Part 4: Update 4 – Drachma

There are a lot of villagers to talk to around Pirate Isle, but this update is long enough already so I'm only going to talk to Vyse's mother and Lindsi. Vyse's mother is back in her house, while Lindsi and the other kids are waiting up by the upper dock with Pow.



Vyse's Mother: Stand tall, my son. When a sailor sets out on a journey, he needs to go with a little more hope in his eyes than that, okay? We'll be fine here one the island, so don;t worry about a thing. You just be sure to bring your father home safe and sound. Good luck, my dear...



Lindsi: You have to promise me you'll come back safely, no matter what. Okay? Promise?



This is the second and last of the optional Swashbuckler choices. I'm pretty sure you would have to be completely heartless not to give the right anwer here.

Sure, I promise. Have I ever not come home safely? Have I ever let you down, Lindsi?

Lindsi: N, no...you've always come home to us...

You see? So you don't need to worry. So, don't worry...I'll come home safely, and I'll bring back everyone with me.

Lindsi: Okay! It's a promise then! We'll all be waiting for you!! Come home soon!

And with that, we're off!


Click for video!



Alan: You'd better come back! Promise me, okay?

Of course! Don't worry... We'll come back with everyone else, too!

Alright... Aika, let's go.

Aye Aye. Valua should be on a landmark due north from here.

I'm getting the course! Alright... Valua, here we come!





Nothing is ever easy, though. It only takes a few minutes of sailing before we hit trouble. BIG trouble.





That's strange... there's never any fog in this region... I wonder what's causing it. The only way to get to Valua is through here... Slow to half speed...

Vyse, wait... we're to close to that island over there!

What? Where?

Aaahh! Vyse! Look! It's not an island! Whatever it is... it's alive!



Big, purple trouble.

I've never seen one this big before!

Vyse, we'll get killed if we get too close to it, but we've got to hurry to Valua. Vyse, What should we do?



We're going to run like buggery is what we're going to do. If you choose to attack it Aika will berate Vyse about the lack of cannons and ask if he really wants to try 10,000 Cutlass Furies.

What do you think we're going to do? Of course we're going to retreat! We don't stand a chance against that thing in this ship! I know we're in a hurry, but if that thing attack us, every one will know will be executed. We'd better play it safe...

Okay. I can't argue with that. We'll be okay as long as it doesn't see us!

Aaaahh!...





Grab hold of something and brace yourself! Don't let go!

But... but... The ship! It's breaking up!

Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!





Ugh...

Are you goin' to sleep all day? Get up!

Oh... my head...

Uhhh...



So... you finally decided to get up, huh?







Rhaknam...? Now I remember... that huge arcwhale that blew our ship off
course!! I though we were finished, but you rescued us, Hey, thanks!

Thanks?!... Thanks you say??! Don't start with me!


Crunch!



Owwwww! I'm not sure why, but I keep getting hurt today...

Hey!!! What are you doing, you crusty... err rusty... old man?! He didn't do anything!

Didn't do anything?! I've been chasing after that arcwhale for years!!! I was so close to finally capturin' him, but because of you kids, he got away!

I'm really sorry... That you didn't catch him... Really...

Hrmph... Debris from you ship hit my sails... I'm lucky my ship is still airbone, you kids were even luckier that I was here to grab you. I was working all morning' tossing' what was left of your ship overboard. Now I'm stuck with the two of you.

What?! Our ship... was destroyed?

Aye... Now, this isn't a passenger ship. Everyone on board needs to pull their own weight. If you don't like it, you can jump off... I need to keep the load as light as possible anyway.

Wh... What?!

Oh, great... What kind of mess have we gotten ourselves into?



We may have control of the characters again, but for now we're firmly under the command of Captain Ahab here.

Bring two supply boxes to the bridge? No problem. I'll bring them right away! Actually, sir... We were on our way to Valua when we were attacked. Where is this ship heading?

Where this ship is going' is none of your concern. Now get moving!

