So what awaits us to the North, through the pass, I wonder? More walking? More dungeons? More illogical cutscenes? You can bet it'll be all of the above!
The first stop is to visit the nearby town now we're able to move through the Hakonesia Pass, and this is Asgard. The small town with three inns...and also an interesting ruin. Raine wishes to investigate in more detail, naturally, but a band of ruffians have other ideas and try to blow it up! A quick spanking later and that idea is firmly dislodged from their chrome dome.
Turns out they were doing it so their friend/sister didn't have to take part in a barbaric ritual...which makes sense in a way. Naturally we can't leave a damsel in distress so, in an amusing cutscene we take her place! Ofcourse there's more to this than meets the eye and we end up fighting a relatively plain boss but that does provide us with a map of a nearby ruin. Nice!
After a quick resupply and weapon upgrade it's time to explore this area. First, there's a strange lake with a Unicorn at the bottom of the water...no doubt this will come into focus soon but not yet. Next is another Human Ranch, see above as we can't go in yet. And finally there's a city of hope called Luin, a city with plenty of amneties (more weapon upgrades! Yes!) and also a nice cutscene with the mysteriously busty Assassin whom we've been tripping over the whole time. It does feel as though we're moving closer and closer to another altercation but...we shall see.
Anyway that's enough of a detour, so it's time to head into the Masoleum. Surprise it's another seal! This one is the seal of wind. So naturally there's some windmills. We have to light some torches in order to see what lays ahead of us and via several cryptic messages, unlock the puzzle using more windmills in the next room. This dungeon alo features some annoying traps but, nothing too serious.
The puzzle is a little annoying and frustrating but we get there after a short spell. The boss lays in the next room and a few unison attacks see it off. Everyone is now over level 20 and unlocking Rank 2 Arts and the difference is stark and notable right away. Seal unlocked, Angelfication has continued and we leave.
...
Or, that's not quite it. Remember the Assassin from earlier? She decided to ruin the party, pre-save point, and mess with me. I'll be honest I came in unprepared for this fight and I couldn't do it. It was too much so, the prior boss fight had to be re-run. Knowing the strategy I was able to do it with no casualties saving the precious resources, which were used up in success for the following fight! Story scenes occur as we learn a little more about this assassin and we head out.
Collette, the Chosen, hurts herself pretty badly but she doesn't feel a thing. Infact she's lost most human states, such as eating and sleeping, at this point and this revelation becomes too much for her and Lloyd, whom she confides in. It's a touching scene and it sets us up for a journey to the next seal.
I choose to drop by Luin once again, but sadly it's not quite so cheery this time. That's an understatement as the whole place is destroyed and the survivors taken prisoner at the nearby Ranch. Our Assassin tried her best to fight them off but, sadly, she was also defeated. A decision was made to save her life and after that, we decided to call a truce as we both wished to save the prisoners. As such the Assassin, Sheena, joins the party!
A few fights with Sheena to learn how she plays (she can summon enemies which is quite nice), and it's on to the ranch. Where we stop for today! All in all quite a productive journey if I do say so myself.
Here lies the dearly departed Nintendomination Thread.
S. Chapter |[1][2][3][4] [Chapter 5: Land of the Ancients]
Betrayer Betrayed Heading back to Palmacosta, we find out the reason why the Govener betrayed us.. but he was actually betrayed as well :/ We have a boss fight here and wait.. light weakness? Exploit to the max! Prism Sword! Photon! Done. We get the pass so no more wasting 1 Million Gald on that scalper and he head off to the next town, Asgard.
Town of Wind and Ruins Definitely a tourist attraction, with so many hotels in this small town. Here, maidens are getting sacrificed to a fake god so we have another boss fight. No exploitable weakness, but he’s really easy to fight because he’s really big so it’s easy to combo him. With him out of the way, we go to the Mausoleum to unlock the wind seal.
