Earning our JRPG black belt - Let's Play Legend of Legaia!

Every punch except for the final uppercut has the chance to be blocked. Of course, you should still heal afterwards, but Plasma Strike isn't as big a cause for worry as Megaton Press.



Speaking of healing, you shouldn't have to use a Healing Berry at all - I had just enough MP to use Spoon throughout the fight. If you run out, use one of your attacking turns to use a Magic Fruit instead.











Lu only has 9,500 HP to burn through, so this fight shouldn't take as long as Che.









FINISH

RUBY WIN



*Lu casts herself into the pit.*



Final Round...



FIGHT!



Boss Battle 13: Gi Delilas
♪♪Disciples of the Mist♪♪

Gi, despite being the leader of the Delilas family, is situated in the middle in terms of difficulty - easier than Che but harder than Lu.

Although I won't deny that he's the flashiest of the three - he air-dashes everywhere and all his attacks are super fast. If you're close to beating him, he'll do a back-flip to get back up.



Once again, Gi will use his special attack every third turn, just like his siblings.

I gotta admit, Blazing Slash is damn cool to watch. Just, uh, be sure to use Spirit if you don't want to take massive amounts of damage.









Gi has 10,000 HP, so the fight should last a little longer than Lu's.









Give him all you've got, and be sure to pay attention to Gi's pattern to know when Blazing Slash is coming. As long as you know when to fight and when to use Spirit, you should be able to come out on top.

VICTORY

BLUE WINS



♪♪Attack♪♪

*Gi casts himself into the pit. Blue looks over at the others as the music fades.*



♪♪The Quiet Destruction♪♪

Umber: Alright, everyone! Let's set the TimeSpace Bombs!
*The camera shifts to Ruby, who sets a TimeSpace Bomb.*







Umber: All we can do is press buttons and run like demons. Ready? Press on the count of 3! *kneels* Three! Two! One! *pushes button* The button is pushed! Now run! Run!













*Blue runs offscreen as the screen fades to black.*



♪♪Fight the Mist Guardians♪♪

*Che lifts his head slightly.*
Che Delilas: B-Brother... I'm a wreck. Help me, my brother!

Gi Delilas: Where is Lu? Is she alive?
*Lu limps in from offscreen.*



Gi Delilas: Ha, ha, ha! So not even the Ra-Seru could finish us off!



Gi Delilas: The thermal energy he's stored in his belly for so long... Let's release it!
Lu Delilas: Brother! Do you mean the three of us will merge with Koru?
Gi Delilas: Correct! Lu, is life that precious to you?
Lu Delilas: N-No! Of course not!



Gi Delilas: Listen! We must use our remaining strength! Those Ra-Seru will wish they'd never been born!
Lu Delilas: Uh!
Che Delilas: Arrgh!
*The three of them slowly limp towards Koru.*









*The camera switches to Ruby, who gets up as the music changes back to "The Quiet Destruction".*



*The camera slowly rotates to the right as the light continues to flash. Strange noises, almost like a monster's cry, can be heard.*
Umber: Such a strange light! Ruby! Blue! Look! It's Koru! The light is coming from Koru!
Ruby: Huh? But we blew Koru up with the TimeSpace Bombs!
*The light fades away; Koru can be seen in the bottom of the pit.*
Meta: It seems the Delilases have merged with that Seru and commanded it to self-destruct!



*Ruby and Umber make their way to Blue's position.*
Ruby: No!
Umber: How could this happen... Ozma, how can we stop them?
Ozma: I don't know, but since they are controlling Koru, perhaps if we defeat them...
Terra: Whatever we do, we'd better do it quickly!
*Everyone nods.*



I don't know about you guys, but this update is already way too damn long to deal with Koru right now. I'll heal us offscreen, and then we'll fight it next time.

Next time: Hopefully dealing with Koru before we all get blown the hell up!

It takes a couple of hours for me to get through each page, so bear with me...

Sol Tower is another nicely-presented area. Bright lights and seedy despair.

At about 6:05 in the video above, "Astral Slash" completely misses! Don't think that's happened before.

Man, you weren't kidding about the length, here!

Have you been able to keep with your plan of not grinding for XP or money in the last few areas? Your purchases seem to have been sparse, which makes me suspect yes. (And makes your performance in the boss rush all the more impressive.)

Hey, I'm just happy people are reading this at all! Go ahead and take your time. =)

It's my favorite town in the game for a reason!

Yeah, that caught me completely off-guard when I was recording that fight - I think I actually said "Holy shit!" out loud.

