Part 38: Update 36 – Blue Rogues

Wow, it's been a while. Here's why it's been three weeks since the last update:


Click for video!

This video should have come right after the escape from Valua in the Delphinus, but I managed to completely lose the footage and had to play through the game again to re-record it. Thankfully that's all done now, so we should be back on a normal update schedule again.



And this is the reason for not just telling you the items obtained from the three missing Moonfish.

What's wrong??



It's actually hard to see what's changed from this angle, but we'll be seeing exactly what it is in a moment.

I don't know how or why, but it looks like every time he grows, his body changes in other ways, too.



And this is what we get for our trouble. The Warrior's Heart is a very useful accessory, doubling the Spirit gained at the start of a new turn for one character. The other items from this feeding session are the Ancient Bracer, a nice all-round stat boosting accessory, and the Magillex Idol, previously obtained from Pinta's Quest. There are three idols in total that got shifted from Pinta's sidequest to Doc's, and they all sell for a whopping 25,000 Gold.



I love this sidequest.

M, Maria!!

Heh... for you, Maria, it's no problem at all.



Here's the big change in Maria's not-so-little friend! That giant curly thing on the back of his head is new.





I owe everything to you. I don't know what to say. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, I really do.

Aww, come on, Doc! Don't get all teary-eyed on me. I'll just keep gathering fish to make her happy, ok?

You know, you remind me of a man I used to work with. He was a lot like you; honest, kind... the kind of guy that everyone likes. Well, he was a little more refined than you, though.





...Ramirez?!

Huh? You guys know him?

Well, more or less...

Doc, can you tell us what you know about Ramirez?

Uh, sure...



We were sailing around Mid Ocean when we encountered a ship the likes of which we had never encountered before. And aboard that ship was Ramirez. He was... an odd fellow, to say the least. I distinctly remember the clothes he had on... very unusual. But, Ramirez turned out to be as intelligent as he was good with a blade. Admiral Mendosa grew to like him rather quickly. Admiral Mendosa saw that he had potential and began training him to become an officer of the Valuan Armada. He had high hopes for him... We were all surprised at how little he knew about the world, but he was so honest and sincere that everyone loved him. And I, too, was glad to have a crewmate who seemed trustworthy. Someone I could call a friend.



Thank you very much for all your help, m'lord.

Way to go, Ramirez! I always knew you'd make the cut.

Thank you, too, Doctor.

Oh come on, you can stop calling me “Doctor” all the time. Everyone just calls me Doc.

Mendosa: Hahahaha... you two never change. I just want to let you know, you two are like sons to me. The sons I never had. I hope I can count on you as my right hand men.

M'lord, yer being a little greedy there, aren't ya? M'lord already has two lovely daughters of his own, and yet he wants sons, too?

Mendosa: Hahahaha... That's not what I mean. All I'm saying is that you two can count on me as you would a father.

….. M'lord... I thank you. You do not know how much this means to me.

Who woulda thought that Doc and Ramirez used to be buddies...

Ting-a-ling!

Alright, Maria! I hear ya! I'll be there in a second. Vyse, please feel free to come by and visit whenever you want. I'm sure Maria and her little feathered friend will be happy to see you. But don't forget to bring more Moonfish with you! I'm sure there's plenty more still out there somewhere!

Alright! This isn't the last we'll be seeing of Doc and Maria this update, but since they should have been posted weeks apart I'm at least going to put them at opposite ends of the update. For now, let's going see what Sailor's Island makes of our new title, Vyse the Dashing!



What.







What is happening.



I...what? Fallen Pirate?



Who. Who has done this to me.



They are going to have to invent new words for suffering when I get to Nasrad.


_{I finally got round to recorded to music that plays in the destroyed Nasrad/Nasultan's palace!}


Click for video!

You. YOU. Summoning ancient weapons to destroy the world I can handle, but nobody, NOBODY touches the Swashbuckler title. You are going down so goddamn hard.

These are probably the people who've been going around Nasrad pretending to be us!! Vyse, we gotta do something!







Well, well, if it isn't Vyse! I never thought I'd actually get to meet the real you! The pleasure is all mine!

Wh, who the heck are you guys?!

I know! These are the creeps who've been going around pretending to be us!

My name is Vize. I used to be a travelling entertainer. My speciality? Impersonations. Lately, I discovered that whenever I impersonate you, people just throw their money on the ground and run away screaming.

Don't think flattery is going to save you, mister!

