Part 50: Update 48 – I am the Night

Wow, it's been a while. Turns out that Batman: Arkham City is massively addictive as well as being a stonking good game. Er, sorry about that. If you pay close attention, you may see some influence from that on this update!

If you remember, last update we were headed back from outer fucking space to our goddamn pirate base oh god I love this game.





Turns out that while we were gone the crew were busy rebuilding the smoking ashes of our home into a respectable base again. Handily, all the buildings get restored to their upgraded state rather than the basic log cabin, and we don't have to pay a penny for it!



Meanwhile, Ryu-kan has been busy doing jack shit and the Velurium blade still isn't ready. Oh well. Let's take a quick tour of the base before we head out and explore the world, shall we?



I can't quite see the Silver Shrine, even with my eyes. It must be standing at a very high place. I am a little surprised.



Well then... let me check out your Discovery Log.

Vyse! You've completely filled your Log Book! You're amazing! Vyse, you are one of the greatest explorers in history! Not even the Legendary Daccat can measure up to you! You are worthy of my most prized possession! You can have my title as “Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire!”



Actually, we can't! Vyse, King of Rogues is the best standard title in the game. The only way to upgrade it from here is to get one of the special titles, a few of which we'll be seeing before long. Some of them we will decidedly not be seeing, like Vyse the Fisher King for catching 1000 fish.

On with the tour!



While you were off adventuring, I was bustin' my butt working on these buildings.



I would like to wear this while dancing, but it does not move well enough. Kirala said it would take 500 gold to fix it. Do you have the money?



I have absolutely no idea what this does, but what the hey. 500g is a pittance by this point even if had anything left to spend my vast fortune on.

Really? Thank you very much! I will give the money to Kirala right away!



Did you notice how fast some of those ships were, and the ones that can dive beneath the clouds? If only Valua would use their technology to help people...

That's because they were Spectre class battleships, the class that the Delphinus was the prototype for. Ramirez's flagship the Monoceros has been upgraded to Spectre class as well, as if he wasn't dangerous enough already.



I helped Izmael a lot, too! Okay, well...I only painted the walls, but it was still a lot of work!

Remember when Marco was just a kid who had given up on life? Vyse tends to have this sort of effect on people.



What's a chicken? You mean the Koketas?

And with all of the extra debris, we had a huge bonfire at the pond. We had the best time!



Seriously can't stop showing that face every time she makes it.



Wish she'd stop making that one, though. It kinda creeps me out.



Lilly: But that Admiral, he was good-looking. I love a man in uniform. But guys that kill people don't really do it for me. Oh, no offence...I mean, you're one of the good guys. I don't like bad people.



Nara: She once attacked Gordo's ship to steal the ultimate pie crust from him. I look up to Captain Clara. She is a perfectionist.

Is it just me or do these two seem a little...unbalanced? I mean, Belle is pretty unbalanced too, but in this case I mean mentally.



Woo! Free to sail the skies once more!



As ever, our first port of call is Sailor's Island to show off our shiny new title, but as it happens we also have some other business here today.









Suitably impressed, I feel. Now then...


Click for video!

Fuck yes! Eat it Gilder, you handsome rogue!

But enough of that. We came her for a reason, and that reason has been loitering outside the inn since about Nasrad.



Remember this guy? We could have fought him a long time ago, but I've put it off until now for a number of reasons. Let's go introduce ourselves, shall we?




Click for video!

Heh...looks like we've got a live one here. At least this makes the bounty more interesting.

I hear that you've been thrashing up cities with that machine of yours. Your name's Lapen, right?

Heh, what of it? And what...you here to try and stop me or somethin'?

Well, that's the plan. The name's Vyse. Vyse of the Blue Rogues. We're here to earn a little cash.

So...you're this “Vyse” that everyone keeps talking about. You're makin' quite a name for yourself. This day's turning out to be quite interesting. If I can defeat you, that means that I'll become even more famous than you!

Let's fight outside of the city. I don't want anyone not involved to get hurt. Come to my ship and we'll fight there.

Heh...coward. But if fighting outside makes you feel more comfortable, whatever. You'll need all the help you can get to beat me.



Damn right I did. It's the only thing my good-for-nothing pops ever taught me.

Dad? You have a dad? I figured you must've just hatched from an egg and crawled out from under some rock somewhere.

