Part 59: Scarlets - Part 1b

My redo of the chapter went a heck of a lot less smoothly. Basically nobody got criticals, everybody kept getting hit, people kept missing 90% odds... stuff like that. Reimu, Marisa, Dai, Alice, and Youmu are now almost totally out of SP, and meanwhile Cirno (who was supposed to be my bait) never even got attacked.



On the other hand, I successfully activated Four of a Kind on my phase so it went pretty well. Master Spark + Shanghai Doll, Fantasy Seal, and Meditation Slash + Three Treasures crippled Flandre (since nobody got a critical), and Alice finished with a Doll Placement.

Even this doesn't make you all break... Why!? You're just her grunts!

Her pressure hasn't faltered even slightly... She still has power to spare.

Yeah, it figures~. Remilia called her a monster after all.

...!?



Umm, yeah~. She said you were a monster I think~. She also said that you're insane so we should beat you up.

...You! What are you saying in front of...



Rumia doesn't pull any punches.

...

A... monster? I'm insane...?

Please remain calm, Lady Flan! She did not mean what you think she...

...Ehe... hehehe. That's not true... I'm not insane, I only want to play outside...

...So, why...? I'm not a monster. I'm her little sister...



The field's turned black.

Lady... Flan...

...I don't wanna play now. I'm sick of everything. I don't need anything anymore. Not any of you, not big sister, not anything else...





Welcome to Flandre's map attack. Its range of effect?



The entire screen.



The way the spell works is that if there are any player units outside the little safe area come enemy phase,



Flandre attacks.



Only the people outside the safe area will be hit though.



And once enemy phase ends, the safe spot will be moved.



So on the player phase you'll have to move everyone to the new location. Repeat until the spell ends.

Couple of things to note about this spell: first off, it is entirely static. Where it starts depends on where you defeated Four of a Kind, but where the safe spot moves after that is hard coded. On Normal, it'll go northwest, southwest, southeast, and finally east.

Second, this spell more than any other changes depending on the difficulty since the amount of turns it lasts is extended. Easy has it only four turns long, Normal five turns, Hard six turns, and Lunatic seven turns. Oh, and on Lunatic Flandre will cast Strike every time. And believe it or not, you actually kind of want her to do that.



Third, the screen may be pitch black but the map is still the same. Right above my units is the north wall, so I actually can't put anybody in half of the safespot. But Cirno still has all of her Grits so I can kick her out and have Reimu take her spot.



Finally, you might think you could give yourself a breather on this spell by Bombing the danmaku. That'll increase the size of the safe spot and give you room to breath right? Nope. It'll work for similar spells in the sequel, but in this game all you'll do is waste a bomb.



The key to getting through this card as painlessly as possible is to move the units in the back first so the front units don't take their spots.



If you run into the situation where you can't get to the safe spot, and you're not playing on Lunatic, just cast a defensive Spirit and Focus. Flandre can actually miss, so you can try running around Unfocused if you want, but it's safer to just take the Graze damage.



And if you have a unit who both can't reach the safe spot and is out of SP, have them Focus anyways and get ready to heal them. And Then Will There Be None? is a ranged attack, so it won't hurt that much all things considered.



Oh, and if you know where the next safe spot is going to be just move the less lucky characters in position to go there.



Alice took a hit, Sakuya dodged like a pro. I'm pretty sure Private Square can activate on this spell, so if you have Sakuya at 120 Power consider letting her give up her spot to other people.



Dai uses her last Trust on Alice,



and then heals Keine since she's the unlucky unit this turn.



Since I don't have Purity on this save file, Dai's MP is getting low. You can get around this by just having her land. In fact, I would recommend having most of your characters land for the duration of this spell so they can regenerate 50 MP by the end.



You can't actually get hurt on the final turn, since as soon as the enemy phase starts the spell will be broken.



Also I wouldn't bother moving people to the safe zone like I did here,





because Flandre will always respawn at the center of the map.

You were supposed to vanish, then there would be none. Why are you all still here...

...Flan...

...Fine, if you're all still here, then I'll just destroy all of you!



I'll just break all of you myself!

You're... going to break Remilia too? You can't be serious!

What are you thinking...!? If Remilia is dead, who will provide you with your basic necessities?

I love how Alice is more exasperated at that than Flandre trying to kill her.

Ehehe... Don't you get it stupid? If I destroy big sister, she won't be able to play with anyone else anymore. She'll just keep hating me forever and ever.

...That is absurd. I will not allow that to happen!

Is there really nothing else we can do...? Must we resort to this...?

...Yes, we must. Who knows what will happen if we leave someone like her unchecked.

It's time for your punishment. I'll make you behave!

You're so loud, shut up already!

I waited so long. I sat down on the floor, holding my knees, and waited. I thought that someday, big sister would open that door and welcome me...



Whenever I asked "Are you ready yet?"... All I wanted was to hear "I'm ready" just once...



...

...Yeah, if I destroy this sound, then everything will definitely change. Big sister will be destroyed too. Then in this room, there will be none...





You're wrong, Flan. The answer isn't as simple as that. And we're going to show you what you're mistaken about!

You won't. The sound that never changes is proof that things will never change! The deafening, unchanging throbbing of 495 years... I'll make your worthless ears hear it loud and clear!





