Part 2: Shortest Solo Adventure Ever

Shortest Solo Adventure Ever


Just south of Ryle's tiny village, this signpost can be found. The general logic of this game is to do things in order of appearance. So Lailai Town is our first goal.

But before we'll get to that, let's do some fighting!

Ah, Slimes. Forever damned to be killed by newbie adventurers. The battle system is as simple as the menu was. It's turn based and you just punch in your orders.

Though there is one neat thing about battles in this game.

Each character has an animation for their standard attack, and for most of the special moves. I'll try to show the majority of them.

Anyway, these Slimes are suckers and Ryle can almost kill them in one hit, while only taking like 1-2 points of damage in return. They also drop health potions so there is zero danger here.

But there is another enemy in the area, and it's the most annoying thing ever. Brace yourself for hilarity bullshit.



"Wait for WHOM?"

This is the Dasher. He's part of a series of enemies that talk and are very wacky. I'm sure Flare thought it would be innovative to break up the usual battle formula, but he was wrong. Cause what you end up with is watching the same unfunny scenes over and over, as those guys are common encounters.



"Get OUTTA here!"

Anyway, the Dasher spends his first two turns buffing his agility, before doing this...

"Now, take THIS!! Dasher's "Super Ultra Move"!!"

"The final move?!"



"Superrrrrrrrrr - Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash- !!"

CRASHES INTO SOMETHING

"Ouch! It HURTS!!"

"Cut it out!~"



"Self-destruct?"

so funny

If you don't manage to kill the Dasher in time, he'll just suicide without doing any damage to you. And beating him will only safe you the annoyance of seeing the whole scene, as you'll get 1Xp and gold either way. I really hate this, and there are more enemies like him...

Still, since I want some money and Xp, I have to grind a few battles here. While doing so, something happens...




You can trade your Victory Points for rare items. Please talk to the gray haired man with sunglass & a red long coat. (Vash wannabe) He can be found at many towns.

Let me tell you about those damn Victory Points. As the game told us, they can be exchanged for rare items. And you want to do that, as you'll get some good stuff from it later. After fighting five battles you'll gain one point, and they don't have to be in short order since the game keeps track. There is also a small chance that you'll get a lucky bonus and receive more than one point, but it's pretty rare. You're also guaranteed to get that bonus if the fifth battle is a boss, and I think bosses give some points regardless of battle count. I'll get a bit deeper on this later though.

Anyway, I made some cash and a level so let's go to town.

Places on the world map will have a name pop-up when you touch them. I'll show that later.



"This is Lailai Town. (I know. I know, the most typical lines~)"

Why aren't you laughing? It's really funny to break the fourth wall!

So here's the deal - This town is the most generic tutorial-town ever. 90% of the residents tell you dumb stuff about the game that I really don't want to transcribe. And you also don't want to read it, right? Right?...

Well okay, have an example of the only "good" one.


"HP stands for "Hit Points", meaning how much pain & injury a person can take."

"Then how about MP? Daddy?"



"But I want them back! How?"

"Take a good night sleep. Then you will be fine!"



I mean, this one is at least a bit cute, but the rest is plain annoying. As are the conversations that don't deal with the game...



"(Whoa! What a RUDE kid~)"



Anyway, the only useful thing here are the descriptions of different status effects. They are hidden in various bookshelves in the village.







Now you know!

Since I got a bit of money, I also swing by the shopping area.

I buy a few pieces of better armor, but skip on the general store since I already got potions from the battles.

Oh, you wonder about the shopping interface?

It's as simple as any other menu in this game. This is the general store, and you really only need to buy MP restore items. You'll be able to sustain yourself with party skills or treasure drops. So just stuff your girls with Jello and you're golden!

In this area, I also find one of the few clues about where to go next.

A mess, you say? I'll investigate that immediately!




I think I know what's coming here...

"I'm heading Southern Cray City to the south. Can't you let me pass?"

"Right now, dangerous incidents are happening down at Southern Cray. We limit the people crossing the bridge."

"Limited crossing? Can you tell me what's going on over there?"

"Large number of deaths occured just recently. That's all I know."

Sounds like they need a hero down there.

Well, the guards tell me that I also need a pass to cross the bridge, which can be gotten from the elder in Lailai town. No surprise here, right? Also, I'll often abbreviate conversations like this, when they have nothing going for them.

On the way, I fight many more battles and grind some VPs since there is one more useful thing in Lailai. _{I already hate typing that name}


The Bar.

Inside are more annoying conversations..



..but also important services.

Like the LOVE Counter!

For a bit of cash, you can see the attraction points with each girl and also hear their most private thoughts. About you!


Att > 7


Att > 10


Att > 7

These lines will change depending on the stage of the relation. But I honestly don't know about each exact threshold, so I may end up overshooting a tier and the respective line.

Next up, that asshole for the Victory Points.


He'll insult you when you come here with less than 5VP. Cause that's the amount you need for his first item and he'll always insult you when can't meet his price. He has a chain of rare items and the VP cost will increase quite steadily.

"Do you want to trade your 5 Victory Points with my RARE items? Hmm? What do you say?"

