Part 35: Middleport Miscellaneous

So last time we cut off Snowe's head again and damn did it feel good, but...



...just like last time, we're actually going to let him off the hook because he's just so pathetic. (Watch this. It's short.)



And just like last time, he'll reject our generous offer, much for the same reasons.



And again like the last time, we're putting him on a boat.



Hint: it's because you suck.



We're expected at the nest of pirates, but...



...I have some preparations to make first. This guy is actually hanging around this place from the very beginning of the game, but this is the first time he becomes recruitable as you need both Katarina and access to Razril to do it.

Master...

Don't call me that... It's ancient history. I've long since retired.

...

I believe I know the entire story... Well, how about it? Can this old man come along as well?

M-Master?

I'll leave the decision to the leader. What do you say, Lazlo?



Much as I love the lower option...

All right, let's go. Since I am going, I intend to work hard with no regrets.

...I'm not about to turn down free Stars of Destiny.




Konrad is kind of shit, just like Katarina. I guess his shittiness explains her shittiness, given he apparently trained her, but... eh.

He is supposed to be our Definite Fire Mage, with a 4 in that element and 3 in everything else, but while it starts out good, his magic is going to fall behind the "real" mages as they keep gaining levels, and he doesn't have much else going to make up for it. It's not a whole lot of magic he's losing out on, but it may well put him at one rather than two fourth level spells by endgame (which is what we can expect from the best casters). He does have a unite with Katarina, though.

Hmm? So, you have many party members. I shall go on ahead then.

Another nice thing about Konrad is that he comes with his own Rage Rune, and it is not locked to him, so swiping it might not be a bad idea.

Well then, on with the next guy.



This... gentleman... is waiting in the back alley.

Oh, and I don't think I said so before, but hitting L1 will send you into first person mode so you can get a closer look at things. Though sometimes you might come to regret it.

Well... Perhaps the time has come for me to test my strength. I think I'll come with you.




Karl punches things. That's about all he does. Except when he doesn't punch them because he can't hit them. Really, just another strong-but-not-terribly-accurate character. He has a unite with Helga, for some reason.

Then I shall go on ahead.

Then I had to return to the inn because I realized I had forgotten something.



There's a familiar face!

What exactly are you up to?

Valid question.

Humph, it's Ramada. He put me up to it. If you're going to thank someone, thank Ramada. Come on, let's go.

...less valid answer. I'm assuming that was before he joined my side and all, because otherwise Mr. Ramada and I are going to have to have a very short conversation.




Maxine is our Definite Wind Mage and she's actually not bad at all. She naturally has a 4 in wind magic, and 3 in everything else, she shares the best MAG in the game with people like Jeane and Ted, and her speed isn't completely in the shitter. Like Konrad, she comes with the high-tier version of her favoured elemental Rune, but in her case, she most definitely is the best possible user for it.

Humph... Well, I'll be going on ahead.

And so she does.



This lady is waiting outside the armour store.

I have spent plenty of time alone in the mountains, honing my swordsmanship. When I came into town, I heard of you and could not contain myself. Allow me to join you in battle, sir. Please...

Can't say no to a request like that! From a warrior in proper armour!

Yes, please come with us.




Gretchen is another decent sword fighter, but we've quite the selection of those at this point. She has a unite with Kika and Jeane, but doesn't really stick out much otherwise.

Then I shall go on ahead.



Another lady is waiting for us at the item store.

Won't you join us?

Meaning, get on your ship? Hmm... All right, I'll get on your ship. It'll help me with my investigation... I'm investigating a certain "Vanished Village." It's a village that was on the border of Scarlet Moon and Kooluk. Apparently, Graham Cray, the "Merchant of Death" seems to have been behind the incident that caused it to vanish. You've been pursuing him as well, right? Shall we look into it together, then?

I guess we could do that. I'm more interested in lasering him in the face, honestly, but eh.




Frederica is an archer (the quiver over her shoulder might have tipped you off) and does kind of general archer things, being fast and accurate but not hitting terribly hard. She has a weak hit-all combo with Ted and Aldo.

Then, I'll be going on ahead.



The treasure chest has vanished from the rooftop, but there's a... person... up here now.

What are you doing at the Hall of Knights?

I was asked to help the people here. Well, I'm kind of like their bodyguard. Those Kooluk bastards burned everyone's houses down, so the citizens had no choice but to gather here.

Nor pictured: burned houses.

Won't you join us?

But I have to be here for the people...

Lady, did you see what I did to the Kooluk posted here? They're not coming back.

Man: Lady Ameria, please go on ahead.



Man: Yes. Razril has been rescued. This will be a fresh start for us. Thank you so much for everything. We hope you will put your incredible skills to good use for the masses.

Incredible skills? I like it!

Okay... Then our contract's over. I understand. Lazlo, I'll go, too. After all, I'm already in it up to my neck. Until the conflict reaches a conclusion, I'll cooperate with your side. You'd better be grateful.

I'll have to look at your stat block first.




Ameria is Millay, but worse - all her stats are the same or lower, except for HP which is better, but it's questionable how much that helps since she has worse defence anyway. Just like Gretchen, she has a unite with Kika and Jeane and doesn't stick out much apart from that.

Well, I'll be on my way.



Two more to go, and the last ones are in Middleport. The first requires us to go talk to Pablo.

This Warlock person is so incredible, they say Rune Cannons would never have come into existence without him. Let me give you an idea of just how great it is. First, he found a way to put a Rune's power in a Rune Shell...

Sorry, tell me later.

