Here there be dragons. Let's Play Bahamut Lagoon!

Oh crap, I completely forgot to reply earlier, but I would like to see little Lucky as a Behemoth. Hopefully it was done anyway...? If not, s'cool.

Don't worry, I remembered to transform him. Though the field sprite for the Behemoth is... a little odd, to say the least.

Mara-esque?

You'll see.

Welcome back. In our last installment, we pushed Gudolf back to Granbelos castle and finished him off, ending the threat of the Granbelos Empire once and for all.

Join us now as we return the Holy Dragons...





Wait, what?



Oh noooooo!!



Up here above the sky itself, Hornet spots something. Guess we'll go investigate, then?



Everyone's apprehensive about the new world... not that you can blame them. If you can enter a new, unexplored part of the world without breaking a sweat, then we'll talk.



Rush: Uh... well, I guess I'll think a little bit too...

Rush has taken Battlefield Salesman's advice to heart, it seems.



Truce: There're rumors going around that our fighting's gonna end soon. Even though we have no idea what's gonna happen...

Four more chapters, gang. You heard it here first!



Matelite: Her important stories are also hearsay...

Zora: Come on. The two love each other... let them be.

Yeah, you're just jealous, Matty.



And then everything's over ...right? Right?



Zora: "Not even the Holy Dragons understand the reason why the door was closed long ago. They don't know what those monsters are, either." I wouldn't know anything about either, myself.



So you and Frenze made up? About time.



Reeve: "We are lancers! Lan-lan-lancers! Even from far away we stab-stab!" It's the first time we'll do it in Altair. I can't win against that temptation... But, I'm terrible... I'll pray with Lukia... Maybe I'll be forgiven then...

Whelp, that's the resolution of that plotline. What about the others, I wonder?



Barclay: That stuck-up wizard... Anastasia, right? We talked earlier. If we live through this, we're going to get married and argue who's the strongest for the rest of our lives.

Congratulations! ...I think?

Barclay: Thank you. But keep this a secret from Matelite.



Gunso's pretty determined to finish this. Frankly, I can't blame him - after five months, I'm ready to finish this too. But in a good way! It's been a blast writing this, but I'm ready to move onto other things.

Well, yeah. Calling you Zora's Son all the time must wear a bit thing, right?

Zora's Son: My name is.. Orelus. The same name as the name of our world. It's the name of my parents' dreams. But, I still don't live up to it... Someday, I want to be able to shout my name loudly without being embarrassed. I'm trying hard!

Y'know, being named after the world would give most people an inferiority complex too, ZS. Maybe you should talk to your mother, Zora, about this...



Um... all kinds of stuff! I've got some work to do in Elibe when this is over. We've got a tyrant to depose, an Empire to push back and defeat. Y'know, the usual stuff.

Melodia: That's good, PANTS! Come play with me sometimes, okay?



Congratulations!

Anastasia: Oh, I see. Heh heh.



Jeanne: When the fighting's over I'm returning home with everybody from Mahal. We especially need Taicho to work hard.

Because he... no, better not spoil it. Heh.



Joy: (("I cannot believe there is anything in nature more beautiful than you! THat's why I want to try comparing you." But keep this a secret from my best friend Nelbo...))

Um...



Nelbo: He says he wants to see the reflection of Mahal's lake in my eyes... But keep it a secret from my best friend Joy...

Uh...



Oh my. Even when confined and tormented Donfan works his magic. And it works, surprisingly enough! Maybe I should ask him for some tips...



Lukia: When the fighting is over, let's pray together, PANTS!

Huh, I never knew Lukia was religious. News to me!



Mmmaybe.

Diana: I see... The rumors are true then. I was thinking I should stop worrying about rumors that people make up. I've decided to pass the time leisurely while thinking about myself.

It's like everyone's changing for the better here-



Ectarina: If it doesn't work out... Then I'll get everybody involved... Heh heh heh... Boom!!

...Oh.



Frederica: When that happens, PANTS... Will you start a medicine store with me? Don't worry. I won't use any of the merchandise.

She's a drug addict, I tell ya. Hell, the main healing items are called Drugs, for crying out loud.



Mist: The clean air of Campbell Lagoon. I look forward to it.

Let me guess... this is because you think this will affect your beauty, right?

Mist: ((...Campbell's clean air. My beauty will definitely be increased 100 times... Men won't leave me alone...))

Knew it.



Mini-Devils: Monyoo! Manyoo! Munyooo! (We're Mini-Devils!! When we die we'll die together!!)

Well that changes everything! Let me grab my gun and test this out...

...Nah. You guys have been behaving the past while, so it doesn't seem as worth it anymore. Just don't harrass the shopkeepers anymore, all right?



Armor Saleswoman: I can have him write books or something. I want to let the people of Orelus know about you, PANTS.

Isn't that nice? Say thank you to the nice woman, PANTS.

Saijin says this if you missed the scene where he attempts the assassination, like we did. For the life of me, I can't remember where you're supposed to see it, and considering how thorough I've been it's probably in a small window of time that we missed.

Ah well. There's always next time, right?



Zeroshin: When the war ends I think I'll just stay in my room even more.