"OK, why not?"

"In that case... I'll give you THIS!"




"......"

"There's only one of this in the entire world! It just feels like letting my own baby go~ And now in your hands! Lucky you man *smirk*"

"(What a CHEAP basterd~ It's a plastic toy bat *tears*)"

Now, now. It sure is a piece of shit, but it's somewhat useful this early on.

Ryle doesn't really need much Mind and the other stats are more useful.

His next item costs 10VP and I'll have to grind them up soonish. See, while his items get good, it takes a bit. And the natural progression of the game doesn't give you enough VP to stay in line with his curve. That means, I need to grind so that his trash items will have any use for me at all. VPs are kind of an issue for me in this game. The reward thingy adds some variety but it takes ages to earn them. On top of that, I'll also need VP to ensure that I have all the endings later. What I'm saying is that I'll do a lot of grinding for this LP.

The last service in here is obviously the Inn.

But I don't need to rest.

Instead I take a stroll on the second floor. Up there, another hint about the south can be found, but also a "super cool secret".

There are several orbs scattered around the world, and they allow you to watch a lol-random scene. A few of them are actually funny, but this one is not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfGnZSKIGEA
I think it's supposed to be one large oral-sex joke?!

Well, we've spent enough time mucking around. Let's get shit done!


"How are you sir? My name is Ryle. Could you tell me about the pass needed to cross the Blue Bridge?"

"Young man...it's too late now. Even if you have the pass, you can't travel alone."

And so it begins...

"??"

"Something terrible is happening at... Southern Cray City-!! And if you go like this, you'll get KILLED!"



"Get killed...? By whom?"

"No one knows who the killer is. What we know so far is that all those who travel alone, got ambushed from nowhere! And those with 2 or more people in groups, reached the city safely. So you need a travel companion at least."

I kid you not when I say that this isn't just the most ham-handed justification for having a party member. There's some plot behind it later.

"So can I get the pass after I bring my buddy along? Is that it?"

"Usually I would just give it to you as long as two of you are going together...But a couple of days ago, I could not find any more passes in my house. So I searched it and could not find it in this town!"

You didn't expect this to be easy, did you? The elder says that someone stole the box with the passes, and that somebody else found pieces of the broken lock near a shrine. Makes total sense.

"Yes, the old ruin to west from here. It's called Kah Mana Shrine. Now the place is abandoned and full of monsters."

"Then it's settled, I'll go to that shrine and find the pass by myself."

"Good luck then young man! But I have a piece of advice before you go. You need 2 people in order to enter the shrine.

"Huh? Because of the killer?"

Don't be dense. He's in the south!

"No, I'm saying because there's a place in that shrine requires 2 people to open the path. I used to play there when I was a little kid...Oh the good old times-"

Yadda yadda yadda, let's just get on with it!

"(Hmm...now the problem is who I should go with. All I need is 1 more person..)"

"How about going back to...Lavas Ville?"

Yeah, HOW ABOUT THAT?


The game has a linear main plot, this just refers to the unique content for each of the girls.

Since she's closest to the entrance, let's start with Orubia.

"So Orubia. Hmm...(She IS the easiest to ask."



Let's check her hint.

She can't come with you this time. But...

Ah, dang. Well, I guess it makes sense. A ruined temple filled with monsters isn't the right place for a sweet girl that only has a bit of healing magic. However, you can still ask her...

"Dear Ryle....Looks like you're doing fine now."

"Nah, I am in some trouble now."

"Oh no! What happened?!"

Ryle explained what happened so far

"So you need a partner, in order to enter Southern Cray City?"

"It's not that simple~"

"But it's true, isn't it? Then...who will you bring with? Mr. Burnfist?"

"No, dummy! Why do you think I'm here for?"

Rude!

"Huh~ ? Then my daddy. But he recently got arthritis!"

"(Can't you figure this out by now? We didn't become friends few days ago you know~)"

"Oops? Did I say something weird?"

"OK! You WIN! Time to be honest with you! I came for you! You are the one I can count on at the time like this."

I like to think that Ryle strikes a dramatic pose while epic Anime music is blasting in the background.

"...Huh~ !? But I can't! First of all...daddy needs my care, and I'm not even a real mage yet..."

"And based on what you said earlier...We have to live together, don't we?"

"(Come to think of it...She's right!)"

Crippled by his fear of cooties...

"...Yu, You don't have to worry about that. I won't leave here anyway..."

"I understand...I shouldn't pushed you so hard. Sorry!"

"But...I'm actually glad that...that you asked me to come..."

Att 10>>>13



With her unavailable, we're left with a choice between the other two girls.

Either...



"What Ryle! Why are you looking at me like that?"

Hint: You can be more intimate with her by taking her. BUT you will get further apart from Latyss.

Or...



"What do you need?"

Hint: If you aim at her, take her with you! However, things will get tougher with.

Make your choice!

Please bold it so that I can easily scan the replies. The voting will be open for a couple of days. I'm out of the country for the weekend, and can realistically work on new updates sometime next week. So I'll probably close it around next Monday or so.