Defense; +2 Spirit; +9 Agility; +25% item drops
  

It's a thoroughly Okay equipment set, I guess. It's not fantastic stat boosts, but they're not too awful either. The drop rate increase is fleetingly nice if you don't want to waste turns stacking Slippy Oil, at least.

• Force Hat: +1 IQ
  
• Force Ring: +1 Power; +1 IQ
  
• Force Cloak: +1 Defense; +1 Spirit
  
• Force Boots: +1 Agility
  
• Force Studs: +1 IQ
  
• Set Bonus: +3% MP Regen; +29 Power; +12 IQ; +19 Defense; +14 Spirit; +9 Agility; Endure
  

Do you like punching things? Like, a lot? Bad news, you're playing the wrong game. Good news, there are two sets just for you! The Force set here is the first and it really cares about physical aptitude since it boost Power by a total of +30 which is ludicrous. That it means you'll hang on with 1HP is a very nice bonus. If you can get it.

• Magic Hat: +1 IQ
  
• Magic Bangle: +1 Power; +1 IQ
  
• Magic Cloak: +1 Defense; +1 Spirit
  
• Magic Boots: +1 Agility
  
• Magic Studs: +1 IQ
  
• Set Bonus: +15% MP Regen, +9 Power; +37 IQ; +19 Defense; +29 Spirit; +19 Agility; Half MP Cost
  

Now we're talking! The Magic set here is probably the second best set in the entire game, bar none, and it leans super hard into the "do magic, ruin dudes" aspect of everything. That it halfs the MP cost of everything for the person wearing it is just gravy.

• Egg Hat: +1 IQ
  
• Egg Ring: +1 Power; +1 IQ
  
• Egg Cloak: +1 Defense; +1 Spirit
  
• Egg Boots: +1 Agility
  
• Egg Studs: +1 IQ
  
• Set Bonus: syserror egg.char file not found
  

So, uh, the Egg Set here is... special. While the rest of the multiplayer equipment sets can be used by anyone without issue, this set is explicitly only for Star, Pooka, Nogg, Kir, Fondue, Tom Yam and Gelato - the seven possible egg characters. It gives them a much needed stat boost (because they're kinda garbage otherwise!) and there is no way for me to demonstrate their interesting bonus effects.

Like how Fondue is just Goombario. Or how Kir makes HP Pots give you Red Frogs. Or how Star disables random encounters (boy that sure would be nice!).

Oh and this one is unique in that you get it via increasing the Amigo List (number of unique people you've tagged with) to 75 people! Yeah, I doubt anyone outside of, I dunno, Tokyo circa 2006 managed to achieve that legitimately. Each piece requires a different number of Amigos, but the studs need 75 so you can't use the full set until then.

• Justice Helm: +1 Power
  
• Justice Arm: +1 IQ
  
• Justice Suit: +1 Defense; +1 Spirit
  
• Justice Boots: +1 Agility
  
• Justice Badge: +1 IQ
  
• Set Bonus: +34 Power; -2 IQ; +24 Defense; +9 Spirit; +19 Agility
  

The Justice Set is our last set (for now) and it's one of two that comes entirely from figurine drops. The, uh, problem is that it might very well not be intended to be obtainable at all.

The figurine enemies that drop it aren't listed in the Bestiary, and I have no idea if the figurines are legitimately obtainable or not.

Oh and it boosts Physical attacks at the cost of canceling out its own IQ boosts. Rude!



Anyway, back to Macadameus. Zaphropeak's figurine is only obtainable by using Tag Mode with two save files that have beaten Shadra (the boss). The game doesn't save after the fight, but it does silently update your last save to include Giant Larva, Kale, Gummy Giant and Shadra in the bestiary. That's how you know if you have clear data or not.



Zaphropeak itself is... it's a Pooka. Except this time it's red. Yes, this is explicitly post-game. No, it's not very exciting.

Level 56, Dark elemental, 6800HP so Sugar can oneshot it effortlessly.



Fallen Devil is technically weaker than the Zaphropeak. In fact, Fallen Devil is the weakest postgame enemy. Embarrassing!