Zeroshin's a hikikomori, isn't he? It would explain his reluctance to interact with the others, though he's missing the shut-in part of the term.

Anyway, the dragons need feeding, so let's hop to it, right?








This is probably a little excessive, but extra MP is always nice to have for our dragons, especially with the marathon battles we've got ahead of us. Anyway, don't worry about it - we'll have Master Dragons before the end, I'll promise you that.



Dragonkeeper: They will go kindly... The land of unchanging memories...

I tried to grab the screenshot here of the Dragonkeeper flickering between this and a more... draconic form, but it was too quick for me. Needless to say, DK here is more than he lets on to be...

BRIEFS: Just like you used to, PANTS...

......



Palpaleos: Most of the soldiers disposed of them, and this was all that was left. I brought it from Granbelos Castle, but BRIEFS said I should let you have it, PANTS. It belonged to the king of Kahna... Take it.

Thanks...?



The Empress Kahna we've already got enough of, but the Royal Gown is excellent. The best robe for our summoners by far. This one, coincidentally enough, will go straight to BRIEFS regardless of her intent.



Right, let's get his over with.



Into the abyss... Right, let's do this.



As I mentioned last time, Granbelos Fortress will be disappearing from the Sidequests lis in favour of Situation Critical. Like Hard Dungeon, the battlefield's static and offers the same challenge each time, but it's significantly easier, and can be completed with relative ease with the parties we've got.

Personally? I don't bother with sidequests, but it's there if you want to take a shot at it.



Same deal as last time.



First battle in Altair! Aren't you excited?

Anyway, it's the same deal as all the previous battles against these guys - march through their units and kill the boss. There are some variations, of course...



These guys, namely. The Crafters will be generating Dark Stalker units every turn, which the Tracers will be teleporting to our position for them to attack. the Dark Stalkers aren't much of a big deal, but their infinite numbers means that a defensive strategy won't work here. Our first goal will be to take out the Crafters as soon as possible to cut off the source of undead so that we won't be worn down before we reach the boss.



There are also Commander types as well, but I'm not sure what purpose they're supposed to be part of. All I can tell is that they can cast the Wizard's strongest two spells, Armageddon and Halley Grazer, so watch out for that.



Oh, and the Alchemic is also back, by the way. He can still dish out some serious hurt, but now we're strong enough to survive its volleys and can kill it just as quickly.



Things go as you'd expect them to, so... yeah. Dark Stalkers aren't a big deal, so just plow your way through them like you'd normally would.

Figure I'd just screenshot this - this is the first time I've been able to grab a shot of Bahamut without him firing that blast of his, so... yeah. That's what he looks like.



As we approach, VicViper and the others begin taking on the Ring Commanders. They don't have much HP, thankfully - a few good hits is all that's needed to take them out.



Make sure you take them out quickkly though - all of the Ring units can cast high-level spells and they can take a good chunk out of your health.



Behold the Crafters and Tracers in action! Expect to see these animations a lot as they send Dark Stalkers your way.



Not that they're much of a threat, but whatever.



Summons, of course, work wonders against the enemies here if only because of how overpowering they are. Healing magic works too, but they're resistant enough that you'd be better off using something else.



As you progress towards the southernmost Ring Crafters/Tracers, you should be passing by the Alchemic. Take him on like you would any normal boss - nail him with field attacks and send in the melee units once its weak enough to finish off.



Watch out for the boss too, by the way. He's nothing special - he only has a moderately strong field attack at his disposal, nothing we haven't seen yet. The big threat comes from him and Alchemic, though - make sure one's dead before taking on the other.



There are a lot of forest around you too, so watch out you don't find yourself in the middle of one when they get set on fire.



Alchemic goes down quickly enough, but he doesn't drop anything worthwhile. Eh.

With Alchemic taken care of, it's now safe to take on Veltim. He's got quite a lot of HP, so it takes a while to wear him down.



Veltim: SO... YOU'VE... RETURNED?

*At least, that's what I think he says. So sue me, I screwed the screenshot up.

Of course, when you're throwing everything and the kitchen sink at him, he'll go down like... pretty much every other boss so far.

Yep.



Three more chapters to go! What awaits us next, I wonder?



Next time: The Resistance pushes on through the lagoon, Altair, and meets the Eternal Travelers!

I'll be updating this all evening. Anyway, welcome back. Last we left off, we had landed on the lagoon of Altair, and, after rallying the troops, proceeded to push the monsters inhabiting it back enough to land.

Join us now as we meet the...





Everyone seems restless lately. Something big's going to happen, I just know it.



Rush and Bikkebakke refuse to sell me any goods for now, it seems. Hmm...



Huh? What the heck...?



I don't like the sound of this...



Everyone's on edge...



Huh? Behind us...!?



Dragonite: ((......!? I sense the spirits of the Holy Dragons... ......Bahamut!? ...Valitora!? Garuda!! Leviathan! Jormungand! Hyperion!! What does this mean...?))

BRIEFS: We've come to bring the Holy Dragons back to Altair. And... To defeat the monsters that would destroy Orelus...

Dragonite: ((...... you mean them. But never mind htat, where are the Holy Dragons?))

