The Let's Play Archive

Seiken Densetsu 3

by ddegenha

Part 9: Inconceivable!



"Well.. this is a bit embarrassing."

"It'll be fixed by the time we get the gunpowder, you said. Jackass.. when we get in that cannon you're going to be right next to the gunpowder."




"Oh, have you forgotten? We brought you some gunpowder."

"And you said something about a reward for anybody who brought you some gunpowder.."



"What was that about gunpowder? How about what about this spear? Do you see this spear? Because either it or that gunpowder are going straight where the sun doesn't shine if you don't cut the crap."



"Wow. I think I might have to change my tactics. Violence and threatening people beats cute hands down when it comes to getting results."




"No. No, I'm not.. but we're here now. Hawk, get in the damn cannon."

"You're being such a baby about all this."

"Carlie, go ahead and stamp on his head a few times to make sure he's good and tamped down."

"With pleasure."



"I regret this entire thing!"



"This might just be me, but that doesn't look like a castle below us."



"Oh goddess, my spleen…"



"That looks painful. Maybe next time we can somehow arrange it so that we land on top of him and he cushions our fall?"




Let's just say there's a reason they call it Molebear Highlands.



There's also a few bugs scattered around the place, including the Gal Bee making her first appearance. Other than a name and a spear, there's nothing remarkable about them.



You can describe this as a kind of teleport dungeon. For the most part it's fairly straightforward, with only one new option in each area. A few of the holes will lead backwards, but if you pay attention it's really not that bad.



"Uh.. hi there. Glad to see you made it out of Jad alright.."

"The Beastmen gave up on their invasion, once they discovered the Priest's new barrier..

"You should've seen it when they retreated! The people in Jad set up traps for them!

"Okay, I do wish I could have seen that."



"Wow. I feel a lot better about leaving you on the docks knowing that your escape was so much more awesome than ours."

"Yeah, true story."


"Then I heard Altena was planning an invasion.. so I returned to Forcena.

"I have to protect the King. You look like fighters yourselves. Maybe you could lend us a hand.."

"We're not doing anything else at the moment and we're headed that way.."

"Although to be fair, neither of these two has a very good track record when it comes to protecting kings."


"Well… I have to go… so if you'll excuse me…"



Jumping on the spring kind of gives you an idea of which direction you need to head to get to Forcena. If you just head right and up you won't go wrong.



This statue on the same screen would probably be important if we'd been able to afford the gunpowder. I think I'll take that route next time just to show it off.



"Hey Lise, what's purple on the outside, pink on the inside, red all over and usually found inside people?"

"I can't believe you! This isn't the time for jokes!"

"No, I'm honestly curious. I found one over here and I didn't know what it was."

"Oh. I think it's a spleen. Or maybe a kidney."





Yeah, they're just a bit slow on the uptake.



This is surely a person of little consequence, given his unique sprite and given name.



"If you're not getting a sense of deja vu right now, I don't know what else to tell you."



Interestingly enough, Lise seems to be equally concerned about soldiers on both sides of the conflict.



There's a couple of new enemies. The mages very much make me think of black mages from the Final Fantasy series, and they go down just as quickly. I think only one had a chance to cast a spell the entire time I was in here. The horse head, which you might think is a decorative statue, is also an enemy with a bit more endurance than the mages.



Machine golems also make an appearance, although these aren't as tough as the pair we fought earlier.



"Kudos for actually being alive after fighting one of them unlike everybody else, but isn't he your king? Don't you want to go to him?"

"Well, we can switch and you can hold off the rest of Altena's sorcerous army while I go have a chat with the king if you want.."

"On second thought you seem to have this pretty well taken care of. We'll tell the king you said hi."


Meanwhile, in the throne room..



"So it was indeed the Wizard of the Red Lotus who spied upon us that night…"

"Tell me, why has Valda, the Queen of Reason, chosen to attack Forcena?"



"The Queen's only regret is that she couldn't be here to take it in person."

"…Indeed."



"…."

"Bring it. You're not even worth getting out of my chair for."



"STOP!"



"That.. was easy. I expected to have some kind of big epic fight right in front of the throne."

"I'm okay with that not happening. From the look of that guy he'd probably have kicked all of our asses."


"Your Majesty!!"

"Duran! Where the hell were you, and who are these strange people?"

"I was waiting to fight off the rest of Altena's army but they rudely stood me up. These are my friends from Jad."




