Let's play Luminous Arc!

OK, guys, for real this time. *sweatdrop*

This is technically my second try at a Let's Play, but I'm going to ignore yesterday's attempt because it was an absolute flop. So let's say it's my first.

Anyway, this time I’m playing something that I’m actually familiar with – the first Luminous Arc. I’ve played both this game and its (unrelated) sequel, and I liked both of them, although I think the second one is probably a better game. This will be my second playthrough. Each of my posts will cover one or two chapters of the game, just to keep things even.

If you are thinking about getting this game, I’d suggest only reading the first few of my posts. The game starts the spoilers fairly quickly, after all. I would recommend it despite its flaws, though.

OK, then. Without further ado, let’s begin.

The game begins with a flashy anime opening with a cool song playing. Despite this, the opening isn’t what I’m covering, so I won’t talk about it much. It has been a while since I’ve seen it, though – I finished my last playthrough a few years ago.

It begins with a strange manatee looking thing, and two little girls. The manatee thing says he’s discovered a new Vitae, whatever that is. The game wants me to name it. My options are “Legend,” “Ephemeral,” “Hope,” “Secret,” “Longing,” and “Happiness.”

I choose “Secret.”

I am told that this word will help to aid a particular boy. I honestly don’t know what this scene even does, despite having played the game.

The scene changes, showing two monks in a church. They’re talking about how one of the members of their church was attacked by Witches. Yes, with the capital “W.” This is strange because apparently, the Witches were sealed away 1,000 years prior. They wonder if this has to do with the death of the Grand Cardinal. The new Grand Cardinal is apparently a 13 year-old boy named Johannes, and the brown-haired monk comments on how odd this is. He doubts that the boy will do a good job.

Another guy apparently overheard, and he turns out to be a regular Cardinal. He is not happy. The green-haired monk begs for forgiveness, but the Cardinal, whose name is apparently Kingston, tells him to shut up. He tells the guards to seize them, but a young voice tells him that’s enough. A cute kid comes into view. He’s apparently the new Grand Cardinal. He asks what’s going on, and Kingston tells him. Johannes says it’s OK, and that it makes sense for them to worry about his inexperience. Kingston is surprised, but Johannes says to release them. The monks thank him, and he says that he will try to become worthy of their devotion.

Once the monks leave, Johannes asks Kingston if there’s been any progress with the “Witch countermeasure.” Kingston says yes, and tells Johannes to leave it to him.

Johannes leaves, and Kingston asks a random priest about a research project. The priest says something about knights being on the move, and Kingston tells him to hurry up.

The scene switches again, and a blonde knight in white armor shows up. The text says his name is Heath. Kingston informs him of what’s going on, mentioning Witches using monsters to attack civilians, and also mentioning the “revival” of their God. He tells Heath that it’s time to call forth the elite force he’s trained, called the Garden Children, and to “condemn” every single Witch in the name of their God. Somehow, this sounds ominous.

The scene switches to a forest, with some unknown person saying that the world is changing, and asking someone to leave the village. After that, the scene changes to two boys sparring. One of them is Alph, a boy with greyish-brown hair wearing armor. The other boy is Theo, a blonde, girlish-looking kid wearing a green and white robe. After Alph knocks Theo down (shown by Theo’s Character Portrait moving to the side), another, older boy with spiky hair named Leon shows up and tells them that’s enough. He then declares Alph the winner.

Theo admits that he’s no match for Alph in a swordfight, but he’s sure that he could beat him in an archery battle. Gee, thanks, game – we totally needed to know right away that Theo is an archer. Alph takes him up on that challenge, but a girl with curly brown hair and glasses named Cecille shows up and insists that they should let their wounds heal first. Both boys insist that they’re OK, though, and continue to make stupid noises.

Leon can’t believe they’re still going at it, and Cecille seems to think it’s OK, saying they’ll never be able to defeat Witches and monsters without training. Leon says he’s a genius, and asks why he should waste time trying to improve perfection? Cocky, aren’t we? After a brief mention of Sir Heath, he starts trying to flirt with her. But before he can get anywhere, Theo cries out that he sees Heath. Cecille welcomes him.

Alph asks Heath what the Cardinal wanted to talk to him about. Heath says that he’s been assigned to condemn any and all Witches he can find. He tells them that it’s time to use their skills to serve their God.

Right on cue, a random and horribly voiced woman shows up and begs them to help her. She claims that monsters have appeared on the plains to the northeast, and asks again for their help. Alph seems excited about the chance to fight monsters, and Leon seems enthusiastic as well. They leave, with Cecille being left in charge while they’re gone. Theo seems nervous, and it turns out Alph really feels the same way. It also turns out that the two of them are brothers.

I’m given three options: “Action,” “Return to World Map,” and “Advance the Story.” I select “Action,” and three more options pop up. I can speak with Theo, Leon, or Heath. I decide to listen to all three. Theo basically tells me that I can review their strategies (informing me that I can look at tutorials), Leon’s conversation is just a bit of exposition, and Heath tells Alph that monsters are summoned by Witches.

I go to the world map to save, and then begin the battle. I have four characters to pick from – Alph, Theo, Leon, and Heath. Heath is level 3, and the others are all level 1. This is a strategy RPG, much like the Final Fantasy Tactics games. For this battle, I’m forced to bring them all in.

Since this is the first battle, it’s going to be very easy. I’m up against two Roosters, which look like cockatrices, and two Minotaurs. I can’t reach any of them yet, so I just move into position and wait for them to move a little closer. Heath attacks one of the Minotaurs, and leaves it with like 7 HP out of 60. Since he’s higher leveled than anyone else, I’ll try to use him as little as possible.

Theo attacks a Rooster, which attacks him back. I have Alph kill the minotaur, attacking it from the side. If you don’t know, in SRPGs, it’s always best to attack from the back if possible, or the side if you can’t do that. Attacking from the front is usually not a good idea, as it decreases your hit rate and damage.

Alph kills one of the Minotaurs. Leon attacks the Rooster that Theo attacked, but then the other one comes in and kills Theo. Since I don’t have any way of reviving him, I’m going to have to just use my other characters. I’d like to note that you can save during battles and reload as many times as you want, but there’s no reason to do that in an easy fight like this. I have Heath attack the Rooster that killed Theo. Since he has a spear, he can attack from two spaces away instead of just one. Alph comes in and almost kills the same Rooster, and then I have Leon finish it.

The remaining Minotaur moves, but can’t attack anyone. It’s Heath’s turn again. I can’t attack the Rooster without hitting Leon, so I attack the Minotaur instead, and then have Alph finish it. Alph levels.

I have to say, this game has very clunky controls, especially compared to Luminous Arc 2. I’m using the touchscreen right now, and it’s working…but I remember last time I played, I would sometimes have trouble targeting enemies, and would have to switch to using buttons.

Anyway, Leon finishes the battle, by killing the remaining Rooster. He levels. The battle gives me a Vita Mint (a weak healing item), and an Antidote as rewards, as well as 400 gold.

A scene starts up again, with everyone being glad that they won. They are thanked by the civilians, and I’m put on the world map to head back to the Ever Garden.

This is where I’m going to stop for now, since I’m tired of writing and I’ve finished the first mission. I’m not certain when my next post will be, but expect it fairly soon. Thanks for reading. :)

EDIT: Oh yeah, one last thing. After the 29th this month, don't expect me to update for a while. I've got another game that I've been waiting quite a while for, and I probably won't feel like playing anything else. ;)

edited 16th Nov '10 9:28:21 PM by SapphireBlue

Alright, back to the game. As I said before, I’m on the world map. I have two locations: Albein Plains, which is where I’m at right now, and the Ever Garden, which is where I’m supposed to go. So let’s go!

Chapter 2: Girl in White

They arrive back at the Ever Garden, with Heath saying that they defeated the monsters thanks to God’s divine protection, and reminding everyone to thank Him. He then repeats their apparent motto: “Protect the Light, condemn the Dark.” He’s actually said this before, I just didn’t mention it. Alph and Theo cheerfully repeat after him, which is honestly kind of creepy.

