Part 9: Co-Ordinate 136 (Part Two)
Point136
Alright, now we just got done with about half of Co-Ordinate 136. Let's keep climbing.
Fourth floor's pretty small; has a couple alcoves with one-way doors leading towards the center but nothing else 'til we continue onwards to the south.
The Princess (3)
Once the princess was captured, it wasn't long before the princes came to the tower. They both meant to rescue the princess...
...and the duel began! End
This time around, there's actively no avoiding Twinklebell (or even tryin to). Immediately after the broadcast ends, you're thrown into this one.
This game is called... "Reproduce the duel by having the princes face each other." A statue of the good prince is on the roller coaster.
By the way, the statue of the evil prince is...
See that cross panel near him? Head toward that! Well, good luck!
Much like the previous few, this is really easy to solve if you just want to finish it quickly. But there's some stuff to get from incorrect routes so we'll do that first. This one leads us to...
An upper floor with a golden chest in it. This contains...
Hunting ~ Rare Devil
A couple Taowns. These guys, of course, are from a bit further ahead than the regular demons in the area.
They also have one good Force spell. One.
Not really too difficult at first glance, and pelting with Terazi is the best option, but the one thing this doesn't tell you is...
They have a strong counterattack to physicals. Not the best option to try.
Aside from that, their only decent means of attack is a Zandyne (Hell Thrust is just chump change). Force shields neuter that...
And as an added bonus to Void skills, there is a chance of them frightening the enemy too so long as they can be frightened. Drains have a much higher chance. Repels don't even have that.
They have a functional guarantee (not *quite* 100% but very, very high). Remember this for much, much later.
Point136
In the same room as the Taown fight, we can go around a corner and pick up our first Luck Noise.
We also get a new demon that we can fight against. Cu Chulainn would be a minor threat with Executioner but he's weak to Sleep so it's a non-issue.
He does have the courtesy to drop Code Cells for us though.
Getting back to where we were before is easy enough to do. It's just a linear path leading to a one-way door dropping us by Twinklebell's third statue.
Arms
But she can wait. We'll run back to Swadhisthana briefly and head to the Vendor at Minimum Solar Noise...
For the benefit of our Jack Cell. Jack Cells and Organic Cells sell for the same amount albeit in a mirror of one-another. Organic at Max Noise sells for 24,000 whereas Jack at Maximum is 16,000.
Yes, Jack cells sell for their most at Minimum noise. They are the only cell to do this.
Running around a bit and selling the lot... pushes us just over 100,000 Macca. Huh.
Graven Shard is an interesting item. It costs 50,000 Macca but works as a free, infinite Dia... but only in battle. It heals one persons HP for a little more than a Ration and is reusable but can't be used from the menu. Buying that immediately then.
Chakra Pots cost 10,000 Macca and restore 150 MP. Reminder that Chakra Drops cost 3,000 and restore 50. So, no point to buying the Pots then.
Estoma Spray reduces the encounter rate until Minimum Solar Noise. Costs 3,000. Very useful for running around although "reduces" is nebulous and it doesn't stop "fight, take 3 steps, fight." Just makes it happen a little less often.
Point136
Back at Coordinate 136, the platform right next to the one with the statue on it... is what we want.
This leads to a switch that rotates that red beam. It flips it to where it is now, which is where we want it.
Oh, hey. Since Serph, Gale and Argilla all have Mudo we get access to a new one of those combo exclusive spells. Millennia Curse is something of a crap shoot, since it hits every enemy, takes all of our teams turns and can do one of two things. Either it murders the targets straight up or it inflicts Curse. One of these is much better than the other, of course.
Omoikane decides to turn up again and just straight up mocks me this time around. One of these days!
Anyway! With the red beam now in place, we can head back to the Good Prince's statue and move that platform.
This brings us right to the exit now. Before, it just led to a door on the upper floor which leads directly back to the entrance on this floor. How rude!
The Princess (4)
Laughed... killing... princess... The princess... was...
And... the ... To save... beloved princess... challenged... The "...prince... "...prince" ... in fact was human.. EndThis one wasn't much use to us, huh? Thankfully, the room itself has nothing in it whatsoever past the broadcast and the Karma Terminal. Moving right along, then...
The Princess (5)
But, before he could complete his plan...
Her heart was overcome with despair, and that power called forth great destruction.
EndAt first, it doesn't seem like there is anything that can even be done in this room. There's platforms with mirrors on them, and we can move 'em around but... nothing happens. So, not touching them yet then.
Looking over the room a bit more, we can find this right next to the entrance. Give it a poke...
I'm in a hurry here. No more of this crap!!
Heat just punches the wall. Well, uh, good thing he's been putting points into Strength!