BRIEFS: They're inside my mind...

Dragonite: ((Then you are a Dragnar!? One who can communicate with the Holy Dragons...))

BRIEFS: ......Yes. ...And you are?

Dragonite: ((...We are the Dragonites.))

Sendak: ......Dragonites. Tell me, Dragonite. The Holy Dragons return to life with the aid of your kind. That is what I have heard, anyway. What does that mean?

Dragonite: ((Humans from Orelus... So you still live... So you were not wiped amidst the Holy Dragons' warring... I shall tell you about we Dragonites and the Holy Dragons... We Dragonites are the bodies of the Holy Dragons. The Holy Dragons possess eternal life. Yet there is still death... But, that is the death of the flesh. A spirit of a Holy Dragon that has lost its flesh wanders aimlessly. The wandering spirit of the Holy Dragon enters the body of a Dragonite and is thus revived. The revival of the Holy Dragons is the true happiness of we Dragonites!))

Matelite: I get it already! Too many long stories! Hurry up and take the Holy Dragons' spirits from BRIEFS!

Dragonite: ((...I cannot. I fear I am too old, and the only remaining Dragonite are...))



Huh... wait, where are the adult dragonites? Where did they go?

Dragonite: ((Dragnar of Orelus. Can you not keep the Holy Dragons inside your mind as you are now? ...Long ago, the humans of Orelus were able to read the minds of the Holy Dragons... The Holy Dragons lent the humans their own powers... To the weak-minded humans... The humans who were bestowed these powers quarreled amongst one another. The Holy Dragons saw this and enjoyed it. Bahamut made himself the enemy of all the Holy Dragons and... Until the minds of the Holy Dragons and the humans closed... The strong humans whose minds could connect with those of the Holy Dragons and yet would not lose their own mind upon gaining those powers... The Dragnars... Now the revival of the Holy Dragons does not matter... Please... Please hold the Holy Dragons for a little while longer... ......!? Unless!))



Dragonite: ((The powers of the Holy Dragons changed the forms of the Dragonites... However, the inherited memories of their homeland... Although dim they did not disappear... And the joy of returning... ......? Are you the one named PANTS? They have said to tell you something... They are words whose meaning I do not understand. THANK... YOU... I... LOVE... YOU... That is what they said.))

I... I don't know what to say. I... ...thanks.



Matelite: Hey! Kid! When do you become a dragon? Are there really no other Dragonites?

Dragonite Child: ((If you go to Alexander Temple there should be some Dragonites...))

Matelite: Alexander?

Dragonite Child: ((He's the king of Altair! The Holy Dragon Alexander!))

Huh? What's going on here? I thought we got all of the Holy Dragons. ...Don't tell me there's another.

Dragonite Child: ((It's a story from long ago, after Bahamut and the others had gon to Orelus. Alexander wanted to be ruler of Altair! That was the reason why he closed the door in the sky! So the other Holy Dragons couldn't come back. They say that he took many Dragonites to his temple. And that he then transformed them into mindless beasts!))

What what what?



Bahamut: ((Dragonite... Answer me...))

Oh shit. Bahamut's pissed.

Dragonite Child: ((Oh! Bahamut!))

Bahamut: ((We have returned, so that we may be revived... To usher in a new era, we have ventured through the door and returned...))

Valitora: ((Are you saying our revival matters not?))

Dragonite Child: ((I don't know! Grandpa! Grandpa!))

Leviathan: ((The Dragonites... Are they still here?))



BRIEFS: I'm scared... The Holy Dragons are angry... Even more intensely than before...

Garuda: ((Girl... You people who give this girl strength... For us, just this once... Fight for our sake...))

Matelite: Hey, Holy Dragons! Don't be so happy! You made BRIEFS suffer! We'd still fight even if you hadn't asked us! Fighting was the reason we came here!! But know this! It wasn't for your sake! It was for ours! Each one of us fights, hiding in our hearts things we can't say to anyone else!

Sendak: Matelite!

Matelite: PANTS! When you're finished preparing, let's go!

You heard the man! Onwards to Alexander Temple!

...After we buy some stuff, of course.



Note that the Excalibur we got last chapter is... well, not useless per se, but the Dreadnaught we won over the past while outstrips it by so much that we can't do much with it except sell it. So to the shop it goes!



By the way, this is what the Matelite shop has for sale. I can't believe I put off showing it for so long, but... well, anyway. At this point they don't have much real use, so we'll leave them in Bikkebakke's hands for now.



Pretty much, yeah. No dragonfeeding for now - it'd be better to save up our funds for one last splurge for now.



Do I even need to say it?



Sounds simple enough, but...



As you can see, we've got four Lucrecs to deal with, and only one is the real one. For those curious, the lower one in this party is the real one - you can't tell at the moment, but the real one has more HP than the others, 15,000 HP instead of the 10,000 HP the others have.

Note that you'll only win the battle when you defeat the real one - the fakes will simply regenerate indefinitely until we do.



The other big thing for this battle is that the statues will come alive, turning into Radamantises. You'll want to make it a top priority to smash the statues with Thunder spells ASAP - Radamantises are pretty nasty enemies, and if you don't destroy the statues while you can you'll end up being swarmed and overwhelmed by them.

