There are three light pillars to worry about. This one is the main one to deal with- you can get an Insula elsewhere, but the third one is outright useless right now.
When you're not going to Nautica, you turn into a bubble, and instantly reappear in your destination. DQ6 allowed you to sail on the bottom of the sea, with new encounter tables and miscellaneous interesting stops like sunken ships and mermaid houses. None of that is in this game.
Welcome to the Champs Sauvage. There are two Town Stories here.
Erik: Before I teamed up with you I travelled all over Erdrea, picking pockets and sleeping under the stars. Don't think I ever came here, though. Let's head to the nearest town- when you find yourself in an strange place, it's always good to talk to the locals and get the lay of the land.
Veronica: Did you see her, Erdward? There was a little girl in a fancy uniform walking up the path just a little while ago. There must be some kind of school around here. Let's go and have a look, shall we? Maybe we'll learn something!
Serena: What a strange place... The north is so different to the south- it's almost as if they're two completely separate worlds. Well, Erdward? Which area shall we take a look around first?
Sylvando: Amaaazing! I never imagined we'd be able to use Lorelei's harp to sail through an underwater cave and pop up in the middle of a lake! Maybe this isn't the only place we can get to through those whirlpools. Come on, Erdward- let's check them out! The Salty Stallion wants to go spelunking!
Jade: Ever since the fateful night we were driven from Dundrasil, Rab and I have wandered the world, keeping our true identities secret. We passed through these lands several times, I'm sure. There's a village with some famous old ruins over the bridge to the south.
Rab: Jings! One minute we're at the bottom of the ocean, the next we find ourselves in the Champs Sauvage! How long has it been since me and the Princess last set foot here? It can only be fate that's brought us back!
If you're wondering what Jade and Rab are on about, the Champs Sauvage is supposed to be accessible from Costa Valor, but a rockslide currently bars access, hence using a magical harp to pop up here.
North is L'Academie, south is Phnom Nonh. L'Academie is the easier objective and there's also stuff in L'Academie that makes doing it first a very good idea. The river south of where we start is the division between North and South Champs Sauvage, so I feel like the game does want us to start in the North first.
They're fully aware of how hideous they look, and make deft use of Dazzle to avoid being gawked at with disgust.
...Look, the lump mage might actually be ugly by DQ standards, but it's not that bad! They come from DQs 3 and 8 and know Lullab-eye, Bang, Dazzle and Fuddle.
They were also called "Nev" in early translations, and that's just funny to me.
Welcome to L'Académie de Notre Maître des Médailles.
Despite the theme being perfect for an educational setting, this DQV song was actually used for the castles in its game of origin.
We seem to have bumped into an assembly of the students.
They have an anthem to sing. There's no voice acting on the song, despite this being, you know, a voiced cutscene. Perhaps they couldn't find enough little girls to sing.
This guy is the Headmaster of L'Academie, and he has a very iconic vocal tic. Connoisseurs of mini medals love to pepper their speech with the words "minimal" and "maximal", and only a few similar words- "miniature" being their favourite.
I think this is the Head Girl in some manner.
...
Did they add his name just there? Well then, Maxime fits right in with the names of Medal Kings throughout the series: Minikin, Dominicus, Medford, Maximo, Maximillian, Minnie, and Max Meddlin' all love names that include puns involving the words "mini" or "maxi". Except Medford. He just has a pun on medal.
All the girls rush right past him, and poor Maxime has to dodge out of the way of them all.
Now that the girls have moved on back into class, he is prepared to spot and greet us.
By, uh... zipping up.
Whatever it is about us, this guy really likes it.
...If it's a minimal distance, why do we need to go there? Why can't we just have the conversation out here? Perhaps he has to go grab something.
He quite literally skips back into his office.
Erik: Wow, this place is so, like, refined. Heh, I'll bet the rich little girls studying here have never met a guy like me before. Seriously, though- has somebody told them I'm a wanted man? It's like they're too scared to look me in the eye...
Veronica: This academy's uniform is really stylish, don't you think? It's just so chic- I'm sure it would suit me to a T!
Serena: There's a lovely smell coming from the school building. It must be tonight's supper- stew, if I'm not mistaken. My mouth's watering already!
Sylvando: A school!? All the way up here!? Colour me confused, honey! And why in the world is their school song all about mini medals? That fellow with the big, bushy beard said to meet him inside the building. Let's see what Mister Whiskers has to say.
Jade: When I was the same age as these schoolgirls, I was studying too. Rab was teaching me how to perform the perfect roundhouse kick. I can still remember the very first time I was able to put my boot through a brick wall. Such happy days...
Rab: Here to get some practise talking to girls, are ye? Hyeh heh! When I was your age, they were the ones who came to me!
Take it in, folks: The one time in the game Erik notices the fact he's a ladykiller. I don't know how he does it, and I wish I could be that cool.
Sylvando: Ah, to travel from place to place collecting mini medals, learning all about the world and blossoming into lovely young ladies! The students of this school are so lucky! If we find any mini medals on our travels, we should bring them back here right away so that we can blossom into lovely ladies too! Wouldn't that be wonderful, honey?
This is probably Sylvando's L'Academie line after you talk to Maxime. I question Sylvando a lot when he has some of his weirder moments, but this line might just take the cake.
La Collectrice doesn't really have any role in anything, but she's an idol for which the ladies of L'Academie look up to.
L'Academie is a school that teaches the art of gathering mini medals, and is the place where mini medals are turned in for the rest of the game.
It is also a finishing school for girls, and girls only. How mini medals and proper socialisation connect with one another doesn't really connect, but both ideas work when they're called on. Usually, it's the finishing school thing. The mini medal thing is just the gameplay function of L'Academie.
There's a well over on the other side with this inside it.
This is a reference to the unnamed Medal King of the DQ3. While most Medal Kings set up shop until around this point in the game- when you're let loose on the game with unprecedented freedom- the DQ3 Medal King lives in a well in your starting town. It's good to give you early rewards for mini medals, but it's still just kinda weird and hilarious.
