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

Yep, I missed them my first time through this game, too. Still, though, they're pretty rad (as you'll see later).

Yeah, it's pretty fair, actually; you can quit whenever you win a match, so how many coins you get out of it is up to you. Not only that, but it only costs one coin to try out Baka Fighter, so it's a pretty cheap way to wrack up coins.

I'm not sure, actually; if there is a hint, I've never encountered it. Truth be told, the first time I discovered this fight was entirely by accident. It's not at all required to finish the game, though, so I don't mind its obtuseness.

Yeah, me too, although my reasoning is kinda personal and not really appropriate for an LP thread. Still, though, I'm kinda surprised this game could get a reaction like that out of someone who hasn't played it. I guess the developers must've known what they were doing.

Not gonna argue with you there. At least it's optional... but still, though. Kinda creeps me out a little. =/

Anyway, today's update, while not quite as large as the Nivora Ravine chapter, is still pretty big. Alternate tab, sandwich, etc.

Chapter 28: The Floating Castle

Are you guys ready to infiltrate a giant, flying building? I know I am!

Luctes: It seems that the Elder has given his permission.



Blue: Let's go!
Luctes: Good! Now hold on tight!
*Luctes kneels, extends his wings, and jumps into the air. He wistles, and a few more Soren fly over.*





*The screen fades to black. A few seconds later...*



♪♪The Misty Nest♪♪

*Luctes falls silent for a moment.*



As ready as we'll ever be. Let's hope we can find the Mist Generator, take it out, and then escape in one piece.

Luctes: That's the spirit! I see you are ready for battle! We're going in!









Luctes: We'll be waiting here. If you succeed in destroying the Mist Generator, come back here.

Right. Although one last bit of conversation couldn't hurt, either.

Soren warrior: Take care!
Luctes: What's wrong? Did you chicken out already? Ha ha! Just like a surface dweller! We can return to camp if you want to. {Huh. I never knew you could go back. That could be useful if you wanted to grind for equipment or ran out of supplies. But we're on a mission, and backing out now isn't part of that.} Ha, ha, ha! Is that true self-confidence... or are you just bluffing?
Soren warrior: I wish we could go with you, but we're not strong enough.

Right, enough chit-chat; it's time to get going.



Huh. Wasn't expecting the inside of this place to be so... purple.



Going right here leads to a dead-end. Heading left will lead to another fork, so let's do that.





Heading left again here nets an item, while going up leads farther into the castle. I dunno about you, but I do enjoy loot.



But first, a couple new enemies.



The Terror Face lives up to its name quite well; in addition to this attack, it has more health than almost any enemy we've come up against, and they're surprisingly fast - most of the time it takes its turn before Ruby does. Its defenses are rather lacking, though, so you can have everyone gang up on it or use Tough Love and deal with it later.

The Barra is the newest Wind Seru, and it's a pretty speedy bastard to boot. It's also surprisingly durable; it'll probably take at least two turns to take one out, assuming that two people are attacking it. It can also use Wind Cutter, so keep that in mind.



This would be more suited to Ruby, but I'll take what I can get; hopefully she and Blue will get to absorb one before we're done with this place. I'll show the spell off when we aren't in the middle of enemy territory.





I just love free items. They're so great!



Topazes aren't too tough; I usually have Umber deal with it while Ruby and Blue take down the other enemy in a battle.





Makin' progress, slowly but surely.



Oh hey, a Sorcerer upgrade. They're slightly harder to kill than the previous iteration, but that's about it. Not sure why it's called a Thermo, though...





A short, strangely marble-esque passage to the next area...





Down leads further onward, while heading right slightly leads to another chest, although going too far in that direction leads to a dead-end.



The entrance to this room is pretty easy to spot; kinda hard to miss an obvious entrance, after all. As for the accessory, we already have one, but I guess another MP-boosting item couldn't hurt.



In unrelated news, Blue's Spirited action bar has gotten long enough for him to use his final Super Art.

Used by combining Spin Combo, Power Punch, and PK Combo, Rolling Combo essentially combines both of the Combo Arts into one move. Also, wow, I used the word "combo" entirely too much in that sentence.





