Part 161: Underground Ruins 3

Really, that's 90% of this game in a nutshell.


Justin seems like he should be off-model there, but if you look close enough, he matches his sprite. I think it's the hunched-over posture and weird color that does it.

Also: crap, forgot today was an update day.

----

Welcome back!





Once again, we rejoin Justin after having fallen off of something high up.

: Where ARE you?! ANSWER ME!

And with that, we're left to wander around, alone.



I think it'd be neat if the rubble around here included parts of the Golems.



Anyway, there's a few treasures scattered about, in the form of stat seeds and gold, and a save point and stashing place to let you prepare Justin for solo combat.



There. That should be all I need.



Basements 2 and 3 of the underground ruins are pretty standard mazes. Meaning we can borrow an old friend from vector calculus and use the left-hand rule to grab all the shinies and escape. Most of it's gold, but there's a few other things worth picking up.

Also, monsters.



Sphytaroses only attack one at a time. Electric Shock, their special, does about 30 damage. Magical, so it ignores armor. Like the name implies, though, it's Lightning elemental, so it can be resisted.

Still, they're more likely to cast Def-Loss or defend than anything else, so beating their 400 HP down isn't going to be difficult.



Magic Heads are, by far, the more common of the two enemies. They come in groups of three, and are basically there to be annoying. They are as weak to Sleep as it's possible to be, and they resist no elements. They've got a few annoying spells and a slow physical attack that, with proper armor, wouldn't be much of an issue.

Oddly enough, their Heal spell will occasionally target Justin. Not that it matters, since they only restore around 3 health with it, but still.

Because they're all over the place, have no elemental or status resistances, and come in groups that start clustered together, they're pretty good for boosting Justin's magic levels.



Howlnado affects everyone on the field but the caster, sending them flying through the air to land... wherever.

Thankfully, it doesn't damage the party, so you don't have to worry about wiping yourself out with it. At 250 power, it's on a level with Quake, and slightly better than Crackling or BOOM-POW!. It lags a bit behind Zap All, to say nothing of the level 3 Lightning or Explosion spells, though admittedly it is cheaper than its competition.

Speaking of....



Quake is....

.... Well, I mean, it's your standard JPRG "cause an earthquake to deal earth-elemental damage to all enemies" spell. Same power as Howlnado, but more expensive. I guess because it doesn't shuffle around your allies?

There's only so much that can be said about spells that just deal damage with no frills attached.

Both of these spells are pretty bad about making decently-sized gifs, too.



Aww, man, a giant yellow refractor! We could use this thing to power the Grandeur!

For decoration, I guess, the basement levels of the Zil Ruins have rooms with giant floating gems in them. They do nothing, and have no text for examining them, but they're still kinda neat.



Oh shit, gelatinous cube! Run, Justin! You don't resist acid!



I... I got nothin'.



It's a little weird that we get the Forest and Explosion charms before the Earth one, but there we go. Finally completed the set.



Finally, Justin picks up his final fire spell.

Fireburner is the level three version of the "single-target Fire attack" line. 300 power and a spiffy animation, but, y'know, single-target.



On the other hand, summoning up Lavos to incinerate an enemy is stylish enough for me to like the spell.



With Wind, Fire, and Earth wrapped up, Justin starts to focus on Water.



And that's that. Justin's completed his spell list.







All in all, he's mostly focused on offense, with a good variety of elemental options.



I honestly think I've wondered more about these things than anything else in this dungeon.



Hey, another one of these. Neat!



Tell me your secrets, o floating gemstone!



Anyway, before too long we find ourselves back up in the main part of the ruins.



Oh shit, Mullen is a practitioner of the "fall from high places" arts, too! Truly, as expected of our main rival.



And Justin wastes no time in getting down to business.

: Justin. So you survived....

: What have you done with Feena?! Answer me, Mullen!

: Justin. Listen to me. Take the Spirit Stone, and escape! NOW!

: Huh?! What do you mean?

: Just tell me where Feena is!



Even when he's trying to be a good guy, Mullen is still a douchenozzle.

: Hey, I hear voices!

: Oh no! In here!



Take a cape-swish animation, and play it backwards. Clever.



: Yes. I'm fine. I have a proper portrait graphic, after all. Never mind me, how is the rescue operation going?

: Sir! There are many men trapped under the rubble. All personnel have been assigned to rescue and medical detail.

: Colonel, I don't understand. Why did General Baal bring us into this disaster?

: That's enough...! I will take this matter up with the General myself! Where is General Baal?

: He has returned to the Grandeur, sir, with the Icarian girl. I believe she is called... Feena.

: What!? Did you say Feena!?

: Delay recovery of the Spirit Stone! Get to the Grandeur before it leaves!

: Yes Colonel!



By "we", Justin means "himself and his sword".

Anyway, there's a path that leads out, blah blah. Nothing interesting.



At least until we get out onto Zil Padon's wall.









Yeah, that's.... not quite as impressive as its initial unveiling. Re-watchable here, for those inclined.

Wait, some of those pixels down near the bottom there look familiar! Zoom!



Enhance!





: I may not have succeeded in getting that Spirit Stone, but I can console myself with another Icarian. Ha, ha... Mullen, you should be happy. Our plan is one step closer to completion.

: General Baal! We have lost half our soldiers underneath that mountain of rubble. What will you DO about it?

: Half our soldiers...?

Yep. Baal just single-handedly made Leen kill off half the goddamn army.

: Ha...!



: I shall exposit this loudly enough for someone standing on the wall of the city there to hear me over the noise of my airship's engines. We have been fortunate enough to obtain this girl. Let us hurry and make a present of her to Gaia. You will take the Battleship Lyonlot. Join me once you have withdrawn the troops. Understood, Mullen?

: Yes... General....



Jeez, even the idiots followed Baal instead of pining over Mullen.





Wait, shit.



You gotta admire how proactive Justin is here, though. Most JRPG protagonists would have started their mope cycle by now. But not Justin. Kid decides to chase down a motherfucking airship on foot.



Unfortunately, enthusiasm and chutzpah are no substitute for advanced technology.

: Feena!!



Justin has not been having a good day.

: JUSTIN!

: RAPP! GUIDO!



: Have you no seen a flying manta before? I stashed it just in case!

Bullshit. I checked the stashing place, there were no mantas. Flying or otherwise.

: JUStin... He-LLO-o, Get O-on! We gotta go rescue Feena, all right?!

: Right! We're coming, Feena!



Well, all right, then. Looks like things are starting to look up for us!

Tune in next time!