Part 52: Chapter Thirty Nine: Fuck Highfort II – Electric Fuckaloo

Music: 12 – The Kingdom





: I wish I knew. I have a bad feeling about this…





: I suppose I should go do that.





: First time I’ve heard the name. Who is this ‘Spuke’ person?







: Huh. Sounds lovely. Well, I’d best be off…

We regain control of Sten after the conversation finishes.



If we had tried to come down here with Ryu and co., the stairs would have been blocked off by another guard. As it stands now Sten can go down there by himself.

Music: 04 – Dungeon



There’s not much down here.



The three chests down here contain a Restorative, a Speed Suit and a Papillon, respectively. They’re here so if you forgot to load Sten up with the best possible gear you have the chance to fix it before he fights many encounters. Oh yeah, there are random encounters down here, though we’ve fought them all before at one point or another.



Anyway, it’s time to go hunting for Ryu and co. Sten will be going the next part of the game solo, so if you didn’t bother to raise him to an appropriate level things can get nasty very quickly.

In fact, it’s the biggest concern here. If you dumped Sten as soon as you could and never used him afterwards then he’s probably hovering somewhere around the level 12 mark. And that’s just not going to cut it for this next part of the game. He’ll go down in one or two shots from the encounters in here and there won’t be much you can do to get him up to speed.

It doesn’t help that we’ll shortly be travelling through some long, maze-like passages rife with dead ends and a fairly high encounter rate with just Sten, particularly since certain enemies are capable of dealing over 100 damage in a single attack even if Sten’s level is high. If you know this part of the game is coming you can prepare for it and it won’t seem so bad – as long as Sten is over level 20, has the best possible equipment and the inventory is loaded up with healing supplies this part of the game isn’t too difficult.

If not, you’re in for a world of hurt.



Thankfully at the very least the Inn and item shop are open now. If you’re really underlevelled it might be possible to grind out a few levels in the treasure room if you fight intelligently and heal up at the Inn after every fight, but it’s still an unacceptably annoying slog.

Music: Wanderer



: *Sigh* Oh master, what have you gotten yourself into this time…



: Huh?! Wait a minute…I know that voice!



: That voice…Turvoe! Is it really you?





:…Ya jackass monkey! You got some balls coming back here after that stunt you pulled!

: Turvoe…I’m sorry. I should have come back sooner…



: Do you have any idea what kinda hell I’ve been through since you ran out on us?! I’m gonna kick your ass!

Music: 10 – I’ll Do It!



Turvoe jumps down and attacks Sten. Despite the music, this isn’t really a proper boss fight. Like with the Greenbottle, the battle ends automatically after a few turns so defending and healing are the best options.



: Ya jackass monkey…where were you hiding all this time? And why? I remember Gufheim like it was yesterday…we all watched you plow headfirst into the enemy ranks, yelling like a maniac…



: Turvoe…I’m sorry.

: That’s enough of that! Your yapping won’t change a damn thing! That was a suicide attack, you crazy bastard, and you know it!



:…Guilty as charged, I suppose. I’ve been running ever since that day…I knew I couldn’t face you, Turvoe. And that’s why I never came back.

:…That’s no excuse for the crap you pulled.



: Turvoe…that’s enough.

: I’m not through yet!! Not by a long shot!!



: Let’s settle this, Sten! Your ass is mine!!

Suddenly the bridge begins to shake!



: Be a man for once, dammit!







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Music: 29 – Dramatic Battle



This time the fight is for real. Out of the three boss fights here in Highfort, this first one is one of the two that have a certain gimmick. Like Turvoe said, it’ll take three turns for the platforms to reach the bottom of the fort. If you haven’t defeated Turvoe before then it’s an instant Game Over. Apart from the rarely-heard Dramatic Battle music this fight is barely more challenging than a random encounter – as long as Sten is of an appreciable level, three normal attacks will put Turvoe down. Failing that, just spam Fireblast at him until he falls. Turvoe has Combo Attack and a high critical hit rate, but aside from that there’s nothing special about him.

If, however, Sten is significantly underlevelled this fight can be unwinnable. Hope you like grinding in the treasure room, because it’s your only chance of getting Sten strong enough to defeat Turvoe in time.



--







: Ugh…dammit…Turvoe! Are you okay?



:…Never mind…I got you…







: Dammit…how could I lose to a jackass monkey like you…?

: Heh…now who’s the reckless one?



: And damn proud of it. Glad to see you never changed either, Sten…but where the hell were you, dammit?!

: It’s…a long story. Before I explain, though, I think it’s high time you filled me in on what exactly is going on here. The atmosphere here…it’s…different…than it was before.



: You mean that Spuke woman, correct?

: That’s the one. She’s more than just some upstart General…she’s the unsung dictator of this entire country!

: And what, might I ask, is wrong with that? From what I understand this Spuke has enough brains and beauty to rule ten countries magnificently.



: Word has it that this place has a secret of some kind…the deadly, ‘destroy the world’ kind. And the crazy lady wants it bad.



: Huh? A key, you say?

: That key runs in the bloodline of the royal family. In other words, Spuke has her greedy little eyes set on the Princess…

: Back up a moment. The Princess? What is Spuke going to do to her?



: The bottom line is, whatever she’s got planned, it’s gonna be nasty for everybody…except her, of course.



:…Turvoe. Give me the details.

:…There’s a maintenance tunnel to the northwest…and a secret passage inside the royal chambers. Both lead to where the Princess is being held.





: You’re the Commander. What’s the battle plan?

:…We’ll assume Formation P.



: Yessir, Commander! We’ll rendezvous later.



Turvoe exits through the northern door and the game gives us control of Sten again. Next time: more of Sten’s solo adventures! Oh, but this time, the random encounters have come out to play!