There's nothing else in this room, so we'll be moving on.



Another short corridor...



And we're outside. 'Kay then...



Wow, we are really high up; I can't even see the ground. We'd best watch our step...





Hmm... I guess we can't get to that platform right now. Maybe that room behind us has something useful.



Well I don't see why not.

Blue moved the lever up!





Ah, sweet.



Going down...



Man, Zora must really have a thing for the color purple. Now, it might or might not be obvoius in that screenshot...

But there's a hidden passage leading to this item.



Moving on, we come to this strange wall decoration...





Which is actually a door leading to this. The Evil God Icon allows the wearer to steal an item from an enemy, but only if they land the killing blow on it. Pretty sweet, I gotta say.





Hey, I wonder what those boxes are for...?







For climbing into vents, apparently. Let's see what this guy has to say.



Worker:Just between you and me, that Zora is a real slave driver! We don't even need to guard a power unit like this, but she ordered us here anyway.
*The worker turns around to resume his duties, but turns back again.*
Worker: Hmm. Wait a minute! Zora didn't say anything about new people coming. That means... You are those Ra-Seru-wearing foes! You son of a... I'll teach you a lesson!





The Puera is the only other normal Dark Seru in the game, and is a bit tricky. In addition to having decent attack power...





It can also do this.

The cards will shuffle rather quickly, and then you'll have five seconds to pick one before the game automatically turns over the card the cursor is over. It has the potential to be either extremely helpful or extremely annoying.



Luckily it only healed itself and Blue, and I was able to absorb it. You can't absorb a Puera if the result of a Death Game is "Puera Dies", so keep that in mind if you're trying to get one. There are only three in the Floating Castle, so you might want to use the Ivory Book.





Now that that's taken care of, let's see what this switch does.

Blue moved the lever up!

Uh... okay then. Let's just be on our way.









Another strange-looking door... Time to investigate!



A torture device? That's the only reasonable explanation for those bloodstains. Well, since no one's on it right now...

Blue turned on the device!



O_O

Uh...



Blue now has the Soren Secrets.

Yeah, yeah, let's just get the hell out of here.







Oh, apparently Terror Faces can prevent a character from taking their turn if they haven't acted yet. Kind of annoying! But, while I'm here...

What do you say we learn ourselves a Miracle Art?





























Used by inputting ← ↑ → ↓ ↑ ← ↑ ↓ → with 99 AP, Ruby's Ark is her most damaging move, and damn useful during boss fights. It's even better if you have the Mettle Gem equipped, since the AP requirement gets lowered to 49. And yes, Ruby's default name makes her Miracle Art a pun.

But enough about that, we need to keep moving. It's a good idea to heal your party for what's ahead; trust me, you're gonna need it.



More of these things, huh? Alright then.





Right off the bat, they both used Death Gate on me. It didn't work, thankfully...



And I managed to come out on top pretty easily, though I didn't absorb another one. Ah, well; hopefully there will be more chances to do so later.







I think it's safe to say that we're pretty close to finding the Mist Generator. Here goes nothin'!



*As Blue and co. move up the steps to the throne, a whirring sound grows steadily louder.*



Blue: Yes, I hear it, too!
*The three turn to the throne.*
Ruby: But she's not here -- Zora, the one who deceived Grantes. I thought she would be here...
Umber: *crosses arms* You're right. This is the castle lord's room, but where's Zora...
Ruby: I wanted to defeat her and get back the Ra-Seru Egg...
*The screen fades out and switches to the Soren, waiting at the entrance of the castle. One of them, who is keeping watch, sees something in the sky and turns to the others.*



Luctes: *shocked* This is bad! Everyone hide! Don't let him see you!
*The Soren extend their wings and leave the balcony. A few seconds later, something flies past the screen.*



*Zora lands and enters the castle. A few seconds later, the Soren come out of their hiding place further up and land back on the balcony.*



Luctes: I know how you must feel, but... Our mission is to wait for those three to return.
*The scene switches back to Blue and co., who are still standing in front of the throne.*

Ruby: Since she's not here, let's destroy the Mist Generator.