I did warn you. ;D I'm not sure I could have done anything to make it shorter... maybe go through the tunnels and then make the boss rush its own update, but that doesn't sit right with me for some reason. Ah, well, no harm done - at least, I hope.

Indeed I have! If I play my cards right, I should have enough cash to buy everything from the last armory by the time we reach a certain boss. If not, then I may have to grind juuuuuust a little, because the boss in question is goddamn brutal. Which boss that is I'll leave up to you to guess, since at least three come to mind that fall under the "brutal" category.

In any case, it's update time! Today we've got a gimmick boss to kill and a subplot to move forward, so let's get to it.

Chapter 26: A Simple Melody



♪♪The Quiet Destruction♪♪

Right, time to hopefully get rid of Koru before it explodes and kills everyone in a hundred-mile-or-more radius. Before heading down there, I decide to put the Spirit Jewel on Blue and the Wisdom Ring on Umber; Ruby I leave alone. You'll see why in a minute.



As ready as we'll ever be.

Blue: I'm ready! Let's jump!



Ruby: Yeah! If Koru blows up, you guys will die, too!
*The camera switches to behind Koru and begins slowly panning to the right.*
Gi Delilas: Ha, ha, ha! We are all prepared for death!
Che Delilas: Once Karisto is flattened, Lord Zora will build the kindgom of the Mist there!
Lu Delilas: If you want to fight us, come on over. We'll play with you until the explosion comes.



Ozma: Be careful, Umber! If we don't finish them quickly, we'll be caught in the explosion!





Boss Battle 14: Koru
♪♪Frozen Seru Battle♪♪

This fight is rather different from the other ones we've encountered up to this point.



You see, we have to kill it in four turns. During the first three it'll just attack us; on the fourth, Koru will charge its explosion attack. If we don't kill it by the end of the fifth turn, well... this happens.





Obviously we don't want to be vaporized, so we're going to have to pummel Koru with everything we have.





And I do mean everything; Koru has 20,000 HP, which is quite a bit to work through in four turns.



Koru itself isn't much to worry about - it's the timer we're concerned with. Koru has three attacks he'll always use in order, though the target is random.







This is the first...

This is the second...













And this is the third.









If you see this move, that's the game letting you know to hurry the hell up; Dead End Crisis comes at the end of the next turn.

Of course, if you're fast enough, you won't even see Ultra Charge. Let's back up a bit and outline a plan of attack, shall we?



After Blue uses the Point Card on the first turn, he should spend the rest of the battle spamming Aluru; it's the most damaging spell he has, and it should chew through quite a bit of Koru's health in the few turns he'll get to use it. Thanks to the Spirit Jewel, he should have enough MP to last the entire fight.

Ruby unfortunately doesn't have any powerful attack spells, so she'll spend the fight using Super Tempest over and over, since it's her most damaging move. I'm actually kind of surprised at the damage in that screenshot; it only did 1500 or so against Lu Delilas.



Umber, meanwhile, should be using Kemaro the entire time; he's got the MP to do it, and the Wisdom Ring should slightly increase its damage output, making it even more powerful than it already is.





This isn't the only strategy, mind you; it's just the one we're using due to how our characters have turned out. Ultimately, though, the general idea is to use everything in your power to kill Koru as fast as humanly possible. We did that quite handily; it only took three turns.



*Koru makes a crackling noise and begins to crumble.*



♪♪The Awakening of the Tree of Creation♪♪













Awesome! Now we can free Buma from the Mist and explore the rest of the region. Who knows, we might even find a way to get up to the Floating Castle.



♪♪Mt. Rikuroa (After the Mist)♪♪

Meta: Koru, too, became evil only because of the Mist.
Ozma: Seru merely amplify the strength of humans.
Terra: Whether a Seru does good or evil ultimately depends on the person using it.
Ruby: But Terra, you're a good Seru, right?
Terra: Hmm. We Ra-Seru are the way we are... because we have been in the human world too long. Now, let's go back to Buma.
Ruby: *nods* OK. The ice in Buma must be melted by now.
*Everyone nods; they then run out of the cave.*

♪♪Barren Fields of Mist♪♪

I'm glad the game was kind enough to take us out of the cave automatically. Just a quick heal and we'll walk back to Buma.







♪♪The Light of the Town♪♪

Yeah, I'd say this is place is back to normal - er, except for the Mist, anyway.



Ruby: Blue! Umber! I don't believe it! Buma isn't frozen anymore!
Umber: *nods* You're right. I didn't know Buma was such a beautiful town.
*Ruby runs off in the direction of the Genesis Tree. Blue and Umber merely look at each other. After a second or two, Ruby runs back.*



Ruby: I'll go ahead of you.
*Ruby runs off again.*
Umber: Ha ha ha! What an impatient girl! Come on, Blue, let's go!
*Blue nods, and the two of them walk after Ruby.*



*Ruby runs to another Genesis Tree and feels it. She then turns around and starts waving towards Blue and Umber.*
Ruby: The ice on the Genesis Tree is melting away!



