The Let's Play Archive

Linda Cube [Linda³]

by ivantod

Part 30: Winter 1995-Autumn 1996

    




            Never interrupt me when I'm eating a banana.
                    -- Ryan Stiles


Last time, Linda and Ken explored the underground a bit more, finding there a whole bunch of arks that seem to be ready to be put to use! They also went looking for poop, so that they could revitalise the cherry trees in Eterna (which they succeeded in, by the way). They also went to Flora Jam, with the goal of trying to obtain the fresh blood fruit, but so far the situation on that is unclear.



The start of today's episode finds us at the beginning of Winter 1995. There is now 3.5 years left and we still have 45 species to collect. With that in mind, after a couple of "plot" focused episodes, this one is going to largely about making a bit of a push with hunting/collecting. But don't worry, we'll tackle our sidequests, too!

As mentioned, last time we managed to obtain in Flora Jam some "blue" fruit. If we check our inventory right now...



...we can find out that it has actually matured into a "fresh blood fruit", which is exactly what we need. As you maybe know, in some languages (definitely including Japanese), there is sometimes a bit of confusion between blue and green colour, so this was probably meant to be a "green" fruit which then matures into the one we need. In any case, without Linda's ability to "identify plants" (which we obtained a couple of episodes ago), the inventory would not identify the fruit clearly and you'd be out of luck with finishing this quest. But we've done all we needed to, so we're good.

Incidentally, there is another way to obtain the fresh blood fruit, and that's by simply dismantling the male stag beetle. It kind of makes sense, since it's been hinted that it's something they like to eat, so it's logical that you'd find it by dismantling.

This is also the reason why I wanted last time to catch more than one male stag beetle. I've read in a couple of places that there might be a bug in the game where sometimes the blue fruit doesn't change into the fresh blood fruit in your inventory after a couple of seasons. So I figured better to have a backup in case I have to obtain it by dismantling. But in the end it wasn't needed.

But before we head back to Rose Garden, let's first take care of something else.



This teleporter here...



...leads over to Marblepolis.



You might also recall from way way back, that moving a stone block there will open this "secret" staircase.



It ultimately leads to the next place where we can use our next pair of rings!



Ken absorbed the power of Ziade!

Maximum HP +2, Maximum BP +5, Attack Power +4, Defence +7, Speed +3

In addition to that, Ken also receives an ability, "The Wind of Zia", which is also a strong attack against all enemies.

Linda will use her ring too, of course.



Linda absorbed the power of Zia!

Maximum HP +5, Maximum BP +3, Attack Power +8, Defence +2, Speed +6

She gets the ability, "The Flame of Zia", which greatly increases the party's attack power!

And this makes so far three pairs of rings. We have one more to do, but we are missing one of the two rings still!

Also, here's where our characters are right now stat-wise:



As always, overleveling is not really a thing you want to do in this game, so we just take the levels naturally as they come, but I've definitely not been going out to grind as it... simply isn't necessary in this game!

With this done, let's make our way to Rose Garden.



Obviously, we've come here to talk to Kevin.



That's the fresh blood fruit! Thank you, older bro!

Ken hands over the fresh blood fruit to Kevin.





The insect comes out from under the bed!

Have some of this! It will make you feel better!

He turns back to Ken and Linda...

Uh, yeah... I talked it over with mum and we decided that I will ask the older bro to take care of Poro-poro...
Poro-poro, please go to the brother here.



The insect runs away into the corner!

It's no use, Poro-poro... you can't come with us. I'm sorry, but I'm just a kid and don't have the power to help you... I'm really sorry.



The insect finally comes over to Ken.

Take care of Poro-poro, big brother!

Ken put Poro-poro in his TransCargo backpack.

Bye-bye Poro-poro!

As always, we can get just a bit of extra dialogue from the "quest giver":

Please find a good and strong mate for Poro-poro.

No problem on that, we already have one.

And with this, we've finished this quest. Our reward is simply the fact that we've obtained a female stag beetle, for which there is absolutely no other way to get it and also of course this is the only one in the entire game, so try not to sell it or dismantle it or whatever.