Well it is what we came here for - we just have to find it first.



Three doors to choose from, huh? I'm betting the middle one leads to the Mist Generator, so let's check out the other doors first.



Oh hey, awesome! Wasn't expecting that.



The leftmost door had this, while the right...



Uh... I'm not really sure what this is, to be honest. A lounge, maybe? Well, no matter, that just leaves the middle-



Crap.



Well, we've been everywhere else in this castle and haven't found a key. On the other hand, Zora did just get here, so we can just backtrack until we run into her. It's worth a shot, at least.

Blue: Let's look for Zora!
Ruby: *nods* Good idea! Let's get the egg back from Zora!

Something tells me this is a terrible idea, but we don't have much choice at the moment.



♪♪Evil Seru♪♪

Damn, she's a fast walker.

Ruby: Zora! Are you Zora?
Zora: And what if I am?
Ruby: Give me back the Ra-Seru Egg you tricked Grantes out of!
Zora: Oh, little Ruby! You are just as silly as I heard! Ha, ha, ha!
*The camera switches to behind Zora and begins rotating.*



Ruby: Boo-hoo!
Zora: But don't worry -- I will fight you. If you win, I will tell you where the Ra-Seru Egg is.





Boss Battle 15: Zora
♪♪Disciples of the Mist♪♪

Zora is one of those bosses that seems difficult... at first. She's got three attacks at her disposal.









Her first and most frequent is to fly over to a character and beat the crap out of them. Her combos can be rather damaging, too, considering they're only five hits long. There's not much you can do to mitigate the damage, truth be told, unless that character is using Spirit or you happen to have trained up an ATK-lowering spell.

Her least frequent move is to use Glare, which, like the Medusa attack, can potentially Stone you.



It's not very likely to work, though - I only remember it maybe actually Stoning a character one time in any of my playthroughs. By and large it's not something to worry about, though if it does actually work, you'll want to use a Medicine on the affected character as soon as possible.



This is her deadliest attack.

Dark Typhoon (or Darkness Typhoon, going by what Zora says when she uses it) is pretty ridiculous; dealing more than a thousand damage to the whole party ensures that you'll be using Spoon quite often. There's a trick to make this attack pretty trivial, though - she uses it every other turn. Most of the time, anyway - sometimes she'll attack instead to mess with you.



Keep up a pattern of Spiriting every other turn, though, and Dark Typhoon will only deal around 350-400 damage when it comes around. (Poor Umber had taken a bit of a beating the previous turn.) This will potentially let you heal using Orb instead of Spoon, saving a fair bit of MP in the long run.











Which is good, because this might be a long fight - Zora has a little over 22,000 HP to work through, and her hovering makes her immune to Low attacks. Using Ruby's Ark, everyone's final Hyper Arts, and their best Super Arts can help chew through it faster, though, so it's not too big a deal.











Now that I think about it, Zora's actually kind of a breather boss after what we went through in Nivora Ravine. Back there we were fighting for our lives, desperately trying to end the fights as quickly as possible. Here, though, we can take our time and pace ourselves without having to worry about resources or a timer.

Just remember to use Spirit every other turn and keep up with healing, and this fight's practically in the bag.

*The music fades.*



*The camera begins rotating.*
Ruby: Zora! Tell me where the Ra-Seru Egg is!
Zora: You silly fool, Ruby... I used... the Ra-Seru Egg... long ago...



What?!

Umber: What? The Ra-Seru Egg is a component in the Mist Generators? Ozma? What does this mean?
Ozma: What Zora says is correct. Mist Generators use both Ra-Seru and Ra-Seru Eggs...
Ruby: Terra, why didn't you tell me before?!
Terra: I'm sorry, Ruby. I was afraid you might get the wrong idea ...that the Ra-Seru are creating the Mist.





♪♪Songi's First Appearance♪♪

Ruby: Songi! So you came to help Zora, eh?
*Songi shrugs.*
Songi: Sorry, but I'm not interested in someone more than twice my age.
*Songi walks behind the throne to the door leading to the Mist Generator.*
Songi: Ha! What good is this puny lock going to do...