Ruby: Terra! Now we can wake up the Genesis Tree!
Terra: That's right. Since there are three Genesis Trees, let's split up.
*The three of them each walk over to a different Genesis Tree.*



He felt a gentle warmth in the palm of his hand.
Ruby swiftly reached out to touch the Genesis Tree's trunk.



Umber reached out powerfully to touch the Genesis Tree's trunk.

♪♪The Awakening of the Tree of Creation♪♪























♪♪The Light of the Town♪♪

Hooray, we did it! Now Karisto is almost entirely free of the Mist - there's just the northern regions to worry about. Hopefully we'll find a way to take care of that.

Umber: We did it, Blue! All our hard work has paid off!
Ruby: *spin-jumps* I'm so happy, Blue! Terra feels stronger now.

Before we head north, it's probably a good idea to explore this place; now that the ice has melted and the Mist is gone, we can actually get inside all the buildings.



And we can also have a cutscene, I guess!



♪♪Cara♪♪

Cara: Well, excuse me, but I was watching you the whole time.
*Cara walks forward a bit.*
Cara: It's amazing. So the Genesis Tree of Buma had such powers after all. I thought that it was too late for us to do anything.
Ruby: *steps forward a bit* Um, Cara... Can I have the Ra-Seru Egg that you have?



Cara: *lowers her head* Sorry, but I haven't got my "time" back yet. So please, just leave me alone.
*Cara walks into the middle of the Genesis Trees. She then kneels.*
Umber: Cara! What are you doing?
Cara: *pause* I buried something here. That day, I buried my heart here.
Umber: *shrugs* There's nothing we can do, Blue. Let's leave Cara alone for now.
Ruby: *feels her chest* I didn't know you could bury your heart and still live. Oh, I just don't get it!
*The music goes back to "The Light of the Town".*
Cara: *shakes her head* It's not something kids like you can easily understand. {Somehow I lost the screenshot with Cara's actual dialogue here, so I had to type this from memory. It's likely I got it wrong; my apologies.}

I... see, I think. Let's just get with the explorin' like I said earlier.

What the- is that a Soren?





*The sound of flapping wings can be heard.*
Umber: Humanlike bodies but with Seru Wings. Those are Soren, all right. They must have found out about Buma's Genesis Tree. They've come to take a look!
Ruby: *waves* Hey, Soren! It's me, Ruby! Over here! {Heh, my username is making typing this a bit weird.}
Umber: Ha, ha, ha! Ruby, you're too far! They can't hear you.
Ruby: I wish the Soren would land over here.
Umber: *nods* Hey, that's a good idea. If we had their help... Then we could get to the Floating Castle, where the Mist Generator is.
*Everyone looks up.*
Umber: We just have to talk to those Soren.
*The Sorens' shadows pass overhead; soon the sound of their flapping wings can no longer be heard.*
Ruby: The Soren! They're gone.
*Cara walks toward the group from offscreen. Ruby notices and turns around.*
Ruby: Hey! It's Cara! Cara, you're bleeding! Your hand is all bloody!
*The music fades.*



Cara: Ha! Go ahead and laugh, if you think it's funny!



♪♪Melody of Memories♪♪

Cara: This is the music he... Grantes wrote after hearing my song.
Ruby: It must be love! That's great, Cara! That stands for your love! *walks forward a bit* I don't know much about love, but... Let me see that!
*Ruby takes it out of Cara's hands.*
Cara: Uh...



Ruby: I'll take this music to Grantes for you. Leave it to me!
Cara: Well... thank you.
*Umber holds his hand to his head.*
Umber: We don't really have time for that but... Oh well.
*Cara walks in front of Blue.*
Cara: Please, do this for me! I'm sure that if Grantes hears that song, he'll change his mind.
*The music goes back to "The Light of the Town".*

Right, right, we'll do that later. I just wanna look around Buma, damn it!



Man, the people here sure showed up pretty quickly. But enough about that, it's time to buy some weapons!



Geez, this stuff is expensive. I buy the War God Band and Boots for Umber since they're the cheapest; I also sell the Speed Ring (Since the Speed Chain does its job better) and the Cure Amulet (since it's long been unnecessary). I'll save what's left of the G we have for later.





Yoink!



Heh, this place is pretty cozy. Time to socialize!

