Huh. Guess I shouldn't have expected comments here. Oh well, I already told myself I was going to finish this long ago. So, let's move on.
The music for Nelde
is probably my least favourite of the area themes, though still not bad. It's just...not as memorable as the other ones. Let's not let that stop us from heading to stage 3-1: Wiese Forest, though.
This is the first of what I'm going to call "big areas", for lack of a better term. It's basically just a much larger area than the norm for this game. Anyway, Fia talks about how there are supposedly dangerous plants in this forest, and I'm given control. Now, I've got some stuff to master, and here's what I learned:
Ein:
- Ogre Blade: Demon Flash: Level 1, 1-hit physical ice-elemental attack, power of 172, low accuracy, unblockable
- Ice Javelin: Triple Blue: Level 2, 3-hit physical ice-elemental attack, power of 88, unblockable
- Amulet (dropped off a shirtless guy with a sword during training): Iron Wall: Level 2, raises everyone's resistance to non-elemental attacks
Fia:
- Ice Javelin: Freeze Edge: Level 1, 2-hit magic ice-elemental attack, power of 66, Mot-Vit
Lina:
- Ogre Blade: Ogre Impulse: Level 1, 1-hit magic ice-elemental attack, power of 130, low accuracy, unavoidable
- Ice Javelin: Icicle Edge: Level 1, 2-hit magic ice-elemental attack, power of 94
- Applecot: Applecot Spiral: Level 1, 1-hit physical non-elemental attack for 45% of the target's HP, destroys all remaining Applecots
- Harpie Talon: Upper Claw: Level 2, 3-hit physical lightning-elemental attack, power of 87, does more damage when Lina has low HP
Serene:
- Ice Javelin: Serpent: Level 2, 3-hit magic ice-elemental attack, power of 74, can't hit flying enemies
- Harpie Talon: Wild Tear: Level 2, 2-hit physical non-elemental attack, power of 120, does more damage when Serene has low HP
- Ogre Blade: Serene Destruction: Level 3, 4-hit physical ice-elemental attack, power of 84, unblockable, last 2 hits target enemies near the main targets
Anyway, I enter Look mode and Lina notices a squirrel. She finds it cute, and Ein can either disagree (strangely has no effect on Lina's affection), wonder what a squirrel is (no effect), or hit on Lina in the clumsiest manner possible (Ein: "Not as cute as you, Lina.") Since that last one would increase Lina's affection (in addition to being really goddamn creepy), I choose the first option instead.
There's also a mushroom to examine, and Fia identifies it as a Dizzyshroom, which supposedly has powerful hallucinogenic effects. I take it anyway, then have Ein claim that it's a weapon. I get 2500 points for picking it up, which is good because there's an actual reason to collect points in this chapter.
Moving on, we encounter another mushroom. This one's a Laughshroom, the effects of which are stated in its name. I take it for 2500 more points, because laughter is the best medicine.
This screen also has the first random treasure chest I'm going to open, so I'll explain them briefly. Each random chest can contain one of a few set items (this one I'm about to open, for instance, has either a Flamberg, a Silver Rapier, or a Lightning Bow). They also contain traps, which are randomly determined. The traps come in five varieties, each of which can only be encountered when you have the party member that notices it:
- Poison gas: Ein notices this. It forces a command minigame to avoid taking temporary damage.
- Freeze gas: Fia can detect this one. It forces a command minigame to avoid taking temporary damage and being frozen solid for a time (which is only irritating in the next chapter, and in score runs).
- Arrow trap: Lina finds these ones. They force a timing minigame to avoid temporary damage.
- Bomb: Serene notices this one. It forces a rhythm minigame to disarm the bomb before it inflicts temporary damage and destroys the treasure chest.
- Magic lock: Cierra finds this. It forces a command minigame to avoid the chest permanently locking itself, denying you its treasure.
The contents themselves are determined through a simple roulette. This one contained poison gas and a new Silver Rapier, which replaced the Amulet.
Heading north, we encounter some ghosts. I kill one of them with Excalibur, because I really don't need it and it'd be burning a hole in my inventory otherwise. It does a good 909 damage when Ein uses it, netting me an A rank.
Now, this area also contains a treasure chest, but I'm not going to open it. You see, the chest is sitting on top of a swamp that sucks Ein in, ruining all your books and bread. You can then send either Lina or Serene to get it, though only Serene can actually obtain the thing. Unfortunately, it happens to be the Tarot, an item that...well, let's just say that Sting Entertainment seriously over-valued the thing and leave it at that.
...No, wit. I can't leave it at that. I have to explain just how profoundly worthless this thing is.Each character uses a different element with the Tarot, but every attack is percentage based so it doesn't matter. The percentage differs from character to character, and the attack does a random number of hits. Really, it's less trouble to just hit them normally, and even if for some unfathomable reason you do want one, Elementals can drop them in their "neutral" form. So, no.
Anyway, I then move south from the second screen, where I find a rather large mushroom. Examining it causes Lina to start gushing about how fluffy it is, before asking if we can cut a piece off. I deny her request, partly for the affection drop that results and partly because doing so causes the mushroom to deflate, which will ruin something later.
I then head west to a clearing with a mushroom and a flower in it. The flower I'll ignore for now, but the mushroom is a bit more important. Fia identifies it as a Powershroom, which can make those who eat it stronger. There's no option to give it to anyone other than Ein, so he eats it and gains 5 HP and 1 Strength.
One thing worth noting, by the way, is that Serene's stats all equal or surpass Ein's, with the exception of her HP. This is why I say Ein would be permanently benched if he could be: his attacks are mostly bland, and his stats are average.
Anyway, I head back to the second screen and head right from it to what appears to be the entrance to the ruins. I am promptly attacked by a crazy woman and her pet carnivorous plant. The woman has magical powers, and more importantly, she's got a Mage Ring (boosts Magic) as her common drop (her S-rank drop is something I'll automatically get later). She's in the back row, and the team of Ein, Serene, and Fia mainly hits the front row, so I take them. The Rosary is promptly discarded to make room for the Mage Ring, and since Fia can master it, I'll go ahead and do that:
Fia:
- Mage Ring: Magic Heal: Level 1, heals everyone's HP by 20% and raises their Magic
Before I move onward, I examine the path into the ruins. Fia advises Ein to examine the bricks of the path, and he notices that three of them are marked somehow. Fia promptly identifies the marked bricks as safe, and I get a rhythm minigame to jump between them for 2500 points. Serene then flies over the whole puzzle, the filthy cheater.
With that, I leave you once again. If anyone's still reading this thing, then I will see you again in the ruins themselves, where there will be decidedly less deliberate throwing of battles for the supposedly lesser rewards.
