The Let's Play Archive

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

by The Dark Id

Part 74: Episode LXVIII: Deathtron Hammer

Episode LXVIII: Deathtron Hammer


Music: Old Smudged Map ~ Europe



Let's resume our European turn. Ardennes Forest, to my knowledge, never has a reason to revisit it (they just keep those old dungeons open in case you missed a Magic Crest) so let's skip straight to Paris.



Despite having to tool around Paris on foot and rail the first time around, the revisit version now gained its own convenient submap. Let's start by heading back to Gepetto's Apartment. A new NPC may be waiting for us there.


Music: Town of Twilight ~ European Town



I had forgotten Gepetto had some prime real estate for his home away from home. I cannot imagine this place rents for cheap and I somehow doubt Gepetto has been keeping up in the half-year since our adventure began. As such, in his apartment we now find his landlord...



<transforms into Lottery Member 10> Anything'll do! Whatever you got! Ah! That lottery ticket's fine! So come on, hand it over!
Why am I setting Gepetto's debts now? It's bad enough I have to do the porn card trading for his doll dresses.
What you're doing in here is your own business as long as I get my rent. The ticket. Now! Pay up!
Okay, I'll play.



This lottery member doesn't seem to have any gimmick going on that I can detect. I guess finding her by backtracking here was gimmick enough. Since we're amassing quite the surplus of Lottery Tickets, we are going to go ahead and grab the first two prizes.



Arc Surge was definitely worth returning here. That is PRETTY handy. Plus, gotta catch 'em all with this Crests at the end of the day.



And an accessory that just stops the Sanity Point mechanic on a single character when equipped. Yeah, that sounds like something that could be rather useful. Perhaps if Yuri ever finds himself in a solo battle. You know, as he will repeatedly be doing in the Graveyard in the latter part of the game.



Make sure you pay on time next month! Understand?!

Aww, that's cute. She thinks we'll ever return to Gepetto's apartment.



Next in line is a brief return to Montmartre, where you'll recall we signed up for the Wolf Bouts.



Now that we've completed all of the Disc 1 Wolf Bouts we can check in on Ernest and claim some rewards. You would think we would get more after having bested everything from the undead to space aliens to wolf Terry Bogard. But nope, not really...



It's just a Thera Extract and yet another Magic Crest. But, while we are wrapping up things on the first half of the game I was reminded I ought to check out Solomon's Key again to see if anything finished and as luck would have it, we did... at some point... collect a complete set of another region of the board.


Music: Deep Meditation ~ Title



Look, I'm not keeping a checklist open and crossing off every new Crest name to see if a category of 6-10 random names has filled up so we can do a simple word puzzle.



Today's region we are crossing off is the Wilderness of War. I think I got stuck for a weekend there on assignment back when I was younger. The only thing worse than an edgelord is an edgelord that lives out in the woods and doesn't bathe. Let's get to it...



Well, a tent to the west is fairly straightforward so Dantalion gets stuck here.



There is only one slot next to Dantalion, so Laraje hangs out in this spot. Got it.



A guillotine synchs up with this slot. Still waiting for those to come back in style. But until then, Balam can go here.



Well, there's only the one slot next to Laraje and it is the frontier of the battleground or... you know, the end of the map page. So Halphas has a home.



There is only one slot for adjacent to the Palace of Transgression to the south. So if Ose is going to communicate with his pals with beachfront homes, this is where he would be.



I don't see any horse on the map but if he's beefing with Halphas and on the edge of the map, this is where Berith would go.



The Bastion of Riches is the region to the south of here and if he's next Berith, this is where Alloces would get placed.



Nothing doing with Ipos's placement here. Like, I'm not seeing the Untitled Goose Abomination angel anywhere or anything about a song. But the remaining two slots are very obvious in their placement so by order of elimination, Ipos goes here.



Since Sabnock is into hangings and welp.



And Eligos is chilling in a tent farthest east. So yeah, Ipos that one slot and the other two find their homes easily enough.



And with that, the Wilderness of War is restored to its former glory. This unlocks the Magic Crest potential via:
Nothing too fantastic but there never really is on these upgrades. It definitely feels like they came up with that faux Sphere Grid with all the demonic names and the neat map and the actual distribution of magic for the Magic Crests is kind of an afterthought.


Music: Town of Twilight ~ European Town



Who knows when we will return to the Solomon's Key. Not again on this disc! But what does await is a trip over to Champs Élysées.



If we head over down the street you'll certainly not remember some random French Chef named Zinedine of Mitsuboshi NPC. But we need to speak to him as he is the final step of the Disc 1 portion of the Trading Sidequest. You'll recall we turned away the offering of the portly fellow in Gerome Valley to trade our now month-old Super Piroshki. That's because the dish was destined to fall into this man's hands.