I give up... I don't really have time to be doing this! But what other choice do I have?

Well, this looks like the box that the old man wanted to get.

Urrrrgh! What the...? What's in this thing?





Carrying the crate upstairs is automatic, fortunately.

Hrmph... You look like you've got a little more than lubber on your bones. What's your name, boy?

My name is Vyse, I'm a Blue Rogue. I used to do this type of grunt work on the pirate ship.

An Air Pirate, huh? Well... and what exactly would two Air Pirates be doin' sailin' alone?

Well... We have our reasons... Sir, we need to get to Valua. I beg of you, please take us there!

... Valua, huh? Explain.

... and that's why we have to get there as soon as possible. We need to save our friends.

Hrmph... tryin' to pick a fight with the Armada? You've got to be out of your mind, boy. I have no time to babysit you and your friend and I need to find Rhaknam again. Try your luck with a different ship.

I see... It would really help if you could bring us, but we can't force you to. By the way, Why are you exactly chasing Rhaknam, anyway?

...... There is no need to tell you. And there still one supply box left! Get down into the hull and get movin'!

Great, I spill my guts, he keeps quiet... And then makes me do more work! What's with this guy?

Aika is outside swabbing the deck, if you were wondering. She's being worked every bit as hard as Vyse.

That old man... He's working us really hard. He needs to lighten up. Be he did save us... so I guess we can't complain too much. Oh, well, back to work...

Back to work indeed. No time to stand around chatting.

Great, now I gotta move boxes all day...



That's a good question, actually. I'd imagine it's probably fish, seeing as this is a fishing boat and the boxes have the symbol of our rusty friend stamped on them. Anyway, one bone-creaking trip upstairs later...

I'm done, sir.

Alright, now on to the next chore. Take the helm.

What? Are you really letting me?



I want to see how well you can sail. If you can't sail, then you'll be loadin' boxes the rest of the trip!

Wow! Most of my duties revolved around raiding, so I hardly ever get to actually fly our old ship!



And the wheel is so light! It's really responsive, too! This ship must make really tight turns.

Remember that! It'll come in handy later.

Heh... For someone who's hardly ever been at the helm of a ship this size, you seem to know quite a bit, boy.

Hehe, I spent a lot of time on the bridge of the Albatross, so I picked up a lot.

Good. Now let's see if you can actually sail. Our destination is Sailor's Island, about 40 leagues from here.

Wait a minute... You could at least tell me the name of this ship... and yours while you're at it?

Hrmph. The ship's called the Little Jack. And I'm Drachma.

Alright, now stop fooling around... The sun is going to set soon!

Aye aye, Captain Drachma! Little Jack, Full Speed ahead!





A new character and a new element! Let's take a gander at Drachma.



Holy mother, just look at those stats! Drachma is built like a brick shithouse and hits like a freight train full of other, smaller freight trains. He's going to be replacing Vyse as the party muscle for a while. We also have the stats of the Little Jack available now, but I'll look at those in the next update.



All party members start with no skills, which is why I was saving that Moonberry. Ignore the thing saying I have one left over, by the way, a few fragments of these recordings are from different sessions. Tackle costs a few SP more than Cutlass Fury, but has enough power to vaporise a medium sized country.



Also, Vyse got a title upgrade. He's now Vyse the Blue Rogue!


Click for video!

Players of the Dreamcast version won't recognise this guy, who stops us as we get close to Sailor's Island.

No, we're fine. We were just passing through and saw your ship. We figured we come and see who you were.

Wait a second...your clothes! Your weapons! Your eyepatch! You guys are Air Pirates! You're just in time. There is something I want to ask of you guys...please, come inside.



But first, let me introduce myself. The name's Doc, or that's what everyone calls me. I'm a free doctor; I don't have a country to call home. But, that lets me live the way I want. So, I fly the skies and heal sick and injured sailors wherever the winds take me.



.....

...Right. Now what was it you wanted to ask us to do?

