Part 5: Pimpin' Ain't Easy

Update 5: Pimpin' Ain't Easy



Having Lena in the party adds a soft drumbeat to the overworld music. It's inoffensive enough.

Anyway, we're headed back to Aridia, so we have to backtrack through the Aquatica-Aridia cave again. While we're in the area, let's stop by Hazatak and check up on those cyborgs.



"Long ago, Orakio took the Moon Stone and the Moon Tear from the satellite system device. Once this was done, our two moons drifted apart. The control panel is on the second floor of the weather control tower. Return the stones to the satellite system and the wandering moon will grace our sky once more."



That's right, they didn't even bother to make a new dungeon for this part. We have to head back to the weather control tower.


Once you get to the weather control system, continue on to the south and follow the path west for a while until you get to these stairs. Head up to get to the satellite control system.



... in the panel, Dahlia, the purple moon, moves.
"Pretty soon we'll be able to cross the sea north of Shusoran, to reach Cille's island."



Two moons start to move onto the screen from the left and right, making a loud and inexplicable grinding noise as they do so.



Dahlia and Azura, the two moons, are back in position! Hopefully this means the tides are back to normal and we can get to Cille now.

Of course, to find out, we'll have to head back to Aquatica through that cavern AGAIN.



We're already getting very close to the end of this generation. If you don't want to grind until you can afford the best equipment for your whole party before heading to Cille, at least get the best stuff for Wren and Mieu. Since they're cyborgs, they don't age, making them the only characters who stay in your party across generations. Wren's Ceramic Shot in particular is amazing: it does around 60 damage to a whole row of enemies.



"So what do we do now? Stand here and wait for the tide to go out?"



"Hey, look at me, everyone! I'm Moses!"



And with that, the path to Cille is clear.



Just head north across the sandbar, and there you are.



"... the hand of Maia, our fair princess! Begone!"
"Maia's a Layan princess? Huh. I guess that would explain why the Layans wanted her so badly. Well, I'm still going to take her back to Landen and marry her, so there."



"But I'm a good Orakian. In fact, I'm a prince! That makes it okay, right?"



Cille sells the best weapons you can buy in the whole game. If you desperately wanted to grind for tens of thousands of meseta right now, you could get two Planar Claws for Mieu and be set for the rest of the game. You could even load the cyborgs up with other gear so that you'd have equipment for other party members too. Please don't actually do this; it's much easier to earn money in later generations.



Cille's armour shop has some good stuff too. The Force Vest is body armour for Mieu that can be used to cast Rever, and unlike most games that let you use equipment as items, it can even be used outside of combat. Having an infinite source of full-HP revival is pretty sweet, and it's cheap enough that it's feasible to grind for the cash right now. I'm not going to actually do it, but it's not completely ridiculous to do so if you feel like you need a boost.



The castle gates in Cille are locked, so once again we're going to have to look for another way in.

"Hmm, what's with all these fountains? They look just like the one in Shusoran. I wonder..."



That's right, each fountain is a staircase leading into Cille's dungeons! Take either of the central fountains to get an Antidote, the far right fountain to get an Escapipe, and the third from the left to get on the path leading to Cille's castle.



New enemies in the dungeon include Lobobats and Blotters. They're pretty similar to each other: both have lots of HP, a fairly solid physical attack, and the ability to hit the party with Gra techniques for annoying amounts of damage.



This dungeon isn't all that complicated, but if you take a wrong turn you can go a long way without realising it. Turn right at this intersection here, then go all the way up before going left.



From there, take the first branch leading south if you want a Trimate, and the second if you just want to get outta here.



The party emerges in Cille's castle. There's nothing complicated about its layout: you just go all the way around in a clockwise spiral, more or less.



The little winged creatures are Dryads, and the Cho Aniki reject is a Clops. The Dryads can cast Gires, healing all enemies for about 12 damage (which isn't really a big deal); the Clops has a weak Foi technique and a fairly strong physical attack.



"'Kill no living thing' was Laya's last message."
"Hey, what a coincidence! That's the same thing Orakio told us! Well, since you're not allowed to attack me, I guess I'll just be moving right along. Nice to meet you."



"...handle Orakian spies in my country!"



"Hey, what happened to Laya's Law?"
"Eh, I'll just beat the crap out of you and let one of the dryads finish you off."



This battle isn't too hard as long as you attack with everything you've got. Wren immediately kills off half the Dryads with a burst from his Ceramic Shot...



... and Lyle finishes off the rest with Gra.



King Cille can put up a solid fight, with 400 HP and a powerful Zan technique. It's best to have Mieu on healing duty for this battle, using a maxed-out Gires every round.



"Have you had enough, or am I going to have to find a loophole in Orakio's Law and order Wren to shoot you?"



"Perhaps Lyle, my nephew, was right about you. You must now choose between Maia and Lena. Wed Maia and you shall become king of Cille. Marry Lena and you shall be king of Landen and neighboring Satera."
"Lyle, this guy is your uncle?"
"Yup."
"And Lena, you're the princess of Satera and you want to marry me?"
"Yup."
"And you couldn't have told me this before I went on a quest across three worlds to rescue Maia?"
"It slipped my mind."



"Decisions, decisions. On one hand, I can finally do what I went on this quest for in the first place and marry Maia, even though it means abandoning my family and my claim to the throne of Landen. On the other hand, Lena broke me out of prison and followed me all the way here, just so that I could save Maia and marry her. Actually, now that I think about it, that's kind of a weird thing to do."

Voting time!

I'll be showing off both paths eventually, but right now this decision is up to you. Depending on who Rhys marries, he'll obviously have different kids to be the main characters for the second generation. The second-generation quests will span a different set of worlds, with different allies and enemies. So make your choice, and vote for Maia or Lena now!