...I don't remember if he even had a house.
The idea of men so crazy about Mini Medals that they give away rare and valuable prizes to random adventurers who supply them with them doesn't get criticised often enough.
Mini medal down here. There are Mini Medals here. For some reason.
Times like this I wish I could play as Jade so I could hope Jade's "collecting sparkly" animation was this. Or maybe Serena. Seems like something Serena would do.
...You know, I think there's more to La Collectrice and Minette Maximillien than I realise.
...To be... young? Innocent? I'm not really sure how much of an education you can get if you don't even know what an education is.
This slime seems to be having fun. This is something you might've spotted in the opening anthem: monster ladies (...however people can determine that) are as equally welcome in L'Academie as human ladies. Honestly, even the girls themselves don't seem to question the fact they're being educated alongside monsters.
This one is a teacher. I presume Madame Labouche's attitude helps suppress any confusion or malice directed at monsters. Madame Labouche is a kisser, a recolour of the lips we have yet to meet- she is not a custom recolour of the lips, despite what the green hue might have you believe.
Look, the game literally won't let me drop Erdward, Sylvando and Rab. I would love to run around here with a Jade/Serena/Veronica party.
Despite saying this (and later actually doing something about it), Madame Labouche does not successfully hinder Erdward's freedoms within L'Academie. It's ridiculous, the crap Erdward can do around here.
Over on this side is one of the three Quests available here in L'Academie, given by the delinquent girl Zazie. Well, I assume she's a delinquent. She introduces herself in this manner, squats, and is the only girl wearing a red uniform.
Despite her name, the threat Zazie feels and the fact she owns a whip, Waloppe is actually a really good teacher, and no other element of her characterisation makes corporal punishment even in-character. I assume Waloppe is formally trained in whips-as-offensive-weapons in case L'Academie is attacked by evil monsters.
Zazie hopes that being able to replace the whip will spare her punishment.
The use of the "...misplaced" term makes me super curious what happened here.
Zazie also gives a recipe for making this whip.
I don't think Zazie can tell if the whip has been equipped and unequipped (...also I feel like Veronica holding the whip shouldn't count against you), but she will take the whip away, so if you want one for yourself, it's probably safer to make a spare. Not that you would: the +4 damage and +10% damage to humanoids isn't worth it over the Scorpion's Tail's paralysis (and if you haven't found one of those yet, they're available in shops now).
The whip is called a Queen's Whip. And Waloppe is certainly a queen among teachers.
Classic. We can run in the halls just fine, of course.
This is Madame Waloppe, incidentally. The game doesn't name her now, but not only is she the only teacher we can really bump into, she does come up on her own later.
...You know, I think I understand why Waloppe might want some means to fight monsters. I'd probably recommend something other than a whip, but I guess the AoE is good for her needs.
There is a library and a book about the Eyrie to read, and Waloppe telling you about it is labelled ingame as a hint with a pink dot on the map. She also mentions something about the birds of the Eyrie being attracted to shiny orbs.
This girl isn't being challenged by Waloppe's class. I'm not sure what options you have for a boarding school to help her- poor Hermione didn't get anything other than Harry's class, and as advanced as his material is, I don't think that truly counts as extra-curricular.
...I somehow don't believe this story.
She's seated right next to someone who isn't quite so talented, although it does sound like her intelligence is nothing to sneeze at.
She just really liked the uniform.
...I don't understand your ambition, but I admire your pursuit of it.
Candida is the Head Girl who led the girls in our introduction.
...I'm not actually sure which one Livvie is, but she also brings up the fact these birds have an Orb.
There are twins!
...I think you were right the first time.
Veronica and Serena claim to have different leaves on Yggdrasil. It's not my job to tell you which one is telling the truth, but I'm leaning towards Veronica's explanation.
This girl is asleep. While sitting next to a walking corpse. Told you the girls seem to largely not care about the fact they're in class with monsters.
As for the walking corpse, I don't believe any pre-existing walking corpse has pink hair, so this is a unique design. Lumbering Jack from DQ10 and one of the Monsters games seems to be closest.
Malodorine is proud of her scent. She's actually rather sensitive about her scent- without her perfume, she clams up.
The Church in L'Academie takes the form of a nun sitting at a teacher's desk. She also mentions something about pupils long past, which you can investigate if you come looking around at night-time- although with how night works around here, I'm not in much of a hurry.
I assume those doodles on the blackboard compose the clue on where that mini medal in the wheat field is in Zwaardsrust. I'm told the clue is on a L'Academie blackboard.
Books! Lots and lots of red ones, too! A bibliotheque is merely a French library.
Since long before the Medal King ever became a king, he lived only for his beloved mini medals. Gathering as many of his little golden friends as he could was all he ever cared about.
But the moment he held his newborn daughter in his arms, something changed. Suddenly he found himself caring about someone else’s happiness. He wanted the best for his little girl, no matter what it took.
For three days and three nights, he racked his brains, trying to think how he might ensure that the princess grew to be a wise, graceful, beautiful woman who loved mini medals just as much as he did.
Then, on the morning of the fourth day, as he performed his daily exercises (specially tailored to help him seek out mini medals, of course), he had an idea.
“Eureka!” he shouted. “I shall create a school where young ladies can learn of the wonders of mini medals!” And so, l’Académie de Notre Maître des Médailles was born!
...Of all the ways for a Medal King to found a school for the education of young ladies' excellence and fondness for mini medals, this is certainly one of them.
This gets you recipes for the Smart Suit, Posh Waistcoat and Bling-Bling Belt. The former are both Charm-heavy outfits for the same set of male characters (Sylvando being the only person who cares), while the Bling-Bling Belt is an accessory for everyone that gives some Charm. Good for Sylvando and Jade, but still definitely filler.
