Part 25: Tower of Wonders

Update 25: Tower of Wonders






Music: Sol Tower

It's time to explore Sol! There are four floors of stuff to check out, so let's go from the roof downward and see what's what. This is the daycare, though it's really more of an orphanage.





Woman: I know she calls herself a thief, but...She's really a gentle person. Besides, there are reasons she goes into the Mist to steal. One of them is to fund the operating expenses here. Another reason...Oh, I don't know if I should tell you this, but...Cara says she steals so that she won't regret the love she had. I don't really understand what that means, but it sure sounds complicated and deep.




Woman: But here with the kids, I'm too busy to complain or feel sorry for myself.


The people of Sol go back and forth between mania and melancholy. The daycare is one of the few places where everyone seems basically happy. This also offers a little backstory on Cara.





Woman: Gaza had a son names Theodore and two grandkids, Mar and Belde. One day, in the Mist, in the lower levels of Sol, right before Gaza's eyes...The Seru monsters killed Gaza's son and grandkids. That's what made Gaza run mad. All he had left was his sword. His only reason for living was to kill Seru monsters and perfect his swordsmanship.





Woman: That he may be killing his own friends and townspeople. But he wouldn't listen.


And now we've got some backstory for Gaza. I wonder what Songi's plan is with him?





In the Warehouse, a kid insults Vahn and we have some pretty funny potential responses. We can get some high end items here once we're obscenely rich, which is not now.







Man: Go to Muscle Paradise if you think you're tough enough. They give out Soru Bread as prizes.

There are a few hints scattered around about how we're supposed to progress in the basement. Since we don't actually know there's anything blocking our path in the basement, this information is easy to forget. Just remember that bread is important, but somewhat hard to get.





All three party members can achieve fame and glory in Sol. Let's see who can be the best on Broadway.





Music: Sol Broadway and the Muscle Dome

Sol-Far: Hi, I'm Sol-Far and this is Sol-Mar.

Sol-Mar: And I'd like to say...

Sol-Far: I'm a Sol man! Get it? Sol man? Soul man!

Sol-Mar: Hey, stop joking around, you moron!





Owner: If I did that, all the people here would have nowhere to go! That's why I keep the place open and let them perform here. I guess you could call it a kind of volunteer work!




Mon: Since then, I haven't been able to find a new partner...Hey! Hey, you there! You, the big one! Eh? Your name is Gala? Gala, you look just like Pig!





Mon: Oh, thank you! Alright, the stage is this way. Let's go! What are you worried about? Just deadpan it up there and I'll do the rest. I heard that you're a great straight man! So don't worry, let's go!








Mon: I forgot how wonderful it is to see people smiling and laughing!

N-No! It's not what you think! Vahn, Noa, don't get the wrong idea! I was just having a serious conversation! Even if a Biron warrior-monk did perform in a...comedy show...No, I mean...The rules of Biron forbid laughter! So, even if I, a Master of Biron, I mean, I would...I could never -

Mon Hey! Gala, what's wrong? Your act was great, so what's the matter now? That line wasn't very funny.

Wow! You're great, Gala! You're not just strong, you're funny, too! I wanna go see all the people laughing. I'll be back in a minute.

Wait, Noa! Vahn, stop! Stop looking at me like that! I...It's just that...you know! Oh well. That Noa went off by herself. I guess we should follow her.


Huh, I can't say I was expecting that. It's too bad the game won't let us see his actual act.





Well, we've made life better for everyone here! Now let's keep heading downstairs.





I passed by Sol Fever Disco, but they won't let me in without a Gold Card. We'll be back here later this update. Next up is...





The Muscle Dome! This place is the arena/coliseum/whatever of the game. It also has one major catch...







Music: Battle Theme


You have to fight solo, and it has to be with Vahn. I'd probably use Gala for soloing purposes (since he's the most defensive in nature) but we'll see how Vahn handles himself.









Beginner Course bans items but allows the use of Seru magic and all other commands.

The first three battles of Beginner Course are against enemies you can completely wreck with non-spirited attacks.





Hey, it's the first boss of the game! I killed this guy in TWO non-spirited attacks and took two digit damage from it's special. No big deal.

The fifth battle is against the Gola Gola Seru, and then...







Zeto isn't very dangerous anymore, either. His special attack doesn't do much, he can poison but it's no big deal...he has HP but that's the only real “difficulty” here.

The seventh battle is against a Viguro lvl2, and finally...







Yeah, we're in trouble.

Xain is beatable at this point, if you know what you're doing, have patience, maybe get a little lucky...having current equipment helps, too. Spoon might also be useful.





I didn't beat him.

Fortunately, there's another minigame in the Muscle Dome that's actually pretty god for making coins – at least, as many coins as you need to get Soru Bread.









Music: Baka Fighter (Sol Fever Disco)


Baka Fighter is a Rock Paper Scissors minigame. Enemies have different patterns that they'll use. For example, the first three enemies will constantly spam one button, the later enemies start alternating between two...





If you get enough points in the first four matches, then you'll face off against Xain. He is much more manageable in RPS form.







Eventually we face off against Songi, who's pattern is all over the place.

I should note that, while enemies do have “patterns”, they'll start at a random point in their sequence and will occasionally break the pattern to throw you off or prevent you from learning the correct sequence. It's actually a pretty fun little minigame, and I think it's a faster and simpler alternative to get the coins you need for now rather than trying to slog through Xain.







We get 460 coins for beating every enemy, and need 800 total. Since I still have several left over from my good fortune with Vidna's slot machine, I'm done with coin grinding for now!

We can also get a Gold Card. Time to head to the club!









Hey, fuck you.

Let's check out this dance contest. It's a simple rhythm game.


Music: Watch Noa Dance







You just hit the buttons as they scroll across the screen. The only ones that ever scroll past are square and circle, and they alternate predictably, so it's not really a problem.

You can also hit the triangle button along with whatever other buttons to do a flashy dance move and get more points. You can do this three times throughout the dance. This will also “level up” your dancing, making the inputs more complex but awarding you more points for inputting them correctly. The moves also level up over time.

Basically, the strategy is to use your first two triangle uses immediately to get to level 3 (the highest level of complexity), then save the third triangle for your very last move.





Pictured: The result.





Music: Dance Queen Mary













































OH IT'S ON, BITCH







Music: Dance Against the Queen

As awful a person as she is, Mary is a legitimately good dancer. You have to use your triangles and make all the inputs perfectly to beat her.









Damn right.





Oh, I'm in luck. I always wanted swimsuit shots of a twelve year old girl.





And on that terrifying note, we're done with the upper levels of Sol – well, until Vahn can handle the Muscle Dome, at least. Join me next time as we feed the Sages, get fantastic items, and team up with the world's least appreciated utensil.