In my original run, I avoided dragonfeeding because I liked the dragon's original forms too much to transform them. It made things a lot harder as a result, but I was able to make it this far in the game before things became unwinnable. Chapter 14? Difficult, but doable at a slow pace. Chapter 22? With enough experience you can survive the Ziegfried's shots and overrun it.

But here, the battle's virtually unwinnable without well-trained dragons. You need to shoot down the statues to keep them at a managable size, and the Lucrecs can one-shot untrained dragons very easily if you're not careful. If any of you out there attempts a dragonfeeding-free challenge in the future, be prepared to run into the brick wall that is this chapter.




With Thunder spells though, the battle's not much difficult than the others. All but one of the characters on our teams has access to a Thunder spell, so destroying the statues is a snap. As long as you deal with the Radamantises while they're not a threat, you can deal with the others that have been revived without too much trouble.



Every turn, the Lucrecs will revive two statues, so you'll have to work quickly and destroy as many statues as you can.



For the statues that do revive, sic the dragons on them. They won't be able to damage them as well as your melee units, but they're more than strong enough to survive any of their blows.

Well, anyway. The battle goes as discussed - while PANTS and the others deal with the statues, the dragons deal with the Radimantises that pop up. Neither side has trouble, however...



The Ring Commanders guarding the Lucrecs take notice and start taking potshots at our dragons. Nothing they can't deal with, but annoying nonetheless.



This may look bad, but the statues have been all but destroyed at this point. All that's left is to weather the ones that are still left and press on to the bosses.



Here's Calzone's Dark attack, Melee 99, by the way. It's the only one that's classified as a "Physical Attack" alongside Sonic Boom and Claw - all the others are magic spells. It's an interesting change from the standard and I thought it was worth noting.



Oh, and here's VicViper's Holy attack, Solar Flare, as well.



With the statues taken care of, PANTS and the platoons start dismantling everything left. While the dragons had trouble dealing enough damage to the statues that revived, the combined forces of the entire army is more than enough to take care of them. Strength in numbers, and all that.



With the statues gone, the Lucrecs start firing Gigashocks at our teammates. The bosses in this stage are pretty smart and will go straight for PANTS if we let them, so you'll want to make sure you're ready to take them out before you charge them. Two Gigashocks are all that's needed to take PANTS out, so... yeah.



Joy and Nelbo take out some of the Radamantises here...

While VicViper and BRIEFS take out a few others.



As mentioned, the real Lucrec has more HP than the fakes, so you can quickly figure out which one's which simply by damaging them.

Lucrec herself doesn't have much HP - only 15,000, less than the other bosses we've fought here - so thankfully you can wear her down adequately enough before moving in for the kill. Considering how easily they can kill any of our teammates, this is a bit of a blessing.



And with a little wearing down on our part is all that's needed to finish her off.



Another Gneisenau, huh? We've already got one, and PANTS' Scharnhorst is just as strong as it is, so into the selling heap it goes.



With Lucrec down, the battle is won. And good timing, too since the fakes would've made mincemeat out of us.



Next time: We head into the temple proper and finally face off against Alexander, King of the Holy Dragons!

Hey, I said I'd be doing this all evening. Anyway, last time we had pushed through the remaining monsters on the lagoon and are now en-route to Alexander Temple to confront the last remaining Holy Dragon.

That Holy Dragon's name?





Matelite: Just wait a little longer! [beat] I think they heard!

Taicho: Alexander heard as well!

Matelite: We've all come this far... So we're in this together!



Yeah, I know. We've come a long way, haven't we? Since... June 22, if I'm remembering correctly. Time flies when you're having fun, huh?



BRIEFS: Valitora changed their forms to prevent the awakening of Bahamut. Bahamut did the same thing... But Bahamut changed the Dragonites into creatures with wings. He did it so they could someday fly into the sky and return to their homeland.

That explains why the monsters guarding them were so eager to return to Altair. Hmm...



Truce: That's when he realizes the enemy is clearly stronger than us. Captain PANTS! Make thorough preparations!

Gotcha. Trust me, Matelite will be back to his arrogant self in no time!



Please, don't.



Using the money won over the past few chapters, I spend it all on Black Burn armor to feed our dragons with. All we have left to raise is Vitality, and, as far as I know, Black Burns give the highest boost to that stat.

This may not look like it's enough, but don't worry - the money we win this chapter coupled with whatever we can pawn off will be enough to afford the armor needed to turn them into Master Dragons. So... yeah. They'll get there next time, so don't fret.




As mentioned, I'll be throwing all of the Princess's ???'s at Lucky, maxing out his Tranformation stat and turning him into a Behemoth.

Speaking of which, I haven't explained what the Behemoth does, have I? The Behemoth is... well, unique. Instead of relying on its own skills learned from its elemental stats, the Behemoth morphs into the Holy or Dark form of any of our other dragons. VicViper, Brandon, Truffle, you name it. This, of course, makes the Behemoth one of the strongest dragon forms attainable, though sitll paling to the Master Dragons.

