Part 37: In Which Will Settles Old Scores

Picking up right where we left off, entering the door starts a sequence that’s kind of familiar from Actraiser. That’s right, we’ve got a boss rush incoming.

Illusion of Gaia Boss Rush Video



First up is our old buddy Castoth. He hasn’t changed a bit, although for some reason it seems just a bit harder to dodge this time around. He does a bit more damage, but the old tactic of destroying the hands and beating his face in works well enough.



You’re locked into Shadow for all of the fights, even when it might be more useful to use another form. Where the first time around it took a few repetitions to win, with Shadow it’s possible to easily beat him within the first two pattern repetitions.



After that the Dark Space is standing by as a place to recharge. It’s handy for the first couple of fights, but it’ll shortly be taken away.



Next up, Viper from the Sky Gardens. With the extra reach from Shadow he’s even simpler, and since we can heal afterward there’s no reason to even be careful.



A sustained all out attack will tear him apart in short order, and even though you can heal he still can’t really do very much harm if you keep the pressure up.



Right down the hall from Viper this elevator leads to the next set of bosses and cuts us off from easy healing. After this it’s down to herbs and how far you can push yourself.




The Vampires haven’t gotten less challenging, and they’re still capable of doing heavy damage. Unlike the last time we fought them it’s actually reasonable to just pick one and hit them as hard and as fast as you can, but if you’re not careful or lucky this might be the first place to reasonably have to use an herb.




Coming off of the Vampires the Sand Fanger is even more of a relief boss than he previously was, and it’s easy to kill him with minimal loss of HP. This version seems to spawn mini-Fangers less often, so it’s more of a matter of staying out of his way and hitting the head when he jumps.



“I probably should have tied her to a post or something when I went in there. It’s not like she doesn’t get kidnapped or lost or tricked into posing for a creepy artist at the drop of a hat.”



Exiting we have another break in the dungeon where we catch a ride on a non-hostile version of Viper up to another floor for more boss fighting.



I don’t think I’ve showed it before, but this is the barrier that appears until you defeat the boss in the nearest room.



Our final boss in the boss rush is the most recent one, and we’re not exactly in the best shape. This is one of the fights that would have been a lot easier as Freedan but there really is no choice.




This close to the end and with 9 lives left, there’s no reason not to just take the hit and die so that you can come back with half HP rather than wasting precious herbs. Shadow also has his own reaction to the void of death, as one might expect.



Even with all of that, the Mummy Queen is still a pain in the neck and might require an herb or two to get through. Learning how to fight with Shadow and use the jump and Aura to get through can make things a bit easier, but otherwise the fight is pretty similar.




The newly tamed male half of the vampire duo gives us a free ride up the elevator shaft, since evidently the machinery hasn’t been well maintained.



It is awesome.



“And how the hell did you get up here? Did the vampire take you?”

“There was talk that the vampire woman had come…they say that her body is eternal.”

“Not after the fight we had it isn’t.”

“They say that once the comet is gone, she’ll be able to rest in peace.”

“So… she took you up the elevator shaft? I wish you’d waited a minute for me.”



There are statues of Shadow in addition to the other forms, which is a nice touch. More than a bit unnerving, I imagine, if that’s a form you can turn into.




Proceeding will take us into the final battle, and we still have some unfinished business since we’ve found the 50th Red Jewel.




“The time has come to tell you some of my secrets…follow me!”

“Is it candy? I’m REALLY hoping it’s candy at this point.”

“Shhh. Lights out now.”



“… I probably should have rested in the Dark Space before talking to Gem.”

Next update: Jeweler Gem’s Secrets