Part 14: Update 12 – The Chameleon

So, at the end of the last update we got directions from Elder Pinkbeard to go see their king in a hut in the middle of the forest. That's not entirely accurate, however.


Click for video!

This is the King's Hideout, a single rather cartoonish tree on an island all by itself. You can investigate it before seeing the Elder but one of the king's high priests just tells you to get lost. Approaching the hideout now, however...





It smells like something is burning...

Look on the horizon.





The forest!!!







You know the drill by now. The Chameleon is named after Chamaeleon constellation, complete with the extra “a”, and it's a fitting name. Thanks to de Loco's constant modifications, the Chameleon changes more often than a tart's knickers.



If it wasn't clear by now, de Loco is completely batshit loco. He flails around pretty much constantly as he talks.

Witness the awesome power of my Flame Cannon! The thicker the forest, the more it burns! HAHAHAHAHA!!! After I burn down the forest, I will be able to find the City of Rixis,and the Moon Crystal will be mine!!!

Vice Captain: Lord De Loco! There's a ship approaching from the aft. It matches the description of those Air Pirates!



Perfect!!! PERFECT!!! He's just in time to feel the heat from my Flame Cannon!







I hope he doesn't die too fast! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!



Whoever it is, he'll have to deal with me!

If we get hit by that blast of fire, we're done for. We'll have to dodge the flames, and counterattack!

Ship battle time!







Here's the battle grid for the fight. At a glance it looks like a really easy fight, with critical rounds all over the place and hardly any bad attacks incoming. On this occasion the first glance is completely right, de Loco is nowhere near as tough as Belleza was, so if you survived that then should be no problem. While I could probably end him in three rounds or so, there's something I want to show off so I'm going to go easy on him.



Unlike secondary cannons and torpedoes, primary cannons are affected by the strength of the user, so Drachma is the go-to guy for firing them. Everyone else is stuck Focusing for a bit because I'm going to need a fair bit of SP soon. There's actually an alternative to this now, but I'll get into that later.



Oh, and de Loco goes nuts the first time you damage his precious ship.

Vice Captain: Lord De Loco! We much repair the damage to the ship as soon as...

Silence! It may be damaged, but a perfect machine will never break down! Heehee...just you watch! I'll be sure to give you a taste of each and every one of my cannons!!



This is what I was waiting for. When the next round keeps flipping between two different possibilities like that it means there's something you can do to change the next round of battle. Obviously, we want the one where there's two opportunities to fire the Harpoon Cannons and no nasty counterattacks.



And this is how you do it. Ignore the C! Squares at him hard on the last column of this round and...



What.



Okay, change of plans. If you don't hit him hard on that turn then he brings out his Flame Cannon, putting you on the other possible path.





Fortunately this path also has a chance to fire the Harpoon Cannon so I can get revenge.





Dodge that, you cheating bastard!



The Chameleon actually has pretty respectable defensive stats, but without the offensive power to back it up it's only a matter of time before it goes down.









Case in point. His Flame Cannon does less damage than Belleza's Wevlen, and she often stacked that with torpedoes and secondary cannons. Plus, the Little Jack has more HP now, so de Loco's trump card is something of a bust. On the other hand, the voice quip for it is great, his voice actor chews up the scenery so much he must be gnawing on bedrock. NOW I WILL KILL YOU! BURN! BUUUUUUUUUUURN!



That's what you get for scratching my ship!

Damn! I didn't think that flying piece of junk could do that much damage!

Listen, boy. Focus our cannon fire on the turn right before he attacks. It will knock him off balance. His ship is relatively small. If we can knock him of balance, he might not be able to use that cannon!





Anyway, de Loco is somewhat single-minded about his superweapons, so he just keeps repeating the same tactic over and over. This time, however, the odds are in my favour.



Also, I'm starting to make a habit of this. De Loco may be easy compared to Belleza, but he can still put the hurt on if you take him too lightly.





Much better! Also, note that I survived that hit with 320hp. And 11 SP, which isn't enough to fire the Harpoon Cannon.



Vice Captain: The last enemy attack threw us off balance! We can't get a lock on the target!

WHAT?!?! What are you fools doing?! Do I need to tell you how to do your jobs?!?! Damn you, Vyse!! Damn you!!!



On the whole it's probably for the best that I couldn't wipe him out with the Harpoon Cannon, because that scene only shows up at the end of the round rather than the beginning. Also, his HP is low enough now that I can just cherry tap him. What I actually do is bombard him with torpedoes, of course.





Yes, I'm sure nothing but good will come of crashing a blazing inferno full of flamethrower fuel into the forest.





Again, he flails about madly and vents steam all over the place until collapsing.



Shake-shake!

Vice Captain: We must retreat! Head back to Moon Stone Mountain!



They're probably searching for the Moon Crystal, too. We've got to hurry!

They're probably searching the Moon Stone? After Belleza outright told you they were here looking for it? In fairness, De Loco could well have just been burning the forest down for fun. He's the only one of the Valuan Admirals who is wholly and irredeemably evil.



Anyway, onto the King's Hideout!





King Ixa'taka: They also told me that you drove off the fire-breathing ship that was destroying our land. I thank you on behalf of my people, the forests, and Quetya.

It was nothing... really... We were just doing what we thought was the right thing to do.



As opposed to the...hut he was living in in Horteka. Also, King Ixa'Taka is a lot younger than I was expecting the first time I played the game. I can only assume seniority in Ixa'Taka is determined by the ridiculousness of your hair decorations.

King Ixa'taka: However, I will do anything that is within my power as King to reward you. Is there anything I can do for you?

Actually, your Majesty, we did have something to ask of you. We are looking for the Green Moon Crystal...

King Ixa'taka: The Green Moon Crystal? Perhaps you speak of the legendary Sacred Green Stone. The men from Valua came looking for the same thing, but I don't know where it is. However, if the stone did exist, it would probably be located in the Lost City of Rixis.

Lost city?

Rixis... I believe that was the name of the capital of Ixa'taka in the Old World.

King Ixa'taka: You are correct. And it is said that the buildings... even the streets were made of pure gold.



Calm down, Aika. You're embarrassing me. So, do you know where Rixis is located?

King Ixa'taka: I'm afraid not. It has been hidden for generations... Our people call it the City of Mists. It may not even exist anymore... One of my High Priests knows a great deal about the Old World. His name is Isapa. If anyone would know, it would be him.

I see... Would it be alright for us to meet Isapa?

King Ixa'taka: Hmm... Isapa is not here. The Valuans took him to Sacred Mountain... In the mountain is a mine that contains what you call "Moon Stones".

So, the Valuans kidnapped one of your High Priests and he's being held prisoner in Moon Stone Mountain... Vyse, what should we do?



Easy choice, although I'll bet everyone replaying the game wishes it wasn't.

Let's break into the Moon Stone Mines! We can try to save Isapa!

Hmm... it appears to be our only option. Breaking into a Valuan stronghold isn't going to be easy...

King Ixa'taka: You're willing to risk your lives to save Isapa? Our Sacred Mountain is south of the Horteka Village. Be careful..

Leave it to us! Onward to Moon Stone Mountain!

Hoo boy, Moon Stone Mountain. I'm trying to move to shorter updates here, game! .

But still, just as Vyse says, next update it's onward to Moon Stone Mountain!

Video List
The Chameleon