Heh...direct and to the point. I like that. But, here, take this lens. It's sort of related to what I want to ask you.

That thing's called a Moon Lens. It's a special lens made from Moonstones. With it, you can see things you wouldn't normally be able to. Here, put the lens on and look where I'm pointing.



It's a “Moonfish”. They're trick little fellas to catch because they're, well, transparent. You can only see them using that lens. Which brings me to the favour I wanted to ask of you. I want you to find as many of these Moonfish as you can and bring them back to me. They tend to nest in populated areas for whatever reason, so check towns and dungeons.

Dungeons are populated? Anyway, I'm going to skip the tutorial on catching them and go right to why he wants them caught.



I decided to take care of it for now, but I just don't get what this bird's problem is. He refuses to eat anything other than Moonfish. But, for whatever reason, Maria seems to have grown really attached to the critter. So, I do what I can to keep it happy.

.....

It's...sorta my responsibility to look after Maria. Anything she wants, I provide. Of course, there's only so much I can do. But, I can't leave my ship. I can't leave Maria here all alone. That's why I'm asking you for this favour. Of course, I will compensate you adequately. Bring me lots of fish, and I'll give you items in return. So please...if you find any Moonfish, bring them to me! I will be eternally grateful.

Moonfish and this sidequest are new to the Legends version. Once again, I'll be collecting everything all of them. That's not as bad as it sounds because none of the Moonfish are permanently missable like chests are. Unfortunately, there's a problem with uploading the song that plays on Doc's boat – the track isn't on the OST because it plain didn't exist in the Dreamcast version, and recording it from the game ends up with all the sound effects left in. If I can find a way to get hold of a clean recording I'll upload it as normal.





Sailor's Island! A wretched hive of loqua and pirating.

Actually, Sailor's Island is a delightful little town which I'll be using the go-to area for a lot of things.



I've never been here before, but I can already tell that this place is lots of fun! Yup, I think I'm gonna like it here.

Good, after I restock my supplies here, I'm leaving again. You two can stay here.

Hey, Wait a second! We have no ship! Are you planning to just strand us here?!

I've got to find Rhaknam... and in the meantime, I have to find a cannon that is powerful enough to destroy him. I have no time to waste with you kids. You two can resolve your own problems.

And with that, he stomps off into the tavern juice bar. The localisation team removed all references to alcohol in the tavern sign as well, see.

This is just great! He's not listening to anything we're saying!

I wonder if there's anything that will make the old man change his mind. Maybe we can dig up some information. Let's go around town and see what we can find.



He forgot to take his Moon Stone with him though!

First port of call is the Sailor's Guild. This is the main thing I'll want to go back to Sailor's Island for.



Guildmaster: We also purchase information on Discoveries made throughout the world! So, if you've made any Discoveries, just let us know. We'll pay you handsomely for the information. Don't forget to checkout the Wanted List to see who else is causing trouble around these parts.

The Sailor's Guild is pretty much the most important part of town if you're going for a 100% run like I am. The reasosn for that are threefold.



Firstly, you can sell the information on Discoveries you've made.





Second, you can buy hints on discoveries for a pittance. I won't be doing this except once in the video to show it off.





Third, you can check out the current bounties and collect payment after beating them. The Bounties are optional bosses new to the Legends version, with the possible exception of Baltor here. As far as I know he was in the Dreamcast version, he just wasn't a Bounty.



This rather worried-looking fellow is staring at the bulletin board in the corner of the Guild. He seems a bit preoccupied, so we'll leave him alone for now.



Outside the Guild building is the Empire's most wanted list. We can't do anything with this, it's just for flavour. Drachma we already know, of course. The rest we'll all be meeting as well, some sooner rather than later. In fact, right next to the sign...



Lone Wolf Lawrence. He's not a Blue Rogue like most of the list, he works for whoever can pay him.

I've got no use for you if you don't have any money. Do not bother me.



Healing items for the ship. Very useful.



If you're not watching the videos, imagine a sort of ringing, ticking sound from standing at this point.







