Part 10: Update 9

Update 9






: Yes, Professor.



: ...I am indeed. However, you have a terribly uncouth way of speaking.
: Pastor Piccaring!
: Oh, Chosen! I heard that the Chosen of Regeneration had set out on her journey, but to meet you here!
: Actually, we're looking for the key to the Tower of Mana.
: We need Boltzman's healing technique. Can you hand us the key?
: Who could possibly refuse a request from the Chosen? Here you are. Chosen, Please take care during your travels. And please stop by Luin again.





: Just like with thought, this is a seal.
: Okay then, I'm going to put my hand on it....
: Let's hurry up and get this over with.




: ...You always start out enthusiastic.
: I can hear the sound of wind...



There are two major features of this dungeon. The first is the presence of TRAPS.

Various spikey things pop up or out to hit us, and take away a percentage of everyone's max health. These can't kill you, but if you start a fight with everyone at 1 hp that's almost the same thing.
The other is wind. You have to block the wind with boxes by putting them on the corresponding panels. Well, you don't actually have to. All it does is let you read some clues to the puzzle later.




When you enter the puzzle room, something happens outside.

: Corrine!




Anyway, the puzzle room has five fans you blow on using the sorcerer's ring to open treasure rooms in the walls, and unlock the big door ahead.




Oh hey let's see if there's a boss at this altar.
Youtube backup.

: Wait. I sense... incredible mana.






Note that he's strong against Lightning in addition to Wind. This is because in Tales games, sometimes the two aren't separate elements. Presumably those games don't have either earth or water. This guy attacks with (surprise!) wind spells, and fires his feathers at us. It's nothing memorable or difficult.

While I was doing this I ran into some kind of bug with unison attacks. Ground Dasher would NEVER go off in a unison attack. I donno if it's due to playing on a Wii or what.






: Oh, hi Sephie. Won't you come on out?

: ...Yes!
: Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength!

: Thank you, Father.
: ... Accept this blessing from Cruxis. I hereby grant you additional angelic power.
: ...Ah...Father?...
: The next seal lies far northwest, in a place that gazes upon the center of the world. Offer your prayers at the altar in the distant land.
: Father, have I done something to displease you?
: ...It matters not. All that is needed is for you to become an angel. I will be waiting for you at the next seal. Colette...my daughter. I will be waiting for you at the next seal. Hurry and become a true angel. Do not disappoint me...
: What's up with him? He always talks like he's so important.
: *SLAP* Apologize to Colette!
: It's all right. Father... Lord Remiel really does sound like that.
: Well, shall we get going to the next seal?... Although, he was confusing as usual.
: Stop complaining. ...Let's get moving.



On our way out...
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: That voice...
: Oh, no...
: It appears you've obtained the key to the Tower of Mana.
: Yes, we have. Would you like to go the Tower of Mana together with us?
: S...stay back! Don't move! Don't touch anything!
: I have no intention of befriending you! And don't worry. Even if you die here, I will deliver Boltzman's healing technique to Sophia!
: Sophia can't use the technique, you moron. She told you that herself.
: ...Prepare yourselves!
: Get ready.






Sheena and her Guardian have more HP and stats, but not much in the way of new moves. What they do have is actual decent AI. They would run over and kill Raine and/or Genis EVERY TIME. I finally went and beat them, then reloaded and beat them on Normal difficulty.

Here's what happens if you lose.
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: ...Arrgh! Why...why can't I win?
: Goodness and love will always win!
: Genis, please don't bring up that stupid Dwarven Vow!
: "Goodness"?! What do you mean, "goodness"?! If you're good, I'm good as well!
: Not you, too! Everyone, stop saying corny things!
: What do you know?! When you regenerate the world, my country will be destroyed! I won't let that happen... I swear!
: Wait. What are you talking about? If I regenerate the world, everyone will be saved...right?
: ...This world will be saved!
: Stop! Who are you?! So you're not alone?!
: This world? What did she mean?
: That girl...is she...
: Do you know her?
: ...No. Let's get out of here.



