What in Blazes!? It's Wild Arms 2!

Objection!

It's a typically quizzical localization, but I feel "Resistance Line" fits the intro, as the actions being featured are ARMS, and only ARMS, standing against a series of monsters across the planet. The world is in trouble, there are literal giant threats running around, and only ARMS is there to meet the challenge (and the Valeria family just kinda sits back and watches). It's even almost literal with Ashley's (brief) bits, as he seems to be "holding the line" against a Hydra that is attacking some kind of town. It could be translated better, but I think it fits the opening to a T.

Good points otherwise, though.

Previously on Wild Arms 2: Ashley fought his way back from the darkness with the help of Marina. And just Marina. To be absolutely clear: nobody else helped. At all.



I don’t think we get a distinct timeframe for Ashley’s absence, but let’s assume that it’s been a while since Irving said that.



Nope! Moving on.



“We will be transforming the chateau into a hotdog stand. Kanon, you are now responsible for relish deliveries.”



“We’re out of napkins.”



“What’d I miss? What’d I miss?”



Irving loves his dramatic tension.



“Stop using aerosol cans? Got it! Can I get out of here now?”



You kind of have to wonder about pre-monster infested Filgaia. Is there a decent reason for every village being twelve houses, and then a hundred miles to the next town? I could kind of believe it as a response to centuries of monsters stalking the planet, but that’s a recent development, apparently. Are Filgaians lazy?



So the ecology of Filgaia is trying to kill everybody? Are we going to become exterminators now?



“Seemed like something they’d do.”



“But now we know we have to blame space.”



I love this reveal…



Yep! From now until the game is completed, the sky has been transformed into… something unpleasant. This won’t impact any actual game mechanics or inhabitants of Filgaia (save one gal that might be happy to see the sun gone), but the overworld sky is now stuck in ominous mode. Incidentally, this only impacts the “world” graphics, individual towns look exactly the same as before (and dungeons are predominantly indoor affairs).



So the sky is coming to eat us. Time to fight the very heavens themselves!



“Do we look like scientists?”
“Look, it’s this or unemployment.”



So this will be the status quo for the rest of the game: Filgaia has some serious bad stuff going down, and we’re responsible for stopping it. And, side note, we barely even have a name for this phenomena. “Stain Paradigm”? Lame.



Oh yeah, when Tim was recruited, the Baskars were talking about a prophecy regarding “the sky being devoured”.



Maybe we should look into that.



So ARMS proper exits, but Ashley decides to have a discussion with Irving regarding the revelation that he’s a descendant of the exalted Sword Magess. I appreciate a story that involves people that actually get those “surprises” out of the way before someone is literally dangling off a cliff.

Also love that Ashley is on a first name basis with -The Sword Magess-. Hey, I heard from Anastasia that you were bros.



And Irving reveals… that it never really came up. I don’t buy this, as one of my friends is a direct descendent of Alexander Hamilton, and she only mentions that every seventeen seconds.



Ashley also discloses that he knows the identity of his demon tagalong. Again, glad Ashley is discussing this with his boss now (and not, say, five seconds before he turns into a murderous demon), but I can’t shake the feeling Irving already knew this.



“A descendant of the Magess and the embodiment of the... ‘Blaze of Disaster’. In other words, we are enemies.”

Irving notes the dichotomy, and hopes he’s not going to get punched in the face again.



“Welp, guess you’re my mortal enemy now. You already have a giant flying castle, so you wanna be the super villain here?”



This is typical, narratively insincere “oh no I don’t want to hurt anyone” JRPG hero dialogue (does anyone ever buy that the main character is going to flip out on his friends?)… But Ashley is possessed by the number one murder god in the history of Filgaia, so maybe he does have reason to be concerned.



But Irving retorts that, hey, play the cards you’re dealt, demon boy. Just because Lord Blazer destroyed the planet once doesn’t mean he’s going to do it again.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

And Kanon was lurking right on the other side of the door (because of course she was), and she’s here to remind Ashley that there’s nothing to worry about.



She’ll kill Lord Blazer/Ashley but good!



ARMS should be renamed AUIAB: Always Up In Ashley’s Business.



“Look at all of your wonderful friends perfectly willing to kill you!”



I’m not certain what “records of the wars” are going to relay that Anastasia, who fought in said war, couldn’t tell us, but it’s somewhere to go.



So now we’ve got options: go to Baskar to talk to a bunch of old people, or explore a musty old dungeon. Which option lets us visit Colette? We’ll go with that one.



So the gang is back together and we’ve got free reign of the planet for the first time since before we raided Odessa’s final dungeon. Oh, the wonders now available to us.



Amy, you’re bringing down the mood.



Kate is that idiot that accidentally reveals every plot twist as a joke.



So we might have the brand new World of Disc 2 ahead of us… but nothing has changed. From a gameplay perspective, the world hasn’t changed since we got the teleporting hovercraft. The Stain Sky didn’t even drag stronger monsters into the picture!



But we’ve got places to be, so let’s just teleport over to Baskar.



Yes yes, we’ve all looked up at this point.



“Sacrifice Tim, or the sky gets it. The gods were pretty clear on this one, and since someone decided to continue breathing…”



“Kill. Tim. How many times do I have to remind you guys?”



But I guess dream divination is unreliable.



Lousy, lazy Guardians.



“Sure, Tim! You prefer crucifixion or immolation?”



Oh, hey, remember how this guy is secretly Tim’s grandfather? That’s never going to be addressed. Ever.



“And by ‘we’, I mean ‘you’. I have a load of laundry to do.”



Oh ho ho. You almost had us there, Village Chief, but you’re back on your bullshit.



“Sacrificing children is the one thing I’m good at!”



Lilka reclaimed her ability to speak in emoji. Been a while!



Ashley, this is what happens when you keep sacrificing yourself for the party and surviving. Children are watching!



“If they try to sacrifice me, I’m just going to politely decline.”



I have no idea why!

CONTINUED NEXT POST

“Back when a bunch of old farts were talking about dreams of the sky being eaten, I didn’t buy it. But now the sky actually is missing, so maybe they’ve on to something.”



Thank you for that vote of confidence, magical flying stuffed animal.



Them’s the breaks when your entire existence is to channel ancient gods.



Pooka has no real feelings of his own, and that makes him sad.



And Tim wants to find himself with the help of his friends! … Not his old friends that he apparently forgot about, but his new friends!



