Part 1: Generically Humble Beginnings

Chapter 0 – Generically Humble Beginnings

Music Playing – Wasteland of Far Away Places

The moment we hit “New Game”, we are treated to a scene of a glowing, blue jewel that feeds water into a small lake, and the name of our hometown is displayed…



The Japanese reads as “Kouya no Machi Nooru”, which is exactly what it is translated as, although I guess they figured “Nohl” really needed that H.

The camera zooms in on the large house at the back, and we see a redheaded girl walk through the house and enter someone’s room.



Who could she be yelling at, you wonder?



Why, none other than our protagonist, of course!


She resorts to drastic measures to wake him up.



Here, we are presented with the first of many dialogue/action choices littered throughout the game. They’re mostly harmless and result in little meaningful changes to what is going on, but what is interesting is that the choices you make earlier will affect the choices you get later, and how the main character talks in certain scenes.

For demonstration purposes, I choose “Leap out of bed in a panic”.


It’s not nearly as entertaining as you might think it would be.

“Have you forgotten that today is your first day on the job?!? You’re impossible!”

She turns to leave.

“Everyone’s waiting for you!”



We are now free to move around inside the house. We can find a few trifling items, but one is rather important…


The “Point Card”. This item will gather points with every purchase we make at stores in the game. The card can then be used as an item in battle to deal damage according to the points on the card.

Yes, this allows us to cheap shot any enemy, including bosses.



We talk to Hawke, whose Point Card we just stole. He knows us, clearly.



Nancy urges us outside, and so outside we go.



Outside, a bunch of blokes are swinging swords in front of another bloke. Who could they possibly be?

The protagonist stands around watching, until….



He ends up standing next to…



The “Galvan” that Hawke mentioned.

“Good, stoooooop! That’s enough for today!”

The swordsmen stop their wild swinging.

“We have a new member starting today…”



Yet another dialogue choice. We choose to introduce ourselves normally.

“I’ll be joining you from today…”

We are then given the chance to name our character. The default name is “Lang”. This will be his name for the purposes of Chapter 0.

“My name is Lang. I look forward to working with all of you.”



Galvan smacks Lang upside the head. His casual abuse will be frequent in interactions with him.

“While you were in dreamland, you missed all of today’s practice session!”

“Moving along.”





Important places and things are often highlighted in blue in this game’s dialogue.

Dein lets out a “Tsk!” in response to Galvan’s orders. Someone has an attitude problem, methinks.

“Back to your quarters, and get ready!”

“And you, Lang! You come to see me when you’re ready. Got that?”

“That’s it! Now go!!”

The cutscene ends, and we are given free rein to wander Nohl and talk to people.



Dein: “How lucky you are…I wish I could just eat and sleep, and not do anything else…”

We get another choice. I’ll not screenshot all of them from now on.

We choose to “confront Dein”.

“I just overslept today. I’ll do better than you when it really counts.”

Dein: “Hmph! If you’re gonna talk the talk, you’d best walk the walk. Show us what you’ve got.”

Dein: “I’m not your typical Corps trainee! Keep that in mind!”



We get the first of this game’s “nicknames”. They’re little titles you get for doing stuff like sidequests or seeing certain cutscenes. They have absolutely no function, although getting all of Lang’s does earn you an item later.

“Swordholder”, as described in game, is “A non-title for a swordsman who’s never seen battle”. Great. We get this one no matter what we say to Dein, so you know.

Dein: “Hmph! Listen, KID! I’m older than you! Show some respect to your elders!”

We move on from talking to Dein.

Marcus:: “Late from Day One!! Lang!! Be on time tomorrow!”

This game sure does love its multiple exclamation marks. Understand that in most cases, I’m transcribing these directly, excessive exclamations and all.



Boerto is here, chatting up Edouard. He offers us another dialogue choice. I choose “no big deal”.


“The monsters around here? They’re nothing. Corps work is nothing special.”

Boerto: “Don’t talk like that. The safety of the town is in your hands. What could be more important?”

Boerto: “Judging from his looks, you might not think so, but the Captain is very skilled. One day you might take his place.”

Damn, wonder if Galvan knows Boerto thinks he looks like a moron?

Edouard: “Lang, you overslept on your first day!? Get it together man!”

Edouard: “I have faith in you, brother. Good luck!”

We talk to Nancy, seen tending the wee garden above.

“Why hello there, sleepyhead. I thought Father called for you. Maybe you should, um, go and see him?”

“Or you could always make yourself useful and help me with some chores around here.”

Another choice is offered. I offer to help Nancy.

“Sure, I’ll help you.”

“If you tried to help me, it would create even more work for me!”

We just can’t win.

“Did you go to see Father? He’s hopping mad.”

Despite Nancy’s urging, we decide to goof off and visit the town.



Shaun here is an elderly man sitting inside a house/barn.

Shaun: “Aha…You’re starting today in the Vigilance Corps.”

Shaun: “Your job is very important to Nohl. Bless you, child. And good luck!”

Shaun: “Hmm…it’s a beautiful day. A perfect day to go out and work.”

