Part 33: Rangle Mountains 1

Welcome back! When we last left off...



: You should've seen Justin's face. It was so funny! He looked so bewildered!

: Man, that was something.

: Ah ha ha ha ha!

: Well, you both must be tired, eh? Please make yourself at home and rest here as long as you like, OK?



: So much has happened since that day when I first set up this tent.

: I remember the day I let a little lost sheep sleep in my bed with me. And when my tent was almost blown down. This tent always gives me a warm welcome when I come back after a few days on an adventure.

: Tell me, Justin. How did you feel on the night before leaving on your adventure? Were you afraid?

: Huh? Afraid? Why would I be afraid?

: I was too excited to sleep!

: OK, maybe I was a bit worried.



: That's pretty strange, eh? I mean, people must've had adventures long before that society was formed.

: I'd really like to go see all those sights you'll be seeing.

: But....

: Feena...?





C'mon, there's a couch over there. One of you could've slept on it.



: Hey, where's Feena? I wonder where she went?



: Ha ha ha... Sue's talking in her sleep!



Well, there's only one way to go.





: Good morning, Justin! Did you sleep well?

: Huh? Oh, uh....

: Oh, I see....

: Hey, Justin, do you know where the wind is coming from?

: This wind starts in the mountains over there, and it carries the birds' calls and the scent of the forest.





Oh crap, the terrain stops, like, ten feet in front of them! Guys, I think we've found the End of the World!

: Feena?



: But I hate sand.

: I'd forgotten how this feels, thanks for helping me remember.



A lot of camera movements in this scene. No voices, though.

: Oh yeah! Let's go, Feena! So when do we leave?

: Naturally.

We're leaving naturally?

: We're leaving right now! I wouldn't wait another second for this feeling... this moment!

Man, that conversation gets silly if you pretend every reference to "wind" is just them referring to farting.

Meanwhile...



Oh, hey, these people. It's been a while.

: Well Mullen, have you found the last piece?

: Unfortunately, not yet, Sir.

: We cannot proceed with Operation Yggdrassil until you do. Find it, Mullen, and find it soon.

: We are now implementing a plan in the forest near the Dom Ruins.

: We will have good news if we succeed.

: Yes... it's possible we will gain something.



: I'm expecting good news.

And, of course, the requisite silly DiscoBaal.gif:



Eeeeeexcellent. Now, back to Justin and the gang.



: First we have to cross over the Rangle Mountains, south of New Parm. The Dom Ruins are in a desert over there.

: All right! Let's go to the Dom Ruins!



But before that....



Feena picks up Wind magic...



... which has added a new skill to Feena's list! One we won't be seeing for quite a while, though.



The hunting knife has double the attack power of the paring knife, so it's worth the cost.



The great sword only has +2 attack over the admiral's sword we picked up on the ghost ship, but hell, why not? It's not like I'm strapped for cash or anything.



I even buy some emergency armor for Justin, in case I decide to abort the Three Treasures gimmick halfway through a dungeon or something. And, with that....





We begin the dungeon. Or the monster-filled path to the actual dungeon we'll be getting to later.



While it looks like the path to the north involves swerving around the steep cliffs, you can actually climb them. But before that, there's some goodies to the east.



Some baddies, too. Standard JRPG Logic dictates that brightly-colored birds are dangerous, so we'll avoid them for now.



We've also got the worms and snakes from Merrill Road here. They're no more dangerous now than they were then, though.



And here we are, running down the northern path from earlier. The east path just looped around to the top of the hill.



Psh, screw the path! We're adventuring!



And not far from the top of the hill, to the west, we find our first big treasure of the area. I'm sure you all have big plans for this Mana Egg.



Mountain bread. My favorite!



Oh, it's actually a Seed of Moves! +2 to maximum SP. Gonna be an interesting poll after this update.



This is a different hill. I think.



Here's the eastern path from there.



And a shiny!



Normally, anything and everything SP-related get shoved directly onto Justin until something that has a better SP effect comes along.

But that's boring.



These mountains sure are hilly.



And, while running in circles because I'm an idiot and lack a basic sense of direction, I run into a rock and get jumped by snakes.

Yep, the first encounter of the area is an ambush. That bodes well.



YOUR PUNY FANGS DO NOT HARM THE PUFF-LORD!



Feena's skills are all weapon-specific. Knifehurl here can't be used with a whip, and Para Whip can't be used without one.

Compare Justin, who has no problems V-Slashing with a mace. Or hammer.



So, Howl. Costs twice as much as the other basic spells. In exchange for that, though, it's clearly the best. Why?