'Cuz that crumbles the entire section of wall where the sign was. And reveals a beam of light... near the ceiling.
So, at times, illogical outbursts may open up new paths. I assume that next, we must use this light as our guide.
Gale has the right idea, and we'll lead the beam of light wherever we can. This one gets a might complicated in comparison to the others. First, we'll take both mirrors over on the west and move them. The one we're at first...
Leads directly to this switch here. We can walk to it too, but since we need to relocate the mirrors ths is slightly more convenient. We'll push it, and the red beams directly next to it open up...
There's a ladder right by the button, so we'll take that and head over to the mirror on the east side of the upper floor. With the red beam relocated...
That leads to one of these rotatable mirrors. We'll flip this one and then take the platform back up (can't get to the ladder from here).
Taking the ladder back to the button in the center, pressing it again, and the red beams close back together. Head back up the ladder now, move the mirror from the east side of the upper floor again and that completes the circuit here. If all three mirros on platforms are moved and the rotatable mirror is rotated that...
That leads the beam of light towards that picture, shattering it and letting us continue onwards.
But we're not done here. Oh no we're not.
Leaving the mirrors in place for now, we run back to the button and reposition the red beams. Again.
Now we run alllll the way around back to this mirror over on the east side of the lower floor. Move this platform and we get to a golden chest you might've seen earlier.
This one contains the... Yellow Key. Finally!
Now we can just take the platform back, head on back up the ladder and continue onwards. Simple.
Hmm, we did finally get the Yellow Key. And there IS a small terminal here... let's warp back to the entrance real quick.
We'll deal with the other Yellow Walls we've seen later on, but the two on the second floor are nice and easy to get to right now.
The west wall's first since it leads to a couple goodies. A fresh new Quick Noise to add to our inventory, a Chakra Pot to the south of this and to the north...
A couple of nifty Magic Mirrors. These things set up a barrier on the entire party and repel any magic spell thrown at them on the next turn. Could definitely have its uses.
The wall on the east side of the floor's next of course. This one's more worth our time since it leads to...
Coordinate 136 Field Hunt
Our next field hunt. This one's a bit trickier than the previous two by far; not only is the time limit longer, but the extra time is needed.
But, hey, once we manage to pull this one off... we get a new Mitama.
Hunting ~ Rare Devil
Nigi Mitamas are better to take down than Ara Mitamas but, of course, they're a little bit harder to beat. In theory. We have better stuff now so its a non-issue.
Although they are superweak to Fire spells (in case its not obvious now, their colour hints at this; red is weak to ice, blue is weak to fire...).
And with a couple buffs, Hunt skills can deal wacky huge numbers. 712 isn't even the largest in this fight!
They're kind enough to drop a Dekaja Rock for us at least. This lives up to its namesake; it's just a free Dekaja spell. I got plans for this one.
Point136
Running back after having solved all the puzzles is wonderfully quick, at least. And, yes, we have solved all the puzzles... for now. The remainder of the castle is a straight line on a staircase that leads...
All the way to the 10th floor and what seems to be a clocktower. Through the door it's just another short staircase to the 11th floor and that puts us...
Right outside the Princess's Chambers. There's just a small terminal here, so no easy healing for you...
Although you don't really need it since the bedroom itself is empty. There is that other door to the south leading to a balcony...
And that's where we want the opportunity to heal up (the bed cannot be used for this unfortunately).
Mick the Slug and The Traitorous Bat Silence
Taken long enough to catch up with these two...
C'mon, let's hear you sing. And if you do a good job, I'll bring you along to Nirvana.
Who'd want to go with you? Aww, y'don't like me? Well...if you're not going to cooperate, then...
Alright, come n'get a' piece of me.
Heat, you idiot what are you doing.
Remember how Bat's thing is "good with knives?"
He just shanks the fuck outta Heat before he can do shit about it.
!
You...!
What!?
Maybe we'll reward you and your and your sweetheart with a trip to Nirvana...
Once we're there, she'll all yours. Something Else Cool That I Swear Isn't On The OST 
Heat, no! you can't trust that traitor! I knew this was coming... Now we'll know for sure who's superior.
Understandably, Gale tries to step in at this point to end this ridiculous charade but...
There is no alternative. Defeat him, Serph.
Silence
...I understand.Again, this choice matters. Picked wrong answer, etc. etc.
Vs. Asura Agni
More importantly, time for a... very special battle. Basically still cutscene.
Hunting ~ Comrades
Sadly, we're not having a gunfight with Heat. He'd lose hands down there...
Especially after he transforms into Agni. Because I am really bad at buying new bullets, Serph still has the ice ones from Manipura!
Alright then... Let's see what you're made of, Mr. Leader... Time to die!!