Guess it’s been a while since the last sacrifice. Time to talk to everybody!



Let’s go sacrifice a child! Yay!



Wild Arms has its traditional fire/water/earth/wind Guardians, and then there are the High Guardians of human emotions: Zephyr the Dragon of Hope, Justine the Lion of Courage, and Raftina the Goddess of Love. They were major players in Wild Arms 1, and they can be expected to return for this title in some capacity. Unfortunately, every Wild Arms game is supposed to take place during a time when hope, courage, and love are in short supply, so they might need a little coaxing.



Ah! The Urartu Mountains! Now I… have no idea where to go. Actually, we’ll get this Urartu Mountains tip from a couple of different NPCs, but nobody actually tells us where to find said mountains. So, once again, the answer is “look at a FAQ”.



Colette volunteered for the same job as Tim, again! Or the localization is as wonky as ever! Either one works!



So off to find the Urartu Mountains. On the way out of Baskar, we discover this cave. Doesn’t look much like a sacrificial altar…



But maybe we can grab some ancient Hot Pockets while we’re here.



My favorite gods can often be described as quiet, sleeping refrigerators.



So this is an optional mini dungeon. As is my wont, we’ll just do a brief overview of this area.



The “cold stone” room in the rear of the dungeon is protected by a “press the switches in the proper order” puzzle.



Any clues around here?



Yes! There’s a sort of creation myth inscribed around the dungeon, and each plaque incidentally reveals clues. The three plaques read:

"Today is the beginning. The endless blue sky and spreading deep forest, essence of a tranquil golden era."

"On the 2nd day of battle, roaring flames burn the earth. A dark era of overflowing grief visits."

"On the last day, a rough, wild snow blows covering the world in white as if returning it to nothing."



Can you figure out the proper order?



It’s blue, green, yellow, red, black, and then white. Now I’m writing a Wild Arms 2 FAQ! Yay!



“Guardian of Snow” sounds like a really ephemeral job.



Yeah, snow is going to save the world. Whatever, Mr. Freeze.



Aru Sularto is, naturally, our ice elemental summon. It teaches Tim Ice Beam and Arctic, a pair of ice type attacks that will really damage Dragon types. Or maybe I’m thinking of something else. Aru also confers the custom command Power Charge, which will double your attack on your next turn.

Also, Aru only appears in Wild Arms 1 and Wild Arms 2 (and Wild Arms 1’s remake, if we’re counting that as its own thing). As a result, it’s kind of difficult to determine Aru’s, uh, species. Best I can figure is “bishonen yeti leopard”. That sounds right.

Note that, had I been on the ball, I’m pretty sure we could have scored this ice dude back when we first received the hovercraft, or after it started teleporting at the latest. But we didn’t have Kanon radar then, sooooo...



It turns out that the Sacrificial Altar is way the hell north of Baskar, up past Slayheim, and pretty close to Guild Gallad territory.



We probably passed it once on that train ride.



According to a random Baskar nerd, this site has been abandoned since the Blaze of Disaster a thousand years back. In spite of that, the whole dungeon is in pretty good shape, so maybe it is protected by the gods.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Though someone could stand to repair the walkways.



Nothing a dagger and a switch can’t fix.



The next gap is where one of Wild Arms 2’s faults comes to light. There are too many tools!



It’s clear that this out-of-place ornament is part of the key forward, but, at this point, there are too many tools that could be the solution. Bombs? Nope. Throwing knife? Apparently not. Fire Rod? Ice Rod? Air Ballet? Grappling Hook? Negative on all of those. There are a pile of tools that fall into the “used to hit things” category, and it turns out the answer in this case is simply “kick it”. This isn’t some kind of game-destroying “bug”, but it does unfortunately remind the player that about 80% of the puzzle solving tools in this game are, arguably, all the exact same thing but with different colors. And we don’t even have a full set of tools yet!



But back to good things: Sacrificial Alter is an interesting, one-of-a-kind dungeon. There’s a path you must follow to complete the zone, but there are three entirely optional side areas across this dungeon that spice things up. To my knowledge, there are no other dungeons in this game that so deftly weave mandatory and optional content. In fact, your average player might miss the optional content entirely, but three separate statues (this dragon being one of them) should tip you off that something is up in these otherwise nondescript hallways.



In this case, you may find a secret passage by ducking below one of the nearby pillars.



Puzzle room! You may recognize these panels as representatives of the astrological zodiac. I guess Filgaia has the same constellations as Earth/Ivalice.



Four eyes? Anybody got four eyes on that zodiac?



It’s Gemini! So stand on the panel directly opposite the twins (I think it’s Sagittarius?), and we’re in the clear.



Away we go!



And we’ve earned the key item Stone Drago(n). This will automatically activate toward the end of the game, but grabbing it now will save us a trip back later.



Completing each optional fork will deposit you back at the matching (big) statue. Moving on!



The next room is just some switches and a few treasures.



Another gap?



This time, we have to drag blocks into place. This dungeon’s “theme” seems to be presenting the same problem over and over again, but with a different solution each time.



Well, usually a different solution.



Use blocks to complete a staircase, and then flip a switch to move on.



The next room has a platform that is too high.



Time to do some remodeling!

(Man, I used this exact same joke for the exact same reason a few updates back, and I just do not care.)



A statue! That’s supposed to be a lion, but I’m getting more of a monkey vibe.



And that statue means you’re supposed to backtrack a lil’ and check under the other raised platform for a fresh secret passage.



Looks like a clock puzzle, right?



Well, the trick here is that you’re supposed to ignore the “puzzle panels” entirely.



Use the nearby scaffolding to get some height, drop on to one of the statues, and peg the higher statue with fire. The roman numerals around the room are a distraction!



And that will earn us a Stone Lion. For new players, these worthless statues are pretty confusing, but when has a stone lion ever been completely useless?

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Back to Stone Lion Prime.



Save point! I’ve barely mentioned the random encounters up to this point, because they’re barely worth mentioning. This is an easy dungeon for combat, and the constant puzzles mean encounters are generally rare, too.



This room could be complicated, but it’s really not.



There are multiple levels in this area, and some spots have treasure.



And you access these levels by raising and lowering blocks with nearby switches. This really looks like the kind of puzzle wherein you may raise a block to make progress in one area, but that raised block blocks your way forward on another level, so you have to juggle switches and carefully work out your next trip.



