Part 31: This Ended Up Longer than I Expected
Welcome back! Jessica got a spell. Magic Box seals one enemy's magic. I just don't know why they give you a warp spell then never let you use it...
Yes, let us leave and... go where?
Eh, let's check back up with Myght. After all, we kinda left him with Xenobia.
I'm guessing she's gone, then. Must have been a bitch to move him down here.
...yes?
: Whew! What a relief! You know, unless you can find and destroy Xenobia, Dyne's going to be a museum piece forever...What? How could you not know if Xenobia is gone? Did you think your assistants dragged him away while she was still here? Little guys have balls of steel...
: What?! You wrecked my second balloon already? I can't believe it! You Dragonmasters are all raving lunatics! What am I supposed to do now? Hmmm?Oh, right... yeah. Of course, having dealt with our lot before, Myght should really have seen this coming. If you give anything to a RPG hero they'll find some way to destroy it. I wouldn't trust 'em with a ball-point pen.
And speaking of little guys with balls of steel...
They're on the roof now, for some reason. Sadly, they don't have much to say, with one exception.
That was easy. To Meribia, then.
That didn't take long. Well, let's go!
Wait, why-
Oh. I forgot to actually equip Althena's Sword. Oopsie.
Much like earlier, the barrier knocks you out, and this time you wake up in...
The big Althena's Shrine! Wait, Meribia was right there... why did they have to drag me here?
: Alex wake up! You have to put the Dragon equipment on first! Geeez!As Nall helpfully points out, even though we are the Dragonmaster, you still have to have all the Dragon equipment on before you can enter the Grindery. This also includes the Dragon Wings, by the way.
But once you do come back from Althena's Tower, you can just go straight to the final dungeon. However, it would be kind of silly to do so. After all, the final dungeon is coming up. We might need to stock up. Let's head to Meribia. I have a... feeling.
"People are so afraid these days, they'll buy anything. What a racket!"
Oh yeah, it's been awhile since we've checked up our buddy's shop.
Hey, look who it is!
: Now, the task of disarming Ghaleon's war machine is at hand. You can do it, Alex! It's nice to get some encouragement from an old friend.
But that's far nicer. You may be thinking that doesn't sound all that awesome, as Ramus's shop wasn't all that great last time we came, but he's had some... adjustments.
...do I really need to add anything?
Except for manical laughter, that is.
Actually, there are a few things I should mention. For one, this also happens in the remake. Sadly, Ramus doesn't have anything as awesome as a free, unlimited supply of full-party full-heal items. But the opportunity to stock up is still appreciated, especially for Starlights. Now, the store in the original does sell Silverlights (which it doesn't in the remake), but in the original Silverlights only restore around 80 MP or so. So that kinda sucks. But there's a workaround for that.
First off, I think we need to take our herbs back to Ramus. They... smell funny.
Yes indeed, even Ramus's own shop will buy back the herb they gave you. Not only is my supply of stupidly over-powered healing items unlimited, now money is as well. Now you may wonder what the point of that is. After all, there is nothing left to buy in the game, right? Well, to answer your question, let's take a quick trip to Reza.
The Thief's Bazaar also changes their stock in the end game. They actually lose a lot of items, but the two new ones they gain are worth the trip. Pictured is the Insane Helmet, Kyle's best helmet. You don't need to scam Ramus to afford it, though.
But you might need to pull a fast one to net yourself a cache of these. Yes, we can now buy the best MP restoring item in the game now, and we can buy pretty much as many as we damn well want.
Ah, that's a pretty picture. Now I'm ready to take on the Grindery!
Note: No I am not. See if you can spot the problem here!
Other than that, I am good to go for the final dungeon.
But... this is the last chance to go around and talk to folks. So... it's one last edition of EPIC NPC CHATTER!
Since we're in Meribia, let's start there. Haven't been to Black Rose Street for a while.
: Hey, don't praise me you sicko! ...let's go, Alex!
"If you defeat Ghaleon, you'll even be a bigger hero than Dyne ever was!"
: ...laying it on a bit thick, isn't he?I'd say. Oh, so now I'm the only thing that can save the world they're suddenly all impressed with us now. Typical
Wow the
Huh. Interesting...