It's really made my life quite simple. I don't do a thing, and I get rich! All thanks to you! It's like taking candy from a baby! Bwahahaha!

Hey there, big boy. I'm Anita, but I'm sure you'll remember me after today.

B, b, big boy??

Forget that red-headed man-girl and come with me. I'll show you the true treasures of this world.

H, hey!!! This girl is really starting to get on my nerves!

I'm Faina. If we kill you, we'll become the “real” Vyse and crew. And nobody will be any the wiser. To tell you the truth, you guys are a big thorn in our side. We're going to have to ask you to die.

...Which, you see, leaves us with very few alternatives. And I believe it is fate that we have met you this day.



Don't think we're going to just sit here while creeps like you just use our names for your own greed! We'll settle this aboard my ship!

Heh heh, I knew you would say that. The real Vyse would never in his right mind think of endangering the townsfolk. And while we're out there, we might as well take your ship! That would complete our image like nothing else! Bwahahahahaha!





Alright, time for a little perfectly symmetrical violence. Actually, make that mostly symmetrical, because the Fakehats, as I've taken to calling them, don't get a fourth party member. Which is just as well, because despite appearances the trio are no joke. They're one of the few encounters that can give the Ixa'ness Demons a run for their money, and here's why.



Firstly, Anita and Faina are hardcoded to use Quika and Incremus on their first turn, so you'll be dealing with powered-up attacks right from the start.



Secondly, Anita and Vize each have two special moves stolen from their counterpart, and they hit hard. Cutlass Wrath can one-shot a character with ease if you're not careful. Fortunately, we have a way of dealing with that now.



First up, Fina's Lunar Winds, an essential tool for dealing with this fight.









Lunar Winds doesn't do a whole lot of damage, but it completely wipes all status buffs on all enemies, making it an absolute godsend for this fight. Even without Increm, Cutlass Wrath can do a good 3000 damage, so getting rid of it should be your number one priority.





Secondly, we have Enrique's Justice Shield, which halves all damage on all characters for a turn. Many people swear by it, and this is one of the few fights where I feel it's really required, because without it the Fakehats are more than capable of killing a character in a single turn.



Here's the big thing you need to worry about from Anita. Anita Burst will do a good 1500 damage to all characters, and if you get both that and Cutlass Wrath coming undefended you have a dead character, guaranteed.

So, how best to deal with them? Personally, I feel that Faina should be your first target, for a number of reasons. Firstly, because it prevents her from using Incremus again, and secondly because it frees up Aika to do something other than Delta Shield on every turn.





And thirdly because Pirate's Wrath can take her down in one hit. She's ostensibly the least dangerous of the three, because lacking Cupil she doesn't have any special attacks, and I'm pretty sure she doesn;t even have a regular attack, but getting her out of the way early is a huge help.



This is the reason I don't like trying to take out Vize first, despite the fact that he's probably the most dangerous one. The counterattacks from Revenge are no problem, but him taking half damage means he can be quite a tank, particularly if Faina decides to keep healing him. Of course, she'd have to hope Anita doesn't pick that turn to use Anita Shield, because the AI isn't very good about not blocking its own spells.



Anita has just enough health to survive a Pirate's Wrath, but with nobody left to heal her a quick poke is all it takes to take her out. With only Vize left he can be taken down in any way you see fit, but I think maybe he needs to learn just what it means to be an Air Pirate.


Blue Rogues...attack!


Yeah! Here goes!


I never miss!


Ba-bam!





Uhhhhh...


Bwahahahaha!


Yaaaaawn


Ahhhh, yes!


Hehehe...you guys looked hungry!


Bless us all!





Vize is buried somewhere in the middle of that explosion. It doesn't do quite as much damage as Prophecy, but...



It also has a number of other effects depending on who's in your active crew. I have absolutely no idea exactly what each crew member does, but it doesn't matter because Vize is long dead by now.



The spoils of war. These are all joke items, one for each main character. The Tuna Cutlass has decent attack, but 0% Hit, which the Swirlmerang has low attack power, but 200% Hit and always causes confusion to anything not immune. The Focus Robe is one item I really wish they'd kept the Japanese name for, the Bizarre Bustier, to keep in theme with the other items. Strangely, Aika can equip it as well, which she immediately does because it boost Will by a colossal 100, at the cost of low defensive stats. On the subject of Japanese names, I also kinda wish they'd been kept for Cutlass Fury and Cutlass Wrath, the Japanese names of which were Cutlass Dance and Cutlass Boogie.