Since it's enemy phase, Flandre gets a free attack.



I tried to record it, but Youmu didn't feel like dying.



The strategy for Ripples of 495 Years is simple.



Bomb the danmaku with your least useful character,



then attack, attack, attack!



You can't time this spell out and Flandre's regenerating 5200 HP a turn. Either dump everything you have left into one huge salvo of finishers and take her down in one turn or slowly lose a battle of attrition.

Big dolls, small dolls... Which should I play with first?

She's become completely deranged. This is what Remilia warned us about... But I cannot deliver judgement until everything is explained clearly.

Hm? What are you muttering to yourself about? I guess I should break you next!

...And to bring that about, I will make you behave right now!

Note that if you try attacking Flandre during this phase with someone new, she won't actually speak with them. She's beyond words at this point.



So this is where all the criticals went.



Also, believe it or not,



but Q.E.D. doesn't hurt that much without its danmaku effect.



It's not even Flandre's strongest move; that title belongs to Four of a Kind. It does have a frankly ridiculous range for a melee move though, so that's a plus for it.



I'm not actually going to do this, but I might as well post her dialogue anyways.

You've got real wings? So you're not human?

Yeah, Cirno and I are fairies.

...Um, you shouldn't be so reckless, you know. If you want to play together, there's still tag or hopskotch...

That's boring. I wanna do something fun. With so many dolls around, playing danmaku will be the most fun for sure!

...No, there are definitely more fun ways to play.

I know I'm not a match for you... But I want you to understand that at least!

Now was there anyone else I haven't shown the boss conversation for?



Oh right. Nitori has Guard cast, so I'm actually going to let her try to attack.

Hey hey, you're her doll right? Are you good friends with her?

Ehh? Hmm... Reimu's a different matter, but as for me...

Ehehe, yeah. Being alone fits her better. I'll destroy all her toys so she can truly be alone!





Nitori also got a level.



Ehhh, I don't want to risk it.



I'll just have Cirno finally do something instead.



Obviously that wasn't enough, so it's Rumia's turn. She has Darkness Lvl 1 on too so she can make things easier for Youmu.



Rumia's got some crazy dance moves. _{how the hell did she dodge a 96%}



Here goes Youmu. Can she dodge a 13%?



Yes, actually! I was honestly expecting her to die, so this is a pleasant surprise.



Alice is right.

Music: Sealing Charm, Blessed Light



It's time to end this.


Watch Reimu resolve this incident too!



Just one level away from Shrine Maiden Lvl 4.



I kind of wonder if the English patch changed the item drop on purpose to make the boss easier.

...Not even that can destroy you...



Who responds to this question depends on whose route you're on.

Reimu couldn't care less about what Flandre's said, because she intuitively knows that Flandre's wrong and Remilia doesn't hate her.

As for Marisa, she's heard what Flandre's had to say but she's rejected the ending; there is no "real song", Marisa just made that up. But there's no reason why Flandre can't ditch the old ending too.

Both of these endings are based off the victory dialogue in EoSD's Extra stage, by the way.

...Who on earth are you all...?

T-That is quite something to ask at this point...

Looks like she's settled down. We can relax for now.



Look who conveniently showed up after the fight finished.

Took you long enough, Patchouli. We've taken care of Flan as promised.

Yes, good work. I certainly didn't think you could do it. Now then, I'll be readying...

Oh, it's you Patchouli. You didn't get shot down by Marisa, huh?

...!



With all the clamor she caused, she had to calm down eventually.

I've given up. You're going to lock me up again anyway. So boil me, or fry me, or do whatever else you want with me.

I know some people eat humans, but I doubt anyone would eat a devil.

My, it's just a figure of speech. Do humans not know what that is?

...



Escort her to a guest room and make sure she gets some rest after.

...Lady Patchouli...!?

...W-What? You're not going to lock me up?

My, do you want to be locked up? You're all covered in dust, so take care of your personal hygiene at least.

...Lady Flan, please follow me.

...Okay.

Sakuya and Flandre leave.



I changed my mind a little. To be honest, I never thought I'd ever see Flan relatively calm.

It probably didn't help that every time you saw her you tried to seal her.

The rest of you can come with me. I'll have some tea prepared to repay you for the favor you've done for us.

We'll take you up on that offer. It was a really long battle...

All that's left is Remilia. We need to get a proper explanation from her for all the trouble she caused.

All right, let's get ready for some interrogation once she's back!







And then my game crashed, just like the first time I ever beat this game.

------

Once again, thanks to Mikkey for his replay of EoSD Extra.

Flandre Scarlet All Attacks

------

...I'll be the host for tonight's All Night FMW. Let's see, the first postcard is from "Name"...

...This person clearly doesn't know how to write a postcard. You're supposed to write your own name, not actually write "Name" itself... Now I'm dreading what's inside...

"Hello, my name is Chen..." You're introducing yourself now!?

This handwriting is so terrible as well, I can barely read it... Hm, the words here are much neater. What's this...

"My apologies for any trouble Chen has caused. I, Ran Yakumo, will..." Why's the guardian writing for her now!?

That's it, I'm retiring from this.

Way to be an asshole Patchouli.