Part 27: Picking Up Stragglers
There are quite a few characters to get now.
I'm not Oedipus Rex...
In the middle house of Lakewest is this guy, Tetsu. He won't join us unless we remind him of baths. How do we do that, you say?
Fried Tacos are the only food item that causes an effect on your main character's sprite on the world map and on the field screen. The “Toasty” effect restores some HP per turn in combat, but, more importantly...
It makes you look really steamy, which turns Tetsu on. As you can figure out, this guy is our bath-maker. There's a couple funny scenes I'll explore way later on that only occur in the bath.
Also, somehow this causes the boat to steam like fucking hell, too. Damn, these fried tacos weren't kidding!!
Our castle's fucking huge now, by the way. It's level 2, and the main problem I have with expansions in II is that everything gets rearranged aside from the Inn/Tavern/Warehouse/Item Shop. You have to relearn the entire place just to find stuff, it's annoying.
The strip mall for our shops is just along the main route into the castle, and you'll be spending a lot of time in the armor shop in particular for a reason I'll explain later.
Tetsu's bath is located just two screens north of the main entrance.
Yep... it's pretty uninteresting at the moment. It'll get fancier as we progress.
North and then through the right exit from the bath is the future restaurant, where Hai Yo awaits. He'll be here when your castle is level 2 and will never leave so you can acquire him at any time.
He's also really, REALLY, REALLY excited about his food. Hai Yo opens up a restaurant. We can do one of two things with Hai Yo: Have him make food based on the recipes we've acquired (provided you have the ingredients), or participate in cooking duels, which I'll show off later. It's a good idea to wait until much later in the game to do these duels, because participating in them can cause enemies to stop dropping their loot-only recipes, and it prevents you from getting the best Recipe in the game later.
Also, wait until you acquire ALL enemy-only Recipes before giving them to him, due to a bug.
All in all, I like Hai Yo. He also gets all three Rune slots, but his last one isn't until level 65 so you'd have to grind quite a bit for it, however, he can be a powerhouse too.
You rock, crazy chef man. No really he's my favorite character in this game
Back in Radat, we can now recruit Stallion. He claims to have run all the way from Greenhill after the war started, and STILL loves the fact that he's fast as fuck.
Yes, I've run away from easy battles a lot. Anyway, to recruit the Fastest Elf in the World, you need to run away/let go monsters 50 times. It tallies from the moment you start the game.
Stallion retains his Godspeed Rune from the first game, and it still gives you a dash ability on the world map. He's still a thoroughly average battle character, but his insane speed makes the Gale + Spark Rune combo viable for most of the game.
For these next batch of recruits, we need to bring along Chaco and Gengen. If you were doing Clive's quest, you've probably been keeping him in the party the entire time, but nonetheless if you were not, this is the time to bring him again. It's also one of the few times we can kick Nanami out.
Shilo is a gambler. He opens up Chinchirorin back at the castle. To recruit Shilo, simply win 5,000 potch from him at his own game.
It's a little harder to win here than it was against Tai Ho, partially because savescumming the game doesn't work anymore; they've programmed it all differently which actually makes this a game rather than a potch exploit. That and the monetary restrictions.
“Band of merry fellows”? I'm not on Monty Python.
On the right of the pub is our favorite average couple, Hix and Tengaar.
If you have anyone from the original game in your party, they'll come out to greet the two of them.
I figured he did that in the first game, didn't he? Tengaar drags him along to Kobold Village, not to be confused with the Kobold District, to the south of Lakewest.
Indeed they did.
oh well fine mr. Rastafarian man. I'll take my business elsewhere!
In the first hut back in the Kobold district is Gabocha, who is just the most adorable kobold ever. Gengen tells him about how he fought hard back at the Mercenary fort but they won anyway.
As you leave, Gabocha sneaks into your Stars of Destiny anyway. Back to the sewers!
In a small, hidden room, Chaco feels a bit tense.
because his creeper pedophile friend lives here
This guy is really creepy. He thrives on making Chaco uncomfortable.
: WHAT'S WRONG CHAAAAAAAACOOO?
: Waaah! I'm sorry! Please stop!!!! I'll do whatever you say!!!!: Okay. Good boy, Chaco.>>> Chaco, who is this?
“Special friend”
I bet he does. Sid apparently left town, but really, he just went where no one could find him.
