Part 4: Plains, part 2

Plains, part 2



When we last left Yuri, he'd gotten his ass handed to him by a furry. Now, he's in a graveyard, and, thankfully, he's not in one of the graves.



What's goin' on...

Where am I?! This is just like in my dreams!!

Just throwing this out there, but maybe you are dreaming?



Where's...!?

Where is he?!

Heh heh, so he didn't come with me, eh? Damn! I can't believe this. Honestly, this is a pretty lame illusion. If...it is an illusion.



...Yup, this is it all right. The graveyard from my dreams. Aw, man, I don't wanna be remembering this! Now's the part where I get lost, then wake up in a cold sweat just as a monster's about to eat me.

No, no, NO! Nothin' but trouble ever since that freakin' voice showed up! Maybe I've lost it completely. First, Dad jumps out of my nightmare and shows up right before my eyes...and now I'M in the dream!

I save that girl and don't get so much as a SMILE. C'mon, aren't they supposed to get all dewy-eyed, "Ooh, Mr. Yuri! Thank you ever so much! SMOOCH!" ...Ain't that how it's s'posed to go?



Oh man, now I'm all depressed.

I like this kid. He's got moxie.

Wandering around a bit:


Ha ha! Wouldn't it be hilarious if all the monsters I've killed started crawlin' out of these? Heh heh...

Ha! That'd be a real hoot, alright!






Ha ha?


Yuri's special skill, as I said, is Fusion. To put it specifically, he's a special type of Fusion user called a Harmonixer. He gains new fusions through defeating monsters. Each monster in the game has one of six elements associated with it - Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Dark, and Light. Whenever you kill a monster after this point in the game, you earn a "soul" of the same element as the monster. When you have enough of a certain element, Yuri can go to the graveyard and click on a glowing tombstone of that element to fight a monster that embodies it. If he wins, that monster is your new fusion. Earth is always the first one you gain and is plot-based. For the rest, you're on your own. There are three levels for each fusion, and you have to fight each time. The second-level monsters aren't unlocked until certain plot points happen, and you need to find items that don't begin to appear until after other plot points to unlock each Fusion's final form.


This battle went pretty easily. After Yuri's first attack, the monster cast Moon Howl, which restored some of its Hit Points. After the second, he cast Chi Shield, which increases physical defense by 15%. And he died on Yuri's third attack, before he'd even gotten one hit of his own in.


And now we've got a second Fusion: Raging Tiger.



Huh?! What the...? Suddenly I feel...awful...!!


Every time Yuri gets a new Fusion, you get a different description.

You've received the Soul of Tigerion!

A new spirit to fuse with... Is this...my power?


This is a pain in the ass because you can only have any three Fusion souls at once. Apparently, someone on the development team for Shadow Hearts 2 agreed, because you no longer have to equip souls in the second game.


But since we have to put up with it in this game, I put our new little buddy in the second slot.


A little further in the Graveyard, there's an iron gate that we can't get through  yet .


_{Oh, Lord, I hate these jerks...}





He he, no need to thank me. But to be honest, I really haven't missed you guys at all.

I have a personal theory that the Masks are the souls of the first four monsters that Yuri killed when his power was awakened.



Keep laughin'!! I'll slice that stupid mask in two!!



Yes. This world is a reflection of your own mind's darkness, darkness you have created yourself.

...



the more you shall become saturated with venemous Malice, born of their bitter vengeance...

And when the limit is passed, so then shall HE be reborn into the world of the living. Ho ho ho... The man, the very thought of whom makes you shrink in terror...





You think I'm scared!? Don't make me laugh! I've been huntin' monsters for over 10 years. I can handle one or two of those guys with a flick of a finger! You got that, you bodiless freaks!

Ha ha ha... Don't get so excited.

You loved your father so much, that now you're wandering aimlessly in search of him.

Stay out of this! Look, I'm just out for revenge for my parents. It's none of your concern!

Heh. Strange words for someone who desperately wants to believe his father is alive somewhere...

You... Now you're really starting to piss me off! Say another word and I'll smash your smirking faces in!!

Ha, ha, ha! Slow down, boy. Worry not, we have a proper opponent for you! To sweep away the accumulation of Malice, you must do battle!


After this, beside gaining souls from battle, we also gain Malice (the vengeance of slain monsters). Yuri has a talisman that now shows up on the menu screen. As you gain malice, it gradually changes from blue to green to yellow to red, and you have to come to the Masks in the Graveyard to trigger a fight to get rid of the Malice. Otherwise, if you let it get all the way to red, you're going to find yourself getting into random encounters with the Grim Reaper, aka Fox Face, aka Daddy. Even if you win, he'll keep showing up until you clear out your Malice.

