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

Man, these are some long stairs...



*The music fades.*





♪♪Noa's Dreams♪♪

King Nebular: Ruby... am I dreaming?
Ruby: No, you're not! It's me, Ruby! I'm really here!
King Nebular: It's really you... If only my eyes... could see... Then I could... look upon you... I knew... you would... come here...
*Nebular falls silent.*



King Nebular: I'm sorry, Ruby. It's so difficult... just to... stay sane. I know why... you're here. You need the Seru Flame to travel into the past. The Queen... sent me... her thoughts. The Seru Flame... is here. Take it. Use it...



King Nebular: Its power... will transcend the vortex of time... and take you... to the past...
*Blue walks over to the Flame, kneels, and takes it from its pedestal.*



Umber: So this is the Seru Flame. It's a small lamp.
Ruby: Father...
King Nebular: Go, Ruby. I'm so ashamed... for my own daughter... to see me like this. Go now. Go, I say.
Ruby: Just hold on, Father. I'll go to the past and bring back the Nemesis Gem.



The Room of Mirrors? I think we passed through there on our way to the roof. It wouldn't hurt to go back there, at least.



Man: The Gate of Hell is made of the same ancient material from which the strongest Seru are made. This is a byproduct, its antimatter, the Nemesis Gem! Ha, ha, ha!

So it's a door literally made out of Sim-Seru parts? That's... kinda gross...



Charm is so great, you guys.



Awesome. I don't even have the Ivory Book equipped on anyone! Maybe some of my old luck is returning...



Queen Minea: The power of the Sim-Seru has warped space and time, creating a door to the past. The Nemesis Gem in the Conkram of the past should get you into the Absolute Fortress.

Ah, okay; that's a bit more plausible. Still, though, if we can bring things like the Nemesis Gem back with us... you think we might be able to do more? What if... what if we could change history itself, so that the Mist never appeared?

Only one way to find out.



*As Blue lights the other torch, a blinding flash of light goes through the room. When it clears...*



Umber: That mirror is the door to the past. So that's it. It's time to go to the past!



Here we go...



♪♪Night Requiem♪♪

A fair warning to anyone emulating this on pSX: the emulator will freeze during this cutscene. You'll have to make a savefile at the entrance of or outside of Conkram, change the extension of the memory card file to .mcr so epsxe can read it, then play through the cutscene on that emulator. You can switch back afterwards since the rest of the game works just fine, though, which is good since I prefer pSX anyway. But enough about that; onward, through time itself!





Terra:But no matter what happens, you must never tell them who you are, or what will happen in the future... Do you understand? This is very important. If you do, you will only create chaos that will benefit the Mist and its allies.



So then we can't do anything to change the past - we can only bring back the Nemesis Gem, or else risk putting Conkram in even more jeopardy. We'll just have to be quick about getting the Gem, I guess.

*The screen and music fades. A few seconds later, Blue and co. walk through the other side of the mirror; there is a brief flash of light as they do so.*



♪♪The Misty Capital♪♪

Ruby: Quick! Let's find the Nemesis Gem!
*Everyone nods.*

Okay, it seems like we made it in one piece. Let's hope we don't create any time paradoxes while we're here...



Damn, this place is swanky. Maybe one of these guards can help us?

Guard: The Queen is expecting and the baby is due any day now. We can't have any commotion here! {Expecting? We must have went back a bit farther than I thought.}
Guard: The King and Queen have retired for the night. If you wish to see them. you must wait till morning.
Guard: This is the palace of King Nebular. Stop loitering about and go back to town!
Guard: You are wearing very nice Seru. With a Seru like that, I could make a name for myself in the war with Sol.
Guard: Finally! The demonstration of the new weapon is tomorrow. I hear it's powerful enough to annihilate everyone in Sol in one shot. I can't wait! {There is no way in hell something that monstrously powerful can be a good idea. This place is making me uneasy all of a sudden...}



Hey, those siderooms aren't blocked off by Sim-Seru matter. Let's see what's in them.



