Part 10: Days 14-15 - The Northern Expedition

Days 14-15 -The Northern Expedition

Where we last left off, we had a showdown with Grantus, the Iron Beast, and recruited Rinna (although she will be unavailable for the rest of this loop).

Now, with no obvious objectives prior to Bagoth’s recruitment, I decide to go on a big long trek into the north of Pandule.



Heading north of where we found the Hunter’s Village last time, we find Ghosts. These guys are annoying, since physical attacks don’t hurt them much and you need magic. While Rummy can use fire spells, only Claire can really do decent magic damage. Mouse does learn a spell called “Dirge” which lowers enemy morale, causing them to flee, but this does diminish the rewards we get for winning.



The guard here won’t let us into the graveyard as it is under military control. Despite being captain of the Royal Guard, Rummy doesn’t have control over these blokes, so we have no pull with them. No, who we need is Bagoth, who we won’t be recruiting just yet.



Dorfs. Bad translation strikes again.

Dorfs have a “supersonic” kind of attack that paralyses, and they otherwise attack normally.



The red enemies here are “Flying Centipedes”. Why? You know the answer.

The little things are called “Dusts”. My guess is they were going for Dust Mite, but one wonders why they thought to make a dust mite enemy at all.



There are multiple chests on this beachfront, and this is the only one that has this unique description about being shredded by seawater. There seems to be no significance to it. We also get a “Stone Shell Crab” from the box, which is a weapon for Kyte.

Speaking of Kyte, on this very beach, on the 4th day of any loop after recruiting him, at 12PM….


Now Playing – Kyte’s Memory



He says this like we were meant to, but I don’t believe there’s ever any mention or invitation to this event. Kyte’s sailors will hint at the content of it, but they will not tell you exactly where Kyte goes. I’m really not sure how you’re supposed to find out about this organically. Heck, there’s even multiple beaches on the north coast you might get mixed up.

“Even though I’ve already awakened from the spell of time, I couldn’t stop myself from coming here today.”





“It’s my ship. Maybe I should have said “was”. It was the “Matilda”…..I rarely tell people about it, but something is strange. But for some reason I want you guys to hear about it. As I said before, the tides on this island are very odd, so if you’re in a small boat, you cannot get out to the open sea. While I can’t really call the Matilda a large ship, it was the largest ship on the island. My fellow shipmates and I were counting on that…So, one day we managed to row it out to sea. We set out from the Northern shore where the tide is the weakest. “



“Terrifying sea monsters were awaiting us. We were petrified. We fought desperately. But they were terribly strong. We hit and hit them, but they kept attacking. Eventually, one by one my mates went down. The ship sunk. When I came to, I had been washed back up onto the shore. Yes, I was the only one.”



“All I know is that it happened.”

“So that’s what happened.”

“But I think I’m close to understanding the secrets of the demons. I will figure it out soon.”

At first you might think he’s talking about the time demons we’ve seen around, but no, he means the monsters he fought on the Matilda, I believe.



“Hey, thanks.”

Mouse then heads off.

“Thanks, but…”



And the scene ends there.

This is the kickoff for a major sidequest. I actually happened to be on this beach largely by accident, and figured it was better to put this particular sidequest off until later, but things happened as they happened. Either way, Kyte’s little problem will be followed up on in the next loop.



Not far from Kyte’s beach we find another daughter of the “old lady”. Like Helenum, she offers healing and has a map piece in her house.



West of Kyte’s beach and Lupinus’ house, we find this swampland with bridges crisscrossing it. This is sort of a nexus point for multiple points of interest.



This NPC drops a hint at the existence of an important location. Just to add to the obnoxiousness of this game’s NPCs, he doesn’t even give us clear directions. The “strange village” is to the north of the swamp, as it were.



Hard Lips. Can’t even begin to guess what they were going for with the name. I think they’re meant to be Piranhas?



“Eternal Alligators”. What makes them eternal I don’t know, but funnily enough they’re more like Crocodiles than Alligators as their snouts are more triangular. Also no idea why they have spines or whatever you call them.



And for some reason, they have an attack that involves a little bird flying out of their mouths and hitting you. I think it does less damage then their regular attack. This game was made on drugs, it had to be.

EDIT: The user Polsy suggested these are likely a reference to a type of bird alleged that enters Crocodile's mouths to clean the meat from between their teeth. The more you know.



These things are called “Poisoneds”. I assume they were going for Poisonous, but poisonous what? Beetles?



North of the swamp we find the aforementioned strange village. As you can see, there’s a conspicuous shadow here….



???: “And likewise, you can’t tell if something you can’t see is right before your eyes or not.”

”Huh!?!”



???: “We have lost all interest in humans like that.”

”Bwuh!?!?”

As you can see, this strange village is littered with mysterious inhabitants that mock your humanity and inability to see them. We will soon see who they are, but not for some time.