In the Graveyard, there are four different monsters to fight, depending on how much Malice you've let build up. The one we're fighting is Evil 4. Everytime that finishing a battle pushes your Malice over into the next level, the talisman flashes on the screen. You can also tell what level you're at by how many of the Masks are glowing. Once the talisman goes all the way to red, the doors behind the Masks will also be slightly open.




This battle is easy. Just transform into Raging Tiger and lay waste.


In both the Fusion and the Malice battles, you don't earn any experience, cash, or souls, but you do get an item from each of the Malice battles.



Ho ho ho... Well done. Your victory has swept aside the vengeance of our brethren. And it appears that the reactions of that cursed talisman you hold have vanished as well.

Heh heh heh... It's too early to get cocky, boy. This purification is only temporary.

What's that supposed to mean?!

Ho ho ho...

When you return to your world, killing our compatriots will only result in increased Malice. Then you will come back here to lower it. No matter how many you slaughter, this hell will continue.

Ha, ha, ha! Then, in due time, HE will be resurrected... The man you fear more than Death itself!

Tee hee hee... Do you intend to keep running forever...?

Ho ho ho... How much easier it would be for you if you'd simply come here in death.

Enough! Shut up!


Fine, I will!



...Huh?

That voice...?

Yuri...! Please, open your eyes!





Yuri...! Please, open your eyes!







Poor Alice. Stuck in the middle of Bumfuck, China with a crazy person.

Are you all right? You were having a nightmare... Mumbling about masks... And "Malice."

...None of your business. My head's really starting to hurt. That's all. Whew... How long was I out?

Only two or three minutes since I found you. But you seemed in such pain.

She slept through the entire fight with Fox Face!?

Nothin' to worry about. I always have nightmares. Ever since I was a kid.

...C'mon, let's go.


Back to the bridge, there's a chest you can reach now that the water is gone. If you got the sluice gate handle on your first try, you get this Leather Belt (going on Alice for now, since Yuri already has one). If you take two or more tries to get it, you get a Thera or a Mana leaf.


At the crossroads, we can finally get across the dry channel and to the next section of the area.


From here, the path is linear, so no worries about getting lost.



...

Why the long face? We'll have food, and a bed to rest on!

Yuri's two most important priorities in life, in that order.


Oh, this looks familiar.




I have no idea what the "Guardian of Purgatory" is, but I do know that "man-eater's trap" can't be anything good.

Pant, pant... It's gone...?



I'm not a damn marionette, you hear me?!

Um, Yuri... That voice.

Yeah, what about it!?

I heard it, too...

Really?!

Yes. I don't think it means us any harm. I didn't sense anything... evil about it. I think... It feels like it just wants to tell us something.

...

...

...

...Oh yeah?

Yuri...isn't the brightest person in the world.

Let's head for the village.






Just before you get to the village, there's a chest on the left. This item cures confusion, which some of the enemies in the next area cast.



We're here. Looks like we'll be able to get food and a place to rest.



What's up? Something wrong?

The voice... It tried to warn us about danger in this village, something waiting to devour us. That's what it started to say, anyway. I think we should be extra careful.

Ha ha, how cool 'n' collected you are! You talk as if it's happening to someone else. But not to worry. Nothin' can surprise me at this point.





Yellow-eyed Child: Hey, look!!

Wh-Wha!?

Solid as a rock.

D-Damn brats!! Don't freak me out like that, or I'll kick your scrawny little asses!

Red-eyed Child: I knew it!

Yellow-eyed Child: You're right! It's true!



Huh? Look, you brats live here, right? Here in town? Great. Open the gate.


I wonder if he thinks the gate will just open on its own if he keeps kicking it...

Red-eyed Child: Um, nobody gets in at night, so you're just gonna hafta stay out there.

Yellow-eyed Child: Yup, we can't let you in.

Run along and get your mommy. Tell her you've got guests.



Red-eyed Child: Hey... That's a woman, right?!

Yellow-eyed Child: Yeah, she's TOTALLY a girl, right?! Nice and soft!



Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?

Sorry to trouble you so late, but we're lost. Would you allow us to stay here for the night?

Red-eyed Child: Ooh, she looks so tender!

Yellow-eyed Child: A nice, juicy girl!




Oh, no, this isn't disturbing, unsettling, or ominous in any way.

Red-eyed Child: Eh heh heh! It's okay, you can come in!

Yellow-eyed Child: Tee hee hee. Yeah, you can come inside now!

Thank you.

Red-eyed Child: Our house is at the very end of the square. We'll be waiting! Bye!

Yellow-eyed Child: Whee, whee, a girl, we have a girl! Gotta go tell Granny Mayor right away!!





This is a bad idea, isn't it?

Yep!



If this town turns out to be filled with nothing but children, I'm running screaming for the hills.



Next time on Shadow Hearts: mini-update on Wednesday with the item, monster, and NPC info collected so far.


Plains, part 2 on Vimeo

NPC Scorecard