My first real battle of the game. It's against Goblins, which is a great Call-Back to the early games. They're really working the nostalgia angle for all it's worth.
My first stop appears to be a checkpoint, where the ever-friendly guard tells me to "slog off" and calls us a bunch of urchins. Nice. Sol replies that "we've every right to be here as you!" ...I hope they didn't tip the localization team.
Fortunately, we're spared further banter by the arrival of a blue-haired boy. Given his hair color, I'm guessing this is Diana's brother.
A swordsman and Sol's teacher. Lost his parents at a young age. Brother of Diana. Yup.
His name is Aigis. Nope, he's not a robot girl. He appears to be a local hero, as even the surly guard defers to him. We again get a reference to the Empire recruiting good fighters. Sol seems to be happy Aigis might get recruited, but Diana doesn't seem happy about it.
Without further ado, Aigis joins my party. Aigis has both red magic and the Cover ability, which explains his name. He's also level 10 to Sol and Glaive's 3 and Diana's 1, so I'm guessing I won't get to keep him. Given that, I'm going to steal his equipment and give it to Sol, since it's much better than the crap he started with.
I'm left to my own devices on the world map, and some wandering around and random encounters later I find the castle town I saw earlier in the intro. Entering Lux Castle reveals that Sol and co try to sneak in on a regular basis. Those scamps!
Entering the town of Lux (creative with the names, ain't they?) starts a cutscene. Aigis is summoned by the King. He reassures Diana that he'll be back soon, but she doesn't seem so sure. Sol takes a few seconds, but he catches on that Aigis may have been recruited by the Empire, further hurting Diana's feelings. He's oblivious, of course. She smacks him for his insensitivity and runs off.
Glaive tells Sol that "if his head were any thicker, we could use it to fortify the castle walls", which I'll admit made me giggle. He reminds Sol that if Aigis leaves, Diana will, too, meaning they will never see each other again. Glaive suggests I go talk to Diana, and control is returned.
Lux is a pretty typical RPG starting hamlet. It has a small weapon/armor store with nothing I need now that I swiped Aigis' stuff. There's a Trauma Inn and an Item store, a couple houses, some NP Cs that say nothing important, and a pond I can wade in. Unfortunately, unlike IV, there are no items hidden in the pond. Boo. There are, however, some items hidden in barrels around town to be pilfered.
Exploration done, I take dear, oblivious Sol to talk it out with Diana. He apologizes, and she yells at him not to worry about it. Understandably, he's spooked off. I take the opportunity to steal a Maiden's Kiss from a pot in her house.
Glaive is waiting outside, and he tells me I should just leave Diana alone. Diana emerges, echoing the advice, and telling us not to follow her to the castle and that she's planning to sneak in. Despite that, she immediately joins the party.
Eesh, Tsunderes are scary.
After a pit stop at the store for some slightly better gear for Diana and Glaive, it's time to infiltrate Lux Castle. Glaive reveals a secret passage hidden under one of the statues in the courtyard. Somehow, the guards don't notice three kids opening a secret passage and sneaking into the castle right under their noses.
Tune in later for our first dungeon!
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