Part 71: Battle: Return Of The Wyverns

Update 39: Return Of The Wyverns (Battle)

Getting close to the grand finale here, but we’ve got a shitload of generic enemies to cut through before we get there!

Please note this is the final time our old friends, the Thieves will make an appearance. Pour one out for those fellas.




We have to have over 10 of these by now.








Oh. Darros.






I love how the game just flat out calls this Useless. It is, and I appreciate their bluntness.



Also got Minerva decked out with the SHOPPING GEAR. This is our last chance to purchase things, outside of the Armory.



Okay, so, I accidentally put this conversation at the start of the LAST post, the prep one. My bad.

It’s there if you want to see it, but basically, we’re here at the border of Macedon and Dolhr, where the Earth Dragons are taking an eternal nap beneath the ground. Gharnef wants to stop that.



An...orc approaches?

: You're...!

: Who are you?! A barbarian of this dale? Please stand back, sire.

In this update, Steve learns the dangers of prejudice and racial profiling.

: It's alright, Steve. This is Ymir, another ally from the last war. When I met him, he was holding off an entire army to protect some villagers. He's a kind and brave man.

Ymir was the final bonus character introduced in Shadow Dragon, and he was running around inside a volcano. He’s a character few people will recognize, because you had to slaughter like, 80% of the playable cast to get that chapter. Sad, because his design is great.

: Yeah, the name's Ymir. I heard Marth was fightin' here and figured I'd come along too.

: I-I see... How rude of me, Sir Ymir. Please forgive my insolence.

: Oh, it's okay. My face is a bit on the scary side, I gotta admit. What's your name?

: Ah, yes. I am the Altean Royal Guard, Steve.

: Steve! What a name! It's a real pleasure to meet you.

: Likewise.

Ymir rules.




Ymir kinda sucks. Those are some pretty subpar stats for a Warrior, especially only 11 defense. Not the worst we’ve seen though, there’s just not enough game left for him to really be...viable.



Immediately rushing forward with Steve, want to play this one pretty fast, since I was so defensive in the last two main chapters.





Welcome to the annoying bit of this map. Fucking. Long Range Tomes.



Not too much to worry about from these guys. Only 2% crit with your Killing Edge? A shameful Swordmaster, this dork is. “Rock Clan” my ass.



The first Wyvern attack in about 10 chapters misses. Good.



No longer do I fear the Wyverns. We really are here at the endgame



Meanwhile, the thieves begin their trek across the mountains to ruin my day.





Sheema and Marth play cleanup.





This guy goes down, ASAP.



Catria barges deep into enemy territory, because I’m feeling pretty ballsy this map. It’s a pretty easy one, to be honest, bit of a breather.



Also...she’s Catria.



These Berserkers must bow to their superior.



He is Barst, and he is basking in the piss colored critical glow.



dammit



Devil Sword man owns himself!



Steve puts him out of his shameful existence.



Steve has now gained more points of Magic in Paladin than she did in Mage.



cast it into the depths of the convoy



Ogma’s really stepping up today.





He could use some Def though...but that HP seems to be keeping him alive okay. As long as another Wyvern doesn’t show up.





Catria rushes to interrupt ThiefCon2015



And another one springs from the cave! This must be their nest.



Much to my dismay, the Devil Axe man does not also stab himself.



Luke takes care of it, though.



Just gonna park Catria here so they can’t escape...this surely will not backfire on me.



And Minerva tosses axes over a mountain, just kinda to be an ass.



Sadly, this. Ow.



Also ow. Meteor is so hard to get a good shot of.



Single digit hit rate? This is embarrassing for everyone involved.





A surprise Wyvern decides to warm Marth from toasty to well done.



They have similar opinions on Catria.



Thankfully, she’s found a way to express her anger.



These morons.



Minerva dispatches of the northern Wyvern.



Catria retreats to recover and snipe thieves from afar.



Almost capped.





The Wyvern that went for Marth has to answer to the good ol’ Zandatsu.



Look at that respectable speed on Sheema. How she’s grown.



Lots of heals going around this time because of those long rangers, and Wyverns, who actually have an even longer range.



So, there are...minor reinforcements on this map. They’ll trigger when we cross the bridge here. That Sorcerer has Meteor too, so I’ll want to hold out until he’s dead to avoid the surprise double whammy.



More skirting of the ranges occurs.



One final Red Thief staggers into the daylight. Little does he know he is the last of his kind.



Ah shit I forgot how bad her Res is.



Also his.



Wizards try to kill Barst. He does not approve.



Oh, and a Wyvern showed up. They really aren’t as scary anymore.



The second one is a...bit annoying though. Steve also can’t double him.



Sheema continues cleanup patrol.





Alright, show’s over, pal.



Look at that experience. Level 19, 99 Xp. I call this piece, “The Precipice of Greatness”. Barst is about to be our first unit to hit the level cap.