Oh no Colette!
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: Professor Sage! Colette's sick again!
: Oh no! We must let her rest immediately.
: Time to set up camp, then.
: Yes...but if this is going to happen every time she releases a seal, Colette is going to have a difficult journey ahead of her. For the time being, I'm going to call the phenomenon Angel Toxicosis.
: Colette, are you okay? Does it hurt?
: I'm fine. It'll go away soon...I'm sorry for worrying everyone.
: Okay, that's enough. You're not allowed to apologize any more, okay?
: Hehehe...I'm sorry.




: Hehe...I couldn't sleep.
: You may feel better now, but you still need to rest.
: I know. I'll go to sleep in a little bit. Don't worry.
: But still...
: Kratos is still awake, too. See?
: That's because he volunteered to be the night watch. You need to rest.
: ...Okay.
: Okay. Good night.
: Good night...
: Please, dream some good dreams for me, Lloyd.



Skit #063: Getting Bored

: What's wrong?
: Ah...Well, this whole seal breaking thing, it's starting to get...
: ...Boring?
: ...N...no. I haven't forgotten the people of Iselia and all the other victims.
: ...Good.
: ...I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking...
: A single mistake could destroy everything. You should think about what your reason for being on this journey is.




So we go back to that mysterious tower. Now we can go in!
Youtube backup.


: Ohh! Just think of all the knowledge contained within those books!
: Hey! It's an oracle stone!
: I see! This is a seal! Colette, if you would, please?
: Yes, Professor.
: ...It didn't open.
: No, look at that magic circle.
: Marvelous! This apparatus has awoken due to the oracle stone.
: So we just need to do something with that apparatus.
: So it would seem.
: This looks interesting.... Lloyd, stand on that blue circle.
: What? Uh, okay.
: Genis, you go to that one.
: Okay.

: Oh!
: Oh!
: Wow!
: Wow! It opened, Professor!
: Huh? What the?
: It seems that it won't open without three people on these circles.
: Which means that three of us must remain here. It's dangerous, but we have little choice.
: Yes, we wouldn't want the door to be closed when we come back out. Then Lloyd, go ahead with Colette.
: Me? Well, okay. Okay, let's take care of this.
If we did this in the "right" order, IIRC you can pick your party members, since you have six of them. No points for guessing who the sixth party member will be.
: It opened. Okay, those staying behind, wait here.




Since this is the "Light" seal, we get the old mirror+sunbeam puzzles.

: Lloyd! Marvelous! It must be linked to an apparatus somewhere. Lloyd, can you see this side?
: Wow! This machine is cool! Hey there! I can see you, too!
: Lloyd! Can you hear me? The door on this side opened. We're going on in as well. Let's meet up and regroup before we release the seal.
: Okay, gotcha.



So now we've got a party of Kratos/Raine/Genis. There's a couple more light puzzles, but not exactly difficult.


: Let's try stepping onto that round pedestal.
: Whoa, something appeared again!
: Can you hear me? We've made it in further. It would be best to regroup before we proceed.
: Okay.
So we run and meet up.
: Try standing on that pedestal. If it's the same as the entrance, the next path should open.



So these seals, they have boss fights.
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: Phew, man, I'm tired....
: That's because you're always overexcited in the beginning.
: It's mana....Powerful mana is coming out!




So yeah, since light elemental damage isn't going to work too well, we're going to not use unison attacks based on Prism Stars. Instead, Genis gets to drop METEOR STORM on horsey here.


Most of that damage was the Meteor Storm. Anyway, the boss has a few attacks other than the standard hit and charge hit with knockback. He can cast Photon like Raine, and also can summon two other horse things to rush us.

Finally he has a death ray thing that you can dodge completely by standing under him.


I ended up redoing him on normal too since I got fed up with deaths. Fortunately, he's the last boss for the no-deaths condition! There's that title. I'm not sure it's any better than the title I was using, but it's nice to have it. This movie also has the next part of the plot.
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: Chosen of Regeneration... You have done well in reaching this far. Now, offer your prayers at the altar.
: ...Yes! Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength!

: Luna! Good to see someone upstaging Remiel.
: Whoa, it talked!
: ...Without Aska, I cannot do anything--I cannot form a pact or a vow.... Please...find Aska...in order to restore my power.
: Aska is really kind of a dick.