Ah, it's probably this. It's called a Piroshki. It's stone cold now, though.
And at LEAST a month old. And I've almost definitely fallen on my pack hard a few times and squished it.
Piroshki? That's Russian, isn't it? A kind of bread, right? Interesting... Swap it for this stuffed animal?
> Sure! I love stuffed animals! > No way! Stuffed animals suck!
It's a step-up from some old food I keep forgetting to throw away.



Ah yes, the most well-known of all French animals -- the panda bear. Nobody else in Europe is interested in this. We may need to travel to a new land before trading can resume.



I told you it was weeks old... No take backs!
The outside's so fluffy! The inside's so moist! Amazing! And it's not even fresh! And the meat flavor! Mmm... That exquisite bite... Only Sichuan soy tastes like that! And... Yes! There's a tiny hint of boxthorn too! Oh, it's fantastic! Beautiful! We chefs better look out for those Russians! They can really cook!
It really tasted that good? Guess I should've tried it...
I always forget to eat when I'm busy dealing with wizards. It's a bad habit.
Thanks, that was a real eye-opener. One day, I'll be making Piroshki like that!



I kind of want to try a piroshki now. We are mostly done with Paris. But there is something to be seen in the Cathedral district. So let's mosey on over there before we move on to our next destination.



The only thing here is the Junk Dealer merchant we met earlier. But he does have something new of note if we speak with him in this later encounter.



I can't let it go for free, but let's see... For you, how about 10,000 Cash?



This is a Gepetto-only accessory that grants a not very impressive +2 to Physical and Special Attack and Defense. Its actual unique trait is that other characters will now take a mortal blow for Gepetto if he is at critical health when this is equipped. Yeah... I'm not dropping 10,000 Cash on an item that gets other characters hurt if Gepetto is getting his ass kicked. No part of this is appealing to my playstyle. Like having to use Gepetto in the main party.

It's of note that apparently a silver seat is near the door and reserved for the elderly on public transportation. It is also of note that the junk dealer's store now sells Hit Area Expansions for the Judgment wheel at 5000 Cash a pop. I'm not too interested in that either, but it's there as an option.



Le Harve and the Wine Cellar have nothing new going on at the moment. But, the Port of Southampton does...



It has been a long time coming but I think it's time for Joachim to finally have that rematch with his mentor, The Great Gama. We are going to get him equipped and hook him up with Crest Magic that includes Gale and Shield before stepping back into the ring.



I won't show you any mercy, you know! When you think your mind and body are sufficiently prepared, step on up!
Teacher! I'm ready for my lesson!


Music: Grand Papillon!! ~ Pro Wrestler



Hee hee! Keep your eyes open! I'll be slamming you with my deadliest attack in the third turn! Can you handle it?






Music: Vicious 1915 ~ Battle in Europe



The fated match is at hand. We probably could have taken Great Gama's second bout around the time the Rasputin arc began but unfortunately, that's right around the time Joachim got benched because Anastasia got important and Yuri/Karin/Blanca are my not going anywhere team. But, he's still competitive enough that this fight isn't a problem. Great Gama Round 2 has upper his HP to 500 and is still a Light class enemy.



Our first order of business is we want to immediately cast Shield on Joachim. Wrestling is as physical attacks as it gets and we need to be topped off on defense against it. Particularly, in Great Gama's third turn. He said he was going to do his ultimate attack then and is not joking.



Much like the first bout, Great Gama only utilizes one attack he is teaching to his student. This time it is Deathtron Hammer, a physical attack that hits 15 times. With Shield up it only hits for 1 HP fifteen times. With that buff not in play, even at Level 21, it would hit 7 HP x 15 or 105 damage. You know... like around 40% of Joachim's total health. When I tried this earlier it was 15 HP x 15 and Joachim got sent to The Shadow Realm on his first turn.



Additionally, on his third turn, Great Gama will use The Third Key and just does a fifteen hit standard physical attack string that actually hurts way more than Deathtron Hammer overall. This is why Shield is vital. I tested this without the Shield up even at this point in the game it did 120 HP of damage or just shy of half Joachim's health.







But leveled sufficiently and with the right defenses in place, Joachim is able to hand his master and add another L in the book for The Great Gama.


Music: Result ~ Victory



See?! I'm terrific!



Good work, champ. Nice new HP total number.


Music: Grand Papillon!! ~ Pro Wrestler



Whenever you want to test your skills, come back to me, my boy. The open-air ring will always be waiting for you!
<clenches fist> Thank you, Teacher!



And thus Joachim claims his third move. There has been a disappointing lack of suplexing for a wrestling character, but I'll take it.



Tune in next time for the conclusion of our first expedition into cleaning up Disc 1 sidequests before we get back on task as Shadow Hearts Covenant's first half continues to trudge to its conclusion.











Gepetto's Apartment Concept Art - I don't accept Gepetto once being a productive member of society.