Guard: Prince Cort is very capable for such a young prince! Dohati and Zeto seem to worship his genius. {Dohati and Zeto? You don't think those two dudes in robes are...}
Zeto: The new weapon is indeed good news. It's a blessing! With this new weapon, we can magnify the power of our Seru and destroy Sol. But King Nebular is too cautious. He says he won't permit its use unless the demonstration tomorrow is a success. This foot-dragging will only make things worse for us in the war.
Dohati: Mmm... You are strangers here. You must be travelers. If you are travelers, then you must know Ratayu, correct? {Yeah, that's the place Van Saryu rules over.} Ratayu possesses the technology to raise gigantic Seru. I want that technology for Conkram. {Since there's only one Juggernaut running around in the present, I'm assuming you didn't. Thank goodness...}
Guard: This is the office of Secretary of State Zeto and Secretary of the Interior Dohati.





Too bad we can't read them... Oh, well. Now that we've met Dohati and Zeto before they went completely insane, let's check out the other sideroom on this floor.

Holy crap, Zora and the Delilases! They're from Conkram, too?

Gi Delilas: The Delilas Family are the King's bodyguards.
Lu Delilas: Every day we train hard to protect the royal family. {Does your training include posing practice?} You may fight fairly well... but you're no match for us! {Joke's on you, lady. Not that you would know that!}
Che Delilas: This is the room of the High Priestess, Zora. Commoners like you are not allowed.



Just thought I'd point out that the camera zooms in a bit when you talk to the past versions of these characters.

Zora: When refining the ancient materials needed to build the fortress' Gate of Hell... The Nemesis Gems were generated as a byproduct. With them, the Gate of Hell will... Ha, ha, ha! I have told you too much! Now go home, children!



Right... time to check out the rest of this place.







Seriously, this castle is pretty fancy.

Guard: The plan announced calls for Jette to build a new fortress in the northern mountains. I think they call it the Absolute Fortress. That's some name, eh? {It does scream "final dungeon" pretty loudly, yeah.}
Guard: Hmmf! The whole town is celebrating the new weapon. I wish I could get in on the celebration!
Guard: Yes, these stairs do lead to the underground laboratory! If you want to see the new weapon, you'll have to wait until the demonstration tomorrow!
Guard: Prince Cort discovered the ancient secret of the Seru and used it to make that new weapon.
Guard: Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I see Prince Cort scowling with a bone-chilling look.
Guard: Prince Cort is amazing! First, he created different Seru in the underground lab. Now he's developed a new weapon that'll make all the Seru more powerful.

So that's where the Sim-Seru came from. That would explain where the antagonists we've run into have gotten them, since they're all from Conkram apparently. But where did Songi get his? Was it just lying around in East Voz Forest, or did Cort intentionally seek him out? Or is what Songi's using just a Ra-Seru twisted for evil? Questions for another time, I guess - we still need to find the Nemesis Gem.





I guess this is a dining hall.



Yoink!

Guard: They say the Sol warrior, Gaza, is incredibly strong. If he comes, the only thing to do is run away!
Woman: Everyone's getting ready for the big party we're going to have after the new weapon's demonstration.
Guard: The war with Sol has lasted more than ten years. To tell the truth, I'm weary of it.
Woman: The King and Queen are about to have a baby.
Guard: The new weapon! We should use the new weapon to end the war!
Woman: I'm so busy! I wish Prince Cort would make a Seru that could help me with the cooking!



Sleeping quarters, eh?

Servant: That fellow sleeping there is volunteering for the new weapon's demonstration tomorrow. So let him sleep soundly!
Servant: Gggrrr... Prince Cort! I wish to volunteer for this glorious mission!
Servant: Stop all that noise! Please, be quiet!

Well, that takes care of the castle... maybe there's a Nemesis Gem somewhere in town?



Man, even the door to the castle looks nice.





Don't mind if I do!

It's kind of strange seeing this place not covered in pulsating Sim-Seru matter, or the people not fused to the walls of buildings, considering we came through here twenty minutes ago. Time travel is weird...



I'll bet this pod-thing has to do with the weapon demonstration everyone's talking about.

Seru-wearing man: Those Solians have some new Seru weapon from Uru Mais. They're a tough enemy to beat!
Green-haired woman: Ah! You, young girl. You look just like the Queen when she was young.
Brown-haired man: Huh? The Nemesis Gem... I have no idea what you're talking about.
Seru-wearing man: Hooray! Oh, happy day! Once this new weapon is complete, it'll be lights out for Sol!
Old man: I hear they're going to demonstrate that weird looking machine over there tomorrow.