In the interest of fair play, Serph morphs into Varuna too.
Though it doesn't matter too much; you have to intentionally lose this fight and it's still functionally a cutscene. All you can do is skip your turn or a regular attack.
Might as well just turn on Auto-battle for all the difference it doesn't make.
At a couple times, Agni has a line of dialogue but they're mostly just for show.
Once either Asura drops into the red, the fight ends and the cutscene continues...
Silence
With Varna getting knocked on his ass.
Agni moves in for the kill...
But misses. Hmmm...
This gives Varuna a chance to get away and do nothing but block.
As the two grapple once more.
Sera comes to a realisation that there's something she can do...
While in the meantime, Agni and Varuna put on a show for Bat and Mick.
Using the distraction to her advantage, Sera just slips underneath Mick's arm...
And jumps off the castle.
Needless to say, her stupid plan destined to fail, uh, failed. Immediately.
No y'don't! I don't think so girlie.
Plan B it is then. And this one's much better.
Because it emits a fucking shockwave.
...Sera if you could do this, why didn't you.
It completely fucks up everyone in the area. Goddamn.
What the--!? Gah! My ears... Ah... Ugh...
He, uh, does.
Sera!
Hey, look, the dude who's a bat is using his ability to, y'know, fly.
And he caught her. What a shocker.
You witch! Hey, nice catch! Now, just don't drop her. I really thought you were better than this, Mick. ...Guess I was wrong, huh? Whaaat!?
I knew it!
Agni decides that the best form of action against the dude flying past the edge of the castle is to try and bumrush him. Uh...
This seems a mite overkill but whatever.
...Speaking of overkill. Suddenly a laser tears off one of Camazotz's wings. Holy shit.
Cielo!Dude can also fly and catches Sera immediately afterwards.
Meat Ball
Easy does it... Gonna get outta here...
Finally got Mick cornered. His brilliant plan holing up in a dead end has backfired remarkably well.
Serph, what was it Heat said he'd do back there It went like this... Yep...
Silence
Or in other words...
DIE!!
It's time to finally fight Mick. Took long enough!
Boss: Asura Rahu Big Battle
Strangely enough, Rahu's actually two separate parts that make one demon. Must be torture on Mick's psyche.
Kinda makes sense, considering Rahu came about from a dude drinking amrita and getting decapitated for it. But because he drank it, he was immortal. So, yeah, Rahu is basically a reverse Dullahan. He even gets the horses and everything!
Anyway, strategy here is simple. Taunt twice on the first turn which completely murders his defence (the attack boost is mostly irrelevant).
Probably a good idea to have some form of Earth protection. Drain is a wee bit overkill, since Void is more than good enough.
On his first turn, the Head will use a unique move on whoever has the highest Strength stat. Or at least that's what every piece of anecdotal data I've seen from playing the game, watching other people play the game and heard from other people who've played the game seems to suggest.
This sticks 'em in a big ol' energy ball and is Bad Times. Whoever he grabs now cannot be targeted at all. Can't switch 'em out, can't heal 'em, can't do anything with 'em.
This 76 is the Body punching. With its 4x Tarukajas. I wasn't kidding when I said it was mostly irrelevant.
No matter what you do on your turn, the Head counters by Absorbing a very small amount of HP from the person in its energy ball. Attack the body or head? Counter. Heal yourself? Counter. Buff/debuff? Counter. Put up a shield? Counter.
Speaking of debuffs, though, we do have a Dekaja Rock right here. Might as well use it now to remove those attack boosts.
Oh and the Head does nothing but Absorb on its turns too. There are three ways to get someone out of this. If they die, if the body dies or if the head dies.
The body is the easier to kill of the two since it has 1000 HP whereas the head has 1500. The Body, nicely enough, is also the stronger one.
Mostly because of this. Dragon Quake is a somewhat potent attack that hits the entire party.
...But it does Earth damage. So we've been able to render it worthless since the very beginning.
Killing either the head or body before their captive dies is easily doable, but eh.
Rahu does something special if the two get to Reunite. He never does it under any other circumstances so might as well let it happen.
Starts off by using... Psycho Rage. Okay, sure.
Then he casts Diarama... on the Head. Which has taken no damage.
Uh, Rahu? You... y'know, what. Never mind.
Next, he buffs his defense. Okay, so now its only down 3 stages. That's still plenty.
Then he debuffs your defense. This matters less than you would think considering they can't hurt you worth shit.
And then a Tarukaja to finish up. And since the damage output from 4 was manageable, this is just sad.
Have like a bajillion Revive Gems so this is a minor inconvenience at best.
So, weaknesses! The Head gets its shit kicked in by Force spells. Its immune to Fire, Ice, Elec and Earth of course (along with the usual ailments, death and expel).
