Grandia Part #118 - Pirate Island 2/End of Disc 1

Part 118: Pirate Island 2/End of Disc 1

Welcome back!

: Are you all right? The Hero Justin has come to save you! Come, run away quickly.

: Hero...! I've been waiting for a man like you for a long time. I'm just starving. I can't stand it.

: What? You're starving?

: Come, my Hero, be my dinner. ♥

: What!? What in the world's going on?

: It was a trap, after all! These girls are really THOSE mermaids!

: Really?

: It's coming this way, Justin!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNt5rH9lshY (Polsy link)

There's cutscenes coming up after the battle, so there's a "fight ends" for the video-watchers to skip to.

Or the people who don't care about the boss fights. They can skip there, too.

The first thing to note is that the boss has two independent parts: Grinwhale itself, and the Lure. Under most conditions, going all-out on the Grinwhale to end the fight ASAP is a valid option, with the Lure being an extra target to farm for XP. Here, though, that fucker needs to die as soon as I can manage it.

With Midair Cut, we're off to a good start. The boss is weak against fire, so Dragon Cut or Justin's fire technique can both really bring the pain. If you have them.

Entice is the only thing the Lure will do in this fight. It will also always target Justin, unless he's dead.

First, it'll lure Justin to right in front of it...

... whereupon it'll bite him for a hefty chunk of damage.

If Justin's dead, it'll target Feena, but skip the "luring over" step, so it'll only hurt her if she's standing in range anyway.

WOW! does some amazing things for Justin.

Grinwhale, meanwhile, has three attacks. Body Blow, here, hits a small radius around the boss, which just so happens to include the space where Entice lures Justin. The damage is manageable, even for our Justin, though.

Its next attack is Spew. It sucks in the party...

Then spits them out for some damage.

Finally, Electric Shock. As the name implies, it's lightning-elemental magic damage, so armor doesn't reduce the damage taken.

Which, in our case, is a benefit, as having no armor doesn't increase the damage, either.

And yes, the animation is just those two frames cycling at 30hz.

Anyway, the fight ends with the focused assault having gone off without a hitch.

Both Justin and Feena gain a level from this, with Feena once again prioritizing her important stats.

C'mon, Justin, this happens almost every time you fight a boss.

: This shaking... could it be!?

: The island is sinking! RUN, Feena!

Hey, this map is a liar! I totally killed that frog back there!

Oh. I guess it was just the boss's lair that collapsed?

This looks kinda familiar.

: I'm just in a mood to think. I should've listened to you, Feena. I fell into the mermaid's snare.

: If I were alone, I might have been eaten by the mermaids. I feel so stupid.

: Don't be so hard on yourself, Justin. The mermaids did not eat you. And...

: I won't ever let you go alone, Justin.

: Feena...?

: Don't talk about going alone anywhere, Justin. Precisely because adventures bring dangers, having a partner who is always ready to help is.... No, that's not what I really want to say. For me, Justin, you're a special....

: Feena, last night you also said, "Justin is a special...." I am a special what? Tell me, Feena.

: I didn't think you were listening so closely, Justin.

: Well... I can't say I understood much....

: That's all right, Justin. Right now, I don't even know my own feelings.

According to your portrait, you are currently "wistful".

: I can't find the right words for my feelings, and... I think that's all right for now.

For you, maybe. I can't just have my portraits named "Feena01" through "Feena35".

... Actually, I could. Nevermind.