: ...Thank you.
: Receive this blessing, the gift of angelic power from Cruxis.
: ...Y...yes, Father. Thank you.
: The next seal lies far south, in a place of purity that floats on an isolated island. Offer your prayers at the altar in that distant land.
: I shall do as you say. ...Lord Remiel.
: I will be waiting for you at the next seal. Colette...my daughter. The end of your journey is close. Hurry and become a true angel. Do not disappoint me....
: Man, you're getting more and more curt aren't you.
: A true angel...
: What is it?
: Ah...nothing. I was just... thinking when I become a true angel, it'll be amazing!
: I wonder how many more seals there are?
: That, we don't know....
: At any rate, all we can do is keep going.




Oh right, the reason we went here in the first place. It's in a bookshelf on the first floor.
: Now we can save Pietro.
: ...No, it will be difficult for me to use this book with my healing arts. If we at least had some sort of tool to amplify the body's life force...
: What sort of thing do you need?
: Hmm. The legendary horn of the unicorn, or Mana Leaf Herb, the elven medical herb...
: Where are we going to find something like that? Well, let's take it with us for now.



Hey, what happens when Colette releases a seal?
Youtube backup.

: It's the Angel Toxicosis again. Let's hurry and let her rest.
: Are you okay?
: *Sigh* I'm sorry to trouble everybody again...
: Don't worry about that, but--
: Owww...
: What are you doing, Lloyd? Are you okay, Colette?
: ...

She's making that weird face because this is the animation normally used when what will happen at the fourth seal happens here, since this is normally the fourth seal.
: N...no. I'm fine. Hehe... I just blanked out for a moment.
: ...



: Colette. Let me see your hand.
: Huh? Why?
: Just show me!
: You're hurt! It must have happened when you fell. Look how much you're bleeding!
: But it doesn't hurt.
: What?
: Uh, I mean, it doesn't hurt that much.
: ...Colette, can I talk to you for a sec?
: What is it, Lloyd?
: I thought it'd be nice for us to talk just by ourselves.
: ...Sure.

: Thanks.
: Hot, isn't it?
: Yeah. Really hot.
: It's actually iced coffee.
: ...What?
: I had Genis make it cold.
: Oh, hehe, yeah, of course it's cold.
: I lied. It's actually hot.
: ...I knew it. How long have you been like this?! You can't feel anything at all, can you?!
: Th...that's not true.
: You're lying! When you fell earlier, you already couldn't feel anything, could you?!
: W...well, uh...but...uh...
: You were bleeding like crazy, but you didn't even flinch when I squeezed your hand!
: ...I guess the secret's out.
: You haven't been eating lately either.
: I eat! Hehe...
: Barely. You even started eating things you don't like. And that's not all. Have you been sleeping?
: Of course. Hehe...see. My eyes aren't red or anything.
: Stop lying to me! You always do that fake giggle when you lie.
: Th...that's not true...
: Is it that hard for you to trust me?
: No!...It's not like that! I just...*Sigh* I just didn't want anyone to worry.
: ...What's happening to you?
: I don't know. I don't know, but things first got strange when I released the Fire Seal. I suddenly didn't want to eat anything anymore. Even when I did, it didn't have any taste.
: ...No taste?
: I can't hold anything down when I force myself...so, I haven't been eating. I never get hungry.
: That's...that's...
: Then when I released the next seal, I stopped getting sleepy. I close my eyes, but I just can't sleep. I haven't slept at all since then. Then with this seal, I stopped feeling anything.
: Why...why didn't you say anything?!
: Well, I figured, this is just what it means to become an angel. So I shouldn't let it get to me.
: This is what it means to become an angel?! Not eating anymore, not sleeping anymore, not feeling anything anymore?!
: But my eyes have actually gotten better. I can see really far away now. And my hearing, too. I can hear even the faintest sounds really well. I can hear them so well that...it's kind of painful sometimes.
: I'm sorry. ...I didn't realize what was going on at all. I'm sorry.
: Please don't tell the others.
: Why?!
: Well, I mean, we're all on this trip together and I want it to be fun. So, I don't want you to worry about it either, okay?
: ...You're so stupid!
: I'm sorry, Lloyd. Even though you're crying for me, and I'm happy, so happy I want to cry...but I can't anymore. I'm sorry!...
: Saving the world isn't fun.



Next time we'll see how things have been going on elsewhere while we've been releasing seals.