Right now, our exploration must come to an end, as we have to finally recruit Bagoth. At around 8PM, he becomes available to save.



”The demon reactor is going to explode!”

“What? The demon reactor is going to explode soon? Hmmm…Could you go in and check on it? I just unlocked the door.”

The funny thing is we got the reactor key from Ano, but that doesn’t unlock the door Bagoth is standing next to. Why Ano didn’t give “Jailson” the actual means to enter the reactor, we will never know.

We head inside, and a scene begins.


Click here to see Mouse save General Bagoth from his fate.


Now Playing – Tension




“….It cannot possibly be as you have said. You couldn’t have experienced this situation before!”

”Oh but I have. I’ve seen you die, General.”





“Don’t you get it yet, General?!”

“The instrument…spoke…!”



Now that I think about it, why on earth would Mouse set Pattimo down against the wall here? Especially in a building that might explode soon?

“It is now time for you to survive and thereby destroy the time loop! You have to overthrow this enemy who has taken advantage of your loyalty! “

“Enemy!?”







“They control the demon reactor!”

How did they get that from the original text? Unless the Japanese text actually says these things are “controlling” the reactor rather than smashing it to pieces…

EDIT: According to Polsy, there was no verb in the original Japanese text, meaning the translators just stuffed something in there. A poor choice to say the least.



“Mouse, there’s no time left! You’ve got to dispose of them quickly!!”




Now Playing – Rebellion



We are then thrust into battle. The big one here is called “Byunokos”, and it’s the main boss here.



It is joined by 4 “Hyunokos” which are the little gremlin things from the cutscene. Mouse can wipe these guys out in one hit with a Charging Strike.

You might have noticed this whole battle has this obnoxious shaky filter over it, despite the previous scene having no such malaise. It makes the whole battle an assault on your eyes.

Fortunately, it doesn’t last long.



“Please protect the demon reactor and the Sacred Sword!”

“Don’t you get it yet, General?! That’s not what we’re trying to protect.”



“…!!”




We then cut to outside.







Now Playing – Bagoth’s Theme

Ano shows up here.



“I’ve learned that no matter how sophisticated a machine is, one should not rely on it too much. But, why were you here?”





And the scene ends there. Unlike other recruitments, we have no opportunity to place Bagoth in our party, and must find him manually after this (or just use the mirror).

You’d think this would be a golden opportunity to lean on Ano and convince him this is proof of Xel’s plot, but no, we’ll have to wait for a far more arbitrary opportunity to recruit him. It would be possible to fit his recruitment into any loop where you recruit Bagoth with a little foresight, but I didn’t think to do it.

It is possible to see the bulk of this scene even if you didn't get the key from Ano. It will simply end with Mouse unable to unlock the door and the place exploding. You will also see an explosion cutscene if you happen to be standing in the room where Bagoth is at the time it happens. Interestingly, dying in the reactor explosion, whether in cutscene or just from being in the building, leads to a game over, despite Bagoth seeing a new loop just fine himself.

We are done with recruitment for this loop, but we have some more exploring to do before moving on. We jump to the swamp and head east this time.



Just beyond the swamp we encounter pallet swapped horses and…Zebras.



“Jumbo Chickens” can cause status effects with the attack seen above.



Here we find “Bestial Priest Soldiers” and “Roars”. I don’t even know where to begin. The Priest Soldiers are annoying, because they can take a few hits, but the Roars are so weak even Claire can one shot them.


Now Playing – Woodcutter’s Village



Southeast of the swamp, we discover the Woodcutter’s Village, first mentioned by Rinna on her tour. At night there’s not so much to do here so we have to piss about until morning.



This accessory increases attack power by 50. Of all the accessories in the game, these are the ones you really want. I give it to Mouse, since he’s both our best attacker for now, and will need all the power he can for later segments.



Balhouse’s Father: “How could something like that happen?”

I guess this kind of commentary was to be expected of an early 2000s JRPG.



Moricorne here gives us the map piece for the village. We sure do need it.



Varely: “Then, you must have passed that strange village around the north beach, right? It’s this eerie place with no people, but you can hear these voices. If only the lift were fixed, we wouldn’t have to go past the place.”

This is a hint that this village is relevant to the mystery of that strange village. Also, speaking of the lift…



Reyan: They’ve been making parts for the lift, but because there’ve been so many monsters lately, no one will go into town to pick it up. Would you go for me?”

We get a yes/no prompt. We need to do this to get more important stuff later, so no point refusing.

“YES”

Reyan: “Really? Wow! That’ll be a big help! Give this letter to the Blacksmith. I can’t offer you very much, but I’ll try to get you some kind of reward, so….I’m trusting you with this.”

Note that he never clarified which blacksmith, as there’s a bunch in town. Fortunately, it just so happens said blacksmith is Mouse’s, which is probably your first port of call.