They also give the Mini-Devils a dance with abilities worth using, but we don't care about that because we're not using them. So! Behemoths rock, but are a pain to make.



I go ahead and feed Lucky the Dragon Dung from earlier. I'm not sure if that's... well, hygienic, but the boosts are fantastic. I mean, Mind and Dexterity maxed right off the bat? Hell yeah.



And- AAGHH!!! What the hell happened to you Lucky? You're... you're hideous!! WHAT HAVE I DONE!?



Matelite: Are we all set?

Yep. Let's go, Matelite!

Matelite: Right! Oh, wait a minute... I have a favour to ask of you, Palpaleos. This might be the last time we're both alive together. The end. Will you let me say something to you? [beat] What should I do, PANTS?

Say as much as you want, man. We don't have all day- ack!

[A dragon's roar is heard inside the temple. The screen begins to shake.]

Taicho: There are many monsters!

Matelite: Damn! Something's come up! Okay, this is the final assault!

You heard the man. Let's get this over with and end it once and for all!



You should already know what I'm going to say.



Right, this is the final battle, gang. We're not facing up against regular, old humans or monsters this time - we're going head-to-head with a Holy Dragon, and a tough one at that.

The battle itself isn't too difficult - combine your forces in the center and take out the monsters, then head north and swarm Alexander. All-told, the battle's a bit of a let-down - Alexander's attack, Heaven's Rage, has good range but only deals 900-1,200 damage to targets, and the monsters themselves are complete jokes. As long as you ration your skill use carefully and take out the monsters outside of Alexander's range, you shouldn't have any trouble.

Got all that? Then let's go~!



Remember these guys? They're the same as before - they've got lots of HP, but they'll Self-Destruct when they're wounded enough. Though this time, you'll want to deal the finishing blow, as they'll drop some of the best armor in the game when felled by Holy or Dark attacks.



Note that Bahamut is completely broken here - he's strong enough that he can wipe Heal Glaives out in one shot and reduce Ring Commanders to the low hundreds.

Anyone else here getting Deja Vu?



Awesome items, like I said. This Gneisenau isn't as good as you'd expect, but I pick up a Dreadnaught, the best sword for Knights, here as well which is beyond good.



PANTS runs afoul Alexander here and takes a hit from his attack, Heaven's Rage. As mentioned, it's not a big deal since it doesn't deal nearly enough damage to off anyone.



Don't take my word on this, but I'm pretty sure the monsters here are additionally weak to instant death attacks, like Truffle's Fatal Blade here or the assassins' Unsheathe skill. If it's true, then you can save yourself a lot of time here, as well as pick up some pretty awesome weapons from it.



Finishing off one of the Dark Sceptres nets us another Energy Suit. This one will probably go to Mist, since we'll want to give Matelite's unit as many fail-safes as we can give them.



Heh.



I think that's the last of them...



Yep.

All that's left here is Alexander. He's got a shit-ton of HP (35,000 overall) and takes a while to wear down, but his main attacks have such a low chance of killing anyone that he's practically screwed at this point. Simply rush him, keep yourself healed and attack, attack, attack.

Note that he has infinite MP, so lightning rodding him down won't work - you're going to take a few blows before he falls, so suck it up soldier.

You might as well set your dragons to go at this point so they'll go straight for him - it takes a while to march up to him, so having the dragons attack him a few turns early will make it easier for PANTS and the others to go to work.



Ah, and here's Alexander's other attack, by the way. Heaven's Judgment is very powerful, dealing 2,500 damage to whomever it strikes, but it only strikes one target and can only be used in battle, so any threat it may have posed is nulled by its limitations.



Here's a better shot of Wh.MAGE's Holy attack, Thunder Wave, by the way.



Of course, even though you can take a hit from Alexander, you can still fall to two, so if you're going to engage him in melee combat it's a good idea to simply end your turn and have him engage you.



...At least, that's how I'd normally play it. But for some ungodly reason he only targetted VicViper this entire battle. For the life of me, I can't figure out why - killing PANTS would end the battle in his favour immediately, but here he is spending time trying to kill Vic despite the fact that he has infinite HP. It's strange; the AI's not normally this dumb. Something's up, that there is.



Well, watch out anyway if you do engage him, since at this point you're probably exhausted and don't have the MP for ressurecting allies.



After a few turns, Bahamut himself deigns to end the battle, firing off a Mega Flare and putting Alexander's plans for dominion back in their place.



Yeah, that's right. Suck on it, bitch.



Woo!

We did it! We b-



Huh? Uh-oh...

Sendak: No! Do not come here yet! The spirit of Alexander is wandering! Alexander is going to revive!!

Oh fuck no.

Matelite: Oh no!!! L-look at that!! PANTS! Retreat!!



Shit. Drawing the Dragonites into himself, Alexander resurrects and prepares for another assault...



Next time: We, Who Cannot See into Tomorrow, fight one last time to defend Orelus from Alexander's wrath!

One more battle. We've come a long way, haven't we? From our humble beginnings on the lost isle of Tedd to the loftly lagoon of Altair, we've fought tooth and nail to protect the freedom of all those living in Orelus. It all comes down to this one, last battle.