Nothing around town... maybe one of the houses?





Oh hey, a bar. Haven't seen one of these in a while.

Buzzed worker: This is only a rumor, but, hey, I heard that the King is nervous about the new weapon. I hear that he and the Four Wise Men disagree about it.
Tipsy worker: You guys must be from teh country. 'Cause you're all wearing some pretty strange Seru. Ha, ha, ha!
Classy lady: Nobody knows much about the new weapon. We're all waiting to find out tomorrow.
Red-faced patron: Aaah, what a day!
Fancy lady: Zeto is Secretary of State. Dohati, Secretary of the Interior. Zora, the High Priest. And Jette is the Court Scientist. Together they're called the Four Wise Men of Conkram.
Red-faced worker: After we win the war, I'm marching into Sol and having myself a grand ol' time!
Drunk patron: I'm tellin' ya... Prince Cort... You listening? Prince Cort... He's young, but by gosh, he's great!
Bartender: Oh, hello! Welcome! Tomorrow's a happy day, so there's no need to rush.

Moving on...





Ah, breaking and entering: one of the oldest and finest (depending on your point of view) JRPG traditions.

Green-haired woman: If I'm reincarnated, I want to be one of the Soren. I envy their permanent neutrality, and how they fly through the sky, never getting involved in wars.
Old man: If there were no Seru, then there would be no war. Don't you mind me! I'm just a foolish old man talking to myself!
Old woman: All my sons went to war. I'm so lonely here now.



Oh hey, a flower shop. I don't think we've come across one of these before.

Boy: The lady said she'd give me a Seru if I helped out at the store.
Florist: Yes, I am a florist, but all the flowers are sold. I can't sell you these. They're for tomorrow's celebration. {Understandable. We'll be on our way.}



Girl: I can't wait for tomorrow!
Man: The device outside that you saw connects to the laboratory under the castle.
Green-haired woman: The King and Queen will attend the unveiling tomorrow. The Queen is pregnant, and hasn't appeared in public for quite some time.

There should be one last building before we start checking the shops and inn.





♪♪We Are the Bairon Militan Priests♪♪

Huh, wasn't expecting to run into any Biron monks here. Fancy that.

Monk: Sir!
Monk: Sir! This is the Conkram Dojo of the Biron Warrior Monks.
Monk: Sir! The teachings of Biron prohibit Seru. But they do not turn away those who come seeking the teachings.
Monk: Sir!
Monk: Sir!
Monk: Sir! Biron's rule is neutrality at all times, even in war. That's why we also have a dojo in Sol.
Monk: Sir! There is something nostalgic about that large gentleman over there.
Monk: Sir!



I'll just take this and be on my way.



♪♪The Misty Capital♪♪

To the item shop!

Man: Just between you and me, I'm worried about the unveiling of the new weapon tomorrow. I have a bad feeling about it. That's why I came for medicine. You guys better buy some, too!

Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

The selection is pretty standard at this point, but it wouldn't hurt to buy a few things, at least. To that end, I buy a Healing Berry, a couple Healing Fruits, some Medicine, and a few Phoenixes. That should cover us for now.



Maybe we'll have better luck at the armory.

Seru-wearing man: Rumor has it that the new weapon will make the Seru many times stronger than before.
Seru-wearing man: Hey, you guys have some nice Seru there. Sell them to me! Ha, ha, ha! Just kidding!
Seru-wearing man: The new weapon isn't a new type of Seru, but something that makes them stronger, right?



The armory here has the same equipment as the one at the Soren camp, minus a few things. Selling a Wonder Elixir and one of our Spirit Jewels gives us just enough money to buy Blue the Hero Armor, which is a pretty substantial upgrade over his previous set. All we have left to buy is the Chaos Breaker and Power Club for Blue and Umber, respectively; hopefully we can get those later.



Well, the inn is the only place we haven't looked...



Dr. Usha: I'm Usha, the roving brilliant scientist. Ha, ha, ha! I'd like to ask you all about those Seru... but it's getting late. Let's talk about them tomorrow.
Scientist: The Doctor and I came because we heard that a new weapon is being developed in Conkram.