The Body meanwhile is weak to Fire. Immunities being Ice, Elec, Force and Earth.
Since Serph can deal 1/5th of Body's max HP in one hit with an Agilao this goes quite fast. Both the Head and Body need beating to end the fight though.
...Kinda wonder what taking out half of it would do to Mick if he Reverted to Human at this point. Probably don't want to find out though.
Anyway, since the Head can't use Dragon Quake we can switch Argilla out now. Earth Drain was basically her biggest reason for being around. Well, that and healing but we aren't gonna need healing now. Gale has the good Force spells.
He also has Tarukaja. Two of those and Serph's dealing 1/5th of this things max HP now too.
People seem to think that fielding Gale at this stage is a Bad Thing. That's 47 on his weakness. Without defence buffs or magic debuffs.
Can't help but notice that a lot of people who write guides for this game are idiots who don't know what they're talking about.
Meanwhile, a Zanma from Gale under the same scenario deals almost 1/5th of the Head's max HP. And you're "not supposed to" field the guy who can do this. And will never not be able to do this.
I don't even know.
So, yeah, Rahu's easy too. A bit gimmicky, but easy. I swear there are some actual vaguely challenging boss fights. I just seem to have misplaced them.
Also Rahu's the first boss since Hayagriva to do something wonderful. We get AP from this one!
...Shame I had to waste it all on chump Mantras because I had no more money left. Don't worry, this'll be fixed in due course.
Comrades
Oh, come on! I totally saved Sera back dere! Are you joking! Bat makes me sick! Yeah, what she said! What is "joking?" As far as I know, it means you aren't serious.
Serph! I'm sorry! You're hurt...
Well, at least everyone's alright now. Silence I'm sorry. I... I came here to help but... I've only created problems. There really isnt' anywhere I belong... 'ey, why you say dat, Sera?
Well, I mean... We're y'know...
Yeah, that's it... Comrades...? Dat's right.
Oh hush, that's enough from you. Hey, say something, Serph. Sera's our comrade.
And with that, we're finally done with Coordinate 136.
Just in time to get a full party!
Cielo's, uh... special. A weakness to Ailments, of all things, is pretty friggin' awful. That's not just being weak to one thing. In this context, "ailments" is a catch-all for almost every possible type of ailment in the game. Nerve, poison, charm, shock, panic... It makes Cielo really hard to field without planning. His initial skills basically being a bunch of Electric spells, a couple buffs and... Recarm sounds nice but he has no physical skills at all. This means no Hunt skills. This does not help him if you don't have Holy Beast yet (why don't you have Holy Beast yet).
So of course I actually like using the guy. Go figure.
Thankfully, stuff like Stone or Curse is not counted under Ailments since those are special and are counted as Death aligned instead. No need to worry about Cielo getting guarantee-killed at least. This kinda helps his usability at least.
Oh, and Dyaus is the lord of the skies. Husband of Prithivi, father of... uh... Usas. Dude is basically the Vedic equivalent of Zeus or Jupiter. So, y'know, pretty goddamned important. Much like everyone else, you could've guessed that this was coming considering Cielo's name is literally just Spanish for... "Sky."
Anyway, we need a plan of action so if we talk to Cielo, Gale or Argilla by the entrance to the castle...
I have devised a plan. It is time that we trapped them.
An ideal location?
A "huge vessel," huh?
So now we can go to a... Deserted Ship... next time to attempt to lure Bat and the Brutes into a trap of our own.
But, y'know, we've taken care of 3 of the 5 enemy tribes now and we've been focussing on this war and scheming and traps for quite a long while. We do have the Yellow Key to put to good use as well, but first I think it's time we finally went and did our first sidequest. And wouldn't you know it? Now that we've beaten Rahu one just opened up inside Coordinate 136...
For the moment, here's every (new(ish)) skill we picked up in the entirety of Co-Ordinate 136. A lot of it are variants on stuff we have, or covered as they were available, but some stuff is a bit less obvious. Comatose/Stun Needle/Mute Blow are all self-exlanatory but Null Critical does not grant immunity to criticals; just makes them less like to happen. Quick Cure makes it more likely that you'll remove an ailment if it can be cured at the end of turns. Ingest is a Hunt skill that inflicts instant death instead of damage but at a higher rate than the one we had before. Problem is, it costs more HP than Devil Feast and there's no reason to use it ever. Power Wave hits every enemy for a decent amount of physical damage. Paraladi cures Paralysis, Me Patra is Patra but full party. Pulinpa tries to inflict Panic on one enemy, Makajam tries to inflict Silence/Mute on one enemy and Dormina is an attempt to put every enemy to sleep.