Wonder Number Seven: The mysterious Rose of the Window, a student slain in a terrible accident.
This spirit, once a pupil of l’Académie, is doomed not only to remain in our world, but to remain in the very spot where she met with her untimely death.
She appears in the prep rooms at night, and is never seen anywhere else. Her mournful face can be seen staring from the windows on cold and lonely evenings. At what she gazes, only she can know…
Perhaps she still dreams of graduating- something she can never do- and of the chance to go out and see the big, wide world...
Well isn't that just depressing. What about the other six?
This is the only thing found in this book. It's not even the origin of that gold sparkly, it's just a cute book that rewards you for reading it. Thank you for reading this book. This book loves you.
This is the book needed to help out in Alltrades Abbey in Tickington. The clue "where young madamoiselles gather" is your hint that it's talking about L'Academie, the all-girls finishing school, and not a brothel. Although what a Bunny Girl's Bible is doing here is anyone's question. I'm surely doing the educators a favour here.
Conchella is coming up with riddles, but she's still working on it. Prepare yourself for brainteasers later.
A skullrider’s steed is fast and strong, but not so fast that the rider’s tummy doesn’t start to rumble before he reaches his destination. Anyone who’s travelled on monsterback knows that it’s hungry work.
Which is why, whenever I set out to see the world atop a monster mount, I make sure to pack a hearty lunch.
Two large rounds of sandwiches and a pot of coffee with three lumps of sugar and plenty of milk- the perfect traveller’s picnic!
With that in my knapsack, I’m ready to sit back and watch the world go by in style, knowing that I have a real treat awaiting me when hunger strikes!
...I'd complain about not feeding our mounts, but let's be fair, we're not feeding ourselves.
This gives you a massive complement of ten new kinds of necklaces. Nine of them give status resistances (Confusion, Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Spell/Ability Seal, Beguile, Bedazzle, Curse, and MP Theft) and the tenth gives Atk. The resists are rated at 10% at +0 and 25% at +3. You're going to love the Protective Pendant (resistance to Beguile).
Mes chéries, if ever you are lost as to how to be perfect little ladies, I ask you to do one thing for me- remember the example of the mini medal hunt.
What is the first thing we do when we set out in search of our little friends? That’s right- we unroll our trusty world maps and think carefully about where we will begin our search.
In other words, we exercise our knowledge of the world and our powers of reason. It is these two things on which all our actions as mature, thoughtful ladies must be based.
To discover mini medals is to discover the world. And this is why we seek them out- because to be a woman in this day and age means to be a thinker and a doer par excellence!
...
I can't believe it, but I love this explanation for why the mini medal school is a finishing school.
This book, by contrast, is significantly less interesting.
Deep in the eastern reaches of the Champs Sauvage, a secluded valley sits high in the mountains. The locals call it the Eerie Eyrie, for it is the nesting place of that most infernal of flying fiends- the elysium bird.
Like many of its smaller avian cousins, this bird shows a compulsive interest in objects that twinkle and glisten, and will roam far and wide in search of such treasures.
The most egregious example of this behaviour occurred quite recently, when a particularly aggressive individual attacked a nearby manor house.
The beast tore through the very roof of the building, and made away with a large silver orb- the most priceless heirloom of the noble family who dwelt there.
The monster was thought to have taken the orb back to the Eyrie, but a party sent to recover it never returned. It seems likely that both they and the treasure they sought will never be seen again…
I'm sure we'll be able to have that search party beat. By this point, I wouldn't blame a party of normal people for not being able to do what we can, but it's fairly close.
This hint NPC tells us about the book that tells us about the plot. They really want us to know about the Orb in the Eyrie.
That whip is way outclassed. We could've bought a better one already. This one's the Dazzle one, though, and you can't get that effect on any stronger whip. The Silver Tiara is good for Charm on your ladies, and the Safety Goggles are good for Beguilement protection too. Someone's clearly telling you to get some of that. (Same 10-25% protection on both, but the Protective Pendant is probably the better deal.)
There's a shop here with a bunch of rare materials. The Angel Bell also cures confusion, but you'll use it plenty in alchemy. There are six recipes that need them, even some lategame recipes.
You can also purchase Perfectionist Pearls at... 100G a pop? I thought it was 1000! Well, that drastically increases the value of buying equipment and improving that as opposed to alchemising your own. The latter is still usually more convenient, but, you know, options.
...You don't even charge for the bedrooms? Just because the Headmaster likes me doesn't mean I should be freely let into the bedrooms.
Huh, the vice-principal is sitting over in the cafeteria.
She found a dusty diary and wants to resolve the conflict within.
...I also find it weird that the labelling of her dialogue window waits a textbox after her name comes up.
In all seriousness, this might just be the most important Quest you do in the whole game.
So then, let's just casually invade some forgotten student's privacy...
These are actual directions.
...Oh. I, uh...
...I'll just...
...get right on that... just let me... don't mind me...
The head dinner monitor is one of the shorties?
...You kids are spoilt.
Their chef works with pride, but also a grim sense of "dear Yggdrasil I have to feed dozens of them". And that's ignoring the monsters- who knows what their caloric intakes are!
Be nice to your cafeteria workers.
You can even run around the dormitories. I feel like stealing this girl's mini medal should get me expelled on the spot.
“Grubby, Grubby Grublins”
(A Traditional Zwaardsrustian Folk Song)
Don’t be shy- sing along!
Grubby, grubby grubliiins, so small and strange and lumpy! ♪
Grubby, grubby grubliiins, some are gloomy, some are grumpy! ♪
Gloomy grublins- always sad! ♪
Grumpy grublins- always mad! ♪
Come on little grublins, oh it’s not so bad! ♪
Grubby, grubby, grubby, grubby, grubby grubliiins! ♪
Sounds like something Annette would compose.
Standing in the unkempt field behind the school, the wind playing with the crimson scarf wrapped tightly around her neck and tousling her auburn hair, Emily’s eyes burned with barely concealed rage.
