Grandia Part #111 - Mysterious Vanishing Hill 2

Part 111: Mysterious Vanishing Hill 2

CmdrKing posted:

So yeah. This segment right here is... probably the most memorable bit of the game. Hopefully my memories haven't inflated its quality too much.

Well, having gone through the segment once when getting music, again when getting footage, a third time when cutting it together for Youtube, and then again frame-by-frame for the screenshots...

... Yeah, it holds up.

Glazius posted:

So unlocking a teleporter faces harder opposition than saving two entire villages?

I know, difficulty progression and all, and this whole thing seems pretty high-test but it's a little weird all the same.

Honestly, the characters have grown more than the enemies have. The Mount Typhoon segment, even with proper armor and save point abuse, is a long, resource-draining slough, capped off by a hard-as-balls boss that, unless you realize how broken Gadwin can be when used properly, will wreck you.

The Hill here is just... tedious, really. Aside from the levels and marginal loot, there's almost nothing to mention.

Not that that's going to stop me from posting an entire second update about it.

----

Welcome back!

Last time we bumped into a Massacre Machine on the Mysterious Vanishing Hill.

Thank you, Justin.

: Say, Gadwin. How much further to the summit of this mountain?

: Yes, let's see....

: You haven't taken your medicine yet? I told you this medicine works fine. It works as soon as you swallow it.

: Heh heh. Me? I couldn't swallow that!

: I feel sorry for it.

: Well, you're just tired. So, with a little rest and relaxation, recovery should be very quick.

: ... Ahhh, am I really just a kid?

: Huh, Dr. Alma? Isn't Justin kinda selfish? You know, leaving me behind like this. And now he gets bigger and bigger, all by himself!

He will be aller strong and big than anyone!

: Hmm... you know, at his age, the boys shoot up like weeds. Girls, they blossom like flowers. You'll be grown up in another five years.

In all fairness to Justin here, he is six years older than Sue.

And on that note, we fade back to the main group.

: OK! Let's go, Feena!

Going along the path behind the Massacre Machine, we come to this... "puzzle" isn't quite the right word. One switch creates a staircase that leads to another switch which lowers the pillar with the key. The other releases some monsters.

During the ensuing battles, Feena gains a level and reminds everyone that she's the fastest thing alive.

The weird thing about these particular keys is that they're only ever used here, yet they're not removed from your inventory like other key items are once they're not longer useful.

Whoops! Watch out for the pit trap here. It drops you back into the area with the Silver Key, and all the monsters respawn during the cutscene with Sue.

Cluster of enemies with a fire weakness, meet Zap!.

Anyway, the Gold Key allows us to pass the soldier gate from earlier.

Probably could've saved this for later, but eh.

L is real 2401?

Collapsing bridges are so cliché. Shrinking bridges are where it's at, now.

We've seen this before on the Ghost Ship. Having extra wind resist is never a bad thing, though. Enough enemies use Howl, and it can be combined with the Dragon Vest's fire resist to help block lightning.

Wait, what? Didn't we just kill you?

... Y'know, the End of the World also had ancient guardian robots. Must be an Angelounian thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73e26wQQ2Pc

Mighty Massacre Machine Melee Mayhem!

This guy is just like his younger brother, except his specials hit a wider AoE, and he's swapped out Burnflame for Howlslash.

The physicals can still be dealt with via Diggin', and the spell still does piddly damage, though.

Justin takes about seven times that much damage, just to give you an idea on how much armor actually helps.

Oh yeah, he can also do this. Like other AoEs, damage falls off the closer you are to the edge of the radius. Point-blank, it's about twice as strong as his normal physical. At the fringes, it's more or less the same.

Justin brings it on home with a V-Slash, though.

... And as much as I wish that he just did over 1000 damage, that's just two different damage displays overlapping. Don't worry, we'll be breaking that 4-digit barrier before the end of the game.

: I've seen you grow strong in the short while since I first met you.

: Heh heh. Oh gosh. Gadwin, you're embarrassing me.

Before we're home free, though, one more puzzle. The three buttons each raise a platform in front of them to a specific height. The one in the back rearranges the order of the buttons, and finishes up the puzzle once the platforms are arranged properly.

And there's the prize.

: Well, let's go back quickly! Sue must be getting tired of waiting!

: Justin... I-I wonder if it's all right to continue adventuring like this?

: What do you mean?

: A physician like Dr. Alma might not always be there for us. Even if we make it across the Sea of Mermaids, there's still danger ahead. If anything happened to Sue, I....