Otherwise, there's nothing else to see-
"...make your lunch! I want to eat rabbit stew with you at my side..."
: Alex! Why are you still talking to this kook? Let's get outta here!Indeed. Let's leave and never come back.
For now, let's fire up the old Dragon Wings and go down the list.
Hey, there's a theme I haven't heard in a while!
And those are some people I haven't seen in a while! I don't know how they managed to get back from the Frontier, but I'm not questioning it! Man, it's been so long, hasn't it?
"find yourself another girlfriend?"
Well... hi to you too...
"He seemed to be doing quite well for once in a business in Meribia! He was selling anti-evil charms. But I wish he were in a more reputable line of work..."
But at least Ramus's dad is a bit more cordial. Hey, maybe the two will finally see eye-to-eye.
"Now that Dragonmaster Dyne is not here... You are the only hope for Luna and our beautiful world. Don't let us down!"
"But I'm so worried about Luna... I just hope she's still holding on to hope! Honey, you're the only one that can save her now! Please hurry!"
One thing I didn't mention is that the citizens of Burg returned once you wake up in Reza. If we came back just after waking from our coma, here's what they'd say.
"We were able to return to the village safely!"
I guess that explains that, but geez dad, spoilers!
"What's the matter, Alex? I've never seen you look depressed like this... Cheer up! I know that my boy is the bravest that ever was. You are! So smile!"
Alex's dad (but not mom) does actually have some more dialogue changes when Laike reveals that he's Dyne and when he turns to stone. Kind of odd that they'd bother to put that there, but doesn't that describe most of this game?
Most of everyone else is describing the current situation:
"We're so isolated, we'll stay peaceful. Psych! Ahh, ha, ha, ha!"
Or "stating the bleedin' obvious" if you prefer. So let's move on!
Let's revisit some old friends.
"They seem to have forgotten all about the money they owed me!"
"It's supposed to make me young again..."
: Why do you keep coming back here, Alex? To torment me?Pretty much, yeah.
Anywho, there's not much of note in Saith.
"I just love what you've done with this Dragonmaster chic look... very hot!"
In other news, weird people are still weird. (Although the cape is bitchin', I can't deny.)
"I don't want to cross Master Ghaleon!!! Harrgh!"
You know, we've only ever seen this guy sail once in the entire game. You know, I'm thinking maybe he doesn't actually like his chosen profession.
Next on the list is Va-
: Oh no... what happened? ...mother! Where is my mother?!Oh. Right
Let's... uh... go to Nanza...
"isn't because he's a pervert, but because he's looking for the human incarnation of the Goddess Althena so he can divert her pure power to his evil scheme to rule the world? Wow! What a story..."
Well, when you put it that way, it does sound a bit weird.
"But, historically, that kind of rule cannot last long!"
Yeah. If the real world is any indication, it just gets replaced with a different fear-based dictatorship!
...I just made myself sad.
: What kind of wimps are you? If you remember all that I taught you, you'll be fine!
"Boss, he'll kill your for sure! Please stop, boss!"
: Man alive! You sound like my mother! Are you sure you're a man? Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Magic Emperor Ghaleon's going down!"Aw, his men do care about him. Ain't that sweet.
All right, I'm skipping Lann (no one says much of anything interesting, and it was boring to begin with) so next up is Iluk.
You know, Working Designs talked a bit about the censorship imposed on them. Stuff like changing Mel's nickname from "Hell" to "Deadly" as discussed earlier. Ireland also mentions having to cut lines like Kyle bragging about notches on his bedposts and other such suggestive lines. Obviously, they weren't under any censorship guidelines as draconian as Nintendo's, but it was still a thorn in WD's side.
So I'm saying is: how the hell did they get away with that? Same reason they got away with the original Lunar 2 being rated K-A, I guess...
But enough of that. More of the people of Iluk being crazy!
"Or, hey! Maybe you can get Xenobia's lip prints on a napkin? Now those would be collectibles!"
"What are you waiting for? Go kick Ghaleon's butt! We want blood, lad."