Finally, Matilda appeared. The two girls locked eyes. The stalk of an unripe cherry poked from the corner of Matilda’s mouth. “You took your time, Emily!” Her voice was harsh, almost screaming.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full, Matilda,” Emily snapped back, “You know how I hate that! You wouldn’t want to make me angry now, would you?”
Matilda grinned her wicked grin and spat the cherry pip high into the air, where it soared in a lazy arc.
And it was then that Emily realised: the moment the pip hit the ground would mark the start of the fateful final fight between these two long-standing rivals.
…To be continued! Will Emily survive!? What will happen to Matilda!? Read the stunning conclusion in next month’s issue: The Scarlet Scarf’s Farewell!
...So what is this book about, again? I can't tell if it's supposed to be a lesbian romance or a duel of the century between rivals. Or possibly both. I also feel like there should be a before and an after book somewhere.
The third Quest around here is with Purscilla, the Lips. You can... sorta tell the difference between lips and kissers by looking at Purscilla and Labouche, but apart from the lip colour, I can't.
...That's all we get to go on?
...I don't get how you solve that one with my help. Either you're too scared to know the answer or you're brave enough to read the thing yourself.
...Whatever you say, miss.
Sounds easy enough, anyway.
The fact this hammerhood is a woman amuses me to no end.
...How is this room in danger of sudden wind draughts? I think you have bigger problems than losing that newsletter.
That also sounds like a you problem. Then again, this is before metal-block printing.
...Actually, wait, wouldn't woodcut printing help here? Maybe if they dispose of the woodcuts...
A signboard in the Eerie Eyrie? There can't be too many of those.
Up here are a pair of two girls chattering between each other.
The latter is a bit of a traditional young girl fantasy, the former... fairies aren't big in the world of Erdrea, but they're not unknown to Dragon Quest.
These girls may just have romantic inclinations for one another.
...Or at least one of them does. I wish the best for the other one.
Now then, this gold sparkly...
This is the memory box that Madame Beauvoir wanted to find. The gameplay clue she offered about the shadow casted at a specific time of day is, in fact, a valid gameplay clue, but the L'Academie inn doesn't allow time control. If you know the memory box is in... this part of the garden, it's just a matter of looking for the yellow sparkles. Which isn't the easiest thing in the world.
Right to Beauvoir!
So lets have a look at what's inside that memory box.
...Heliodor?
...I wonder how much this woman actually wound up liking the prince in the first place. This is... pretty grim for the poor girl.
...What a poor girl.
I'm... I don't really have much I feel I want to say.
It turns out, though, that this girl was indeed a friend of Beauvoir's. I presume the diary, then, was left somewhere where her friend expected Beauvoir might look.
The fact they had an argument about it implies the girl had positive feelings for the prince, which is the main redemptive quality he has in the course of this quest.
Unfortunately for Beauvoir, her friend is dead, and no conflict resolution is going to be of assistance.
"So many years" doesn't specify how long it was, but considering how young (ish) Beauvoir looks, I think we're supposed to take the lady as Jade's mother- ie Carnelian's wife, ie the Prince in the story is Carnelian. Making Carnelian come off poorly here reflects badly on Carnelian before the fall of Dundrasil- a Carnelian that we're not really supposed to think of as that bad a guy.
Beauvoir, for her own reasons, decides to part ways with her friend's treasured keepsake.
Beauvoir doesn't realise it, and Party Chat doesn't help us know how much Jade's figured out, but since this ribbon belonged to her mother, this is certainly a very fitting fate for it.
Beauvoir gets her closure, and we get quite possibly the best accessory in the game, and certainly the best accessory available until the real endgame prizes. Yes, I'd rate this higher than the Bunny Tail.
A little Defence, a little Charm, and 3 MP regen per turn for Jade.
Extending to 6MP at +3. The gimmick of Jade is that she has low MP, and her abilities are scaled to match. With this equipped, every Ability Jade has that's cheaper than 6MP (such as Can Opener, Thunder Thrust and Vacuum Smash) is now functionally free, and even more expensive abilities can be quickly recouped with more conservative actions. The Bunny Tail is good because it gives you more alchemy ingredients for a nebulous "later". The Belle's Bow singlehandedly turns Jade from a merely strong attacker to a character that breaks the rules of conservative RPG play and can use her powerful attacks almost freely. Whatever the damage comparisons are between Erdward's powerful Unbridled Blade and Jade's Multithrust, there is no substituting for the fact that Jade can pretend her Multithrust is a regular attack.
One thing about the Queen's Whip for Zazie is that she only cares about +1. Don't bother trying for +3 if you get a +2 or whatever. You can't use it for anything else, so might as well just accept a +1.
This is something you really don't want to skimp out on. Go for the +3.
When someone mentioned fairies in the garden upstairs, I don't think it was with this tockle in mind.
The Neverglade is a mysterious forest to the east of Mostroferrato, accessible only by flying over reefs with a magic carpet. This place is a Lost Woods, complete with the Japanese title 迷いの森, and navigating the place successfully allows access to the mysterious land of the fairies. Although the average party will never be able to get that far...
There's an Yggdrasil root here, and no particular reason we might want to use it.
...And a little girl to utterly humiliate when we just casually find out what it's for.
This root allows us to rewatch any cutscene in the game... that we've seen, of course.
...I just noticed that the Faris story is called "Introducing... the Great Sylvando!". Rab and Jade were more important to their introductions and they didn't get named either time.
Worth noting is that your characters use the vanilla armours and equipment if you rewatch them in this.
Mini medal in Maxime's office.
Yeah, sorry I ran around the entire school first.
Yes, this line of dialogue is voiced. As a result, there's a pronounciation on the full title of L'Academie. Annoyingly, though, I can't seem to figure out the link.