Walking around town
Woman: I'm getting sea sick. I didn't know Buma moved so much!
Man: I knew Cara as a young girl, but now she's getting older.
Girl: You have a weird Seru!
Boy: I'm so cold! My whole body is freezing!
Old woman: We all warned Cara! We told her she'd have nothing but bad luck if she fell in love with a Soren man.
Man: Before the Floating Castle came, I remember hearing that a mountain pass to Conkram disappeared... In other words, Conkram could no longer be reached on foot.
Orange-haird man: What about the war between Sol and Conkram? Who won?
Cara: *sigh* What a pathetic woman I am. But I have a favor to ask of you. Please, play this music for Grantes.

In the shops and houses
Woman: I think Grantes is such a handsome guy!
Old woman: I bet that Soren fellow took advantage of Cara's loneliness.
Old man: The Soren prefer solitude and almost never come in contact with us surface-dwelling humans. I suppose the only people they ever talk to are Conkram's royal family.
Man: Grantes took a shining egg from out of the Genesis Tree. That was against Soren Law, and Grantes had his Seru Wings taken away for that.
Old man: Poor Cara. Her parents died in an accident before the Floating Castle was built.
Man: They say Mt. Dhini to the northwest is the Soren's sacred place. You can't get in without something that proves you're a Soren.
Hunter: Buma was famous for selling new Seru from Uru Mais at wholesale prices.
Woman: If you're going on ahead, you'd better stock up on weapons and armor.



Sure.



♪♪Dream, Teague♪♪

*Blue nods for her to continue.*
Woman: I saw a Soren flying from the east to the west. But there was something funny about the way that Soren was flying. So I looked closely, and I couldn't believe my eyes! That Soren was carrying a child!



Ruby: I know! That was me! The Soren was carrying me!
Woman: Well, my goodness! So that was you? What a coincidence! So that wasn't an illusion after all!
*Ruby nods.*
Ruby: Blue, let's find the Soren! They can take us to Conkram!

Don't worry, we will. Now, there's one person left to talk to before we leave.
.


Man: Aahh... AhhChooo!
*The force of the man's sneeze cause Blue to stumble back a bit.*
Man: Darn it! I think I caught a cold!

Uh... okay then. Let's just go.

♪♪Barren Fields of Mist♪♪

Before we head north to see what we can see, we'll go ahead and give Grantes the Music Score. We'll walk back part of the way, though, to show Ruby's final Super Art. I would show Blue and Umber's, but their action bars can't quite extend far enough after using Spirit yet. A few more levels and we should be good.







I can totally show you everyone's final Hyper Arts, though.











♪♪Brand of the Holy Knuckles♪♪

At 50 AP, Burning Flare is pretty expensive, but it's also Blue's most damaging move (that we have right now, at least). It can even one-shot weaker enemies.











Nothin' like a round of good ol' fashioned lightning-charged fisticuffs. Ending it with a backhand just makes it even more awesome.



I saved the best for last, however.

Hell to the yes. Incidentally, Hurricane Kick is the only Hyper Art with more than five inputs to it (having seven).

Now for Ruby's final Super Art. It's... not as awesome as Super Tempest.











Yeah, it's essentially a suped-up version of Tough Love. Same Charm effect and everything! (It's used by combining Mirage Lancer, Lizard Tail, and Tough Love, if you were wondering.)

Right, that should be enough combat for today. We'll finish the update with that Music Score business.



♪♪The Sol Jazz Club♪♪

Hey dude, we've got a sheet of music for ya. You might recognize it.

Grantes: Sheet music? Sorry, but I'm not a piano player. That doesn't concern me.

Do you have to be so difficult? Ugh, fine, we'll just get the pianist here to play it. Also, it occurred to me just now that I'm imagining Grantes with Liam O'Brien's voice.



*Ruby hands him the Music Score.*
Ruby: Here! Here's some music! Play this!
Ruby gave the old sheet music to the piano player!
Pianist: Hmm. This is so... so simple... Hmm.
Ruby: Well? Are you going to play it or not?
Pianist: Alright, I'll play it! Jeez, what an impatient young girl! Ahem!



♪♪Melody of Memories (Piano Version)♪♪

*Ruby runs over to Grantes.*
Ruby: Grantes! You know what? The Mist in Buma is all gone now.
Grantes: *turns around* The Mist at Buma... The Mist is gone?!
*Blue and Umber walk over.*
Umber: I know I'm young and inexperienced compared to you, but I'll tell you this!



Umber: I don't know whether you hurt the one you love...
*Grantes lowers his head at this, while Umber raises his.*
Umber: And you can turn your back on your past and sit around despondent about the future... But I have no respect for someone who tries to kill his own spirit like that!
*Grantes raises his head again.*
Grantes: That... That song... Did Cara...?
Ruby: *nods* That's right! Cara loves you, and...