Then a White-Haired Pretty Girl shows up. Theo asks who she is. Leon, true to character, thinks she’s cute, and tries to flirt with her. She remarks that he smells sweaty, and tells him to hurry up and bathe. Niiice. She also reminds them to cleanse their weapons. Cecille shows up, and welcomes everyone. The girl, sounding annoyed, asks what she should be doing now. Heath says that she’s the Ever Garden’s new maid. Apparently, she’s a recommendation from the Millennial Sisterhood Committee. *snickers* Turns out the girl’s name is Lucia, and she’s been hired to do stuff like cooking, cleaning, and laundry so that the rest of them can focus on hunting monsters. Heath tells her that she can start by cleaning the dishes, and tells Alph to show her where the kitchen is. Leon, predictably says that this is one time he will gladly wash dishes. Lucia slaps him and calls him a pervert. Thank you, Lucia. Alph says he doesn’t want to deal with a brat like her, and says that Cecille should do it. She leaves with the flimsy excuse that she needs to go pray. Heath tells Alph again to do that. Leon says that he needs to “heal his wounded heart in town.” Theo needs to repair his bow. Alph protests, telling them not to leave him alone.

Lucia speaks again, saying she doesn’t do dishes. She claims it dries out her hands, and she doesn’t like doing it. Alph gets annoyed, and tells her to go sweep the floors in the dorm if she doesn’t want to do dishes. She seems fine with that, and asks Alph to bring her a broom. He does. She immediately starts commenting on how nice the broom is. Kinda weird, don’t you think…?

Lucia tells him that he needs a bath, and then reminds him again to clean off the monster blood from his weapons.

The scene switches. Lucia is now done sweeping. Alph decides to give her a tour of the dorms. I’m given four options: “Action,” “Shop,” “Return to World Map,” and “Advance the Story.” Normally the first thing I do is go to the world map to save, but this time I’m going to shop first. So I go to the shop, and irritatingly cheerful music starts playing. I look around at what they’ve got. The weapons are the same ones my guys already have equipped, so forget that. Same with the hats and armor. So instead, I decide to use my 400 Rico (I messed up in my last entry – it’s not gold, it’s Rico…these games and their lulzy names for currency…) to buy items. I can buy VitaMints for 50, or Antidotes for 100. I have one of each already, if you’ll recall. I buy 4 VitaMints and 1 Antidote, leaving me with 100 Rico.

That’s pretty much all I need, so I leave the store. I then select “Action.” I have the option to talk to Theo or Cecille, or I can go to the library. Talking to Theo has him introducing himself to Lucia, and then giving some general idea of where things are on the continent. Theo ends it with saying that if Lucia goes to town to buy food, he wants her to buy lots of eggs for him. I then talk to Cecille, and get a little bit of exposition. Sounds like the Ever Garden has been around for thirteen years, and that Alph and Theo have been there since the beginning. Cecille’s been there for ten years.

I go to the library next. I have three options, the “Book of Mena,” “The Seven Elements of Power,” and “The Origin of ‘Holy Garden.’” First I look at the “Book of Mena,” which Alph tells me is the Luminous doctrine of how the world began. Shtraberl is apparently the name of this world – geez, talk about hard to remember. It also says something about a war between Dragons and Witches ruining the world, and God making it good again. Something like that, anyway. The second book is pretty much useless – it mentions the elements, but doesn’t say much about them. The third book just talks a bit about the establishment of the Ever Garden. Nothing really worth mentioning.

I take a brief detour to the world map to save, and then choose to “Advance the Story.”

It’s apparently nighttime now, and everyone’s going to sleep. The scene switches to Alph and Theo’s room. Looks like Theo is still so excited about the battle that he can’t sleep. But I guess he does, because the next thing we know, Alph is asleep. We get a bit with an unspecified person counting brooms. Weird. Alph seems confused. The person comments about a GOLDEN broom. Double weird. Then the person comments that someone is inside their dream. Is it Alph? Apparently, it is, because this person then comments that she can’t believe that HE’S a Rym. Whatever that means. Alph then realizes that it’s the voice of the “weird maid.” Guess Lucia has a broom fetish, then?Lucia basically tells him to GTFO her dream. Alph wakes up, wondering if that voice he heard was Lucia.

So he runs outside, and wakes her up. He asks what she did to him, and says that she was the strange voice in his dream. Lucia seems annoyed, saying that he’s the one who came barging into her dream. All of a sudden, we get a weird sound effect, and a monster shows up. Lovely.

Lucia gets annoyed again, saying that Alph didn’t cleanse his weapon like she told him to. Apparently, the scent of monster blood attracts other monsters. Alph starts trying to fight the monsters, apparently with little success. Lucia comments that she can’t watch this, and with a flash of light, she’s wearing something different. She then kills a monster with magic. Alph is understandably confused, and the battle begins. This time it’s just Alph and Lucia that I have available, and I have to use both of them. Time to start.

My objective is to defeat all enemies. Just like always. Seriously, that’s ALWAYS the objective. The one time it isn’t is in the final boss fight, and even then there’s only one enemy.

So I’ve got Alph and Lucia standing back to back, in the middle of a grassy map. My enemies are two Cerberuses, and one Behemoth. I’d probably be best taking out the Behemoth first. Since there’s just one, it’s probably stronger. Lucia is level 5, and she moves first. She has two spells, Aid and Shine. Shine is an attack spell, and Aid is obviously a healing spell. She’s too far away to attack, even with her spell, so I just move her a little closer. It’s Alph’s turn next, and he can’t attack yet either. He’ll get a ranged attack ability later, but he doesn’t appear to have it yet.

The Cerberuses move closer. One of them attacks Alph, and the Behemoth follows suit. Well, now I can attack with Lucia. Or…actually, I’d be better off healing Alph. So I do that. After a bit of struggling with the fail controls, I attack the Behemoth with Alph. And Alph is attacked twice, again. I don’t want him to die, so I heal him. Again. I really would like Lucia to be able to attack, but I can’t do that yet. Alph attacks the Behemoth, leaving it with ONE HP. Ugh…this sucks.

Oh, damn. Lucia doesn’t have enough MP to attack OR heal. So instead, she uses a physical attack on one of the Cerberuses. Alph runs off and uses an item to heal. He’s attacked twice, but the Cerberus misses. The other one attacks Lucia. She attacks the Behemoth and the Cerberus from behind, killing the Behemoth. She levels. Alph then proceeds to maul the weakened Cerberus. He levels, and learns a spell. Wonder what kind? Anyway, Lucia kills the other Cerberus, and the battle ends.

I get 500 Rico, a VitaMint, an Antidote, and a Catseye, whatever that last one is.

Back to the story. Alph asks if Lucia just used a spell. She replies that she did. Alph comes to the conclusion that Lucia is *le gasp* a Witch! And he’s right – she is. (Guess the broom thing was just a lame gag, then.) He remembers that he’s supposed to “condemn” witches, and he asks her again if she’s a Witch. She says yeah, she just answered that. Alph replies that he’s going to have to condemn her. Lucia repeats that, asking if he’s going to kill her because she’s a Witch, and then asks if he’s dumb. Alph spouts some crap about how he’s going to condemn Witches and bring peace back to the world. After all, that’s what the Garden Children are for.

Lucia reminds him that he couldn’t even beat those weak monsters by himself. If he couldn’t do that, then why does he think he can beat her? And besides, she just saved his life. In exchange for that, she asks him to not tell the others.

All of a sudden, we get Leon yelling, asking where Alph is. Apparently, they have an order to move out. They’ve found the hideout of one of the Witches!

I’m put back on the world map, with another destination opened up. It’s kinda late, so I’m going to save and quit for now.

By the way, I'm a bit worried that my battle descriptions are boring. I don’t really know how else to describe it besides just sort of saying what happens. Any tips from more experienced livebloggers?

edited 16th Nov '10 9:25:37 PM by SapphireBlue

I remember playing this game. In my mind, the only thing that kept it from being So Okay, It's Average was the sheer amount of narm charm exuded by every single character. They take so many stereotypes and go so over the top with them, it's hilarious.

as for the battles, I'd suggest just glossing over them unless something particularly interesting happens, like if something goes horribly wrong or you get a spectacular instance of artificial stupidity. Otherwise, just keep the description down to "These are the characters I picked for this fight, these are the enemies on the field. ensue curb stomping." Of course, bosses or particularly hard fights deserve extra detail. The battles are also probably a good time to introduce new characters(as far as what their role in battle is) or showcase a new move.

edited 17th Nov '10 9:28:21 AM by Blissey1

Yeah, there's plenty of Narm Charm. It did get kind of hard to take things seriously, but somehow the game was still fun. xD

About the battles, I guess I’ll try that. It is kinda hard to tell what I should explain and what I should skip over, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out as I go along.

Anyway, once I’ve started up the game, I move on to the next location. It’s labled as Palu Forest.