It's a palette swap of Chard.

Yes, all the post-game figurines are palette swaps of Enigmas or NPCs that were also bosses (which is mostly just the Space Police). They're in rough strength order based on when they were fought. Chard gets the short straw here since he was fought multiple times and his first fight was before Lt. Mugwort.



At least he fights like Chard 3, so it's not too boring. But he's level 52, Dark elemental (they all keep their original Starsigns in fact) and has 6500HP.

Yes, he's weaker than his final fight incarnation.



The others at least have thematic names that tie into their characters or movesets.



Dance Machine is so named because Lt. Mugwort had a move called Dancing Baby. Yes, I'm pretty sure that's literally it.



At least he gets to keep Jungle Coaster. I would not be surprised if this is a major reason for why Macadameus is located on Puffoon, honestly.



Dance Machine is level 60, Wood elemental, has 18000HP and drops a Towel.

It doesn't sound like it, but the Towel is one of five post-game pieces of equipment. It's part of a very important and overpowered equipment set!



Next up we have the Stench Lord and... you know who that's going to be already.



It's our old friend Gil Mudflap, of course. The smelliest boy in the known galaxy!



Despite not bringing any adds with him, he gets to keep Bossy Push. It's not super noteworthy, but it's here.



Stench Lord is level 66, Earth elemental, has 26000HP and drops us our second piece of equipment.



Since it's weaker than the next Space Police palette swap, we'll take a quick look at the Pig Hasnel.



It's a Dab Hasnel, except its carapace is now red. That's it.

Level 71, Dark elemental, has 38000HP and doesn't even drop anything.



Oh, right, I haven't mentioned the requirements for any post-game figurines other than the Zaphropeak have I? They don't have any. Just tag between two saves with clear data. No gender restrictions. How nice.



Narcissist is Abalon Demar, of course. Keeps the Charm gimmick and everything, making it the only post-game enemy that has something the Misty Set cannot prevent.



Level 78, Water elemental, has 42000HP and drops us a bathrobe.

Yeah, sadly, the fights are not exactly the most interesting things in the world. They're the same as they were in the main game, just with much bigger numbers. And, yes, the Space Police are the only ones with drops here.



Fugitive's next and it should also be very obvious who he's a palette swap of.



It's Magnus Muzzleflash, back from the dead! He even kinda looks like a zombie, huh?



Minor change here is that he can Counterattack from the start of the fight. I think he even does it more often, for good measure.



Level 81, Fire elemental, 50000HP and we'll nick his slippers. They're probably pretty comfy.



Wind Maiden is an incredibly self-explanatory name, honestly. And that's only the name of the figurine.



Pourri's palette swap albino form here is named the Wind Master. Obviously, right?



Rudely, she removed Chai and Sugar from the battle. What a jerk! It didn't help her though.

Wind Master is level 86, in a surprising twist is Wind elemental, has 66000HP and drops the final piece of equipment. We'll put it to use in a bit, but not right now.



Three figurines left, and Seeker's up next. Considering they're in chronological order, that only leaves one person left for this one.



Biek Fowler's ashen cousin is sturdy but not a big threat most of the time.



Except when he decides that he really likes to use Lotus Barrage, of course. Ususally on Sugar.

Level 92, Dark elemental, 68000HP. None of the final three figurine fights drop anything, unfortunately.



Zodalkrew is next and even his name is barely changed.



The gray Equillekrew isn't difficult or anything. He just has so much HP that he'll get turns as a matter of course. That they were all used to cast Jackpot is just bad planning on his part.

Level 95, Dark elemental and 70000HP. He's gonna take a while no matter what, unfortunately!



Finally we have the Insect Mage. Considering what every other palette swap has been, you've probably guessed already who this is.



It's a Kale who looks more like a human than the regular Kale! I know Kale

human, but he looks like like he could be a Vox (dog person).



Oh and he's always Light elemental. He can do a right number on folks through Shield if we fight him during the day. Yikes!

He even keeps Kale's ability to use every element...



Including Insect Bullets for non-elemental damage.

