Part 35: Rogue

Update 35: Rogue






Hello again. We've got some things to take care of in this hole, so let's just jump in and hope we survive whatever horrors await us.





I like that they actually are in free fall (and a little panicked about it) before the fantasy floating powers kick in.





That's a piece of Rogue.

That's right. It's a Rogue Fragment.

So that has the same power as a Ra-Seru? I guess I still have a lot to learn about Seru.

The Seru-kai is a world beyond human comprehension.

Is Rogue's Tower in the Seru-kai? What kind of place is it?

Rogue's Tower is part of Seru-kai, but the tower itself is the body of a Rogue.

The Rogues were once Ra-Seru, and they can hear what we say.

That's why we can't say anything more.

But-

Don't worry. Instead of talking, I'll concentrate on protecting you from Rogue's evil.


Well if you put the same amount of energy into protecting us that you usually put into exposition, then I feel invincible.







Music: Rogue's Tower

Welcome to Rogue's Tower. In keeping with the fact that this is more or less the game's equivalent of Hell, it happens to be one of my very least favorite dungeon types.







That's right, it's a teleporter maze!

This dungeon has one interesting thing going for it, though. It's normally looks to be made of plain brown material, but occasionally it turns organic and sort of pulses. It's not quite as creepy as Conkram's stuff, but it's still a cool visual.





Spoooooooooon.







Due to the nature of teleporter mazes being terrible, I can't say with any real certainty that I got everything there is to get here. However, I did at least find this nice piece of equipment. I think the Spirit Jewel's 25% cost reduction (at least when combined with the Magic Grail's MP recharge) but it's pretty great nonetheless and I might give it to Gala later when he doesn't need the Ivory Book anymore.





Puera lvl 2 roams this area, but I only encountered one and Gala still failed to learn it. Here's hoping they pop up again somewhere. I imagine they'll be in the next dungeon.





The tower has four...”floors” as the concept really applies. These huge runes teleport you between them.

The first floor is simple. There are few places where you have to choose between teleporters, and the huge rune is already active.





The next floors are a little harder, and require trial and error route mapping and remembering what goes where. I've just never been very good at this gimmick, so I was wondering lost here for a bit. At least the extra battles gave Noa a chance to learn Spoon.





To activate the runes on the second and third floors, we first need to find these crystals, which turn into familiar faces...





Hey, I remember you! It's the spaghetti monster of Jeremi! The crystals turn into mini-bosses, although I'm tempted to say none of them are any harder than a normal battle (some are even easier, to be honest).





Berserker lvl 2 can still inflict Rot. Unfortunately for it, it Rotted Gala's legs, and my command string happened to consist entirely of punches, so it basically did nothing. Funny how things work out sometimes.





They all drop Miracle Water, and all of those went to Vahn, meaning he essentially gained +16 to everything by coming here.





The other crystal on this floor is Caruban lvl 2.





It's not exactly a credible threat.





Yep.







I'm pretty sure I missed a treasure chest on this floor, but by this point I was getting kind of frustrated and seriously fuck teleporter mazes.

Also, take note of the blue and green fluids in sinks visible in the above picture. Drinking from them gave me a message saying all my HP and MP was refilled. I feel like surely there must be some kind of catch, but if there is I never figured out what it was.







The crystal bosses on the third floor are just lvl 3 variants of Berserker and Caruban. Berserker actually hits pretty hard now (I'd say he does 700 or so damage per turn) but Stone Circle seems to have kept its old attack power and is now a joke.







The third floor adds a slight complication (which may actually have been present before but I didn't notice until now). If you step on a teleporter while the tower is in its pulsing evil form, the teleporters will all send you back to the beginning. So you have to time your steps so that you are always teleporting while the tower is in its benign state. It's not difficult to do, just something you have to figure out to make it all the way through.





This is the only shot I got from the Caruban lvl 3 fight. I think it sums it up pretty well.





To the fourth floor!





Terra, is this the place? Is the Rogue here?

(Silence)

Oh, I understand. You can't talk now.

Where could that head Rogue be? I sense the power of evil, but the Rogue is nowhere to be seen!







Rogue proves its evilness by knocking Noa to the floor.


Aaaaaah!

I-It's the Rogue! It's the head Rogue, the one sealed in this tower! If we defeat this one, the Mist in Conkram will disappear.

Let's get him! Let's teach this Rogue a lesson!





Music: Big Boss Battle


I can't say that's what I expected the ultimate evil to look like, but I must admit that punching and kicking the wits out of an evil crystal is satisfying.





While I have everyone Spirit up, Rogue uses its first turn to shift elements. I suppose in other RPGs I would have to worry about that, but in a game where nothing has absorption or immunities it's mostly just an inconvenience.









So the second turn is going great, until -









Look at everyone's HP.





Look again.





So yeah, Rogue is pretty fucking brutal. I thought Zora was powerful back with her super that did something like a thousand damage, and now this?





With that said, Rogue has one fatal flaw; like the Delilases before it, it is extremely predictable. After that brief scare at the outset, I figured out exactly how to automate this fight.









Rogue simply alternates between performing an element shift and then using a superattack. Every turn it shifts, I have Vahn and Noa attack while Gala pops Spoon. Every turn it attacks, I spirit. Despite the large numbers, it's a simple fight, and with the Magic Grail I basically can't die using this method since Gala regenerates more MP than he uses.





Also I thought I'd point out that Vahn is less awful now that he's got those Miracle Waters. He's still no Noa, but 2500 is much appreciated.

(he did 1500 before, but that's because Rogue was in its Fire phase so Vahn got a damage debuff)







Here's the Wind super for good measure. They're some good looking attacks, at least.









We did it! We defeated the Rogue!

Now we can destroy Rogue's Tower!





Of course it is.