Chapter 3: Condemn the Dark

Urgent music plays as Heath explains what we’re supposed to do. Apparently there’s a mansion in the forest, and our intel says that there’s a Witch hiding there. Leon seems excited about finally fighting a Witch. Heath continues to say that the Witch uses the Water Lapistier to augment her power. He says that Lapistier are stones that feed off God’s light and pollute the world. If a Witch has one, it makes her that much stronger. We’re supposed to take it and give it to Johannes so he can purify it.

Heath then requests that Cecille join us this time. She’s apparently a healer. Leon makes some joke about her being slow. Actually, he’s right on the money this time – she really IS slow. (In a game like this, slower characters get turns less frequently) Alph wishes that someone named Saki was here. Lucia, who I guess came along, asks who Saki is.

Wait a minute. Why the heck is Lucia with them, anyway? Isn’t she supposed to take care of things back at the Garden while they’re away? And as far as they know, she can’t fight either. So what’s the point of bringing her along?

Oh wait. She followed them because she wanted to see the Witch. Makes sense – she probably wants to know if it’s one of her friends. She repeats her question about who Saki is. Theo briefly explains that she’s another of the Garden Children. After that, Heath tells us that we’re moving in. He wants Lucia to stay out of the fight, understandably.

Anyway, I’m brought to the same “what now?” screen that shows up before every mission. As usual, I choose “Action.” I can talk with Lucia, Heath, or Theo. I move down the list, and choose Lucia. She informs me that there isn’t really a Witch in there. Interesting to know. Maybe the recon guys messed up? They talk a little more, with Alph saying some cheesy line about how Witches are the “evil shadow” that disrupts their peace, and if Lucia doesn’t want to be next, she’d better stay out of the way. Ouch. (OK, so the way he said it wasn't quite THAT harsh...but that's basically what he said.)

I talk to Heath, and he tells Alph that Witches are beings that hate the light and want to pull the world into darkness. Funny, because besides being a textbook Tsundere, Lucia seems like a decent person. When I talk to Theo, I get a conversation about how the Lapistier supposedly glows, and Theo says something about how he likes stones that don’t glow. Like the one that he and Alph share. Hm. This is new. They go on to say that Alph and Theo both have one half of a stone, and that it was with them when the Church found them. This seems random, but it’s obvious to any Genre Savvy player that it’ll be important later on. I save on the world map, and continue.

Once I choose the option to advance, Heath tells me that I have to talk to my comrades after battles in order to have them feeling their best. I’m then given a little notice saying that “intermission” is now available after battles. Basically, this means that after each fight, I’m given the option to talk to someone that I used in that fight. I’m given a few options of what to say, and if I say the right things, their little heart icon starts to fill up. If I do it enough, then…well, I’m actually not totally sure. I think it helps me and them do better when we battle together.

We enter the mansion, and some random woman labled “mansion owner” is talking about how if she brought the Lapistier to the council, they’d think better of her. Alph randomly runs up to her, and exclaims that they’ve found her. The woman, understandably, asks who the hell he is. Heath introduces them. The woman seems annoyed that the Church is greedy enough to come and take the Lapistier, and so she decides to fight back.

I now have Alph, Theo, Leon, Heath, and Cecille. I only have to bring Alph in, but I have enough space to bring in all five of them. So I do that. Since Theo was killed off in that first battle, he’s still only level 1. Cecille, the only new character, is level 3.

My opponents are all human this time: three Fighters, two Archers, and the mansion owner, a Cleric. That probably means she can heal herself or her allies, so I’d better be aware of that. Also, the opponents in all battles do have randomly generated names, so from now on I’ll refer to them that way.

Looks like the “spell” that Alph learned in the last battle was really an ability called “Rifle.” His class is “rifleman,” see, so he uses that gun in a lot of his special attacks. It's kinda nice, because his regular attack uses a sword, so this skill will let him attack from a few squares away.

A few moves later, I’ve taken out Aaron, one of the Fighters. Alph has been attacked a few times, though, and he’s low on HP. Good thing it’s Cecille’s turn.

Basically, Cecille's character class says she's a “Priest.” Obviously, she’s a healer, and she’s got Water-based magic. So far, the only spell she’s got is “Aid,” which is the same healing spell that Lucia had last battle. She can only move two spaces at a time, but she’s able to move close enough to Alph to heal him a little bit. Hopefully he won’t die.

A bit more struggling with the touchscreen issues (no, I don’t want to shoot Theo!), but I get it to work. I kill off Dave, another Fighter. Leon’s been hurt a little, so I heal him the next time Cecille is able to move. Unfortunately, he’s attacked again by the remaining Fighter, undoing almost all of the health I healed. Heath levels after attacking Alec the Archer, and Leon finishes off the remaining Fighter. He levels to level 3, which conveniently heals all the damage he’s taken. I love it when games do that. Luminous Arc 2 doesn’t, though, probably because it makes things a little too easy. Becky the Cleric, the woman who was in the scene before, heals Alec. Then she moves further away – smart woman. Unfortunately for Alec, her efforts mean nothing – I kill him off in two attacks. After that, Theo kills the other archer, and levels to level 2. Good thing, too – like I said, he was only level 1.

Cecille no longer has enough MP to heal anyone. Becky attacks Alph with water, putting him into his “seriously injured” crouching stance. So I have Heath heal him. Also, that Catseye I was wondering about before? It cures blindness. How? No clue.

Also, I just figured out that Leon has the same voice actor as Rasche from the second game. Which is pretty pathetic – personality-wise, Rasche is basically Leon minus the constant flirting.

I have all my characters over by Becky. This shouldn’t take long. Cecille, thanks to her “two squares at a time” issue, is way behind. Alph attacks the cornered Cleric, and levels. He’s level 4 right now. He attacks again on his next turn and takes her out, ending the battle. Congrats, you guys, you just killed an innocent woman. Aren’t you proud of yourselves?

My spoils are 800 Rico, a VitaMint, a HolyFthr, and a Cape. Holy Feathers are revival items, which should be useful. I use my intermission to talk to Theo. But first I have to watch another regular scene.

The woman comments that she was probably too greedy (I guess she’s not dead yet), and we get the Water Lapistier. After we go back to the forest, Leon comments that Witches aren’t so tough. Yeah, you just keep thinking that, Leon. Lucia seems upset, and when Alph tries to ask her about it, she tells him not to talk to her and runs off.

Heath then informs us that Kingston is coming to visit the little nearby town, and that he wants the rest of the group to come along. Alph asks him if the woman was really a Witch, and Heath assures him that she was.

Later that night, Lucia comes up to Alph and says that of course Heath would tell him that. She says that the woman wasn’t a Witch, but that she wasn’t innocent either. (OK, guess I was wrong about that.) Guess she was going to use the Lapistier for her own selfish reasons. Lucia says that the woman got what she deserved, so Alph shouldn’t be upset. She also informs them that real Witches are way more powerful, and that the group will need plenty of training before they’ll be able to defeat one.

OK, time for my intermission. Theo says “Yay! We defeated the enemies!” I can either tell him “yeah, we’re the best,” “don’t get cocky,” or “you really helped me out.” That last one sounds like what he’d want to hear, so I choose it. Looks like that was the best choice – he gives me yet another VitaMint.

Now I get a silly little thing called “Life of Kopin.” I get these after every chapter from now on. They’re these stupid little things where a critter called a Kopin tells me bits and pieces about what’s going on in his crazy life. He informs me that he’ll be keeping an eye on me from now on - complete with him staring at me. Because that’s not creepy at all, right?

I’m back on the world map, with two new destinations. One is just a place to pass through, where I’ll have a battle. I can’t see past there, but presumably the next place is the town. As usual, I’ll stop for now. This is going pretty well, actually. There’s more to come, so keep checking in if you’re interested. :)

if I recall correctly, maxing out the hearts via intermission nets you a special vita and a special image of the character in question. I think. I haven't played the game in a couple of years as well...make sure to max out Cecile before the plot upgrade!

oh man, I'd forgotten all about Kopin. he's vanessa's familiar or something, right?

Much better on the battle descriptions. still needs a bit of work but, like you said, you'll get the hang of it.

edited 18th Nov '10 6:24:40 AM by Blissey1

When we left off last time, we were going to town to see Kingston. Judging by his introduction at the beginning of the game, he doesn’t seem like a very nice guy, but he obviously has a lot of power. That, and Heath seems to have a lot of respect for him.

