Part 36: Episode XXXI: In Which Another Character Dies
Episode XXXI: In Which Another Character Dies
I'm kind of wondering why the Knights of the Seal adopted the Empire/Cult of the Watchers' creepy three-eyed face, put it in a hood, and gave it a baby dragon to hold... It is a mystery... Oh...right...new chapter... Welcome to the chapter where Nowe finally completely screws the pooch for the world by breaking the last of the seals before the
Glad that whole conflict with Manah being formerly extremely evil didn't last longer than an hour. Who needs leads with anything remotely interesting about their characters?
Before we head off to Chapter 8 proper, we need to take a brief pit stop back in the District of Shining Life Free Expedition. Now the game doesn't inform us of any new developments in old missions. But having actually gone through the district shrine proper has unlocked a new area to that map.
Long story short: We need to go all the way to the southeastern corner of the map and fight three of the Behemoth mini-bosses from back in Chapter 2. That, in turn, spawns a key to the district maze in the northwestern end of the map. There, we must get hopelessly lost in cramp, goblin filled corridors in order to gain a new weapon. After that I was able to complete the mission proper. It took about 20 minutes or so of tedium. I've noticed I'm watching a LOT more video LPs whilst playing Drakengard 2. I wonder what that's all about...
Drakengard 2 Weapon Stories posted:
SCREAM
History:
The young man lived to trick young girls. Gleefully he stole their hearts and wealth. But in time, the women he'd scorned banded together and sought the help of the faerie king, who sealed the young man's spirit in a sword. Trapped inside the cold blade, he came to regret his sins. Then time passed, the women grew old, and one by one they died.
With each woman's death, time, which had been halted, returned to the man who had never known old age within the blade. As it did so, his hatred for the women who had imprisoned him grew. When the last of the women died, the curse was finally broken, and he regained his physical form.
Once the young man's body had been restored, his desire knew no bounds. He tricked one woman after another, stole hearts and wealth - until one day, he met a beautiful young woman, and fell in love for the very first time. He gave her all his love and wealth, but she felt nothing for him, and left town with another man.
The young woman committed then same crime as the young man and, in time, the men she's scorned tried to seal her spirit into this sword. Just as they were about to cast the sealing spell, the young man pushed his beloved out of the way and took her place inside the blade, which was turned red by his passion. There he remains.
Description: A sword with loving memories sealed inside.
Traits: Short but very powerful.
Magic: "Sonic Burst" Hold back three seconds and then press forward and punch.
Good to see fairies are still dicks in Drakengard's world.
Strangely, the Fairy King from Drakengard 1 has some art in the concept section of the artbook. It seems like they had considered bringing him back for a bit. But then I suppose someone remembered there was kind of a fairy holocaust in the original game and he almost certainly died. But, it wouldn't surprise me that Drakengard 2 would see it fit to bring back a character that had all of five lines the entire game for a cameo...
Right then. Time to go to the "Hills of Dusk" and this District of Heavenly Time. Is it really a "hidden" district if there is a frackin' village in its vicinity...?
Verse 1: The Crash - Music: Twilight Hill
"Yes, we're finally here. Freeing this place will herald a new age of peace and equality!"
"Does...anyone actually live out here? I haven't seen a settlement for hours..."
"Does it matter? If the Knights of the Seal are out here, they must be up to no good, right?"
"Hmm...yup. That sounds about right!"
"The knights will surely put up a fight."
"No matter. Those mosquitoes are bothersome, but we shall burn them." "Legna, I usually have to try really hard to get you to do anything like this. You've sure been pretty supportive of this whole thing. Thanks!" "Well, you know, child. Peace and justice and all that rot..." "That's the spirit! Let's go!"
The destruction of the District of Shining Life has unlocked "Shield Sphere" for aerial missions. This overdrive sphere creates a shield of energy around Legna for about ten seconds. During this time he is invulnerable. On top of that the shield can be used to ram enemies. As long as they're not too low to the ground. Or too high. Or move out of the way. Or are too large for the hitbox to connect. Or too small. Or too fast to be hit in the ten second window. Or so slow that you overshoot them. What I'm getting at is the thing is about as useful as an asshole on my elbow. But, that's about the only noteworthy thing about this mission.
Oh, well other than the final district. Its location is "Heaven's Clocktower". Oh boy, kiddies... It's been some time since we last climbed a clock tower together. I wonder if Gismor will turn into a pirate...