It's got one hell of an AoE. And yes, I could have gotten all three if I had targeted the middle one, but they were still moving at the time. Still, ~40 damage to two snakes is helpful.



Justin stabs the odd one out.



Sue keeps on training her Fire magic, getting both of the snakes at once.



And now that I've been attacked once, I figure it can't hurt to just go on a murder spree.

The Spitting Cobrae here didn't even get a turn.



Odd Birds, though, are a bit more dangerous.



They start off spread out, and they're quick as a motherfucker. We ambushed them, and they're still ahead of poor Sue in the turn order.



Feena decides to not waste the MP and knifes a bitch.



Sue aims to finish off the one who's going for a special move.



Ouch. And Feena's gear is mostly up-to-date.



And they hit twice with their normal attack.



By finishing it off, though, Justin gains a level of swords, and finally learns his second tech.



Even the Puff-Lord feels the sting of their talons.



Although Justin can seriously wreck their day on a counter.



So, W-Break. It costs an extra 6 SP over V-slash and charges slower. It deals more damage, and the animation is just two V-slashes in a row.

It'll be seeing use in boss fights.



The good thing about the worm/snake groups is there's a lot of them and they like to cluster up.



Like so.



I still can't judge Burn!'s AoE very well. Placed where it is, it hits the snake it's directly on top of... and the worm at the bottom.



And Feena gains a level from that fight. That +3 strength bumps her up from bottom of the barrel to... better than Sue, at least. Justin's still got a slight edge in that department.



Even Justin doesn't mind the snakebites very much.



Funnily enough, the three cobras make this encounter less dangerous than a second Odd Bird would.

Plus, y'know, clusters of enemies, Howl, etc.



And Feena hits Wind level 2 and learns Runner! It's a small AoE that boosts movement speed. Pretty handy if the group is clustered up.



Sue hits Fire 2 here, and she's only 4 XP away from Maces 8.



While roaming around, I accidentally stumble into the next area and decide to keep going.



We've got this spring.



And a save point right over th-



Oh.





In the interest of saving time, I'll just recap the parts you need to see before the game'll let you continue.

Feena's line...





... And Sue's.









You left the fire going, your sword outside, the dishes full of food and the map out where it could get blown away.

: Mmmm, yeah. The air is so cool and refreshing!







No! No phasing through the clothesline! Bad Justin!

: Ha ha, well, of course. Looks like you two still have a long way to go to become adventurers! ♥

: Ha ha. Aw, cut it out, Feena. It was the same when I first met you, up swabbing the deck of the Steamer.

: Ah ha ha. Justin, I think luck is on our side today.

: The air is very clear this morning so we can see real far. Look!

: Look! There's the Misty Forest! And the End of the World!



: Wow! It's huuuuge! All of that is the Misty Forest?

: Feena... I can see the Misty Forest, but where's the End of the World?

: Look higher up, Justin, toward the horizon.



The camera pulls back a little farther....







... And zooms in on a massive structure, large enough to push back the dawn by hours.



This is the first time we get any sort of clue as to what the End of the World actually is. We've known that it ended the Age of Adventure, and was considered impassible even if one made it through the Misty Forest, but now we know that it's a wall. A physical barrier.

: Right, that's the End of the World.

: So, do you believe me now? That IS the End of the World.

: Hmm....

: I dunno... I need to get closer to tell! I've got to see it myself!

: I'm so excited now! I just know that Alent is waiting for us somewhere in that forest!

: Heh heh... Justin, you're the first person I know who gets excited just by looking at scenery.

: So, let's get going, huh? Once we cross the Rangle Mountains, the Dom Ruins are right there.

: OK, let's go! Our first destination--the Dom Ruins!

Whew. That seems a good place to leave off for today. But before I go, a cautionary tale.



Getting ambushed is usually a bad idea. Especially when it's the tough encounter of the area.









Confusion, indicated by the swirly graphic there, places the character under AI control, and they'll go about attacking allies and healing enemies. It wears off on its own, or after being hit.



Both of the birds decide to go after Feena.



I should have sent Justin to finish off the wounded one. Instead, he leaves two injured birds.

Also: Sue's reached the COM marker while still confused.



She's selected her target, and is on the way when the ailment wears off. Convenient, right?



Wrong. Confusion wearing off does not cancel any ongoing commands.



Justin takes one hit...



... And then another.



The two birds make things difficult for Feena and Sue.



The fight is won, but at great cost. Though not a Game Over, I still call a reset on this one.

Join me next time, when we turn the tables on the Odd Birds!