But it’s actually just a matter of pressing, like, two switches, and then just not falling off of anything. Surprisingly easy!



Next room has another statue, so you know what that means.



In this case, there are some discolored blocks obviously hiding a passage, and the answer here is to use those Brad Bombs.



Rainbow puzzle? Didn’t we already have one of those this update?



The solution this time?



Again, we completely ignore the floor tiles, and push the stone heads into nearby wells.



One stone head per well, please, but, other than that, I don’t think you have to worry about which head goes where, just so long as they “dam”.



That should really be “Stone Goddess”, but considering we couldn’t even wedge “Dragon” in there…



Okay, that about does it for the optional area and mandatory areas.



Time for a boss?



Nah. Guess the Guardians didn’t need a… guardian.



The Guardians are going to hop on party chat.



“How may we direct your call?”



Anybody else hear Whoopi Goldberg in their head?



Et tu, Pooka? (I have no original material)



This would be more relevant if Pooka had actually guided us to this location, and not Old Man Murderkids.



You have not!



Thanks, Chaos, you want to get to the point?



“That's right, Tim, boy of the ‘Pillar’. Everything is a part of destiny spinning on a wheel. It's a planned accord. Accept your fate, as the ‘Pillar’. Filgaia is now being confronted by an unprecedented crisis. The only ones who can stop it are us, Gaia, and... one who can deliver our power. The boy of the ‘Pillar’. You, Tim.”

Please look forward to Wild Arms 2: Unprecedented Crisis, coming this Fall never.



“Yeah, hey, that’s great, Gaia. Want to tell us what the hell is happening, though?”

CONTINUED NEXT POST

“Kid Sacrifice wants to know why he’s a sacrifice? Yeah, okay, that’s fair.”



Gaia says “The Other World” here, but it’s more like “An Other World”.



Cliff notes: You know how some scientists proposed there are multiple dimensions/universes? Well, one dimension’s planet is trying to butt into Filgaia’s space, and there’s only room enough for one sphere supporting life in this solar system.



If the world of Filgaia is Gaia (oh, hey, just got that), then the “stain” is, like, Nega-Gaia, complete with its own “Guardians”.



But it’s not an “all at once” kind of takeover. The monsters are, more or less, denizens of Negagaia, and they’re the first wave.



The other world is basically taking over the sky so it can try before it buys (the planet).



But since the whole thing is kind of a metaphysical takeover, it is very difficult to punch.



Despite being the strong guy of the group, Brad continues to be the smartest guy in the room.



So Gaia is convinced that the only way to beat back Negagaia is by channeling power through Tim. This would have the unfortunate side effect of Tim, ya know, exploding.



Tim isn’t into it.



“Look, we told you why you have to die. Now die.”



Tim just doesn’t believe it.



“We are that we are. Are you saying you’re smarter than us? Have you even hit puberty yet?”



“What’s that, Pooka, our most trusted advisor?”



Pooka is now vouching for Tim. This stuffed animal is all over the place today!



“Well, we guess if Pooka is onboard, we can’t really argue with that.”



On one hand, I enjoy any story where the omnipotent gods are actually fairly pliable, and not Old Testament “you all turn to salt for disagreeing with me” wrathful. On the other hand, the very spirit of the world flips its opinion on the fate of the planet on the word of a preteen and his pet teddy bear. The gods must be crazy.



So Gaia agrees to let Tim find another way, but notes that Pooka having a will of its own is pretty unusual.



“Pooka, we’re saying you shouldn’t be able to generate an ‘I’ statement at all.”
"I know.”



And Tim gets a new ability for communing with god!



Divide is Tim’s Level 3 Force Ability, and it will cut the enemy’s level in half. In some cases, this will transform your opponent into a completely different monster (with different rewards and stealable items). If I were a more technical Let’s Player, I could probably spend an entire update fooling with this ability, as it is very Final Fantasy 5-esque in the ways it can subtly break the game. But WA2 isn’t that complicated of a game to begin with, so… not gonna do that. You’ll be lucky if I ever remember to use the skill at all!



And that’s it for today. Filgaia is being threatening by an encroaching rival universe, and the grand spirit of the planet just told us how to beat it, but we’re going to look for another way. I guess there’s no reason we can’t just sacrifice Tim anyway if we can’t find an alternative, right? It’s good to have a murderous backup plan!

Next time on Wild Arms: The Fatima Jasper.

Desire is technically a "High" element as well, and is notable for the fact that s/he always has a physical form, because 'desire' is something that never really fades away as long as sentient life exists. Courage in the WA sense is maybe better translated as 'will' or 'determination' than actual courage; Jack's issue in 1 revolves around his lack of actual will and determination to get revenge, cowardice is never his problem, and once he works up the guts to get his revenge, he realizes that it's not worth it and that what he actually wants is justice (paraphrasing his sidequest that unlocks the Courage rune).

Hope and Love are relatively straightforward. The high guardians are also unique in that they're typically the only 'conceptual' entities in the game(s); all of the other Guardians embody other physical and natural concepts rather than abstracts, so where the other Guardians are typically closely linked to Filgaia itself, the High Guardians are instead closely linked to sentient life instead.

Nah, it's probably steady work but involves a ton of travel.

Previously on Wild Arms 2: Tim met the very spirit of the planet, and determined they could go screw, because he was gonna find his own way to save the world. With blackjack! And hookers!



So we’re going to look into Plan B, the Grotto of Lourdes, which theoretically contains some information on Lord Blazer, aka the last time Filgaia was in cataclysmic danger.



So we take a quick trip over to Sielje, and, thanks to Kanon’s handy-dandy radar, we don’t even have to talk to townsfolk. Time to steer toward that green dot.



Getting closer…



Here we are!



This place has its own private waterfall? Swanky.



Unfortunately, Brad is barred entry.



However, ol’ one eye…



Good to see the ancient people of Anastasia’s time sprung for that eye-scanning, DNA-based security system.



Kanon (‘s eye) is our key, but the entire party is allowed entry. This would have been a great excuse for a Kanon solo dungeon, but… meh.



Though apparently a host of monsters snuck in with us.



Or have these finned dragons always been here? Were they teleported in by Stain Filgaia? So many questions about random encounters…



This dungeon is predominantly one large hub area with multiple, sealed doors. But this door is opening! Hooray!



Here’s a good shot of the hub area before we head in there, though.



But now we can explore… this boring hallway.