For now, it's time for some hunting. There are definitely still some animal species on the surface that we need to pick up, so let's make some progress on that. For that...



...we'll head outside of Battle Park.



More or less directly south is this cave, called Uruma. (Just ignore the eagles flying around!)



Inside there is one new species which is a bit rare to be found roaming around, but you can definitely trigger an ambush when camping overnight. When I make camp, we get one of those random comments from Linda!

Whenever I feel like I am going to lose my mind over all this, I just look at you and calm down. So Ken is all I need to stay upbeat all the time!

Ok, sure. But anyway, our ambush is time caused by these guys:



Sunfish!



They are kind of a bit hard to run into by just walking around, so you might want to try your luck in getting ambushed overnight rather. Somehow, they have no special abilities at all, and simply rely on normal attacks and the large HP pool! I have no explanation for this.

A bit further into the cave...



...there is one more place where we want to trigger the ambush.



These are stingrays!



Unlike our previous encounter, these guys actually have some powerful physical attack abilities, which is a bit surprising.

And here is their slightly more insane PC Engine version:



One other species we can find here in the cave is...



...the tigers! As before, females are a bit rare so you might have to try a few times until one spawns!



And that's that for here!



As we return to the ark, it is now Spring 1996. As a reminder, we have until Summer 1999 to finish everything. So it does seem that we might want to pick up the pace just a little bit--well, that's pretty much what we're doing today, so...

Let's head into Hardia.



If you talk to this lady here, you kind of get a gentle nudge to hurry up!

There is only 3 years and one season left, you know! So how's it going? Do you think you'll make it?

Well, we better! New year means of course new calendar, so let's go and have a look.





The year might be new, but we've definitely already seen this one.

Our next stop is again Ozport, because people there again have various interesting things to say!



We're definitely rapidly approaching the "GOODBYE NEOKENYA" part, though.



First, this person in the park.

The bible says that when Noah got off the ark, god gave them the promised rainbow in the new land. You will find a rainbow too, I'm sure! Until then, best of luck.

Or it might be just the rainbow coloured teleportation beam that gave Ozport its name?



This woman in the teleport waiting area...

I will be moving to Yuri, Canamel system. I hear that they have 8:2 male to female ratio there! I'm practically in heaven!



Teleport technician.

The Escape Project is going pretty much as planned, so you don't need to worry about it. You just focues on your work and keep it up. It looks like it's going well for you!

We'll take the teleporter up to the satellite and talk to a couple more people.



Like this woman here.

I don't know how many tens of thousands of years it will be, but someone from my bloodline will definitely stand on this planet again! And when we do, even if the Grim Reaper comes back, this time we won't lose! We will win! Don't underestimate the humans!

A pretty blatant hint at just what it is that might be going on here!

Talking to the lady at the computer, we can get another message from someone who left.

Someone who departed, left you a message! Would you like to hear it?
[ Yes. ] / No.
"About Miss Maki... In th end it wasn't either Yamada or Paul that she ended up with. It was the manga artist named Nishimori."

Manga is not really my thing, so I have no idea what this might be a reference to. But if someone knows, feel free to post!

Next...



...we head again to just outside of Dogy Figh.



A bit northeast, in the lake, there is another one of these.



Here we can use the blue beastman statue to activate the teleporter.



Of course, it takes us underground...



...this time to this area in the southwest.



Some new kinds of animals here!



For example these bisons.



So other than strong physical attacks, not too much more to say about them really. They do go extinct eventually, but not before 1997 or so, so you do have plenty of time to catch them. I don't think there are any hints about this in the game--generally NPCs don't really talk much about species which are only found in the underground, which makes sense.

Also... check out this original PC Engine screenshot!



Really, what can one even say here?



In actuality, what we came here for is this cave.



This place is called Pteranodon Terrace, and it's a bit uniquely structured. But for now, let's just head through the opening. Also, you might already be able to guess why we came here.



Once inside, it's a bit more like a normal cave.



There's a chest here, contining the golden nugget.

As for animals, there are definitely a few new species here. In fact there is one species which is a bit tricky to find, so it's best to let yourself get ambushed.