While being a creeper, he's also an asshole.
He really wants to know what Chaco's been up to. Sid decides to come along, because “he can't let his little brother get hurt, can he?”
Sid's the other Winger character you can put a Wing Ornament on. As you'd expect, he and Chaco have a Unite. He has a Waking Rune, which makes Sid start the battle asleep, but turn Berserk if woken up. You'd want to place him in the front row if possible.
Now we're heading into the Greenhill area temporarily. First stop is to the east, the Greenhill-Muse border.
Meg, from the first game, is trying to cross the border, but failing.
She now has some weird contraption with her, though.
And refers to it as a 'barrel'. It's just a 'barrel'...
Despite proclaiming “adventure calls”, she's not having much luck.
Gadget ends up doing... nothing.
OH MY GOD IT CAN TALK
>>> Uh, who're you?
Juppo told her to travel to learn the ways of the trickster. He built Gadget for her.
What, did Juppo build a computer into an automated barrel? Uhhh...
Even though he talks, she tends to ignore him.
I imagine when he says “Dinosaur” that his computer voice drops down kinda low to phrase it, since it isn't in caps.
The enemies in the Greenhill area consist of these, some Sauroids, and the HollyBoys. These enemies WILL change in the future so it's best to fight them now. These guys drop the Turtle Plans #2.
Stuck in the northwest of the Greenhill principality is the quiet hamlet of Forest Village. Clive's quest continues here in which he meets an Elza lookalike poised to set Clive off her trail. If you were to continue, you'll need to make it to Matilda in 14 hours.
The old man in the trading post gives us another old book.
You also want to buy Sugar and Salt here for Hai Yo's kitchen, he'll need them.
We head next door to talk to Tony, who works for the mayor. He had a farm that was trampled by Highland when Muse was taken over.
He is our gardener. He'll grow produce that you give to him.
He's hesitant to work for us, but the village mayor convinces him. Talking to the mayor after Tony leaves gives us yet another Spinach seedling.
Next to the armor shop is one of my favorite characters, Wakaba. She's a strong physical fighter and good throughout the whole game.
She only joins if you're above level 30.
She forces her way into the party, and says her master is in Matilda. We won't meet him for some time.
Wakaba is just excellent. She's a little on the weak side defensively, but her speed and power make up for it. Her fixed Rune (which is not unique) deals 2x damage to one enemy but 3x if Wakaba is near death. She has a 50% chance of Unbalancing herself with this Rune, so pair it with a Balance Rune if need be.
This Rune disappears from the series until Tactics, but then is not seen in V either.
Next time: A short update detailing the adventures of Hix and Tengaar, then a vote.
Artwork:
Tetsu – Chiyu Star
Opens up the HQ bath.
Stallion – Tensoku Star
Saved Teresa Wisemail from an arrow after Highland's initial siege on Greenhill.
Hai Yo – Chizou Star
My favorite character in the game. Madcap, zany, crazy about food. Has his own chef battles, cooks good food. What more can you ask for?
Shilo – Chisyu Star
The HQ gambler. People say he cheats and he denies it, but in truth he cheats just a little. He is also a battle character who uses a cigarette pipe like a blow gun; it's called a jiromaru (but is actually a kiseru, translation goof), and it's a weapon popular with assassins in feudal Japan. Is said to have extremely good luck.
Sid – Chido Star
Well known as a weirdo. He would bury the bones of fishes he ate in little graves, and freak out children with his morbid stories. Uses Chaco as a 'toy' but it's really creepy and sorta pedophilic.
Gabocha – Chikaku Star
Simply the most adorable thing ever. His weapon is a Sling Shot! which only adds more exclamation marks as you sharpen it.
Gadget – Chisyun Star
A tiny robot developed by Juppo to aid Meg in her adventures.
Meg – Chikei Star
Went on a journey after the first game, but ended up fighting in a war again.
Wakaba – Chiyu Star
From the nebulous region of the “Southlands”, she trained under her master Long Chan Chan when he visited her village and noticed her talent. At times, she trains so hard she faints, at which point Nash Latkje found her and helped her get closer to Tinto, but she ended up lost and stayed in Forest Village until war called her for strength.
Tony – Chitou Star
Had a field in the Muse area before Highland occupied and destroyed it. Met Nash Latkje once when he was with his daughter thanks to Viki's Blinking Rune.