Huh. I guess Songi can shoot energy beams whenever he wants now. Great...

Songi: Sorry, but I've got business with the Mist Generator.
*Blue and co. run up the stairs to where he is.*
Umber: What? What do you want with the Mist Generator?
Songi: Ha, ha, ha!
*Songi walks through the door.*



♪♪The Misty Nest♪♪

Good plan - whatever Songi's up to, there's no damn way it can be any good. I'll just heal the party and be on my way.

The music fades as the party enters the room.

What the- what the hell?



Umber: Could it be Songi? Could he have destroyed the Mist Generator?
Songi: *from offscreen* You are indeed correct! Ha, ha!



♪♪Songi's First Appearance♪♪

Umber: Why? Why would you destroy the Mist Generator?
*Songi spits into the abyss below, with the accompanying sound effect.*
Songi: Oh, you are too much! The musclebound oaf is still as dumb as ever! I'll tell you why I did it. The whole Floating Castle was just a trap to lure you in and kill you. The Floating Castle's Mist Generator was just a piece of junk! Even its Mist was no good!



*Just then, Zora, still alive, drags herself into the room.*
Zora: W-What! What do you mean?
Songi: Zora! So you're still alive!
Zora: C-Cort tried to kill me...?
Songi: That's right. He used you as bait for that very important trap. Not even Cort would expect you to defeat the Ra-Seru!
Zora: But... Cort loved me... He said he loved me.









"Songi is a dick complete asshole" count: 8

Songi: Cort said he hates pesky women, and hates bossy women like you even more! If this meddlesome woman hadn't opened her big mouth... you would have fell into the trap, and I wouldn't have had to destroy the Mist Generator!
Ruby: Songi! What "trap"? What do you mean?
Songi: Ha, ha, ha! Stupid, simple-minded barbarian girl! Use your little brain and think! This Castle used the Mist Generator's energy to float. Here's a tough question. What happens to the Floating Castle when the Mist Generator is gone?
*Blue and co. stare in shocked silence for a second, then...*











What? What?!

Umber: Songi, wait! If the Floating Castle was a trap for us... Then where's the Mist Generator creating the Mist in Karisto Kingdom?
Songi: Umber, you are a hopeless dimwit! Instead of the Mist, you should be worried about your own life! Only six minutes till impact! Bye! Have a nice trip! See you next "fall". Ha, ha!



Bonus Video 11: Escaping the Floating Castle
♪♪Hurry Up♪♪

Crap, we've gotta get out of here!









As Songi said, you have six minutes to get back to the entrance of the Floating Castle before it crashes into the ground. If you haven't gotten all the items here, then you might want to put the Good Luck Bell on someone so you won't run into as many battles.









If you do encounter any enemies, the game won't subtract any time while you're in the battle - it'll just take twenty seconds off the timer after you win and exit the battle screen. This is why the Good Luck Bell is important; if you run into more than a few encounters, you could have a lot of time taken off the clock.







Six minutes should be more than enough time to get to the entrance, though if you missed any items you might cut it a little close.

Thank goodness we made it - the Soren can take us out of-







Uh... where are they? Where the hell are they?!



Umber: *lowers his head* They must have sought shelter somewhere.







Seriously, guys, you can show up any time now! Hello?!



*Umber slowly lowers to one knee.*
Umber: Is it my destiny to die now?
*A large booming sound is heard.*







Crap!

Hitting the ground is not going to be very pleasant...



Oh thank Tieg! Just get us out of here!





















Damn, that was close. A few more seconds and the Soren might not have gotten to us in time.



♪♪The Soren Fly♪♪

*Luctes turns his head to Ruby.*
Luctes: I apologize. We had to get away from the Seru monsters, and so we were watching from the air.
*The screen fades to black as the Soren fly back to their camp.*



♪♪Vidna♪♪

*The camera switches viewpoints.*
Meta: The Mist Generator is a machine that uses Ra-Seru as a catalyst to make the Mist.
Ozma: A Ra-Seru also has the power to take the life of other Ra-Seru. So far we have destroyed Mist Generators by killing the Ra-Seru sealed inside.
Umber: It must've been painful to kill a fellow Ra-Seru, even if to destroy the Mist Generators.
Ruby: Terra, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you were so sad.
Terra: There was nothing else to do. But I am sure the Ra-Seri who died with the Mist Generators...