Watch your mouth! Besides, he's not even my real pops. He just found me somwhere and decided to raise me. I didn't ask for help. He just picked me up and brought me home. Anyway, his name is Centime...the coward.

Wait a minute...Centime is your dad???

Hah! I doubt it. I don't see how Centime could have raised a slime ball like this.

I said watch your mouth, wench! You don't know a single thing about what you're talking about!





Me and Gunarm are gonna be big! Real big! Not like that old fart of a dad! Vyse, I'm gonna rip you apart with this machine! You best come at me with all you got because I'm not holdin' back!





And now you see why this fight can be problematic. Rather than fight Lapen himself, we fight his giant tank, Gunarm, and a battalion of those little cone things, Frocks.

Still, I remain completely unphased because this update is brought to you by a simple question: What Would Batman Do?



For example, Batman would know that the Frocks always attack the character with the lowest HP, and consequently equip Fina with the Defensive Aura to completely negate those attacks.



And he would know that the dreaded Moonstone Blast not only deals heavy damage, but carries an additional effect of instant death.



An additional effect that can be completely negated by Gilder's status-blocking Aura of Denial.



The fact that the Frocks will now be targeting Vyse presents no problem to the summoned spirit of an ancient pirate.



In fact it's almost a bonus, because despite the animation the counterattacks of Skull Shield are still based on the attack power of the character, meaning that Vyse's counterattacks can kill off the Frocks with ease.



Trying to kill the Frocks off is mostly an exercise in futility because they'll just be summoned back, but if you can kill all three at once as a side effect of blocking all damage then that's a pretty good deal for a measly 5SP.



Besides, more time spent killing Frocks means less time spent unleashing giant piratical explosions on robot tanks.



Our reward for trouncing Lapen is the Berserker Mail, which is going to be Vyse's armour of choice for the rest of the game. The defence is nothing special, but it adds a handy 20 attack and accuracy. Very nice.





Lapen, I think you might have misjudged Centime...

Your dad is the best machinist in all of Valua! Heck, maybe even the world! And of top of it, he's a kind-hearted man, who looks after young orphans like you and Hans.

Just shut your mouth already, will ya?! You don't need to tell me that...I know! But...but I'm gonna be famous! I need to become famous! I can't sit around like pops and wait for something big to happen to me! That's why I left home! I left to become a legend!





Says the King of Rogues and most wanted man in the world.

Heh...I guess I can't blame ya, though. I left home to find my own adventures, too. So, I guess you and I aren't so different. We both have so much to do ahead of us. But, if you rush things and try to make a name for ourself by destroying towns, then you'll only be known as a criminal, not a legend.

Hmph.

Well, we'll see ya around, Lapen. Next time we meet, I hope we're both a little closer to achieving our dreams.

…..



And thus falls the first of the two bounties I have planned for this update.

The second bounty though, oh god. He's actually shown up in this update already in the form of the wanted board. Go back and check, he's the only one on there that we haven't met yet.

That strange juddering you just felt was everyone who has ever played this game shuddering in unison. Time to go meet Daikokuya the Wealthy, quite possibly the most notorious of all the bounties, which is saying something.



He hangs out in a solid gold ship floating way over the cloud level above Glacia. That's your first hint that this boss is going to be perhaps a little eccentric. It will not be the last. But hey, what's a rogue's gallery without the occasional screwball?





Not bad, not bad!! Of course, I would have it painted in gold and purple. Gold makes everything look better.

Vyse! Over there!





What?! You mean to tell me that you're the same Daikokuya that's got a bounty on his head?!



Then I heard about your adventures in Yafutoma. I realised then that the life of an Air Pirate was the life that I had been craving! So, I bought a ship, got together a crew, and built this machine, “Tama”, for my personal use.

The machine in question is a maneki neko, the same thing upon which the pokemon Meowth is based . I'm positive that Tama means something as well, but I can't work out what it is for the life of me. There is a real maneki neko named Tama in Kishi Station in Japan, but since that didn't happen until long after this game was released I suspect they're both named after the same thing rather than one being named after the other. I'm buggered if I can work out what it is though, so if any Japanese-speaking goon wants to puzzle it out for me I'd be grateful. I wouldn't be surprised if “Daikokuya” was a pun on something either, come to that.