Oh, p-pardon me! When I start talking about Rune Cannons, I just can't stop! S-So, what I wanted to say is... If we're ever in Middleport, I thought we might get him to join us. Though, by now, he might be quite elderly. Also, the atelier apparently has some sort of trap, where we're supposed to "Choose The Wrong Way" or something.

...Pablo, I kind of hate you.



Anyway. To get to Warlock, we must examine the chest in the abandoned house at the end of the alley in Middleport.

24 Potch.



Then we fall through the floor. (The chest in the corner has a map and an ocean rune piece.)



The aptly named secret underground path is just a lot of branches and dead ends. There are several chests down here, but most of them contain pretty shitty rewards.



This is one of them. (He's wearing the Hero armour now, so all those -5 are from the loss of its boosts, but still, this is pretty bad.)



La la la. Champion's Rune, you are my bestest friend.



There's an actual miniboss down here that we can't avoid, but... well, you saw my party. It goes down in a round without ever taking action.



The lab awaits at the end of the path.



Why are you in this dimly lit place?



Get out. You're interrupting my work. I have no time to talk to you.

What's that, old geezer? I say you have time, so you have time.

What? You still want something?

Please fight with us against the Kooluk!

Fight against the Kooluk? Did you not know that I used to sell Rune Shells to the Kooluk? What are you, an idiot?

Boy, if I didn't need you for the best ending, I would kick you right square in your shriveled old man balls.

Let's fight together against the Kooluk.

You sure are a pesky one. I suppose I can help... but only because you insist. I, too, have a human heart and all.

Yeah, I can see, it's in a jar on your desk. What's that bubbling green liquid you keep it in, though?

I have no intention of saying the war is my responsibility, but I'd like to put an end to it. Anyway, shall we go?

You just start shuffling now and maybe you'll catch the boat before it sails.




Warlock is, technically, our Definite Earth Mage - much like the previous ones, with a 4 in his own element and 3 in everything else. Kind of like Konrad, though, he suffers from the fact that he's not very good. He's slow, and with that defence and HP, he might not survive long enough to take action at all. Lastly, the earth rune only has one offensive spell, so he won't get much out of that 4-rank. On the positive side, though, that EVA is downright baffling, and he has a unite with Pablo. He also comes with free Flowing and Mother Earth runes - the higher tiers of Water and Earth, respectively - which is really probably the best thing about him, and also the reason I don't care to dig for them. Speaking of which...

Water
1: Kindness Drops - Fully heals and corrects status of one ally.
2: Breath of Ice - 100 water dmg to enemies
3: Kindness Rain - Heals all hp and status for all allies
4: Silent Lake - Blocks all spells for five turns
5: Mother Ocean - Restore 1 ally's HP+status+combat state.

Kindness Drops is your go-to single target heal, and it's the big reason I'm not keen on the Flowing Rune. Kindness Rain at level 2 instead of 3 is nice, but Breath of Ice is more or less worthless regardless of its level, Silent Lake is something you never use outside very specific circumstances (read: the training hall) and Mother Ocean is a resurrection spell but by the time you can use it, you probably don't care. You can buy revival items pretty cheap, and while they only restore 100 HP instead of full, a fourth level spell slot is rather expensive. Better not to let people get killed.

Earth
1: Clay Guardian - +30% DEF and MDEF for all allies for three turns
2: Vengeful Child - Protects one ally from magic attack once
3: Guardian Earth - Cure all status and field effects for allies.
4: Earthquake - 800 earth dmg to all land-based foes.
5: Canopy Defense - Protects allies once from all MGC.

Most of these are extremely situational and the only ones you really care about most of the time are Clay Guardian and Earthquake. Having Earthquake at level 3 is quite nice, but on the other hand, that means losing Clay Guardian. On the other other hand, by the time you have access to Mother Earth runes, you probably don't care about Clay Guardian any more. Regardless, it takes up a lot of space for a rune with only a single generally good spell, especially one that isn't of a low enough level to be spammable.

Then, I will go on ahead.

We're leaving, too.



Sure have!







After leaving and coming back, there's someone new in the abandoned house.

What are you doing?

After this residence became vacant, I was told I could renovate it, but it's in such horrible condition... Wait a second... You... I know you. You're the leader of the masses!

Indeed I am! No autographs.

I know, I'll just go to your place. That pretty ship would be a nice break from remodeling this rundown house! Okay? It's all right, isn't it? It won't do you any good to say no! I bet you want it as well!!

h... help?

Because you... have that book that I wrote!!

Oh.

Oh, yes, I do. One of the NPCs outside gave it to me. _{I didn't show it off because it was just like HEY TAKE THIS BOOK I DON'T WANT IT ANY MORE.} I was going to use it for kindling...

Well, I'll be going on ahead. You can look forward to seeing the ship's rooms remodeled. See you later.



Pecola is the last recruit for now, and she feels like another piece of evidence for the Suikoden IV Was Rushed theory.



She lets you use all those furniture items you've picked up...



...and the room she's standing outside will change depending on which ones you pick. I would guess this was originally supposed to have a bigger effect, like maybe even the entire ship - which would have been pretty awesome - but all it affects is this one room and there's no real point to it. At least the paintings on Lazlo's walls are something I see every time I go in there to rest.



Different pieces will make it look drastically different, though.



Funghi is also hanging around here now.



He's selling more useless food stuff. The special lunch heals 200 HP, so it's not that bad, but status ailments aren't really a thing.

Anyway, that's all we have for today. Next, let's see what's up with the pirates' nest.