Umber: It was a bittersweet victory. Even so... Songi said that the Floating Castle was merely a trap. If that's true, then where is the Mist in Karisto Kingdom coming from?
*Cructes looks at the three of them in turn.*
Cructes: I can't understand what the Ra-Seru are saying to you. But, if you are discussing Umber's question, I have already investigated that.
*Cructes turns and paces forward a few steps.*
Cructes: Having now learned that the Floating Castle's Mist Generator is powerless... I ordered a reconnaissance team to find the Mist Generator generating the Mist over Karisto.



Cructes: All of Legaia would be free of the Mist forever! *turns* The Mist Generator is near Conkram, which once fought a war with Sol. In Conkram, you may also find out about Ruby's parents, as well. It is the Soren's duty to take you there! This I have already ordered Luctes to do.
*Luctes nods and leaves the tent.*
Cructes: You should leave for Conkram as soon as you are ready.
*Ruby hops off of the hammock.*
Ruby: Blue, did you hear that? Conkram! We're going to Conkram!



Seems like it - although, given how things have worked out for us, I doubt it'll go so smoothly. We'll just have to do our best once we get there.

Next time: Conkram.

Bleh, managed to refresh this update halfway through you posting it three times now.

That escape music is pretty reminiscent of the battle music, although listening to them one after another I don't notice any real similarities. Probably the soundfont, or something like that. (Or it's similar to a different theme that I didn't think to check.)

Heh.

Now that you mention it, Hurry Up reminds me of a few themes - I can hear a bit of the booming percussion from Disciples of the Mist and some of the main melody from 0:44 onwards of My Name is Songi. Actually, it also kind of sounds like Koru Battle, but sped up a little. I wonder if this was done on purpose...?

For the record, the upcoming Kingdom of Conkram is pretty much the entire reason I remember this game at all. Needless to say, it's my favorite part.

Great job on the LP so far, by the by.

If I had the patience for RPGs still I probably would love to play this.

Ahh, I love reading about these PS1 RPGs. My brother had Legend of Legaia 2, but that's about as close as I ever got to the series. Looks like I missed out.

The only thing is that the magic in this game seems to have Final Fantasy VII-style summon animations... for every spell. That must get old very quickly.

Anyway, I'll be looking forward to seeing how this ends!

Woo, I'm less than a month behind! Here are a couple of comments on p. 13, update 24:

What, a secret princess?! Since she's the only female in the main party, I should've seen that coming. Guess the martial arts threw me off.

She's seen Blue do this already, and did it herself. I guess secret princesses are required to be spunky, but aren't required to be observant....

On to Update 25!

Even knowing what's coming, it looks like the balancing act on this can be tricky. Gobble up another full-heal item, depriving another character of it, or stick with Spoon? At one point, Umber's HP falls to 11!

Lu doesn't seem as razor's edge as Che. They put some extra effort into modeling her bottom for her "Plasma Strike" pose.

...not that detail is lacking elsewhere. The animation for "Blazing Slash" is very cool.

Might as well catch up on replies while I'm here.

Heh, I don't blame you - these next few updates should be pretty interesting. And thank you, by the way! It's nice to hear that I'm doing a good job. =)

Ah, that's a shame. But yes, even after taking away the nostalgia I have for it, it's a pretty good game! It has its flaws, yes, but I'm willing to look past them.

You have, indeed, missed out on a pretty good game. Admittedly the unskippable (as far as I know) magic animations can get kind of annoying, but you totally don't have to bother with attack magic if you don't want to! Certain spells make certain fights easier, but on the whole you only have to worry about keeping healing spells up to date, which is quite easy.