Before the ambush, we get another dialogue with Linda.

If it hadn't been for the ark, do you think you would still have ended up marrying me?
[ Probably. ] / No sure.
To be honest, I was expecting that you would end up on the ark with me. But I wasn't sure...
So now, I'm always really happy that I married you. Because now even if I have a hard time, I can find at least one happy thing.

So this is kind of a bit similar to the last one, actually.

Anyway, back to our ambush. It's...



...the chameleons!



Unlike other animals, they are entirely invisible in the world and as you walk around you might simply accidentally trigger a battle with them without realising. But that's annoying, so just try to get ambushed by them instead.

Also, today we seem to have some of the truly weirdest looks from the original version. So here are the chameleons:



Nevertheless, we must continue on!



In this chest is a swallowtail folding fan, a weapon. It's not better than what we already have. Also, we'll be meeting a whole bunch of swallowtails in just a few minutes!



Here's our next species on today's list! I hope you're ready.



Because spiders.



Eventually...



...we make our way back out. If we check out the map...



...we can see that this whole place is a series of layered terraces. Our goal is of course to reach the very top, where something special awaits!

Continuing through the cave...





...we reach the next level.

Back inside the cave...



...try not to fall into the hole there.



A somewhat precariously positioned chest! It contains a pteranodon hat, a piece of equpment.



I give it to Linda, for a small increase in defence.

Soon...



...we're back outside again.



And also one level higher again!



We find another chest! In this one is a huge gold nugget. It can be sold for 88,000 G, so not too bad!



Back outside...



...and one more level higher. We're almost there!



Before we head back inside, let's have a look at this imposing fellow!



Ah! Finally some actual pteranodons! Have you noticed that, unlike above ground, here there are deifinitely existing some pre-historic species that are long extinct on our Earth? Isn't that interesting.



Sometimes they will just "hover" above you. In that case you might want to use Linda's ability to imitate animal calls to make them come to you.

They mostly looked the same in the original version, so nothing to see on that aspect. However, we might remember at this point that we still have an outstanding task to find some pteranodon eggs. Maybe around here somewhere?



Back inside, another one rather precariously positioned chest... but this one doesn't even have an item! It just triggers a battle with spiders. Thanks, game!



So many spiders here. It's interesting that it took us until Scenario C to finally see some actual spiders, but well here we are.



Going one more level up...



Here we can find also some butterflies.



These are, very specifically, swallowtails. In this case it makes sense to be specific, since there are actually other kinds of butterflies in the game.



Since we're on a roll today, let's continue with PC Engine weirdness:



After this, we can finally...



...exit on the top level of this terrace! And... well, what do I see here. Could it be, some pteranodon eggs? (Answer: yes)



This is what we came here for, really. So now we can leave. Instead of making your way all the way down floor by floor, you can simply fall down if you walk over the edge of the terrace.



Here we are, and mostly we can leave now. But, before that... there is just one other item to be found here. And it's hidden a bit sneakily.



If you walk all the way to the eastern corner of this area...



...literally here in the corner, there is a chest!



Sure, let's make a collection of these, why the heck not! Anyway, NOW we have everything we came here to find. Since we have obtained the pteranodon egg, I guess it's time to go and bring it over to Bronco in Battle Park. So let's do that.



We'll go straight to the farm and into the basement.



As always, Bronco is down here. Let's remember that he's promised us a pair of giraffes out of his cold storage as a reward for bringing him the egg.

Oh! That egg! That's a... pteranodon egg! Let me take it quickly from you!

Ken has a huge egg taken away from him!

To tell you the truth, I had a hunch you would be coming back soon, so I already started to defrost the giraffes... But I set the temperature wrong and so I ended up boiling them.
......
......
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, all right?
I know that just saying sorry is not enough, so how about I make you a suggestion?
There's a beastian legend about a "ribbon flower", which can make even the corpses dance. I would like you to go and find it. If you have it, even a boiled giraffe would again hop skip and jump! I have just a bit of confidence that the legent must be true!