If I remember correctly, this is also the chapter where we’re introduced to Vanessa. Let’s see if I’m right.

Anyway, if I’m going to get to town, I’ll have to go through the Heintz Plains. There’s a little crossed swords icon above the place, meaning that I’ll start a battle when I enter. So let’s go, shall we?

I’m going to keep this brief – it’s a side battle, after all, and it’s not important to the story. I bring in everyone. My opponents are two Goblins, two Hob Gobs (because “hobgoblin” is apparently too long to fit) and a Cerberus. Being monsters, they have stupid names like Zonar and Laz.

Anyway, by the end of the fight, most of my characters have leveled. Heath is level 5, Cecille is level 4, Alph is level 5, and Leon is level 4. Theo died again midway through the fight. Stupid fragile little archer…*mutters*. I could have used my Holy Feather to bring him back, but I’m thinking I want to save that for the coming fight.

I get 600 Rico, an Antidote, and…you guessed it, a VitaMint. I choose an intermission with Cecille.

She says I did a great job, and asks if I’m hurt. My options are “I’m fine!” “Ow-ow-ouch!” and “I’m a little tired.” I choose the last one. She gives me an energy drink called “Macho Extreem, saying it tastes and smells bad but it’ll help.” I lol’d. Then she gives me a MagiMint, which is a weak MP recovery item.

Now, onto the town, which is labled as “Carwee, River Town.” I enter.

Chapter 4: Witch of Immolation. (Yep, this is the right chapter.)

Happy music is playing, and the citizens are talking about how reliable we are. Leon seems to like the attention, and Theo is embarrassed. Cecille says something about protecting the small Light in the hearts of the people. Leon, as usual, just wants attention from girls.

We enter the church, and Heath makes it clear that Lucia is coming along, too. After all, she’s a member of the Ever Garden now. Cecille is disappointed that Saki couldn’t make it in time, but we still have to go. Alph is unsure about Lucia coming along – after all, what if Kingston finds out she’s a Witch? Lucia isn’t worried, though. After all, he can’t tell just by looking at her.

Before we can see Kingston, though, we’re stopped by a tall, armored figure wearing what looks like a metal bowl on his head. I know it’s supposed to be a helmet, but it looks ridiculous. Theo wonders who he is, but Heath recognizes him, calling him Sir Andre. Andre is suspicious of us, saying that he can’t let us pass just because Heath said we could. Theo asks who he is, and Heath introduces him as Sir Andre, Kingston’s right-hand man and leader of the Zephyroth Knights. If I remember correctly, the Zephyroth Knights are the western group of knights, as opposed to the Euros Knights, who are the east.

Andre still insists that he can’t let us pass…and that we’ll never get past his MANLY BICEPS. Yes, in all caps. He actually says that. Heath tells him that we’re just here to greet Kingston, and that he shouldn’t stop us. Right on cue, Kingston shows up, asking what all the commotion is about. Heath introduces us as the Garden Children. Kingston is glad to see us, but asks why we’re not out exterminating Witches. After all, that’s what we’re supposed to be doing. By just sitting around, we’re letting the Witches, the root of all evil, take power!

He continues to say nasty things about Witches, and understandably, this is too much for Lucia to just sit and take. She says she’s heard enough of his filthy lies. What kinds of “evil deeds” does he mean? What does he even know about Witches, anyway? She demands an answer, calling him an old fool. Has he even seen a real Witch before? He hasn’t so he should shut up.

She exclaims that the whole church should blow up, and then runs away. Kingston feels a bit faint, and goes to his room to deal with it. Andre, meanwhile, is holding Heath responsible for what Lucia said. Heath still has to give him the Water Lapistier, though, so he can’t leave just yet.

The scene changes, and we’re outside. Heath tells us that this is break time. The menu comes up, meaning that this chapter’s battle will start soon. This place has a “shop” option as well, so I check that out first.

This place has better weapons and armor, so I buy some stuff for them. They all get new weapons, and Cecille gets a new robe. I’d buy armor for Alph and Leon, but I don’t have the money for it. I also bring my VitaMint total up to 10.

The store gives you the option to equip your items right there, so I go to do that. While I’m at it, I sell their old equipment. I also equip the Cape I got earlier. It gives defense, so I give it to poor underleveled Theo in hopes that it’ll help keep him alive. Selling the equips also gives me enough money to buy armor for either Leon or Alph, but I don’t have enough for two. So I give it to Leon, because his defense is lower.

I return to the menu, and see what’s available under “Action.” Looks like I can talk to everyone, talk to Lucia, or go to the library. Talking to everyone has the group talk about Kingston and Andre. Leon makes a crack about not being impressed with Andre’s “manly biceps.” Thank you, Leon! Alph then wonders where Lucia is. Well, let’s talk to her.

Except that it’s not talking to her, it’s everyone wondering where she went. Leon insists that it’s best to leave an angry girl alone. Cecille says it’s almost as if she was on the Witches’ side. Cecille, you don’t know the half of it.

I go to the library next. The books are titled “Origins of Lapistier,” “The Witches’ Sins,” and “The Book of Rune Resolution.” I go from the top, as usual. “Origins of Lapistier” talks about how the crystal’s center comes from the stars, and it starts to glow when it collects the energy of the planet. A Witch can release that power and utilize it.

“The Witches’ Sins” says that their souls cannot be saved, because the ancient battle (the destruction of Aldheld, which I haven’t mentioned by name yet even though it’s been mentioned before) was caused by their greed. The dragons and Witches fought for control of the world. Sounds like the dragons were primarily defensive, while the Witches focused on magical offense. Their fight made the world begin to fall apart. God has apparently turned His back on the Witches, and therefore after they die they’re simply reborn again.

The third book is about magic. It says that Runes are a vital force that come from God’s light. Spells are fabricated by the Church, and only the clergy can use them. Magic is no different, except that magic is only used by Witches. Sometimes Rune can be found in stones called Vitae, as well. If I remember correctly, Vitae can be used to power up weapons later in the game.

Having done all that, I save and continue the story.

There’s a flash of light, and a woman appears. I can’t even begin to describe what she looks like, so here’s a picture◊. She says something about this being the desecrated land of God. Theo makes a comment about her “loud clothes. Alph says she looks suspicious, and so Leon asks who she is. She says she can tell them, but they’d all better prepare to die. Uh-oh…

We’re given a better picture of her. She’s now brandishing a scythe. She tells us that her name is Vanessa – also known as the Witch of Immolation. She’s about to attack us, but Heath shows up and says he can’t allow her to harm his students. Vanessa says she’s honored to meet Sir Heath, the “Cleansing Flame.”

Heath asks her what her purpose here is. Turns out she wants the Water Lapistier. Andre shows up, and Heath tells him to take the Water Lapistier. Looks like we’re going to have to fight her.

All of a sudden, Lucia shows up and tells her to knock it off. Lucia guesses that Vanessa was the one who was attacking people with monsters. Vanessa says yeah, that was her. Apparently, she wiped out the Eurus Knights as well. She claims she’s going to send us all to meet our God. She calls up two Behemoths, and the battle begins.

Like last time, everyone can come in but only Alph is required. It’d be stupid not to bring everyone, so that’s what I do.

My enemies are three Hikopins (fire Kopins), two Behemoths, and Vanessa. Vanessa moves first, but she’s too far away to hurt any of my guys. I might actually want to use the “save during battle” feature here. Vanessa is never easy to beat. Also, I’ve forgotten to mention this before, but Heath has a thunder spell called “Sturm.”

After a few turns, I kill one of the Hikopins. They’re the easiest to kill, so I’ll try and take them out first. Alph levels up to level 6, but then Heath gets killed by one of the Behemoths. I do have a Holy Feather, so I have Theo bring him back. Theo levels for this, and is now level 3. Two Hikopins down. Vanessa has just given the Behemoths an attack boost, which is bad because they’re already pretty strong. Leon levels to level 5. Alph is almost dead after being attacked by both Behemoths. I heal him, but then Vanessa kills him off. Great. Leon is the Behemoth’s next victim. This isn’t good – I’m down two strong fighters.

Heath moves in and kills one of the Behemoths, leveling to level 6 in the process. Looks like he’s learned something new as well. Theo then proceeds to kill the other Behemoth, and he levels to level 4, and HE learns a new skill. You’ve probably figured it out by now, but leveling is pretty easy in this game.