Just please! Let us live! We promise not to do anything bad any more! We're really just big fans of yours... You wouldn't kill your fans, right?

Come on, big boy... Just let us go. Pleeease?

This is pathetic. I told you we never should've gotten involved in this kind of stuff in the first place.

If you guys promise not to use our names to do evil deeds any more, we'll let you live.

So, what do you guys plan to do from here on?



I figure we can just run a Vyse and crew look-alike show. We could probably make a decent living off of that.

I don't know whether you guys really got it together, or if you're just a bunch of flakes.

If you're ever in the neighbourhood, please stop by! We'd love to have you as guest stars on our show! Bwahahahahahahaha!



And that concludes the tale of Vize the Imposter. Now we can go see what people think of our new title.











Much better! With Vyse the Dashing restored to his rightful place, let's round out the update with another visit to Doc and Maria


Click for video!

It takes a couple of feedings, but with the vast stock of Moonfish we've built up this was inevitable.



Our little birdy is getting pretty damn big by this point, not to mention giving out some pretty tasty rewards.





The Consitition Gem, for instance, renders the wearer completely immune to all status effects, including instant death, while the Defensive Aura not only boosts defence by a fair amount, but renders the wearer immune to normal attacks, which is spectacularly useful at times. There's also a second Idol, some valuable gold bullion, and some powerful weapons and armour to be had.





I think maybe it's a good thing he only eats Moonfish, on the whole.

Tell him that I'll bring even more fish next time, okay?

...Ok!



Sure seems like it. I don't know for sure, though. But either way, it seems like they understand each other on some level. Now that I think about even her older sister...

Um... Doc?

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was lost in thought.

Doc, please... tell me about Ramirez. When you first knew him. I must know... I need to know what happened to him... What changed him so.

Hmm... Sounds like you've got some pretty personal reasons for wanting to know. Very well. I told you about how Ramirez and I met, right? Well, soon after that, we were sent to Ixa'taka, just after Valua had begun to occupy the area.



Well... If I may speak freely, I feel that Valua is wrong in its ways. In the way it treats the Ixa'takans.

H, hey, wait a minute there, Ramirez!

Putting the people into slavery, forcing them to mine for Moonstones, and all for Valua's profit? It's horrible.

Ramirez...

Mendosa ...Ramirez. You are absolutely right. I, as a father of two, feel the same way. I feel a sadness deep in my heart for the plight of the people of Ixa'taka. How's this, then? I will personally express these grievances to the Empress herself. Let me deal with it, Ramirez.

...Thank you, m'lord.



Back then, Lord Galcian was still just another Admiral in the Armada, but stories of his military prowess were spreading rapidly. Actually, the reason why Valua had so easily conquered Ixa'taka and occupied it was due to the great military feats of Lord Galcian. Of course, Ramirez went straight to Galcian, being the root of all the evils in Ixa'taka.



R, Ramirez! You can't talk like that to an Admiral!!!

Stay out of this, Doc. This has nothing to do with you. And no matter what happens, I know Admiral Mendosa will stand up for me.

Admiral Mendosa? Heh... Fool.

What did you say?! How dare you speak ill of Admiral Mendosa! I will not stand here and let you tarnish his honour!

It was not Mendosa that I called a fool. It is a you, boy, who follow him so blindly, that is the fool.

Wh, what did you say?

People are not to be trusted. Depend on a person too much and they will betray your trust sooner or later. I only believe in power. Power will never betray you. And that is why I search this land for an even greater power. And if such a power exists, I swear, it shall be mine. You will someday understand the meaning of my words. When that day comes, I will be awaiting you.

…..



And if I had only stopped Ramirez back then, things may have turned out much differently.

Uncle Doc?

Wait a second, Maria! I'll be right there!

Hehe...ever since she started talking again, Maria stopped using that bell and now she calls me by name. And it always makes me feel weak in the knees whenever she calls me “uncle”. Heh... I'm such a sucker for those pretty little eyes.

Alright, we'll get outta your way. You're probably busy, anyway. We'll talk more about Ramirez another time, ok?

Sure thing. And don't forget to bring more Moonfish!

There's a lot more things I'd like to cram into this update, but I'm afraid they're going to have to wait until next time. Fortunately, the wait for the next update shouldn't be anything like as bad now that I don't have to replay half the game to do it. See you next time!

Video List
Doc and Maria 4
Fakehats
Doc and Maria 5