Part 10: Chapter Nine: Argus

Music: 02 – My Home Sweet Home



: Oh, I’m going to give that rat-face Argus a beating he’ll never forget!

We start out back inside the Inn, but our real objective is naturally to go and pay Argus a visit back in his office at the Coliseum. Before that, though, it’s a good idea to take a look at our new party member.



First off, Lin is fast. Very fast. She’s the fastest character in the game and will go first in combat 99% of the time. She’s also very strong physically – her Strength is the same as Ryu’s despite being three levels lower than him. Lin’s unique in-battle ability is Taunt, where she causes all enemies on the field to focus on her by shouting obscenities at them. This…is pretty useless, since Lin has abysmally low defense. We can partially remedy that by withdrawing our money from the bank and paying the Weapon Shop a visit.



I buy her a Hexa Staff, a Catsuit (hurr), a Headband and an Iron Band, raising her paltry starting defense to a far more respectable 32. With our shopping done, it’s time to return to the Coliseum.



Music: 08 – Coliseum





Music: Find the Truth



: Yes, now all the actors have finally assembled on the stage. It seems that none of you cared for the script I wrote. Our God, however, found my offering quite satisfying…



: What?!

: What the hell is this?!

: Everyone, get back!





: But you want our God to starve, and for that that, you will die in the most fantastic display of carnage ever witnessed! What a pity I can’t kill you in front of a proper audience!

: Steel yourselves, everyone!

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Music: 10 – I’ll Do It



Argus transforms into a horrible monster and attacks the party. Both Rand and Lin join the fray on Ryu’s side, and it’s a good thing they did because Argus is probably the hardest boss so far. Argus does not fuck around – he attacks twice per turn and his damage output can quickly overwhelm Rand and Lin, particularly since both are at a lower level than Ryu. Apart from that Argus can also spend a turn charging his attacks before unleashing a devastating attack that can deal up to 50 damage to a single target. This attack can kill Lin in one blow. Since he attacks twice per round that means he can charge and attack on the same turn.

Argus also has a truckload of HP. Now is a really good time to use the Firecracker we found at Mt. Futabi, since Argus is weak to fire and he’ll take 170+ damage from it. Lin is speedy and can outpace everyone else, so it’s good to use her to toss the Firecracker and to heal when necessary via items. Rand has some healing magic as well, but he’s very slow and will always go last so it’s best not to rely on him.

The key factor in this fight is whether or not you managed to save Lin from the poison darts. If you did then you’ll have all three characters for the fight, which makes things a lot easier. If Lin was hit then she won’t have recovered enough to take part and it’ll be just Ryu and Rand against Argus. Although Lin will join after the end of the fight, it makes defeating Argus that much harder since you won’t have a speedy herb-thrower for when things get dicey.



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: The seed has already been planted! It doesn’t matter how many of us you defeat…our God shall not be denied!



: Gahahaha…guh. I don’t have to tell you. Soon, all of you will know His glory…It won’t be long now…You’ll wish I had killed you when I had the chance…gahahaha…ha…



: Ugh! He exploded!



: It’s like he was some kind of demon or something…



: Who knows? I’m just throwing things out there. Whatever he was, it wasn’t anything we want to be involved with.

: You got that right. Damn, he was a tough one though…



: Hey, wait! What about me?

: You go back home, I guess. The battle’s over, and so is the Show.



:…Well…there is one thing that I still need help with…



: Wow, talk about some uncanny timing! I was just thinking of quitting this showbiz crap and doing some repair work! If your friend needs a hand, I’ll be happy to give him both of mine!

: Really? That would be a great help. I mean, he’s the sort of guy who really needs someone to keep an eye on him.



: Any friend of Bunyan is a friend of mine! Let me help out too!

: Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get one thing straight here. This isn’t a pleasure cruise. You come with us, you pull your weight. Do I have your attention?

: Sure, sure!



: Uh, right, okay…Well, good for you.

