Yeah, I'm basically going through my notes and finishing the editing so I can post these last updates - I finished the actual game a while ago but didn't get around to putting everything together yet. I expect there's about four or five more updates in this before I finish the game on here, too?
Anyway, on a much more distressing note, I was recommended the Trails series as another big JRPG franchise I entirely missed out on - it's on the same rough scale as the Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest series in terms of entries. Now the game is interesting, and the gameplay is good... but I'm also only a chapter or so in and I'm pretty sure the LP version would eclipse WA in length. What am I doing? There are like seven chapters, and there's like ten prequels and sequels, what am I doing.
Time to take our Gull Wing out for a spin - by flying way southeast. There's a castle there entirely surrounded by mountains, so there's really no other way to get in there except flying. I guess teleporting works, that's how the demons do it...
At first blush, this dungeon looks pretty empty - it's like some huge manor house with checkered floors, statues of monsters everywhere, chandeliers, and draperies. Heading straight in, I quickly find a chest with a Mind Gem accessory, and also a blue gem in the wall - hitting that turns it orange which causes all blue doors to open but closes all orange ones. This is the trick of this dungeon, actually - you need to keep progressing by flipping the colors around.
There's a save point behind a locked door, so we have to head to another floor first to find another gem and open things up. Eventually we exit into a room with a familiar figure, though - it's Lady Harken! Upon closing in she suddenly transforms into a human form, and Jack cries out: 'Elmina!' Oho, we're finally coming full circle on that, huh? Suddenly Alhazad and an enormous black-and-purple turtle thing materialize behind Elmina, and Jack demands to know what's going on here - he thought Elmina was one of them now! Alhazad confirms that she was… an important part of the plan! But he can't have any more intrusions here, so he asks the turtle Turask to take care of us for him. Boss Time!
[Boss: Turask]
This Gamera-knockoff has a skill called Poison Breath, and you can imagine what that does - no damage, but a lot of hassle. It also has some pretty potent damaging moves in its repertoire, but despite the turtle-ness its HP is not too great, so it goes down with relative ease. Given how early we are into this dungeon, this was more of a miniboss than the real final encounter, but this game has been pretty sparing with those up to this point… Incidentally, is this thing supposed to be the Tarrasque?
After the fight is finished, Jack hurries towards Elmina, only for her to cry out to Jack that he shouldn't - it's a trap! Alhazad cries that it's too late, and some kind of stasis bubble appears around Elmina, before it quickly multiplies and also catches our party in spheres as well - they can't move! Alhazad that these humans behave so beautifully - so must waste in our efforts! He tells us that we need to keep quiet during the Demons' event!
After that Alhazad dumps us into the dungeons, and Jack blames himself for all of it. It's his fault! Hanpan wonders if everyone else is alright, since they're in separate cells… Jack is sure they are, though, and then declares they'll have to break out!
The next sequence is pretty cool. We're once again a dungeon in which all characters have their own solo route to go through, but this time they sort of intersect, and we have to help each other out to progress. In fact, technically there are four characters this time, since after speaking to Hanpan we're given control of the wind mouse himself! We use this to scurry through a nearby mousehole in the wall and go places nobody else can. Hanpan's grand adventure consists of moving from mousehole to mousehole until he reaches a switch on the wall which he can jump to in order to unlock the gates - it's not exactly rocket science, but Hanpan complains about the work anyway, deciding that Jack's going to do all of it next time! Labor laws also apply to rats, you know…
Hanpan soon returns to Jack's side and is sort of pleased by how much the guy worries about him, then informs him that all the locks are now open - the rest is up to him! Jack concludes that this means Rudy and Cecilia are probably on the move as well, and he wonders what they could be doing… Anyway, let's go!
There's a couple of items spread around the cells - magic carrots, a Luck Card, that sort of stuff - alongside the skeletal remains of forgotten prisoners left to die down here. I end up in front of a locked door, and it's not hard to guess what to do next. Switching over to Cecilia, I make my way over to a room with an orange crystal - hitting that turns it blue, and magically the door in front of Jack disappears in the picture-in-picture preview. Voila! I quickly move him to the other side of the door before switching back - just in case I need to switch colors again soon, you know?
Rudy, meanwhile, goes on his own little exploration trip as well, until he finds himself stopped by a bunch of ground bollards. Cecilia finds herself stuck at a door too, so I end up driving Jack to the next crystal which allows her to pass through and activate a switch which lowers the bollards for Rudy - it's easy to see because they're sharing a screen for a bit there, though they're on different vertical levels from each other.
This might genuinely be my favorite dungeon in this entire game. Cecilia eventually ends up stepping on a switch, and there are two more of them visible. Sure enough, only a tiny bit of switching doors is required to get the other two down the rest of their solo paths as well, and once everyone converges and presses their switches the final bollards lower and the party can officially reform.
With everyone together again, there's actually a place over in Jack's section that he couldn't access by himself - bombing the wall there gives access to a couple of Crest Graphs and an Ambrosia. Afterwards we head back to Rudy's section as well, because there's a door there which he didn't enter. Inside is the next boss - the Demon Prophet, who appears from nowhere when we get in and declares that he is our captor, and a seer - nobody escapes his vision! He punishes those who try to escape, and rewards those who are obedient…
He tells us to go back to our cell, and we get a yes/no dialogue. Amusingly, if you answer yes here he really will put everyone back in their cells, and you have to walk back here just like before. Heh! Hitting no, of course, pisses the guy off…
[Boss: Demon Prophet]
Clown time… The Demon Prophet has a funny gimmick where instead of attacking, he just describes the effects of his attack and then it happens - for example when he yells out that rocks fall, they do. Besides pretty strong elemental attacks through those shenanigans, he also has his super-attack Hell Size Masquerade which hits everyone. The usual strategies work fine on this guy, though - he's really nothing special, just quirky. As we finish him off, the prophet announces that he can see… the end of this fight! It is… no, not him! He then very dramatically falls over backwards like he's a cardboard cutout, and we get a ton of money for our trouble. Nice!
Once we're done with that guy, the dungeon still isn't over - the stairs lead us back to a sealed door at the start of the dungeon, back where we first entered, and Hanpan can hit a switch while Jack is on another switch in order to open the door in question. This leads back to that save point we saw near the start of the dungeon, and up north there's now only one path onwards. We're heading right back to where we were captured. There, in a room with four green statues, another new demon awaits us - this one is Shazam (no relation.) He announces that in just a little while, the Black Tear will rain down on the land, and the end draws near for this planet!
(Okay, this is getting silly, game. Can you stick to a localization, please? We've now had Dark Tear, Dark Tear Drop, Tearing Darkness, Darkness Tear, and Black Tear all referencing the same thing…)
[Boss: Shazam]
This dungeon is just full of mini-bosses, isn't it? This guy is hideous too, with that stack of heads... Shazam has a couple pretty potent attacks, including the full party-hitting Dark Ray, as well as the Fatal Blow which does minimal damage… unless it happens to kill someone instantly. He also dispels buffs, which is annoying. The good news is that he's not really any harder than the previous two mini-bosses in terms of HP, so he croaks before he gets to put the hurt on too badly. Still, Jack did die at least twice to those nasty Fatal Blows when I had to replay this section…
After Shazam goes down for good, he declares that we're too late - all will perish! And we will perish with this planet… Moving beyond him to the next passage, we're warned that Cecilia's [Tear Drop] is vibrating, and we're asked whether we want to jump in. Are we about to have another freaking boss battle, so quickly after the last? Or is this dramatic cutscene time again…?
Entering into the next room, we witness a gigantic black crystal hovering in the middle of the place, in a room seemingly open to the air outside. Jack asks what's going on here, and it's Zeikfried's voice which answers - as he told us earlier, he'll kill the Guardians!
Cecilia is shocked to find that Zeikfried is still alive, and Jack curses when he can't see the demon anywhere. Alhazad chimes in to admit he's quite surprised by this development too, and compliments Zeikfried on a job well done! Jack concludes we weren't the only ones who escaped from the dimensional gap! Zeikfried, uninterested with the byplay, tells us to just sit there and watch as the black light of the Darkness Tear rain rips Filgaia into pieces!
Jack asks how this is possible, and Alhazad says it's easy - the Darkness Tear over there can generate anti-life energy by reversing the effects of the [Tear Drop.] We already know how energy is delivered to the different regions of Filgaia, right? It's through the Elw Pyramids - and that same machine which the Elws built has now become a doomsday device for Filgaia! With the satellites up above, the Demons can now broadcast the anti-life energy from space, and thus they will put an end to this Ray Line, the power network of the Guardians. They will bring not just wastelands, but utter death to this planet! Cecilia, confused, points out that Zeikfried wanted to actually rule this planet for himself, right? Not kill the planet entirely. What he's doing is sounding more and more like what Mother wanted, and he used to hate her, didn't he? (He literally helped us kill her.)
Zeikfried hesitates when she says that. Alhazad, though, seems unbothered, and explains that Lady Harken was originally a human woman, and a woman gives birth… and who else would be more perfectly suited to give birth to anti-life than a Mother? Sure enough, we can suddenly see her outline visible inside the crystal… Zeikfried declares that Alhazad should do it - to let the [Black Tear] rain onto the world! (Gah, now they're switching localization mid-conversation!) Jack opposes this genocidal plan, of course, but he's too late - the crystal launches a blast of dark energy into orbit which bounces off against the satellite seen during Elw Pyramid teleports, and then it splits into a dozen bolts of darkness which rain down onto the planet below, casting it in a purple hue…
The Elw's teleportation devices scatter the Darkness Tear all over Filgaia, and the dark glow of the crystal severed the lifeline of the Guardians, or so the narration claims as we see a deep crevice open in the earth below. This line, called the Ray Line, spreads deep under the planet's crust. The power that held the world together up to this point quickly diminishes, as the Guardians in each area lose their link - we see tornadoes rip through an area, as the narrator states that nature hovers in an uncomfortable balance of occasional, major disruptions… but the Darkness Tear, the antithesis of the [Tear Drop] will suck Filgaia dry of its life before our very eyes… Somewhere, we see a crowd of villagers flee from an oncoming tsunami…!
Jack cries out to stop this - damn it! He throws himself at the huge crystalline Darkness Tear and is repulsed, but moments later he's back on his feet and tries again with a savage warcry, and again, and again. Finally the crystal breaks, and Lady Harken is released from inside, falling to the ground and reverting to her human form.
The woman tells us not to come near her, though - we should get away! She is, after all, Lady Harken - the demon warrior! She then teleports away, and Jack cries out that he couldn't protect her - again, his power alone could not save her! He collapses, and Cecilia rushes over to him in a panic, realizing that he's hurt…
After the scene fades out, we get a little more dialogue from Alhazad, on an entirely black screen - he comments that the Darkness Tear didn't actually end up doing too much damage after all before it was destroyed! Thanks to their human friends here, the Guardians still remain alive… He admits this plan turned out to be a failure. Zeikfried corrects him, stating that this wasn't a failure - this was just supposed to get the Guardians' attention on what the Demons have accomplished! Alhazad wonders why, and then realizes what Zeik is after. Right… [Ka Dingel!]
