Right, time to see what fabulous treasures await in Serenica's sapling.
...It's the First Forest. At least this is exactly where I'd expect Serenica to set one of her trials.
Veronica: The monsters are getting nastier and nastier. We need to be careful.
Erik: Let's not push ourselves too much, man. The end's not even in sight just yet. What's the point of all that training if we end up dropping dead? If things are looking hairy, we should head back to the village and rest up.
Serena: The monsters in the Trial of the Sage are even tougher than in the last trial. If we can't beat them, maybe the best thing to do would be to go back and give the Trial of the Disciple another go. That should give us a bit of confidence.
Sylvando: Wow, this is quite a forest! Don't go too far ahead, honey! I don't want to lose you! And make sure you know where you're going, of course! I'm a bit too old to be getting led astray...
I get everyone else's Party Chat didn't need changing, but it's kinda weird checking each time.
If ever you should hear thundering hooves but see no horse in sight, a great blast of wind is sure to follow, heralding the arrival of the godsteed.
Godsteeds come from DQs 9 and 10- yes, Equinox was a boss in DQ9, but godsteed is indeed the stronger foe there too. In this game, they have a Whinny, the Light-elemental breath, and Kaswoosh. We could've seen them in the Ruby Path of Doom, but this is the non-Tickington chance to get some Meteorite Bracelet drops.
This place is a bit of a teleport maze. The first thing to note is that walking down the mountain path is the first place you should go if you want to rinse the forest of its goodies.
The zeroth thing to note is that there's a teleportal behind the starting spot (there was a Mini Medal back there in the vanilla First Forest) that will take you straight to the end if you don't care about treasure.
Blessed Breath does how much to the party?
Dually Deadly has finally been re-acquired.
Yoink.
Oh hey, I got Pep Powered! This buffs all the monster's attack powers by two stages, and thankfully doesn't involve getting hit in the face. But yeah, best move on now.
Serenica's circlet! I loved this thing. At +3, it gives 10 MP restored after battle, 100% immunity to Whack and 50% immunity to turn-skip. I think Whack can pierce Snap, Crackle, Poof, so this is a nice helmet all around. Also, it turns out that not only does this have the most Defence out of any "hat" in the game (hats and helmets being a relatively meaningless distinction) but it has the most Defence out of any head armour Serena can wear.
Which, for a circlet, is pretty huge.
All the speed control!
After getting all the sparkly spots and the circlet, the time has come to teleport. This, nearer teleportal is the one that leads primarily to treasure.
You spawn on this peak up here, and dropping down is the right plan. You have to climb up through the cave to get back.
Violent violet dragons who dance through the skies, raining down blazing terror on all below them.
Infernal serpents are from DQ3, and they have two attacks a turn to set you on fire with both Scorch and Kasizzle. They also have the ability to drop down on you, too.
...Was this a crit, or is this guy that just painful?
More red wood, though.
Imagine breaking out Omniheal for a normal encounter.
Ursa minors that are so obsessed with pandas, they've basically become them. Their unassailable adorableness is their most effective weapon.
Ursa panda is the Rarefied form of ursa minor- I'm told it's new to this game and appeared retroactively in DQ10. You could find one as early as Sniflheim Act 1, and at this point, the Vicious ursa minor is the scarier enemy. They have crits and a beautiful ball that can beguile.
This is a costume set for Rab.
And this is a fair replacement for the Zombieslayer.
The other teleportal takes us out here.
Mini medals!
...
Vicious Hardy Hands? And I get a free turn?
Don't mind if I do! The Fierce Forest is the only chance you get to add these guys to the beastiary.
Eh, I figured.
Still enough EXP for a mass level up.
Phantom Masks, Dark Robes and Murky Mittens. Murky Mittens are good for 25% Dark Resist, while the other two equips are good choices if you want to build for Evasion.
You're at the end of the stage when you get teleported to this bridge. Hi, noble dragon!
Bye, noble dragon!
I always forget phantom masks are domino masks. Both are 4% evasion at +3.
The Yggdrasil Crown gives 5 MP after battle, the Dress Coat blocks Fizzle, Fuddle and Beguile at 50%. Dang, 50% Beguile resist on Rab of all people.
Only 2000 gold for a Ruby?
You're also getting some solid MaMight and MaMend here, but a lot of costumes for the mages like to help those stats out.