The one missing element is the question of who puts the medals there. This question is never answered in the mythos of the series. Probably fairies. I don't think I want to know the answer.
Apparently one can have a mini medal hunting affinity. Maybe he can just spot the dozens of mini medals in my pocket.
What about Veronica, Serena or Jade?
...Actually, wait, never mind, I don't think I want to risk them losing their place in the party.
Maxime makes the rules, and if there is a way to allow Erdward to go rewarded for his mini medal hunting fervour, he will take it.
Yay?
Well, that's a benefit.
Well, OK, we already had an album, to which Maxime is incredibly grateful he thought of trying that out.
He says this now... at any rate, he gives us not only Page 2 of the album, but Page 3 too.
So then... how many stamps have we earned now?
14 new ones.
At 25 Medals, we receive a particuarly valuable and important piece of armour, the uniforme de L'Academie. There are three of these in the game, one for each of our lovely ladies.
And 30 gives us a recipe book. This gives us cosmetic armour for Rab.
Dangit, missed it by that much. Ah well, I'm sure there'll be another medal quickly.
And turn in the whip before we leave...
Maybe next time she'll use a Hypnowhip. The Dazzle is more than valuable.
...Oh yeah, this quest rewarded Mini Medals.
The Falcon Blade is a candidate for the best sword in many Dragon Quest games. It is not the strongest blade around, but it lands two blows in every normal attack. Starting in DQ6, where physical attackers got better offensive options than normal attacks, high might weapons started to outclass the Falcon Blade, and that will be its fate in this game, too. It has its upsides in the near future, and we'll be using plenty of it, but it's not an endgame sword- and I'd probably be disappointed if it was.
Here are the prizes for Kit Fit For a King. The Crown of Dundrasil gives 3MP after battle at +3, and the Drasilian Dress Coat has 25% resistance to Spell Seal, Confusion and Beguilement at +3. If you're using Rab, these are excellent equipment options.
I got the Crown, but not the Coat.
Rab's back in his kingly duds, too. Not bad for coming from a little girl's school.
Like the Belle's Bow, you're going to want +3 copies of the Uniforme de l'Academie. Two of them will do.
The Uniforme de l'Academie gives a bonus to item drop rate in an armour slot- combine this with Bunny Tails and watch those treasure chests fly!
One Uniforme de l'Academie is enough to outfit all three of our lovely madamoiselles with a traditional all-girls schoolgirl outfit in the cosmetic slot. I was never big on the schoolgirl aesthetic, but on their own merits, these outfits are probably some of the cooler designs the girls get. Although I probably will forget whether I'm using a Uniforme or not with the whole "using the cosmetic armour design."
Since we'll have need of it, I upgrade the Falcon Blade too.
The Falcon Blade is +13 Atk on a good sword Erik has already, and attacks twice on top of that. If he wasn't using boomerangs, this would make him huge. And even then, boomerangs won't always be helpful.
As healslimes go, their repertoire of spells leaves something to be desired, but don't think they don't know it- it's a constant source of shame.
Medislimes are the awkward middle cousins between Healslimes and the famous recolours Cureslime. They first appeared in DQ4, surprisingly, but they only came back come DQ9, 10, and the remake of 7. All they know is Midheal- which is still pretty impressive. They're mostly around to be more annoying than Healslimes (that only know Heal) and less annoying than Cureslimes (that know Fullheal).
Apparently, 'Silver' is the name they most often give their slimy steeds. It's something to do with their favourite adventure serial...
Hi-ho Silver. Metal slime knights, despite the name and appearance, are not Metal Slimes in any way. DQ9 justifies this by the metal slimes bad enough to get caught by knights are the ones with the least battle experience. They appeared in DQ5 and have a perfect record since, and in this game, all they have to their name are crits and the normal Heal spell.
And we can ride these ones, too. Fly, bunnies, fly!
And a campsite over here. Now we have a convenient zoom point, it's time to talk Tickington for a jaunt.
Time to pick this prize up.
...Apparently it's definitely material that shouldn't have been in a finishing school's library.
I did not need to know that about Abbot Jack.
...How? Why? I've never actually read a bunny mag, but I've heard good things about the articles (genuinely). Have I been missing out on this?
And now Alltrades is able to resume business, giving the DQ6 Hero, Carver, Ashlynn, Milly, and all their assorted hangers-on the ability to change class and learn the powerful skills necessary to stand up to the Dread Fiends.
And with that, half the old men turn into bunny girls, and the other half form an orderly queue.
So does Jade, you're not alone.
Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and say goodbye.
Trans-positive grandma? Somehow I still doubt this is what she had in mind.
The costume's cute, I guess. But can't you just buy those? Bunny tails don't give item drop rate in DQ6, so you can get them in shops.
...Are you sure that counts as "not being fun and games" when you seem to be enjoying that part?
...What the hell is going on here?
I don't think that bothers them.
Some kind of magic.
It's a good idea to visit the Neverglade early, because the completion requirements are relatively strict compared to other requirements within Tickington.
Erik: There's nothing but trees, no matter where you look. How the heck are you supposed to find your way round this place? I guess they call it the Neverglade because once you enter it, you never get out...
Veronica: Look, Erdward! There's someone over there! Under that tree! ...What? You didn't see them? Hm... That's strange. I could have sworn blind there was someone there...
Serena: This is my kind of place! Trees all around, and nature as far as the eye can see! Green's my favourite colour in the whole world! ...What's that? Oh, you already knew?
Sylvando: Do you hear that, darling? ...No? Exactly- total silence! There's nothing quite like a forest for peace and quiet. We'll have to come back here for a picnic someday. Can you imagine anything more fun? It'll be a total scream!
Jade: This forest reminds me of the night I fled Dundrasil. The night I saw your mother for the last time... Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to cry. I've shed enough tears over the years. It's just... Well it's sad, that's all.