And then there was lava! The lava is merely a “damage square”, but considering how much damage that floor could do…



We’ll just use the grappling hook, thank you.



It’s difficult to see, but there are holes on either side of that switch, so getting there with our HP intact is going to be a little rough.



But I’d be willing to brave a tile of lava for a treasure chest.



And it’s the answer to our lava problems!



Rad Blades was a tool from Wild Arms 1 (well, technically, it was just “Skates” in that title), and it works the same here. These are basically rocket boots, and will launch Kanon forward until she hits an object. The good news is that they will completely negate any floor damage, but the bad news is that they will not vault pits, so get ready to accidentally ram into a number of black holes.



And, in our maiden voyage, Kanon misses the switch, and completely leaves the room. Whoops!



Aiming square at the center of the room seems to work out, though.



That switch will open the door forward, and then it’s just a few more grapples to our first goal.



It’s… an empty platform. Huh.



But, luckily, it causes Kanon to trip balls.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Who invited the moppet?



Unknown Mother probably just doesn’t want Girl from Memory to interrupt her important… let’s say… Marine biology.



Gee, Kanon, how would you know what’s ahead?



It’s apparently confirmed in auxiliary materials, but the implication is here: Girl’s Mom was a... lady of the night. And I’m not talking about a vampire.



Kanon, you already figured this one out like three minutes ago.



If that name doesn’t do anything for you…



Here’s a reminder of Irving’s first meeting with Kanon. Yes, this is a vision of Kanon’s childhood self.



Also: Kanon is a natural blonde.



I guess Kanon just stood there while everybody else watched? This dungeon has got to be weird for any non-Kanon party members.



Welp, nothing to see here. Let’s go back to the hub and try the next door.



Thanks for being psychic or something, door!



This hallway looks a lot like the first, but it contains a touch of lava. Let’s work out those new shoes!



And then the next room is just a series of grapple pillars. I guess this section is just here to remind you that Kanon now has two different tools?



Oh man, I hope this platform is a flashback to Kanon’s junior prom!



This… is not going to be good.



Kanon’s obsession with being a descendant of the Sword Magess is kind of a nature/nurture issue.



Also, Kanon’s Mom is coughing between dialogue boxes. The implication is that she has a mortal illness, and it probably came from being a prostitute, because that’s how fiction works.



Good to get some confirmation that Irving is legitimately related to Kanon, and the whole bloodline thing isn’t just some random lie.



Kanon’s Mom is convinced she’s just one DNA test away from being a noblewoman.



And then she fades, leaving the impression that she died having never found a way back into high society. Ironically, Kanon proved her mother’s faith with a freaking automatic door ten minutes back.

Also, how much do you figure Kanon hates the Valeria side of the family for living in a freaking flying mansion while her direct family died penniless in the street?



Anyway, the whole situation seems to drain Kanon a bit, but she’s as resolute as ever.



I joke about Kanon’s Ashley-murder obsession, but she totally uses her “goal” as a crutch. Probably has a punching bag with Ashley’s face on it back at the chateau.



Next door!



This looks familiar.



Just to mix things up a bit, this hallway has a pit. You’re very likely to fall right in that drink, and, considering the blades negate monster encounters, this is less a waste of time, and more I Wanna Be the Guy-style videogame slapstick.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Just hug the walls next time.



More grappling!



With a little bit of skating!



As ever, always aim for a switch.



This time, we’ll watch Kanon *COMMENT REDACTED DUE TO VIOLENCE AGAINST PUPPIES*



It’s kind of hard to see, but this appears to be a teenage version of “Girl Kanon” from before. It’s a sort of “halfway” Kanon.



She’s clutching her signature dagger, so this is maybe Kanon’s first “exorcism” job. According to auxiliary materials, this apparently happened when her hometown was attacked by monsters, but there is literally nothing in this cutscene to support that.



But Aisha seems to have liked slashing monsters.



Though there may have been casualties.



So Aisha decides full metal exorcist is the way to go!



I guess we may as well talk about the trans thing now that we have Kanon’s full past on display.

I’m a straight, white, cis male. I’m completely comfortable in my own skin, and, to a point, that makes me uncomfortable talking about people who don’t have that same luxury. I’m desperately trying not to “mansplain” what is probably an accident of trying to design a cool robot lady for a late 20th Century JRPG. I’m not going to get into the ramifications of Kanon’s gender identity, and that, while she still identifies as female, she has made a point of claiming she “cast off her womanhood” on a few different occasions. In a simple way, any transhuman story is a trans story, because, come on, it’s right there in the name.

But what I think is important about Kanon from a trans perspective is that Kanon is Kanon. Kanon chose to become a robo-lady badass, but, as we see here, it’s also something that sort of “happened” to her. She had a crappy childhood, she lost her mother, and she lost large chunks of her body to grave injuries. That sucks! And this easily could be a story similar to Fullmetal Alchemist, where the hero has a significant personal injury, and a substantial reason for the journey itself is reclaiming or overcoming that loss/handicap.

But that’s not Kanon’s thing. Kanon is Kanon.

At no point does Kanon seem to want to return to her old life. She wanted to become more powerful, she changed herself to be more powerful, and now that she’s capable of killing Tim seven times in one battle, she doesn’t want to go back. She clearly gave up a lot for this change, and the general population seems to treat her poorly (recall the man that literally ran from her during her introduction), but she doesn’t give a damn. She’s not trying to work her way back to her old, blonde self; she simply wants to be Kanon, because that’s what makes her feel best.

And nobody within ARMS wants to change Kanon, either. There is not a goofy makeup scene with Lilka, nor is there some random covert scenario wherein Kanon has to infiltrate a debutant ball. There is never a scene where Kanon is forced into a girl’s school uniform for Ashley’s amusement. ARMS, and the narrative itself, is okay with Kanon being Kanon, so her choice to change herself into what she wants to be is never judged as the wrong choice.

And she’s got a grappling arm, which is totally badass.

Point is that Kanon may or may not be a deliberate trans metaphor, but what’s important is that Kanon chose to change herself, and her friends consistently support her and her choice. And just having a character like that around is a great step in the right direction. Particularly when she also comes off as one of the best characters in the cast.



And Kanon decides to accept her tragic past, even if she doesn’t want to return to it in any way.



“So could whoever is running the projector up there skip to the reason we actually came to this dungeon, please?”



