Suikoden Tactics Part #37 - Sidetracked (XI)

Part 37: Sidetracked (XI) - Roseheim Crestbach III

You know, I expected to have this update done earlier, but then something happened (nicely dating this thread for anyone who reads it from the archive _{assuming it ever gets there})...

...and well, one thing lead to another.

Huh? You have some Salt?! Would you mind sharing some with me? I don't have much, but I'll give you something in return!

Anyway, to even get to the main part of this quest, we have to go through that sequence.

First, this chick in Middleport needs salt. We can buy salt in a number of places. In exchange, she gives us soap. We can not obtain soap in other places.

Don't worry, I'll give you something in return. Oh, this is wonderful! Now I can finally do my laundry.

Then, we make our way to Obel and trade the soap for a Pearl Shell...

Hey, isn't that a Pearl Shell?? Please, lemme have it!
Oh, I bet this'll make a fine bracelet for my dream girl. Thanks a lot!
Here, please take this in return.

...and finally to Razril to exchange that for a crystal ball.

Oh, by the way I forgot Merseto carried these things, so no, cats don't make up for their nice body gear with shitty hand gear, because they can get this straight away. It might, however, become less good as more and better stuff becomes available for the human party members.

Speaking of cats, Noah is still cheating and that Dodge is as S-ranked as it ever was.

You may also have noticed another interesting piece of information in this image. Recruiting the three cats put us over the limit to upgrade our skills to A rank.

Also, this thing. You can't see it on this screen, but it gives +30 HP as well, which is not much at this point, but not entirely insignificant either.

Tens of thousands of SP later, let's get on with the meat of this mission.

First the Rose Crest, and now this! Things are finally lookin' up for me!

I wouldn't bet on that. I have cats.

Did you say the Rose Crest?!

It is better than just going

ROSE CREST?

Shaddup! Now, be a good boy and gimme that Crystal Ball!

How about you just kill yourself instead. It'll be quicker.

Sadly, it doesn't seem like he sees the logic in that suggestion.

So basically "defeat all enemy units".

I was considering holding another vote, but I'm pretty sick of grinding and we need to see the cats in action anyway, so I'm sticking with the party from the last fight and our two fuzzy newcomers.

We also have this suicidal idiot along as well, and as always, green stuff, stupid AI.

We better get a move on. I'm sending Wendel to clean up the furballs; they're not a threat, but if we have to kill everything, we have to kill everything. It's not very interesting, though, so I won't be showing any of it.

Claw user, Godspeed. 7 MOV.

Oh, and a funny thing! Once Punishment Magic hits level A? Double-Edged Sword becomes instant.

That's one of the threats to Charlemagne's dumb ass removed. Now about the rest...

The enemies are pretty high level here, so they give out lots of EXP as well.

More importantly...

Huh? Oh, hi, Nalkul.

Don't get too close to the front, okay? Leave that to the stronger guys.

You got it!

Kitty Good Will

The bandits are all fire elemental. All of them. They'll spend a bunch of time throwing down beads, which is good because Charlemagne needs all the help he can get.

Maxine has a natural A in Fire Magic, +1 from the Rage Robe. At S rank, the range of elemental magic increases by one. Sadly, it won't save her from being mostly useless in this battle, but it's neat.

We're not done supporting people, though!

Yeah?

What happened to you afterwards, after all the trouble we went through? What's with the Rune on your hand?

It seems okay. I can use it... without collapsing, like I used to.

Well, I hope so. That's a relief to hear.

And now the two of them get along slightly better. Progress!

When his turn comes up, Charles sasses the bandit band...

You think we're just gonna say sorry and give it back? What a riot! Heh heh heh...

Then you had best say your prayers!

...and runs straight at them like an idiot,

...kind of like this.

I never want to see another one of those things for as long as I live.

Charles is pretty shit at everything, so I'm going to have to distract the bandits. Champo can't do that much (his lack of Bull's Eye makes me hesitant to give him a Berserker Belt) but that's not too bad against dudes on native terrain.