While I admit I wasn't expecting Dr. Usha to show up, that still doesn't solve the problem of finding the Nemesis Gem. Maybe we'll find it if we wait till tomorrow and sneak into the lab while everyone is distracted with the weapon demonstration. Speaking of, that's setting off alarm bells in my head.... We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

Next time: Hopefully finding the Nemesis Gem.

EDIT: probably how best to convey my feelings

Pretty much. Though I think you'll find that shit will get increasingly real throughout the next few updates. But I won't say anything beyond that.

I love this game. My second RPG (after Final Fantasy VII).

Since you love the Ivory Book item so much, I think it's worth mentioning that you can get one near the beginning of the game. There are multiple paths that lead to Zeto's dungeon in the Drake Kingdom (including one only Noa can approach between her cave and the mountain with Terra) and if you go to them before reviving the Genesis Tree in East Voz, there's a little scene and you can get treasure. I think you showed one of these, but there's a total of three I believe. Anyway, one of them has an Ivory book (before the Viguro mini-boss fight, no less!)

what

I never knew this! I'll definitely get it whenever my next playthrough is. Thanks for pointing that out!

Edit: Oh, update coming tomorrow. It's another huge one, so be warned!

I just double-checked, and the path is specifically between Biron Monestary and West Voz forest.

Update 26:

It is, indeed. Could be quite a surprise after so many attrition battles.

Would Ruby have a greater damage output over those three rounds if she'd just done normal combos? Either way, doesn't matter all that much, since she was unfortunately somewhat superfluous in this battle. You'll get a nuke spell someday, Ruby! I believe in you!

This was kind of the person who designed the battle. Seems like you'd have to have a ridiculously unlucky run with the RNG for anyone to need healing.

An interesting comment from Terra, here.

So cute.

This is an important piece of information to tuck away in a random NPC's dialogue. Sounds painful, either way.

Hee hee. Where would this story be without Ruby.

Good to know. Thanks again!

Now that I think about it, she probably would have. Speaking of nuke spells, I think Ruby gets one this update. At least, she might; there are still a few spells I have yet to demonstrate.

Indeed. It's probably the only boss in the game where you don't have to bother with healing at all, actually... well, sort of. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

Yeah. Pretty positive outlook on humanity, huh?

Probably, though I'd imagine the process of attaching a pair of Seru wings is pretty painful, too... not that the game ever elaborates.

It certainly wouldn't be as charming, that's for sure. =)

Are you guys ready for another bigass update? I hope so, because this one's pretty large (though Nivora Ravine is still the biggest one to date).

Chapter 30: Rogue's Tower



♪♪The Misty Capital♪♪

Well, we've checked everywhere in this town, but haven't had any luck finding the Nemesis Gem. The only place I can think of is the underground laboratory in the castle, but it's off-limits. We'll rest here for the night, then see if we can sneak in tomorrow.



Innkeeper: But since tomorrow's a special day, I'll tell you what. All of you can stay for free! Do you want to stay? {Damn, that is straight-up highway robbery. Good thing it's free this time, huh?} By morning, the display of the new weapon will start. Is all your business finished? {I'd say so, yeah.} Good. Show these three to their room!
*The screen darkens as the inn-stay chime plays.*





Seems like everyone else has already left. We'd better get a move on.



I've got a really bad feeling about this...





...

You can't be serious.

King Nebular: I hereby present this new weapon to the people of Conkram!



*The man walks up to the steps, while the guards move to the sides of the pod.*







Zeto: The Mist is a special gas that makes the Seru many times more powerful.



Zeto: Using an elixir from the home of the Seru, we have created a new substance. That substance is the Mist. A new weapon that amplifies the power of our Seru. When released into this cylinder, the Mist will turn the soldiers into mighty warriors!
*A guard walks up to Zeto and whispers something into Zeto's ear; he then goes back to his original position. The music fades as he does so.*
Zeto: Gentlemen! From his laboratory, Prince Cort says he is ready!
*The scene switches to the underground laboratory, where Jette and Prince Cort stand at the ready.*



♪♪Mist♪♪

*Jette kneels and presses a few buttons on the control panel in front of him.*

*The scene switches back to the town square.*







Oh crap, they're totally serious! This is not going to turn out well...