Actually, speaking of Kale and insects, let's take a second to talk about Magical Vacation one last time.



This little guy right here is named Sesame Ashpot. He's one of the Possibly Too Many playable characters in Magical Vacation. He's noteworthy here for being a quiet, shy boy who got scared easily. His element was Insect.

For some unfathomable reason, some people have cottoned onto this and decided that this clearly means that Sesame is Kale.



It's complete nonsense and yet these people even think the two look virtually identical. Somehow.

We know that Kale as a student had long, messy hair. Madeleine said as much at the very, very beginning of the game! On top of that, he looks like a mad hermit with an iron deficiency.

....Anwyay, the Insect Mage is level 99 and has 80000HP. He's a long fight, but if you're able to beat Cybersaurus 2 you can beat him.



We have one last fight to do before we're done for good. To that end, let's give Chai the shower set from these figurines just to be a bit mean about it.

• Washbasin: +1 IQ
  
• Towel: +1 Power; +1 IQ
  
• Bathrobe: +1 Defense; +1 Spirit
  
• Slippers: +1 Agility
  
• Bath set: +1 IQ
  
• Set Bonus: +50% MP Regen; +49 Power; +47 IQ; +49 Defense; +49 Spirit; +49 Agility
  

Yeah, uh, it's very simple. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Increases every stat by 50, including MP Regen for good measure! The set bonus in isolation seems a bit less than we were promised, but if you add each pieces individual boost, it totals to +50 across the board.

As you would expect from the only one that is explicitly post-game, it's the best by far. It's almost unfair, even.



So, let's just fight Macadameus but for real this time. Gonna have Lassi use Mother's Nest before we do anything else.



And the have Chai hit him with some cacti. It's all but a guaranteed 9999 at this point. I think his defenses are lowered until you start fighting proper, even.



...Y'know this is completely unnecessary, but let's just ensure that Chai definitely can keep at full MP by giving him Trance. Combined with the Bath Set this pushes his MP Regen to 118% until it wears off.



Speaking of things wearing off, Macadameus isn't an idiot so he used Celestial Swap to move Gren out of alignment. Chai still hits him for 9999 anyway.



Gonna hedge my bets a little here. The damage is no big deal, but I had Lassi throw an ice cube at him for the IQ Down.



Good thing I did too, since Falcon Dive does so much damage even now! It dizzied Pico here, even, and made Sugar proc her Critical: Barrier.



...Best give everyone Shield then. You know, just in case that happens again.



Oh right, Macadameus isn't completely stupid, He has a powerful physical attack too.



It hits three targets at random. If it didn't double tap, I think he'd have been fine but nope. Gotta revive both of them boys now.



...I, uh, may have prepared for this going awfully. Expect the best, prepare for the worst and all that.



In hindsight, I think it would've been better to give Lassi the bath set (if I used it at all). That and Trance would ensure that her Healing Wing is close to, if not outright being, a full party heal. Ideally without Aura because Macadameus would have it too.



I dunno, that just seems like it could have been a better use here. So long as I can keep Chai alive though, we can push through this.



Like so! Macadameus isn't quite the toughest enemy in the game but he's probably a very strong second. At level 99 with 85000 HP, he's the hardiest and lengthiest beefy boy though.



Obviously, the Warrior Nose is just a bragging rights item. But unlike pretty much every other one in JRPG History, you can get more than one without cheating. That he doesn't get removed or angry at you or anything is great; he just sticks around in Puffoon and lets you refight him even now.

We don't have much reason to, though. Instead, we'll just go beat up Shadra again for funsies with our new super-powered toys. Why not, right? We've got all this power now, so we might as well put it to good use. At least before it gets taken off of us just in time for finals!



Sadly, there's no changes to the ending or anything for doing this. It's still low-key bittersweet despite itself, there's still a nagging feeling that something about it seems... sudden.

Except now we know that it's not. This is how it was always meant to be. Maybe it's for the best that Sturgeon didn't tell us our destiny, thinking about it.

See you, space cowboy.

Lotus Aura fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Mar 19, 2019

Lotus Aura fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Feb 13, 2019