"We're looking for the Mana Stones and their spirits. Please, tell us where they are."



"I was one of the chosen ones.."

"Really?"

"That faerie died at the hands of the Dragon Emperor, though."

"So this must be a different faerie.. and that means the world is in danger again."

"Wait a second, how often does the Mana tree need a group of heroes to come in and save the world from being destroyed?"

"About every third generation on average, give or take. Sometimes it's only one, like with the faerie he's talking about.




"From the stones come the eight elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, Dark, Moon and Wood."

"Each Mana Stone is guarded by a corresponding elemental spirit."



"Hello!"

"Ahahaha!"



"It's located in the Corridor of Wind, in Rolante."

"The closest port is Palo. You can take a ship there from the merchant city of Byzel."

"I understand. Thank you."

"I really don't want to go back there again… and this is taking me in the opposite direction of toward my brother."



"Come back to me when you have found him! Good luck!"



"If you want to go back to Maia, you can use the cannon that he gave me! .. except that it's not set up yet. Come back later."

"Yep, this day just keeps getting better and better."

"Cheer up, Lise, there's a bar in town and we can't go anywhere until tomorrow."

"And I saw a sign for a fortune teller. Maybe they'll be able to give us some hints."




"You look like you could use a fortune telling. Let me try…"



"Yes, a faerie, just like that. My God…!! A real faerie!!"

"Sorry, whenever I'm inside someone, their future becomes uncertain.. it's not your fault."

"Really, what do you mean when you say 'uncertain'?"

"It's nothing to worry about. The side effects are only fatal in a small percentage of people."



"How small is a small percentage?"

"Sorry about taking your time, ma'am. Have a nice night."




This dog never moves regardless of what time of day it is. The sign is very much ornamental.



"Oh Goddess, you sound just like my grandpa. It makes me miss the old geezer."



"It's for idiots to be shot out of as a mode of travel."



"Considering that it just happened, I don't think that word means what you think it means."



"The best way you can help us right now is with some free drinks."




As a note, the weapon and armor shops are open here even at night. The weapon store has nothing new, but the armor shop has an opportunity for us to fill another one of our inventory slots for the first time.



"Sigh.. just don't tell his sister Wendy. It will only make her sad.."



Yeah, and he's not going to. Sorry to break it to you."

"Carlie! That was horrible!"

"What's really horrible is when people keep kids in the dark about important things because they don't have the guts to tell them."



"My entry on the list of horrible things is chests that are empty. Seriously, what's the point of that?"




A feature I haven't highlighted (and this might be the first instance of) is the magic pot. Enemies randomly drop seeds, which you can plant in the pot to get a random item. I believe my two item seeds in this case resulted in a piece of chocolate and a stardust herb.



"As long as your ambition also doesn't include abandoning your younger sister with your presumably live-in girlfriend."

"Carlie, I'm starting to think you have some issues."



"Guess that shows how well things turned out for the last set of chosen ones.."




"It's our first child. We hope she will receive the blessing of the Mana Goddess."

"That's a terrible, terrible idea. He's.. not very good at names. For the first six years of my life he called me 'Accidental Half-Elf Grandchild'."



"If you want, we'll come back and tell you all about it."


Forcena also has a large library that gives a good bit of information for players:



"The power of the Mana Stones can change a person's class, enhancing their characteristics. Up to two class changes may be performed, one at level 18 and another at Level 38. However, the second class change has been sealed because of its incredible power. In order to perform a second class change, you must find the items that will break the seal."



"Once, when the world was yet trapped in darkness, the Goddess of Mana felled 8 incarnations of disaster that guided the world to destruction, the God-Beasts, with the Sword of Mana, and sealed them in 8 stones. And, as the darkness left, the world was created…"




They could have at least provided a teaser for some monsters we haven't seen.. or had us yank this to serve as a bestiary



"…!!"

"…?"

"…!! Yoink!"



"The Goddess of Mana exists in the form of a tree, where she still watches over the world…"



Earth: Land Umber
Wind: Dangaard
Fire: Xan Bie
Water: Fiegmund
Moon: Dolan
Wood: Mispolm
Light: Lightgazer
Darkness: ???



"We've GOT to find a better way to travel."



"On the bright side it looks like we're actually pointed at Maia."




"Then, it's time for phase two! I'll send cannons to everyone I know! Our new Cannon Travel network will put the ferrying industry out of business, for sure! Some day, we'll all travel this way! Hehehe!"

Good Goddess I hope not.