Both Behemoths are dead, leaving only Vanessa and a Hikopin. I’m trying to kill off Vanessa first. When given the chance, I try to let Theo do that, but he leaves her with 1 HP. Guess Cecille should finish the job. I kill the remaining Hikopin, and the battle ends. Actually, that was fairly easy. I get 1300 Rico, a ViTonic (a stronger healing item), a HolyFthr, and a Toy Ring. Not sure what the ring does, though. I choose to Intermission with Cecille.

Vanessa figures she’s underestimated us. She says she’s going to finish us with the Lapistier. Heath says we have protection from God, and so we cannot die. Vanessa replies that we don’t even know who our God is. Apparently, she has a different Lapister, actually – the Wind one. She starts her attack, and Lucia tells her to stop it. Vanessa responds by knocking Lucia out of the way. Alph attacks Vanessa back, and something happens. According to Theo, he’s started to glow. Lucia remarks that this is the power of Rym. She said that before, remember? I wonder what it means. Vanessa says that Lucia has already found her Rym, and then she disappears.

Cecille asks if Lucia is OK, and she says she is. Leon asks her if she knew that Witch. Then Heath asks her if she IS a Witch. Alph is surprised, but Lucia answers honestly. She says that she wasn’t trying to infiltrate the Ever Garden, but she is trying to defeat their God.

All of a sudden, a little girl wearing a mushroom hat and carrying a frog doll appears. She says she’s here to pick Lucia up. Lucia calls her Mel, and Heath asks if she’s one of the sinners, too.

Lucia says that she can go now – she’s finished her mission. Alph asks her what the mission was, and Lucia whispers that it was to find him. She says she’ll come back to claim him soon, and she and the new girl both warp away. The scene changes to the church, where Heath is talking to Kingston. He says that the Witch had the Wind Lapistier. Kingston is surprised – he thought that the Eurus Kinghts had the Wind Lapistier. Right on cue, a knight comes in and says that the Eurus Knights were attacked by a Witch. Heath is told to go and survey the situation.

Now for my intermission with Cecille. She’s praying. I can say “You’re really into that, huh?” “Why are you wasting your time?” or I can pray, too. I choose the last option. Cecille seems happy with that. She says that if I listen to God, He’ll listen to me, too. I don’t get a gift, so I guess it was the neutral option.

Kopin says that Vanessa left him behind.

Anyway, I’m back on the world map. My destination is the “mountain path,” and beyond that, the “Holy Congress, Eastern Branch.” The mountain path will have a battle, but since I’ve finished the chapter, I’m going to stop. Hopefully, more people will notice this liveblog. I’m actually kind of enjoying this.

edited 18th Nov '10 9:15:23 AM by SapphireBlue

Last time, I was on my way to the Holy Congress. Why? I honestly don’t remember. I’m not sure it was mentioned.

Before I get there, though, I have to go through an unimportant battle. Like last time, I’ll just sort of skip over it.

I bring everyone in, obviously. My opponents are two Hob Gobs, a Cerberus, and two Sauroids. I wipe the floor with them. Heath is level 7. So is Alph. Leon is level 6, and has learned a new skill. Theo is level 5. My spoils are 800 Rico, a Catseye, and a VitaMint. I intermission with Leon.

He says, “Did you get a good look at that!? Tough like algebra when I do my thing. That’s the power of the Young Lion King!” Um, wow. My options are “Young Lion King?” “Yeah, we all rocked,” or “Eh, you weren’t bad.” I pick the first for exposition purposes. He says “My father was called the ‘Lion King.’ That’s a pretty cool nickname, right? The ladies love a cool nickname.” Then he says I have to call him that from now on. And, it looks like that was the right answer, because I get a box. It’s…a VitaMint. Very underwhelming.

I save and enter the new area.

Chapter 5: Departure

The scene is in a church, with two soldiers. One of them is injured, but he looks so ridiculous that it’s hard to take seriously. Especially when he says “The pain, oh, the pain!” The other soldier calls for a doctor. Leon says this is horrible. Cecille decides to go help out.

Alph and Heath start talking, and it sounds like the Eurus Knights were experimenting on the Wind Lapistier, to see how powerful it was. They were also trying to find a way to use it against the Witches. But it sounds like Vanessa showed up, attacked them, and stole the Lapistier.

Theo wants to help out somehow, and Alph agrees. Heath wants to come along as well.

Looks like things are pretty bad. Another injured soldier with the same sprite as the other one is seeing things. Alph says he’ll never forgive Vanessa for this. I always did find it strange how easily she’s eventually forgiven.

All of a sudden, we hear Andre, proclaiming that Kingston is coming through. Once we talk to him, he says that he’s forming a group of the best of both groups of knights, and calling them the Crow Knights. Andre is their leader. Great. Also, it turns out that Heath is now one of them, and has to go. Andre boasts that now Heath is under his command. Poor guy.

It also turns out that the Garden Children have a mission. We’re supposed to take out the Witch of Immolation, as well as find and secure all the Lapistier. This order is repeated by Leon and Theo. Heath is a bit worried, but Kingston assures him that we’ll be OK. He says we’re now called the…Witch Busters? *funny sound effect plays* Leon and Andre are not impressed. Kingston is surprised that they don’t like the name. Heath suggests God’s Lapdogs “Fatal Hounds,” instead. So that’s our name now.

The menu comes up, as usual. There’s a shop, so I go there first. New weapons are available for Alph, Leon, and Theo, but I’m going to focus on armor this time. So I buy everyone hats and clothes, and equip them. The Toy Ring I got earlier increases magic, so I give it to Cecille. Selling my old equips gives me just enough money to buy one person a weapon. I buy a bow for Theo.

I leave the shop, and check out my conversation options. I can talk to Cecille, talk to Theo, or go to the library. For a change of pace, I think I’ll do the library first…but I hit the wrong option, and end up talking to Cecille. It’s not just Cecille, though, it’s her and Theo and Leon. They’re all worried about fighting Witches, and are confused about why Vanessa didn’t just kill them all last time. When I try to go to the library again, it puts me in the other conversation, where everyone’s excited and nervous about the new mission. Ugh, just take me to the library!

OK, finally. So we’ve got “The Book of Nil,” “Monsters and the Dark Era,” and “Intelligence Report.” The first of these says something about the Taboo, whatever that is. I don’t remember this before, actually. The second one says that there are two types of monsters: those who have always been around, and those who appeared after the cataclysm 1,000 years ago. The third is a report from Saki. Her report says that Vanessa has the Wind Lapistier and controls monsters. Also, there were reports from other people about non-fire spells being used, and other strange people being seen. Anyway, I save, and….WHAT? It continued the story for me? What the heck? That’s not what I wanted! Well, I guess I’ll go along with it. It’s not like the battles are hard or anything, at least not yet.

Anyway, Heath is telling us that the mission will be difficult, but that I can do it. Then Heath tells me to come over…and then tells me to fight him. Oh, man. I should probably save at the beginning of the battle, then. Obviously, Alph is the only one I can bring in. Here goes…

Heath moves first, but he’s too far away to hit me yet. I move just far enough away that he won’t be able to attack unless he uses magic. Which he doesn’t. I use the Rifle skill and move away. I sneak up from behind and attack. Wait a minute…Heath is suddenly level 10. Was he off leveling while I was talking to people?

Anyway, I attack and move away. He attacks back. I’m kinda low on HP right now, so I use a VitaMint to heal. He attacks me, I attack back, I win, I level. And I get a new skill. Sweet.

My spoils are 1400 Rico, an FP-Fizzy, Mittens, and Greaves.

Heath says Alph did a good job, and Alph is appointed leader of the Fatal Hounds. Level-up music plays, and he accepts. So now I need to get information about Vanessa from…Nicolai. Oh God, not him. He’s really annoying, but I’ll talk more about that when I find him.

Cecille knows where he’s at, because she apparently gets letters from him once a week. Leon remarks that she was his favorite. And that he keeps writing her letters, even though she’s never written back. Creeper much?

Anyway, Kopin says that he left his fertilizing shampoo out of the bucket. The picture is of him bathing in a bucket. Um, OK then.

I have two areas to pass through before I reach the next destination, both of which will involve battles. Wonderful. -_-

Anyway, that’s all for now. Keep an eye on this liveblog, K? I’ll probably update once or twice a day, but some days I might not. I have quite a bit of studying and homework to do, so that takes priority.

Last time, we were about to go to another town to find Nicolai. Before we can get there, though, we’ll have to go through two non-plot battles. Well, it’ll be a good chance to level up.