Zeikfried agrees, and he explains that a thousand years ago, the legendary evil tower of [Ka Dingel] was sealed away somewhere, and the demons needed to know where and how they did that, so they could find it. That was the real objective of this Darkness Tear project. Ha, humans, just wait until Zeikfreid obtains the heavenly power! They'll be thrilled by the [New Moon] and finally Filgaia will…!
Okay, anyone else feel like some of this feels like a bad retcon? There's this whole dramatic 'end of the world' style cinematic, with custom artwork of the world getting screwed over... but then actually, no, apparently none of that happened and the world is basically unchanged? How am I supposed to read this as anything but the developers going 'right, we haven't actually gotten any work done on a World of Ruin, so let's insert a scene which excuses that nothing actually changes after this world-shaking event.' Granted, I do like the concept that the entire thing was just a trick in order to get at Zeikfried's real objective, but I'm not sure the disaster movie cutscene makes sense in that context...? Or maybe all that did happen, but natural disasters are just old hat for the people of this era...
Pandemonium Aftermath
We enter a black-and-white sequence - a flashback. We see Captain Coldbird, from way back in the introduction of the game, asking a young Elmina and Garret what they're doing up on the walls - today was the knighting ceremony, he could lose his new title for this! Garrett is upset that the old man found them, but Coldbird immediately tells him he's not an old man - he's his superior, as of today! Elmina informs the knight that she was the one who asked Garrett to come - it's her fault! She came up here to see the whole town from the high walls… She figures you must find what it is that makes you who you are, before you can utilize any of the fighting skills they are learning. If not, you'll always be half a warrior. She thought that by looking from here, Garret would find something to protect…
Garrett comments that something to protect - he already has that. For a good-looking girl, she'll show his [courage]! Coldbird interjects and says that the most important thing a knight should know is what he is protecting. That is why the seven Fenril Knights are named after tools of defense. Coldbird is the armor, Commander Ryan is the shield, Elmina is the attack - the sword. Lately, she's been known as the Sword Princess. Garrett asks what he's to be called, then? Coldbird that he's a newcomer, so he will be Van Burace (Vambrace) - the hand guard. Garrett thinks that sounds terrible, but Coldbird points out that the sword is the key to defending against an enemy, and Garret is the hand guard that protects Elmina. Is he not satisfied with that?
Garrett declares that he'll guard everything… just let him at it! He is Van Burace, and he is a Fenril Knight from today!
The dream-memory ends there, and Jack wakes up in bed back in Adlehyde Castle, with Hanpan, Rudy and Cecilia at his side. They're all relieved he's alright, of course. Jack admits he was dreaming about the past, about someone he was supposed to protect, but… he didn't. Couldn't. He tells Cecilia that he had no right to badger her about her secrecy before, because he sacrificed everything to be a Van Burace, because he couldn't tell her the truth about who he really is...
Cecilia honestly doesn't really care who he truly is - because he's an important part of this team regardless. Jack is thankful for her faith in him, but says he must ask for a favor. Could we all go to Arctica? He has to take care of some unfinished business there. He cannot let Elmina stain her hands any further. She's knee deep in blood and sin, and he has to help and protect her… Cecilia observes that Jack intends to use his powers for protection, and he agrees - he had forgotten the true nature of his sword!
Before following up on that I drop some more money in the Adlehyde repair funds (which seems more like an endless money hole than anything) and visit the engineer, Tom. I can give him the Secret Tool which I picked up behind Vassim's place in the Elw Dimension, with which he is able to fix this town's broken Guardian statue. That would be the statue of Zeldukes in the woods nearby, ruined when Belselk came calling. Visiting it after it's been repaired reveals that the Guardian of Castles provides protection and stability, and the wishes of the people in the resurgent town have awakened him! Together, we can defeat the black cloud that covers Filgaia! Castle Rune acquired!
The infusions of cash have really reinvigorated the town of Adlehyde at this point, even if the progress is visually pretty subtle. Asking around town, I learn a bit more about the demon war - apparently the demons and the Guardians once fought over a tower that was the gate to the sea of stars, but in fear of losing the great tower to their enemy, the Guardians sealed it away. It's still hidden somewhere in Filgaia… Another person notes that once upon a time, there was Angol Moa, and this great king of illusions lived on the Isle of Combat… That all sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it? Getting to the end now...
In one of the newly rebuilt houses I can also find a guy in a gray hat, and when addressed he reveals he's actually Drake - that same guy from the idiotic ship wedding, remember? He explains that he and his gang worked on some beached ships at the town of Ship Graveyard, and came across broken pieces of the Sweet Candy there. They laughed so hard… but then realized that as much they hated that bastard Bartholomew, they shared a love of the ocean and ships. So he thought he'd be a nice guy for a change… There's a gift for us on the beach, a miracle of patchwork - many ship parts were put into making that thing! Sure enough, when we head out of town, a brand new Sweet Candy is ready to set sail on the high seas… I did not expect the Drake redemption arc!
That boat isn't actually obsolete, even if the airship and teleporting are much more efficient for getting to places - there's at least one more destination where we'll need the Sweet Candy II - and that's to get revenge for its predecessor! But that's for later...
Next: Let's get Jack some closure.
Wild Arms (Part 30) - Arctica and the Light of Hope
Well, Jack asked us for help with a personal mission, so obviously we're heading straight for Arctica - and with the Gull Wing, it's not even hard to find our way there. It's just a matter of locating the icy continent and setting down there. The castle is in a mountain range west of where the Photosphere used to be, off in a secluded valley by itself without obvious ways in or out. Jack must be quite the mountaineer! Wonder how this place and Adlehyde are sister-cities, then...
There's no scenes when we show up, it's just a regular old dungeon - there's a couple of chests with Full Revives near the entrance, and a bunch of other healing items to loot around the place, and stuff like Secret Signs. It's all pretty humdrum and familiar, really. Eventually we make our way to the courtyard - or maybe it's a roof - where a box awaits Rudy's touch. It's another ARMs canister with the Wild Bunch ARM inside!
You can find a Duplicator door here with a few more Secret Signs, and a central door up a long set of stairs which leads to a room with a throne. Jack approaches it, and mentions that it's been a few years since that cold, stormy night… Suddenly a spirit appears, and it's Captain Coldbird's spirit! Then a sword also appears, embedded in the floor, and Jack recognizes it as the Black Fenril, the sword of Chief Knight Coldbird! Is he going to give this sword to Jack? To a knight like him?
The spirit fades, and Jack decides he must accept this responsibility, in the name of his sword! We then get the blade - and it's localized in a different way when it's an item, so now it's the Black Feral! The skills of the previous wielder come along too, so Jack also gets a new Fast Draw hint for Void. Sweet! In a sense, I guess this means Jack just got himself a promotion...
Heading down another set of staircases we get to a savepoint, and then we traverse a long and awfully familiar hallway… Sure enough, this hallway terminates at an elevator that's straight from the opening scene of this game. Unfortunately, we don't get a retread of the demons attacking scene - would've been neat.
After it gets to the bottom, the next few turns lead us directly to the original resting place of Mother's cocoon. There, where Alhazad once cut down the castle's defenders, now awaits Lady Harken - or Elmina, since she's presently in human form. Before speaking to her, though, it behooves me to skirt the edge of the room and loot the Boom Getter, an accessory for Jack, and have a gander at the empty nook where the cocoon once hung.
Afterwards, I head back to the love of Jack's life and open conversation with her…
Jack immediately tells Rudy and Cecilia to let him do this alone, and then apologizes to Elmina for making her wait. He really doesn't want to see her like this if he can help it… Elmina, still sticking to the name of Lady Harken, says that her bloodstained hands will never let her go. Jack muses that it's the same for him, and he can't turn back! Elmina will laugh at him, he's sure - for Elmina. But he shall use his sword against Lady Harken! En garde!
One way or another, they shall attain honor, Jack declares! Elmina agrees with this, and says that everything begins and ends here, today. Her art does not create or destroy, for it's the essence of pure combat she lives by. They'll taste each other's blood for the last time! Now come, Jack!
[Boss: Lady Harken]
This climactic fight against Elmina is a solo battle against Jack, as you might have surmised, so while her Magnum Fang and Arael attacks do moderate damage, they are entirely survivable. Jack's Fast Draw attacks work great here, and I can heal decently enough to keep up with her. Suffice to say that her Harken Tempest group-attack is a lot less impressive when she only has one target to hit. It's just a matter of time before she falls, really... Lady Harken mocks Jack at first, boasting about her prowess even while the fight is happening, but as she begins to lose the fight, she changes her tune, and she tells Jack that he finally looks like a knight… Just like that, he finishes it, and cuts her down.
After the fight, Elmina is spread out on the floor with Jack standing over her and calling her name. Suddenly a burst of energy appears above the both of them, and Jack wonders what that light is…? The dying Elmina scoffs, and point out that he still doesn't get it, does he? That up there is the light from Jack's heart, the light of the [absolute power!] It's the power to go beyond yourself in order to protect the ones we love. That is the light of his [Courage]!
Jack tries to convince Elmina to save her strength and to refrain from talking, but Elmina says that many precious things have already slipped through her fingers. Jack is now glowing with courage, and it's stronger than… She closes her eyes at this point, and Jack begs her to open them again. Elmina murmurs that here are a few words from the dead: she doesn't care how boring or terrible things get, Jack should protect this world, the world that provided for the two of them to meet. He agrees wholeheartedly, and says he will no longer use his sword for revenge, he'll use it for…!
The Lion Idol explodes and Justine manifests - the Guardian of Courage! The death of the Demon knight and the cry of the human warrior have summoned him to Filgaia once again! Jack should call his name for the sake of [Courage], and thus rise above himself! Courage Rune acquired!
Elmina's demonic body vanishes, and the other two party members try to comfort Jack for his loss, but he says he's okay. He begs to be allowed to remain with them, to continue to fight for the sake of Filgaia. Elmina taught him that there are things in this world worth protecting! With that, Jack finally grows beyond his insatiable need for power, and find a better, more courageous path...
As we leave Arctica Castle through the same gate Jack escaped through in the introduction, bittersweet about what went down just now, Cecilia suddenly warns the others that something is happening - the powers of the Guardians are going berserk inside her [Tear Drop]! They're trying to tell her something!
The scene shifts to an ocean view, and we're told by the Guardians that while tears of darkness did indeed fall on the land due to the Pandemonium incident, the damage of the Ray Line was only temporary… Still, it was enough to greatly weaken the Guardians' powers, and the tower hidden deep within the ocean by them was was detected by Zeikfried at that moment. The tower with technology which reached the skies… A thousand years ago there were residential colonies in orbit around the planet, they explain, and in those days humans and Elws lived together...
The gigantic mechanism [Ka Dingel] connected the land to these colonies, and this tower, which was deemed too uncontrollable to use by the Guardians, has been found by Zeikfried and raised back above the waters again. It was awakened through time and space to show its face once more!
Okay, so, just to be clear about the plot - we're now dealing with a replicant gun-toting vagabond and his entourage of a magical princess and a courageous knight, who are fighting alien robot demons which are taking over a fantasy space elevator in order to nuke the gods from their Death Star in orbit. That's actually pretty damn metal…! If you hadn't guessed, Ka Dingel is where we're headed for our endgame content. There's a bunch of loose ends to take care of first, though, and a few optional side-dungeons to explore…
The Rings of Timespace
Back in Adlehyde, it's time to fund the local committee entirely too much cash. So much that they stop accepting any more!