Umber: Cara said that whatever happens, that love will always be true.
Grantes: *looks at Umber* Cara said that? I remember now. That's the melody she was playing on my flute the first time I saw her. I came down to the surface following that melody. That's when I found Cara. She was playing the flute!





Yeah, dude, she's just waiting for you to stop sittin' around being depressed. Now go get her!

Blue: Of course she will!
Grantes: Sorry, fellas. I guess I'm still depending too much on others. Now I realize that! You taught me a lesson. Now that the Mist is gone from Buma... I'm going to go to Buma on my own two legs and tell Cara!



Grantes: Maybe if I tell her that I am grateful -- from the bottom of my heart!



*Grantes turns around as he reaches the exit.*



Grantes: We'll be waiting for you, both of us together, will be waiting in Buma!
*Grantes runs out of the bar as the pianist stops playing the song. The music goes back to "The Sol Jazz Club".*



Umber: Even with Grantes the way he is, love was still alive! A miracle is sure to happen!
Ruby: Wow, you're great! Umber, you know everything about love!
Umber: Uh, ahem, well...



Ruby: Wow! You're great!

It's cheesy, yes, but this scene always did make me smile. I guess I'm just sentimental. =)

On that note, I'll end the update here. Next time we'll actually be heading north to see what we can find. See you guys then!

Next time: The northern regions of Karisto.

What, you're leaving us hanging? You've gotta go back!

Don't worry, I'll post the next update tomorrow. Gotta give people time to read these things, you know. =)

Chapter 27: The Winged Nomads



♪♪Barren Fields of Mist♪♪

Right, time to explore the northern reaches of Karisto. Maybe if we look hard enough we can find the Soren and get them to take us to Conkram.



♪♪Brand of the Holy Knuckles (Mist version)♪♪

First, though, some new enemies. They both have high attack and defense, the High Mantis having more of the latter and the Death Trigger more of the former. Your best bet is to Charm one and get rid of the other one as quickly as you can.



The Giant Rat is the least bothersome of the new enemies, but it can still steal your stuff, so make them a priority if you encounter one.







Well that wasn't too much of a walk. I wonder what lies at the top of this mountain...?



♪♪Perilous Mountain♪♪

Only one way to find out!



Mt. Dhini, sacred land of Soren. None may climb Mt. Dhini without the mark of the Soren.
The door won't open!

Uh... crap. Maybe Grantes can help us out? To Buma!



But not before running into a couple more new enemies, I guess. The Iota is kind of a pain in the ass, but I couldn't tell you much about the Ironman; I just Charmed it before it could do anything.



Awesome! I'll show this off on the way back to Buma.

Pretty sweet; it even has the other Earth Serus' DEF-lowering power at higher levels. It would probably be more useful on Umber since he has more MP and a higher INT stat, but oh well.

*A quick trip to Buma later...*



♪♪The Light of the Town♪♪

*The camera slowly rotates to show Grantes and Cara standing in front of a fireplace.*



Cara: *shakes her head* It's alright, Grantes. Now that you're at my side, everything is all right.
*Cara steps closer to Grantes, and the two of them stare at each other for a long moment. Just then...*





Ruby: Cara! Grantes! So, you made up, huh?
Grantes: A-Actually, I... We're just...
*Blue and Umber walk into the house.*
Umber: Ruby! Don't embarass them!
*Ruby walks closer to Umber.*
Ruby: What do you mean, Umber?
*Umber ignores Ruby, who jumps up and down a bit in annoyance, and walks up to Grantes and Cara.*



*Grantes and Cara turn to each other.*
Cara: I don't mind. Why don't you tell them, Grantes.
*Grantes slowly nods as the music fades.*



♪♪Melody of Memories♪♪

Grantes: It was then that Zora, the master of the Floating Castle, appeared to me. Zora said she would give Cara Seru Wings, if I helped her. Like a fool, I believed her and stole this town's Ra-Seru Eggs. There were three Eggs. I gave two to Zora. The remaining Egg I gave to Cara.
*Cara takes something out of her pocket and shows it to the group.*

Cara: He gave it to me and said it was a symbol of our love.
Grantes: But of course Zora lied. Ha! She never gave me Seru Wings.
*Cara puts the Egg back in her pocket.*
Grantes: I escaped with my lief, but my Soren people found out everything I did. As punishment for breaking Soren law, they took my Seru Wings and banished me to the surface. For ten years after that, as you know, I...
*Ruby walks forward and nods to the two of them.*



Grantes: *nods* Yes, I was alone. But you saved me. At first I didn't want to give up being Soren, but now I'm ready to live as a surface-dweller. *turns to face Cara* With Cara.
Cara: *turns to Grantes* Oh, Grantes!
*The music fades back into "The Light of the Town".*



Umber: I hate to interrupt, but we have to see the Soren. Can you help us?
Grantes: Ha, ha, ha! Alright, then. Here! I give you this.