Join us now, as we fight one last time to protect those living in the world below. For it all comes down to us...





No speeches, no rallying - just an order to finish the preparations before we go into battle. This is our last chance to train our dragons and equip our team, so any items we've been stashing away will be sold at this point.



Note that we won't be able to save our progress once we finish this chapter, so anything we feed our dragons won't carry over. But that's fine, since we'll only be needing them for this battle.



First off, we'll equip all of the strongest equipment to our party members, for reasons that should be obvious. The equipment we've had up until this point have been dandy, but we'll only be using the strongest and sturdiest for this last battle.



Everything else will be sold for extra cash to buy armor. As mentioned, this is our final, final chance to raise our dragons, and if we don't get Master Dragons now, we never will.



I also pick up a whole bunch of Magic Gins - the final battle is a marathon, so we'll need all the extra help we can get.




VicViper's the first to reach his Master Dragon form, which you may notice is virtually identical to his first! I'm sure it's symbolic for the cyclic nature of life, but at this moment I'm more interested in maxing everything out.

The others get close to them, but just fall short of the goal. Well, I guess we won't be getting Master Dragons this time.

...

...Actually, you know what? Fuck that shit. This is my LP, and I'd rather shoot myself in the Goddamn head than stop when we're that close. We're gonna go all out with the dragon-feeding, funding be damned.



Everything we don't need is gonna go. Litancible SPs are complete shit compared to their more cost-effective cousins, and our Lancers aren't using their armor anyway. Everything - and I mean everything's gotta go.




Master Dragon #2: Polaris!




Master Dragon #3: Calzone!

Master Dragon #4: Wh.MAGE!




Master Dragon #5: Brandon!



And, last but not least, Master Dragon #6: Truffle!



Woo!



I'll admit, having you all here makes things a little easier to take in.

Taicho: I see... When you say that I feel much stronger.



Don't worry Sendak. We'll figure something out.



Everything's set, Matelite.

Matelite: Members of the Orelus Freedom Force! Let's win this battle... and go home!

You heard the man. Let's go slay us a Holy Dragon.

Whelp, this is it. Our allies are equipped with the very best weapons and armor we've got, our formations are set as perfectly as they can be, our dragons are in their final form. All of our fighting and training has come to fruition, and there's nothing left for us but to win this last battle and go home.



If you're feeling underpowered, you can give the sidequests a go, but honestly? For this entire run, I've gone without resorting to sidequests for EXP and I've only lost twice. Despite being horrendously underleved, our equipment and dragons are so overwhelming that we'll be able to hand Alexander his ass in style.

Sidequests are useless. Period. If I can go the entire game without grinding in them, so can you!



All right. Let's do this.



Hrm... that's not a good view. Hold on a second...



There we go. This entire battle will be fought in the skies. Our best versus Alexander's best, winner-take-all. Our goal here is to take out the main head, but in order to do so we'll have to take out the others first. Our characters are a bit spread out though, so we'll have to split them up and focus on different heads at first.



The first head, the one to the right, is the weakest of the three, having only 15,000 HP and healing spells at its disposal. BRIEFS and Nelbo, the two closest, will blast away at it with their spells. Their damage potential should easily outpace its healing, and distracting it with spells should draw the healing away from the other heads.



The second head, the one at the bottom, is where the other fighters will congregate to. This head has 20,000 HP and is weaker than the others, having only status effects at its disposal. Since most of our allies are wearing armor that guards against them, they'll be able to finish off the head without fear of reprisal.



Once those two are finished, the two units will congregate at the third head, located to the immediate left of Alexander. This head uses Dragon Breath attacks, the very same our dragons have been using over the course of the battle. They don't hit too hard, but they're annoying enough to deal with alongside the main head's attacks. With our combined forces, they'll be able to make short work of this head's 20,000 HP.



Once the third head goes down, we'll then start attacking the head in the center. This head is, by far, the most dangerous of the four, as it can use the Holy Dragons themselves against us. Valitora, Garuda, Hyperion - you name it, he can use it. The only Holy Dragon he can't summon is Bahamut, which I presume is because the battle would most likely be unwinnable if he could. Nevertheless, we'll want to kill this head fast, and being able to recharge with the Magic Gins should make it easier to do so. He's very sturdy though, with a whopping 50,000 HP, so you'll have to really wail away at him before he falls.

By the way, the reason we gave the Energy Suits to PANTS and Matelite is so that they'll be able to survive a blast of some of the summons. Alexander seems to use Leviathan and Garuda more often than the others, and giving the two groups the means to near-guarantee survival against the former spell will come in handy.

Well, that's the strategy for the fight pretty much. Got all that? Then away we go!



Before they march down to the south head, Matelite's group takes a few shots at the uppermost head. We want to deal as much damage as we can as we move, so attacking the head here when we can't reach the other makes sense.



By the way, here's the culmination of our dragon-feeding efforts. Every elemental skill in the game is now at our disposal, meaning we can target every weakness and alter every type of terrain to our pleasing. Amazing just how much we can do, isn't it?