After another few donations of entirely too much cash, I head over to the pub - there's a new guy at the north end of the bar now. Talking to him proves useful. He first explains some irrelevant stuff about how there are normal fighting and healing spells, and more complex versions as well… He then mentions that he doesn't actually need an item he has anymore, this Dispellado - he's a retired Dream Chaser, you see, and he intends to stay in this town and grow roots! I'll have better use of it, since the Dispellado neutralizes most dimensional magic…
This is a hint to head back over to Baskar village, since it's time to go to the Rings of Timespace to the northwest, one of the few big dimensional magic locations we haven't dealt with yet. Using the Dispellado we just acquired on the rocks there we can unlock the Illusion Temple, but only if we use it in the order mentioned in one of the books we read long ago in Cecilia's introduction - NW, SW, SE, NE, W, S, E, N. After using the Dispellado on all of them the Illusion Temple opens up, right in the center of the ring.
Inside we meet Dan Dairam, Guardian of Timespace, who declares that there is one wandering soul which is neither man nor demon, and does not belong to any dimension! Jack realizes who the being might mean by that, and the Guardian confirms that it's the one he loves - Elmina! With her demon body gone, her soul has found humanity again… In other words, she's not completely dead. She's still alive! The Guardian may be able to call this soul back and give life to it with the assistance of the Guardian of Life. Sure enough, Elmina starts materializing right then and there.
Jack, shaken by this, cuts in and asks Dan Dairam if it's possible to turn back the clock in her heart? He wants to make Elmina forget that she ever became a demon and destroyed many lives… The Guardian confirms this is possible, but it would mean she would forget Jack's own existence as well. He knows how painful that would be for him… Jack knows this, but he doesn't want Elmina to carry the cross in her heart anymore, so he's prepared to suffer this pain. The Guardian declares that it shall be done - Filgaia will have a new Elmina, and if our destiny is clear, then the pull of love will always be there. Chrono Rune acquired!
I'm not sure I'm actually on board with Jack's decision, here - I appreciate his motives, but erasing someone's entire mind because they might have some trauma to work through seems a rather rash decision, and you'd think someone there would consider asking her first? Like, is there no option here to chat with her for like three minutes and get her agreement on this scheme? I guess it's better than nothing, though. Plus the last words of the guardian imply that not everything is lost.
For a secret scene, we have to go out of way to visit the pub in Milama again, and while there Jack will spot a new woman working there with a familiar hair color. It can't be, right? Speaking to her, the waitress in question wonders if there's something on her face…?
Oh, she must look like an old girlfriend, right? She tells Jack that if he wants to seduce her, he's gonna have to do better than that! Jack is slack-jawed, and tells her to just ignore him. The waitress figures he's got problems, and wonders if she has anything to do with those, perhaps? She's got amnesia, you see, so she doesn't remember anything! It's really a pain not to be able to remember your own name… The guys here gave her one, but it just doesn't feel right?
She asks for Jack's name, and he introduces himself, then takes out a familiar ribbon and offers it to her. The waitress is confused - why is he giving this to her? She can't take that, it looks like it's full of memories - you don't give that to a stranger! Jack mutters that there she goes again, preaching as usual… The waitress asks what he just said, but Jack doesn't repeat himself. As he goes to leave, she calls after him - Jack's coming back sometime, isn't he? Jack figures he might, someday. The waitress concludes he must be a swordsman, a Dream Chaser… Could she maybe try that sword of his? Nah, just kidding…
That whole sequence doesn't net you anything, nor is it hinted at as far as I know - it's just a little hopeful nugget that suggests Jack and Elmina may reignite their relationship down the line. I do hope that, at some point, Jack will come clean about what he did, though. Maybe that's why he's uncertain about sticking around, and just leaves the ribbon with her - whatever they used to have is gone. Now things are strange, and while Elmina is alive again, she's someone different, now...
Beacon of Hope
Back in Baskar there's one more quest we can now complete. Entering the temple way in the back, the step pyramid, is possible now that we've got our hands on both the Rune of Love and the Rune of Courage. The guard will let us pass now that we've successfully retrieved them, and the intent here is for Justine and Raftina's runes to radiate their dazzling light from the top of the structure, in order to try and summon their final counterpart, Zephyr, the Guardian of Hope.
They aren't successful in that attempt, unfortunately - even their light can't reach him! But if they give up now, they'll have no future! Rudy steps up at that point and tries to help, and the Guardians conclude he's trying to open the path to the future with the light of his own heart...
The two Guardians argue he's an artificial being, though, and an artificial heart cannot bring a bright future! Rudy cannot call the future wind - so why does he still seek the future of Filgaia? How can he do that? He's all alone in this world, a stranger who does not belong anywhere. How could he try to open the future to this world!? Can he believe in dreams?
Jack argues that Rudy never gives up, and as long as he has that spirit, he'll always be right for this world! Cecilia agrees, and explains that it was because of Rudy that they were able to believe in the future - so he shouldn't think that he doesn't belong to this world. They need him in this world! Rudy, emboldened by the support of his friends, redoubles his efforts - and the light of his artificial heart reaches into the future. No way! But wait, this brightness really is… the light of [Hope]!
The Dragon Idol that Rudy had in his possession shatters to pieces, and Zephyr finally manifests - he's the Guardian of Hope, the light from the heart that people have lost… Rudy's heart is not of nature, and yet its light woke him. If he believes in the future, then use his powers to fight in the name of [Hope]! Hope Rune acquired!
I think it's pretty interesting how the Guardians really can't get over their antipathy for artificial beings, presumably because of what happened back during the demon war - between the metal demons, the out of control Holmcross, and the disaster of the Guardian Blade, they must have concluded that machines are just bad news. Here comes our boy Rudy, though, with more heart in his little Pinnochio body than most of the rest of humanity combined. Guess it takes someone who understands others' pain and what it means to be an outsider to really hope for better things...
So, we're not quite finished with sidequests yet, but to finish some of the last ones we'll first need to dip into the final dungeon to acquire Jack's final [tool], and then backtrack outside again before we tackle the second half. Yeah, it's a whole thing, but I'm being a completionist here...
Next: The dimensional tower of Ka Dingel, and a digression into optional endgame content.
Ka Dingel is pretty easy to spot on the map - it's a (pretty modest-sized) tower standing on the overworld, located in the middle of an atoll, submerged partly in a shallow lake. The Earth Golem is required to get into the damn thing, but that's easy enough with the help of our trusty ocarina and associated giant!
Once we approach our destination, though, we find a familiar pair at the entrance. Boomerang and Luceid await us, and the former mentions that he knew if he waited here, we would eventually show up. He then helpfully explains that Zeikfried is here because he's after the [New Moon], also known as [Malduke] - this is presumably that second 'demon fortress' moon that someone mentioned way back. That's no moon - it's a space station! [Ka Dingel] itself, Boomerang explains, is actually a dimensional elevator, one which leads to the space colony in orbit. Jack asks Boomerang why he's telling us all this - what does he want?
Boomerang just keeps expositing, explaining that Malduke was once an ancient Demon space colony which existed a thousand years ago, and it has the capability to attack Filgaia from on high. Three guesses what Zeikfried wants to use it for?
Now that we know, he's sure we plan to head over to Malduke ourselves to stop this, but there will be many people who will stand in our way - including him! We can't go ahead until we defeat him, so we should come at him! Only battle will quench his heart, for he thirsts to fight!
[Boss: Boomerang & Luceid]
This fight is really familiar, though our two foes have been buffed once again - the Double Boomerang Dynamic hurts badly by now, as does the Large Moon attack from Luceid. That said, the exact same strategies from before work just fine, so focusing on Luceid first is the way to go once more. Honestly this fight is getting a little old by now, these battle-obsesses weirdos need to add some variety to their oeuvre!
After Boomerang is defeated, he claims that he has no regrets. Outside battle he sinks to one knee and says that he has witnessed that the potential of human beings is endless… so we should go through, and head inside to defeat Zeikfried. Yes, he likes this! A power used to protect something precious, someday he… Before he can finish that rather Jack-like thought, a horde of demons suddenly surround us and the party draws weapons to face them...
Zeikfried's voice echoes around us, declaring that we have overstepped our bounds one too many times. He also addresses Boomerang directly, and tells him that the Quarter Knights are finished with him too - he'll die with the humans, right here and right now! The demons slowly approach, at which point Boomerang tells us to just go - he'll take it from here! Jack is surprised, but the demon is insistent, and says that there's a transport device at the top of [Ka Dingel] which will take us to where we need to go. He emphasizes that he's just letting us go, he's not saving us. We should remember that he is the one who hunts the perfect prey, so until the day of our rematch… we should go! Hurry!
Rudy takes one last look back before we rush inside, and in our wake Boomerang declares that he will never stop unless he loses his desire to fight! Now come, Luceid, Guardian of Desire! He tells the wolf, who rematerializes beside him, that they're going to take a little trip to hell together… but he shall return to hunt the perfect prey! If humans can turn hope into power, then he can turn desire into a blade!
The moment I get control back, I immediately step back outside, only to discover that both Boomerang and the demons he was fighting have already vanished, presumably in mutual annihilation. Where they were fighting, though, we can find an item on the ground. This is the Saber Fang, and its description reads: 'I'll be back…' We'll have a use for that later! For now we head back inside, to conquer the actual dungeon…
We haven't quite reached the end of Boomerang's storyline yet, but it's a nice surprise that he turns out to be essentially on our side here - he's in it for a good fight, sure, but he's clearly willfully giving us all the information we need to take Zeikfreid (and Mother) down, even while he's still playing out his guard role to keep us out. Zeikfreid clearly doesn't care for his obvious double-dealing, but I'm guessing Boomerang is one of the demons not on board with the annihilation of the planet plan, and we're his best best of seeing that defeated. He sacrifices himself to give us that shot, but given his badass boast and the item left behind, we'll be seeing him again soon...
Before I get to the tower, I should comment on the names here, since there's a fair amount of localization mangling involved, mostly related to the classic R&L confusion in translated Japanese words. 'Ka Dingel' is a corruption of 'Ka Dingir', the Sumerian name for the city of Babylon (and, as someone pointed out, used for a superweapon in Symphogear.) Malduke, then, is a reference to Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon and one of the more significant in Mesopotamian religion. I'm not sure why they're references to Mesopotamia, but I assume it's because they're ancient relics from a bygone era, much like ancient Mesopotamia is for us? I guess the misspelling helps in finding references specific to Wild Arms, though.
The first section of Ka Dingel itself is a purple-and-gray serious of ancient hallways, but mechanically it is honestly pretty simple - there's a ground switch or two to flick, and some bombable walls, but mostly this section is just a matter of checking every door and passageway and looting everything not nailed down, including a wide variety of basic healing items, a whole slew of Full Revives to prep for the coming boss fights, as well as plenty of magical carrots and Mega Berries. At one point I have to drop a statue down to a lower level where it can be pushed again to open the next room, which is about as complicated as it gets.