This is just the postgame version of the Dundrasil King robes. I think I personally prefer the colour scheme, although it's difficult to say any change on Dundrasil's colours is "an improvement" considering the emotional baggage.
Oh yeah, and can't forget to improve this.
Since the Gyldenhal is not accessible in Act 3, it's rather fitting that Drustan's Labyrinth keeps all the geometry for prosperity, and also adding in a way to fight all the Gylden- enemies.
Sylvando: Look at all that shiny, shiny gold! Why don't we grab as much as we can and then spend the rest of our lives lounging on the beach? ...Oh honey, don't look at me like that! I was kidding! You know I'd never dream of doing such a thing!
...Do we tell them how the Gyldenhal was first made?
More mini medals!
Sizeable statues gifted with golden bodies by their creator, whose dying words they continue to hold dear to this day.
Golden goliaths are new to DQ11, and they have crits and Seismoshock as per usual. Yes, this is what the Tweedles were.
Their rare drop is a lightning-element knife- pretty good power, I suppose. The common drop is the Gold Bar, so grab those as much as you can. Although the Golden Goliath is annoyingly rare in this dungeon.
Don't get your hopes up, both of those are pitfalls and you can't sneak over the cannon.
Found all the golden goliaths, apparently.
Can't say I enjoyed the experience.
...So much for Seismosmash. Although I am going to be feeling this tomorrow...
Veronica has finally learned the normal Magic Burst. This was a spell introduced in DQ6 as the ultimate spell, being the entire reason that Sorceria was sealed away to try and prevent its use against Mortamor, before just becoming a powerful spell that some kind of magic class taught you in DQs 7-9-10, and one of Jessica's hard-to-learn spells in 8. Like Mighty Magic Burst, it does fixed damage based on Veronica's remaining MP- unlike Mighty Magic Burst, Veronica can use this whenever. Just bring a lot of Elfin Elixirs. It's 3x MP in this game, something it hasn't been since DQ6 for the SFC.
Hah, and I got more MP for it out of the panels.
...At least the statues got taken away from this version. I wonder if the Gyldenhal went out of their way to do the same thing.
Wow, that's a camera angle.
Vicious metal dragons, on the bottom floor of this place (which you can fall down to in one of the pitfalls) drop Metal King Armour- this is the cheap way to get more of it.
Sparkling marvels of evil engineering that glisten gratuitously, and in action, resemble nothing more than fearsome golden fortresses.
Mechan-o-wyrms are terrifying. They come from DQ5 and 10 and pack missiles. Also tremors, Blessed Breath, calling for Vicious Metal Dragons, and Pep Powering with Vicious Metals.
25% elemental resistance, 25 HP restored every turn, 14% block chance... Unlike most questions about the best equipment to wear, there is no question here. Drustan's Shield is Hendrik's best shield, and if you're giving him a Shield, give him this one.
It even looks cool combined with the golden Twin-Eagle armour.
I like "the slot machine is actually a vicious token taker" as a sentence, although I'll be entirely honest, that would probably also be true if this was a functional slot machine.
...What do these guys have that's so scary?
Thank goodness for Serena.
Now you're helping us out. These guys can also drop Mini Medals as a common slot.
These mechanical dragons may look cheery, but there's nothing funny about being forced to dance while being walloped witless.
Clockwyrm is a Rarefied monster that I think is new to 11 and made it back to 10. Take notice from this shot: It's rarefied from Metal Dragon, not Mechan-o-wyrm. They may be similar enemies, but only one will give you a chance of rolling Clockwyrm. They're much less scary than Mechan-o-wyrms, having a tremor attack, Boogie Breath to get you dancing, and... the chance to suffer a slight malfunction and pass a turn.
...Frankly, this is another one where I think Vicious Metal Dragon is the scarier foe.
Party down!
Must be the paint job.
More gold bars! More Catholicon Rings!
...What do you mean, these are in other recipes? (In all seriousness, these do still have significant value beyond even just the costume recipes I still haven't acquired.)
Veronica's ultimate costume set.
This is a sparkly spot this time!
I think this is the staircase you need to take to reach the end.
Right... new forges.
It looks good to forge, but I don't have enough cumulonimboughs. The hat gives 3% magic crit and immunity to MP theft, the gown gives 4% magic crit.
Crown first? Crown first.
Excellent...
Also picked up some of these.
...No build showcase?
Time for Serenica's Trial.