Ruby: Blue... I don't like this! That person has gone mad!
*The scene quickly switches back to the lab, where the bottom of the cylinder has begun overflowing with Mist.*



Jette: I can't, Prince Cort! The emergency shutoff switch isn't working.
*Jette tries again to shut off the device, to no avail.*
Jette: If we don't do something it'll explode!
*Seconds later, the device does just that, too fast to screenshot.*







*The man begins pounding on the cylinder as a guard moves to intercept him.*

Umber: *uncrosses arms* The Mist just can't be controlled by humans!
Ruby: Listen, everyone! To the underground. Quickly! We must turn off the Mist! Let's go to the laboratory and turn off the Mist!
Umber: You're right, Ruby! We can't desert the people of Conkram like this!

Will it work, though? The Conkram of the present is still covered in the Mist, not to mention the giant clam shell that encloses the city... Still, though, we have to try!



Jesus, it's like a concentrated vortex of evil. Probably a good idea not to mess with that...





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

Unlike the present version of Conkram, you'll only run into Seru while you're here; it's a bit of a relief, truth be told. You should be able to handle these things just fine.





Okay, nothing's blocking the way to the lab. We'd better get a move on!







At least we know now why this damn staircase is so long...

*Blue and co. reach the lab.*





Ruby: Terra, what's going on? Why are Ra-Seru eggs coming out of that hole?
Terra:That hole leads to the sealed Rogue's Tower, on the frontier of Seru-kai. Those are alter egos of Rogues, rebel Ra-Seru. They have the same properties as Ra-Seru Eggs.
Meta:The Mist Generator here is a primitive one. With our strength, we may stop it temporarily, but unless we cut off the flow of that material... The Mist Generator can't be shut off completely.
Umber: In other words, we have to cut off the source.



Ruby: Rogue's Tower...
Terra: The Rogues are evil Ra-Seru who plotted a rebellion against Tieg a thousand years ago.
Umber: There's only one thing to do, Blue! We must destroy the head Rogue in Rogue's Tower! We can't destroy the Mist of the future unless we destroy the Mist here!
Meta: You must be careful. We can't return here unless we defeat the Rogues.
Ozma: And one more thing... Before you go to Rogue's Tower, make sure you are fully prepared for battle.



I'd say we're pretty prepared already. Besides, if going to this Rogue's Tower is the only way to stop the Mist, then we're gonna go. Let's just hope we can handle whatever we end up facing there...

Geronimooooo....!



*As Blue and co. fall through the vortex, only a chiming sound and the wind can be heard.*
Ruby: Oh! Look!









Terra: That's right. It's a Rogue Fragment.
Umber: So that has the same power as a Ra-Seru? I guess I still have a lot to learn about Seru.
Ozma: The Seru-kai is a world beyond human comprehension.
Ruby: Is Rogue's Tower in the Seru-kai? What kind of place is it?



Meta: The Rogues were once Ra-Seru, and they can hear what we say.
Ozma: That's why we can't say anything more.
Ruby: But...
Terra: Don't worry. Instead of talking, I'll concentrate on protecting you from Rogue's evil.





*There is a blinding flash of light.*





♪♪The Tower of the Seal♪♪

*Blue and co. gently land on the ground.*



*The party nods as one.*

Alright, we've got to find Rogue (the leader of them, at least) and kick its ass. Let's go!





So, as you're probably able to guess, Rogue's Tower is a teleporter maze, which are often really annoying when they appear in an RPG. There's good news, though: There are only three floors, and they're all fairly short. Not only that, but they aren't filled to the brim with teleporters, so as long as you keep track of where you're going you should be fine.

Be warned, though, that every ten seconds or so the tower will briefly take on this fleshy appearance. It doesn't matter now, but it will towards the end of the dungeon, so keep it in mind.



Taking the teleporter at the beginning of the tower will lead to the one on the left seen here. Take the one shown after that.



After you arrive, there should be one or two more linear portals to go through.



You'll end up here, at the first fork. The one on the right leads further onwards...