Fastest dungeon. Ever. Upon entering, we see that assassin follow us in. Be sure to remember about that! This dungeon is so straight forward, it’s definitely a breeze :p It’s as simple as walk to the end of the dungeon and avoid visible traps. Well, actually not really, because you need to do a lot to solve the riddle to open the boss door. But since I know the order, I can walk straight to the room without having to read the clues. This boss is pretty standard and is just like the Fire and Water boss, except it does not have a weakness so I had to use Aqua Laser, as it was resistant to Lightning. On our way out.. Surprise! Surprise! We have to fight against the assassin. She comes with a guardian, just like the first time we fight her, so I split up and attack both at the same time to keep them from attacking my spell casters. She runs away again so we head off to the next town, Luin!
Shiny Platinum Bird’s Advice Whoops, I forgot to visit this town in advance so upon entering for the first time, it is already in ruins D: We meet our assassin (Sheena) here but she is terribly wounded. We save her anyways and she decides to join us to infiltrate the Ranch that caused such devastation.
Recap: We take out a lot of bosses before unlocking the wind seal. Sheena finally joins us!
Well this is a lie. Don't you need Colette in the party when you fight the boss?
Checkmate ; )
Yes but I, myself, don't use her by controlling her in battle. She is one of the few I have trouble using. I can't chain combo with her well and her play style is hard for me to use :p
Yes but I, myself, don't use her by controlling her in battle. She is one of the few I have trouble using. I can't chain combo with her well and her play style is hard for me to use :p
Heya, so I am back again with another log update. Last time, our plate was pretty full, with the only thing I can remember is that SHEENA JOINED THE TEAM : D YAAAAY! Also, we left off outside the next human ranch. So, let's dive it! : I
Hot Girl Desian Cosplay, To Luin, Digging Graves in Huin, and Boomerang Back To The Ranch!
So we enter another human ranch camp! What's the plan this time? Break in like before?? Heck no! We... get disguises of course!!!! O: So, we wait for guards to come, beat 'em up, and take their clothes! BRILLIANT. So I guess breaking in wasn't good this time...?
After getting some uniforms from unsuspecting guards, we camp out for the night and decide who will act as the guards. Lloyd wants to do it, but not all the uniforms can be used. Which ones can? Well, the WOMEN'S UNIFORMS OF COURSE. But Lloyd still wants to do it. Ugh, Lloyd buddy, you trying to tell us something...?
So the next day, Raine and Sheene get into their tight short shorts, cleavage showing uniforms, and take the party into the camp. Oh Raine and Sheena, you can take those spears and lodge them into me anyday... ; ) So we go into the camp, go into one or 2 rooms, the girls change into their normal clothes in a flash, and we're already caught by someone... : I Maybe shoulda kept those outfits on Raine and Sheena...? To let me oogle at them? ; ) It turns out the person who first attacked Iselia waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the beginning is here. Somehow him and Kratos know each other, and for some reason, decides to go away, I guess...?
After he leaves, the leader of the base comes, some saiyan looking guy with saiyan armor comes in and threatens us I guess..? We run away, further into the ranch, until we are surrounded. And we don't get to fight either. I guess him and 4 guards who I normally beat up in seconds is too much for my party. We also learn that the leader made Lloyd's mom into a shiny ex sphere ball. The one that Lloyd wears. Oh, and his dad killed her too o: But it's okay! His mom became a monster too, so she did have to be put down.
We are surrounded, until Sheena does a ninja trick and makes us vanish from the ranch! Yes! ...Um, what was the point of that again...???
With little options left, someone recommends we go to Luin I guess... We go there and learned one person escaped from the ranch. We find out he went to a town called Huin. Hmm, Luin, Huin. Very creative dev team. 5 STARS! So, we leave into new lands to find this town! O:
So I leave for new lands, which I find some things on the field, like some secret convos, a treasure chest, and the monument. Now I can ride Noishe! Yay! : D But, why do all the monuments just look like rocks? That's kinda lame. Also, can I say how much I hate doing secret conversations, mashing the A button, and then I pick a dialogue choice I don't want? >: (
After some running around, I find Huin! ...which is just one inn. One inn does not make a town. : I Also, it's on a mountain, and it has the most upbeaty music EVER. It's the happiest mountain in the land... So I talk to the people, buy some gear, and sleep at the inn. Speaking of the inn, for some reason, a girl won't let me check the 2nd floor. I talk to her, and learned the escapee has died : ( Dang... She tells us also not to search his grave. What the hell...?