After taking out a trio of Barrier Towers and another airship (they MUST be running low on those things by now) a cutscene takes over as we approach the district shrine.
Legna takes a devastating In Cutscene Injury™ : The top cause of death among video game characters in the 18-35 age demographic. It is just behind bottomless pits, explosions, and un-announced mid-cutscene quick time events. Despite the literally dozens of cannon balls Legna took during this mission while I was dicking around trying to get the new Breath Sphere to spawn and then actually attempting to use it, this solitary shot REALLY fucks him up.
"It's too risky. Let's land!"
<PUKE> "Into the blood bath, we go. Hold on tight, you two!" <HURL>
"Are you okay back there, Manah...?" "P-Please...do not...spin...all...o...ver...like that..."
"I'm sorry, I'll try to maintain a smoother flight for my passengers next time something EXPLODES IN MY FACE!"
The explosion during the previous cutscene causes Legna to violently slam into the ground in FMV Land. Nowe and Manah are wretched from their seats and are sent rolling and skidding along the ground. No doubt countless bones are broken in both their frail bodies and noodley limbs during the crash.
Legna, on the other hand, manages to do a power drift along the battlefield, grinding about a hundred Knights of the Seal into a fine paste in the process. Oh, come on Cavia! Now you're just reminding me of how much fun I had Boar Drifting in NIER. That's not cool to bring up in this slog of a game. Poor form, Cavia!
It seems that both Manah and Nowe have survived slamming into the ground at high speed and rolling along hard earth and rocks for several dozen yards. I guess Nowe's butt shield finally proved useful for something. The same with Manah's butt scarf. Perhaps the anus is the Achilles' Heel of the Drakengard world. I mean...sure Urick died to Caim stabbing him in the crotch. But what was on the other side of that stabbing...? It is all falling into place now...
We are next treated to about twenty seconds of Manah and Nowe looking around confused and on guard at the horde of knights surrounding them.
Nowe gives a really half-hearted battle cry and...
...well, I'm pretty sure if we remained in FMV Land the two of them would be pretty damn boned at this point seeing as they're surrounded by several hundred soldiers all ready to make the pair of terrorists very, very dead.
Verse 2: The Onslaught - Music: Breakthrough
However, once we are transported back to the grim, dark reality of Gameplay World, the massive army of hundreds is reduced to a couple dozen guys, tops.
Uhh...so at what point did we make the transition from "there's a couple hundred dudes ambushing us, we need to get the hell out of here!" from Chapter 6 to "Pfft...a few thousand guys. Whatever!" in Chapter 8? Cuz...I don't recall Nowe and the rest of the party particularly powering up spectacularly in that interval. Hell, weren't Nowe and Manah cornered in an alley by a couple of bandits a few chapters ago...?
Anyhow, this chapter consists of more or less just massacring hundreds of Knights of the Seal between us and the clock tower. Nothing at all of note transpires other than that gameplay wise.
The Knights of the Seal are all genuinely freaking the fuck out and trying their damnedest to stop this pair of lunatics from...ya know...causing the apocalypse. I am pretty sure that Nowe and Manah are the villains in the narrative at this point. Really, just have another plucky band of misfit heroes come in behind them to find nothing but piles of butchered corpses and this would be rather identical to a set-up for the villains being one step ahead of the heroes in most stories. But hey! Justice and equality for all in death!
There is one new weapon hidden in one of the barracks on the way to the final district. Yes, we are busting in peoples' bedrooms and murdering them at this point. Heroism!
Drakengard 2 Weapon Stories posted:
WISDOM
History:
During his journey south, a priest stopped off at a poor, nameless village far from civilization. Though he was famous for his wisdom, and could see for a thousand miles, he was just another traveler to the people of the remote settlement.
But nonetheless, the village gave the traveling priest a very warm welcome. Moved by their heartfelt hospitality, he presented them with a staff as a toke of his appreciation.
The staff held miraculous powers. As the priest watched the villagers' face light up at the gift, he prayed that their lives would be filled with happiness.
However, the villagers gave the staff to a traveler with a bad back. When the priest heard word of this, he realized that the villagers' lives were already as happy as they could be. Their contentment was a greater gift than even his staff.
Description: A kindly wise man's staff.
Traits: Conjures spells with a wide area of effect. Acquires MP quickly.
Magic: "Thunderclaw" - Numerous lightning bolts strike enemies all around.
