Part 124: Virgin Forest 2

Depends on whether it'd get them to buy more, I guess.



It's less the amount that he charges and more the fact that he charges at all. Especially in a game where save points fully heal you and inns are free.

Although a forced full-heal is quite a bit more welcome when you don't use the save point recovery option.

Speaking of....

----

Welcome back!

Last time, we got ripped off by a rabbit while trying to get out of a forest.

Look, if the game doesn't dial back the scale from time to time, we wind up with Dragon Ball Z.

The next area of the Virgin Forest looks startlingly similar to the first area. As well as the third.



The Swallowtail Hat can be dropped by the Sweet Moths, and is the best headgear available for a while. Unfortunately, Feena's too busy enjoying her teleport-hat, and Justin's hair is stuck to the grease in the pot, so it just clogs up inventory for now.



While clearing the area, Feena hits Wind 15, and unlocks her final skill.

I'll go into more detail about it once we actually use it.



In the very same battle, Justin hits Fire 8 and picks up the first of his elemental slash skills. Lotus Cut here is a powerful, close-range, single-target attack that is brutal against anything weak to fire.



The main gimmick of the second screen is these lily pads that you leap across.



Oh boy. How thrilling.



Elsewhere, we pick up the Water Charm. Much like the Fire, Wind, and Earth charms, it gives +4 resistance to the specified element, roughly halving damage or the chance of getting hit with a status effect.



Here, Justin hits Fire 9, learning Burnflare.

He's got a lightning spell queued up to learn at Fire 10, too.



My luck with the Magi Clamp continues to hold true, too.

As is apparently the norm for this area, there's someone waiting for us by the exit.





Oh, good, he has a portrait.

: Oh! You guys have short ears! The tower rats have come this far! This is terrible. I have to tell Rapp right away!

: Aye!



Oh. Well then.

: What does he mean by "tower rats"?





Well, whatever it means, it surely has nothing to do with the world's most obvious pit trap here on the next screen.

... Brr, there's a chill in the air. That can only mean one thing.... A voiced cutscene is coming up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYS_PY0oLZM (Polsy link)

As is usual, skip down to "cutscene ends" to skip the part where I write down everything that just happened in that video up there.



Justin and Feena, when confronted by a mysterious voice, decide that the best place to stand is right on top of the pit trap.

Justin's clearly being a bad influence on Feena.

: Unh!? I hear a voice from somewhere.

: This forest belongs to the people of Cafu. If you value your life, leave at once!

: Hey, hey, hey! I don't know who you are, but how dare you threaten me! If you have something to say, stop hiding and come out here!

: Coward!

: Who's calling me a coward?! Now you're in for it!



Well, there had to be a first time for Justin to fall off something on disc 2. Guess that's here.



The cutscene's still going, by the way.

: All right, Nicky. Good job. Ya' did good!

: Stupid jerks! You'll pay for this!

: We're just adventurers passing through the forest on our journey.



It's going to be so satisfying when Feena sets him on fire.

Also: I think that's my favorite portrait in the game, right there.

: Huh?! What did you say?!

: These scum must be with the rats in the tower! Take 'em to town and hang 'em!

: You punks! Who the heck are you?!



: I'm Rapp of Cafu!

For the record: On anyone else, that portrait would be their "smug" one. That's Rapp's default face.

: Hmph! I guess someone needs to teach you a lesson!



: So, what? You want to fight?

: Hey, Nicky! You guys go back to town, and tell the young'ens!

: Right! OK, Rapp. We're going!

: You play dirty! Can't handle me one-on-one, huh?

: He he he... You trying to act tough? Fool!

: Don't you worry your lil' head! By the time they get back here, you'll be history!

: Don't count on it! You're the one who's in for a pounding!

The problem with threats is that it's easy to use your best material too early. Nothing in this conversation has even approached his "I'll turn you into stew!" against Gadwin.





Unfortunately, Nicky interrupts our attempt to beat some manners into Rapp.

: Nicky! What's the matter?

: Aw! You guys sure are lucky. I'll let you stay alive a lil' longer.

And, with that, the cutscene ends. There's some gold scattered about, and after we pick that up....



That is one ugly-ass monster.

: Hey, we'll help, too! With the three of us, we can take care of that monster!

: What!? You? Are you kidding me? You and I are enemies!

: You fool! Who cares about that right now!

: Unless you two hurry... that poor kid!

: Drat. It's all or nothing now!





And, just like that, we've gotten our third permanent party member. And have to fight a boss with no opportunity to change around his equipment beforehand.

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

Nice to hear Boss 1 again. The fight'll last 'till the end of the update.



Rapp, interestingly enough, can use throwing weapons, but not bows, despite them using the same skill. He can also use swords and daggers, but the latter doesn't count as a throwing weapon.

He also starts off with quite a few useful skills pre-learned. Missile and Sidethrow are the usual single-target and all-target ranged techs. Mist Hide just telports Rapp... somewhere on the battlefield. Usually it winds up dropping him off right where he started.

Discutter is our first linear AoE. Unfortunately for this battle, Trent's two adds don't overlap the main target, so it tends to only hit the selected enemy.



Rapp also comes with fire magic. And that's it.

Interestingly, both mechanically and personality-wise, he's basically Justin with a twist. Hot-headed, prone to hanging out in areas with monsters, and has an unexpectedly-badass little kid for a friend. 'Cept that Sue would've kicked this thing to pieces instead of getting kidnapped by it.

Mechanically, he's best suited to making large numbers pop out of enemies. However, he also has a posse and is a bit of a jerk, and he learns a few techniques and spells that do interesting things.

I'll have more words about Rapp once he learns some of those, though. For now, he's basically "Justin, only long-ranged, but weaker".



The main body's technique is Sleep Gas, which inflicts Sleep. In an area.

Yeah, it sucks.



The Arm can swipe, hitting an area for a decent amount of physical damage. Nothing dangerous on its own, but when combined with the other two parts, can really put the pressure on.



Lotus Cut here hits for about 600 damage. Which means that Trent is either neutral to fire, or only minorly weak to it. It can break 1000 on a proper weakness.

Trent's third part, the Flower....



Is hampered by the fact that it's permanently offset from the only part that can actually move. Still, Flower Beam can hurt if you're in a bad position.

One thing to note is that Trent is immune to Earth. Worth noting if, say Tremor is a major part of your offense.



With his second Lotus Cut, Justin hits Fire 10 and learns Zap All. Like the name implies, it's a lightning attack on all enemies.



Unfortunately, he eats a Flower Beam before his next turn, and doesn't have the HP to keep going. Even Feena only has 6 health after that.



Welp. Between her Fiora and two Tremors, Feena was completely useless in this fight. At least Justin took the other parts down to less than half their health before perishing.

And no, Rapp doesn't have any Resurrection Potions in his inventory. Looks like he's on his own.



Thankfully, Missile charges instantly, only costs 14 SP, and deals nearly 300 damage. Between that and the healing items he starts with....



Rapp gets to be the one who saves Nicky.

And no, "Rapp solos the boss" isn't going to be a recurring thing. At least, not intentionally.

See you next time, when we finally escape this accursed forest!

: +3, +1

: +1 +1

: +1