As for how this game ends, well... I won't spoil anything. I trust that other posters in this thread will keep it to themselves as well, if they've beaten this game before. =)

Heh, yeah. I'm actually glad that the game doesn't really treat this as a big deal; it's just another part of Ruby's character. Hell, she's probably one of the cooler "princess" characters I've come across.

Ah, she's probably just caught up in the moment, is all. Besides, like Umber said, she's pretty excitable.

Yeah, that was really tense. A good rule of thumb is to use an item if Umber's HP falls into the red, and Spoon if it goes yellow. I was actually having trouble recording that fight because Che kept blocking Umber's attacks for some reason; I had to put the Target Chain on him so his Arts would actually connect.

Yeah, that is kind of ridiculous. But yes, Lu is definitely the easiest of the three; I didn't even have to use items on my screenshot runthrough of the fight!

Indeed it is! I gotta say, the battle animations for this game are really top-notch for their time, and they even still look pretty good today imo.

Anyway, I came here to tell you guys that I've run into a slight problem regarding the LP: the emulator freezes during a certain cutscene. I can't just skip it since it's pretty important, so I'm working on how to fix the issue. I've already looked for help elsewhere, and hopefully I should get a response soon. If all goes well, I should have the update posted in the next couple of days. See you guys soon; I'll hope for the best.

Hey, guys! Sorry for the longish wait in between updates. I had some emulator troubles which I'll get into later, but I've got everything fixed now and the rest of the game should be smooth sailing. Speaking of, let's get underway.

Chapter 29: Conkram, Past and Present



♪♪Vidna♪♪

Before we head off for Conkram, we'll have another talk with the Soren; it'll be a while before we see them again, after all.

Cructes: Only one Mist Generator remains on the surface! If you destroy the Absolute Fortress, north of Conkram, then the Mist will disappear completely!

Walking around the camp
Blonde Soren: Go talk to Luctes, in the square. He'll take you to Conkram.
Short-haired Soren: Conkram, in the North Karisto Mountains, was a beautiful town. But now...
Spiky-haired Soren: Soon... Very soon, now, the age of the Mist will be over!
Silver-haired Soren: I think Grantes will be forgiven once the world is completely free of the Mist.
Brown-haired Soren: I hear you are going to Conkram. Be very careful! Near Conkram is a massive Mist Generator, the Absolute Fortress, and the Mist is very thick! *extends wings, takes off*
Spiky-haired Soren: Our children will learn about your brave deeds, as part of Soren history.
Silver-haired Soren: According to air reconnaissance, there are four Mist Generators on earth. The Absolute Fortress, which lies north of Conkram, is the last Mist Generator.
Brunette Soren: Thanks to you, the lives of the Soren killed at the Floating Castle have finally been avenged!
Silver-haired Soren: Hey! You found the Soren Secrets! Give it to me! I'll read it to you!





We already know all the Arts here (Pyro Pummel for Blue, Tempest Break for Ruby, and Electro Thrash for Umber), so we'll just be on our way.

In the Inn
Blonde Soren: Conkram's royal family are about the only surface-dwellers who have had contact with the Soren. That reminds me... There was a Soren who was summoned by the King before the Mist came. He never returned. What do you think could have happened to him? Rumor has it that he was trying to carry something out of Conkram as it was being engulfed by Mist.

In the armory
Brunette Soren: The King and Queen of Conkram have two children, a son and a daughter.
Silver-haired Soren: I hear the situation in Conkram is grim. You'd better equip yourself for a hard fight!

Speaking of equipping ourselves...



All that running around in the Floating Castle gave us quite a bit of G to spend, which I do; I buy the Heavy Strike and Pronged Crown for Ruby, the Triumph Boots for Blue, and the War God Plate for Umber. I end up having to sell the Warrior Icon, the Evil God Icon, and one of our Magic Rings, but I couldn't see us using any of those any time soon, so it isn't too much of a loss. These purchases should keep us covered while we're in Conkram; hopefully when we come back we'll have enough money for the rest of the stuff here, assuming we need it.

Speaking of Conkram, I think it's about time we get going.



