Part 8: Update 8 part 1 – Flying the Nest

This update is going to split into two because it's kinda huge. It will also be mostly sidequest stuff and townchat and feature next to zero story progression.

First up, let's take a look at our latest party member.



Yeah, Fina starts at level 1, but not to worry, she'll catch up fast. More importantly, just look at that Will. Fina is the dedicated magic caster of the gang, with Will through the roof and the highest MP in the game. Unfortunately, this is kinda a bad thing for two reasons. Firstly, the only spells that are really worth casting are the buffing and healing series and none of them are dependent on Will. Secondly, the tradeoff for all that casting power is a complete lack of any other ability. Fina hits like a wet noodle and takes hits like tissue paper.

So, does all that add up to a bad character? Well, no. Fina is completely redeemed by her Super Moves, which are hands down some of the best in the game. Her final ability is a strong contender for the most overpowered ability in any game ever made.



Unfortunately, you don't get to see any of them because of my force-feeding Drachma all the Moonberries. Needless to say, the next few Moonberries will all be going to Fina.



Fina starts with the first two spells of the Silver school mastered, in keeping with her origins. Curia is the all-purpose status cure, while Risan has a 50% chance of reviving a KO'd ally at 50% HP.



Finally, Fina's equips. Like all the characters she starts off with her own unique stuff, namely her robe and veil. They're both pretty awesome, being vastly better than anything available at the moment. That said, I immediately stole her veil and stuck it on Aika to boost her Alpha Stormin', while Fina got an accessory to boost her survivability a bit.

Fina's weapon is unique. Rather than using a regular weapon that gets upgraded and replaced like the other characters, Fina fights with her little blob friend/pet Cupil. He's actually pretty damn powerful, having higher attack power than Drachma's Hook Hand and a whopping 120 Hit%, compared to a paltry 80% on the Hook. I'll explain a bit more about Cupil in a little bit. First, let's take a good long look around Pirate Isle – we may not be coming back here for a long, long time. A couple of the NPC chats are missing from the video because I am an idiot.


Click for video!

Jimmy: Aren't you proud of us? We did almost all this by ourselves!

You know, I am proud of them. They fixed up the island so good you could swear it just got quietly swapped back to the un-destroyed model.



Alan: Heh...now I feel like I can do anything! Well...almost anything. Your mom helped me move some boxes and stuff...



How are you doing there, little guy! You seem happy enough to see us...hehe...have you been taking care of everyone while I've been gone?

Pow pow pow!!



Lindsi: I missed you do much...I was so worried you wouldn't make it back...

Of course we made it back. We promised, remember?



Patch: I just wanted to let you know that...I'm grateful. Your father raised you well, Vyse.



Jessica: But, just between you and me I still haven't finished that scarf I was knitting. I have to hurry and finish it up!

You are knitting a pink woolly scarf for a pirate. Pink.



Briggs: I owe you onw, Vyse. Looks like I'll be able to go on being an Air Pirate for a little while longer.

And also breathing, eating, not entering rigor mortis, etc.



Martha: He may be a lazy bum...but...I love him. I realised that while he was gone. I missed him so much...But you better not tell him that!!

In Air Pirate society, showing affection for your spouse is heavily frowned upon.



Barbara: Don't tell her I told you this, but your mother was worried sick about you while you were gone. She was so happy when you came home safely.

As is anything more than polite neutrality towards one's offspring.

There's one more above-ground villager to see, but before visiting her let's have a quick shufti around Aika's house.



Well, that would explain why all her skills are fire-based.



Also, Aika would punt him clean to Valua.



So, there's only one bed in her place. She tosses and turns in her sleep a lot, so she needs a rather large bed.



Granny here is the final villager above ground. As far as I know she's welded to her rocking chair and never leaves the house.

Granny: Remember to pray to each of them before you start on your next journey. It is always best to be in favour of all the Moons...



Personally, I think Vyse just has a crippling phobia of underwear.

Anyway, that's everything above ground. Heading into the underground base starts this scene up.

Squeak! Squeak! (This is an actual sound effect rather than text, but it's what triggers the scene so I figured I'd better put it in.)



Squeak! Squeak! (This one is actual text, which Fina seems to understand somehow.)

Really? Here? I see...Vyse, Cupil tells me that there is a Cham around here somewhere.

Cham? What's that?

Chams are little fragments of Moon Stones that fell and shattered when they hit the ground. Cupil eats them as food.

Really? Wow...I didn't know that anything could eat Moon Stones! Where can you find them? What do they look like?

You can find them all over the place, but they're very small, so they're hard to see. But, I'm sure Cupil will let you know whenever we get close to a Cham. He can't seem to sit still or be quiet when there's food nearby.

So all we have to do is search the ground whenever Cupil starts to go a little crazy, right? Let's see if we can find anything here.

