Part 18: Chapter XVI: Minigame Mania!
Chapter XVI: Minigame Mania!Challenge: All uncontrolled Weretiger, all the time
Last time... we learned we needed to get a boat from... the Porter's Guild. Let's just get this over with.
BUT FIRST! We visit C-Bo. It's more or less on autopilot at this point, so you don't need to check on it if you don't want to.
Olive found this on a Distant journey. It's an entirely unique weapon for Momo (this is the ONLY way to get one), and it's one of few holy elemental weapons in the game. It's also one of her strongest weapons in the game. And given that Holy is the one element nothing will absorb (except maybe Pain Weeds in the Dump, but I haven't checked), there's no reason not to use it if you stumble on it.
Former Guildmaster Sinkar still hasn't left his seat at the restaurant, but he does tell us that Beyd went to Junk Town to see about the boat.
This guy lets Beyd through, because you don't say "no" to a guy with 999 strength. We follow because you don't say no to a dragon, weretiger, or a mutant onion that could turn you into paste.
And we go to the dock.
Beyd: You mean the repairs aren't finished yet!?
Mechanic: Well, you see, sir... We didn't know y'd be coming so soon, y'see? We haven't found the parts we be needing yet, y'see?
Beyd: Hmmm...I see... But what should I do now...? I told everyone I'd be back soon...
Mechanic: S... sorry, sir. We didn't know it'd be takin' so long to find the parts y'see...
Sailor: Excuse me, sir... Guildmaster sir... But you don't be planning on having us be looking for parts now, do you? I mean, we're sailors, right?
Beyd: Wait a minute...! You...you're Ken, aren't you!? It's so good to see all of you again! I'll never forget what you did for me all those years ago... But what are you doing here...? You need a ship!? Well, I'd like to say I can help you with that... but... It looks like the repairs are going to take longer than we thought...you're going to have to wait again, just like before... I'm sorry...
SON OF A BITCH
This is code for "Bring Momo here!"
: Anything I can do to help?Beyd: That's right! You're an engineer, aren't you, Momo!
Engineer: If that's the case, think you could give us a hand? This way, please...
I don't know if those are all parts being combined into one giant abomination part, or if she just drew it like that because she's crazy. Either way, we have our mission. And thankfully, it's much easier than fixing the Lighthouse. Momo stays here to start work, and temporarily leaves the party.
On the way out, one of the mechanics tells us that the place to go for parts is Steel Beach, but to get there, we need the Guildmaster's permission.
As a guy whose been known to put on two different shoes when hungover, I can say this dude is good people.
I love this guy. He basically says "Nu-uh, it's against the rules! But meh, fuck it. It'll help shit get done so why not?"
But before we go there, there's a small hut we can visit.
I'm gonna spoil this for you now. If you beat the game and get the The Fish rank (9500+ points) in fishing, he gives you the ultimate rod, lure, and the Fountain Pen. The Fountain Pen is the real prize, as it gives you unlimited Skill Ink uses.
I won't be doing any of that.
We're in the home stretch for these things now. 5 to go. I've got a plan for showing them off, I swear.
We tell this guy the
First thing's first. As a beach lover, this place makes me not happy. Second thing, is we get this here. 4 left!
This is the foreman, who we have to talk to for permission to look in the nearby freighter for parts. He says we look too scrawny. Clearly he doesn't see the dude whose twice his size, so let's show off our own big guy.
And what he says amounts to "play a minigame and you can eat at the cool table"
The game spends about 5 minutes saying what I'm gonna tell you in 10 seconds.
When the monkey dude raises the white flag, do nothing.
When the apeman raises the red flag, mash the shit out of the X button.
It's incredibly easy. Sometimes he'll raise both flags. Still mash X.
Angler is a filler boss in every sense of the word. There is no reason to lose this fight. 6 Weretiger hits and it goes down. If you're worried about it's Thunder Clap Skill, slap a Thunder Ring on someone.
That's Thunder Clap. And I thought I had hit Examine with Garr, but accidentally hit fight instead. He missed anyway.
And the guy lets us look for parts. Miraculously, a lot of them washed ashore during the fight.
As long as you rotate the camera everywhere, there's no reason why you shouldn't find everything you can on the beach. There's a few more, but it's really easy. I didn't feel the need to get every picture.