I wanted to travel the skies in search of fun and excitement, just like you, Vyse!

Well, it's not all fun and games, you know...

Nevertheless, I believe that it was fate that we have met this day. I think your head would make a fine trophy for me to take home.

Sounds good. Only problem is you'll have to beat me first!

Heh heh...fool! There is nothing in the world that money can't buy!

Not true! You can't buy Agile seeds, because there are limits to how much even Illchymis will let you break the game!

Very well, en garde, Vyse! I shall make you remember this day!





Hoo boy, Daikokuya. If you don't know exactly how to approach it then this fight is an absolute nightmare. If you do know exactly how to approach it then it's merely very, very difficult, but since this update is brought to you by VENGEANCE and THE NIGHT, I plan to show of as little of that as possible.

The first concern is his two bodyguards, Youjin and Bou (Youjinbou is Japanese for bodyguard!). It a lot of ways they're more dangerous than Daikokuya himself. They hit hard, especially Youjin with his Wind Slash, which can do 2k+ to anybody unfortunate enough to be in front of him. Meanwhile, Bou can use the same power/speed/healing potions as the Tenkou guys. You really, really don't want to be dealing with a buffed up Wind Slash, and god help you if you let Daikokuya keep his Increm. Dispelling that with Fina' Lunar Winds is priority one in this battle.



As if that wasn't bad enough, Daikokuya can summon more of his bodyguards, up to three at a time. Since the bodyguards have 5000hp apiece, taking them out isn't really an option, doubly so since they will invariably use Counterstance when you try to hit them. On the other hand, having more than one Youjin out at a time is a recipe for disaster, and probably the only situation in the game when you'll be taking damage faster than you can heal it.



For that reason, this is one of the few fights where I find it better to use Incremus rather than Glyphs – you really want to have Increm on everyone to reduce the damage taken, rather than just on Vyse.



Oh god no he has Eternes and I forget to cast Delta Shield .



Good thing Aura of Denial also blocks the instant death effect of the Eternes line, huh?



Counterstance does not block the instant death of the Eternes line. Taking the Youjin out will make the fight a whole lot easier, at least unless -



AAAAAAUUUUUGH.

THIS is the reason why this fight can be so absolutely nightmarish. If you were previously on top of the fight, it means things are about to go horribly wrong. If you were previously in bad shape, well...


Money makes the world go round!

Golden Flurry is hitting me for a good 1400 per character straight through Increm, so if you're already hurting for health that can outright kill several characters. That's not the problem, though. The problem is that it also inflicts confusion upon all characters. When that happens, you're quite possibly going to wipe before you ever regain control of your characters.



Which is why I brought Gilder and his wonderful Aura of Denial along, of course.



Once you have Daikokuya on the ropes the fight only gets easier, especially if you rigged the fight in your favour by pitting yourself against three Bous. Their AI is bugged, so they see that Daikokuya is on low HP and try to heal him, but they can only heal other bodyguards . Thus, they keep fruitlessly throwing crystals at one another instead of making you burn your turns healing itself of blowing Daikokuya to kingdom come.



The Pharax Idol is the final idol that originally came from Pinta's Quest. Both it and the Gold Pollen serve no purpose but to be sold for money, appropriately.





Now, before we carry on, I just want to assure everyone that all of the following is transcribed directly from the game. I swear on the grave of my murdered parents that I am not making any of this up.

That power...that strength! I guess there really are things in this world that money can't buy!

You've learned quite an important lesson! So, why don't you just stop wasting your money and quietly go home?

You are speaking to the one and only Daikokuya! While I promise to cause no more trouble, I will not discontinue my travels around the world!

Hahaha, you're an energetic old guy, aren't ya?



I'm frozen stiff. I was hoping that you would warm me up, Vyse...

W, warm you up?! Uh...you're joking, right??

Only partly, but I know your love belongs to someone else. I guess this means I've found yet another thing that money cannot buy.



All hands on deck! Prepare for emergency escape!







I bet Batman never had to deal with this.

I think that'll just about do it for this update, and next update we should probably stop playing around collecting bounties and get on with that whole saving the world thing. Tune in then, same Bat-time. Same Bat-channel!

Loose Cannon Lapen
Daikokuya the Wealthy