Flynn: My father was a blacksmith, and his father, and his. All took the Gauntlet Rite at age eighteen, and all failed. My family were content to serve the Samurai in their own way; we never dreamed, nor did we in fact particularly hope, that we would ever be among their number. But now here I stand on the precipice to Naraku, the forbidden catacomb that is all that separates us from the demon-summoning Unclean Ones of old. I wholeheartedly believe there is some greater meaning to myself being chosen. I'm just not sure what it is...
The light emanating from the Gauntlet coalesces into a projected woman by the name of Burroughs, who describes herself as a "Navigational AI." She will be out guide through this strange journey (no, not that one) and also serve as the game's menu. Sir Hope then contacts us through her interface, and gives Flynn his first task of training: defeating a demon.
Flynn: D-demons? So the myths were true... I had never put much thought into those old fairy-stories, but if there are in fact demons living below the Kingdom itself, this must be what Sir Hope meant when he said we had to learn to fight...
First, I just need to get this out of the way: Naraku is the first level in the game, and also by far the most difficult. I am not joking when I say that one lucky strike from opposing demons can easily wipe a full party in one round. Because of that, we need to be on our toes and save often. If we die, we are required to pay a fee to Charon, the boatman of the River Styx, who, amusingly enough, is so bored with his job that he'll revive us for a bribe. Since money, or Macca, is hard to come by in this game, we'll want to avoid that. Dying twice in a row unlocks the super-easy "Fellow" difficulty, which I've never played, but which sounds so easy it's not fun.
Anyway, back to demons. You'll see demons as blue static on the map, and you'll want to use your sword to attach them; this will guarantee you the first strike.
Flynn: All right, here goes... HYAAA!
The first demon attacked is always actually two demons: a Lham Daerg and a Slime.
Flynn: Gyii... They are more terrifying than I could ever have imagined from the legends!
This is the tutorial battle. Both use only physical attacks and I'm pretty sure it's impossible to lose, so just go all out. The Slime is weak to Flynn's basic word strikes, so if you attack him you'll be rewarded with a free turn and an opportunity to "Smirk," a positive status effect that greatly increases critical hit rate and damage done. Defeating these two gives Flynn exactly enough experience for a level-up! You are able to allocate experience to each of your skills here; it's been my experience that Magic is the most important stat, and strength (which just deals with the basic attack) the least. We also earn some App Points, enabling us to modify Burroughs to maker her more useful to us.
Flynn: That was... harrowing but invigorating. I should know not to underestimate demons.
Sir Hope then calls again and announces the second task of training: Flynn must now make a treaty with the demons to fight alongside them!
Flynn: Egad... just as the Unclean Ones were said to have done... Are these creatures truly worthy allies?
Awright, time for the real fun to begin. You must recruit three demons to progress at this point, but three is a small crowd for this game, so let's attempt to recruit all the demons available to us, shall we? It should be noted that demon negotiation is much more random in this game than in SJ; while demons do have certain responses they seem to like more than others, it's much less uniform than in SJ. As well, demons can leave the conversation at any time, so after you give them two or three of their demands it is best to choose the "End talks" option; this will usually result in the demon joining up. To compensate for all of this, however, there is no limit to the times you can ask a demon to join, and unlike in SJ, "Dark" demons can join you in the field.
Centaur: Hrnfff, another Samurai. I should have you know my countrymen have served alongside you for generations. We Centaurs are the tutors of great heroes; you are blessed to have me. Hrnff!
Napaea: Eew, you smell like horse poo. Hi Mr. Samurai, I'm Napaea! If you ever need you wounds healed, or you just wanna talk, give me a ring, mmkay?
Centaur: Hrnff! Young lady, I should have you know I washed up last week! Why am I even talking to you? I have better things to do! Come, brother Samurai; with me as your trainer, you cannot lose!
Mokoi: Oi! You, Samurai! I think this old one 'ere needs help!