Inside the freighter is a new enemy type, and an upgrade to the Nut people from way back when: the Bolt people. They have the same characteristics (low HP, high evade strong attacks). Just replace Double Blow with Frost Strike and Flare with Iceblast. Nina is the character of choice in here, but the only fights are in the upper area of this place so it's not life or death. Rei's Lightning spell works well too.
Go further down the hall towards a locked door for another part. Then take the nearby ladder to the main area
Down here, there's no random encounters. Again, just rotate the camera everywhere and you'll have no problems.
But this is the real prize here. The Robe of Wind is an awesome robe for Nina. Pretty strong, a weight of 0, and makes her resist electric, wind, and earth (the last two of which rarely come up). And to top it off, if she's equipped with it, it can be used to cast Speed. Never ever get rid of this. Even when it's outdated, the free cast of Speed is always helpful. Just switch it on for that round, use it, then take it off next round.
The memo will open, along with all the parts you got. You only need to hand her the parts on the memo, there are a lot of spare parts. If you want a perfect inventory, just give her what she needs.
Go team!
Momo tells us to start 'er up.
And holy god, the ship works. Have I mentioned Momo is the best?
Garr has a point. This is basically a tugboat and the ocean is a very big place.
Rei is hilarious during this entire segment. He hates every minute we spend on the ocean.
How can you not love Momo?
Peco spends most of his time on the boat napping. You gotta love the cast of this game, at the very least.
And talking to Nina, whose enjoying the breeze, triggers a scene.
Beyd: Now that I think about it... No one told me how the boat was damaged this time...?
Sailor: Uh, well, uh,... You see... You know about the Black Ship, sir?
: Maybe if we go all the way across the sea... We can learn everything about the Brood... and about you, Ken...
No, this isn't a mistake. The game keeps switching back and forth.
Beyd: Black Ship...You mean that large ship you can sometimes see off in the distance?
Sailor: You may not believe this, sir, but... The Black Ship was here, in the Middle Sea, sir!
Sailor: It came out of nowhere... Right in front of us...We couldn't avoid it...
Beyd: Impossible... The Black Ship has only been seen on the Outer Sea... It can't navigate the shallow waters of the Middle Sea!
: It's gone... I wonder what it was...?
Sailor: It's drifting, sir, she is... Doesn't look like there's anyone on board, either...
Beyd: If that's true, we should check it out It could be a threat to our shipping lanes...
Sailor: Sir, we're home... It's Rhapala
Beyd: We've arrived in Rhapala... It took us a while, but we can finally let you use the ship now... These two sailors will take you anywhere you ask them to
: Thank you, Beyd. We're planning on going over the-
Zig: Let me handle this! Let me pilot the ship for them, Beyd--I mean, Guildmaster!
Beyd: Um...Sure, OK, Zig...
Zig: Beyd may have beaten me out for the lighthouse...and Shadis... But I'll show you that no one handles a boat better than me!
And just like that, we've got a boat!
Zig asks where you wanna go. When Ken says across the ocean, Zig makes you talk it out with the party. They all basically say "yep, that's where we're going!"
Zig: Across...the ocean!? Uh-huh...Figures... I thought you might say something like that... I suppose I should tell you... No one who's been out there has ever returned alive... Are you sure you still want to go? .........OK!
Zig: Well, then, you're in good hands! Ol' Zig here's the best captain in Rhapala... No, in the world! If anyone can get you across the sea, I can! Who else would be crazy enough to try!?
I'm gonna tell you right now, this ends just as awesomely as you think it will.
If you've ever played the first 3 Resident Evil games, the controls are the exact same. Up is forward no matter what direction you're facing, down is backwards, and left and right rotate you. Press the run button to go faster, but it eats into the engine meter. If it overheats, you have to sit still for a few seconds.
Anyway, heading towards the Outer Sea triggers a scene.
Zig: We're almost there... You all better get back inside the boat...
It's kinda hard to tell, but the massive waves are rocking the boat pretty hard.
Goddamn Peco. Why you gotta keep being so cute? Not gonna lie, I'd pay good money for a Peco plushie.
Zig: .........I'd heard stories, but... I never imagined it'd be that bad! I know I told ya... If anyone could get ya there, I could... But I don't know if we can do it in this boat...
