Part 94: Roadblock
After the talk with Naniwa, the Forest of Wind opens up.
The forest is a simple area, just three screens of a straight path. Near the end, the path forks with a dead end to the right. A cut-scene takes over when we reach the split in the path.
This is...just like the place from before...
Nuh-uh. There's no bench here.
Yeah. It's from my earliest memories as a child. It's exactly the same.
What are you two talking about?
Huh? Oh, it's nothing.
Wow! What a beautiful mountain! Mt. Katsuragi. It's considered a holy mountain. A holy mountain? Legends say that a god lives here. Wow... Is someone waiting for us? I think so.
Blanca suddenly stops and sniffs the air. A bell can be faintly heard.
And then the image of the forest seems to warp.
Blanca hurries to catch up with Anastasia and Kurando.
What is it, Blanca?
Grrr... (Be careful. Something's strange...)
Unfortunately, he's forgotten that no one here can understand him.
Grrr.
While Anastasia makes fun of Blanca, Kurando suddenly stops.
Was that a bell?
Did you feel that? The wind stopped.
Then the ground starts shaking, and Gepetto is pulled down.
Hm? OH!
Next, Kurando and Anastasia disappear.
Joachim and Lucia follow.
Karin and Yuri are the last to go. Blanca must have been taken, too, but it isn't shown.
They all fall into darkness.
AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!
Oh, this looks all too familiar.
Well, everyone seems to be okay, at least.
I bet it's the work of that Baby Head! Careful! This place seems even more evil than the last!
The gate straight ahead leads to Garan, but it's sealed until we solve a puzzle. The path to the right leads to the "maze", such as it is. There's another of those creepy statues here.
Ippitsu-maru: Do you know the way to escape this purgatory? Fools who pass under the same gate time and time again are trapped here forever! Uh ha ha haaa!
It does tell us how to solve the puzzle. Basically, you have to walk each path of the maze once without following the same path twice. We'll see the layout in just a moment.
OF COURSE, Gerard and Pierre managed to get trapped here, too. Gerard doesn't have any new goods, unfortunately.
Why do so many roads in Japan lead to these weird places?! Oh, well, not to worry. Wherever there are customers... Now, then, what will it be?
The path splits here. You can start the puzzle on either path; I picked the left one.
There are monster encounters here as well. Enkus cast Gale Spike and cause Blind Ring. Yomi Samurais cast Arc Rage and the huge Towds cause Fast Ring. These are all fairly strong monsters compared to the last area, and they like to Combo.
There's a gate with a red star on it halfway up the path.
Walking under it turns it blue.
It looks like the color of the gates change as we go through.
It also lights a corresponding candle on the table next to the statue. The blue lines are the paths, and the candles are the gates. We need to get them all lit
There's a chest with a Hit Area Expand at the first intersection.
We head to the upper-left island.
There's another chest here. It has a Mana Root.
We head right to the upper-middle island.
There's nothing here. We continue right to the upper-right island.
This one has a Strike Expand in a chest.
From there, we head down to the middle-right island and then take the path back to the upper-middle island. (Confused yet?
)
Once we get there, we'll go down the path to the middle-left island, then head straight to the middle-right island.
That leaves one path to take, which leads back to the entrance.
When we get back, we can check the altar to make sure all the candles are lit.
We can also taunt the statue.
When we check the sealed gate there's a flash of light.
The star turns blue and the seal fades.
A short run up the path leads to a small temple.
When we approach the building, a cut-scene begins.
I have been waiting for you. This is the entrance to hell!
Garan fades into view on his little pillow.
Uh-oh. It's Baby Head!
You wiggling worms! Have you enjoyed my little tour of hell? Actually, you're a lousy guide.
Have you not learned that I am not a foe to be trifled with?! I just think that's the coolest! Floating around like that! I wonder how he does that?
Laugh while you can my little ones! Soon you'll be shedding tears of pain! Ha ha!
A hasty conference ensues.
It must be the pillow he's sitting on! I'm sure of it! Ya think so?!
Somehow, I get the feeling they're not taking this very seriously.
This is the last chance to plead for your lives! Anything you wish to say before you meet your deaths? Well?
That pillow... Where can I get one?
I will...STRIP THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES!
Uh-oh, guys, I think we made him mad.
In this fight, Garan transforms into Yama Garan. He's also got a new gimmick: he doesn't take any damage from Special Attacks. That includes Crest magic and each character's special skills. I think it also includes Combo Magic.
Anyway, I do the usual Fusing and buffing and get rid of the Enkus Garan brought with him first.
Garan is annoying. He likes to use Mind Assault, which drains all the Mana from a character. He can also use all the third-tier elemental spells. He will ALWAYS target a character with their weak element, too.
Garan can be hit by Ring Effects. Of course, the one that kept hitting was Karin's, which was useless in this fight. What's 30% of infinity subtracted from infinity?
There's not much strategy here. Keep yourself buffed and healed, and keep pounding Garan until he falls.
I hate gimmick fights.