30 actions- a turn and change over Blind Hatred. So what are we going to see out of Serenica?
The Luminary's untrammeled rage made flesh. A deep sea beast that seethes and roils with boiling fury, its mere presence can call forth devastating storms, even from hundreds of fathoms beneath the surface.
Dragon family
7500 HP
999 MP
...I can see where it comes from. Unfathomable Anger skips over Booga to make Alizarin the second foe, and it's quite the step up from Blind Hatred- we've got to take on nearly twice the HP in the same amount of time. Unfathomable Anger has Oomphle, Deceleratle, Maelstrom, Infernorb, poison, rocking the boat for knockdown, and the Crimson Cloud Red Orb attack. Oomphle is the main addition over Alizarin.
We're bringing along a very "this is probably the exact party I brought to Alizarin, isn't it?" choice, I see.
Not that it is a terrible party now.
1000 damage in a single attack, we'll be done in record time.
...I just noticed no one has Oomphle. Well, on our side.
Erdward took that Infernorb like a champ, though.
Imagine taking more damage from the ship heaving than from a fireball to the face. Not that the former is something you can walk off.
Jade, as the party member with an attack bonus, is doing just fine.
...How cute.
Ow. ...Why is it always him?
...You know, I've always thought of Crimson Cloud as affecting both sides, but this clearly says we take more damage and not everyone.
On the other hand, this is a slightly bigger number than last time...
Yeah, I can think of no better ending. Except for the fact this does kinda feed into the idea of this thing as a representation of Erdward's anger.
11 Actions! How DQ11 of us.
Next up on the wish agenda: That super-powerful weapon sounds like we should get it sooner rather than later.
A recipe book for a Sword of Light. You'd think Erdwin would've done this. Or maybe Drustan thought up the idea after the fact and Erdward is going above and beyond to make sure he doesn't fall where Erdwin did.
Also, somewhat interestingly, this isn't actually an upgrade for the Sword of Light Erdwin made- it's an upgrade for ours.
Trust me, the kid gloves come off now.
Plus, that's the final treasure cache. And what a treasure cache it is.
The Supreme Sword of Light is Erdward's ultimate sword. A damage upgrade over Erdward's Sword of Light, and also bearing its unique design, it has equal might to Erdwin's Sword of Light at +0... and you can play the minigame to get it to +3 as you might any other weapon. A Supreme Sword of Light +3 is equal in Might to the strongest Sword in the game.
To forge this blade, you need to make your own Sword of Light again (get through the Battleground for Rarefied Orichalcum, beat a Platinum Horse Race for the Forging Hammer, and give Miko Lumen Essence for the Crucible), buy the Sword of Kings (12,500 Gold and a lump of normal orichalcum), and sourcing some tough alchemy ingredients. Crimsonite and Uber Agates of Evolution are the obvious picks for slots three and four, although Spectralite is pretty filler.
I think every recipe has its own gimmick for how it messes with you on reforging. Regardless, here I got the "sometimes the gauge moves magically back".
There we go. Not quite perfect, but perfect enough.
Ultimate Sword get. It almost feels... weird, making the most legendary sword in the game using the Fun-Size Forge. But I guess that's just us leaving our own mark on the legacy of the blade.
I doubt Erik ever expected this to happen when he gave us this thing.
Here we go.
And here's Erdward dual-wielding the ultimate blades of legend, because why shouldn't we be allowed to do that? Erdwin's Sword of Light is all but useless to us in most ways, honestly, but it is vitally important that you keep it in Erdward's inventory anyway.
Right, Veronica couldn't get her costume...
I can only imagine it's funnily misshapen when she wears it around.
That was the last of Veronica's costumes. Although why I'm in the Eerie Eyrie is another matter. Probably picking up some alchemy ingredient or Malicious beastiary entry. Veronica, on account of missing out on Act 2 and being a child design, got a pretty light selection, all things told.
The High Priestess is indeed a reference outfit to an earlier DQ design, although it's not quite the design that one might expect. The yellow robe with two horns makes it feel like it's Nevan from DQ6, but it's actually Jacqueline from DQ7, the woman who ran Alltrades Abbey in the past. Somewhat of an obscurer pick, but as another young prodigy in magic, a more than fitting one.
Now those are some armour choices. I think the time is ripe to finally beat the Final Trial of the Wheel of Harma.