Fuxi: Screw off, whippersnapper; I can make it on my own. Ya did right callin' up me, Samurai; let's peck their eyes out!
Gryphon: ERAAAAAK!
Flynn: Good Heavens! That one almost took my head off!
Myrmecolion: Krzzzz don't mind himzzzz. He'zzzz just like thatzzz. How do you dozzzzzz? I'll suck the livezzzz from your foezzzz.
Lham Daerg: An' me completes the set, lad! I saw what yeh did to me fellow back there; no bad blood, Samurai, 'tis the law of we demons. It seems yeh've collected us all; lemme say now that a human with demons on his side cannae lose!
Flynn: Thanks? I never thought I'd be consorting with demons, but for some strange reason, these fellows seem to like me...
So, rundown. Centaur is the game's basic ice-user, Napaea is the basic healer. It's very important to have a healer on-hand at all times. Fuxi is the basic wind-user, Mokoi the basic thunder-user. Lham Daerg and Gryphon are both physical attackers, but in different spheres; Gryphon's specialty is the very useful multi-strike attack, Bounce Claw, which can his an enemy more than once (as you can imagine, it's painful for Flynn to be on the receiving end of this as well), while Lham Daerg concentrates on single strikes and can learn Critical Wave, which has a low his percent chance but a high critical hit chance. This is actually more useful than it sounds. Finally, Myrmecolion, as he said, can drain the HP of enemy demons into his own.
Flynn: Well, you all appear to be a diverse crowd. It's strange, I feel a camaraderie with you already, as though somehow I was born to tame demons...
Fuxi: Hoy, ya little bastard, who sez we're tame now?
Sir Hope then calls again, asking us, for our final exercise, to retrieve a "certain item of value" within Naraku, for which we'll have to search the entirety of the first two floors. As such, we now have access to the map, so let's explore!
In the first area, there's a locked door (which we'll come back to later) and several open ones. Go through these to find the other Prentice Samurai and several unnamed Master Samurai. Speak to the Masters to learn of the mystic relics, strange objects that appear in Naraku and which can be sold for good sums at the shops. This is about the only thing the shops are useful for, and also the most efficient way to make money in the game.
Flynn: It is good to know I have human comrades on my side as well. Plus, heh, filling one's purse never hurt...
There are also alcoves to be explored, which can be done by pressing "up" or "down" on the keypad when prompted; these typically contain treasure chests or relics.
On the second stratum of Naraku we encounter Wormwood, a type of plant barrier that can be cut through; get used to doing this. In the alcoves on this floor, we find three lots of a strange type of Lichen, the Deep Green Moss, and a lone treasure chest...
Mokoi: Oi, Samurai. There's somethin' around that chest there. An evil presence. Be careful...
'MINI-BOSS: DISASTER HORDE'
Level 6. Weak Force, Weak Light, Null Dark
Mokoi: Ah, just what I thought. Wild 'unts, distant relatives 'a mine. Weaker'n usual, but don't get too comfortable...
The first mini-boss in the game introduces the "Horde" mechanic, where several demons come together as one foe. In this case it is a large group of Wild Hunts; be very thankful they're not at full power, though I guess even Atlus isn't that cruel. Hordes are unique in that they're especially vulnerable to multi-strike attacks, such as Gryphon's Bouncing Claw.
Gryphon: ERAAAK! ME HELP! KILL KILL KILL! RAAAK!
Centaur: Watch it, you stupid animal!
Fuxi, being a wind/force user, is also an asset here. In general, though, just hit it until it dies. The one advantage it has is being able to put you to sleep.
Fuxi: You damn kids stay off my lawn!
With the Horde gone, the chest is free to open. Inside we find a Woman's Ring...
Flynn: Well, this certainly seems valuable. Could this be the item I was to find?
Has Flynn cleared the challenge? Why does he feel like he was born to befriend demons? Will Fuxi ever be able to keep his lawn clean? Stay tuned to find out!
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