FILE NOT FOUND



Did the party get the full Kanon run down, or is Lilka just concerned that Kanon is brandishing a knife against absolutely nothing?



Hooray!



Oh, neat, we actually do get some details on Sword Magess times.



Anastasia sort of knew this, but this is firm narrative confirmation: Anastasia became the Sword Magess because she desired to save the world so damn bad.



Also, Kanon fake cries. Or real cries? It seems like a fake cry.



Well, Tim is confused.



We really need to schedule a Turing Test for the ARMS team.



“Thanks for being here for me while I freak out on a magical pedestal, guys.”



But, wait, there’s more!



Time to motor past some more lava.



Grapple over some more water…

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Hey! Remember a thousand years ago, when we had that one raft puzzle in Under Traffic?



Well it’s back! I think Brad’s kick is the one non-Kanon tool required to finish this dungeon (you could optionally use Tim’s Pooka to grab a few treasures).



But there are no treasures to be found here, except the treasure of knowledge.



Guess Kanon is over her issues, and we’re going to skip straight to the good stuff.



Lord Blazer is, effectively, a Guardian. More like an Anti-Guardian, but same basic difference. Kind of the Satan to Gaia’s God.



Is this a flowery way of saying Lord Blazer summoned his own monsters, or was the big bad just really into Emo?



So the Guardians need Pooka to physically manifest in this world, and thus impact physical phenomenon (and destroy monsters). Lord Blazer comes from the same place, so he couldn’t just be destroyed by regular swords like a common threat/Pooka.



But the sword of the Sword Magess was created by the Guardians, so she was literally the only woman on Filgaia that could stop Lord Blazer. Good to know!



“Stop shouting, I’m right here.”



“Ashley! Concealed in you and controlled by you is Lord Blazer. By living with Lord Blazer you were able to take on the Argetlahm which was all dependent on your spirit, in other words, ‘heart’.”

So since the sword was made of pure thought to begin with, it was only natural that it could counter Lord Blazer when gripped by a possessed Ashley. The sword could never be dislodged by anyone else because it was basically never an “object” to begin with.



Ashley, however, is mostly just confused.



“Ashley, just in case something happens, I want you to know that I’m going to do something that rhymes with ‘burder boo’.”



I guess if Ashley becomes absorbed by Argetlahm… he’ll become really pointy?



Geez, still more revelations to go? What are we going to find out next? Lilka is secretly useful?



This should be the last stop, as we’re repeating the entrance corridor.



I don’t know why this room reminds me of a Super Monkey Ball stage…



Not much to it, though.



Hm, steel-type Digletts are apparently known as Wise Men in this region.



Get hyped.



At least we can grab some decent Kanon equipment in this dungeon. Good of the ancients to leave some really prescient items around.



Oh, neat, the Omega Platform.



Kanon: This is your life.



And now back to the life of a heroine.



See, Annie, you should have assembled a party like your descendant!

CONTINUED NEXT POST

The grand tragedy of Anastasia: she did it all alone, failed because of that, and her only reward was then being trapped in another dimension, alone, forever. Harsh, Wild Arms 2. Harsh.



So Lord Blazer has a Zeromus thing going on, and he can return just so long as someone is pissed off that their lawnmower won’t start. Be excellent to each other, people!



So are we all going to die? Only the bayonet on Ashley's arm knows for sure.



It’s not stated here, but since Lord Blazer was a Guardian to begin with, it appears that he had to possess someone a thousand years back to start his first rampage. And now Ashley is the latest egg from which disaster will hatch.



…. Ashley, my God, is this Memento?



“I could kill you now, you know, if you’d like.”



Ashley comments that something appears to have changed since his trip to space. That… probably isn’t a good thing.



“I’m gonna need a bigger knife.”



And Kanon levels up! Gat Lv. 3 is Kanon’s Level 3 Force Ability, and it’s just another way to add a few extra hits to her basic attacks. Note that if you haven’t been keeping up on using Kanon’s special attacks, it’s really unlikely you have a Level 3 ability to use with this force skill at all.

ARMS Mission #20:
Gather Information on the encroaching Stain Paradigm
Status: Success!
Notes: It might take a little explanation, and the party isn’t quite there yet, but these two quests have combined to explain exactly how we’re going to save the day. Sorta.

We learned that the threat is an encroaching “other world” that, unfortunately, is not actually a physical entity that can be defeated through conventional means. We also learned that the Guardians once crafted a magical sword to defeat a conceptual threat, and Ashley is currently in possession of that legendary weapon. Seems like we might have a lead on our ultimate goal…



But, for now, we’re done here, may as well hoof it back to the hovercraft.



Whoops, phone call.



Who else would be calling us?



What!?



Yeah, okay, looks like Ashley was expecting that.

Next time on Wild Arms 2: This is what happens when you forget to kill like one person.

So what you're saying is... Aisha is non-Kanon?

Oh dang, two updates posted while I was on vacation? I'm simultaneously happy and miffed that you're adding to all the stuff I need to catch up on.

Oh no! Kanon is turning into one of the adults from Charlie Brown!

I am now disappointed I didn't think to make any of those jokes...

Previously on Wild Arms: We learned everything we ever wanted to know about Kanon, but were afraid to ask. … Mainly because of the way she brandishes that knife. Girl is fierce.



But no time to talk to Kanon now, Marina has been kidnapped!



Oh, Marina has been kidnapped to a dungeon within driving distance. Convenient.



“Is… are… Are we supposed to visit the frozen lake of Hell?”
“It’s unclear.”



Oh yeah, Cocytus was named after the bit in Dante’s Inferno wherein… Hey! It’s one thing for a fictional group to use a cool sounding name, but Filgaia actually has its own version of Dante’s Inferno? Or Greek mythology? Greece makes it more of a river…



Caina was sucked into a death portal upon defeat back at the Diablo Pillar, and this is what happens when you just assume a black hole is going to crush someone to death.



“That’s great, Ashley. Let’s calmly sit here and discuss the concept of ‘quickly’.”



“A bomb that has approximately six literal bombs in his inventory.”



“What else are we going to do? Research the end of the world? Been there, done that.”



“But let’s stand around this boardroom a little longer! Maybe we can discuss why we have chairs if we’re never going to use them.”



“The benevolent, magical sword, or the evil demon?”
“The demon.”
“Right.”



“I’ll try not to kill anybody on my way to killing that dude I already tried to kill twice.”



Okay! We’re off!