A little further on is the first proper puzzle - and it involves switches! There's several doors below us, as well as some levers, but to get through this room you have to activate only the first two switches, then backtrack instead of heading forward to the next one and skirt entirely around the edge of the room to find a jump-off point to get down, then flip one of the levers down there to open the way forward. Any other combination will just lock you out, and you'll need to reset the room. Annoying…
The next level of the dungeon isn't much more complicated, fortunately - there's a Metal Shield in one box, and a set of stairs close to it where a bomb is required to open another door that leads onwards. Bombing a bunch of places is a bit of a theme after that, including dropping a bomb at your feet and then using the delayed explosion to move inside a certain area before it goes off and locks you out of progressing. It's a neat idea, but not very difficult to figure out. Which, to be fair, applies to a lot of this game.
After a vaguely spooky run across a green-hued bridge, the next floor is in sight - and there's another lever puzzle here, this time with eight of them arrayed in a three-by-three grid with only the center empty. The solution is actually very easy, since you just have to go clockwise and flip each lever in turn to make sure they all remain pointed in the same direction, then take the door to find a save point. Here, a plaque on the wall announces that the Dimensional Elevator is commencing operation, with its vector selected as the Third Colony of [Malduke.] I appreciate how we're now doing the full Ancient Aliens thing here...
Heading through either door leads us to the same imposing room, dominated by statues and a central glowing white orb. That, of course, quickly resolves into the familiar form of Alhazad!
Alhazad tells us that we have broken one of his masterpieces - for Lady Harken no longer functions with them! The creature then snickers in its alien way, and Jack growls that he's enjoying all this, isn't he? Playing with human lives. Alhazad readily agrees with that - oh yes, he just wants to play with his toys all day! You know, take an arm off, attach something there… by the time he's done, you'd have no idea what animal it is. Now isn't that fun? By then, they look at you with those funny eyes and say 'kill me'... Haha! Zeikfried wants Filgaia for demonkind, but Alhazad really doesn't care about that… Still, he can't allow us to stop his fun, so he came here to take care of that problem himself. Now, do we want to see what's inside those robes of his…? It's not cheap!
Alhazad balloons into a far more ghastly creature than he already appeared to be, now resembling a spiky crab with a maw full of teeth surrounding a red eye, sporting a huge scorpion-tail with a barbed cobra-hood that's topped with another red eye. He's still wearing his jewelry, too! This thing is gnarly!
[Boss: Alhazad - True Form]
This version of Alhazad is his last, and it shows - he can Slow Down the entire party, use his tail to attack in melee, and also cast sleep on everyone. More importantly, he now has a move called Super Transmitted Mega Crash which does a ton of damage to a single character, and the Alhazad Symphony which does the same to everyone at the same time, so a mass heal is definitely required in the wake of that one. It's a killer. The only spell that really does much against him is the holy magic Saint, so this battle is one where Rudy's ARMs and Jack's Magnum Fang or Meteor Dive should be your go-to options. It's time to take this mad scientist down for good, yeah? Damn you, Hojo…!
As the demon goes down, it cries out that humans can't do that - they just can't! Suffering from grievous wounds, he declares that he will not accept death before Malduke's revival - he will not accept this, he will not die…! Alhazad finally succumbs to his injuries, and cannot fulfill that wish... Alhazad was the very first demon we saw in this game, so I'm a little surprised he's just sort of a mid-boss in the penultimate dungeon... but at least Jack got to be the one to sort of finish off his original enemy here. Alhazad really just gave no fucks, did he? Well, I guess he hoped he'd witness the revival of the local Death Star, but presumably just so he could see it annihilate everything for science!
In his wake, Jack observes that revenge or hatred weren't on his mind when he fought Alhazad today. He defeated him because he protects the ones he loves! With that, the dark cloud in Jack's heart lifts away, and his doubts disappear. He also gains his final Force move, Double Attack. This name is a bit misleading - it gives Jack two turns instead of two attacks, so he can do multiple different things with them, which can be pretty great in the right situations. Double Action is probably a better translation.
At the end of the room is the Dimensional Elevator we came here for - and it's already set up to take people to Malduke, so all we need to do is turn it on. Cecilia muses that this [New Moon] in the ocean of stars, Malduke, will be the final battleground - destiny takes them to this strange place. Jacks says he's ready to go, and Cecilia agrees - not for herself, but for the planet she loves. Jack says he never wants to lose anything again. With that we activate the elevator, and with a rather calming little snippet of music we're beamed up into space!
I hit the nearby save point and take a stairway which leads to a bunch of pipes. Heading down one of those leads to a room with a Bullet Clip and the final ARMs box for Rudy - this contains his ultimate ARM, the Arch Smash. After that, it's time to move through several specific doors and rooms to reach another pipe where Hanpan can destroy some floor traps, and after hitting a lever inside to turn off some defenses, we can backtrack to an earlier door, which finally leads where we want.
Inside an unassuming chest is Jack's final tool, which happens to be the [Guitar of Maya]. With that, we can force monsters into fighting us anywhere - it's required to call some reticent creatures out of hiding, and it's also useful if you don't want to run around to grind.
…This, in fact, is all we want to do up here for now - Malduke's story content has been untouched for later, when we're coming here to actually finish this game for real. For now, it's time to return to the Dimensional Elevator and take the trip back, after which it's a bit of a slog to get through the entirety of Ka Dingel backwards, although at least the puzzles remain solved so we don't need to do all of them again when come back later. It's time to do some more endgame sidequesting!
Sidequest: Monster Zed
Remember who else was with us when that black hole sucked up Zeikfried and our party, then spat us out in various places? If we visit the little blind girl in the abandoned town of Saint Centour, she immediately recognizes our voice and mentions that it's been a long time since we've been here. She also says that there's been someone else who's visited, and who's very nice to her. He's a swordsman too, and while he's a little odd, he's very funny…
Afterwards, when you try to leave town, a familiar face will arrive at the gate. Zed has come to visit the blind girl, and he's appalled to see us persistent bastards here - why? Are we here to take his little paradise away? Furious, he declares that here we go, ready or not - he'll crush us! We then get an option to fight Zed, or not. Obviously, it's rematch time…
[Boss: Monster Zed]
Zed transforms as he enters the battle - he takes on a more monstrous form with long green hair and skin, his clothes hanging ragged around him, his arms bugling with muscles and thick armor. This is heaven, he declares, and here he is - the Grim Reaper's pen pal, the ultimate macho man! Zed pulls out all the stops from his previous fights, including one-shot kill moves and status effects moves. He's a bastard to defeat here, befitting someone who's the first of the 'super-bosses' of this game, albeit the weakest one. I actually manage this fight legitimately, and when he finally goes down to an Arch Smash, he cries out that we should just wait a minute, and give him a chance to explain! Just listen to him, he won't run…
As a reward for our victory we also get the Doom Bringer sword. Objectively it's a great weapon as far as stats go, but it also drops your luck into the absolute shitter, so I guess that explains a few things about Zed. Returning to his usual form, Zed explains that after our little accident with the Gate Generator he ended up coming to this town. He didn't know what was happening in the place, though - there were monsters everywhere! He saw this human woman living here, and told her to keep quiet or he'd kill her, but she was just so calm… Later he found out she was blind, and for the first time in his life he felt complete. She was the first person who treated him normally, and that felt kind of nice, so he decided to stay here and help out around the house. He only attacked us because he was afraid we'd tell her who he really was. Yes… he knows he's a demon, so we should go ahead and kill him already!
Jack snaps that Zed sure likes to talk a lot - and all he needs is one shot! Zed complains that Jack is a lot meaner than he looks… Cecilia steps in and tells Jack that she believes Zed doesn't want to die, really. No, he has discovered a life other than one dedicated to only fighting! She believes we should let him stay here, in this town, to maybe help that blind lady. She asks what Rudy thinks about that, and we get a prompt - yes or no. I let Zed live, and he mentions that we are really nice people, aren't we? He'll protect the girl with his life, he promises, and we shall meet again! We shouldn't forget him, Zed the Deviant! Jack wonders if this seems like a good idea, but he figures we'll just have to wait and see…
I think it's kind of fitting that this numbskull demon, who generally just proved himself a nuisance, finds something akin to redemption here - though I'm not sure if this decision is objectively the most reasonable. Zed's... mercurial, and he's clearly not above mercilessly trying to kill someone in monster mode, but I guess between Rudy and Boomerang, and even to some extent Zeikfried, we've seen that even evil has standards...
Next: We'll finish up the rest of the endgame sidequests, including the Duke's arena, some stray golems, and the Abyss. I'll cheat through most of them, heh.
Fun fact: at this point in the PS2 remake, IIRC, Zed actually joins you as a late-game bonus character. I can't remember how it handles the additional party members, probably a "choose which three" thing.
Today, it's time for some late-game clean-up before we hit the final dungeon and final bosses...
Remember that Duke and his fighting arena? It's time to head back there and finally take on the challenge now that we've got high-tier equipment and skills, as well as advanced magic. There's a total of six fights to deal with in there, and five Duplicators are necessary to reach an extra hidden boss in this location, so stocking up on a few items wouldn't go amiss. The entry fee is a paltry 1000 gella, though, so that's easy enough. The four arena challenge enemies are essentially four bosses in a row, and they each have their own particular strategy to deal with them - none of which are that complicated, but you can't rest between fights here, so it can get dicey.
The first fight is against Medea, who is pretty weak at this point, and goes down in no time at all. The second, Badnews, is just a big brute with a club, but his high defense and health pool means he takes some punishment, even if he lacks AOE potential, which means outhealing him is easy.
Javawalk comes up next, a three-headed hydra thing, and here the tactic of using the Banish spell is an easy way to shrink this guy down to size so its stats are reduced, and from there it's easy to flatten him. Banishing isn't a surefire thing, but it's just a matter of trying a few times and then it's a cakewalk. The final enemy is the Riversider, who is the strongest (and freakiest) in the arena and has even more HP than the last two guys - he can knock out characters pretty easily with one hit. There's a few moves that can hit him for 9999 damage at this point, though, so a handful of those is enough to take this foe down for good.
The rewards for completing the challenge include a Duplicator, some Nectar, and a Full Libra (as well as eternal glory or whatnot.) That Full Libra grants immunity to all status effects when equipped - it's basically a Ribbon from Final Fantasy, it's great! I obviously equip that immediately, because why would you want anything but the best…?
Challenging the Arena once more after already finishing it once, while you're in the possession of the Saber Fang that we picked up from the steps of Ka Dingel, will lead to a secret bonus encounter. 'This is my prey!' a voice speaks from off-screen, before someone jumps into the scene. It's Boomerang! Sort of.
We'll have to face Boomerang one last time, and the guy concludes we have been waiting for him. To settle the score with us, he came dancing all the way up from the fires of hell! He has obtained new powers there, because through his obsessive desire to fight he bonded with the Guardian of Desire herself, in order to create the ultimate power: the Guardian Blade [Devil Blade Luceid]! Now we should feel the power of the blade which has been forgotten to the far corners of legend!