Um, so we climb up the mountain and find a grave. We check it, but don't totally dig up his grave for tools... After touching his grave, the girl comes back and tells us not to dig it up, or something ( I kinda forgot what happened here..) Then, the dead guy nonchalantly comes up and reveals himself. Problem is, he is seriously messed up in the head. Can't speak right. He does tell us he did place a rock in front of this metal tunnel, WHICH I NOTICED AND TRIED TO MOVE. Guess we were too weak to move it.
The girl tells us to leave him alone, saying he is cursed, and asks us to help him however we can. We agree of course, promising to cure him somehow some day. And then SHE digs up his grave. We get a desian stone to move the rock.
Before leaving, I check the rest of the place, and find a man who wants to start a dragon riding business someday, letting people fly by the tower of mana.. o: Awesome, good luck with that dood!
And with that, we go back to the ranch... o:
Team Split Up and the Over 9000 Fight
And we are back to the ranch! Now that we have a stone to move the boulder, noow Lloyd notices it. Makes me want to smash my head into a wall... At least Kratos noticed it... Lloyd does try moving it, but it won't budge. One push of the stone though, and it moves! Okay... it's a magical rock...
So, we go in successfully. However, we are in a situation. We can't enter the main leader's without disabling the security, but the alarms go off and the desians are aware of our presence. So, we have to SPLIT INTO TEAMS. The cool thing is, I can decide on the teams!!! It is hard though, because everyone wants to go with me, with puppy dog eyes, and when I decline them, they get sad. Since Kratos begs, and never does for anything, I picked him. I also picked Sheena, cuz she was going regardless. She wan't having any of that benching : P Also, originally, I had Genis on the team, but then I realized I split the boys and girls into groups, and felt that was sexist. So I changed Genis and Sheena out.
So, first you play as Lloyd's group. You go into a room, which has a lot of capsoles moving around. It looks more like a giant room where you put dead bodies in... You turn off convayor belts here. You then go into the 2nd room, ride the conveyor belts, and shoot fire beams to 6 switch things to turn them off. Upgraded ring that is. There is another thing that changes its form here too... Once you do that, you turn off the belts and can reach the boss's room. The problem though, is I can't get in. The 2nd team has to turn that off. So...
PARTY SWIIIIIIIITCH
Can I also say how weird it is that temples and bases have a device that changes the functions of the ring? Keep in mind that Lloyd decided to 'borrow' steal it. Imagine if we never did that? We woulda been screwed. So I guess sorcerer's rings are a common use thing for keys and puzzles? Okay... Sounds like an overly complicated key...
So now I mist play as the remaining players, Raine, Genis, and Collette. I think this is when I realize how important splitting the team was. I can't use any of these characters. I only use Lloyd, so going to pretty much all magic users was a bit tough... I used Collette, the least magicy of them all. As this team, I have to push 2 switches to turn off the security system. Oh, and rescue the people. That is important too... So I fight some guards, flip the switches, and save the people! (It really isn't much, thank goodness.)
So then I switch back to Lloyd's party and we can fight the boss. Yaaay. Also need to mention the party learned that ex spheres are made from people. So you're taking a life to gain the power to fight better. Wow, that is a bummer. Lloyd, Raine, Genis, and Sheena use them : X ouch... Anyways, back to the battle.
I find a saiyan the leader of the ranch, we talk some, and fight. This battle was kind of hard with my set up. Sheena died twice and Kratos almost did too, but I was able to take care of the smaller enemies and revive Sheena. We then focused on the boss until we defeated him. The others show up and they talk about something to the boss about something...Oh yeah, Llord reveals Collette's secret truth to everyone. In this moment Lloyd, his back turned in this moment, the boss tries for one last attack, but Collette takes the blow (but feels no pain of course). Angry, Lloyd AND Kratos stab the man a couple of times and he died.. Wow.. o:
We set the place to explode and run away. With Collette 'injured', we decide it is best to go to Asgard because Luin is in ruin ; ) It's pretty far, but okay...! So we rest at an inn, and now I have no idea what to do, so it's time for...