Well, that's not ideal, but what can you do. Now we have to go and find a "ribbon flower". I guess this must be the thing the guy at the morgue was talking about how the corpses disapper by walking out.



By the way, Louise is busy cooking...

I should better add here a bay leaf, some black pepper, saffron, and garlic as well...

Before continuing our quest, I stop by Hardia to sell some of those "sellable" items we've been getting lately, but...



...in the first shop I go into, the shopkeeper seems to have already left the planet! This might become a problem soon.



After exiting Hardia, it's now already Summer 1996!

Back to the flower, well, we have one obvious flower to check out to begin with...



...the one we left in the mansion in Eterna.



Well that was kind of easy. When you know where to look, anyway. Although regardless, it seems like an obvious place to check, provided you used the seed pouch there already. Let's bring this back to Battle Park!



W-what! You managed to find a ribbon flower! I really didn't think it actually existed! I was even talking to my wife about possibly having a bit of the boiled giraffe for dinner tonight...
Hmm.... well, I guess I did promise you, so nothing can be done. Here, give me your ribbon flower; don't worry, I won't eat it.

Ken handed over the ribbon flower.

All right...
......
......?
......!?
H-how! They've really come back to life!

With this Ken obtains in his TransCargo backpack one of each male and female giraffe! But I said we won't be making use of gifts in this scenario unless there is no other way (such as with female stag beetle, you can only get it from that quest). So we will catch the giraffes ourselves later.

But still... I wonder what a boiled giraffe would have tasted like...
With some ponzu sauce... No, with butter... No, no, with mustard! I'm so curious, I could practically die of curiosity!

Well, no giraffe for you tonight, sorry.



Louise has some final words for us as we leave...

If you guys ever eat a boiled giraffe somewhere... can you please let me know what it tastes like?

Well, all right.

With this, we have now in fact finished all the quests in this scenario. Therefore, all that's left is to finish exploring and capturing and of course to try out a few optional activities as we go. Yeah, it kind of sneaked up on us, but actually we are very close to the end of Scenario C at this point!

So, to continue we'll head over to Nebul, the city of illegal trade!



First, we'll stop by the animal dismantler and dismantle the female giraffe we just got!

I found the crown of N'Deen!

It's one of those "you just have to know" kinds of situation, I suppose. If you play the game without a guide it really expects you to try absolutely everything. Otherwise you will miss stuff.



Then we stop by the animal smuggler. As mentioned, quite a few species from the underground are considered class A, so this is the only place you can sell them. We end up with just over 1 million G in our pocket after the transaction.



Next, we'll disturb this person here in her hotel room in Nebul.

They say the humankind will go extinct in 20,000 years. I guess that's not a bad price for using the entire universe on credit without paying all this time. And besides, in the whole long 20,000 years, I'm sure we'll find many more ways to do so.



We'll continue by taking the southeastern exit from Nebul.



As you might recall, this takes us to that little otherwise inaccessible patch of land.



There we can find rhinos...



...and impalas.



On the eastern side is one entrance to Daicave. We'll go inside.



Although we've already caught enough of them for the ark, I will catch one more wolf here. You'll see why in a second.



I'll skip the details of the trip, but we came here to access this wide area where there are lots of blue flowers. Some of which are actually peacocks in disguise.



We find them quickly!



Here is also a chest, containing another beastman necklace.

So, now then. The reason I caught a wolf is because I want to use it in dog fights. The reason to use a wolf rather than a dog is because they have better stats overall. First, Linda has to use her ability to train the wolf.



Then we can name the wolf. Before I run out of names, this wolf is going to be named Natsu (=summer). Well, I only said I'm never going to name a dog "Summer". I said nothing about the wolves!



Then the wolf simply becomes a member of our party. It's the one highlighted at the top, it has a "W" marker to indicate that it's a wolf. However, a Lv. 15 wolf still stands no chance. So we need to level it up some more... oh, say to about level 40.

So I guess it's off to the grind?

No. You NEVER need to grind in this game, not even for this. There is a shortcut for this, too. Let's head over to... uh, Hospico!?