: Hold on a minute... Are you trying to say that we should give up trying to get across!? If the best sailor in Rhapala can't do it... what're we supposed to do then?Zig: Sorry... I guess I just don't have what it takes... to be like the Legendary Mariner...
: Legendary Mariner...? Could he take us across the ocean?Zig: It's not quite like that... We sailors have a legend about a sailor living here in the Inner Sea who came here from the other side of the ocean... But it's just a legend! A story!
: Even if it is only a legend... There has to be some truth behind it! Tell us about him!Zig: Well, you see... I don't really know much about him... There's a little town north of Rhapala called Parch ... The mayor there might know something... maybe...
: ...Parch it is, then! Let's go!Zig: Yessir! Let me know when you're ready to go!
This is Parch. If I hadn't been abusing C-Bo, the weapon shop would be worth visiting, but as it is, we only want to see the mayor.
The mayor is uncooperative. He's tired of eating fish (which I can't see. seafood is the shit), and won't give us any information about the Legendary Mariner. His assistant tells us he's probably homesick for some Wyndian cooking.
And as of now, as long as you told Deis you like her better in her snake form, she offers her services as a Master.
Deis
- HP-3
- AP+3
- Power+1
- Agility+1
- Intelligence+3
- Defense-3
Deis is essentially the antidote to people who have apprenticed Ken to Bunyan for the whole game. That AP gain builds up fast. Just keep an eye on your defense.
I don't know Momo. I don't know.
Hey remember that time we killed a giant mutant horse? Good times.
The lady in the house tells us what we need to make Shisu, which will help someone who hates fish to like it. We need a Mackerel, shaly seeds, horseradish (which I already got on Ogre Road, check that update if you don't know where it is), and vinegar. Sounds simple enough.
Mackerel can be gotten at the Gorge, in a spot that opens up once you talk to the Shisu lady. 64 is the largest, and if you want the best prize, you need it. We don't need it, this was just a coincidence.
And my pictures for the vinegar part got lost somehow. I can't find them anywhere. But here's a rundown. You need Garr again. Bring him to the Coffee Shop and talk to the guy at the well. He needs help getting water, so you play another minigame. Lower the pail by pressing triangle. Keep track of how many times you press it, and when you hear the bucket hit the bottom, press random buttons on the directional pad until you stop hearing it fill up. Then, press X the same amount of times you pressed triangle to draw the water. IF you do it right, the hooded dude will give you vinegar.
And the shaly seeds are right behind the Shisu house. Just have Peco headbutt the tree until you get enough.
Occasionally this happens, and Peco loses 1 HP. Poor lil' guy.
And here's the lowdown on making Shisu.
You want the shaly seed ball to end up roughly the same size as the Mackerel, so if you got a big Mackerel like me, get lots of seeds. Keep in mind, you'll be kneading it twice, which will shrink it. Keep track of how many seeds you use, and use half that for the horseradish, and half of that for the vinegar.
Every time I see this screen, for a split second I think it's Ershin. But it's not. It's never Ershin
The mayor doesn't tell us anything, but gives us some sea charts to find the Mariner.
Here's where he is.
This part is kinda fun. You've got a set amount of time to get to the Legendary Mariner's hut. You've got to navigate your way there while picking up treasure. I ignore the treasure since I don't need any of that weaksauce crap. It is worth it if you don't develop C-Bo.
I want a parrot so bad.
Legendary Mariner: That's a guild ship, ain't it? What would the guild want with me...? Anyways, welcome. Come inside, have some coffee or something...
And so, 15 updates later, Ken's quest for coffee has come to an end. Thanks for reading everybody! It was really fun!
: .........And so, we hoped to ask the Legendary Mariner how to cross the sea.
Kukuys: Legendary Mariner... Are they still calling me that? My name is Kukuys... I'm not a sailor... I haven't explored the reaches of the Outer Sea...
: Whaaaaat? Then you don't have a boat we could use?Kukuys: Well, I did come from the other side of the Sea, but as a castaway...
: Then you do know how to cross the Sea! Please tell us...We have to cross it!Kukuys: Impossible... No Middle Sea boat could make the trip... Besides......... There's nothing worth mentioning out there.
: Yeah, right! Then where do all those machines come from?: If you got here... Then there must be a way for us to get there! Please, Kukuys, tell us how!Kukuys: ......... If you're that determined, then maybe there's a way... You must find a certain ship...