[Boss: Boomerang Flash]
This incarnation of Boomerang is his strongest yet - he has a limited move pool, however, and ironically the least dangerous move in his arsenal is the new Evil Sword Luceid, despite the fact that he's packing a demonic version of the weapon that annihilated half the planet at some point. That said, I'll be honest, I still had to cheat to get through this one - it's a real toughie. Boomerang's AOE can hit for a huge amount, and his single-target execution move isn't any easier to deal with, plus he's very fast (as befitting his name.) Goat Dolls are useful against lucky shots, sure, but that only goes so far. After he goes down through the magic of cheat codes, we receive our reward in the form of Rudy's ultimate weapon, the Divine Blade!
After his ignoble defeat at my cheating hands, Boomerang mentions that miracles do exist… the humans' belief system makes the impossible possible. The power that protects Filgaia…! It looks like this is the end for him, but did he lose? No, he did not! He lived the life of a Demon Warrior! He fought and lost his life, but he was not defeated. He lived a life of his own dreams, he lived… without regrets. He is a winner, and his death is glorious!
With that, this worthy warrior finally dies for good…
Sidequest: Illusion King
There's another secret boss in this building, and I'm keeping cheats on for that guy. I'm not going to grind half a dozen levels before endgame and trivialize the finale entirely just to beat these guys up, this isn't Final Fantasy VII! To get to this fearsome foe we'll need to head back to the Duke's chambers and the mirror I pointed out when we first came here. Punching that mirror with the Power Glove will break it, revealing a secret path behind it.
Inside there are five sealed doors in a row, each of which requires a Duplicator to unlock, and beyond those there's a tablet which states that this is a warning - not an idle threat! If we value our lives we should turn around and leave now! If we proceed… we will feel the wrath of the Illusion King! Up another set of stairs there's a second tablet which declares that only a fool would enter the realm of Angol Moa, the one destined to unite the world. The castle of the Illusion King sleeps there in his universe! Seems like someone wants us not to go here, huh?
Walking over to the edge of the map, the distant voice of Angol Moa reaches us, and he declares that he is the Demon Lord who is destined to rule the world… or at least he's supposed to be. But why would he want this messed-up place if it doesn't benefit him at all? He was napping because he was bored, but if we want to fight, he's up for a scrap… He must warn us though, he's tough! I love how the epic buildup is just completely disarmed in five seconds flat by this doofus of a demon… With that Angol Moa looms from the darkness beyond…
[Boss: Angol Moa]
Angol Moa reveals himself to be a huge, multi-eyed, winged Asylum Demon, so he lives up to the hype. He's one of the ultimate bosses of this game, but I can't really give you a fair play-by-play of his fight, since I just can't win this one. Even with the cheats I was using against Boomerang, his 7th Moon move just straight up kills my entire party, and the only way to really beat him is by outleveling this boss by grinding. Defeating him would get you Jack's ultimate weapon, the Juggernaut, though if you beat this guy, why would you ever need it?
Sidequest: Stray Golems
So, remember when our poor ship was taken down by that spooky 'stone mermaid' while retrieving the Gemini Circuit, and we never heard about it again? Taking the newly rebuilt Sweet Candy II out to the waters near Ship Graveyard causes something to rise from the depths, and this time we get to have an actual fight against it instead of a one-sided cutscene slaughter. We're taking on the underwater golem Leviathan!
[Boss: Leviathan]
This is a pretty tough battle, but electrical damage works great against the thing, and so do Fury Shot and Magnum Fang, as per usual. Once defeated, this machine drops Cecilia's ultimate armor, the Pret-a-porte. Its challenge level doesn't really measure up to the super-bosses, of course…
We can follow up on another rumor, while we're at it - remember how the demons' computers mentioned that one of the Golems was uncontrollable, and disposed of by tossing it into the desert? North-west of Adlehyde, beyond the Memory Temple where Jack started, there's a long stretch of featureless desert accessible only by airship. Running around there eventually gets you a notification that something is approaching from under the ground, and that means Barbados is about to attack!
[Boss: Barbados]
Again, this fight (against an admittedly badass boss) is relatively difficult, but it's really nothing compared to Monster Zed or the stuff worse than him. From this creature you can loot Cecilia's ultimate weapon, the Dist Dims. With this we have now defeated a total of four golems, which are all we have access to right now.
Secret Dungeon: Abyss
Remember that one time there was a mention about Elw Pyramids malfunctioning if the machine was messed with, dropping you off in a scary place? Yeah, we're going to engineer that problem intentionally. The Elw Pyramids are terminals for a global teleportation network that uses a huge satellite to bounce signals around, but we want to get onto that satellite. To do that, we have to go to any of the Elw pyramids scattered around the world and access the teleport pad, then pull out our Power Glove. Using that causes the ground to shake for a brief moment, and the idea is to use the teleporter while the ground is still shaking, sending it slightly off target. It takes a few tries, but when the teleporter goes red and there's warning noises, we're going places!
We materialize inside a place known as the Abyss, and there's a tablet nearby which notes that this is a prison where the darkest evil dwells, and the vortex in this dark prison will engulf anyone who goes near it. Heading south through some rooms we get to a small lever puzzle - flipping a few opens a path, and from there you need to push some statues around to get further in, then open a Duplicator doorway. You can pick up all three ultimate head armors here - Dead Heat for Rudy, Texas Number for Jack, and the Ruby Tiara for Cecilia. Back at the Duplicator door you can also go south through a hidden door in the wall to progress. A little further in is a room with a candle as well as an empty chest…
About that candle, though… There's several locations in the Abyss where it's dark and you might be tempted to light the candles present there… but this is the Abyss. That's not a good idea! It'll lock the door and keep you from progressing, which is just a bother. There's a tablet on the wall which declares that a sword of light shall slay the darkness, but the jewel of the future will lead us to the absolute truth. Helpful? Another says that the darkest path is the one that leads to the depths, and the path of the unseen is the path of darkness…
I guess this is the hint to keep the candles unlit, huh? Finally, there's a sign on the wall which speaks of the one known to be the most evil - the king of monsters. If I have faith in my ability, then I should go forth and wander the underworld of true darkness! Are we gonna beat up Godzilla?
We soon arrive at a grapple puzzle over some huge endless pits, and another tablet. This one mentions that the power of this beast has no match in this world - the beast king Rago Ragla comes from the sea of stars, and dripping with might this white beast towers over you like a tornado. Sure. Getting across the gaps here is a pain, by the way - I had to retry it a lot since I kept slipping into pits due to the very precise aiming required.
Beyond this room is another Duplicator door, and inside is a final tablet which states that this is the Central Core - this is where Rago Ragla sleeps under its spell. Once awakened by the Song of the Maya, the world will burn to cinders! There's your hint, huh? Entering the new room we get to a boss arena, where Jack's Guitar will summon forth the actual boss…
[Boss: Raguragula]
Localization, right? We actually heard about this freaky spiky rabbit-guy back in Cecilia's intro! Again, this monster can slaughter us in an instant - its Volcanic Bomb attack is almost certainly the strongest in the entire game, and it can wipe out the whole party with ease. He doesn't use it very often - but sometimes he just goes ham. I presume most of the usual tactics work here, though only if you're at max level and with plenty of items to keep people topped up. I'm not nearly good enough to manage it.
Taking down this monster grants you the Sheriff Star, which is the best accessory in the game. It boosts your base stats by a lot, absorbs elemental damage, speeds your Force increase, gives you immunity to stat changes, raises luck, maximum HP and MP, restores HP gradually, prevents surprise, and doubles your gella on occasion. It's entirely OP. Of course, if you can beat the ultimate superboss, why would you ever need it…?
Next: Time to tackle New Moon Malduke, and head towards the end of this game...
Pretty sure you have access to another, and had it for a while. The snowy area on the overland map around the photosphere has another golem you can just run into, you usually don't encounter it because you are taking the Earth Golem and thus no random encounters.
Pretty sure you have access to another, and had it for a while. The snowy area on the overland map around the photosphere has another golem you can just run into, you usually don't encounter it because you are taking the Earth Golem and thus no random encounters.
I don't think that's the case? Can't find an documentation of that, at least... We befriended the Earth Golem and beat up Diablo and Lolithia during the story, and now Barbados and Leviathan via optional fights. The remaining three golems are all on Malduke. So which one is supposed to be at the Photosphere area?
Maybe you're thinking of the remake, or one of the sequels?
I've beaten all of these superbosses except for Ragu O Ragula.
Goat Dolls and careful play should suffice for Angol Moa if you're strong enough to beat Boomerang Flash, although it's been years and I don't remember the exact method. Definitely a hellacious fight, though.
Ragu, on the other hand, was too much for me. Whenever I think of the superest of superbosses in a JRPG, ol' chunky spaghetti sauce here is the one that leaps to mind. It remains the ultimate superboss in every game in the series, usually found at the end of the Abyss. Unfortunately, the Abyss gets so much worse in some of the later games that I've never actually tried to fight Ragu in 3, for example.
No, I remember fighting something in the original game, it was outside the Photosphere I think in the woods area, and I think it resembled a big wolf(?). I remember there being something.
Right. It's time to get back to where we were - the top of [Ka Dingel]! I'll skip the tower retread and get straight back to New Moon Malduke beyond the Dimensional Elevator. Zoom-zoom, cool music, heading up!
After reorienting a bit, it's time to explore some of those rooms and pipes that I passed by previously - this place is a bit of a maze. One of the pipes leads to the Silver Blade for Rudy, but since he's already rocking his ultimate weapon it's not really needed. There's also the Princess Rod for Cecilia here, and Jack's Violator. That last one sounds troubling… Anyway, with all of us rocking powerful gear, it's time to head back into the pipes again and feel my way to a statue I passed by earlier on my way to the guitar.
This statue asks Jack if he seeks the limits of his flesh? If so, he should take up his sword and fight! Jack tells the other two that he wants to know his true limit, not his physical limit. Does he have the power to protect…? He's thrust into a solo battle against a pair of big beefy foes, but Cosmic Nova takes care of them nicely. That was quick!
The statue announces that Jack has discovered his weakness - and he has earned the right to receive the ultimate Fast Draw technique! The final Fast Draw hint is acquired here, Trump Card! After that, it's time to head back through the pipes and use Hanpan to break some more traps before reaching a bridge, which begins to collapse as soon as we step on it - running and then grappling on to a pillar on the far side of a gap is required to avoid falling down.
From there it's a short walk to a staircase which leads to the next point of interest. Besides a save point and a door, there are three emblems in different colors on the floor here, as well as two switches. Flipping the left switch causes the green button to light up, and entering the door beyond leads to a glowing red demonic-looking teleporter which will take me to Malduke Area 31 - Residential Area. Do I want to activate? Selecting yes spirits me off… I guess this is just more of the demons' teleportation powers at work, though given the identication codes, it's just a internal transportation system to get to different bits of the space station.
We're teleported into a room with a tablet which warns me that this town is an illusion, and everything is a lie! Stepping outside, it quickly becomes apparent that we're in some sort of ghost town now, presumably a long-abandoned village on board the space station which was built to mimic the towns on the surface of Filgaia. Alternatively, this is actually how demons live - which suggests they're a lot closer to just humans than anyone would want to admit...