Over here is the dog shop, like in many towns, but this one is special...



...because it also has this guy here. He is the dog trainer!



Here you have a couple of options:
- Improvement of physical strength (3 levels up)
- Personality correction
- Acquire special skills

So the first option is a bit self explanatory. You pay the given amount and your dog/wolf/etc. gains 3 levels; each subsequent level gain costs more money than the last. The only problem is that while your animal is being trained, you can hear the somewhat unsavory sounds of a whip being cracked and animals whining/crying. So the methods used to train the animals may not be the most legal ones.

The second option allows you to choose in what direction to develop the stats of your animal as it levels up. The choices are:
- Adaptable (well balanced)
- Brave and daring (aggressive)
- Selfless (protect the owner)
- Calm and collected (not prone to injury)

Probably a good option for dog fights is the last one as you will have to do many battles in a row with no way to heal in between. So you might want to upgrade the defence of your animal in particular.

The third option allows you to teach your animal a few special abilities that they will use in battle. Which abilities they can learn, depends on the species. As we saw already as your "hunting dogs" you can use dogs, wolves, dolphins, eagles and two other species we haven't yet seen--as such the abilities which they can learn will differ.



And so in the end, here are the stats of our wolf Natsu, after changing to "brave and daring" character and levelling up to 39. The three stats on the right side are attack/defence/speed. With this we should be ready to participate in a dog fight. Although, not today.



What is today, though, is Autumn 1996. Let's do a couple more quick things before we finish!



First of all, a bit north of Ozport is one more "teleporter ruin".



Here we can use the gold beastman statue to activate it.



As usual, it takes us to the underground...



...to this tiny isolated area in the northeast corner of the map! We'll explore this later, but for now let's head back again to Battle Park.



Here, as always, we can participate in fights against other hunters.

Come over! Show your limitless power in the third ring against the most powerful creatures ever!

Of course there are three rings, divided by strength and the enemies here are the strongest. The game also limits you and doesn't let you participate in lower tiers when you're overlevelled. But the third ring is still open to us, so let's give it a try. You have to pay the participation fee, but you get it back when you win.



And then you get into a fight like this one, with a hunter and one or more of their animals. The hunters will be a bit higher level, but we are definitely in a position where we can handle it. You can also use your special abilities gained from those rings if you want, but it really isn't even necessary to be honest.

Once you win you get your reward in money and can keep going to stronger opponents.

Next is the second round... If you fold here, at least you won't be killed! Do you want to continue?
[ Continue. ] / Fold.
Well then, as you wish. READY GO!!

And so it continues.



After you win 8 rounds, you become the champion!

The champion is decided! Team Ken wins 128,000 G! The total prize money won is 255,000G! In addition, the mayor of Battle Park will present you with the Champion's Belt!

So you get a fair chunk of change, and also the champion's belt item. We've already found a few of these lying about in chests. They simply sell for 10,000 G to that dude in the tent, here in Battle Park.



This guy here. As I've mentioned before, he only has a certain probability of being present (I think it's 1/4), but it certainly seems like he's never there. So I take this chance finally to sell all those accumulated champion's belts and free up spaces in my inventory! For participating in lower tier rings, you also get a lower tier reward, such as a champion's medal. It simply sells for less money.

So this is just a fun activity you can do to earn some cash. It has no influence on the capturing process itself.

All right, to finish for today, let's go over to the ark.



We've done a fair bit of hunting today, so we should hand in what we have!



We find that our total is currently at 87 out of 120. It does mean that we still have 33 species left to find, but still it feels like we've finally made a bit of a push to get there!




We've managed to tick off a few items today! Apart from finishing all quests, we've also managed to finish using all beastman statues of different colours to activate the teleporters. I guess from here on we'll be mostly removing the entries from this list rather than adding. I also want to make a note that the presence of an item on this list doesn't necessarily mean that there's an answer for it in the game. At least not a direct one. So bear that in mind.




Today, some animal design sketches. It contains: buffalo, rabbit and peacock. Clearly these are some in-development drawings as the final design of the buffalo didn't end up quite like to one here (check last episode).