Some of these dialogues are from the second time you talk to them, hence this relative non-sequitur from Shaun.



This ladder in the barn can be climbed, but goes nowhere. Could this be some kind of mystery? A late game secret you return for after beating the final boss?

Nope.



Outside, we find Joanne, who stands around raking her little field.

Joanne: “Hmph! Does that mean you won’t be helping out at my shop anymore, hmmm??”

Joanne does not actually own a shop, unless she happens to be the proprietor of the ones we’ll see later. She probably means her farm.

Joanne: “Sheep look quiet and peaceful, but they’re actually quite quick.”

Speaking of sheep, we can “talk” to the one behind her, unlike all her other animals.

“It looks so soft…Maybe if I got on it…”

We are then presented with the choice to hop on or not.



Our protagonist, everyone.

Sometimes this game is incredibly banal, othertimes zany and batshit insane.

Joanne offers no commentary on our molestation of her sheep.



To the west of Joanne are these kids. Koko admits to her wrongdoing instantly.

Elukk: “This is my area! Get out!!”

The other kid just tells us to sod off. We oblige, if only because we are presented with no dialogue option to backhand this sassy child.



In the western most house, we find Monde.

Monde: “Humans need to work. You have to work if you want to eat. Isn’t that right?”

Monde: “Working hard, dripping sweat every day. This is what life is all about!!”

Clearly, Monde must be a very hard worker himself, no?



Further into the village, we find these two housewives chatting away.

Eva: “Make sure you don’t turn into a person like my Monde, Lang! He’s not half the man he says he is!”

Good heavens, to think Monde lied to us about being an industrious man! What a terrible twist of fate!

Eva: “I wish I could just lie around like Maxell…What does he do all day be the lake?”

Now we talk to Jill…

Jill: “The hunting trip yesterday was a big success. Boerto told me all about it, the silly man. Why hello there, Lang!”

Jill: “You’re starting today? Vigilance Corps is tough work! You take care, you hear?”

Jill: “Maybe I’ll whip up your favourite, a nice roast lamb!”

For shame. This game gives you myriad dialogue options to tailor your character’s personality, but can’t even be bothered to let you pick your favourite food.



Here we meet the Maxell that Eva mentioned.

Maxell: “I catch the fish from the lake…They’re very fresh.”

Either Maxell is lying, or Eva doesn’t realise fishing involves a lot of sitting around waiting for fish.




Hildyn: “Has it already been a decade? 10 whole years since Galvan found you at the lake…”

Hildyn has just clarified that we are the adopted child of Galvan, who found us mysteriously next to the lake. Can you see where the game might be going with this?

Note that this also makes Nancy our adoptive sister. Can you see where the game might go with that?

Hildyn: “What a fine young man you have become…”

Hildyn: “Lang…Galvan must think of you as a son…”



Inside a nearby house is Hanna.

Hanna: “You used to be a naughty little boy…Now look how you’ve grown…sob…”

Yes, “sob” is part of the dialogue. Maybe she actually said “sob” as a word?

Hanna: “Let’s hope nothing happens today.”

What are the chances of something significant happening to the protagonist’s hometown?



Mallory runs the item store.

Mallory: “Ah! Starting with the Vigilance Corps today? I’m so proud of you!”

The game obviously expected you to talk to her from the front first.

Mallory: “This is the best item shop in town! Medicines, foods…you want it, we got it! Take a look around, my child!”

It’s the only item shop in town, Mallory. The only other “shop” is for weapons and armour.

Mallory has nothing special, just healing items, an instant retreat scroll, and one that lets you identify enemies.

She gives us a pedometer as we leave. Naturally, it records all your in-game steps. You can get a nickname out of this pedometer, but I’m not sure what else.



Inside the weapon’s shop, we first find this little girl….swatting at the shelves with a….brush?

It’s hard to make out even when you don’t take garbage quality screenshots like me.

Anyway, we talk to the man at the counter.

Haddam: “Ah, Lang! First day on the job, eh? Choose your weapons carefully!”

Haddam sells only one weapon. It seems all the store keepers here have limited cognitive abilities. Joanne doesn’t even realise she doesn’t own an actual shop.



With Aston blocking the gate, the only thing left to do is to finally talk to Galvan.





More casual abuse.

“…tsk! You pull something like that tomorrow, and there will be no supper for you!”

“…Never thought I’d see the day that I’d be working with you.”

“That little snot-nosed kid is now a little musketeer wannabe…you’re all grown up.”

Small spoiler: we will never see anything akin to a musket in this game.

“Nancy, on the other hand, has grown up rude and brusque…probably from living with all these fellas.”

“She should act a little more ladylike…really…”

You think Galvan became a big sexist from living with all these fellas?

Hawke: “Lang, come here.”



Hawke: “Once you have a job, it means that you must be a responsible member of society.”

I guess Monde never got a job.



Hawke: “The lake is always pure and fresh…Because that stone keeps it so.”

Hawke: “The Aqualith…That miraculous rock sustains the life of this town.”