Before that, though, I’m going to use the money I got from the last battle to buy those weapons I couldn’t buy before. I do so, and return to the world map.

First place I have to go through is the “Wahl Plains. I no longer have Heath, so hopefully I’ll be getting some new companions soon. My opponents here are two Triheads (red Cerberuses), two Roosters (blue Roosters), and two Minnopis, which look like plant men with clown noses. I’ll just say this now: there are a LOT of Palette Swap monsters in this game. I’d say there are less than 10 types of monsters that all enemies in this game are derived from.

That said, I begin the battle, and…oh cool, Cecille can move three squares now. And it would seem that Alph has a Flash Drive now. No, I’m not talking about the USB things you plug into computers. Flash Drives are special attacks. Every time a character does something, this orange gauge goes up. It can go up to 3, and each character learns three Flash Drives over the course of the game. There’s an attack for each level of the gauge. Since this is the beginning of the game, Alph’s new Flash Drive will only be level 1. I can use it every time his gauge gets that high, or I can wait longer and use it more than once. I’ll be keeping an eye on that for now.

Theo’s new skill is called Focus, and it can raise his accuracy. Pretty useless – he’s an archer, he already has good accuracy. Alph has a new skill called Chasm, which hits three targets – the one in front of him, and the ones to either sides of that one. Leon is now level 7, and…hey look, he’s got a Flash Drive too! Cecille is level 6, and has learned a water-based attack spell called Aqua. Alph is level 9. I’ve just used his Flash Drive, and it’s called Burst Drive. It attacks two enemies in a row and can paralyze them. Leon’s is called Edge Slash, and it has a chance of lowering the enemy’s defense. Humorously, when I use it, it does just that right before the enemy dies.

My guys are leveling like crazy, so I’ll just tell you what level they are when I start the next fight.

OK, battle’s over. It was easier than I thought, considering it was four on six. My spoils are 1200 Rico, two VitaMints, and an Antidote. I decide to Intermission with Cecille. She says “You’re really strong, Alph. I envy you.” I can say “It’s all because of your help,” “My training’s really paid off,” or “I’m not that strong.” I pick the first option. The trick to these Intermissions is thinking about the character’s personality, and what they’d want to hear. And…she’s grateful, but it seems that wasn’t the best option. OK, back on the world map. I save, and move on to Eurus Way, where my next unimportant battle will be. At the moment, my character levels are as follows.

Alph: 9

Theo: 6

Leon: 8

Cecille: 6

Oh. Looks like I’m fighting humans this time – five Thieves and two Bandits. The Bandits have bows. Theo is killed partway through the fight, but I res him. Then Alph dies later, but that’s not so bad because he’s a bit overleveled. And then Leon dies. I’m out of Holy Feathers, so it’s up to Theo and Cecille to finish the remaining enemies. Which won’t be easy, but it will help them level. And dang. Cecille’s Aqua spell is strong, and…oh wait, she’s dead too. And somehow, miraculously, Theo manages to finish by himself. Nice job, kid!

My spoils are 1600 Rico, an Ammonia, an Antidote, and a Catseye. I don’t really know what the ammonia does, but it probably heals some status problem or other. In honor of Theo winning the battle, I’ll do the intermission with him.

He says “Those enemies were really strong! Are you used to all this fighting, Alph?” I can say “Of course! No problem!” “No, not yet,” or “Don’t be such a scaredy-cat!” I know he wouldn’t want to hear the last option, so I pick the middle one. He’s glad to know I feel the same way, but since I don’t get a gift, I guess it wasn’t the best answer.

Anyway, on to “Port Town Ridget.”

Chapter 6: Reunion

Everyone’s surprised at how peaceful the town looks. After all, there was just a battle there. Theo asks where Lucia went, and Alph says he doesn’t know and he doesn’t care. Leon teases him by acting like he sees Lucia, and Alph asks where. Of course, she’s not there. Cecille asks if he’s really that worried about her. Theo says he hopes he finds her soon, and Alph exclaims that it’s not like that. Oh, please. Alph totally likes her. I mean, she’s got “love interest” written all over her. Even if she is a Witch.

Cecille says those two will never grow up, and Alph says she’s not grown up either. Leon says some stupid stuff about having to change Theo’s diapers, and how he and Cecille used to take baths together(!). And then he turns the topic serious, amazed at how far they’ve come from that point. They can see the town from there, and…

Well, it’s not in good shape. It sounds like it’s been a while since the attack, but there’s a lot of damaged buildings and stuff. A random man says that it was Vanessa. Cecille asks if there’s anyone hurt, and says she can help. But it turns out no one was hurt or killed. It sounds like a stranger was healing civilians during the battle. Hm…Lucia had a healing spell when we fought with her. Could it have been her? Cecille remarks that only people from the Church can use healing magic.

All of a sudden, a dark-haired girl with a ponytail shows up out of nowhere. Turns out that it’s the Saki person that they’d been talking about. Apparently, Heath has ordered her to accompany us. She’s supposed to use her tracking skills to help hunt down Witches. Leon asks her where to find Nicolai, but it seems that he went to the Western Continent. Leon asks if she’s serious, and she says that her information is always correct. She gives Leon a demonstration, saying that he went to the flower shop the other day to talk to someone named Julia. Leon stops her, saying that she’s right about the accuracy thing.

Turns out that Ridget runs a ferry service, and that we could go to the Western Continent right now.

My options come up. There’s a shop, so as usual, I go there first. I buy armor first, because I just bought weapons at the Holy Congress. And…actually, the weapons here are the same kind that I already have. There is a new staff for Cecille, though, so I buy that after selling my old stuff.

When I select “Action,” my options are to talk to Saki or Theo, or go to the library. I’ll talk to Saki first. Everyone is happy to see her, but she says that Nicolai went to the Western Continent to find Witches. This is a little worrisome, but we’ll see what’s going on later.

Talking to Theo assures us that it was the Witch of Immolation that attacked this town, but we still don’t know who helped out the civilians. Saki doesn’t think it was someone from the church, so was it a Witch? That shouldn’t be possible – healing powers are obtained by asking for God’s permission to use His holy power. A Witch couldn’t do that…right?

I go to the library. As usual, there are three books. They are entitled “The Shadow Clan,” “The Great Sea,” and “The Appeal of Forbidden Fruit.” Alph says that the first one is about Saki’s family. Apparently, she’s from a small clan from the northern part of the Western Continent. They have special powers, and many of them do intelligence work for the Church. However, it sounds like they were attacked by bandits during a ceremony a while back, and only one person survived.

The next book is about the Saint Sea, but there’s nothing really of interest in that one. The third one is about Witches, and how they are born with the knowledge of Rune and are really mysterious. It was obviously written by Nicolai. He’s kind of crazy about the Witches…but that’ll become obvious once we find him.

I try to go to the world map and save, but again, it thinks I wanted to move on. Good thing I saved after I went shopping.

Everyone’s talking about how beautiful the ocean is. And all of a sudden, the blue haired girl with the mushroom hat shows up. Remember her? She’s the one who warped in and took Lucia. She introduces herself as the Torrent Witch, master of water. She has some seriously funny voice acting – I wish you guys could hear it. Then she says her name is Mel.

Leon is confused. How can a kid like this be a Witch? Alph calls her "midget witch" and asks her what she's doing here. She says she came to check on Lucia’s Rym, but she didn’t expect us to be so rude. So she decides to punish us in a fight. Greeeaaat.

Anyway, Saki joins us for this fight. She’s level 12. Alph is level 10, Theo and Leon are level 9, and Cecille is…er, level 6. She’s going to need to do some serious work this fight.

Anyway, I begin. First thing I do is save. Like I said, you can save in battle and reload your save files from there. There’s one slot that’s just for battle saves, and you can only have one at a time.

My opponents are Mel and five Mikopins, little blue Kopins with mushrooms on their heads.

Saki moves first. Her class is “Ninja,” no surprise there. She has two attack abilities, FireCard and VoltCard, as well as something called SpdJutsu that raises her already-high Speed. She also has a flash drive already.

Right now, I’m just moving everyone forward. I use a skill that Leon has called “Charge,” which raises his attack. The enemies move, including Mel. All the characters say silly little things when it’s their turn. She says “time to punish evil!” Interesting.

The Mikopins are close enough for me to attack now. I kill off one of them, and leave another wounded. Theo is now level 10, and he learns a new skill. Leon is now level 10 as well. The Mikopins are fairly easy to kill, but they’re pretty strong, too. Mel heals one of her Kopins. Cecille levels to 7, and learns a flash drive.