*Umber nods in gratitude.*
Grantes: This is a flute the Soren use to call for help. A surface-dweller has no use for it. If you want to meet the Soren, go to the summit of Mt. Dhini and play this flute. The Soren will think you're a Soren and fly right over to you! Ha, ha, ha!
*Cara reaches into her pocket again and pulls something out of it.*
Cara: Also, I want to give this back to you.



Cara: This can't help me anymore.
Ruby: Hooray! Grantes and Cara are good people after all. I love you both!



I just barely caught the blown heart there, but I think you get the point.

Umber: Ruby... We must get going.
Ruby: Huh? Why?
Umber: We don't want to bother the two lovebirds, do we?
Ruby: I don't really understand, but since you know about love, Umber, I'll do what you say.
*Ruby runs out of the house.*
Umber: Hmm.
*Blue and Umber follow Ruby out of the house.*

I'd say that was a pretty productive visit; we have a means of ascending Mt. Dhini and a Ra-Seru Egg!



The Egg itself can be worn as an accessory to protect against Light attacks. That's... admittedly rather situational in its usefulness. We can change its function, however, by taking it to Zalan way back in Jeremi. Let's do that now, while I'm still thinking about it.



Zalan: I want to make new memories! But anyway! I am a jeweler. If you have any precious gems, I will appraise... Oh! Well, well! That is a very rare gem indeed. May I see it?



It's what we're here for, after all.

Zalan: This... is amazing! It is not exactly a gem, but it is quite a treasure! And I sense an amazing power inside it! If you wish, I will work on this for you. Making an accessory out of it may bring out its amazing power.



Do iiiiiiiiiiiiiit

Blue gave Zalan the Light Egg.
*Zalan turns to his desk and begins working intently. After a few text boxes that say just that, Zalan turns back to Blue.*
Zalan: Finished at last!



Zalan: It's quite good workmanship, if I may say so myself.

Awesome!



It may not look much different, but equipping this talisman will allow the wearer to cast the strongest healing magic in the game. Here, I'll demonstrate.



♪♪Brand of the Holy Knuckles (Mist version)♪♪

Horn, being the ultimate Light Seru, doesn't level up, since its effect is to fully heal your party. It even revives K.O.'ed characters and heals them, too! Of course, it costs 200 MP to cast, so most of the time Spoon would be more efficient. Still, though, this is a great last-resort spell; toss it on Umber before a boss fight and you should be good as long as you have the MP for it.

There are a few more Ra-Seru Eggs we can obtain and turn into talismans, but that won't be until later, so for now we'll head to Mt. Dhini. First, though, a quick inn-stay.



♪♪Noa's Dreams♪♪

And another dream couldn't hurt, I guess.

*The camera zooms in a bit.*
Ruby. I feel your presence so strongly. You're right near us. But this will be the last time we can send you our words.
*The light on the right floats closer to Ruby.*
He... He has found us out.
Ruby: Who has? Who are you talking about?



The man who invaded the realm of the gods by changing the Seru and creating the Sim-Seru. His name... He is Cor...
*The lights flicker out; Ruby gasps in shock.*

*Ruby runs in a random direction.*
Ruby: Mother?
*A large blue light appears.*
Ha, ha, ha, ha!



Ha, ha, haaa! How desperate you are! Ruby! Foolish Ruby! I don't need to give you my name! Ha! You and that idiot Ra-Seru can struggle all you want! The more I struggle, the more I can taste your despair!



Listen well, and I shall tell you! If you have the power, come to Conkram for yourself and see. Your parents are there!
Ruby: Conkram!
*The light disappears.*
Ruby: You bastard! Where did you go? Don't you run away from me!



*Ruby runs in a different random direction for a second or two.*
Ruby: Faaaatherrr!!!



That... did not sound good. We'd better hurry up and find the Soren... to Mt. Dhini!



On the way there, I encounter another new enemy, the Speed Wolf. It's kinda fast, yeah, but that's about it.



♪♪Perilous Mountain♪♪

Right, we've got a mountain to climb. No time to waste!

I hear a voice from Birdman Gate! Mt. Dhini is open to those with the mark of Soren!