"Ghaleon's true purpose is to build a spaceport and colonize our world. He's taking money under the table from aliens of an overcrowded planet. Soon, the first waves of aliens will descend on us... beware! It's totally true! I read all about it in the Global Informer!"
: Well, then, where has Elvis been sighted lately? You sideshow freak!So cruel, Nall
By the way, Damon doesn't really change his dialogue (nor does his replacement) so fake Damon is pretty much better than the real one in every way.On to Reza!
"I know of a buyer that'll buy it for it's wings and eyes alone!"
: Alex, let's get away from this guy! I want to keep my body parts on me!Where the people are no less crazy, to be honest.
"They say the resistance is being led by a young boy."
Oh reeaaally? Interesting.
"That's incredible, but not too surprising... Everyone in Reza has a past they don't want to talk about. For example, take Pea-Whee over there... he's got problems in his past that he won't talk about to nobody... But here's a tip: don't shake his hand!"
Oh dear... I think we all know what this is referring to. That guy... must have stolen someone's bike!
"<mumble><mumble> Oh, that would be so... great! Ugggghh!"
: This guy needs some serious help... fast!...moving on.
I'm actually gonna skip Meryod. No one says anything all that interesting, and I hate transcribing their dialogue. So...
And that's all from Lyton and Tamur!
There's not much new in Pao.
Although the girl who gave us the key to Ruid made it home safe, so that's nice.
"Normally, the punishment is death, but since he acted to save us all, the penalty is much lighter."
I'm also re-posting this screencap, for posterity.
But that's kind of it. To the Frontier again!
"And I've learned how to be truly courageous... I was wrong before. Even if Ghaleon is strong, we have to make our stand for good! If I'd kept on at Talon mine, I would have become just like Ghaleon... evil and corrupt!"
"Even if we live in fear of Ghaleon's retaliation, at least we are together."
"Now, we see that it was wrong to spare ourselves at the expense of other villages. We will stand firm now and oppose Ghaleon!"
In case you were curious, yes the commander of Talon Mines makes it back safe and sound. And he inspires everyone else to make a stand as well. Ain't that swell!
And this kid is just thrilled.
"So I'm going to need a really strong deodorant soap... any ideas?"
What? I- I have no fucking clue, kid.
: You're starting to sound like a broken record. We've been there.Geez, Mia, catty.
"Evil monsters running free. Machines controlling us, smoke clogging the air... and worse... lots of polyester shirts, gold chains, K-tel records... and that ABBA medley he likes blaring night and day! It would be hell..."
If you were wondering (and I was) according to wikipedia, K-tel is a company that... apparently has done a lot of things, but mostly what they produced was compilation albums. Or they're a telemundo station. That's an unlikely, but far funnier option.
Also, now I'm picture Ghaleon in polyester... urgh....
"You know, such a wanton disrespect for others lives indicates previous trauma. Maybe he was abused when he was a boy. Or... maybe he just couldn't get a date for the prom when he was in school. Those things can leave huge emotional scars... and just look at the end result!"
Oh, yeah, and this kind of all there is to say about Talon mines. Kinda disappointing; mostly, a lot of people just repeat themselves. Argh, I was expecting more than this! Where is the silly Lunar dialogue I so crave?!
"But it's so cute! Will it grow up to be full sized?"
: Yes, I'll grow large and eat your firstborn... but in a very cute way....all is forgiven.
(Marke, by the way.)
"I saw you many, many years ago... I didn't know you had survived..."
: I still don't know what you're talking about. I don't remember you.Now that we know Nall's origins, this man's purported familiarity with Nall is even more mysterious... a mystery the game will never solve. Sorry!
Speaking of mysteries, I have no fucking clue what he's talking about. I input 52766 into Google and I'm not seeing anything special. Apparently it's the zip code for Nichols, Iowa.
"Now my fathers' dead..."
: We will free everyone from Ruid! But, I'm sorry we're too late to save your father. Just know that his death was not meaningless!...and now we're back to sad things.
Ah crap, can't end on such a depressing note... what do I do...
Hah! Bald Ghaleon is funny.
Well, I think I've covered anything interesting there is to cover. Stay tuned, next time we'll finally enter the Grindery and start the endgame!