Rab: I remember reading in an auld book about a forest that led to the realm of the faeries. I wonder if it could be this one? I'm not sure we'll ever find out, mind. They say the faeries are shy as anything and have all sorts of clever tricks and ruses to keep humans from finding their kingdom. ...Now I come to think about it, I wouldnae mind a beautiful faerie playing some tricks on me.
We are welcomed to the Neverglade by this dwarf.
The Land of Nod is some kind of biblical reference. Not one I fully get, but DQ9 had a location called the Tower of Nod. It was involved in one of the wireless quests, so I'm not sure what all the lore and such is.
Now that's an important note: Adults can't see fairies.
...This is a legitimate threat to worry about? Sure, it sucks for the fairies, but the sealing of this entrance of the world of fairies isn't that bad, is it?
Let's see if we can't give that monster what for.
...Wait, didn't you say the fairies weren't immune? I'm sure something'll come up.
We've got DQV's encounter tables to plunder! And also a Lost Woods to navigate. Entrances can occasionally double up on each other, but it isn't entirely divorced from a normal map.
Go north immediately to encounter some valuables up in this cave.
I think this was here in the original, too. Elfin elixir is a max MP restore, and it is very valuable later. Suffice it to say, don't waste this actually restoring your MP mid-exploration session.
(Yes, this is where the dwarf lives in the original game.)
Enemies with Pep! Meep.
Seed of magic down in this crossroads. This is probably the easiest part of the map to land in, and in the original, it held a stronger prize- a Faerie Foil, a powerful sword for female characters- the mages. It kinda fizzled out of regular use after DQ7, only appearing in two games.
Their pitch-black bodies allow them to stay completely concealed in the shadows, from where they can launch lethal attacks with impunity.
The hypothermion is an enemy that's actually originally from DQ5 (they appear contemporary to this part of the game, but don't actually make their home in the Neverglade), appearing also in DQ10. They appear in 3D mode during the events of Phnom Nonh, so they're not too surprising, but they're still tricky. They can lay calamitous curses and know the spells Crackle and Whack.
It has never occurred to me that the underlying pun here is "hypothermia."
Now then, as alluded to by the dwarf, the only way to see fairies is to have a child around. The DQ5 Hero can see fairies during the early part of the game, when he himself is six, and when visiting the Neverglade, he enlists the help of his eight year old children to manage the trick. Us, we need to count on the help of Veronica, who is not actually a child, but apparently the fairies feel otherwise.
The fairies are asleep, and don't seem happy changing that fact.
While non-humans that are persecuted by humans was a very real fear in some DQs (DQ4 being the poster child), DQ5's fairies seem largely uninterested in exploring this theme. Probably because adults can't see them.
The fairy seems as surprised as I am to be talking to Veronica.
Because you are not a child, but an adult cursed to take on a childish form?
...You didn't know that bit? The fairies don't seem as concerned about this bit as the dwarf is.
Following the fairy is the only way to get to the end of the Neverglade.
Veronica will lead the way, and she will insist on our following her- we can't take other exits.
This is the entrance to Faerie Lea, as depicted in the SFC version of DQ5. The PS2 and DS versions made it much more elaborate and involved crossing a lake on a bridge of lily pads.
It suddenly occurs to me that the next DQV Pastword references content introduced in the DS remake.
Poke the flower? Can't see any reason why not.
Apparently, because it can talk back.
I'm not afraid of a flower! Because (as far as I know) I don't have allergies to pollen.
A fleur fatale found in the Neverglade, where it puffs out stupendously soporific pollen in order to send enemies to sleep.
Nature family
995 HP
114 MP
The dazey is a reference to enemies who come from DQ2, and is such a classic enemy design and not a new one. Its main tricks are crits, attacks that can land sleep effects, Sweet Breath, Death Dance and Bang.
OK, why am I using the Rod of Rapidity? Have I forgotten it's not that useful? May as well spend a turn pure buffing, I guess.
We're going to be in the business of not falling asleep at any cost.
Time for an unrelenting full force attack!
There's the crit...
And there's the Whack.
Couldn't revive Veronica in time for the victory. Ah well, Veronica grows the fastest.
Well, I guess she's back. Somehow. Power of cutscene revivals.
Oh yeah, him.
He's up. As much as he might resent it.
I'm still not sure the Faerie Realm would have been negatively affected here, but with that flower scattering sleeping pollen anywhere, there was no hope of the DQV Hero passing through to reach Faerie Lea and get his hands on the means to recover the Gold Orb and get Zenithia flying again, and that would be bad.
The Papillon Pendant blocks MP theft 25% of the time at +3.
Yeah, sounds like a good idea.
This treasure chest is south of the fireplace where we found the faerie (you have to enter the room and then immediately leave it), but Veronica wouldn't let us grab it at the time. You can grab it before following the faerie in DQV, probably because coming back to the Neverglade is a bit of an ordeal.
Anyway, back to our 3D adventure, we found some more Slimes (Analgoomated).
Might as well show them fusing. They form a "slime shape" and suddenly you're dealing with a King Slime, which I believe is in no way different to a King Slime encountered through other means (ie isn't weaker or stronger). It doesn't have less health if the Slimes were injured, though.
Analgoomated Slimes will call for help on every action, and only when there are eight slimes around and one of them has an action will they analgoomate.
Erik learned Dual Wielding! Time for him to worry about carrying around two of every weapon he might plan on wielding.
Veronica also got Ice/Wind Resistance. Wind resistance is better than Earth, because Thin Air and Swoosh are things you might actually encounter, but Ice is still the more dangerous of these two.
Speaking of, Erik gets this as a present now that he's learned Dual-Wielding and needs more boomerangs.
There we go. When any character dual-wields, their main hand does any Ability, but their off hand will only ever perform a normal attack. It'll still have any bonus effects the weapon has, but you can't enjoy the benefits of your Ability (like Falcon Slash, Victimiser, or Power Throw) twice. The off-hand attack is rated at half the power of an identical attack in the main hand. Also important: Your off-hand must be using the same weapon as your main hand- so you can't have Erik hold a Falcon Blade in his main hand and a Winter's Wing in his off hand.