This Pep is actually a problem for that- I need Rab and Serena to work together, and Rab actually gets done with his part too fast if he's got the extra MaMight from this.
Surprisingly, this didn't help.
Imagine Pep working out for the worst.
Erdward goes Sword Dance and Gigagash for these guys. Anything to take out that octopot.
Right, Pandoramorium time...
This shouldn't be an issue.
Down goes the Pandora's Box with just a Fatal Flash.
While Sylvando plays Whipping Boy.
The real strat is to take down the Pandora's Big Bad Box and the Rarefied backup with one Double Down, but I had no confidence Erik could do that.
9 actions left to take out the last trial if I want that final prize...
The seeds of damnation are represented by an infernal serpent and manticore, backed up by reinforcements from an abracadabrer and phoenix. Similarly to the Four Horrors of Heliodor in the First Trial, all four of these enemy types first appeared in DQ3 (although the reinforcements are new to the remakes)- and since "seeds of damnation" sounds close to DQ3's subtitle "Seeds of Salvation", I think this is another intentional reference. Pretty neat as one, all things considered.
Veronica's job is to lay down the Kaboomle. She's got all the Magical Might and Crit she needs. All that remains is hoping she can do it in four booms.
One of these two enemies is more heavily resistant to Kaboomle than the other. Annoyingly, I can never remember which one. It's Hendrik's job to make up the difference.
The reinforcements are here. They should get oneshot by Kaboomle.
BOW BEFORE HER MIGHTY MIGHTINESS!
(It must be the manticore who's Boom-resistant.)
...Groans.
Right, let's try this again...
Hitting the correct target this time.
Although Veronica is once again worryingly endangered...
Hendrik, don't fail me now.
Take that, DQ3.
...
I'll be 100% honest, I wasn't entirely expecting to get the Brilliant Blade, but...
This is new to the Switch version. It just gives Super Seeds and I'm not in any hurry to go do it. It should be tough for even post-Act 3 teams.
Case in point: We get an Accolade for beating the whole Wheel, and a green one at that.
"A Guide to Godly Get-Up" gets us these equipment pieces: The ultimate costume armour for Rab, and a recolour of the armour pieces he got for beating the Third Trial. The Crown blocks Fuddle and Snooze 100% of the time, the cloak gives 20% elemental resistance.
Recipes for Orichalcum: Ore Blimey. We've had the Braces for a while now and you can get Orichalcum Claws as a rare drop from Mechan-o-wyrms (they have +1 Might over the Crystal Claws and no bonus effect), but the Legate's Blade is the big one: -34 Atk on the Berserker's Blade, but with an 8% critical chance no other powerful Greatsword has.
We don't want one to keep, but we do need a +3 one for that one monk back in the High Hall...
The Faerie King's Cane is the best Wand in the game. Highest in all the core stats, 10% damage reduction (not just elemental, everything), and passive 25 HP restore. The Fantastick is good on spawn. This is good for the rest of the fight.
Last, but certainly not least, the Brilliant Blade. +38 Atk over the Berserker's Blade and a Light element on strike, as well as a massive 11% Parry chance, this thing is the strongest Greatsword in the game.
It's also a lightsaber. Well, OK, that's an exaggeration, but it glows.
This would be adorable if I wasn't worried what the monks had in mind.
Rolls eyes.
Eurgh. I think the bunny might be best served finding another teacher... wait, crap, that's me, isn't it?
Anyway, we were supposed to show our less-interesting greatsword to this guy.
His body, steely like a metal slime, is vulnerable to the crits this one is good at.
A tank battle style still requires some sort of method to defeat the opponent, or else the opponent is going to stay there, continuing to beat down on you. Or worse, get bored and move on. What are you going to do about it? You couldn't stop him while he cared about you!
...Then shouldn't you keep em?
Won't say no to 10 Seeds of Skill, though.
Sylv takes his 12 Seeds.
And now I've got everything in order to actually make both of Rab's pieces.
...Eh... the blue's cool, but I think I kinda preferred the red. The blue does sorta fit Rab more, though. Poor Rab, though- two costumes in the original version, and Definitive only gave him five total (two of which are recolours).
Oh yeah, I haven't beat this yet.
Oh, screw you, Cureslime.
Funnily enough, in my successful attempt, Kathwack was quick to take out the Clangoustine, so Serena switched to the Naughty Stick to help Erik with the Hardy Hands. The Naughty Stick was a prize from this Trial, which makes it even funnier.