The bottom head, as mentioned, is a complete joke. Randomizer here is the head's strongest attack, and only inconsistantly at that. As such, it's the easiest to go down.



Meanwhile, at the other head, BRIEFS and Nelbo begin shooting at the right head. They're dealing three times more damage than the head can heal, so their victory is ultimately assured. Let's leave them at it, then...



I can't explain why, but... the dragons focus most of their attacks on our dragons. Maybe I'm overestimating the game's AI?



Well all I know is that I sure as hell am not underestimating Alexander's strength. His summon spells are nearly as strong as ours, and a hit from that followed my the left head's breath can kill our characters if we're not lucky. All you can do, really, is pray that it doesn't happen.



The attack continues on the heads...



Brandon takes his Holy attack, Death's Undead, for a test drive. I don't really have much to say here, otehr than that's the most badass name for an attack I've heard yet.



Oh, and keep yourself healed! Joy's group should be on full-on healing mode for the battle, so don't waste her MP on attack magic.



We have to take out the other heads first!

No shit.



PANTS fires off another volley at the head...

And off it goes! I guess you could say that this chapter's a mass-beheading, then?



Yeesh. Garuda's probably the most dangerous attack in the battle, and here we've had the misfortune of it being used.



We won a Dreadnaught from the head, and it goes straight Truce.



Brandon takes out the other head, netting a Reconquista for our Knights as well.



With the two other heads down, we convene at the left head and focus our combined brutality at it.



The softening begins...



...And there it goes!



With the three heads gone, all that's left is the middle head. It's now vulnerable, so it's time for it to fall.



Just figured I'd show off the Priest's Dark attack, Infinity. Though note that, despite it looks like Nightmare 99, it doesn't halve HP like it does.



Here's Polaris' Holy attack, Burst Gale, which is essentially a recoloured Armageddon.

Alexander has a lot of HP, as you may have noticed. But we're close! Just keep attacking away, until either you or he falls.



...Is that it?



We won.



Fuck yeah! WE WON!!



Oh, right.

BRIEFS: It's okay! Leave it to me!

Palpaleos: BRIEFS!

BRIEFS: Palpaleos! Matelite! Sendak! Friends, from Orelus! Everyone! Give me your power! Give me strength! PANTS... Please... You too... You don't like me, PANTS... I make you feel awkward when I'm with you... I understand... But... PANTS. You really are an important person to me. Without you I wouldn't be here. You taught me something important... The feeling of reaching beyond the sky... That there really is such a feeling... Just this once... Give me strength...! Like you did then!



BRIEFS: Hey, PANTS... Do you mind if I hold on tight?

Go ahead. But just this once!

BRIEFS: Already grabbed on...



BRIEFS: Because I have all my friends here! They will all give me strength! Alexander!! Come!



From those waiting outside...



To those looking on from above...



To those waiting at home for us...



They all give us the strength needed to pull it off.

Sendak: Is Alexander inside the princess!?

Palpaleos: Then... have the Holy Dragons begun to fight inside her!? Somebody! Somebody do something!

Matelite: BRIEFS! BRIEFS!



Dragonite: She is a strong girl... She has done very well... She will be all right now... Come forth, Valitora!



One by one, the Dragonites draw the Holy Dragons from BRIEFS's mind...

Dragonite: Leviathan!



Dragonite: ...Garuda.



Dragonite: Jormungand, come to me!



Dragonite: Come, Hyperion!



Dragonite: The time for revival has come! Bahamut!



And that's all of them. Well, except for...



Bahamut: It would seem that these are the last surviving Dragonites... Alexander resides inside the girl... However, the battle has ended... What is inside her is the anger and hatred of Alexander... And his sadness, perhaps...

Palpaleos: Then what will happen to BRIEFS!?

BRIEFS: Please don't worry... I... seem to be fine... Yes, I'm alright! You see, I'm not the weak-minded princess I used to be. I am the Queen of Kahna! And a Dragnar! Having Alexander inside my mind is nothing to me.

Matelite: Of course!

BRIEFS: Bahamut... Bahamut, guardian dragon of Kahna... From now on, what will...

Bahamut: I have just been revived... I am unable to see into tomorrow...

BRIEFS: What should I say...

Bahamut: I was once inside you. I am able to read your mind. Your anger... and fear toward us... Your happiness... And sadness... Listen, Dragnar. Allies of the Dragnar. Orelus awaits. Return. Return to your world.



Bahamut: However, those are her memories of you... They are merely memories that shall someday fade away... PANTS... The new era has come... But, new eras soon become old ones... No one can escape the flow of time... Listen well, PANTS... Look only to the future... You live only here in the present, which continues its forward advance, unabated...



Matelite: ...But first... There's something I need to say to you. Thank you, PANTS. IT's been so long since I've used those words! It feels so awkward! Okay, PANTS. How should we act when we return to the others?

Same way we always do when we beat down a God - strike a pose!



Woo!



Hah!



Hiyah!



And with that, we return to the world below.

Hey gang! Let's go watch the ending!

Rush: Matelite told us about it... Is it true?

Truce: This sure brings back memories... When you think about it, this house was at the beginning of it all. Taicho, Zora... Lots of people escaped the war and gathered here... We... Until we met you, PANTS, we were like stray dogs...