Luctes: I had lost my pride as a Soren. I was bitter. *turns around* I was a fool. But you, heroes of Ra-Seru, you opened my eyes. *turns back* Thank you! I am grateful -- from the bottom of my heart!
*Ruby gives a chest-bump; Umber gives a monk-salute; Blue nods.*
Luctes: It's almost time.



Something tells me we're gonna have a hell of a time trying to destroy the last Mist Generator, but we're the only ones able to do it - not to mention that Ruby's parents have seemingly been trapped there for ten years. Take us away, Luctes!

Blue nods while Luctes kneels and extends his wings.
Luctes: Because of the thick Mist there, you'll have to parachute in. Here, take this!
*Luctes hands Blue a Door of Wind.*
Luctes: The Door of Wind is the only way to get back. Use it well! {I appreciate the gesture, but we already had ten of the things. Trust me, we're good!}
*Luctes hops into the air.*







♪♪The Soren Fly♪♪

*Luctes flies offscreen.*











♪♪Barren Fields of Mist♪♪

Well, here we are... The outside of this place kinda reminds me of a clam shell. We'll worry about that bigass building behind Conkram later; right now we need to find Ruby's parents and get them the hell out of here.



♪♪The Quiet Destruction♪♪

Uh... is the outside wall a clam shell?



Also, why the hell is the ground pulsating?





Seriously, it's kinda freaking me out.

Umber: This is Conkram? What a horrible place! Look at this evil, everyone! This is not the work of humans!
*Ruby runs forward a bit.*
Umber: What's the matter?
Ruby: *turns around* I hear a voice! Someone's still alive! They're calling for help!
Umber: A human voice?
*The camera turns a bit to the left.*



*Blue and co. run over to the man.*



Umber: *steps forward* Hey! Are you alright?
*The man takes a few seconds to respond.*
Man: Help... Somebody... Help...
*Ruby runs up to the man and begins trying to pull him out of the pillar he's stuck in.*
Ruby: Arrggh!
Terra:Ruby! Stop it! Ruby! If you pull that person out of the wall, he'll die!
*Ruby stops and backs up.*



Terra:Everything here - buildings, people - is all part of a giant Seru! A Sim-Seru! Ruby, that person's body has fused with the Seru. We must leave them as they are. There's nothing we can do.
Umber: A Sim-Seru? You mean the town itself is a type of Seru?
Ozma: I never knew that humans had built such a huge Sim-Seru... The thick Mist from the Mist Generator to the north must have enabled it to grow so large.
*Ruby stands in silence for a bit.*
Ruby: I'm so sorry. But I'll destroy the Mist! Just hang on a little longer!



Umber: Your parents may be there.
Ruby: *nods* Y-Yes, you're right.

Before checking out the castle, we'll search the town - we might find something of use in this place.

Sweet, another one! Though I might end up selling it, honestly.



This accessory is great - if the character wearing it gets K.O.'ed, they get revived with full HP. I can't remember if it's a one-time-only accessory or not, though, and this isn't exactly the place to be testing it.





Woman: It must be my imagination. It must be...



These poor people... There isn't anything else in the area and we can't enter any of the other buildings, so we might as well check out the palace.



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

First, though, there are several new enemies here, and they're all pretty tough. This Slippery here?





It can potentially inflict Toxic on your entire party at once. It's a good thing everyone's Spoon spell is at level 3, or we might have been using quite a few Antidotes.





The Lamia, meanwhile, has a higher chance of Stoning a character than its past incarnations, and has a surprising amount of HP. You might want to Charm it if you run into one, so you don't have to deal with it right at the start of an encounter.



Mad Golems are kind of ridiculous; on top of having the most HP of the enemies here...



Their Earthcrush move can also hit the entire party, though there aren't any status effects to go with it, thankfully.



Oh hey, Kemaro upgrades! Maybe Blue or Ruby will be able to absorb one while we're here.

Man, this is kind of ridiculous; three enemies with a hit-all attack? This place doesn't mess around.



Of course, neither do we. I'll show this (and the other spells) off before we head for the Mist Generator.



Lastly, we have Nightmares. They're kind of a rare encounter, and probably the least threatening thing here. I don't know if they can use Fatal Decision, but I wouldn't doubt it.