Like every tense situation in a JRPG, we can actually do anything we could ever want to do before trying to rescue Marina. Let’s see how Marina’s aunt is doing. She seems fine!



Ashley is a calming influence.



So we’re headed to Lost Garden. Lost Garden is on that tiny island at approximately the dead center of the world.



One quick hovercraft trip, and we’re there.



“Not specifically here-here, though! We have to go through a dungeon. … You know what I mean!”



“Like, would I have to find a new place to live? That sounds like a hassle!”



“Ashley, put your grenade launcher down.”



“But I don’t wanna!”



“Well, maybe Lilka doesn’t. But the rest of us are pretty gung-ho.”



“I guess I could use a party of meatshields. Fine, let’s go.”



So, tower time! Lost Garden is going to involve a lot of stairs.



And a few light puzzles.



These blocks will rise or descend at a press, and the trick of these puzzle rooms is to make sure you always have a path forward with properly leveled blocks. To start, we just have these red switches, but there will be more colors soon.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Uh. Huh. This is unusual.



Can’t do a thing with these blocks right now, but they look important. We’ll come back later.



But this pentagram in the next room we can certainly play with.



Each time we see this design, we need to ditch a party member to proceed. You can technically choose any character, but, since we are rescuing Marina, I want to say there’s one hero you shouldn’t leave behind.



Our first dropout is obvious.



Bye Lilka!



There are certainly monsters all over this tower, so try to determine which characters you need for your battle party.



Man, the random monster designs in this game are just great. This thing is clearly an escaped Shin Megami Tensei final boss.



Moving on.



Now there are red and blue switches. Every red switch impacts every red switch, and same for the blues.



Still, it’s a pretty straightforward puzzle, as there are only four different combinations of switch positions.



Next blockade, and, sorry Brad, you’re going to sit this one out. I mean, we survived well enough when you were dead.



More switches. Just keep walking forward or something.



Looking good, Ashley!



Stairmaster!



Squidmaster!



The secret to this switch room is that a red switch is hiding in a gap. Always check your holes in JRPGS!



New Ashley weapon get! Appropriate!



The FantomFang launches “high voltage” shells. I assume that means it has electrical properties? At this point in the game, using FP for Knight Blazer is usually a better choice than any given Arm.



Sorry, Kanon, but at least Tim has that fast-heal ability. Note that each of these rooms contain a pit for returning to previously dropped party members.



Save point! This could be useful if you’re not confident with your two-man party.



Huh?



Oh, there’s a moving platform rotating around the room. Hop on!



And activate that switch so some other blues are at walking level.



Then activate a “hidden” red switch, and saunter on to the next moving platform.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

The final drop off! I guess we can leave Tim behind. Ashley should be fine on his own.



Yes, there are still monsters in this dungeon, but they’re generally balanced for a lone Ashley.



Good thing Ashley is here!



If you thought Caina just liked Vinsfeld as a friend, you were mistaken.



Also, when did the squirt find the time to carve a stone tablet? Seems kind of excessive…



Oh! Green switch!



Only one in the dungeon/game.



Fun fact: the game doesn’t require plot-relevant Ashley with any sort of “But where is Ashley” chastising dialogue prompt, but his specific throwing knife is the only tool that can open the final door forward. Way to go, gameplay planning!



Right between the fangs...



Well, this seems like a nice place.



“Please?”



“Didn’t you personally turn an entire church full of my friends into monsters that I had to kill?”
“So?”



Hey, Caina does kind of look like a mini Vinsfeld. … If you squint.



Look, it’s a magical universe and all, but this situation does not seem that threatening. Caina doesn’t even, say, have a knife to Marina’s throat. He’s just got, what, a giant key? When has that ever been an effective weapon?



“Caina, you’re not the kidnapee, here.”



Problem solved!



Hitler was technically an important figure, too, Caina.



Caina is really fixated on Ashley. How would anyone but specifically Ashley know that Ashley delivered the finishing blow on a derelict wannabe space station. On an unrelated note, how did Irving know that it was specifically Caina that survived?



Yeah, like that was ever in doubt.



“I want you to purchase some of my new cryptocurrency. I’m introducing VinsCoin.”



“Are you going to suck me into a space hole? Sure, go nuts.”



Magical suicide bomber!



Ashley, do something!



And now for some dork in his library.



Pronouns are hard... Lord Blazer is controlled by Ashley protecting something Ashley loves.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

“Well, huh, hope Ashley isn’t in a high-stress situation where he has to protect something he cares about.”



New forms inevitably get new, stupid names.



Caina is going to get that fight!



With Over Knight Blazer! The only Knight Blazer with guaranteed delivery by tomorrow, or your money back!



Over Knight is clearly more golden than original Knight Blazer. Also, he has more claw-like feet and hands. Other than that, he’s pretty much a palette swap.



Caina admits that we were going to experience a tiny atomic explosion, but Ashley absorbed it. Not a good sign for Caina.



Ashley: not exactly confident in the situation.



This isn’t a quiz show, Caina.



Oh no, he brought out the magical key. What ever shall we do?



So this is a legitimate boss battle, and, oddly enough, our first boss battle since the final battle with Vinsfeld back at the end of Disc 1. However, despite the stakes, this battle is really, really easy.



Over Knight replaces "regular" Knight Blazer from this point on, and has two new moves. Gun Blaze doesn’t use Ashley’s Arms at all, and is merely a hadouken.



Caina can fight back, but those magic key attacks barely do a speck of damage. About the only way to lose this match is to get a really unlucky status affliction.



Or go nuts and use Over Knight Blazer’s final attack, Last Burst. Last Burst will do an insane amount of damage, but also reduce Ashley’s HP to 1. For obvious reasons, that could end poorly for our hero.



But since this Ashley is wildly overleveled, it meant the end of Caina. There’s our customary Cocytus flower!



“Caina, you were never important.”



“Oh, what? Marina? She’s just fine… Right?”



Quiet, you.



Caina really thought that revenge would fill the ol’ empty heart, but maybe being mortally wounded dashed that plan.



Dude is just not taking your calls.



Goodbye forever!



Wild Arms Mission #21:
Rescue Marina from despicable hands
Status: Success!
Notes: Everything turned out perfectly okay this time, right, babe?



Babe?



Awwwwwkward.



Oh yeah, Marina was kind of in the dark on the whole “Ashley is partially possessed by a demon” thing.