And that's how you catch a Moonfish. Once again, Vyse's glass eyepatch proves its worth.



There's a second Moonfish on the balcony of the inn, next to the girl with the delightful haircut. I'm going to call her Skazz.

Skazz: Black Pirates are extremely evil outlaws who steals gold and kidnap women. You better watch out, okay?



This innkeeper is another reason I'll be coming back to Sailor's Island. His dialogue changes as you get more and more fancy titles.



Sailor: Ahhh, Nothing beats being on solid ground! No more rolling motion! No more tilting! It's so beautiful!

He spends the entire game led there, flailing around on the ground outside the inn. It's almost hypnotic.



The lighthouse at the very back of the island holds this little secret. Strangely, it doesn't hold a light source of any kind.

...Hm? Wait, there's a bottle attached to it...And there's a note inside!

Note in the Bottle: “Quetya, please send warriors to help us fight against the evil. Quetya...please send warriors to help us fight against the Valuans.”

Whoa...I wonder who wrote this. It sounds like they're in trouble, whoever it is. I should probably keep it, just in case.

You received a “Note in a bottle”.

And then Vyse pocketed the last hope of a dying people and didn't tell anyone about it.



I live my life searching for exotic and rare things. My dream is to collect all of the rare item in the world! Every last one of them!

Wow! All the items in the world? You've got big dreams for such a little fellow. My dream is to sail all around the world someday.

I know just how you feel! We both have really big goals...I think we'll get along just fine. You're a dreamer, like myself.

Yep...We've both got big dreams. And now, just gotta concentrate on making our dreams come true, right?

Of course! Well, you take care! Don't be a stranger if you're ever in town again!

Hey Pinta! Pinta was the star of a VMU minigame in the Dreamcast version. Since the GC version doesn't have a VMU, the quest no longer exists. Sorry Pinta, guess those dreams are going to go unfulfilled after all.



Finally, this is the ships parts merchant. Normally, these do exactly what you'd expect - selling weapons and armour for the ship. Right now though, he's strictly plot-related.

Ship Parts Merchant: But actually, I just ran out of stock. I'm waiting for the next shipment to arrive. So, I'm a little bored right now. Why don't you stay and talk for a while? I don't have anything to do and I might have some information that might interest you.

So tell me, What's this "information" that you have?

Ship Parts Merchant: I'm glad you asked. It's something I heard from a sailor in his way back from Valua. He says that the Ship Parts Merchant in Valua has started selling a cannon called the "Harpoon Cannon" It's sort of a giant spear-like weapon that they mount on the front of your ship... and it's connected by a rope or something. And from what I hear, because there's a rope attached, you can real that spear like thing back into your ship. Saves money on ammo. I expect it packs a real punch. With a weapon like that, even a small ship can probably hold it's own against larger ships.

A Harpoon Cannon, huh?

You know, we just might be able to use this information to try and convince Cap'n Drachma to take us to Valua.

By gum, the girl's right! To the juice bar!



Mmm-hmm. “Female Sailor”, huh? Why do I get the impression the rum wasn't the only thing censored?



Will you stop callin' me that? You don't sail with me anymore. Therefore, I'm no longer your "Captain"

Really? Oh, that's too bad. I heard about a cannon that might be able to take out Rhaknam, but since you'e no longer sailing with us... I guess it doesn't matter...

... What did you say?



If there's one thing we should have learned from Drachma, it's that you always play your cards close to your chest.

You know, I was amazed when I saw Rhaknam... I've never seen an arcwhale that big before. I used to think that he was indestructible until I knew that there was a cannon that could destroy him... But, you're not sailing with us anymore... So I guess it doesn't really matter... Gee Aika... I'd do anything for a ride to Valua... I wonder who can get us there...

Are you trying to bargain with me, boy?!

Well, since you put it so eloquently... If we are going to give you information that will help you, we expect you to help us.

Hrmph!...