Erik plays by slightly different rules than all other potential dual-wielders: he's a leftie. As such, the game will refer to his main hand as "Left Hand" and his off hand as "Right Hand". This is a purely cosmetic mechanic, Erik is not any better or worse mechanically for his handed preference, but it is important to remember that he's a leftie, because the game uses the "Left vs Right" weapon preference instead of "Main vs Off". It'll be visually obvious on this screen that the Winter's Wing is in his main hand, for instance, but not while you're rummaging through the equipment pouch. I usually just unequip all weapons from him and start fresh each time- this also helps you make sure you're always putting the best weapon in his main hand.
The jars they carry contain a magical liquid that's the secret to their success. They can drink it to soothe wounds, or spit it out in gouts of flame.
Dragurns come from DQ8, and what you see is what you get. They can breathe fire, have a Pep Power that's just more breathing fire, and can drink from their jars as healing.
They also have a bit of weight to them, so it takes a while to knock them down.
Drain Magic is exactly as advertised: You drain some magic based on your MaMight directly. Ignoring physical attack matters, I feel like hitting the enemy with your stick is better in every way, but you never know when doing it this way is better.
Climb up a vine down at the very south, and you can get the Vanguard Charm. This gives you extra chances of getting an ambush opening, where you get a free turn- 5% extra at +3. Ambush encounters are partially a product of Deftness, so the base chances aren't consistent.
And a bunch of precarious ledges here lead to another chest. From here, it's just faster to jump down and retrace your steps.
The place we have to go is up north here, through other precarious ledges. And also like five random sparkly spots.
Welcome to where vultures (colloquial) rule the roost!
Erik: Take it from a former thief- this valley's full of treasure. I can smell it a mile off. Places like this where nobody ever comes are always jam-packed with good swag. So let's get looting!
Veronica: Did you see those monsters shaped like eggs, Erdward? I was looking at one, and suddenly- WOOSH!- it jumped almost all the way up to the top of the cliff! If we get lost, we should do what they do- climb up as high as we can and take a look around.
Serena: There are a lot of dangerous monsters around here. Please don't take too many risks, Erdward. If you need to heal or rest, we can always come back again later.
Sylvando: The Eerie Eyrie... I don't like the sound of that one bit! If there's one thing I simply can't stand, it's birds! I don't know why, but the naughty things always try to peck my eyes out. Perhaps they think they're precious, glittering jewels... I suppose it's an easy mistake to make! Tee hee!
Jade: The Eerie Eyrie... I wonder what's so eerie about it? Perhaps a particularly fearsome kind of bird makes its nest here. I hope so... The emblem of Heliodor is an enormous double-headed eagle. I saw it everywhere when I was a little girl, and I've loved birds ever since- the eerier the better!
Rab: I once read about a terrifying valley that's ruled over by a gang of vicious Hades condors... And d'ye know, I reckon we've found it. If the name's anything to go by, there's sure to be some big, bad birds nearby.
There's a lot of bunched up places together on this map. You can fall down to earlier areas in some of these connections, but not up them. The correct path is an S shaped path, going up in the east, south down the river, and back up in the west before reaching the part the map is pointing at.
There's definitely an orb around here!
And a Campsite, too. I feel like this is a great Zoom point later, but am not entirely sure when.
Mechanical monsters made of a mysterious pearlescent metal as yet unknown to science, and given to emitting a paralysing gas.
Rotten eggsoskeletons are new to DQ11 and that paralysing gas is about all they can do to be scary.
They're mostly here so you can ride around them. This is a very ride-heavy dungeon.
This ledge is not actually something you need an eggsoskeleton to climb. Tragically, I had been mistaken about this once, and that cost me later.
This thunderball, though, you do need an eggsoskeleton to grab.
Only ~60 HP heal? To be fair, that's one attack to knock back down.
The noticeboard with the bulletin we have to pick up is right here at the start.
Oh dear, that sounds familiar.
Hey, species is a pretty important barrier. Not only do different species have different boundaries and capacities, but they may just not physically work together.
...
Ew. This isn't even about cross-species romance, this is just horrible romantic advice.
Well, let's just steal the reward and run the hell away.
Erdward got Zing! Now we're always going to be able to make revives somehow, no matter how convoluted the MP requirements are.
These amphibian aristocrats enjoy singing immensely, but the sound of their tone-deaf caterwauling is so traumatic that it can reduce the defence of anyone who hears it.
Overtoads come from DQ3, and in addition to their Kasap song, they know Snooze and Flame Breath. They can also land crits.
Mini Medal on a ledge.
These delinquent devils act more like joyriders than deadly monsters, careering around on their skeletal steeds and causing all kinds of bother.
Demonriders come from DQs 6 and 8, and they have a double attack, Kacrackle Slash and Chilly Breath to their name. For the most part, they're just riding fodder- and we'll be switching mounts in a bit.
I have to acquire this money now.
There are some vines you can knock down. I never feel using these are helpful.
So hey, remember how I said the Lightning Lance in the casino is kind of a terrible idea? If you're not using it on the Tentacular, you've just wasted your time, because there's no other dangerous fights until now.
The Lightning Staff also lands lightning damage to an enemy group when used as an item. Lightning damage is really nice, so it can be handy to have this in someone's pocket.
Unfortunately, the Shiverstick means it's not so great as a weapon on Veronica.
...Honestly, maybe Erik was a better option? Jade has better options in emergencies.
Yes, you can get eyes out of mining, why wouldn't you be able to?
...Whoops. That was sloppy. That was a Prayer Ring. ...So, nothing worth looking back on.
This recipe book is just for Crow's Claws. They're technically an improvement for claw users at this point, but I always feel disappointed here. Perhaps it's because claws aren't what you're going for here.