Gala, can I ask you something?

What is it, Noa?

How do we get back to Conkram from here?

! The exit!

Are we going to die? Are we going to die when Rogue's Tower collapses?

I'm not going to die in a place like this! Ozma! Can you hear me?

Of course I can, Gala!

Ozma...

I've been watching you the whole time! Well done, Gala!

Now that the Rogue is dead, the Mist must be gone from Conkram by now.

Come, it's time to return to the human world.

Gather together, everyone! We're almost out of time!

















Music: Conkram


However, the Mist has claimed many lives. What do you think you are doing?

But father! The Mist is...

Your majesty, this is all a simple mistake. Yes, the experiment was successful, but...

A mistake?! Fool! Does a simple “mistake” take people's lives?





Who are you?

I'm Noa! Don't you recognize me? It's me, Noa!

Noa?

Your majesty, you must believe us! We have just been to the Seru world and cut off the source of the Mist!

Is that so? Fantastic! Now I understand everything! You have my deepest gratitude. The people of Conkram owe you our lives! I wish to hear more. Let's go to the surface for a long chat.


The king and our group start to head upstairs, but then the king turns back to Cort.


Hmm? Cort, that thing on your back...You're wearing a Seru! It matters not. Cort, Jette, Zora! All of you remain there and repent for what you have done!


Now we actually leave, but the camera doesn't follow us out...





He doesn't understand the Mist's possibilities, or your grand plan!

I know, Zora. Just forget about it. Besides, I still have time to get a lot done.

ha ha ha! You are quite right! Quite right!





In reward for this, they desire the Nemesis Gem. Nemesis Gems are byproducts of the Gate of Hell's construction. They are refuse. It pains me to give these three such things as a reward, but...If that is what they desire, then so be it. Such dignity! I am therefore going to give them-

Father! I beseech you! Do not give them the Nemesis Gem!

Silence, Cort! This is my decision! Vahn, come here.


Vahn approaches and takes the Nemesis Gem.


All of you, you have my gratitude.





I haven't really gotten a good picture of Cort yet, so here's one. Check out those mismatched eyes. Anyway, he storms out and we regain control of Vahn.





Hey, where's Minea? If we check her bedroom the servants tell us she's on the roof. Let's see how she's doing.





Vahn, Noa, Gala, thank you very much. Thanks to you, my unborn child is safe and sound.





Gala rushes in between Noa and Minea.


Noa, no! Don't!

Noa, have you forgotten!

But Terra! That's my mother! My mother!

You must never say who you are or what will happen in the future. If you do, you will just create chaos that will benefit the Mist and its allies.





Noa, now that you are grown, you must understand. Correct?

Chaos...Benefit the Mist's allies...You're right. I'll do what I have to. Even if I don't like it.

To whom do you speak?

Pardon me, your majesty. Noa says that you look just like her mother.

Oh, I see! Noa, I hope to have a daughter just like you. I'll give you this, so that you may always remember me.





...Actually, I was here praying for my son, Cort. Cort has changed completely. He has always been zealous about his research, but...since becoming involved in the Mist, he seems like a completely different person. I believe you brave warriors have been sent to me by god. Please, if something happens to Cort, you must save him.


I suspect it might be kind of late for that, but I guess we can try...





Anyway, Minea's Ring offers a substantial HP boost, so now Noa can live longer to kick even more ass.

We can run around and talk to people again, but I didn't find much of it to be especially interesting. Let's see how Cort's handling all this.





You destroyed the Rogue's Tower. Now all my effort has come down to nothing.

You stopped the Mist for us. For that I thank you. But your Seru...Get out of here! You're disturbing my research. And those Seru...Get those disgusting Seru out of my sight at once!


Zora and the others give us a similarly icy reception. I wish I knew what exactly they think they're doing. They all seem pretty transparently evil, but even so, they don't seem to have any particular motivation besides...well...being evil. They're already rich and powerful and don't make any indication of wanting to be even more so. I guess Cort and Jette have a bit of the “SCIENCE!” motivation, but what about the others? Oh well, at least it's nice to know that these people were assholes even before they got possessed or fused or whatever with Sim-Seru.







Noa, what's wrong?

Cort is my older brother.

(Silence)

...Let's go back to the future, Noa. Your parents are waiting for you.

You're right...Let's go back to the future.


I wonder how this particular twist is going to play out? I'm hoping it involves Noa kicking Cort lots.





Music: Mist Infested Area


And he's your brother. After that incident, two Seru remained in Conkram. One was transformed into the Sim-Seru, which fed on the Mist and engulfed Conkram. The other Seru...may be a fragment of the evil Rogue. That Seru can give humans incredible knowledge. It was that power that awakened Cort's wicked ambitions. With Ra-Seru and Ra-Seru Eggs, he created a Mist Generator and the Sim-Seru. He learned to create Sim-Seru to provide him with the power to achieve his ambitions.


By the time we realized what Cort was doing, it was already too late. We feel so responsible...

It's not your fault, Mother! I'm going to shut down the Mist Generator in the Absolute Fortress for good! After that, you won't have to be alone anymore, Mother!

Noa, I love you.

Love...Yes, love. I know about love. Mother, don't give up!





There's not really anything left to do in Conkram (I talked to Nebular but he didn't have naything interesting to say), so I think we're just about ready to take on the Absolute Fortress. We'll take care of that next time.






























Meanwhile...





That's right! By analyzing this, I can make my own Mist!

You will require a device of some size.

I don't care! We'll build a Mist Generator in the Absolute Fortress! We'll conquer the world!

Ratayu has a giant Seru and the legend of Juggernaut...

Mist technology and Juggernaut...What an interesting combination!

Prince Cort, there is no end to your dreams! Ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha! Listen well. This is an order. An O-R-D-E-R.