Awesome! This shouldn't be too difficult; we've climbed a fair few mountains in this game already. What's one more, right?



♪♪Brand of the Holy Knuckles (Mist version)♪♪

A couple more new enemies before moving on - first, the Garnet. Not a very strong enemy; you can take them out pretty quickly.



The Neo Bison is a bit more worrisome; lots of HP and attack power. You might want to prioritize taking it down if you run into one paired with a weaker enemy.





Also, it seems that the Ironman is more troublesome than I initially gave it credit for. You might want to Charm it while you take care of the other enemies in a given encounter; that way it'll uppercut/Jagged Earth the other monsters instead of you.





Moving on... you'll want to head down first here.

Doing so will get you this. I'm not sure what it does, honestly; the description says it "penetrates the enemy's defenses". My best guess is that it prevents foes from blocking any of your attacks, but I'll have to test it out first.





This cave has three different exits. The furthest one down leads farther up the mountain, so we'll take the first two.





Awesome, one less Phoenix we'll have to buy.







Huh, that was kind of a waste of time. Oh, well; onward up the mountain.



You can run into these things while you're in a cave here, incidentally. Their Buzzsaw attack hurts a bit, but otherwise they aren't too troublesome.





With that, we're back outside.





Scenic.





Sweet, another one!

Well that wasn't much of a cave. Ah, well; at least we're making progress.



Don't mind if I do.





If I'm not mistaken, this should be the last cave we have to pass through before reaching the top.







I like the wraparound effect the path has going on. It's pretty neat!



Why hello, encounter-rate decreasing accessory. How are you this fine day?



Almost at the top - I can feel it.



Yep, definitely close to the summit. Let's just hope that we'll find the Soren there.


Well, we're here... why do those statues look familiar? We'll be back here later, by the way. It won't be very pleasant.

Ruby: Blue, Umber! Look! The summit!



Sure thing.

Umber: There's no Mist at the summit! The Soren can fly here on their Seru Wings! Blue, why don't you play the Soren Flute you have with you?
*Blue nods and kneels.*



*Blue plays a note on the Flute. After a few seconds, Ruby looks toward the sky.*
Ruby: Blue, Umber! Look! It's the Soren! The Soren are coming!

♪♪Evil Seru♪♪

Uh... why is that particular track playing? This doesn't seem good...







Ruby: From Grantes! Grantes gave it to us!
Luctes: So, that traitor Grantes gave it to you. That doesn't surprise me. This is the Soren's holy place. You earthbound humans must leave here at once!
*Luctes turns to his men.*
Luctes: Come! We are leaving!
*Luctes's men nod and prepare to take off.*



*Luctes turns back around and lands.*



Umber: Then are you prepared to fight the Mist and its allies?
Luctes: Of course we are! That is why we punished Grantes, for helping build the Floating Castle.
*Luctes looks away, almost as if he were staring at the castle itself.*
Luctes: Many brave Soren have died trying to attack the Floating Castle.
Ruby: Then we should work together! We're on the same side!
Umber: We revived the Genesis Tree. The Mist is gone!
Luctes: *pondering* Hmm...
Umber: Now we need the power of the Soren to destroy the Mist Generator in the Floating Castle!
*Luctes looks back up in surprise; he then leaps into the air, the other Soren joining him.*



*Luctes and his men continue talking for a few more seconds.*
Luctes: *nods* Alright.
*Luctes descends back to the ground.*
Luctes: This is a decision I cannot make on my own. You shall come to our camp and speak with our Elder!



Sounds good to me. The Soren are the only way we have of getting to Conkram and the Floating Castle. If we have to convince the Elder to help us, then so be it.

Luctes: Good! We're going to fly, so hold on tight! If you fall, you die!
*The music fades as Luctes leaps into the air to give the other Soren instructions.*



Luctes is kind of a hardass, huh?

*The three Soren position themselves behind Blue and co. One descends and picks up Ruby.*



*The other two Soren pick up Blue and Umber.*





♪♪The Soren Fly♪♪

*The Soren fly off as the screen fades to black.*

Ah, so that's what's on that island. They've done a good job of keeping themselves hidden, I'll give them that.













♪♪Vidna♪♪

Man, we'll do that later; we've got a camp to explore and winged folks to talk to.









This isn't a very big camp. Ah, well, time to socialize!

