Part 88: Update LXXXV - Featuring: 4Kids Entertainment

Update LXXXV - Featuring: 4Kids Entertainment

Music: The Daily Grind


Loading our save after beating the game dumps us in Quantum Nodens.



Normally, the only thing we'd get here is access to the bonus dungeon. But if you'll recall-

Music: Let's Get to Work!!


-We've had those two DLC quests taunting us for the entire game.



Ummm, so this one is from... someone called... Blaster Boy? I have a handwritten request letter here, so I'll read it out to you. Dear Unit 13, Blaster Raven told me to give you a super secret document. Please come get it. From, Blaster Boy A.K.A. Fumiya. I wonder if this is some kind of prank. He's waiting in the Main Plaza, so could you go see him?

Music: The Daily Grind


We'll have to wait a bit longer for Allie's Death March. That's a post-post-game boss rush and will happily tear us to shreds if we tried it now.



Fumiya: Earth Squadron, Blaster Boy! The! Sidekick! Is! Here! Unit 13! Thank you for coming! I am Blaster Raven's partner, Blaster Boy! Are you sure nobody followed you?





Fumiya: I handed it to you, which means my mission is complete! Blaster Raven said it was really important! What does it say?

System Message: Do you want to read the document?



Do not read the document.

Fumiya: What!? Read it, read it!

As you might expect, choosing to read it just skips this bit.

System Message: Unit 13. There is something I'd like to give you.





I'm not even going to remark on how the soulless quantum automatons are doing this, this is DLC.



Music: UE77 Tokyo


Ahhhhh, look at that sweet, sweet zero.



And the bonus dungeon is the Shadow Realm.

In the game that has the Yu-Gi-Oh class.

They had to have known what they were doing.



But before we can head there, we have to go check in with Kirino.

Music: Tokyo - Cascading Ordeals


Did you know the only teleporter in the Vermilion Tower is about 75% through the dungeon?





I took a wrong turn and had to backtrack to find my way up.



It sucked!



And Kirino is waiting at the very spot his former boss died, some 80 years ago.

Shame there's no official way for a western player to know that.



*chuckle* That's enough joking... Today, I'd like to talk to you not as Blaster Raven, but as Ayafumi Kirino.



Ultimately, we were absorbed by ISDF and dismantled... but I still remember those days. And I still remember my precious friends... The legendary Unit 13 who saved this world. I'd like you, who carry on their name, to accept this.



And then he gives us-



-a weapon upgrade-

You obtained Ranbu Sanzanzakura x1.
You obtained Indra x1.
You obtained God Knuckle x1.
You obtained Volume X x1.
You obtained Odin x1.
You obtained Yggdrasil x1.
You obtained Staff of the End x1.
You obtained Heat X x1.

-for every weapon type in the game.

Just pay $2 (when the 3DS eShop was still alive) and endgame power can be yours!



Only you can cut the chain of sadness created by dragons. You may even save the world.

I wonder if the DLC was planned to unlock earlier at some point, considering you can't do this without saving the world.

*nods*

Thank you. And... I'm sorry for forcing such a heavy burden upon you.

*shakes head*

Thank you... By the way, how is Mio doing?

Currently dead, thanks for asking.



How do you know about her?

Both give the same result.



Her predecessors, Miroku and Mina were... important teammates to Murakumo. So to me, Mio is almost like a child... Well, she's more like a grandchild. That's why, at the very least, I wish for her to be happy.



You're a great hero.

I'm no hero. I'm just an old man who's outlived his peers. But... it makes me glad to hear you say that. Thank you.

~

I'll help you.

Ah, yes. Mio is... no longer alone.

~~

*chuckle* You are the true hero. I've decided... I will lend you the aid of my Blaster Kids!



Oh, and we get a new character portrait after you've spent the entire game getting attached to your party.



Hahaha... Hahahahaha!



Music: The Daily Grind


We then get kicked straight back to Nodens to turn the quest in.

Fumiya: Earth Squadron, Blaster Boy! The! Sidekick! Is! Here! Good work on your secret mission, Unit 13! Here, have this!





You obtained Dragon Hatchling x3.
You obtained SP Up EX x5.





So, that portrait we got from Kirino?



Is Blaster Raven himself.



He even comes in multiple colors!



If anyone has earned the right to change their look, it's GEORGE!.



And with all that done, we can finally get started on the Shadow Realm.

Music: Forfeit - The Dragon Inquires


It's literally just reused maps from across the game, but I can't hold that against VFD. Every bonus dungeon in the series has been like that.





Our good friend Iod is waiting by the front entrance.



All the previous bonus dungeons in the series were non-canon.

The Shadow Realm is very, very canon.

This raises many questions on how the hell we got here, considering post-game takes place before the end of the game and the Shadow Realm takes place after.

It is a shadow realm, so to speak. None other than you can see it. Do you wish to discover the truth?



And as is standard, we have to shell out a massive chunk of Dz in order to get in.



It is time. You shall witness the truth of this new universe.







Up first is the bottom of Ladyin.

Music: Battlefield - Ultimate Predator


As is also standard, all normal enemies here are upgraded dragons. The first area has Frilled Dragons, Morph Dragons, Ice Dragons, and Dark Ones.

At least we're finally free from Battlefield - UE77.



We've already seen these places, so I'm sure you won't mind if I just skip past them.



There's a save by the door to Nyala's room.



Which leads... to Nyala's room.



They're really having us fight Nyala three times in one game.



But instead of just Throwing GEORGE! At It, I decide to do something a bit more fun.



I head back to the dorms.



And shuffle my team around a bit.



My goal for this fight is to see how Counters.Party fares in the hyperaggressive world of VFD.



Video: VS Nyala (Again) (Again)
Music: True Dragon - 1st Encount




The Illusory Dragon King comes in with 14K LF, just 3K above what he had in Grateful Seventh.

The catch is that he has close to 100 more ATK/MAT and double SPD, making him far more deadly.







I'm not even hacking with this, I just want some safe turns to set up.





If the hack would, you know, actually stun him.











There we go.





And a perfectly timed Cheetah Burst to finish setting up!







While this is fun and all, it would be faster to just point GEORGE! at him.





And now we begin.







Unfortunately for Counters.Party, Agent is a mixed attacking class and has about 30 less ATK than Tricksters did in 2020. As the first step in damage calculation is ATK - DEF, this heavily cuts down on Bush Traps damage. The loss of auto-crits also hurts.

















Look, I'm actually making serious use of React turns!







Again!





oh btw he has enough atk to one shot Opal through an atk debuff and def buff so counters.party actually sucks ass here

This is why I needed to use Aiden's EX move to set up, I had several failed attempts where Nyala just waltzed up and ended someone while I was still applying buffs.



lol his ass got stopped cold







Well not like I can counter when he can't move.







Music: Forfeit - The Dragon Inquires


In the 2020 bonus dungeons the Hypnos sisters would give you some background exposition as you beat bosses.

Here, Iod's just gonna vomit words at us.

All of these are contained within this shadow... This parallel realm born from the great restructuring. No life exists here. Everything you encounter is merely an echo...





Next time: Haze takes nowhere near as long.