While the one on the left leads to this item. It's essentially a more powerful version of the Magic Ring, in that it increases the wearer's maximum MP by 25% instead of ten.





You'll come to a room with a portal to the north and south. Head north for now.



Doing so will lead you to a free Phoenix. After grabbing it, backtrack a bit and take the portal to the south in the previous room.



You'll be lead to this rather large teleporter, which will take you to the next floor.



Away we go!





♪♪Brand of the Holy Knuckles♪♪

These are the enemies you can encounter in the tower, if you were wondering. They show up in slightly larger groups than in previous areas, but as long as you handle these fights smartly you should be fine.



Also, this happened. Hooray!



Anyway, there are two portals in the starting area of this floor. You'll want to take the northern one for now.



From here, take the bottom portal...

Followed by the one in this tiny room...



Which will lead to the next one.



This area has three other portals (including one to the north not shown), and the bottom two lead to items.





That takes care of the items here. The Guardian Chain prevents both the wearer and whoever they're attacking from being able to block. Pretty situational, but I guess we can hang on to it.





Moving on, we come to... this thing. Let's investigate!







Bonus Video 12: Delicious Payback
♪♪Attack♪♪

That's right, Berserker is back, and it (along with another boss we'll get to shortly) will prevent us from heading further into the tower until we defeat it. This isn't as bad as you might think, however. Why?







Because Berserker is an absolute chump now. Its defenses are low enough that you'll be dealing over a thousand damage per character, even without Spirit.

Not only that, but its attacks are laughably ineffective; Berserker will be lucky to deal maybe 400 damage a turn.









All in all, you shouldn't have much, if any trouble taking Berserker down.

Wow, that is a sentence I never thought I'd type.



Anyway, now that that's taken care of, we'll take the topmost portal - this will warp us back to the beginning of the floor.



After using the top portal in the beginning again, we'll take the northern portal in the following room this time.



This will take us here, where another portal is further down offscreen. Don't take that one; use the one Blue is facing instead.



This will lead to another one of these things - I'll call them seals from now on for future reference. This one isn't another Berserker, though...







♪♪Attack♪♪

It's Caruban, back for vengeance! Only...

It's even more of a chump than Berserker Lv2 was. You'll knock it down almost right away, since it has less health than Berserker and about as much defense.



Once again, its attacks are laughably ineffective - not even Fire Breath will do more than 400 damage or so.









I think this took... two or three turns? Four, maybe? I wasn't really paying attention. Oh, well!





♪♪The Tower of the Seal♪♪

With the seals broken, the portal leading to the third floor can now be used.







To get to it, take the top portal in the room with Caruban to get back to the beginning of the floor, then take the bottom portal.



A little water never hurt anybody.



Sweet. The green water does this, too, so it doesn't matter which one you drink. In any case, take the portal at the top of the room, but be careful - if you use a teleporter while the tower is all fleshy, you'll be sent back to the beginning of this floor. Pretty annoying, that.



Only one portal in the next room, so...



Immediately we come to a fork. We'll go right first.

♪♪Attack♪♪

Once again, Berserker has volunteered for an ass-kicking. Let's oblige it, shall we?







This fight is a bit tougher than the previous one - Berserker Lv3 has pretty decently improved defense, so it'll take longer to bring down.







It's also slightly more dangerous... slightly. Blocking will still trivialize its attacks, it's just that they actually do respectable damage now.







Oh, and it has more HP than its previous incarnation... maybe 1500 more or so, if I estimate correctly.







Rad.

♪♪The Tower of the Seal♪♪

Regardless, that's one seal down - there's another one on this floor to take care of before we can move on.



This time we'll take the left portal.



♪♪Brand of the Holy Knuckles♪♪

It turns out you can run into different enemies when the tower is fleshy, but this only happened to me once; I tend to stop moving when it happens. Still, it's something to keep in mind.



Back to the tower. From the previous portal, take this one...









And follow the mostly-linear path to this room, taking the leftmost portal each time.



Take the one in this small room...



To reach the last seal.







♪♪Attack♪♪

Like Berserker Lv3, Caruban Lv3 is slightly improved over its Lv2 cousin.





A slightly-improved chump is still a chump, though.

Feel free to go all-out; its attacks don't do too much damage, and Caruban's HP is low enough that you can take it out in a few turns. Might as well have fun with it, right?