The town is deserted, and we can't actually get into any of the houses, but you can choose to listen at some of the doors and get hints from unseen people within. Those hints are all rather transparent lies, since the people keep pointing you in random directions or suggesting there's things on rooftops or below stairs which are definitely not there. One of the hidden folks says there's no treasure here, which seems to suggest there's something to loot, presuming everything's a lie! Another person mentions that there's nothing hidden in the graveyard, so that's where I go, naturally…
Sure enough, while searching behind a tall headstone I find an unseen chest with the 'Wings' item inside. That seems to be the only thing in this whole ghost town, so I make my way back to the building with the teleporter and return where I came from - Malduke Area 11 - Traffic Area.
Flipping the rightmost switch in the navigation room activates the red icon on the floor, and the teleporter now heads somewhere else, namely Malduke Area 41 - Mine Area. The fact that this space station has an area for mining suggests that we should probably interpret it as a sort of mobile asteroid, and it is often referred to as a moon. I wonder if Malduke is actually the moon of the Demons' old planet, turned into a spaceship by Mother? More echoes of Jenova/Sephiroth, I guess...
At the mine area, a tablet mentions that if the spirit of the machine is good, then the machine will glow faintly blue. It will lead the righteous. If the spirit of the machine is evil, though, then the machine will glow bright red and it will lead to evil! Heading south, we'll see another tablet which states that 'the circle still binds the thousand year old power of Sado. The awakening of the golem will occur with the arrival of the Maya Song.' Well - that's pretty transparent, right? Secret Golem time!
Exploring a little leads to a conspicuous piece of rubble lodged between two staircases - blowing it up reveals an eye-machine set into the wall. Elsewhere in the dungeon I also find some actual 'Eye' items. Minding the earlier hint, returning to the eye-machine in the wall causes it to glow either red or blue depending on if the item you picked up is the real deal. The blue one is the one we want, obviously - it's just trial and error as far as I can tell.
Anyway, after verifying that I picked up the correct eye, I then head down an unexplored hallway to discover another one of those round altars, like the one where I fought the king of monsters in the Abyss. After putting out some fires to clear it, Jack can play his guitar there to summon a secret boss…
I just wanna appreciate how the devs made bespoke pixel art of the boss which shows up for like half a second on a lot of these bosses...
[Boss: Sado]
This sealed golem can hit the whole party with Evil Quasar, but honestly he's not that difficult compared to some previous challenges. Defeating this golem will grant Rudy's ultimate armor, the Braver Vest! That was pretty easy, honestly. With the mysterious genuine 'eye' in my pocket it's time to head back to Area 11 and check out the third and final section of the Malduke space station…
Flipping the leftmost switch in the transit area back to its original position now turns the blue light on, and the teleporter warps us to Malduke Area 21 - Statue Area. The tablet here states that Malduke's three areas are regulated by three holy keys - the Eye, the Wings, and the Arms. Those items will guide the holder to Central Control. Handy that we've already fetched two of those items, right? Exploring this area leads to a passage with a tablet which states: 'Do not retreat… retreat means decay… the golem Lucifer sleeps there. It has not lost any of its powers. Only a fool who does not know the true power of a golem would challenge Lucifer and Sado.' Well, we already took out one of those two, so…
After reading this message, you can't actually move back the way you came without breaking the puzzle - that'd be retreating, you know? But you can't just go right either, because that's a dead end. Instead you must walk directly south into the wall, where you can enter a hidden path which heads rightwards and comes out on the lower level without ever 'retreating'. Putting out some fires opens up another altar circle, upon which Jack pulls out his guitar…
[Boss: Lucifer]
Lucy here is the strongest of all the golems, but that still doesn't mean he's that crazy powerful at this point in the game. Mostly he's a nuisance because he's fast, so more healing is needed than usual. Fast Draws are a must, plus an upgraded Arch Smash kicks ass. Destroying Lucifer grants us Jack's ultimate armor, the Jade Wilder!
Afterwards, it's time to actually finish this dungeon properly - there's a room with three chests that seems inaccessible at first, but using jump points and switches it's possibly to make one's way all around the room and across a nearby balcony, then bomb some rubble to free staircases, and use those to enter the same area from different directions and get more stuff. It's a little confusing, but since I keep opening shortcuts here, it's doable with a bit of trial and error. I eventually reach those three chests to loot the Jolla Poncho, the Assault Coat, and the Filgaia Robe… the second-best armor sets for everyone, though I think everyone already has their best one after finishing off the golems.
Activating another switch is required to progress through a long series of rooms which end with a blue chest containing the Arms, the final key item we needed. Now all we really need to do is get out of there and return to the Traffic Area. From those switches we can head south and then to the far right to reach an elaborately decorated gate room where you can actually use those three 'keys' that we collected from the Malduke's various puzzle-levels.
Selecting a pedestal results in a voice stating that he is Malduke, ruler of the Sea of Stars - and that we should now go to the altar and present his wings that encompass the heavens, his all-seeing eye, and his arms which divide continents! Is this suggesting Malduke is an actual deity of some sort that was worshipped by the demons, or what's going on here? Is it a personification of the actual space station we're on? Or just a reference to Mesopotamian religion again...
Placing all three items causes the door behind them to open up. Inside there's a couple of Magic Carrots in chests, as well as a staircase which eventually leads to a room with an active searchlight. You can avoid it, but willfully getting noticed by the beam leads to a message blaring that Area 51 has been breached - sending the golem Berial! This triggers the final golem fight…
[Boss: Berial]
Oh hey, it's a jouster golem in a wheelchair, that's a really neat design! Berial here can reduce our armor and has a move called Genocide Flare which hits hard… but not nearly as hard as Lucifer did. Destroying Berial doesn't actually give us anything special, unfortunately - I guess they were out of neat ultimate loot to drop at this point? Bragging rights for killing all the golems will have to do, I suppose (except for our friendly bro Earth Golem.)
After that's done with, I pick up some Ambrosia from a chest, and then take the stairs and follow a linear path. Eventually a door locks behind us, preventing backtracking - there's only one way to go now, and that's towards Malduke Central Control, the big red door right in front of us. As has happened several times before, we're once again asked whether we're sure we want to enter this place… Given that this entire climb up here after Alhazad has basically just been beating up random golems and dungeon crawling, it's time to finally hunt down Zeikfried, and take on the final boss!
This Is Not Even Their Final Form
Walking inside Central Control, we get a look at how high up we are. Far below, visible through the transparent floor, the planet of Filgaia is visible as a blue marble in space. Yeah, this is definitely 'final boss arena' type stuff!
Moving along the walkways, we party out to meet Zeikfried who is turned away from us and waiting on a bridge console that's suspended in the air by wires, with a great view of the planet below. Zeik then dramatically turns around and says we're late - or should he say 'too late'? Look at that little planet down there, that's Filgaia… now we shall watch as it shatters into oblivion!
Jack cries out that the demon can't do that, but Zeikfried scoffs. See, Malduke isn't your ordinary colony - it actually has ground assault capabilities. It's a thousand year old human city in the sky… but now it's Zeikfreid's to do with as he chooses! Burn, burn it to the ground! Pure power does not discriminate! All power is destined to destroy! (I feel like this game is a bit confused about whether or not Malduke is a human or demon creation...)
Cecilia cries out that Filgaia is our home, and we won't allow this… It's time to take him down!
[Boss: Zeikfried]
So... This fight is a joke. Zeikfried is essentially unchanged from his previous encounter, bar a slight damage improvement, but we're much more powerful than we were then, and he goes down in a heartbeat. Even if we didn't pick up all the best gear, it'd still be a cakewalk. That is, of course, just a part of the narrative… for this is not even his final form! As Zeik falters, he declares he cannot fall yet! He has to… stay… himself! No, he cannot control… it's too early for this…! He will not give up his body! With a cry Zeikfried drops to his knees...
Cecilia announces that destruction will not bring us the future, and he has lost! Zeikfried snarls that he hasn't lost. Fool, we haven't got a clue! Destruction is just the beginning! The power of ultimate darkness, the eternal nothingness will devour Filgaia with teeth of fire! We cannot avoid death! We shall watch as our planet's last flame of life goes out! Sure enough, in the background, a dark shadow suddenly falls over the planet and engulfs it in darkness… Cecilia begs Zeikfried to stop, and asks what he wants with a world where nothing exists? What benefit is there in suffering like this?
Zeikfried laughs and calls out for us to cry and repent! Our defeat gives him such a warm feeling inside… It feels so good… Now the pure extinction of life exists, the final lesson! All will come to a sudden halt, like a machine being turned off… there is nothing beyond the end of life! Suddenly Ziekfried vanishes alongside the platform he was standing out, and with the crack of thunder a new being materializes in front of us - a familiar, almost angelic form.
Cecilia is horrified - it can't be! This force is the same as… Mother?
The being declares itself Motherfried, the one who has become one with her beloved child! She has returned, reborn of her own flesh! Cecilia concludes Zeikfried has been engulfed, like a baby being cradled by a mother. Jack thinks this is really getting out of hand, realizing that this caterpillar-woman-creature grew inside Zeikfried and consumed him to become the thing that we're fighting now! Motherfried says she's the ultimate beauty, the rejoining of mother and child - now we must satisfy her with our last dance of agony! (...This is all kinds of disturbing.)
[Boss: Motherfried]
Final boss time? Yup! Motherfried has a skill which dispels most boosts that are in effect, as well as a decent party-wide attack and some heavy status-inducing items. Naturally, though, between the Full Libra and potentially the Sheriff Star, that's not exactly a big threat. Motherfried turns out to be a bit of a dud of a final challenge, honestly, since she's considerably weaker than many of the previous bosses even within this tower, never mind the secret ones!
Taking down the nihilist caterpillar with ruthless efficiency, she tells us that even if her flesh is destroyed, she'll always have a home at the end of time. Filgaia will not be able to escape the darkness that is upon it, so nothing can stop the end from arriving now! She finally spasms and dies, vanishing into the distance while several entire planets appear to whizz by… not sure what that was about? Whatever - ding dong, the bitch is dead.
After the flare of her presumably interdimensional collapse fades, our group finds themselves back on the catwalk on Malduke, looking at the shadowed circle of Filgaia beneath. Cecilia wonders if all that we've accomplished was really for nothing? Is everything really coming to an end...? Suddenly motes of power gather overhead, and Cecilia says she feels the power - she won't let this happen! Jack agrees - there must be something they can do! Cecilia says she sees so clearly now - she can feel the life energy from the [Tear Drop] and it's responding to the power of protection. The power of the Guardians! Jack cries out that er fight because er have something worth protecting, and that's why er believe in miracles!
The motes gather and combine into a shining point of light - the bright light of the [Tear Drop]. Did the spirit of a thousand years past come back to life? Cecilia says that she can hear the spirits in her heart again… has the power of the Guardians been restored? The Guardians speak up, and state that the [Tear Drop] is glowing just as it did in the days when Filgaia was still a rich and fertile land. The power to behold, oh… the power! All of the Guardians have gathered together onto this shaman child, and they shall rid this planet of darkness one and for all… They beseech the [Tear Drop] to give them the power once more…
With a flash of intense light the dark miasma over the world disappears, and Cecilia declares that this is the power of the Guardians and the [Tear Drop]... this is the [Absolute Power!] The Guardians announce that they are the protectors of Filgaia and the [Tear Drop] - behold! Us humans have experienced the wounds of our land and the hearts of its people, but somehow we have found our faith again and created a better future for Filgaia and ourselves! It will take time, they say, but as long as people care enough for the planet, the flow of decay can be reversed. Purity of the heart makes the impossible possible… We humans are the real Guardians of Filgaia, and we hold the key to its future…
Cecilia questions what this means, and the Guardians explain that while not all humans have the light in their heart, they believe it will not be too long before everyone does. Jack figures it'd take a miracle to accomplish that, and Cecilia agrees that this isn't an end - it's a beginning. Now it's time to get back down there, to Filgaia! We regain control at this point, so it's time to head out to the save point and take the elevator back down to the surface world, to reap our rewards for saving the world!