In unrelated news, let's learn a Miracle Art!















Used by inputting → ↓ ← ↑ ← ↑ → ↓ ← with 99 AP, Blue's Craze is slightly more damaging than Ruby's Ark, though it won't be seeing as much use as the latter since we only have one Mettle Gem. Speaking of, I'm not sure if there's more than one of those in the game; we'll have to wait and see, I guess.

With all that taken care of, let's see what's in the castle.

♪♪The Quiet Destruction♪♪
*As Blue and co. enter the castle, Ruby runs forward a bit.*



Ruby: I... I know this place! *turns around* Blue! Umber! I'm scared! I don't know why, but I'm scared... So scared!
Umber: Ruby, remember this! Whatever happens here... We won't abandon you! Blue and I will always be by your side!



Ruby: Remember you promised never to leave me alone!

Don't worry, we will. Now let's see if we can find Ruby's parents.





These people must not be aware of all the time that's passed... they've just been sitting here in constant agony for ten years. We should hurry up here.

Guard: Don't ever let anyone have the Seru Flame!

Seru Flame? What the hell could that be...? We'll worry about that later.



So this Jette is the one behind the Mist, then? Come to think of it, he was in Ruby's dream back in Uru Mais. But he didn't seem like the kind of person who would do such a thing... But we'll worry about that later.





While I was running around in here, I somehow got this to happen.



I don't know if that actually worked or if the Slippery just took 50 damage, but either way it's pretty funny.



Moving on to the second floor...



Man: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

*As Blue and co. reach the center of the room, they come upon a large, fleshy pod; the music fades as they do so.*



*Ruby takes a step forward; a hearbeat can be heard.*
I feel your presence, Ruby... I know you're there...
Ruby: Mother... It's my mother!







♪♪Noa's Dreams♪♪

*The camera briefly switches to show the party's shocked faces.*



Queen Minea: Ruby, come... here... Let me... feel you.
The party takes a few steps forward; Ruby kneels in front of Minea.
Ruby: Mother...



Queen Minea: You're so big now...
*The camera switches to a side-view.*
Ruby: Mother! What's the matter with your eyes? Can't you see?
Queen Minea: I've been blinded by the thick Mist and the Sim-Seru that surrounds the town. But I can hear your words and sense your presence. It's my feelings for you that have kept me sane.
Ruby: What should I do? Mother, how can I help you?
*Minea sits in silence for a moment.*



Yeah, the Soren told us.

*Blue nods.*
Queen Minea: So this Sim-Seru should die if you destroy the fortress' Mist Generator. But... The Gate of Hell is made of an ancient substance and cannot easily be forced open.

Ruby: Where is it? Tell me, and I'll bring it here!
*The camera switches back to its previous viewpoint.*
Queen Minea: They are gone. There are no more Nemesis Gems anywhere on earth.
Umber: Your Majesty, that means...
Queen Minea: However, if you travel back to the Conkram of the past you will find the Nemesis Gem. Ruby!
Ruby: Yes?



Ruby: The Seru... Flame?
Queen Minea: The Seru Flame has the energy to transport you back to the past!
*Ruby stands up.*
Ruby: Okay. I'll go to Father. I'll get the Seru Flame! I'll get it, so don't give up hope!
Queen Minea: Ruby, you are my daughter. I know you can do it. Blue, Umber. Please look after Ruby for me.
*The two of them nod.*

Heading into the past? How is that even possible? Then again, we don't seem to have any other options, so I guess we'll just have to see for ourselves.



♪♪The Quiet Destruction♪♪

But first we'll check out the side-doors near Minea. This one just has a mirror, for some reason.



Woo!



Also woo! This is in the room to the left.



Woman: That voice! It sounds like the Queen. But it couldn't be. It must be a dream. A bad dream...



Damn it. On the other hand, there is a door right next to this dresser...





Yoink! Okay, now we can head back downstairs.





Er, thanks.



Going down...



Oh hey, awesome! This is the first time in a while that everyone's gotten a non-healing spell in the same area.