With the seals broken, we can at last reach the top of the tower.



After returning to the previous room, simply use this portal to get to the big one.



♪♪The Tower of the Seal♪♪

This is it - Rogue should be just ahead. Here goes...







*Terra doesn't respond.*
Ruby: Oh, I understand. You can't talk now.
Umber: Where could that head Rogue be? *looks around, crosses arms* I sense the presence of evil, but the Rogue is nowhere to be seen!



Well that answers that question.

*Ruby gets up and shakes her head, while Blue and Umber assume fighting stances.*
Umer: I-It's the Rogue!







Uh... okay, not sure what that was about.

Umber: This is the head Rogue, the one sealed in the Tower! If we defeat this one, the Mist in Conkram will disappear.
Ruby: Let's get him! Let's teach this Rogue a lesson!







Boss Battle 16: Rogue
♪♪Disciples of the Mist♪♪

Despite its rather intimidating backstory, Rogue is actually kind of an easy boss, mainly because of one fact:



All of its attacks are telegraphed. It doesn't use physical attacks at all, either, so you only have these to worry about. Speaking of, you'll want to use Spirit the turn after an Element Change.

Even with Spirit, these attacks will deal quite a bit of damage - we're talkin' 800 or so if blocked, and probably around 1,500 if not. Using Spirit is imperative to not facing a full-party wipe.



The color of Rogue's aura when it uses Element Change will give away which attack is going to be used. This is also important for another reason we'll get to shortly.













When Rogue changes to a particular element, it also becomes resistant to it - so if, for instance, Ruby were to attack the turn after Rogue Wind, she would only deal half as much damage as Blue or Umber.



Because of this, it's best to have that character heal the party that turn; that way you'll get more mileage out of your attacks and you can take out Rogue faster.

Rogue's Element Changes are random, but they only cycle between Fire, Wind, and Thunder, so once you've seen all of its attacks you won't have to worry about any surprises.







Which is good, because Rogue has a little over 28,000 HP, the most of any boss we've faced by a considerable margin.













On top of that, Rogue doesn't have a visual cue to let you know you're close to beating it (or at least none that I could see). That's not too much of a problem, though, as long as you don't get careless.

As long as you know what you're doing, you should make it through the fight just fine. Be warned, however, that Rogue is the last of the easy bosses - from here on out, the rest of the boss fights will be considerably tougher than what we've faced... But we'll worry about that later.



♪♪The Tower of the Seal♪♪



Why yes, I'd say we did!

Umber: Now we can destroy Rogue's Tower!
*Not two seconds after Umber says this, the tower begins shaking.*







Ruby: Umber, can I ask you something?
Umber: What is it, Ruby?
Ruby: Now how do we get back to Conkram from here?
Umber: ! The exit...



Uh... crap.

Ruby: Are we going to die? Are we going to die when Rogue's Tower collapses?
Umber: I'm not going to die in a place like this! Ozma! Can you hear me?
Ozma: Of course I can, Umber!
Umber: Ozma...
Ozma: I've been watching you the whole time! Well done, Umber!
Terra: Now that the Rogue is dead, the Mist must be gone from Conkram by now.
Ruby: Terra!
Meta: Come, it's time to return to the human world.
Ozma: Gather together, everyone! We're almost out of time!

Good thing the portal is still open, otherwise we might not have been able to get back.

*Meanwhile, back in Conkram...*



♪♪The Misty Capital♪♪

King Nebular: Fortunately, the Mist has stopped. That is good. However, the Mist has claimed many lives. What do you think you are doing?
Cort: But, father! The Mist is...
Jette: Your majesty, this is all a simple mistake. Yes, the experiment was successful, but...
King Nebular: A mistake?! Fool! Does a simple "mistake" take people's lives?
*The ground begins rumbling; everyone looks down in confusion.*






Hi, guys!

King Nebular: Who... are you?
Ruby: I'm Ruby! Don't you recognize me? It's me, Ruby!
King Nebular: Ruby?
Umber: Your Majesty! You must believe us! We have just been to the Seru world and cut off the source of the Mist!
King Nebular: Is that so? Fantastic! Now I understand everything! You have my deepest gratitude. The people of Conkram owe you their lives! I wish to hear more.