Meanwhile Minerva scoots over to take out this guy. Catria’s there for moral support, or if she fucks up and whiffs this.



She didn’t.



Not too bad.



The last moments of the Thieves. Behold.



Positioning some lures here, Steve and Luke seem right for the job, but everyone’s a little beat up.



I still have another one of these in Convoy!



FUCK YOU BARST, MALICIA CAPS FIRST. Level 20 Sage! Almost capped Magic too. Also, 29 Luck. My god.



Well done, Malicia.



Here’s the...reinforcements. It’s this guy.



I hate this.



Stop.



That would be pretty dangerous if these guys had any aim.





Barst is brought low, but he keeps himself alive.



And he’s also hit the level cap.



Steve can’t double a Swordmaster, sadly.



The Meteor slinger is not so lucky.



Then again, neither is the Swordmaster.



Remember those good old times with Excalibur? Yeah.



Minerva gets to the money grinding pit.



There is one of these guys left.



Okay, so, this is pretty obtuse, but this the one time in the whole game that someone other than Marth must interact with a village. If you’ve picked up on the clues, you know who the “mystery dracoknight” is. Here’s someone he’ll probably want to meet.



You have to have Minerva WAIT, on the Village entrance, before Marth gets there, and before Turn 16, or the village is destroyed by the thieves. I’ve heard the Wyverns that spawn as reinforcements can do it too, but I’ve never seen it happen.

Got all that? You’ll trigger this scene.







Okay, so here’s what I was complaining about last time. We’re on the Macedon border. The villagers found this guy and had no idea who he was.

Michalis was the literal king of the entire country for years in Shadow Dragon. None of them recognized the king/prince? He’s not THAT badly scarred. (I do like that he has an “injured” sprite though, that’s a nice touch.)

: Ah! You're wounded! I'll go get help!

: Don't bother... This wound is beyond help. I'd rather you call for... Prince Marth. I have... something I must pass on to him.

: The prince will be here soon. Hold on, Brother! I'll tend to your wound...

: Heh... To think I'd need your help in the end... Guh... ngh...!

: Brother!

: Minerva... I have something to ask of you. Should I die... Give this tome to Prince Marth. This is as far as I can go... I leave the rest... to you...

: B--Brother... Michalis...! No... This isn't like you! When did you become so weak!? The brother I knew was strong and noble... He always found his own way, never relying on anyone else... Do you hear me? I won't accept this! You're going to pass this on yourself, without the help of your younger sister.

I dunno if I’d use the word “noble” for Michalis, but I mean...yeah, life or death pep talk here.

: Hmph... Am I being scolded now...?

: Brother, listen to me... You cannot die here. You have to live...!



Back to the battlefield, Sirius is advancing on the final Meteor Sorc, and took a nice chunk out of him. Note that they are too dumb to move, so when Sirius is in this range, the sorcerer cannot harm him.



Oh, one more Wyvern.



He just sorta...flew over here.



I mean, okay.



Speed. Speeeeed. Def is a little low, but she’s getting swapped back to General soon anyway, once I get one last treasure here.



Now that Minerva’s scene has triggered, I’m safe to visit Michalis with Marth.



: ......Marth, huh...? ...I was waiting... for you...

: For me?!

: ...Take this…

: Ah...! This is the Starlight tome! You're giving this to me?



So Michalis tried to duel Gharnef. Bold, but a bad decision, considering he’s literally unkillable except by mages with Starlight.

Some background if you didn’t play Shadow Dragon, Starlight was a tome Gotoh created from the Star and Lightspheres. It counteracts Gharnef’s Imhullu tome, made from the Darksphere’s power, that keeps him invincible. Only an equally powerful mage can defeat Gharnef.

We have a few candidates.

: Gharnef, you say?! Where is he now?

: At the Dragon's Altar... Heh... how pathetic... Somebody of my caliber... would fall foul... to Gharnef? Marth... Please... I am not long for this world. Tell Minerva... to save... Maria... in my place... please...

: Michalis!

: Marth… I leave Maria to you… ngh…



And with Michalis’ last will carried out, we get Starlight.



Pretty powerful, but the real upside is its ability to damage Gharnef. We’ll run into him, I don’t consider that a spoiler because of course we will.



All gone but the boss now.



Some healing gets Merric a coveted Magic point.



This one was...close.



As the others grind some cash, Minerva heads for one of the best secret shops in the game.




Anna’s selling up to 3 of every stat booster, and an Arms Scroll. I bought one of each. The Spirit Dust is definitely going to Malicia so she can hit that exact 30 Magic cap, but if there’s anyone you think could really benefit from the others, feel free to mention it. The Arms Scroll is on hold so Sheema can use A rank Bows as a General, though, so I don’t have to abandon Parthia.



So here’s the boss. Here’s what the animation for Glower looks like, an eyeball opens up in the dark and bombards the victim with red spheres.



He doesn’t care.



Catria fights on!