Right, clearly I need the Oomph.
Nailed it.
Shine On, Xenlon gives Jade an ultimate set of equips, although it seems I need to go grab some Serpent Skin for the Gown. The Hair Ring gives 25% resistance to status ailments, while the Gown is good for 15% elemental resist and 8% evasion.
These fearsome carnivorous flowers go around weakening unwary wanderers with poison before swallowing them whole.
And now for a bunch of enemies out in the wild. Gnashturtiums come from DQ2, and have Venom Mist and Burning Breath. They have a lot of HP for flowers, but they're not that scary- but you can get them in the Ruby Path of Doom.
The emboldening battle ballads of this queen of amphibians can send swarms of froggy soldiers surging into the fray, filled with new-found fury.
The mothertoad is new to DQ11, and alongside their Venom Mist and Kasnooze, they have the Gritty Ditty to increase everyone's attack. Seems kinda weird they only show up here and the Manglegrove, then.
Gargantuan sea reptiles who slept on the ocean bed for centuries, and were woken from their slumber when the Dark One returned.
Coralotls are another powerful member of this particular family DQ11 introduced, with Kacrackle, pillars of water, a rain of spikes that can cause paralysis, and three chances to use all these moves. They have Agates of Evolution in the common slot and Ubers in the rare.
If I can make it through the fight.
...I've had 50 rests in a Campsite and I'm this far into postgame?
Right, over here in the South Hotto Whale Way...
Legendary demons from another dimension who cross space and time in order to pursue their passion for indiscriminate violence.
You wot, mate? Bilhaws are from DQs 5 and 10- although I think they've been green plenty- and they can block, swing their weapon around recklessly, and throw out Kacrack. This bilhaw is the one place they can spawn in the world of Erdrea.
Clearly, he must be important.
Yay, Twin Dragon Lash!
Also went and remembered to grab this, too. The weird "one-breastplate" thing is weird, but overall, this is such a cool design for Jade.
I'm using Frizzcracker while fighting the Bilhaws. This Pep Power involves Erdward using his Fire magic and Veronica using her Ice magic, a very peculiar combination given the spells they tend to favour across the rest of the story and gameplay.
Capable commanders who are able to oversee of a great many monsters. They're easily worth a thousand standard soldiers, and are always on the lookout for foes worthy of their warlike attentions.
Harmachis is the Rarefied form of Bilhaw, first appearing in DQ10 and being a necessary target for a Quest we got way back when Act 3 started. Instead of Kacrack, these guys have Kafrizzle, and they can also muster their strength for stronger cleaves.
They also have Gold Bars in the common slot. Don't bother with the rare slot- I learned that one the hard way.
And clearly don't underestimate their actual power.
What did Erdward ever do to you?
Off that, Erdward learns Zapple, the middle spell in the Zap family. I had one major use for this one.
This is a one-person Pep Power Veronica can use with Erdward. As a matter of fact, it is the only Pep Power that meets this description. This isn't necessarily a good Pep Power, I just feel weird when I let Veronica's Pep run its course rather than firing something off with the last of the power, and unless I want to switch in Serena just to finish off a Pep, this is the only actual Pep Power I can use.
Yes, it's petty, but at this point, might as well!
Also it gives Hellzapple, the power that got confused with Kazapple in the translation process and switched names. Not that being able to distinguish the two is particularly necessary considering how hard it is to get Pep Powers running.
I can only imagine what it feels like to be felled by the same opponent twice in as many turns.
...I'm fairly sure this isn't supposed to be Drustan lore, but I can almost imagine the poor guy getting that bad a deal in the end.
This part really helps make sure it's not Drustan- Drustan is at peace in Drustan's Labyrinth, or at least, as peaceful as that can really be for him.
Apollo's Axe is a reasonably powerful axe for Hendrik that has both the Fire and the Light elements. It is also Harmachis's rare drop: Pick one up from Harmachis, and this sidequest just gets an awkward ending. At least Hendrik can dual-wield...
And that's all the explicit Quests dealt with! Well, all the Quests in Erdrea: Tickington still has plenty for us. And also the pink dots demanding help.
Demonic and legendarily destructive denizens of the darkest depths who have been dragging ships down to the ocean floor since time immemorial.
Squidzilla appeared in DQs 3 and 10, although obviously a little smaller than this. His abilities include Burning Breath, Multifists and, with his tentacles, the ability to rock the boat.