Cheerful in our victory over evil, our party takes the teleporter back to Filgaia… except the moment we step into the beam, something's very wrong. While we're on our way down, suddenly a strange and misshapen spirit takes form alongside us, a half-formed creature of fleshy tendrils, armor, and a scraggly cloak. Just enough is recognizable to know who this is - Zeikfried, back from the dead again! Behold, Motherfried was not even his final form!
Zeik drags our party out of the beam - which has some kabbalah-related symbology in the background, I just noticed - and into a private pocket dimension of his making, just to fight us one last time.
Zeik declares that we're not getting off that easy! We're not done yet! Cecilia is baffled to recognize the demon's voice again. Didn't he get eaten by Mother and absorbed within her? Zeik snarls that he ditched Mother and returned from hell - he is now Zeik Tuvai, the Revenge Blade! In this artificial place between the land and the sky, our destiny will end here! We can die by his blade, or by getting crushed between the dimensions, it doesn't really matter to him which. The choice is ours!
[Boss: Zeik Tuvai]
Despite this being the very definitely final boss, Zeik's final rematch is even easier than Motherfried - he's very weak and has no real skills to be afraid of, so just wailing on him with powerful moves is enough to take him down. As he keels over, though, Zeik laughs and reveals that this too was part of his design all along… Remember when he mentioned way back when we headed over to the Demon Gate Generator that fighting too much inside an unstable space could make it go boom? That fight back then was pitiful compared to this one! Enough damage has been dealt in this dimensional pocket that we'll all be blown away!
Zeik just laughs and laughs as he declares that nobody can beat him - someone who is destined to rule cannot lose! With that, he finally disintegrates… Our party is promptly dumped back into the teleport beam, but the collapsing pocket dimension worth of energy thrown in with us causes the whole thing to destabilize and turn red and go out of control...
Then the screen turns white. We see a distant shot of Ka Dingel with lightning crackling across it and detonations going off across its length, before the camera pans down to reveal the path leading up to its door - that's where Earth Golem awaits. Instead of getting dropped off on the teleport pad inside the tower, we instead get tossed out in front of the golem - the targeting system was all off, and the stress of that interdimensional battle is taking its toll on the tower too…
Suddenly the Earth Golem moves, and Cecilia is rather astounded by that - she didn't ask him to do anything! The golem willfully places himself between the party and the exploding tower, raising his arms to once again deploy his ultimate defensive ability, the Anti-Phasing Shield! Jack wonders if that'll work against the coming explosion - the tower can't hold the pressure for much longer! He decides that all they can do is believe in the shield, and hope they make it through…
Moments later there's an absolutely titanic explosion that completely annihilates the tower, and we see our trio of heroes huddled behind the Earth Golem, which carves out a neat spherical safe area around himself with his shield, while an explosive and bright firestorm has engulfed everything else on all sides. Jack asks Cecilis to have the Golem keep the shield up until the explosion dies down, but she points out she didn't do anything! The Earth Golem did this on his own, as if he had his own will!
As the Golem begins to glow with the strain of its resistance, Cecilia calls out that he should stop, as he'll be destroyed if this keeps up! One of the golem's arms is suddenly disintegrated by the intense ongoing explosion, but when the giant shows no signs of giving up on his defense, Cecilia thanks the Earth Golem for his help. She can feel in her heart that he's more than just a fighting machine. With that, the scene fades out…
Epilogue
We skip forward in time, to a time when things have calmed down. In a brightly lit scene we see Cecilia approach the Earth Golem, which is slumped down in the sand, one arm missing, destroyed or deactivated by the destruction of Ka Dingel. (Does this count as having killed the full set…?)
She wonders if he's asleep, and tells him he did well - she wants to stay here with him as long as she can, but there are a lot of things left to do in Filgaia. The next time he wakes up, though, she promises he will see a peaceful Filgaia! He'll be surrounded by joyous people and nature. Until that day comes, though, she wishes goodnight to the Earth Golem. As her [Tear Drop] glows and motes of energy go everywhere, she wishes him good night once more…
The scene shifts to a quick montage of various places around the world map, before resolving to an open road, where Rudy and Jack are walking along. Jack says that sometimes he can't believe they're traveling like this - or that they survived that huge explosion! He felt like he woke up, and suddenly it was morning, and Rudy and Cecilia were preparing for the journey home... Hanpan jumps out and tells Jack it's not like him to still be hung up about this stuff. Does he still not believe in reality? Jack then recalls that Cecilia gave him a letter when they left Adlehyde, right? One he couldn't open until they were out of town. He asks Hanpan to read it - it's his job! Hanpan quickly moves to Rudy's side after that…
Inside Adlehyde Castle everyone is gathered around the bed of Cecilia, who glows with inner light before waking up. The text of the letter is superimposed: Cecilia wonders where everyone will be when they read this letter. She wonders if it will be sunny, or if it will be raining? Maybe it's because she experienced a painful battle, but she feels very comfortable in this ordinary life. Because of the Earth Golem's protection they were able to return to Filgaia again, but the Golem has returned to its slumber and will never wake up again. He doesn't have to be a fighting machine anymore. Good night, Earth Golem… when you can sleep peacefully, the world is full of tender light and peace…
At least, that's how things should be… To tell the truth, though, Cecilia feels very lonely. As we see the party lay flowers at the graveyard in Adlehyde, she mentions that she was shocked when she heard Rudy and Jack were leaving - she thought the three of them would always be together.
We see Cecilia stand on the battlements while imaging Jack and Rudy at her side, and she mentions that she'll never forget those days when the weight of the Filgaia was on their shoulders, because if it weren't for the two of them, she would have been crushed under the burden. She was able to overcome this painful journey because of them, when they lent a hand to such a lonely heart as hers. Because of that, she developed the selfish thought of the three of them staying together…
After this, there's a series of quick vignettes - the trio playing around with a bunch of kids, laughing their asses off with some probably unique animations. The three hear some kind of distant noise, after which a gaggle of civilians chase after them… all of which are clearly just heading for Jack and follow him single-file, before they come running back like in Scooby Doo. Hanpan plays interference and distracts everyone, while Jack plays the fool and then heads after them when they instead chase Hanpan.
Finally there's a procession surrounding Princess Cecilia, with her friends at her side, which leads all the way through town. It's revealed to be a farewell parade for Jack and Rudy, with all the town turning out to cheer on the departing heroes…
Cecilia's letter continues - she recounts Jack telling her that Filgaia is not free of all the monsters, and people will still need his sword, so that's why he must go on… She never thought he'd say such things, so he must have discovered something new within himself! She guesses she's not the only one whose life was changed by the experience. He and Rudy departed on a journey because they chose to follow the new desires in their hearts… With that the music slowly fades out, as does the image of Cecilia being left behind, alone.
Inside her room we see Cecilia reading a book, before she leaves it behind to look out the window of the castle. Soon we see her stand on the battlements of the castle again, alone. She declares that she, too, has decided to follow the new desires of her heart! The Princess of Adlehyde shouldn't live like this, but it's her decision as an ordinary human being.
She will no longer force herself to be the 'perfect princess!' From now on she'll be an ordinary 17 year old girl, and she'll think hard and be honest to herself. The scene changes to Cecilia dragging a briefcase through her room, several dresses discarded on the floor. If you want to be cared for, she muses, you must care for someone else first… Rudy taught her that lesson.
Cecilia heads to the throne room, to speak with Minister Johan. She says that she can't stand watching Filgaia deteriorate, and so she must do something. As she steps out of the hall and away from the regent, she declares that she wants to protect what she cares for, that is her new desire! As we see her slowly walk down the road from the castle through the town of Adlehyde, she stops once to look back. Today the west wind blew through Adlehyde again, a wind which brought prosperity… she prays this wind will take her desires beyond the horizon! So her letter ends.
Almost.
P.S. The two of you should be receiving something that you forgot from Adlehyde soon. Don't be lazy, make sure you take it.
Jack concludes from her letter that Cecilia has also started her own journey. Hanpan wonders where she's going, but Jack says it doesn't matter as long as she's doing it of her own free will. He's sure she'll turn Adlehyde into a good kingdom! Hanpan is surprised that Cecilia used to hate her royalty so much, and Jack tells him that such a life is very complicated. Putting the letter away, the group decides to set off, and Jack muses about this thing they forgot in Adlehyde - it must have been Rudy that forgot it, right? What did the careless kid leave behind now? Hanpan is curious about that too, but Jack just says they should forget about it.
This is, of course, the moment when Cecilia ducks out of the woods behind the group, and tells them she knew they'd be lazy about it! Jack is flabbergasted, and asks what she's doing here? Cecilia plays innocent and says she's supposed to be here - she's delivering the item that they forgot, you see. And that would be… well, haven't they figured it out yet? It's her! Now, where are we going?
Jack pauses, and recalls that she claimed she found what she wanted to do in her letter - but what's going to happen to Adlehyde? Cecilia acknowledges that Jack is right about her leaving the city, but it's because she feels she must do something to save her precious Filgaia from deteriorating. Minister Johan will take care of the kingdom in her absence, so he shouldn't worry. She's decided to live by the true desires of her heart - and we just happened to be on the same path today. It's a coincidence, she promises - today, tomorrow, and forever! She guarantees it!
The trio rush off down the road and stand together at the top of a cliff overlooking an area of forested wetlands below. This, Jack says, is the land they've been protecting! Cecilia corrects him to say that it wasn't just the three of them - there was Professor Emma, and Jane, and McDullen, and Captain Bartholomew, and Mariel… Every single desire that lives on Filgaia and… Cecilia turns around and looks up, straight towards the fourth wall, and is soon joined by Jack and Rudy.
Then the camera slowly pans up to show the whole of the landscape towards the distant mountains, as birds cross in front of the sun and moon as the END card comes into view, before everything fades to white. The credits for the game consist of a whole bunch of cool concept art for the game, including a lot of images of the main cast and several major bosses. We end, as we started, with the logo of WILD ARMS…
Wild Arms was a lot of fun, honestly. While the localization was occasionally a bit choppy, the message came through just fine, and I appreciate how it made this whole teamwork angle work when there's only three party members that are mandatory for 99% of the game. The various friendly NPCs were entertaining, the villains were surprisingly varied, and a lot of the designs are just charming. I also appreciated Adlehyde as this hub city from the jump, serving as both the impetus to go out and fight the demons, and also the place you're restoring so Cecilia can eventually rule it. Eventually. You know, after a few more adventures…
On the negative side, I suppose the combat does end up sort of defaulting to a handful of successful strategies that work on basically everything, and it felt like the transportation methods got a bit superfluous towards the end. The boat made total sense, and teleporting to cities you've been to is just handy… but two different varieties of airships shortly before the game ends, where they see a minimum of actual use, that seemed like kind of a waste. Also putting books out there with massive main story spoilers without any reaction from Rudy seems like it shouldn't be a thing. Just leave that stuff until after the reveal!