Walking around the camp
Silver-haired Soren: Grantes was a good man, but he was too trusting. That's why he fell for Zora's deception.
Brown-haired Soren: We heard that down below, in Sol and Buma, the Mist has cleared. Did you do that? {Yep!} Oh, that's wonderful! And now you're going to destroy the Floating Castle? Please be careful! The Floating Castle is a nest of demons! Many Soren have lost their lives there!
Luctes: The Elder lives in the farthest house. Go speak to him.
Brown-haired Soren: We Soren managed to escape the Mist thanks to our Seru Wings. But now, we're just biding our time until our extinction as a people. *extends wings, flys away*
Blond Soren: Many times our Soren warriors attacked the Floating Castle... Many precious lives were lost. They were no match for the Mist's henchmen and their Sim-Seru.
Brown-haired Soren: I have told our Elder, Cructes, all about you.
Silver-haired Soren: The Soren have martial arts, too. But the greatest master and secret book were lost at Floating Castle. If you go to the Floating Castle, look for the secret book. It is called Soren Secrets. If you bring us the Soren Secrets, I'm sure it will help you some way.
Brown-haired Soren: It's me, remember? I was the one who carried you here, Ruby!

Well, that's everyone around the camp. To the inn!



Huh... not much of an inn. I bet those hammocks are comfortable, though.

Innkeeper: There's only a simple bed here. Do you want to rest here before you go? {You mean it's free? Awesome!} Sleep tight! *after sleeping* Be careful!
Silver-haired Soren: Seru Wings are created in a secret ceremony. Each Soren receives only one Seru.
Blond Soren: Do you want to hear about Grantes? {Sure.} Luctes and Grantes are sons of Cructes, the Soren Elder. Grantes was the younger brother of Luctes. The two brothers were very close. But then Grantes fell in love with a surface-dwelling human. Then Grantes was deceived by an evil person who exploited Grantes' devotion to the one he loved.
That cruel deceiver was Zora, queen of the Floating Castle! She promised Seru Wings for Cara, if he would steal a Ra-Seru Egg from Buma's Genesis Tree. Unwittingly, Grantes helped build the Floating Castle. Then the Mist came.
When Cructes learned of Grantes' betrayal, he was left with no choice. He took away Grantes' Seru Wings and banished him to the Mist in accordance with Soren law! As Grantes' father, and as Soren Elder, it was a painful decision for Cructes.

Uh, thanks for the mostly-unnecessary backstory dump, I guess. To the armory!



Yoink!

Silver-haired Soren: The Soren love wind and freedom. My people followed the seasonal winds, like winged nomads! We once had camps all over the world, but today we have only this place.
Brown-haired Soren: There may be plenty of weapons, but there are no more soldiers to use them.

Speaking of weapons, let's see what they have for sale.

Good grief, this stuff is seriously expensive. Then again, I'm pretty sure this is the last armory in the game; we won't get everyone's ultimate equipment until the final dungeon, so this might be the last place to upgrade everyone's stuff. I end up buying the Battle Robe for Ruby, since it's been a while since her last body armor upgrade. The other weapons and armor we haven't bought will have to wait until we get more cash. Looks like the Golden Book will have to stay on Blue a while longer.

That about covers the camp... time to talk to Cructes.



I'm betting the dude with the crazy hair is the elder. First...



More goodies!

Silver-haired Soren: Luctes is quite distressed about his younger brother Grantes' situation.
Blond Soren: Luctes may seem unfriendly, but he's someone you can rely on when the chips are down.



Cructes: *nods* Most impressive! I now realize that you truly possess the determination to save the world...
*Cructes paces a bit, stopping in front of a barrel.*
Cructes: We've tried every tactic against that Floating Castle. But, you, with the powers of your Ra-Seru, should be able to destroy it! *turns around* I have decided that the Soren should help you! Go speak to Luctes, in the square. He will take you to the Floating Castle.

Sounds like a plan. But first, we'll see if Cructes has anything else to say.



Cructes: I see.

Well that wasn't much... This update's getting pretty big already, so we'll stop here for now. I'll be back in a few days when we try to destroy the Floating Castle. Hopefully that won't go wrong or anything!

Next time: The Floating Castle!

...I think I managed to miss this entirely when I played the game. (I think the Ra-Seru eggs got dumped into my inventory, never to be seen again. I never thought to go back to the jeweler.) Accessory-based super-spells? My mind is blown!

I see nothing wrong with this, especially since we're talking about a RPG rather than an action game.

On to p. 12. Hooray, silly mini-games! So, you get nothing if you lose in Baka Fighter? I guess that makes sense, a risk vs. reward setup.

Not-so-hooray: walkthrough-required bullshit. Or "the grinding patience of the wind wearing down a mountain as you click every single object in the game"-required bullshit. Or is there a hint somewhere that this tree is interactive?

Aw, poor Ruby. This actually brought a tear to my eye.

And this? Well, uh. I know Ruby is supposed to be childlike, but sheesh.