And with that, Lin and Rand join the party! We’ve had a look at Lin – how about Rand?



Rand’s stats are all above average aside from his speed, which is abysmal. As seen in the previous video, he fights with his fists and will become one of the party’s hardest hitters once he gets some decent weapons. His HP growth is also excellent and he learns a few healing and offensive spells. Rand’s unique in-battle ability is Rouse, wherein he can either wake a sleeping party member or revive a character who has been knocked out with 1 HP. It’s less useful than it sounds due to his low speed and the fact that other party members will eventually learn more reliable methods of reviving fallen characters.



Anyway, Rand isn’t going to be in the party for very long, so there’s little point in buying him any armor.



Lastly, Rand also has a field ability. If the player presses ‘Y’ with him in the lead…



He’ll roll up into a ball and move around the world map much faster than normal. There are no random encounters whilst in this form, but hitting an obstacle will stop the rolling. In addition, a random battle will nearly always be triggered once this happens.

Let’s skip back to Bosch and Nero’s hideout on the other side of Mt. Futabi and advance the plot.



: Whoa! Who’ve you been hanging out with?

: It’s a long story, but here’s roughly how things went…



: Heeeeeeey wait a minute. I thought your name was supposed to be Bunyan? That’s what it said on all the posters, anyway. Maybe your name’s Ryu Bunyan? Or Bunyan Ryu? Either way, I think its kinda funny…

:…Huh?



: That big guy there…Rand, right? I like the looks of him. Guy’s built like a suit of armor. If I could just borrow him for a bit, I could have this roof fixed and get out of old man Nero’s deathgrip in no time. But the girl…Lin, was it? Get her out of here. As soon as you can.



:…Yeah, I hear you there.



: Bun– I mean, Ryu. What’s your friend whispering to you about?



: N-nothing! Uh, heh heh…I mean, repair work…yeah, that’s it. Got a lot of work to do, you see, and I was thinking…

: You want me to help, right? I’m on it! I’m all over it!



: No no no, that, no no! Er, I mean, this is really just a two-man job here, and Rand is all the help I’ll need. Ryu, though…



: So…why don’t you go with him? Two pairs of eyes’d scout out that bat-winged burglar faster than one!

: Uh, yeah! I could really use your help, Lin.

: Really? Oh yeah! This is gonna be awesome! You hear him, Ryu? We’re gonna be real life detectives!

: Uh…yeah…sure…



: We’ll be back with the crook in tow before you can even blink!



Lin drags Ryu off.



: Soooo…where do we start?

: Well, there was no sign of her in Colossea. I suppose there’s always the possibility she doubled back to Newhaven to give any pursuers the slip, though. It might be worth going back there and having a quick look around.

: Alrighty! Let’s go! Uh…just one question…where’s Newhaven?

: *Sigh* Follow me…

On the way back, I run into another hunting area.



Although Bosch is currently indisposed, Lin can also participate in the hunt by beating the animals to a pulp with her staff. It’s more awkward than using Bosch’s crossbow since the animals have a tendency to run away whenever you get within one space of them, but it’s useful to have when all else fails.



: This seems like a pretty boring place. So, uh…where do we start?

: Well, I bumped into the thief on the main street, so we should probably start there. Let’s-



*Boom!*

: What the hell was that?!



: My apologies. I meant to aim a little lower.



: Seeing as how you won’t take any other hint, you’re not leaving me with many options.



: I don’t take orders from scum. Now, begone!





: Unless you have little regard for your own life, I suggest you leave.





: Ryu, look! This is the Academy of Magic Arts! The Academy of Magic Arts!

: Yes, I know – I do live here, after all.



: I thought we were looking for the thief? Ah, screw it. Those goons were Joker’s henchmen. I have no idea what they wanted with that magic instructor, but whatever it is it can’t be good.



: Fine, fine. Why do I get the feeling this is only the start of something? *Sigh* Oh well. Let’s just go inside already.