Part 164: The Grandeur 3
Between the color, general shape, and the way it breaks, the Grandeur in this scene always makes me think of lobster.----
Welcome back!
With Rapp and Guido having been on the half of the airship that just broke off, Justin is on his own here.
Also, unable to access the menu. Not quite sure what's up with that.
Huh. An inaccessible path.
Oh well. To the bow!
Or to the hallway that leads to the command center. That works too, I guess.
Speaking of the command center....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2oKLcqFpDQ (Polsy link)
We've got ourselves a voiced-out cutscene! As usual for when these things don't end the update, skip down to "cutscene ends". Sure, Feena has some spoken lines, but it's worth going through those to listen to Baal.
: Well, well... so the man who holds the Spirit Stone is just a boy.
: Justin! Stay away!
: Ha, ha, ha!
I guess this is the game's acknowledgement that Leen being able to sense Spirit Stones was, in fact, complete BS from the start.
: I'll give the girl back to you, my little Justin. However, only in exchange for the Spirit Stone!
: He's lying! Justin! Don't believe him!: If you give him the Spirit Stone, he'll just kill you! Please! Run away!: My ship is about to sink.
Yep, Baal is pulling this one on us. Thankfully, Justin's still in crisis mode, and so acts intelligently.
This is also roundabout where the game tells the music to stop looping. It'll keep on playing until it hits the loop point, which I guess is a bit nicer than just abruptly cutting to silence.
: ...! OK. I'll trade. Release Feena. Quickly!: Heh, heh, heh. You are a wise young man. The great mysteries of Angelou are beyond your powers.: Come! Give me the Spirit Stone!
Justin tosses the stone to Ball. I'd gif that, but the screen's shaking quite vigorously.
And of course he has a pit trap installed on his fucking airship to drop us into.
: JUSTIN!
Dear lord, he grew fangs for this portrait.
: Finally, I have the absolute power of Angelou in my very own hands!
Oh, don't worry. The ham is only just beginning.
Meanwhile, after the cutscene ends....
So, this room. It has half a wall, no floor, no music, this one text box, and an event that makes Justin climb that golden shiny wire of hope until he exits back to the Command Center.
It also has a proper name. "Grandeur (Booby Trap)".
Not quite sure why I felt the need to note that.
A secret exit built into the upper wall? How ingenious. I mean, it'd probably be better if you could retract the stairs from the upper level, but, y'know.
Unfortunately, anything that Rapp or Guido had is still with them. And the menu is still disabled, so you couldn't reequip Justin even if you had spare gear.
I totally reequipped Justin just after the previous boss fight.
Anyway, that door leads to the other walkway we saw earlier. Where does that go?
: Wait, it looks like there might be a place I can climb up.
C'mon, Justin. You're supposed to sit in the thrones, not stand in front of them!
Oh, hey, this map looks a little familiar, now doesn't it?
We can even press the button that opens the viewports. Y'know, in case we want a good look at the impenetrable inky blackness.
20.5 lb?
Right. Enough messing around. We've got a Feena to rescue.
Boy, if we had stuck around to spin that chair a few more times, we'd be in real trouble.
: Justin!
: Feeeenaaaa!: You're a tough little worm, aren't you? But why risk your life for a mere girl?
: Keep your filthy hands off of Feena!
: This Icarian is MINE, boy! You have no need of her powers.
: She's no Icarian! You're nuts! Feena is FEENA!: For the last time...! Let go of Feena... NOW!: Ha, ha, ha! The little worm has a roar unbecoming of his size.: Have it your way, then. You should be proud to die at my hand!
All right, time to queue up some kickin' boss battle mus-
Oh, just Boss 2? That's kinda disappointing.
So, Baal. What can he do?
Well, he can certainly do more than just cast Healer, that's for sure. It's a pretty common thing for stronger bosses to have access to extra spells, not listed in the normal spot in the enemy data.
Also, Justin's strength at this point is 190. Whether you count a 28-point difference as being much, MUCH greater is up to individual preference.
But anyway. As his data states, Baal can hit himself with Healer for 200 points of recovery. So plinking him to death with 30-damage consumable items is out of the question.
He can also use Shhh! and Fiora, alongside Zap!, BOOM-POW!, and Howlnado for damage. If you try to play cute with buffs or debuffs, he can Vanish those away.
He can also use that sword he's holding. Our Justin here takes about 90 damage from it, so try not to get hit if you're not wearing armor.
If you know to prepare in advance, though, there's a setup to completely punk this fight. Moonlight Shield, Dragon Vest, and Earth Charm gives you +2 elemental resistance across the board, with an extra +2 vs. Earth. Combine that with a Main Gauche and a Death Mask to bolster your defense, and nothing he does should really pose a threat to you.
If, on the other hand, you prefer simpler, more effective tactics that don't require prescience, then there's also something for you.
With the Moves Ring, Justin can deal more than 1/3 of Baal's health with a single Midair Cut. And thus, I present to you: the shortest boss fight video yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj0ag3fPX6Q (Polsy link)
Of course, doing it that way misses the two most important points of this fight: to hear Scott Beers have the time of his fucking life in the recording studio, and to see Baal's swanky animations.
Warning: The following video contains non-kosher amounts of ham.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxO-E3tExwk (Polsy link)
We did it!
See you next time! I swear, I only planned for this to be two updates when I recorded the footage.