It’s Theo’s turn, and he attacks a nearby Mikopin. Alph levels to level 11. Saki, having been significantly wounded, goes off to heal. Alph is attacked by Mel, who does a good amount of damage with Aqua. Cecille heals him. Alph is Aqua’d by two of the three remaining Mikopins. Honestly, Vita Mints are much more useful than Cecille at this point – they heal 100 HP, and she can’t heal much more than 30. Man, she needs to level. Good thing heals and buffs always give 30 exp out of 100.

Theo kills a Mikopin. Leon is Aqua’d by the two remaining Kopins, as well as Mel. He dies. Cecille heals Theo for exp, even though he doesn’t need it. Alph kills a Mikopin. Theo uses Focus for exp. Saki attacks the one Mikopin left, and levels. Mel heals the one she attacked. Cecille heals pointlessly again. What? She needs the experience. Theo is now level 11. I use Alph’s flash drive on Mel, and she’s paralyzed. Theo kills the last Kopin. I could have killed Mel with Alph, but I think I’ll let Cecille finish her. Cecille attacks, and is level 8. Just FYI, FireCard and VoltCard suck. They do nothing to Mel.NOTHING.

Mel is no longer paralyzed. I can't let her heal herself, so I let Alph take her out. He levels to 12, and the battle ends.

My spoils are 1800 Rico, a Toxi Charm, an FP-Fizzy, and a MagiSoda. I will intermission with Cecille again.

Mel is pissed…and then she starts crying. She starts complaining about Alph. She says she feels sorry for Lucia, having this “screwy brat” as her fated kinship. Fated kinship, eh? Yep. Love interest.

All of a sudden, Lucia shows up. Alph asks her what Ryms and fated kinships are, but she just tells him to shut up. How could he do this to Mel? Alph asks again what a Rym is, but Lucia and Mel just leave.

Well, apparently, we’ve reached the Western Continent. Guess we’ll be seeing Nicolai soon.

And now for my intermission. Cecille asks if I have something to ask her. My options are “teach me how to pray,” “is being a priest hard?” and “where were you born?” I’m not sure which is the best answer, so I choose the second one. She says that she just hopes that her prayers are helping someone.

Kopin says that one of his Kopin friends was attacked by an evil monster, and simply wishes him good luck.

That’s all for now. So far we’ve seen three Witches, and only one of them seems anything close to evil. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Oh, and by the way, if you're reading this, could you please post? I'd like to know if anyone's interested in what I'm doing. :3

edited 19th Nov '10 9:58:20 AM by SapphireBlue

Last time, we’d just gotten to the Western Continent. Our objective is to find Nicolai, an expert on Witches. Hopefully we've gone to the right place this time. There are no battles in the way – I’m able to go directly to “Port Town Adwest.”

Chapter 7: The Informant

The first thing the group notices in town is that an argument is going on. A feminine-looking man with long red hair and glasses is trying to get to the Holy Capital, saying that he has information for Cardinal Kingston. The sailor he’s arguing with says he’s not allowed to, but the man keeps persisting. The sailor asks him who he thinks he is, and the man says he cannot divulge his identity. But Cecille recognizes him as Nicolai.

Nicolai looks surprised, asking who it is. He has a REALLY annoying voice. When he sees that it’s Cecille, he calls her “my love,” and is thrilled that she’s come all this way just to see him. Yeah, that’s Nicolai for you. When they say “expert on Witches,” what they really mean is “Witch fanboy.”

Saki gets right to the point and asks where the Witches are. Cecille says that they ought to explain first, and Alph takes her up on that. He says that they’ve been formed into a group called the Fatal Hounds, and that they’re hunting Witches. Theo says that they’re looking for Lapistier and the Witch of Immolation. Cecille says that they’ve been told to ask him about Witches. Turns out that he was looking for his “beloved” Witch of Immolation as well. He says something about a “Witch’s Secret” on the Western Continent. The rest of the group comments that he’s still obsessed with Witches. Cecille says that it’d probably be better to talk about this somewhere else. Turns out that Leon and Theo are hungry, so we go and find a place to eat.

The menu pops up. As usual, I go and check out the shop first. They’ve got new equips, both weapons and armor. I buy weapons first this time, and that’s really all I can buy. Since I’ve been having issues with the game choosing the wrong option, I decide to save before I talk to the rest of the group.

After doing that, I select “Action.” I can talk to Nicolai or Leon, or go to the library. So I decide to go to the library first. I can read “The Wings of God,” “The Land of Shtraberl,” or “The Book of Goone.” The first one is about the Knight groups, the Eurus and Zephyroth Knights. I was right – the Eurus Knights are to the east, and the Zephyroth Knights to the west. They are apparently nicknamed the Wings of God. Their duties are to subdue rebels, protect the people, and be ever vigilant against evil. The second book is about geography. This world has two large continents. Most of the land is in the continents of East and West Glabber. (What kind of name is Glabber?) There are other land masses as well, including the Holy Capital and the Kursegrad subcontinent. There are also small islands and other lesser places. The last book is apparently the prophecy that foretells the future of the world. It says that a thousand years after the Aldheld disaster, the world will descend into darkness again. God will descend to the world to free the world from the darkness, and the people will live in peace. That must have been what they were talking about in the beginning of the game, about the rebirth of God.

I talk to Nicolai, and he’s saying some creepy stuff about his passion for Witches. Leon is talking about how good the food is. Also, it seems like Leon and Nicolai are fighting over Cecille to some degree. Anyway, let’s advance the story.

So now we’re in a restaurant…but Nicolai says there’s a Witch nearby. Apparently, he can tell when that’s the case. Somehow. Leon makes an amusing comment about how if Nicolai was a normal citizen, he’d probably have been executed by now.

Nicolai says that we can probably find the Witch of Immolation in the Lethe Forest. Apparently it’s sealed off, and no one can enter it. He says that in that forest, there’s a town of Witches. It also has something called the Mother Lapis, a spirit that is the source of the Lapistier. It might even be the Witches’ source of magic.

Cecille says that if this place exists, why hasn’t the Church done anything about it? Nicolai actually doesn’t know either. All of a sudden, Vanessa shows up. Nicolai goes over to her (his sprite has heart eyes), and says his senses are off the scale. She says that it’s pretty impressive that he figured all this out. Too bad he’s just a human. Nicolai, on the other hand, is just thrilled that she’s real. She knocks him off her.

Sounds like Vanessa was just here for a drink. But now it looks like she wants a fight.

Nicolai is now in my party, and he’s level 14. I have to use him in this battle. I take everyone in, and begin.

Looks like we’re actually fighting in the bar. Isn’t someone going to complain if she sets the place on fire? Ah, well. My opponents are her, her Behemoths, and three Hikopins. Saki goes first, attacking one of the Hikopins. Vanessa uses an attack buff on one of the Behemoths, and moves closer. Leon attack buffs himself.

OK, so it appears that Nicolai is a “Savant.” He uses a crossbow. He has an attack buff and a defense buff, as well as a skill with a chance to blind an enemy. He buffs himself and Cecille for defense.

Saki is killed. Theo is level 12. Leon kills one Hikopin, and Nicolai kills another. Leon is level 11, and learns a new skill. Nicolai levels to 15. Leon is level 12.

OK, so now it’s just Vanessa left. I am REALLY wishing someone had a speed buff, so I could make Cecille move faster. Her slowness is probably why she’s so underleveled. I’ll try to have her kill off Vanessa. Well, actually, she just leveled to 9. But still. And she does kill her off, gaining 84 exp in the process.

My spoils are 1900 Rico, a RuneCharm, a RubyBand, a RubyRing, and an FP-Fizzy.

I will intermission with Saki.

Vanessa says something about Alph being Lucia’s Rym. Again. And she says she won’t let Lucia have him – she’s taking him for herself. She casts some kind of spell, but Theo gets in her way and it hits him instead. He collapses, saying that he feels like he’s burning up. Alph says he’ll never forgive Vanessa for this. She says that casting that Rune used up all her power, so she’ll have to leave…this time. She warps away.

Leon and Saki go after Vanessa, but quickly come back, saying they lost her. Meanwhile, Theo has fallen asleep. They go to an inn, as Cecille wants Theo to get some rest.

Later that night, Theo wakes up. He figures that he fell asleep, but comments that his arm hurts. Then he notices something wrong. The game won’t let me see what it is, but judging from his reaction, it’s probably not good. Saki comes in and notices as well. She says she’ll get Cecille, but Theo insists that she not tell anyone. He doesn’t want them to know, because he doesn’t want them to worry about him.