“Honey, I just digivolved to my final form! You should be happy for me!”

CONTINUED NEXT POST

“… Confused?”



“The Ashley I know doesn’t hurl fireballs all over the place!”



Okay, maybe Caina had a point…



Back at the Chateau, Marina is physically healthy, but Ashley spent the entire ride back apologizing.



“It’s hard to admit you’re maybe sorta kinda a demon from Hell meant to destroy the world.”



“Hey, nurses, Ashley is probably going to kill us all if this continues, so see if you can score Marina some ‘relaxants’, if you know what I mean.”



Ashley is not getting through.



Marina decides to take an angry nap, and admits that she should just forgive Ashley. If you’ve been paying attention to Marina throughout this LP, you’ll note that this is exactly what she does every time she fights with Ashley.



Also, as I’ve mentioned before, I find this disturbingly realistic.



But no time for chastising yourself for failed relationships now!



Nerds are talking!



Yay! They found the bomb!



…. No! They found the bomb!



480 what, Irving?



Stupid terrorists…



Yeah, sure, we’ll just send Ashley back into space. That should work.



Double G is Guild Galad Master’s DJ pseudonym.



Good?



So, incidentally, it appears the nuclear bomb was just a nuclear bomb, but Vinsfeld magically awakened it as a freaking dragon. Or it was always a sentient dragon that requires feeding, and it was the stupidest nuclear weapon ever.



But the plan is to draw this hungry, hungry hippo where we want.



And “where we want” is apparently going to be Guild Galad. Side note: does anyone else on this planet care that one town is apparently responsible for the entire world’s electricity?



But whatever, lure the dragon in, and then punch it. Got it.



Master G is certainly helpful, too.



Get the ol’ anti-dragon weaponry revved up.



The citizens of Guild Galad work diligently to flip on every light switch in the city.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

“Hit dragon until dragon fall down. Dragon no go boom.”



“Go do some sidequests or whatever, Nuclear Winter will be here when you get back.”



“BTW, Ashley, you’re a dangerous lunatic.”



“Is that what you’re calling yourself now? Sure, whatever, Fury, you’re off the team.”



“Aw, but Irving, I wanted to punch the nuclear bomb with everybody else.”



“Can we at least replace Ashley with another trained mercenary?”
“No.”



So Ashley is with us until the official mission, and you can start said mission at any time. Let’s take a quick stroll around the chateau before we get to dragon busting.



… Where did Irving find these people?



I like that Young ARMS has decided to just stay in this room and never leave.



Here’s Altaecia tipping us off to that one secret guardian cave I keep ignoring. She’s been providing this clue since the chateau started flying, but, hey, writing an LP is hard.



Okay, back to work.



“Ashley, go do literally anything else.”



Quick cutaway to remind us that Marina is still moping all over the place…



And now for the NUCLEAR DRAGON!



Filgaia is so doomed.



Our party is literally as big as Grauswein’s toenails.



Good news, Ashley! If the party fails, you won’t live long enough to notice!



If you just assumed that the hero of the story would sit out the opportunity to slay a dragon, you might enjoy Neon Genesis Evangelion.



Grauswein looks less… tubby on his trading card.



Ashley has to run across like the whole chateau to get here, so we’re stuck with an Ashley-less party to fight this beast.



To be clear, this is a legitimate boss fight, and you are expected to win.



Lacking Ashley doesn’t help matters, and Grauswein’s main attack, a freaking nuclear explosion, is bad news for the party. Not only will it eat off a chunk of HP, but it also possesses the possibility to poison or paralyze the party. Also, Brad is sterile now.



It’s by no means an impossible fight, but make sure Tim or Lilka is on dedicated healing duty.



Oh, and despite the “real” fight, ARMS does not actually make a dent in this dragon.



Irving immediately turns to the most suicidal plan. Tim is the only ARMS member that consistently wants to live.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

But Ashley’s room is empty! Gasp!



You can’t see it, but Irving has the most surprised expression on his face right now.



“Did anyone think to actually, ya know, guard Ashley?”
“Would it have helped?”
“Point taken.”



Brad’s railgun nearly destroyed an entire flying fortress, but a nuclear dragon is too much?



Blazing Knight to the rescue!



“Don’t kill everybody! Trust in the monster that wants to kill everybody!”



Aw, Ashley has really grown to trust the guy that just locked him in his room for being a genocidal nuisance.



Now it’s solo Ashley versus Grauswein.



The good news is that Ashley starts in Over Knight mode. The bad news is that Grauswein is absolutely just as powerful as in the previous fight, so you better hope you brought enough heal berries to keep Ashley healed up. Ashley can do a phenomenal amount of damage in a round, but please remember to remedy any injuries every other turn or so.



So it turns out that Over Knight Ashley is more powerful than the entirety of ARMS put together. Good to know.



The implication here seems to be that Ashley not only defeated the creature, but drained all of the nuclear power out of it, too. I’m sure that will have no repercussions.



Please do not eat any vegetables recovered from irradiated monsters.



Oh, hey Inner Voice, whatcha been up to?



Plotting the destruction of the planet you say?



How can you see his face?



At least Lord Blazer should destroy the world slightly slower than a nuclear dragon. I think.



“Kicky… scarf… no longer… stylish…”







Kanon, you have trained for this literally your entire life. It is time to slay the demon of legend and ascend to your place as…



Aw, nertz.



And Kanon reflexively kills Tim just to feel better about herself.



But Marina out of nowhere! Brad, don’t talk her down, too.



Callback!



Ashley, you can launch fireballs from your hands. I don’t think proximity is going to make a difference here.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

Hand. Claw. Whatever.



If you destroy the world, Ashley, you destroy Marina, too. Just pointing that out, in case you didn’t do the math.



Ashley has an inside line on Lord Blazer’s plans, and they ain’t pretty.



Run, run, or you will be well done.



Lilka, do you think he just forgot to not choke his loved ones?



Just in case you thought this might be a mangled hugging sprite…



Not hard enough!



“Guess I’m going to die now, but thanks for trying.”



Come on, hero!



“Somewhere in that golden armor, right? Man, I’m going to look like an idiot if I’ve been getting choked by a random monster.”



Breakthrough!



Yay! Ashley curbed the very God of Destruction through the power of love!



Or should we be thanking Marina? Whatever! It’s a win!