Hmm, a magic rock/crystal associated with a specific element, that sounds awfully generic familiar…

Hawke: “We must never forget our gratitude! Not just for the lake, but for Hunter’s Wood, the sky, everything!”

“That’s right, Dad.”

“So work hard, and don’t forget to be grateful!! That’s the point!”

“Never forget that, Lang!”

“Today we’re patrolling Hunter’s Wood! You’re coming with us, so get all your stuff ready!”

“Once you’re ready, come to the town gates. Dein and Marcus: are already there, so look for them. What are you waiting for?”

“Yes, I understand.”

We are now free to leave. There’s little else to do in town, aside from see how the villagers have shuffled about.



With Maxell out of the way, we can now stare at the Aqualith.



Nancy is here to see us off at the gates, in an oddly cheerful fashion.

“Gosh, hurry up!”



“It’s your first day. Did you get everything you need?”

You can say no, but that just means letting you go back into town.

“Yeah, I’m ready to go.”

“Are you sure? I bet you don’t have medicines and stuff on you!”

She says this whether you have medicines or not, and gives you some.

This prompts another dialogue choice: either be grateful, or get annoyed.

We act grateful.

“Hey, thanks for everything.”

“Huh…What’s gotten into you?”

“I’m just…making sure you don’t cause problems for everyone else!”



There’s a word for this kind of behaviour in anime-related media. I think you all know the one.

Galvan shows up after this.



Everyone turns to leave.

“Oh, Lang?

“Don’t overexert yourself! If you get hurt, come back and rest a bit, okay?....Now get going!”



She shoves Lang out the gate.

“Good luck, Lang!”

We are automatically transported to “Hunter’s Wood”.

Now Playing – Wind, Trees and Water

(This track was lifted from Legaia 1)



The Japanese can be transcribed as “Kariba no Mori”. Technically referring to it as a place for hunting more than for people that hunt, but that’s just me being a pedant.


“You’ve never been here before, have you, Lang?”

“This is Hunter’s Wood.”

“The people of Nohl depend on this forest and its living creatures for sustenance.”



“But you’ve got to be careful…It may look peaceful, but there are monsters in this forest!”

“And that’s where we come in.”

“But relax. The monsters around here aren’t much of a threat. No need to get too worked up about it.”



Dein: “A rookie like him might get eaten right away.”



An interesting trend begins here. Up till now, dialogue choices were all offered normally, but here, we get choices based on what we’ve said so far. Because I’ve been picking cocky answers, we get to say this to Dein;

“Shut it, Dein! I can take care of myself!”

“You just worry about you. And make sure you don’t hold the rest of us back.”

Now, if you were a big wuss before coming to the woods…



You get a different option that amounts to pissing yourself with fear, and the confident answer isn’t even there (“modestly” is only slightly less pitiful than “I don’t want to die!”).

Although this game is pretty bland overall, and the choices don’t matter too much in the long run, this is an interesting idea that must have taken a bit of effort to put in. The game will continue to offer little differences like this.

Anyway, back to our confrontational response…

Dein: “What?! Would you listen to this crap? Somebody hold me back before I beat him down!”

“Leave him alone, Dein. Remember your first time? You were shaking in your boots.”

Dein: “Me?! No way! Captain, come on! I wasn’t scared!”

“Yeah, well…If you say so.”

Dein: “Damn right!”

Dein: “Look, Captain. We’re going on up ahead.”

Dein: “Come on, Marcus:. Let’s make this a quick trip – in and out!”



Marcus shrugs before leaving with Dein.

“*sigh* What a guy.”

“Well, follow me, Lang.”

“I’ll give you a few pointers on what we do out here.”



We are now free to explore the woods.

However, this is where I will end this Chapter 0, as it’s long enough as is and we haven’t even made a few key choices.

I want you guys to vote on two things;

1. What should the main character’s name be? “Lang” is the default name, but we can call him whatever we want.

2. What shall our personality be? This game has a whole slew of variations depending on the little dialogue choices you make. It would take a lifetime to play the game while getting you guys to vote on every possible choice, so you get a single vote now for a binding personality through the whole game.

Option 1, a Nice Guy. No, not that Nice Guy. This will entail us being as polite, humble and kind as we possibly can in game. We will not do anything like threatening to hurt people who reject our advances.

Option 2, a Cocky Hero. We take all the aggressive options in response to people we don’t like (Dein) and act like a nice guy to our allies. We might get a lot of opportunities to insult people real bad.

Option 3, a Jerk. Basically like above but we’re mean to everyone. We might refrain from some of the creepier things we can do, though.

Option 4, a Creepy Wimp. Meaning we’ll go through the game picking all the worst options. We’re cowardly in the face of danger, and creepy to everyone we can. We will have a cliché anime bathhouse scene in this game, and this option will have us peek. (No, there’s no actual nudity in this game that I’m aware of. There’s only one thing that comes close, and you’ll be hearing a lot from me about it when it comes up.)

Choose wisely, for it will colour the tone of this whole Let’s Play.