: ...The...Black... Ship?Kukuys: Yes, you know it as the Black Ship... It's a large ocean-going transport... If you could get aboard it somehow...
: But here goes...And she draws her bazooka. Oh Momo...you and your shenanigans! You should have a sitcom.
It shoots the water in front of Rei, drenching him.
: What?! Are you saying this is MY fault?!
: Whew! That was close... I guess it attacks anything that gets close to it... We need a new plan of some sort... What should we do, Ken?Zig: Good question... What are we going to do, Mr. Ryu? You're the captain now... I just does what the captain says, eh? You should probably talk it over with your friends before making up your mind, yeah?
: Don't look at me like that... It's not my fault, OK...? Oh, it's you, Ken... What are you going to do? Are we going to give up? OK then...So... Now all we need to do is figure out a way to get on board that ship...What if we rammed it? If you're going to try ramming it... I think hitting it from behind would be best. That way, we'd be able to avoid being attacked...Leave it to Momo to come up with a plan as
as this.
Zig: What!?... Ram it!? All right! That's what I hoped you'd say! Leave it to me!! There's only one man for this kind of job An' that's ME! OK, captain sir, you just watch... I'll have you on that ship in no time... Or my name's not Zig!!
And so we have our new objective. But first, Masters!
Charm is a great skill for anyone. It doubles the item steal/drop rate from enemies. Practically required to get the best equipment.
Shadowwalk has the character warp out, warp in in front of the enemy, and deliver a critical hit at 100% accuracy for a mere 8 AP. Excellent Skill for anyone.
Mind Sword is the same as Magic Ball, only it does more damage the lower the target's defense. Typically it's more useful. It's not unusual to see this Skill break 200 damage before Meditation. AND it's only 2 AP. However, enemies can dodge it. It's not often, but it's possible. There's an enemy later on who uses it, you can dodge it then too.
Hachio in Wyndia Castle also opens up as a Master. To apprentice under him, you need to bring him a Beef Jerky, a Swallow Eye, a Martian Squid, and an Angler
I got this bad boy at the Maekyss Gorge fishing spot. They're attracted to worms.
And this guy I caught next to Cliff, using a fish-type bait.
Hachio
- HP+2
- Power+2
- Defense+1
- AP-2
- Agility-1
- Intelligence-1
- Critical+3
And it's time to find the Hide and Seek guys. Congratulations to AtomikKrab for guessing them all!
Bais
Wynn (there's also a Tea Cup in that satchel)
Lee
Lang
And now they all open up as Masters! Bais, Wynn, and Lee teach you new battle formations, and Lang gives you a useless item. We'll only be using Bais and Lee. Fortunately, what they teach is learned after only 3 levels.
Bais
- Power+1
Lang
- Defense+1
Lee
- Intelligence+1
Wynn
- HP+1
We're gonna apprentice Garr to Bais then Lee because he's my lowest leveled character but first we need to get Hondara's final Skill.
Benediction resurrects two KO'd party members. Great for emergencies.
The Chain Form is the reason why you only need 1 agile person. It gives the entire party the agility stat of the point character, but halves the entire party's defense. Incredibly broken, especially since the Shield spell exists.
And now, we've only got one more Master to find.
Now, let's ram that ship!
WARNING: ONCE YOU RAM THE SHIP YOU LOSE ACCESS TO C-BO, SHOPS, AND MASTERS UNTIL AFTER THE NEXT DUNGEON
The Black Ship is now roaming around the area.
Just line up behind it, and ram into it as fast as you can.
Zig: We did it!
: That was pretty rough... I wonder if everyone's OK...?Zig: Well, we rammed 'er at full speed... Maybe you should go check on ev'ryone...
Honey, how are you not used to Momo's behavior by this point?
Kukuys: Usually... the black ships are completely automated...
Kukuys: So, if you get on that ship, then it'll take you back where it came from--the other side.
: So, I think... If we get to the bridge, we should be able to figure out how the automated systems work: We'll have to look for the bridge... which might take a while...But we can always come back here to rest, right?
Momo is required for this next section, and Rei tags along too to build him up for the next boss, which will also be a Weretiger battle.
Next time: The Black Ship and the other side of the world!