Wild Arms Mission #22:
Save Filgaia from Odessa’s final parting nuclear weapon
Status: Success!
Notes: Okay, now this time everything worked out perfectly fine. Everything is going to be impeccable forever! Or at least until the world is devoured by another world!



And we’ll close today’s update with Lilka realizing that she might have a difficult time competing with a love that literally just saved the world. I think Terry the Good Boy is still single!

Next time on Wild Arms 2: Hey, if Odessa gets to have a dragon, why don’t we?

Fucking JRPG villains...

Now that is a spicy (but slow) meatball!

"Believe in the me who believes in killing you and everybody else!"



Geez, you already have an Over Knight Blazer - how much more firepower do you need?

It's the second one. In the world of Filgaia it just makes perfect sense to create a nuclear bomb in the form of a sentient dragon, how else would they do it?

Oh and with the big FEELINGS scene between Ashley and Marina here we actually have two pieces of music to highlight, first is Thinking of a Sentiment which has probably popped up already in the game, but I mostly remember it from this scene when Kanon can't do the deed because FRIENDSHIP.

Secondly we have Marina's Plight, yet another callback to that 'You Will Never Be Alone' leitmotif, from the moment Marina breaks through to Ashley because TRUE LOVE.

AWWW YISSSSS

I'm trying to remember if the ARMs-being-mostly-made-from-Dragon-Fossils bit comes from 3 or starts here; which would amply explain why since regular ARMs are so destructive--what if you could control a being that's made out of the stuff that gives ARMs their oomph, eh?

Weeeeeeell....

Previously on Wild Arms: Ashley turned into a raging monster, but Marina talked him down, so now he’s just a regular monster. Also, Kanon totally flaked, which I believe officially makes every member of ARMS a complete failure.



But we did destroy a nuclear dragon, so our approval ratings are soaring.



“Sitting here watching while a gang of five or six people saved the world.”



Gosh, isn’t that an interesting way of looking at things.



Something someone said strike your fancy, Irving?



Have you seen half the monsters on this planet? There are giant, mutant rats living right outside your castle.



This was mentioned in a random book earlier, but, yes, most of the mechanical weaponry in this Filgaia comes directly from dragon fossils.



Ha ha, Irving. Don’t you think people would notice if there were dragons running around. I mean…



Oh. Never mind.



“Lombardia, the Dragon Caliber”. We’re going to be hearing that title a couple of times, and, while it might be another Wild Arms gun reference, I’m of the opinion it’s a mistranslation of “dragon carrier”, which would make a lot more sense. Or maybe it’s something even crazier!



Irving doesn’t let his filthy mercs touch the furniture.



“I don’t know, Ashley, maybe we’ll have to find the dragon’s girlfriend to calm him down.”



Ashley, God, the Over Knight Blazer incident was like five minutes ago. Don’t become one of those guys.



Odessa didn’t fail because they misused ancient technology. Odessa failed because we whacked ‘em with our weapons but good.



But Irving retorts that we need this power because… uh… maybe we’ll have to kill Ashley again?



Yeah, killing Ashley is looking more and more like a good idea.



“Guys, this dragon that has only been a rumor for hundreds of years could disappear at any moment! Chop chop!”



“According to our intel, he betrayed the Irregular Hunters and hid himself inside a volcano.”



Disappointing fact: we are returning to the Raline Observatory, but we will not be encountering Liz & Ard. Also: there’s no Tooth Fairy. It was your mom.



“So, do we need to know his name to, uh, distinguish him from all the other dragons?”
“No, I just thought it sounded cool.”



Let’s go dragon hunting!



“Kate, you’re fired.”
“But I’m Amy!”
“Doesn’t matter!”



This might be my favorite bit of direction, as it actually guides you based on a previously visited location. Most of the time we just get, “an island west of… eastern stuff.”



Teleporting over that way seemed to work well the last time.



Here we are. Finding the entrance to the volcano is a lot more intuitive than finding the observatory 17,000 updates back.



If I ever become a super villain, remind me to start my career by spreading rumors about magical dragons sleeping in volcanoes. I’ll have any meddling heroes barbequed by dinner time.

CONTINUED NEXT POST

I didn’t really notice it until this very moment, but a lot (if not all) of the dungeons thus far have either been man-made structures (like towers, castles, and Death Stars) or man-modified caves (like a dedicated mine). The Sleeping Volcano distinguishes itself by being almost entirely organic, and very… inhospitable.



There are a lot of confusing pathways, and they loop and intersect in a properly confusing way.



And some paths require a little coercion.



Where’s that flammable magician girl?



It’s a good thing ignoring warnings about flammable gas always works out!



Moving on.



Youch! Yes, this sleeping volcano has a lot of hot lava flowing around.



So it’s time to put Kanon’s rocket skates to work. Blade on!



The first lava area has a four way fork to start. We’ll head toward the furthest branch.



These lava areas get a little more clever as we move forward. Randomly skating here will likely see you soaring off this improperly placed cliff, and right into a lava bath. Lava just drains your HP a little, but it’s something you should avoid if at all possible.



But there are treasures on some plateaus, so keep an eye out.



Save point! There’s another fork in this area, so remember that in a minute or so when I get hopelessly lost.



Dammit, Kanon! A little more to the left!



Local volcano flora and fauna includes a bulbasaur that has gone horribly wrong.



So that path we followed deposits us on this cliff that is clearly a “no way back” situation. Wild Arms 2 players! Heed my warning, and do not act as foolishly as I once did!



I jumped off that cliff immediately, and torched this nearby gas deposit.



But, as you can see, there’s another gas spring above us, and I could have nailed it from that cliff, but, no, I’m a dumbass.



And it looks like there’s no way back up there from here. Time to repeat what has effectively been 75% of the dungeon!



Also, this room deposits us back into the original lava-fork room. So I could have just saved myself an entire trip by entering this door first, and blasting that black smoke first.



But it’s not a total loss, as checking up on the top fork leads to a new arm for Brad.



Mini Scud is a personal missile launcher. It’s one of Brad’s more effective arms, but there isn’t much that really distinguishes it.



Now back to dungeon skating.



An inordinate amount of walking later, and we can now detonate that cliff-based target.



And, like an idiot, I toss myself off that cliff again, only to find that there’s another gas spout up there, and a door (cave door?) that apparently comes from another area.



I could have just walked backwards from that cliff, but nooooo, I jumped off, and now I have to repeat most of the volcano again.

CONTINUED NEXT POST