Part 38: In Which Will Is Batman

The portrait on the wall tells the story… we’re in our good buddy Jeweler Gem’s mansion. Should probably worry a bit more about the ghostly shades swirling around the place.



The enemies are pretty much recolored enemies from the Diamond Mine. Every other instance where you deal with two varieties of an enemy has them in the same dungeon, so you could argue that this is the only real palette swap of the game. The Flayzer 2.0 has about twice as much HP as the first version (20 versus 10), but hasn’t gotten any more dangerous.



The whole thing is broken up with walls that require defeat of a specific enemy before they’ll disappear. There are no stat increases for clearing rooms in this dungeon, just progress. And, what do we glimpse just to the left?




The Eye Stalker 2.0 has about three times as much HP as the original and has a more damaging bright red eye laser. They also tend to cluster in much larger groups, making it a bit more dangerous to approach them.




They can easily shoot over the walls here, and the layout here pretty much guarantees that you’re going to get hit. While you’re dodging the Eye Stalkers these guys will pop out in the walls and attack from behind. The Grundit 2.0 has 30 HP, and they also tend to appear in bigger groups. They still have a distance attack, so you’re pretty much getting it from all sides.



A couple of herb uses later and it was pretty clear that entering the dungeon with 8 HP probably wasn’t the wisest move, so I ended up having to reload a prior save and go through the whole boss rush to make another try at it.



As you can see, this dungeon isn’t exactly forgiving at full HP. The good news is that the chest there has another Herb, which is pretty much the last chance to pick one up.



The eventual goal is to end up at this space. It’s not exactly clear, but we’re actually standing in front of a passage that Will can go through using Psycho Slide. Passing through takes us to a short passageway until we reach…



“The Jeweler Gem is a temporary form. The true form is called Solid Arm.”

“You act like I should know that name.”



“My power was contained in Red Jewels scattered around the world. I’ve tried many things to bring about my own resurrection.”

“You don’t mean… I was the one who…?”

“It is I who manipulated the labor trade. I tried using forced labor to find them, but it didn’t restore my power fast enough.”

“So you used me to find the rest of the them?”

“Pretty much. There’s nothing more efficient than a hero on a quest when it comes to finding rare items in obscure places.”



And with that we’re into the optional boss fight. As you can see, 4 HP means that we’re woefully unprepared, so this is going to be short.



In a situation like this, the best solution is to die and come back with half HP. It’s the equivalent of using multiple herbs, and we’ve got 9 lives and only two fights left.




Solid Arm is pretty much exactly as he was at the beginning of Soul Blazer, down to the arrangement of the conveyor belts and his attacks. He shoots three fireballs that will track, but don’t do it very well so there’s room to dodge. If you get too close to Solid Arm he’ll also reach out and start swinging with his arm, and it’s just as annoying and impossible to get past as before. Will has more HP than Blazer did at this point, but Solid Arm still packs a wallop.

There’s multiple ways to beat him, but the reality is that he’s just as predictable as ever. You can use Psycho Slide or Will’s base jump attack to damage him without receiving a counter attack, but it’s also possible to use the conveyor belts to approach and hit him, then fall back and dodge the fireballs. If you don’t get close he won’t use his arm swing. Most of my damage was from failing to move far enough away and triggering a counter. With a bit more practice this could have been a damage free boss fight.

Solid Arm Boss Fight




“Danger approaches this planet. You should hurry to the Tower of Babel…”

“I was there and would have dealt with it if I hadn’t been trying to return your last stupid Red Jewel.”

“My… bad…”

And with the secret boss defeated, we return to our regularly scheduled program where we got the chance to go back one last time. The reward for this is simply bragging rights… no title, no treasure, no certificate. We’re just dumped back at the final dungeon next to the Dark Space, minus a few herbs. Speaking of which…



“This is the last time I will talk to you like this in this place. With your rejuvenated power, defeat the comet Dark Gaia and become the Dark Knight. “

“Dark Gaia? Where the hell did that come from?”

“Probably wasn’t my best idea, but what can you do.”

“So much for omniscience.”

“You’re preaching to the heavenly choir there, kid.”

“Oh, shush. It’s more fun this way.”



“Only you can restore the Earth to its original condition. I’m putting all my faith in you…”

“And so much for omnipotence.”

“He gets like this. It’s really just laziness.”

“Is not. Things just always work out better if people do it for themselves.”

“As you say, my lord.”



This is truly the point of no return. After this we’re on a one way trip to the end of the game.



Past the door is a dark void with a guiding spirit, leading us to the final internal room of the tower.




“Will. It’s me, Olman, your father. My body has decayed, but I live on like this…”



“There’s a strange room in the Tower of Babel, filled with the light of the comet. Time goes so fast there that people evolve very quickly. I… didn’t. Unless being a corpse counts as evolution.”



“Because you two are evolved humans.”

“…us?”

“I’m with her. This makes no sense.”



“People and freely used the power to make plants and animals.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“For example, they made the camel. It can go for long periods without food or water.”

“Still haven’t seen one of those. Although if you told me that someone sewed a couple of creatures together to make a Kruk, I’d buy it.”

“When people realized the power could be used as a weapon, demons were developed. The world was on the brink of ruin.”

“Dad, this is all sounding a bit off to me. I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s not the creation story I remember. And I could actually ask some people who were there, if you’d give me a minute.”



“They are your ancestors. Well, our ancestors. It was a REALLY long time ago. Anyway, the six Mystic Statues were made by the Knights. The last Mystic Statue is entrusted to you. Soon the comet will be very close.”




“Those who bathed in the comet’s light were given a strange power.”

“Yeah, the ones who didn’t melt into a puddle or have their bones dissolve.”

“The comet is called a spirit. But it’s an unwelcome spirit.”



“As long as people have evil hearts, demons will be born. Will, open your eyes and look around.”



“Oh. Huh, don’t know how I missed those.”




“Could have been worse, I suppose. At least your’e still present in some form.”



“Of course. There’s no difference between humans and animals…rest well, sweet prince.”



“But is there meaning in eternal life? I felt more alive when I had a terminal disease.”

“I don’t even know who you… wait, Russian Glass guy?”

“Not anymore. Not like I can drink like this.”

“And the world is poorer for that loss.”



“Seth? I thought you were still alive as… well…”

“Such a world. If I could talk of this at an academy I’d be a great scholar.”



“I want him to make the Rolek Company grow bigger and bigger.”

“He’s doing okay, if that makes you feel any better.”



“Everyone. Give Will your power!”

*


“Oh. My. Gaia. Yes.”

* The suggestion here seems to be that Will is the Dark Knight and Kara is the Light Knight. This is another one of those areas where the translation kind of falls apart.

Next Update: Le Battle Finale