Manmaeya’s Wife: “I was worried because you hadn’t returned. That’ll be 1000G. You willing to pay that?”

We get another yes/no prompt. Reyan left us to pay the bill. Of course, 1000G is chump change by now, unless you’ve been avoiding fights or recently splurged on a weapon upgrade.

We get the parts and head back to Reyan.



Reyan: “Now, we can get the lift working, so it’ll be easier getting to town!”

”You know, I had to pay your bill for you, so maybe pony up some cash?”

Reyan: “What? Money? Hey, don’t be so difficult. We have to help each other out, you know. I know it’s not in place of payment, but take this here as to (sic) token of our thanks.”

What’s our prize? A D.H. Egg. How utterly worthless.

The lift now works, but the only reason it would be useful to you is if you hadn’t learned Power Jump. Of course that’s far from impossible. The lift will in fact remain fixed regardless of time looping, for whatever reason.

The D.H. Egg is our direct reward, but there’s another you can nab, and it’s far more useful and important.



Varely: “Knowing Reyan, you probably only got a cheap, tawdry reward, right? Here, let me give you a reward too.”

He gives us a new Pattimo Song called “Celestial Road”.

Varely: “So, you seem to be that musician, so I wondered if you liked this stuff. Actually, I had thrown it away in front of that large withered tree near that ruin-like village up north, but it didn’t seem right. It seemed like a waste to throw it away, but I had problems getting rid of it. Ha! Ha! Ha!”

About this song: it’s the last Pattimo song in the game. We now have them all, and will never get any others. This is also the last Pattimo song we’ll ever need to play. The game is far from done, but the music mechanic has effectively become worthless now. What a waste of effort.

Celestial Road is a pretty easy song to play even if you’ve never tried it and are a dumbass kid.

Anyway, Varely mentioned discarding the musical score in front of a tree in the strange village. I think it’s meant to be that he found it discarded there, but either way it’s a clear indication the song has something to do with the village. So let’s head on over.



Yet another clue. This tree would appear to be our point of interest. So, let’s pop out Pattimo, and play Celestial Road…


Click here to watch me not completely suck at a song for a change.






Pattimo points out the obvious. I should mention it doesn’t matter how well you do here: even a D will still get you in. Anyway, we stand inside the tree, and…




Now Playing – Celestial Village

Now we’re in the real village.



He says they’re reflections of their “shadows”, but does that mean the shadows speak for themselves? Or are they speaking through their shadows?

The person next to him sells items and offers a map piece. This is one source of Leap Potions on the island (per se), which play the role of Power Jumps if you don’t have the skill.

Another vendor inside a house will sell you Mega Live Berries and Mega Magic Potions, the best healing items in that particular series of items (Phoenix Potions are still better for healing all your health).



Charming bunch, aren’t they?



He says this, yet they still operate stores and charge Mouse to buy.



Celestial Leader: “While we don’t wish to be seen by humans, we do honestly respect those who had the intelligence to find their way here. We hope you will stay awhile and enjoy yourself. But I ask you to please, do not divulge our location to others. If you can promise this, you are free to visit again anytime. You can buy some rare items here, things you’d never be able to find on Earth. But some how I think that instrument you have with you is more unusual. Ha. Ha.”

“No. No. I think you all are clearly the most unusual. You wouldn’t happen to be the legendary “Cloud Citizens” are you?”

Celestial Leader: “My, my. This is quite a knowledgeable little instrument indeed. Correct. Those tribes similar to us are called “Cloud Citizens”. We have evolved independently having received strong power from spirits. Our physical and spiritual bodies share an equal existence, but we are still unable to discard our physical bodies.”

“In other words, you are without doubt the humans closest to being spirits. You must have noticed haven’t you? This island’s disaster.”

Celestial Leader: “Yes. Someone who holds great magical powers has appeared and is sealing time. I can’t remember how long ago this first started, but this being is powerful! To seal off the entire island is quite an impressive feat.”

“Hey, you talk as if it has nothing to do with you.”

Celestial Leader: “Well, yes. It doesn’t have anything to do with us. Our lives are not affected by it…Right now we don’t have the strength to intervene in the affairs of the humans, nor do we suffer because we don’t intervene. We’re going to patiently wait for the magic spells to simply disappear on their own. Ha, ha, ha!!”

“Oh boy, this is why they live so long.”

And that’s a wrap, scene over.

As the Celestial Leader here mentioned this place being unaffected by time, you’d think we could avoid the time loop by staying here, right?

Nope. Even if you wait here until the end of the 5th day, the time loop will still happen and we’ll be forced back to the dock. So much for logical thinking.

One last thing to mention: this is how far we’ve come in a few in game days…



From the capital all the way out to the east of the island, and north all the way to an island in the sky. The map is starting to look complete. And the game is far from done.

This is where we shall stop for now.

Join me next time, where we endure the first of many obnoxious dungeons in Ephemeral Fantasia.