*Nebular moves to exit the laboratory with Ruby following close behind, but he turns around.*
King Nebular: Hmm?



King Nebular: It matters not. Cort! Jette! Zora! All of you remain there and repent for what you have done!
*The party leaves the room with Nebular, Cort staring after them.



Zora: He doesn't understand the Mist's possibilities, or your grand plan!
Cort: I know, Zora. Just forget about it. Besides, I still have time to get a lot done.
Jette: Ha, ha, ha! You are quite right! Quite right!
*The scene fades.*





King Nebular: Nemesis Gems are byproducts of the Gate of Hell's construction. They are refuse. It pains me to give these three such things as a reward, but... If that is what they desire, then so be it. Such dignity! I am therefore going to give them...
Cort: *raises hand* Father!



...Does Cort have heterochromia? Huh, I've never noticed that before.

King Nebular: Silence, Cort! This is my decision!
*Cort kneels.*
King Nebular: Blue! Come here.



King Nebular: All of you, you have my gratitude!
*Cort gets up and begins walking out of the room. Halfway out, he stops.*



*Cort turns, shakes his head, and leaves the room. Zora, Jette, and Zeto follow him out.*



Awesome! We got what we came for and even managed to save Conkram! But... do you think it'll stick? We should be able to bring the Nemesis Gem back with us, but there's no telling if saving Conkram here will affect the present. I guess we'll find out later, because this update is large enough as it is.

Next time: Returning to the present.

Wild Puera Lv2s?!

I always thought they (and the level 1s) were only scripted encounters.

Pain in the ass to absorb, too.

A random thought... this game has Soren in it, and the LPer is named Soren Highwind...

Coincidence? Or was the PSX RPG era just that awesome

I think Soren already said it wasn't a coincidence.

Incidentally, something happened quite recently. Some people here might know (but probably most don't) that I'm interested in tool-assisted speedruns, and in addition to (slowly) making one myself, help other people out from time to time. A TASer called exileUT asked if anyone knew about finding RNGs in RPGs, and I offered to help. Some time later I asked which game, and (as you might guess from the thread this is posted in) he said Legend of Legaia.

Even though pretty much all I know about the game is from this LP (and occasional things I've looked up on GameFAQs), I'm having fun trying to break it. We haven't found anything massively interesting to casual players, but we decoded how the encounter system works (in most areas of the game, it seems different in some), and it's actually quite interesting.

People who have watched TASes of games like Pokémon will know that it's possible to manipulate away random encounters entirely in those games by waiting before you enter the grass. In Legaia, though, there's a timer that measures how long it will be before you get an encounter; so you can't get rid of them entirely. The timer's set upon entering a random battle, and has a tendency towards medium values (rather than unusually high or low ones, which are possible but less likely; the game seems to be rolling two dice and adding them together, we haven't quite figured out the number of sides yet but it's quite a lot). The only way to increase it is to enter a town, which will increase it if it's low enough (this is why you never get an encounter immediately after leaving a town, you always have to walk some distance). The other interesting thing is the unit the timer counts in; instead of measuring in seconds, or in distance walked, it instead uses invisible squares on the map (although you can't see the boundaries, you can deduce them from where you get encounters), and counts the number of squares you walk through. So if you're trying to get encounters quickly, you can do that by running back and forth over the boundary between squares quickly, and you won't get any running back and forth within a square.

The most practical interest of all this is what to do if you're trying to avoid encounters, though. For regular play, the trick is to notice that you go through the same number of squares whether you walk north then east, or north-east, but many more if you walk north-east then north-west, as opposed to simply north. This means that the shortest route somewhere isn't necessarily the least encounter-heavy (although the dungeons are typically linear enough that it doesn't really matter). Although you're unlikely to pull it off without using TAS tools, there's another neat trick you can use: if you walk diagonally over the boundary between two squares, the game doesn't count you as stepping on either of the other two, and so you can save a square on your route. Doing it repeatedly can bring the number of encounters you hit way down.

Anyway, if anyone's interested in this stuff, let us know. We're planning over here, if you have advice to give us (especially in terms of levelling plans, strategies for individual fights, etc.).