The more you feed Cupil, the stronger he will become. He'll be able to change into different shapes and inflict more damage on enemies in battle as he grows.

Cupil's dinner is going to have to wait though, we have a Raider to chat to first.



Luke: Captain Dyne has trained you well. I'm sure you'll make a fine captain someday just like your father.



Ok, Cham time. See that little icon up in the corner? That pops up when there's a Cham nearby, and Cupil starts squeaking. Top A in just the right spot and...



One Moonstone snack! Just the one isn't going to do Cupil any good, so I don't bother using it right away. In the Dreamcast version Cham-hunting was a VMU minigame a bit like hot and cold, but had to be changed for obvious reasons in the port. There's a few more scattered around but that's it for Pirate Isle, so we're free to explore some more.



I think the “it's just juice, honest!” gags are starting to wear a little thin after Sailor's Island.




Remember how I said some of the shopkeepers on Sailor's Island change their dialogue as your Swashbuckler rating goes up? So do the ones here on Pirate Isle.







Landis, that is my job . I'll elaborate later, but he's right, we can now break through one of the two main barriers on the world map.

Landis: If you can get through the stone reef that lies east of Sailor's Island you can reach the continent of Nasr.



What...but...you...HOW!?

A pirate needs to be sure that his swords and his wits are always sharp.



Ben: Oh, and your new ship's call the Little Jack, right? I'll resupply it for you, so you just sit back and relax, Vyse. Every port's got repair and resupply shops, but you need to spend the night if you want your ship fixed.

Items in Skies of Arcadia: So powerful they can even heal plot injuries on unimportant side characters.



Peter: Man, that famous song almost came true for us. We were so close to actually kissing the executioner's block.

There's also two Moonfish scattered around the island, One of them is in the port behind the Little Jack, while the other is at the top of that godforsaken ladder. I'm not going to take screenshots of them because they really wouldn't be very interesting, and I'm not making another video of climbing that ladder so I grabbed it off-camera.



Vyse's Mother: But, I know you well enough to figure that it wouldn't be long before you'd yearn to travel the skies by yourself.

Mom...

Vyse's Mother: It's okay, dear. Everyone ultimately has to fly away from their parent's nest. I knew it was just a matter of when. I knew this day would be coming sometime. It's just... It's just that it came a lot sooner than I expected... or hoped. So stand tall, son. Go chase after those dreams that you'd always talked about. And make sure you take care of Aika, too, okay?



I know I've said it before, but “uncharacteristic” is right, and I love that even the other characters know it.

Dad... Actually, there's something that I have to tell you...

Don't worry... I have a feeling that I already know what you're going to say. I remember when I was your age... The feeling that I had to get away from my own little island and see the rest of the world. But when a man decides to step out onto his own path, he doesn't need to ask for his parents' permission. From now on, you are my equal, son. A man who lives by the skies. There is nothing more honourable than that... Heh... You're late on almost every other occasion, but you sure aren't wasting any time to try and get out on you own...

Dad...

Go on, get out of here, Vyse. Go make your mark in the world.



Just worry about keeping those Moon Crystals out of the hands of the Valuans. And Vyse, we're all counting on you too.

Don't worry Dad. I won't let you down! Well... I guess we should get going...

We'll be back soon! Bye Cap'n! Bye everyone!

Vyse... Aika... Are you sure you want to do this?

Fina, there's no way we can turn this down. After what you told us about the Gigas, I don't even want to think about what the Valuan Empire would do if they got their hands on them. We're the only ones that can stop them. And... well, to be completely honest... I've always wanted to sail the world. And this is my chance... Moon Crystals, lost cities, strange lands... I want to see them all with my own eyes! This is my chance to find out what's really out there.

Fina, you couldn't stop us from going, even if you tried. This is the kind of adventure that Air Pirates dream of. If we passed this up, we'd regret it for the rest of our lives.

I understand. Thank you! Thank you all!

Fina, do you have any ideas where the Crystals might be?

Well, according to the ancient legends, there should be a Moon Crystal hidden in the lands under each of the moons. The closest one from here are... hmm... the Yellow Moon of Valua... and the Red Moon of Nasr.

Well, there's no chance of getting back into Valua right now. You should probably wait a while before going back there... If you go East from here you'll reach Nasr. With a normal ship, you'd probably never make it through the stone reefs on the way...



Sounds like a plan. We're heading East to Nasr and we're going to get that Red Moon Crystal.

We've been standing round here long enough. let's get going.

I apologise for the completely inadequate amounts of Drachma in this update, by the way. This is his only line in the entire thing.

Well... Dad, I guess it's time to say goodbye.

Remember everything I've taught you... Make us proud, son...