Uber Agate of Evolution in the common slot, orichalcum in the rare slot. Squidzilla is the only normal enemy to drop orichalcum at all- and it's fairly obvious you're not really supposed to be getting it in numbers. The sparkly spot in the Battleground it is.
Right, we're here on the open ocean to go defeat Bathysfear now.
Veronica: Do you remember the first time we sailed in the Salty Stallion? It's a long time ago now, isn't it? Jasper thought he'd caught us, but we managed to get away in the nick of time. If it hadn't been for Sylvando, our adventure might have come to an end right then and there. He really got us out of a tight spot.
Erik: There's something about the sea breeze and the sound of the waves that makes me nostalgic about my childhood. I mean, I didn't have a lot of fun and there are a lot of painful memories, but somehow gazing out at the sea makes them all disappear.
Jade: If you think about it, we've really been all over the world, from the bottom of the ocean to a village floating in the sky. You know, as long as we're together, it feels like there's nowhere we can't go.
Hendrik: I was always more suited to doing battle on land. It was Jasper who excelled at naval warfare. In fact, he commanded the fleet that defended the coast of Heliodor, and he did it with utter dedication. ...Why, Jasper...? Why did you allow yourself to be tempted by the darkness?
Serena: Veronica and I never laid eyes on the sea when we were growing up, and I remember how amazed we were when we first saw it. It was just so huge! Bigger than we had ever imagined. I've always thought that mountains are like a strict father who watches over you, and that the ocean is like a mother, surrounding you and protecting you. That doesn't sound too odd, does it...?
Sylvando: Dave was in a really bad way when I first came across him- he'd just lost the captain he'd been serving for years. Their ship had been attacked by monsters, and Dave blamed himself for not being able to save his old friend. He took to sailing round the world, picking fights with anyone he didn't like the look of... And that's when he bumped into me! I saw that he had a good heart, and that what he really needed was a makeover. So I went to work and dolled him up in his fabulous outfit... Honey, talk about a success story! He was like a new man overnight, and after that, he became my captain on the Salty Stallion. Ah, seeing the ocean makes me really miss him and his rough, seafaring ways...
Rab: Going sailing should be a real treat. The wind in yer hair, the sun on yer face... But we've got no time to enjoy it now. No, we've got work to do. We need to get rid of that dark star before it can cause any more trouble.
Dave backstory, Hendrik struggling to grapple with the guilt of Jasper even after we dealt with his ghost, some pretty decent philosophy out of Serena, Erik and Jade... dang, the ocean has some pretty good Party Chat.
Right, ice resistance as a big deal, but everything's normal. Time for-
...Wrong island. You could've seen this ahead of time, I did not.
We're supposed to be going up here.
...It can do that?
Whatever it is doing, it seems to not be appreciated over here.
Say hello to Bathysfear, a cheap copy of Nokturnus and Indignus.
The cruel new ruler of the ocean, emboldened and empowered by the Dark One's energies. He enjoys nothing more than making mermaids suffer.
Demon family
5600 HP
999 MP
Bathysfear has Inferno Slash, Kacrackle, Maelstrom, and a seven-stroke slice, getting two attacks per turn. All told, he's a boss, but he's just that.
You really could do this whenever you felt ready.
And when this is hitting me in the face, well...
BURN!
Devil's Finesse didn't seem to go that well for the guy.
Sorry. Maybe next time.
The twin sword attacks of these glory-hunting tyrants of the deep are feared even by the gods themselves.
What better way to downplay that battle than to have a recolour of the guy as a normal enemy? Master commander is new to 11, having Kacrack, Maelstrom, Inferno Slash, Devil Finesse, Thunder Thrust, and the ability to block the odd attack. Far, far lower HP and Defence, though, this isn't exactly a Bathysfear in disguise. They have Agates of Evolution in the common slot and Hades Helms in the rare.
Unrivalled in both ferocity and greed by any other creatures of the deep, they empty the ocean wherever they go of all creatures great and small.
Crushtaceans are new to 11, and appear on the open ocean only at night, although you can find them at all times on Insula Borealis (practically the only reason to go to that particular island in Act 3). They get three attacks a turn, Kabuff, blocks, and... the only real interesting offensive move seems to be their flurry of strikes. They hurt, but they're not creative about it.
With Bathysfear gone, Marina can give us her prize...
A key item of... some description.