Difficulty-wise, this game is honestly fairly easy for most of it - the puzzles are generally easily figured out on your own, there's enough overpowered combat options to win against most stuff, and even if you're lost on where to go, the devs remembered to put NPCs in practically every town which remind you of ongoing world events. I also felt like I was overflowing with certain items at some point - I'd basically bottomed out the cost of some of Jack's moves and gotten all the spells I really cared to have, but the relevant items just kept popping up… Also there's an absolute ton of summons, technically, but I swear I only ever used a fraction of them…
So… with that exploration into RPG history finished, there's technically a remake and four sequels out there - but I think these are sequels in the Final Fantasy sense, where they share themes and whatnot, but not actual continuity? I'll play the sequels eventually, but for now I'm playing some other games instead, and maybe make an LP out of one of those too. If any of you have suggestions, do let me know…
First, sorry for not commenting much lately. I've been bogged down and never quite was in the right mood to sit down and read through, though I've been collecting quotes as I go through.
So… with that exploration into RPG history finished, there's technically a remake and four sequels out there - but I think these are sequels in the Final Fantasy sense, where they share themes and whatnot, but not actual continuity? I'll play the sequels eventually, but for now I'm playing some other games instead, and maybe make an LP out of one of those too. If any of you have suggestions, do let me know…
You might run into some people trying to argue that some of the entries are sequels to each other, though I haven't run into any convincing arguments (and honestly, I'm not convinced the source that some cite as evidence that 1 and 2 are connected even exists at this point--I've heard inconsistent things about it and I haven't been able to find any reference to it outside of that specific topic), though admittedly I still need to play beyond 1 and 2. In regards to arguments specifically for a connection between 1 and 2, though:
2 does have a singular reference to the Teardrop and the symbols you use it nearby, but it also has a different worldmap, a different conception of what 'demons' are, and within the first few hours has a character (who really would be in a position to know) directly tell the protagonists that they shouldn't think that the EMMA motor is named after someone, or something silly like that. That and it also provides an explanation for what Angol Moa/Angolmois is within WA2's context that's kind of incompatible with what we see in WA1. I'm honestly not sure how the idea that the two are actually in the same universe came about, considering that the idea has so much going against it.
In regards to suggestions...I assume SRPGs would be a bit long, so something like Eternal Eyes is probably a no-go. Have you played either of the first two Star Ocean games? I'd be interested in seeing your take on them. Though if you do play Star Ocean 2, I would recommend playing the most recent remake (and I'd wager that you should probably do the same for Star Ocean 1 too), if only on the basis of having some of its mechanics just not be so jank.
What a game. While non-fantasy genre JRPGs have always existed, Wild Arms really nailed combining the fantasy JRPG formula with Wild West aesthetics.
Speaking of aesthetics, I love the mix of 2D pixel art with 3D sprites. It's something you really only saw in this era and in the late handheld era (like Dragon Quest IX on DS). I wish more low budget works would do this.
First, sorry for not commenting much lately. I've been bogged down and never quite was in the right mood to sit down and read through, though I've been collecting quotes as I go through.
It's not an obligation to read this stuff, so don't feel bad about that! Hah! Though, if you're collecting quotes, does that mean you're eventually gonna post exactly how I screwed up? That'd be neat and mildly terrifying.
I'll be honest with you, the main reason I end up doing these LP type things is just because actually setting out to make something of what I'm doing, that's how I sometimes process things. It's why I have my giant Doctor Doom thread - if I set out to just read these comics I'm interested in, I'd probably start skimming and just forget most of what even happens in them, let alone form a solid opinion.
It's even worse for RPGs - I've always enjoyed playing them, but as I've lost the same amount of time to spend on them, it feels like I end up skipping dialogue and just checking off boxes and completing quests for efficiency instead of really interacting with the medium. If I'm playing a game for the story but then I end up skipping that story to feel like I'm not wasting my time, what's even the point? So, setting out to screenshot what I'm doing, and thinking about it enough to write it down, that makes it much easier to focus and skip all the intrusive 'you're wasting time having fun, go do work or whatever' thoughts...
You might run into some people trying to argue that some of the entries are sequels to each other, though I haven't run into any convincing arguments (and honestly, I'm not convinced the source that some cite as evidence that 1 and 2 are connected even exists at this point--I've heard inconsistent things about it and I haven't been able to find any reference to it outside of that specific topic), though admittedly I still need to play beyond 1 and 2. In regards to arguments specifically for a connection between 1 and 2, though:
2 does have a singular reference to the Teardrop and the symbols you use it nearby, but it also has a different worldmap, a different conception of what 'demons' are, and within the first few hours has a character (who really would be in a position to know) directly tell the protagonists that they shouldn't think that the EMMA motor is named after someone, or something silly like that. That and it also provides an explanation for what Angol Moa/Angolmois is within WA2's context that's kind of incompatible with what we see in WA1. I'm honestly not sure how the idea that the two are actually in the same universe came about, considering that the idea has so much going against it.
I mean, Final Fantasy has coy references to other games in the series, but that doesn't mean they actually share worlds. In FF9 you can find Cloud's sword hanging on the wall in a weapon shop, but that doesn't mean Midgar is around.
In regards to suggestions...I assume SRPGs would be a bit long, so something like Eternal Eyes is probably a no-go. Have you played either of the first two Star Ocean games? I'd be interested in seeing your take on them. Though if you do play Star Ocean 2, I would recommend playing the most recent remake (and I'd wager that you should probably do the same for Star Ocean 1 too), if only on the basis of having some of its mechanics just not be so jank.
I'm not familiar with Eternal Eyes, but I'll give it a look - that might be a plus! I'm not as big a fan of Strategy RPGs, but that's more because the actual fighting tends to be more involved and drawn out - I'm sure the narrative can be just as much (or more) engaging. I've been looking into a couple other games that got more modern remakes - as I understand it Suikoden 1&2 are getting a rerelease which I might pick up, and there's iirc Legend of Legacy and Alliance Alive with HD remakes? I don't think Star Ocean 1 has a PC release....
Never did get you opinion of the opening AMV, something I always enjoyed. This era of RPGs did tend to have default strategies that made most battles, and even boss battles feel much the same, but the medium evolves over time and this was just a growing pain.
It's not an obligation to read this stuff, so don't feel bad about that! Hah! Though, if you're collecting quotes, does that mean you're eventually gonna post exactly how I screwed up? That'd be neat and mildly terrifying.
I'll be honest with you, the main reason I end up doing these LP type things is just because actually setting out to make something of what I'm doing, that's how I sometimes process things. It's why I have my giant Doctor Doom thread - if I set out to just read these comics I'm interested in, I'd probably start skimming and just forget most of what even happens in them, let alone form a solid opinion.
It's even worse for RPGs - I've always enjoyed playing them, but as I've lost the same amount of time to spend on them, it feels like I end up skipping dialogue and just checking off boxes and completing quests for efficiency instead of really interacting with the medium. If I'm playing a game for the story but then I end up skipping that story to feel like I'm not wasting my time, what's even the point? So, setting out to screenshot what I'm doing, and thinking about it enough to write it down, that makes it much easier to focus and skip all the intrusive 'you're wasting time having fun, go do work or whatever' thoughts...
I get that; sometimes you need to do something or other in order to really process something in your mind.
To be clear, though, I don't intend on like, nitpicking your gameplay. Mostly just collecting quotes because I thought "Oh, I think I have something to say here".
I'm not familiar with Eternal Eyes, but I'll give it a look - that might be a plus! I'm not as big a fan of Strategy RPGs, but that's more because the actual fighting tends to be more involved and drawn out - I'm sure the narrative can be just as much (or more) engaging. I've been looking into a couple other games that got more modern remakes - as I understand it Suikoden 1&2 are getting a rerelease which I might pick up, and there's iirc Legend of Legacy and Alliance Alive with HD remakes? I don't think Star Ocean 1 has a PC release....
It's actually been a long time since I've interacted with Eternal Eyes, a lot of the story and characters are fuzzy to me. So, take that as you will.
And yeah I could definitely recommend Suikoden I and II when the remasters come out. Just keep in mind that getting the true endings of both will probably require a guide.
Another game you could possibly play is Live-A-Live. It's reasonably short, and imo while you can play the remake, the original still held up really well to me.
Seconding Live-A-Live, if only because the remake makes it a lot more accessible, and it is a fascinating precursor to Chrono Trigger in plot and mechanics.
Trails in the Sky FC and SC are both relatively short (after all, they were one game split into two with the ability to export a save) but very dense stories. You can see how Trails became Falcom's flagship.
I have looked into the Trails series, yeah. I do like the idea of this expansive setting spread across a dozen games. I've been recommended Cold Steel as an accessible modern entry, so I might consider that one too. Can always do machete order, right?
Never did get you opinion of the opening AMV, something I always enjoyed. This era of RPGs did tend to have default strategies that made most battles, and even boss battles feel much the same, but the medium evolves over time and this was just a growing pain.
I mean, the music is a straight-up banger, and I like the sneaky second moon in one shot there... I do appreciate that you get more detailed looks at the various characters than the in-game sprites and even combat models can really portray. Also they should have made Mariel's goofy elw-ears more obvious!
I have looked into the Trails series, yeah. I do like the idea of this expansive setting spread across a dozen games. I've been recommended Cold Steel as an accessible modern entry, so I might consider that one too. Can always do machete order, right?
I mean, the music is a straight-up banger, and I like the sneaky second moon in one shot there... I do appreciate that you get more detailed looks at the various characters than the in-game sprites and even combat models can really portray. Also they should have made Mariel's goofy elw-ears more obvious!
... I mean, you can, but while the fine details as to What The Fuck happened in the other stories generally are glossed over, the games were released in in-universe chronological order, so you might get plot points spoiled by proxy. The endgame of a Trails story tends to have massive geopolitical implications that inform everything that happens afterwards. (Cold Steel could be argued to be two separate stories each divided into two games, with a shared core cast, so CS 1-2 are Part One, and CS 3-4 are Part Two)
So Sky 1-2-3/Zero/Azure/Cold Steel 1-2-3-4/Reverie/Daybreak 1-2/Kai/Apparently the Plot is anywhere from 80-90% done from here, so maybe one or two more games after Kai?
And there's a sort of understanding that they don't need to go into huge detail about concepts introduced earlier in the series. You Can technically skip Sky 3, but it gives you a lot of background lore and understanding as to the Players of the game that's going on underlying every story in the setting.
That being said, Sky is fine to start with? It's certainly not as jank as Wild Arms was, and you got through that okay.
The benefit of starting with the Sky Duology plus 3 is that Sky 1 & Sky 2 are pretty much a complete story in themselves: Sky 1 introduces the setting, Sky 2 plays with it, and if you want to fill in the gaps then the Third has you covered.
I feel like the Sky games are very different beasts then the franchise they spawned. Yes the focus on global politics is there, but the first games are more self contained then anything post 3.