Bikkebakke: But...

Rush: What do you mean, "but"?

Bikkebakke: It's nothing...

Truce: Bikkebakke...

Bikkebakke: N-nothing, it's just... I was just wondering if we've become adults... Then I remembered the fun times... And the difficult times...

Truce: ...A lot happened, didn't it?

Rush: Stop it... Don't say things like that! You're gonna start crying...

Bikkebakke: But, I... But I've been hiding back my tears all this time... PANTS... Thank you...

Rush: PANTS!

Truce: Captain PANTS!!

Bikkebakke: ((PANTS... I'm glad we met...))

-

Lukia: ((Donfan!))



Lukia: It's finally been decided...!

Donfan: Decided? Do you perchance mean the new king of Mahal has been decided!?

Lukia: Yeah! Listen! Don't be surprised now!!

Donfan: Who...? You don't mean... I, the pure-hearted and serious Donfan!?

Lukia: No! It's Taicho! Taich's the king!

Donfan: Really!?

Lukia: Yeah! It looks like he finally gave in to Gunso's persuasion!

Donfan: Ah ha ha! 'Tis just like Taicho to be unable to say no to a person's request!

Lukia: Okay, let's go to Mahal Palace! Jeanne is waiting too!

Donfan: Oh!



Gunso: Because you are the only one I can think of as being the new king, Taicho!

Taicho: I am the man who could not protect Mahal long ago... I am not certain if everyone will agree or not...

Gunso: What are you talking about? Taicho! You will always be our leader!

Taicho: ......!!

Gunso: ...I am truly glad I have followed you this far...

Jeanne: I think so too!

Donfan: The pure-hearted and serious Donfan also thinks so!

Lukia: Me too!

Taicho: Everyone...

-

Palpaleos: ((Sauzer...))



Palpaleos: ((But, you're no longer here... Sauzer... What you sought wasn't really war, it was peace, wasn't it? ...I get that feeling... Sauzer... Goodbye, Sauzer...))



BRIEFS: ((Even though the war has ended, I cannot show my face in Kahna... Forgive me... However, you have excellent friends... You aren't lonely, are you? I envy you... BRIEFS... Goodbye BRIEFS... Goodbye, legend of the Holy Dragons...



Assassin: Palpaleos! You're the one who got us all into that damn war! So how're you gonna take responsibility for it?!

Palpaleos: So that you are satisfied... Do as you wish...

Assassin: Shit! Tryin' to show off, huh?! This knife'll take care of that!

-

BRIEFS: ((Ah!))



BRIEFS: I just over-exaggerated. It's nothing. I had a sudden chill, that's all. Where's Matelite?

Sendak: He is... mumbling to himself in front of the throne, again, as usual...

BRIEFS: Again...? He's been doing that every day ever since we returned to Kahna...



Matelite: As long as I, Matelite, am here... And, as long as they are here... He... PANTS... has become an extravagant man... I am happy to have such good friends...



((Mahal, Granbelos, Godlan, Campbell, Dafila... Before long, the countless lagoons throughout Orelus had adopted a peace treaty and became a single kingdom... PANTS, former captain of Kahna's Dragon Squad, was given the duty of watching over the skies of all lagoons... ...together with that dragon of legend...))



((War... Betrayal... The legend of the Holy Dragons... And then the door to the new era opened... ...What was the new era? ...Freedom perhaps? ...Or maybe peace? We, who cannot see into tomorrow, have no way of knowing... But... But... If you don't find dreams yourself... if you don't capture your ambitions... happiness won't just come to you. Heheh... you shouldn't cry so much that you cry even when you get hungry... "Living" is actually a very difficult thing. Even if it's just a little bit... I feel I understand that now... Yes... The Holy Dragon Bahamut chose not to return to Altair, and remained in Orelus... To ensure that war does not occur again in Orelus... As our guardian dragon... How much tiem has passed since then... Since our world came to be called...))

And with that, the game draws to a close.



With the game beaten, we now have access to Ex-Play, Bahamut Lagoon's version of New Game+. All of our characters will retain their levels and equipment, and our dragons will retain the stats they had going into the final chapter.



In addition, the Holy Dragon, Alexander, is ours to use at our impunity! With an absolutely ridiculous target area of a 7-panel radius with even more power than Bahamut, you can destroy the game utterly well into the end-game.

And with that...



I'll admit that I was disappointed with the turn-out at first, but quite a few people have been following along since the beginning, either silently or actively, and that dedication was what helped me pull through and finish this beast of a game. To those of you who followed along, I want to thank you for taking the time to read, and I'm hoping you'll join me for my next LP.

Next time: PapillonReel takes his hand at a more traditional SRPG and starts Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals!

Well, okay. One last thing:




I was going to use some, if not all, of these avatars over the course of my LP, but they were left on the cutting room floor due to how inconsistant updates got, as well as the lack of quality screenshots to use for them. So here you go, Talking Time. Consider it one last gift from me before this thread falls into the abyss.

Why do all the master dragons look so...underwhelming compared to their earlier forms? Bradon and wh. mage especially.