Marina is finally stepping up to the plate of being the "hint NPC" character, and has given us a tool to find anyone with a pink dot over their head and tell you a) where they are and b) roughly what they want from you. It'd be a lot more useful before Bathysfear, but you know, can't have everything. Besides, it's good for making sure you haven't missed anything.
Also, Marina will happily turn you into a fish in case you missed anything in the fish version of Nautica- or you just want to harvest the Sparkly Spots some more.
Got it.
Right, so the Sea Queen's Conch has been added to Quick Access, and works something like...
Ha ha ha, game.
I'm not entirely sure why I went to the Heliodor dungeons next. I think I'm here to go find some enemies in the basement- Malicious Hocus Poker and such.
We've seen all these problems... and come to think of it, they might be the only three left? I'm not actually sure how many problems she points you to in one go.
She does go "I've told you enough for now, help them and then we'll talk about some more pointers later."
Next stop, the Strand.
This is where Kainui has gone missing to. I love how pathetic that fish-knife threat is.
Just in time for merman jokes. Every time this guy says "mer", he pauses and heavily emphasises it.
Yeah, uh, Bathysfear had that title first anyway.
And we beat him.
Merkings possessed by incredible evil. The violent undersea gangs they lead leave trails of death and destruction in their wake.
Nature family
3009 HP
999 MP
The Malicious Merking, like the Hades Condor, seems to only appear as a boss here, although those mermaniacs are normal enemies. He can summon pillars of water, Kacrack, Kazing, and use his sharp claws. He also has Pep with his buddies- apparently these mermaniacs are the only ones who can Pep Up, and only then for Co-Kacrack.
I hadn't actually planned on using Erik, but since he's apparently the guy in the cutscene, I hurriedly switched him in.
He should do just fine.
Besides, Erdward and Jade have their own abilities.
I almost feel like Veronica's wasting her time.
Mermaniacs can Fizzle, that's what this guy is trying to do-
OI!
As normal mermaniacs, they only have like 600 HP each.
At least I have an excuse to use this one.
Kainui explains what happened in the first place- merman attack. Why did that happen? Well, I don't think they cared much either. Only they ought to rule the seas, after all.
And around about now I address a bit of an elephant in the room.
Where the hell did Michelle come from? Frankly, looking at this part of the conversation more closely, it almost feels like it was written as if the whole Lonalulu Town Story was set in Act 2... but it was an Act 1 story. We went back in time, but the point we arrived in was after Michelle's death... and here it's gone by, completely undone.
The best explanation I've seen is that this is a legitimate developer error, although I have not seen the matching interview confirming the issue.
...Michelle, mermen don't look like humans. Maybe she thought he was a girl?
Michelle also seems surprisingly disconnected from her sitting around fruitlessly waiting for Kainoa's return in this exchange.
And, once again, Michelle describes a "flashback to Act 2" memory in which Michelle recalls the events of Act 1.
Well...
It was a pretty touching moment.
...Probably a good idea not to fall into that trap this time.
Kainui does, however, take a lot of personal responsibility to checking in on Michelle's well-being.
I... don't think Kainui ever actually gets around to getting back home? There is a pretty cool line of dialogue for him, though:
You know, I've realised something- me and the rest of the guys from Lonalulu have been wrong all these years. Wrong about the mermaids, and wrong about my tutu- if he felt the same way I do, my grandpa wasn't cursed... Even after I go home to Lonalulu, I'll probably try to come back here once in a while and make sure Michelle's okay. She must get lonely all on her own out here.
Considering two people from the same village did it in fifty years... actually, maybe that proves it more than not.
It's probably rather traumatic, remembering your own suicide but not remembering why.
When I first made the decision to tell Michelle the truth, I commented that letting her sit on this rock believing her love is coming sounds depressing. We know the alternative is one of the darkest moments in the game, and I say that after we've seen things like Veronica's sacrifice and the dead baby and the afterlife getting shut off, but that doesn't exactly change the fact that Michelle living out the rest of her life watching the decades slip by on this rock is still really damn depressing.
So much for a happy ending for the Lonalulu cast. They really got the short end of the stick in this bunch.
Veronica: I remember us getting lost in this area back when we searching for the six orbs. The fog has cleared up now, so I don't think that's going to happen again...but it still feels like something strange might be afoot. It's that kind of place.