Here’s the last armory in the game. Silver of each kind of weapon, and ranged Axes/Lances.



Catria too, has hit the level cap.



The Vendor here sells tomes and staves. I got some Recovers for the final stretch.



This vendor sells...mostly garbage. Door Keys could be nice if you really don’t want to use Julian/Rickard.



And this guy is hawking Killer Weapons. I got an Axe to take advantage of Barst’s naturally insane crit rate.



Ogma also spent some time in the arena to get 60 HP. I didn’t do much Arena Grinding here, because the arenas get shockingly hard once you get to high levels. I ran into a lot of unwinabble fights.



But, with over 10k gold left for Drill Grounds and a lot of new treasures, it’s time to enter the Dragon’s Altar.










Oh no. HUMANS ARE THE REAL MONSTERS!

no it’s still medeus/gharnef.

: Thus, he gathered the surviving dragonkin, forming the Dolhrian Empire. All to obliterate mankind. He was vanquished by Anri once and then defeated a second time by you. However earth dragons boast tremendous life force, and cannot be completely eliminated so easily... Even now, they sleep at this altar.

: You mean to say they'll awaken?!

: Not exactly. Even sleeping earth dragons should not awaken for centuries or so.

Gotoh didn’t you say, and I’m quoting,

“However, we have a far greater task to accomplish--we must seal away the earth dragons. Soon they will awaken from their slumber. They will rise up from the ground, destroying everything in their wake, and turn this world into a living hell. Go, Marth. Entomb the awakened dragons once more! “

Make up your damn mind, Gotoh! I guess the concept of “soon” is a little off to an immortal divine dragon, though.

: The next time Medeus awakens though, he will rise as a terrifying Shadow Dragon... No, wait...! Perhaps...? Yes, I see... So that's why Gharnef...

: What's the matter, Lord Gotoh?




: He intends to use them to resurrect Medeus.

Chapter 19: : Hardin handed Princess Nyna to Gharnef. Gharnef said that he required the blood of noble-born clerics in order to resurrect the Shadow Dragon...

Chapter 20: : Withdraw, my priests. At this rate, he will... Let us hurry the Shadow Dragon's return!

Gotoh. Buddy. You are not breaking any new ground here. Maybe you need to go lie down, we can handle this endgame stuff.

: To hasten the awakening of a dragon requires the life force of pure, maiden women. Knowing this, Gharnef kidnapped them.

: So that means Elice and the others are in this very altar?

: Indubitably... Marth, you must hurry. They are in grave danger! Medeus's awakening... is only a matter of time!!

Awakening won’t come out for a few years, Gotoh, we’re good.

Meanwhile…



: It's fine. I don't mind at all. It's rare to see someone like me anyway. But it's so warm dressin' like this. Why doesn't anybody else do this? I don't get it.

: Oh, is it warm?

: Yeah, it's great during winter. Hey! Why don't you try wearin' this for a change? It's a hat made from animal hide. Just wear it! You're gonna see how amazin' it is right away.



: This is... Wow, it is a pretty great hat.




Oh man. I can’t believe it. It’s the final hat.

You folks know the drill. Bold for hat change or no hat change. Don’t worry, I show it off. This one is...something.

Here’s the dialogue for if you say yes:

: Whoa! I'm so stoked you said that! It'll look great on you! No doubt about it.

Ymir

But wait. I did get that Minerva scene…




Oh

: Brother... why...? Why here...? I--I never wanted to fight you...! I just wanted things to be like they used to... With you and Maria... Brother...... Michalis... Bro...ther......!


: ...Your tears... How long has it been since I saw them last...?

Nobody dies in these games. Except Hardin. Hardin is still very dead.

: What...? M-Michalis?! Are you...?



: The Michalis you knew... would never die in a place like this. Am I right?

: Brother...! Oh, Brother!

: Hmph, don't get the wrong idea. You and I are still enemies... That will not change. The incompetence of your army sickens me, so you leave me with no choice but to help.

And, with a barrage of insults, Michalis has (reluctantly) joined the team! This was impossible in the original, but the remake allows Michalis to survive his encounter with Gharnef, provided you get that scene with Minerva.

: Thank goodness... You've finally returned to your old self. I understand. Until the Shadow Dragon breathes his last, let us borrow your strength.




Here’s Michalis, and he’s...good?

Yes, the game has deigned you worthy of getting a pretty solid unit out of the gate at end game! He’s not the greatest, he’s still got some of the same issues Minerva does, but he’s very usable.

The biggest problem is his hilarious...2 Luck. I guess cheating death twice ate away all Michalis’ divine favor. He’s in a lot of danger of getting crit.

Anyway, let’s end things on a...high note.





oh dear god



WOLFSLAYER STEVE HAS ARRIVED



Next time:

Update 40: The Game’s Starting To Drag-On

Put in your votes for whether Steve will end the game with the tiara or the dead wolf carcass on her head.