Tch. You might want this learned for the fight coming up. I'd recommend passing on Party Pooper for it- the extra SP you need for it isn't that worth it, in hindsight.
Boss time.
This is not voiced. If we weren't getting an Orb out of this, this would be a sidequest with better hair.
These soaring sorcerers' one weakness is sparkly stuff, which they'll whisk off to their nests without so much as a by-your-leave.
Bird family
800 MP
160 MP
The elysium bird is the older brother of the Hades condor, and showed up in DQs 3 and 8. It's just a normal enemy here, although this particular one got a huge stat buff over the regular encounter kind. Surprisingly, though, less defence. Both this boss and the normal kind know savagery with their claws, a Sizz spell and Multiheal.
The Hades condors appear to be vanilla, and thus have 150 HP.
The Elysium Bird boss knows Sizzle, the generic enemy knows Kasizz.
The condors know Midheal, and you should really get rid of them as soon as possible.
The Elysium Bird can wait.
OK, that one just got hit by Greatsword Guard.
Serena knows what she's doing.
Ah, Multiheal. This can do quite a bit of HP in one go, but there's not as much you can do about it other than outdamage it.
Going for the nuclear option dealing with this guy. Sooner you can get the Elysium Bird alone, the sooner you can unload your strongest stuff.
Take this!
Crit Sizzle! Times like this I wish I had party healing, but it's not that big a deal for now.
POW! Multiheal this, birdie!
I can't wait until Veronica can compare.
This might also help.
...Might.
Remidheal is around 22-30 HP. Better than Reheal, but still not really worth casting in most situations. Might've been good back when a 30HP heal meant something, though.
The Silver Orb of Puerto Valor has been recovered after it, of all things, got stolen by vultures. What kind of geniuses let this happen is another matter. The fact this comes from Puerto Valor is a bunch of implications in books and NPC text, but it feels unrealistic because of the "distance" between Puerto Valor and the Eerie Eyrie in gameplay terms... until you actually check the map. The pathway to the Champs Sauvage is right next to the Eerie Eyrie (it's to the east of the Vanguard) and comes out in the Costa Valor. The two locations are next to each other, it's just the player is never primed to think of them that way.
The Silver Orb in DQ3 is the most complicated Orb to find, and as such, it's likely to be the last one the player finds. It's a nine step trade sequence involving multiple dungeons and more items than I care to explain (especially since I remember fairly few of them). The raw list is: Ra's Mirror, Mod Rod, Boatman's Bone, Locket of Love, Mountaincleaver, and the dungeons (not counting one-stop visits for trades) are Manoza, Ghost Ship and the Maw of the Necrogond. The only name you need to remember for DQ11 is Ra's Mirror.
And that's it for the Eerie Eyrie. Just nab your treasure and move on. Wasn't even much of a Town Story.
All right, Purscilla.
...No, no I don't.
...Oh dear.
OK, I guess I do understand what you want to say.
Yeah, uh, you know what I do to monsters in the Manglegrove?
I already have a long line. I'd say try Erik, but I think his line is even longer.
Give me your uniform and let us never speak of this again.
Oh hey, someone's dusting the hallways over here. Must've missed her on the first go.
Don't worry, I can't smell a thing! ...Oh, in the game, right.
Get myself another of these for Veronica, and I'm pretty set on items...
There's no such thing as too much gold for these flashy furballs, who like to blind foes with their bling before bombarding them with spells.
Hello! 24-carat bunicorns come from DQ10, and they're not the most impressive of Rarefied monsters. They have two attacks, can Muster their Strength, and know Lightning, Fizzle, Drain Magic and Accelerate. Surprisingly, none of those count as blinding.
Their common drop is the Gold Nuglet, which is actually a rare alchemy ingredient even towards the end of the game. Well, perhaps it's not quite as rare later, but it's something used in some truly powerful endgame recipes and we'll be glad to have as many as we can.
Oh no! That's... give it two turns and I get that back. Meh.
Lightning hurts a lot, but this is about the upper limit of Lightning's damage. It's very much cheap, weak, and something you want just because you want multiple-target damage.
And we got another nuglet from the victory.
L'Academie is a sidequest area, through and through. You don't even have to set foot there to complete the game, but redeeming your Mini Medals for some kick-ass prizes makes the fight against Mordegon that much smoother. Mini Medals are never necessary to beat the game, but you can never go wrong picking up a stack. Besides, that chime of "you found a mini medal" never gets old. The setting of a school instead of an eccentric King was inspired, and helped set up a locale that has more to do than the average Medal King Palace- most have the Medal Exchange, maybe some facilities if you're lucky (Inn and Rainbow's End, mainly) and surprisingly, often an Ultimate Key treasure cache. I wonder what DQ12 will bring to the Medal Exchange.
Dragon Quest has included a school setting before now- in DQ9, a school by the name of Swinedimples Academy (no prizes for guessing the reference) was the setting for retrieving the seventh Fygg. Swinedimples was a proper Town Story of its own, complete with a dungeon and a boss fight, but the comparisons between L'Academie and Swinedimples are not nonexistent- not only can you get the school uniform as an armour (it's not as good, but it's unisex), but there are wide breadth of sidequests in both- L'Academie's don't have a theme (and there are more later on), but Swinedimples has weapon instructors- demonstrate proficiency in the ten weapons, Shields and Fisticuffs, and you can get powerful weapons and weapon skill manuals. DQ9's mechanic system is a lot more dynamic, but DQ11 is more character focused.
The Eerie Eyrie also has a bit of a DQ reference in the abstract: in DQ4, there was a cave north of the Medal King that held one of that game's McGuffins (the Zenithian Armour). That cave was a lot harder, but had no boss. Considering the Town Story that immediately preceded this one was Lonalulu, perhaps making this one a breather story was by design- and probably for the best. I could've done without Purscilla, but L'Academie is one of my favourite locales. Now if only I could pronounce the name...
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