Erik: There's something about this place that makes it feel like time has slowed right down. Maybe this is what it's like to be a mermaid... Sorry, ignore me. I was just thinking out loud.
Jade: I'm so glad Kainui and Michelle are doing well. He did so much for her, it's nice to see that it's all worked out. It's sad that Kainoa is gone, of course, but Michelle and Kainui will just have to get on with their lives now.
Hendrik: I did once hear of a place to the west where ships would vanish without trace... and now it seems we are here. There is indeed something unusual about this area. It is easy to imagine that people would just disappear and never be heard from again...
Serena: This is where we first met Michelle, isn't it? I'll never forget that day, you know. After all, I never imagined I'd ever get to meet a real mermaid!
Sylvando: How bizarre! There isn't a hint of a breeze or a single wave on the sea. It's like this place is protected by some mysterious force...
Rab: If we don't do something about that dark star, this tropical paradise will be overrun by nasty beasties! Och, it doesn't bear thinking about! We cannae let that happen, laddie!
We'll have to head back here to pick up the prize for witnessing time unravel before our eyes.
It's the hat for Erik's Pirate King gear. 50% Lightning resist.
Why do I get the feeling he might just get left there when it turns out he's got mermaid-positive feelings?
...Maybe Kainui gets dragged to Nautica and that gets close enough to a happy ending? I think if the Lonaluluans are still this bigoted towards mermaids, there's going to be no happy endings for anybody.
That got us Erik's last costume, though. That's four complete costume sets now. Just missing Erdward, Hendrik, Serena and Jade, and we have an inkling what costumes the first three have.
Erik with the Pirate King's Cap. Eh. This is also a recolour of his Corsair outfit from Act 2.
Kainui's mother has another line acknowledging mermaids that wasn't here:
Or maybe it was a mermaid who saved him. Kainui always did remind me of my pa- maybe that's another thing they have in common! Hyeh heh heh!
A bunch of other Lonaluluans also have lines preparing for Kai's return, although again, nothing seems to suggest he ever does. This whole thing is weird.
Next stop: Dragon-hunting, it looks like. Hopefully this time Rab is actually prepared.
This guy is terrorising the same spot he was last time, except we don't care because we have Zoom. The NPCs deserve to use this path too.
Hi there, boss that does kinda look a little generic about now.
The fact he continues to reference the fact he hates Erdwin so much feels like he should've gotten some development on this front. The feats of Erdwin's crew go somewhat understated- except here in Sniflheim. I guess they have the Library to look up his feats.
...Also I guess none of the four Heroes really bothered to write a book about his adventures in the first place, so it was all down to word of mouth?
A great evil freed from its prison in the ice by the Dark One's evil influence. It now seeks out the Luminary to get its revenge.
Dragon family
7600 HP
999 MP
The Malicious Auroral Serpent gets three attacks to the turn, but his attacks are basically his Act 2 ones with one major difference. He's got War Cry, Burning Breath, Flames of Darkness, crashing down on the party, and a spell. In Act 2, he knew Kazam. Act 3 switches it out for Kasizzle.
Serena probably sensing the power she saved us from in Act 2. No sudden rescue from her incoming, although it's not like she did much.
This is going to be beautiful.
Hm, feels light-resistant, maybe? Maybe I'm just spoiled.
This could get interesting.
No paralysis for me.
And that's some solid damage taking. Serena seems to have blocked her hit with the shield, not sure what Erik did.
DRAGON SLASH! I think Fatal Flash is probably a better idea with the Dragon Slayer sword already at hand, but...
You had one job.
Yay?
Erik's also doing just fine with normal strokes. He doesn't have to Divide every time.
Rab just can't catch a break.
That got him good.
How nice and convenient: a serpent's soul to turn in to Krystalinda while we turn in the dragon's head.
Also in the area: rideable glacial golems. I point this out mostly because they are cool- the Whale Way station is still the way to go for Kaleidocloths.
And she doesn't even remember saving them from being turned to gold. Although now I say it aloud, I don't think that'd sound as impressive without context.
12% chance of Beguiling humanoids. It also has high non-elemental Might, but really, just use the Dashing Dagger for that if you don't want a Knife of Strife. It's got Charm for Sylv, though.
I almost feel bad for the Sniflheim treasury. Krystalinda can probably put something pretty cool, pun intended, in there before your reign is over. Although maybe an ice statue is too on-the-nose.
Next time: The Luminary's Trial.
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