The next day, the group is deciding what to do. They have to find Vanessa, but they don’t know where she is. So they decide to look for Lapistier instead. After all, Vanessa is looking for those as well. If they go after the Lapistier, they’ll probably run into her as well. Apparently, there’s rumors about a mysterious stone in the town to the west. Saki says it’s probably the Fire Lapistier. Since Vanessa has power over fire, she’s probably going to want that one. So we decide to go tomorrow.

My intermission begins. Saki says “Do not worry, Alph. I am quite skilled in combat.” My options are “Just leave it to me,” “I’m counting on you, Saki,” and “You are pretty strong.” I choose the middle option. She says she won’t disappoint the team, and gives me something. It’s a VitaTonic.

Kopin says he’s taken a job as a waiter in the pub we were just at. By making customers happy, he feels he is a step closer to becoming the ultimate monster. Um…good for you, Kopin.

Looking at the map, I see I have one battle to go through before I reach the next town. But for now, I think this is enough.

Things are getting interesting about now, so keep an eye on this thread. ;)

Ah yes, Nicoli. I always saw him as a cross between Brock and Lezard. Lezard because of his appearance, and Brock because of his infatuation with witches.

edited 20th Nov '10 10:23:14 AM by Blissey1

Not familiar with Valkyrie Profile, but I see what you mean about Brock. *rolls eyes*

At least he has some bearing on the plot. He has an Expy in Luminous Arc 2 who might as well not even be there. His only purpose is to say stupid things and be slapped by someone. I couldn't stand the guy.

Alright, I'm back!

Last time, Vanessa tried to put some kind of curse on Alph, but ended up hitting Theo instead. We don’t know what’s wrong with him yet, but judging from his reaction, it can’t be good.

Oh, and by the way, I figure I might as well post pictures of the characters we’ve seen so far, just so that you know what they look like. So far, we have Alph,◊, Theo◊, Heath◊, Leon◊, Cecille◊, Saki◊, Nicolai◊, Lucia◊, and Mel◊. Vanessa, too, but I already posted a picture of her. I’m not going to post pictures of Kingston, Andre, or Johannes, though. I mean, they’re important characters and all, but…meh.

Anyway. With that out of the way, let’s get started.

I have a battle at Whittas Shore before I can get to the next town, so I bring everyone in. This game is very generous about the number of characters you can bring in. It lets you take in up to eight. There are fifteen playable characters, but I won’t tell you who the others are.

My opponents are two Salamands, two T-Birds, two Griffins, and a Minnopi. Funny enough, the Minnopi is the only one who isn’t yellow. And yes, the others are all Palette Swap versions of previous enemies. Told ya.

Theo levels to 13. Cecille levels to 10. Saki levels to 14. I accidently attack Leon, but Alph levels to 13 and learns a new skill. It’s called Shotgun, and it’s a ranged Ao E attack. Saki is killed. So is Alph. Theo is level 14. Nicolai is level 16. Leon is level 13.

I’m dragging the battle out a bit longer to give Cecille another level. It works. She’s now level 11. The battle is over. My spoils are 1700 Rico, two Antidotes, a Catseye, and a VitaMint.

I intermission with Cecille. She asks me if she’s gotten stronger. I can say “You’re very strong!” “You can do better!” or “You don’t need to be strong.” I think maybe I’ll pick the third answer. She doesn’t seem to like it, though. Oops.

Ah, well. Onto the next town, “Mining Village Gemarr.”

Chapter 8: Metamorphosis. (That doesn't sound good...)

We’ve been walking a long way, so we decide to take a break here. The people don’t seem to trust us, though. And Theo doesn’t seem to be feeling well. He says he is, but I doubt it. He wants to look around town.

So the menu comes up. I go to the shop first, as usual. They’re selling MagiMints, but they’re kind of expensive. I buy a few clothes and a few weapons, but I don’t have the money to buy much.

Under “Action,” I can talk to Theo or Nicolai. There’s also a library. Talking to Theo has him insist that he’s OK. He also wants a steak quiche. Talking to Nicolai has him telling us about this town. Apparently, they mine stones here, and there’s a chance that some of the stones might be Vitae. (Vitae = stones with Rune power, if you don’t remember)

I go to the library next. The books available are “Curses and Witches,” “The Round Table Council,” and “Researching Vitae’s Value.” The first one talks about how Karma is the thread that binds everything together. Rune, however, can influence Karma, which makes them very dangerous. The second one says that the Round Table Council is a group that maintains the scriptures of the Luminous Church. They ensure that the teachings of the Church are passed down to each new generation. Their name comes from the table that was initially used, which was made round so that no one person would seem any more important than any other. The third book talks about vitae. Apparently, some stones (and it only works with minerals) contain small amounts of Rune power. It was considered useless for a long time, since there was so little of it. However, people are working on finding ways to extract the power and put it into other objects.

I leave the library, and go to the world map to save. Then I choose to advance the story.

Everyone is talking about how boring the town is. But then some people start yelling about monsters. As usual, it’s our job to get rid of them. At the moment, Alph and Leon are level 13, Theo and Saki are level 14, Cecille is level 11, and Nicolai is level 16.

There’s five monsters – two Cerberuses, two RedSnakes, and one Gigas. Saki, being the speed demon that she is, goes first. Looks like the Cerberuses know a wind spell, and the RedSnakes know a fire spell. The spells are pretty weak, though.

Leon is killed. Nicolai is level 17. Theo is level 15. Dang, that kid is leveling fast. Saki is level 15. At the moment, one RedSnake and the Gigas are down. And now so is one of the Cerberuses. Alph is level 14. Cecille is level 12. I kill the other RedSnake, and then the other Cerberus to win the battle. Saki is level 16.

My spoils are 2000 Rico, a BlueRock, a SilkCape, a Belt, and a HolyWing. That last one revives someone with half HP, so that’ll be really useful. I will intermission with Theo.

A random civilian thanks us, but it’s not over yet. There’s one more monster. Theo takes it down. Someone thanks him for his help, but then he seems nervous.

We finally get to see a picture of Theo’s arm. It’s green, scaly, and it has claws. Ohhh, snap.

The guy screams for help, thinking that Theo is another monster. Theo doesn’t know what’s going on. Cecille points out the scales, saying that they’re like a dragon. Theo doesn’t want anyone to look. Alph asks him why he didn’t show them earlier, and Theo says he didn’t want anyone to hate him because of it. What the heck, Theo? No one’s going to hate you because of that. Which is exactly what Leon says.

Alph gets angry at him, asking why he didn’t tell them earlier. Does he not trust him? But Saki tells him that’s enough. Theo is the one who has been suffering the most.

Leon wonders if this will spread to the rest of him, and Alph says not to think about that. But Nicolai says that Leon is right to be concerned. If this continues to spread, then Theo will turn into a dragon. And apparently, we have to ask Vanessa to uncurse him. Wow, this REALLY sucks.

The townspeople come back, and kick us out. Looks like we’re going to have to leave.

My intermission starts. Theo says that Alph forgot to comb his hair. I can say “You and me both, huh?” “Shut up! It’s just helmet hair!” (but Alph doesn’t wear a helmet…) or “Look who’s talking!” I pick the first one. He comments that we match, and says that our hair has to match tomorrow, too.

I seriously can’t decide whether he’s adorable or annoying. I think he’s a little bit of both. It’s mostly his voice that’s annoying.

Kopin says that he has no close friends. So he asked Vanessa, and she told him to go to her house, because there was someone to meet there. When he got there, he found out it was just a radish.

Well, this isn’t good. Theo’s been cursed, and the only one who can undo it is Vanessa. Fat chance she’ll do that. But we’ve got to try, right?

That’s all for now. Looks like the story is getting interesting, huh? Keep checking in – it gets better. :D

edited 21st Nov '10 9:55:07 AM by SapphireBlue

you totally should post a picture of Andre, just so people can see his absurd helmet. Oh, and so people can see his MANLY BICEPS!

edited 21st Nov '10 2:37:40 PM by Blissey1

Just FYI, I probably won't be posting again for a while. I'm really into Avalon Code at the moment, and Golden Sun Dark Dawn comes out in three days. Along with that, I also have a lot of homework to do over this weekend. So chances are that it'll be some time before I update this liveblog.

That's not to say that I won't finish it, mind you. I will. It just might be a while until I come back to this.