Polly is the barmaid, owner and cook for the tavern, and a damn good cook she is too.

Some Valuan soldiers passing through here were talking about it one day. They said it had enough power to destroy a small island.

... Polly, I hope you aren't takin' their side and lying to me...

When, Drachma, have I EVER lied to you, huh?



And besides, I can tell these kids aren't lying by the looks in their eyes. I've been running this tavern for 20 years. Drachma... I know people. I can spot fakes and liars... and these children are neither...

... Alright, I won't get my hopes up, but I'll take you to Valua anyway.



Hrmph... If you want to go, you'll have to work the ENTIRE way, but I'll take you there...



Another high-five ritual. Makes me wonder if they spend hours at home rehearsing those things.

Cap'n, you're the best! And thank you too, Polly! Thank you for believing us...

Hrmph...



This screenshot is early so you can see the wink she flashes.

Don't sweat it. When you're done with your adventure, come back and tell us about it. This crusty old bunch is dying for some fresh tales.

Aye aye, ma'am! It's the least I can do!

Hahaha... alright... but be careful. Valua isn't know for their hospitality... They usually shoot first and ask questions later.

She's right. Also, we'll need an entry passport to get in. Unfortunately, I don't have one... but I'm sure someone here on Sailor's Island has one.

Valuan Passport, huh? Alright! Let's go look for one... Captain Drachma!





Oh yes, this is Polly's daughter Anne. She terrifies me.

Anne: The specialities of the house are “Steam-baked Maroccas” and “Ocean Style Meatpies”. And then there's Polly's own special Mistral Loqua. Oh, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Polly's daughter, Anne. I hope to see you around!

Strangely, Anne's father is nowhere to be seen. Hmmm...

Troubling thoughts aside, there's only one place to go for a passport.



Guildmaster: Oh! If you have questions about sailing, you're in the right place

I need to get a Valuan Passport sometime... um... soon. Do you know how can I do this?

Guildmaster: Hmm... A Valuan Passport soon, huh? That might be a little difficult... After the initial application, there's an intensive background check... and that can take up to a full lunar cycle.

We can't just sit around for a lunar cycle!!! You're the guildmaster here right? Can't you make a fake passport or something?!

Guildmaster: NO NO NO NO... NO way! If anyone is caugh making or copying a fake passport, they're executed on the spot!

So, what you're saying is that all we have to do is not get caught, right? Or, if we do get caught, all we have to do is escape.

Guildmaster: I don't want the Valuans after me! If I make a fake, and you get caugh, they might be able to trace it back to me! Then, I'm a dead man.

You call yourself a Guildmaster, huh? You're just a Valuan puppet... Let's go find someone else!

That's rather unfair of Aika, really. Not wanting to die horribly is a pretty good motivation.

Voice: Um... Excuse me...



Nasr Merchant: I was in Valua on business and now I'm on my way home. I don't need this anymore. I have but one request to ask of you, and the passport is yours.

Really? You have a passport?! What do you want? Anything... Ask us
anything!

Nasr Merchant: I'm a merchant from the Kingdom of Nasr. Nasr is located on a desert island to the east of here. I've heard rumors that the Black Pirate, Baltor, has been seen in the skies near there...

Baltor, huh? I've heard of him. He's ruthless... He attacks unarmed ships and steals their cargo.

Nasr Merchant: And, what I wanted to ask of you was, well, if you could escort back to Nasr. If you get me safely to Nasr, then I will give you the passport when we arrive. I think it is an even trade, yes?



Easy choice. It's not like we have any other options.

We accept your offer! It's a deal.

Nasr Merchant: You accept? You are wise beyond your years, young one.

Just leave it to us! We'll protect you!

Hrmph... Well, if we want to get into Valua, I suppose we have no other choice...

Nasr Merchant: ... I shall be waiting for you at the docks.

Alright. We'll finish up here and meet you at the Little Jack.

So, what do we do tomorrow, Mr. Vile? The same we did today, Goons: Try to break into Valua!