Sheena's Summoning Adventure: The Water Summon and the Case of the Trapped Unicorn! (Talks from a Twin-Tailed Fox)
Last time, we heard some secret words from a bird, but now, secret talks from a twin tailed fox tells us about the unicorn again. So we go on a side trip to the lake again, but with Sheena. Sheena reveals she can help if she can pact with the water summon spirit. So we go back to the geyser! Wee! So we take quite a trip back to the geyser and go into the water temple. With the temple already completed, I can go straight to the water summon room, and it is here we can meet the water summon spirit. Sheena tries to make a pact, but cannot, as the spirit made a pact with someone already. The others suggest breaking previous vow and make a new one, which Sheena tried, but first, we must test our worth. So we fight, and... beat her apparently o: So Sheena gets the water summon spirit, and we can help the unicorn. Yay! : D
Well, at least next time, because this is where we stop. It's the eeeeeeeeeeend.
We'll make it to the unicorn next time. Who knows, maybe we can get more summon spirits in the future ; ) But until then, see ya next time!
Oh, and also, the hoe, Chocolat Cake is in the Iselia Ranch now. I feel someday we may be able ot save that hoe...
Well, actually, that brings me to my current objective for this run! - Get Colette Dog Title - Get Sheena Treasure Title (hopefully) - Max cooking for Genis/Zelos
I have decided to expand my scope of what to accomplish in this current run. Due to the current pacing, I actually have a lot more time to thoroughly complete a lot of things so here is my new list!
Current Objections - Get Colette Dog Title - Get Sheena Treasure Title (hopefully) - Max cooking for Genis / Zelos / Raine / Colette - Do not run away from battles - Complete Collector's Book (hopefully) - Complete Aifreed's Side Quest - Zelos Friendship Scene
So… what was that for? We infiltrate the human ranch by disguising as the guards and sneaking in. We meet Botta again, who says something quite interesting, so let’s try to remember what he said. However, they found out you were actually sneaking in (of course) so you escape the ranch. The leader of the Ranch Kvar tells you about Lloyd’s mother so I guess that was interesting
“Feel the pain… of those Inferior Beings… as you burn in hell!” Like the first time isn’t enough.. we find a secret way in to the ranch, and this time, we split up into 2 groups: one to fight the boss and the other to deactivate the system. I put 1 healer in each group so I went with Lloyd, Genis, Raine for the boss and Colette, Sheena and Kratos for the other. Another simple dungeon, but the boss is definitely tricky. For once, you are out numbered 3 to 4 and the mini drones do pack a punch. Boss dies from being stabbed by Lloyd and Kratos at the same time and we blow up the ranch
Save the Unicorn! We need to save somebody, so we go to a lake to find a unicorn trapped underneath some logs underwater. We need the water summon spirit, and it so happens that Sheena can create pacts. Nice! Heading back to Thoda Geyser, we learn to find that Undine, the water summon spirit, is bound by Mithos. Mithos is the hero that saved Sylvarant from the Holy Kharlan War, so we have to fight it in order to make a new pact. Awesome music plays and we beat Undine to save the unicorn!
Final Seal: Sacrifice Next up, it’s the final seal, the Tower of Mana! Another straightforward dungeon, despite having to split up into 2 teams. The boss is a pushover but has a stealable item, so Colette, it’s your time to shine! He dies and Colette loses her voice D:
Now that the last seal is finished, it’s time to head to Hima in order to get to the Tower of Salvation…
Recap: We blow up another ranch and unlock the final seal in order to head to the Tower of Salvation Duration: ~ 1 hour
“Feel the pain… of those Inferior Beings… as you burn in hell!” Like the first time isn’t enough.. we find a secret way in to the ranch, and this time, we split up into 2 groups: one to fight the boss and the other to deactivate the system. I put 1 healer in each group so I went with Lloyd, Genis, Raine for the boss and Colette, Sheena and Kratos for the other. Another simple dungeon, but the boss is definitely tricky. For once, you are out numbered 3 to 4 and the mini drones do pack a punch. Boss dies from being stabbed by Lloyd and Kratos at the same time and we blow up the ranch
Man, I love that scene. My brother and I still quote it sometimes. Kratos easily became my favorite character after that. The scene only gets better on replays...given the context you learn later on.