Fina pauses after the rest of the group boards the Little Jack, which gives me a chance to show off the neat designs on her outfit. They look almost like electronic circuitry.


_{I know I've said this about a lot of tracks, but this one is really fantastic.}

Before we head to Nasr there's a few things to take care of. Firstly, we can now break through stone reefs, which means access to a few new discoveries.









What? No it bloody doesn't! Silver magic holds the instant death and revival spells, some of which are known by common wildlife. The leader of the Valuan Armada knows them. It's common knowledge that they hold the powers of life and death.





This one hides in the cloudbank near Valua so I could have grabbed it before even going to Sailor's Island for the first time, but I totally forgot about it. Strangely, it's rather solid for an illusion and can't be flown through.



Finally, there's a Cham to be collected in Shrine Island now that we have Cupil in the party. I am now having to use a Moonfish guide, treasure chest guide, Swashbuckler choice guide, Discoveries guide and Cham guide at the same time, and can't stop playing to read any of them while recording. I hope you're all happy. Anyway, there's only one other Cham to be collected in the immediate area and it's on Sailor's Island.



Unfortunately, Domingo here is waiting at the door to accost us.

I'm sure you're heard of me during your travels. I am Domingo, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire! Huh? You've never heard of me, you say? Now, now...you don't need to be so bashful. I know you're truly excited to meet the real Domingo! Nevertheless, I have given up on searching for lost treasures and have taken up a new quest! I now search the world for Discoveries! In fact, I am in the midst of my search for the fabled “Topple Rock”.

...

Who was that? He seemed to be more than a little full of himself...

] I don't know, but it sounds like he's looking for Discoveries, too.

Well. We can't let him get the best of us! We'll just have to find them before he does!

Of courthe, you realithe thith meanth war. Domingo, of course, is going to be our competition to find Discoveries. If I have anything to say about it he won't be getting so much as a sniff of one.



The Cham we came here for is hidden up in the lighthouse where the balloon was.



Feeding them to Cupil is as simple as using them from the menu. It takes two Chams to evolve Cupil to his second form, the Cupil Blade. Even after upgrading Drachma's weapon to the Beak Hand in the shop Cupil is now the most powerful weapon in the party. With a rather nice 115 Hit% and a chance to inflict Silence. Unfortunately, Fina's pathetic base attack and lack of any attack skills whatsoever means it all goes to waste. I'll try to show off all the forms during the course of the game, if I can work out a way for it to not look awful. I also chucked that Vidal Seed in Fina's direction to boost her HP a bit, because she's going to need all she can get.

Anyway, time for a quick exploration of Sailor's Island. First stop is of course the tavern.



Those Air Pirates everyone's been talking about...the ones that have been pushing Valua around...that's you kids, isn't it? Heh...don't worry, I won't turn you in to the Valuans. In my tavern, whether you're a pirate or a soldier, you're a customer all the same.

And while we're fleeing in terror from those lips we may as well check out Valua's wanted list.



Dyne of the Blue Storm? Not only has he shot to second place on the wanted list, he has a title befitting of his badassery. You'd think Drachma might have gotten a boost after what he did to poor Carcer though, rather than being pushed down a place. As for Vyse, I guess last place on the wanted list is a start. He's pushed Domingo and Gordo clean off the list.







I really do like how the various shop and innkeepers change their reactions to suit your stature. It's just such a nice touch.



The ship parts merchant has some stuff to sell now that we actually have a ship. It is absolutely essential that you buy at least one secondary cannon if you're playing along with this at home. I'll explain more about the different kinds of cannon when we actually get to try them out in a ship battle. It's also a good idea to grab some Armoured Decks to boost defence and upgrade the Main Cannons to Standard Cannons. Believe me, you're going to need it.



Finally, the Sailor's Guild. As you can see, Discoveries are a rather nice source of income.



Remember how Domingo said he was looking for the Topple Rocks? Three guesses what this is a hint to. The hints also give you a bit of warning as to which ones Domingo will be finding next. Him finding them is story-based rather than time-based, so if you just grab all the discoveries as soon as you get the ship upgrade that lets you get to them you'll be fine. The problem is knowing where they are, of course.





Finally, Baltor's listing in the Bounty list, along with a new entry. We'll be seeing him before long, of course.

Before that we have more pressing concerns, however. As we try to leave the Sailor's Guild...





Guildmaster: It's a message from the Angel of Death...sounds like you're in trouble. Better watch your back out there.

This is bad, bad news. In piratical terms, receiving a Black Spot is a death sentence. This particular one comes from the Angel of Death, who if you recall was in second place on the wanted list until Dyne shot up there.

In gameplay terms, the Angel of Death is one of the optional uberbosses and it would be apocalyptically stupid to go and do it right now with Fina at a whopping level 6 and with no special moves.

Off we go, then!