I'm assuming this village went on to be one of the ones razed in another weapon's story. That's the only way this sappy nonsense could make sense to me...
By the way, nice Grotesquerie cameo in the same room as the weapon treasure box. Not exactly what I'd want staring at me when I sat down to the dinner table. But hey, what do I know of Drakengard architecture? At least it's thematically appropriate for a dining room.
A hundred or so dead knights later...
Umm...it's a clock tower, Nowe. They are...planning to use it to tell time... Well...perhaps now it is also being utilized as a stronghold to protect the final district seal from being destroyed by a mass murder.
Nowe and Manah kill everyone guarding the front gate of the clock tower and rush inside...
Click to view cutscene.
"Well, to be technical this is only an antechamber to the greater dungeon leading to the shrine." "...?" "...Right. The shrine..."
"I hope you didn't experience too much turbulence making that landing with your winged lizard in the courtyard. It is so ever drafty in these parts." "Gismor!"
"Nowe... You're still with her?"
"Eris... Please understand."
"Seriously, Nowe! She was the leader of the EMPIRE! She tried to destroy the world by breaking all the seals eighteen years ago. And she is doing THE EXACT SAME THING AGAIN! And you are helping her! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, NOWE?!?!" "I only... I only want less people to suffer in this world." "So you kill thousands of your former comrades?! How many hundreds of children have you left fatherless or orphaned at this point?! All for the crime of doing their job and being in your way?" "But I don't want people to have a bad time..." "I wish the same for our people! That is why I became a knight!" "Some things come into focus when you leave the knights!" "Lies! The Knights of the Seal are never wrong! Take back what you said!" "Nuh-uh!"
"Me? Running from the truth?" "If there's one thing you're good at, dragon child, it is running... I see your new friend Urick has finally fled your presence." "Urick died at the District of Shining Life..." "Oh...? So the coward finally utterly failed at his duty properly. Hmph... It seemed General Oror was only capable of grooming failures and traitors..." "!?"Gismor shoves Eris' ass out of the way...
"Gismor! I won't let your greed rule this land any longer! Your reign and the Knights of the Seal are finished!"
"Funny... I see your lips moving but all I hear is the mewing of a child who was dropped on his head one too many times as an infant. It is an aggressively irritating sound. I fear I shall be affected by its overwhelming ignorance if I don't snuff it out immediately."
"You reek of it, savage. Filth and failure. I'll need to have the entire hall scrubbed from top to bottom to get out the stench of such a degenerate."
After a bit more battling, Nowe manages to land a rather nasty looking blow. An In Cutscene Injury™ too, at that... Poor Gismor...
Huh... It would seem General Gismor subscribes to the Arthur from Ghost 'n Goblins school of armor damage reaction. I wonder if he wears heart covered boxers...
Oh...ergh... I guess not... It turns out Gismor is this dimension's equivalent of the Shadowlord. That is umm...what...? That isn't a pirate... That isn't a pirate at all...
Eris is rightly a bit freaked out that her boss is actually some sort of naked shadow demon in disguise. Well....I suppose that at least explains how he grew his arm back...
Nowe attempts to copy the Stab 'em in the Dick! Technique™ Caim used to kill the Grim Reaper in the previous chapter and bum rushes Shade Gismor.
However, the shadow general has put a bunch of skill points into the Whip Arm technique and he uses this ability to...
Well, he might not be a pirate. But at least he's keeping up old Dick's glee level...
Oh, General Gismor. You card!
"Oopsie-daisy..."
"...Bloody...idiot..."Shade Gismor drops Eris and runs off giggling silently to himself...
The general skips off to be a future boss fight, leaving Nowe to deal with his newest in a long series of total cock-ups during this adventure.
"Shh. Don't try to speak." "You're kind and gentle, yet...somewhat wild. That's why I..." "..." "Hoped you'd eventually grow out of being such an impulsive fool... Heh...guess that was a silly thing to wish..." "The final key is on the top floor... It's an hourglass called the Holy Sands..."
"Not that I am...in any condition to...do so... But do not...blame me if...things go po...orly once you break it... This...is still a...r-really...retarded idea..."
And thus Nowe murders his only other childhood friend. Our hero, folks!
Verse 1 Cutscenes (Probably worth watching...)
Verse 2 Cutscenes (You should definitely watch this.)
Music: Twilight Hill
Young Eris and Nowe - Little did they know their friendship would end with Eris being skewered by Nowe's retard rage.