Of course, the unbalanced cat still isn't enough to distract the bandits from going after Charles, and...

Oh.

Yeah, he's fucked.

Nalkul is up next. Being on native terrain and having a Berserker Belt, he deals a lot more damage than Champo... and picks up a crab bun, as well as...

...our loot.

Even with two cats right next to them, the rest of the bandits...

...are determined to ruin Charles' day.

And there he goes.

Kika makes one of them regret it.

Champo is pretty sturdy, despite Nalkul's little lecture before. That kobold-specific gear isn't hurting, either.

Flare Strong Arms a guy to death for a meh level.

Nalkul is turning out really great. On my previous runs, I've kept him through pretty much the rest of the game.

Sadly, Champo can't manage quite as well.

Wait, what's this? An enemy Kika can't one-shot with her second level Falcon tech?

Good thing we have a third level one!

Falcon Storm Thrust is basically the Falcon Rune from IV, though in this case it also unbalances her. Still, it's the hardest hitting physical attack in Suikoden Tactics - for comparison, most other runes peak at 2x damage at level 3. Even nerfed, Kika is ridiculously good.

Lazlo gets a level out of wiping out the last enemy...

...and Maxine, who didn't get to do anything in the real fight...

...finishes the elemental... with a bang. (Or if you want to be more specific, with Explosion, the fourth level Fire spell.)

What. Look, I'm not complaining or anything, but how the fuck did this happen? I murdered the hell out of those bandits.

Anyway, that's a wrap.

Oh, Lord Reinbach... He did not entrust the quest to me alone... He did not trust me. Alas!

And he was right, now stop whining or toughen up so you can do this without dying like a bitch.

It's not like that...

Yes it is!

In any case, we did retrieve it. Let us return it to Lord Reinbach immediately!

uuuh

do I have to

maybe you could

what

okay fine

And of course he plays that theme. Go on. Click it. If I have to listen to it, then you do too.

Yes, despite many trials and tribulations, we were finally able to lay claim to it.

...he says, as if he helped.

Oh... So you all banded together to help return it to me?

No, this loser got his face beaten in by bandits, while I did all the real work.

Lord Reinbach... So I wasn't the only one entrusted with this important mission?

Wait, fuck. He's going to start crying again.

Oh, Lord Charlemagne! You took so long returning that I began to fret, and asked these kind people to help.
By no means did I have any doubts about your exquisitely honed talents.

Look, can we drop the "kind" part? I'm in this for the money. Nothing else.

I am relieved to hear that. Indeed, how could I have doubted your intentions? Can you ever forgive me?

Oh, but it is I who should be begging your forgiveness!

...

Oh, and you know what?

Ah, and your companions, they are...?

This is a D rank quest, and it can be accessed pretty much from the moment the quest guild appears.

The name's Kyril. We're searching for Rune Cannons. Do you know anything about them?

This is the first time you can actually complete it. Well, technically I could have done it before recruiting the cats, but why would I put that off?

Rune Cannons? I know you can't purchase them anywhere these days.

So if you pick it up when it first appears, you really can't do anything with it.

That's true. We want to get rid of them all, so that they won't be used for evil purposes.

Then, you might be tempted to cancel it.

Splendid! Please, allow me to assist you! Will you join us, Lord Charlemagne?

If you do, it disappears and is gone forever.

But of course!

What I'm trying to say is that this is the worst quest in the game.

Then let us sally forth!

And now it's finally over.

Hooray.

The reward, apart from Reinbach and Charlemagne joining us (it does technically put us a couple of steps closer to S-ranking skills), is 8000 Potch and 800 Skill Points, which is looking increasingly wimpy now that we're working with A ranks which can often cost over 1000 SP apiece.

(Well okay, the newcomers aren't completely horrible; they're 1H sword users, and both come with 5 MOV and can learn both Extra Move and Godspeed. They are, however, somewhat unique in that they trade the ability to ride kangacorns for the Narcissism skill, which is unique to them and tacks on a little bit of extra damage after their attacks. Whether this is a pro or a con depends on how far away the enemy is, I guess.)