Part 49: CH48: Trippy

CH48: Trippy



So I said last time I'd do some sidequesting, here's one now.


There are cats around the world. You feed them fish. After you finish, this happens.






:
: Yeah to this day I do not know what the heck.


There's a bit of a language barrier.


Cat-Crazy Coot: Welcome to Katz Korner, a village located on the far edge of reality.
By the way, I know of...a secret place. You'll find it south of Gralesyde and Wallbridge, at the end of a peninsula.





So you spam the L1 button in this area for a bit...






: This house has been conquered by cats...
: Hey, there's somebody sleepin' here!
: Maybe they're dead.
: That's not funny, Captain!


: I'm pretty sure he's just sleeping, but...
: Excuse me! Hello? Could you please wake up?!
: Hey, you there! Hmm, I wonder...
: Excuse me, sir! Wake up! Wake up, I say!


Cat-Crazy Coot: Just when I was havin' a nice nap, too! What the heck do ya want?! I don't have any money to give ya. Flicked it away, like an old booger.
: Dude, you lookin' to start a booger war?!
: Hey, keep your boogers to yourself.
: You're the man we saw in Katz Korner, aren't you?
Cat-Crazy Coot: Eh? Oh yes, right. You're the ones I saw there.
In that case, I'll give you this.
It's a "Katz Dekoder." Long as ya have it, you can talk to any Katz ya want. You can also have these "Katz Klothez."
: Thanks, sir.
: I prefer dogs, myself...


: What's Fomicry?
: Don't ask.



Anyway, now we can go to the Katz Korner.


The password for this was "foselos" so I'm wondering if this might be located there. There's plenty of room...



Skit: Rating Cats and Dogs


: Woo, cats can't resist catnip.
: Maybe we can take some with us.
: Hey, so you know how people say someone is like a dog or a cat? Well, you're totally a cat, Cheria.
: Um, I guess? I always considered myself more of a dog person. I bet Asbel is, too.
: Naw, Asbel and the Captain are both total cats! Sophie and Hubert are dogs.
: Do you really think so? That seems completely backwards. Well, anyway, what do you consider yourself?
: Oh, I'm a cat for sure!
: Wow, that actually sounds pretty fitting, unlike the others.
I never knew that's how you saw us.
: But, I don't know, Pascal. As much as I think it suits you being a cat, you probably shouldn't pigeonhole yourself like that.
: Woof!
: Uh, yeah, nevermind. I forgot how whimsical you can be. I'll just drop the subject now.



Skit: Crazy Little Thing Called Love


: There are still so many places in our world that we just don't know about.
: Yeah, but does anyone know how we even got here in the first place?
: With L-O-V-E, love!
: Love?
: That's the last word I ever expected to come flying out of your mouth.
: Yeah, I totally agree. What are you talking about, Pascal?
: It's our reward for feeding all those cats!
: Okay?
: Such is love.
: Exactly!
: Huh. That's pretty deep.
: I'm not going to even bother trying to understand.





This is the skit viewer Katz.


Movie viewer.
There's also a music Katz, and some other stuff, but for now we're done here.



: Welcome to the Ghardia Shaft.


: This is the way to the Lastalia.
: And this is our last chance to make things right.
: You said going down here would be like entering Lambda himself, yeah?
: *Nod*
: We can't worry about that now. We'll simply have to face whatever is waiting for us.
: Sophie shared her power. Now all that's left is for us to trust each other.



Skit: All the Way Down


: The ruins on the surface continue all the way down.
: So my theory was right!
I saw some documents on Fodra that outlined a big plan for moving the Lastalia.
: Moving the Lastalia? They wanted the core of our world?
: Nope, the exact opposite! I think the Amarcian predecessors moved the Lastalia out of Fodra and into Ephinea!
: I see. Then this would be the area they used to transport it.
: Probably!



Dungeon Video 1


So this place is chock full of Nova monsters, no surprise there.


The big golem ones are a bit of a pain.


This is the first of (if I recall) two types of puzzles you encounter. You have to cross the colored pads without repeating a color until you've got a full cycle.


Mysterious!



These two are sort of minibosses. I think they're some sort of Tales tradition, but don't quote me on that.




HOOOOO BOY.


This guy is annoying as shit and doesn't deserve his own individual boss video. It's in the dungeon video at 23:36 if you want to see it.


His "nova barrier on" does a lot of damage. Hitting hard is kind of his thing.






There was a period near the end when only cheria was alive and I had to use an Arcane Bottle to Eleth Burst everyone back up, but mostly it wasn't as big a deal as a real boss.


Also mysterious.



: This is the point where the whole "entering Lambda himself" thing began to build up.
: Is that a wall?


: Sophie?


: Hey! How did you get through?
: We can pass, but we have to work together.
Okay. Let's give it a shot.


: Aah!
What's...happening... to my head?





: Lambda!


: Are you happy to be praised like that? If so, then you should smile like this.
I know it feels strange at first, but in time, you'll learn how to smile on your own.


: Ah! Hello there Emeraude.
: Sir, I've been thinking, and I believe your methods are mistaken.
We're to study Lambda's abilities, not to shape his moral fiber or aesthetics, and that's all we're tasked to do.
I believe proceeding with such a plan will inevitably raise a number of grave ethical concerns.
: Ethical concerns?
So you consider it unethical for me to teach this child how to laugh? Or even if I show him what it means to cry?
: Of course it's unethical. The point remains: This body was provided merely as a convenience for our continued research.
: A body may influence a soul, just as a soul can shape a body.
Just look at the child. Every day he becomes more and more human.
To tell you the truth, I have a great number of things in store for this interesting young boy, Emeraude.
I think he may well be the first of his kind to transcend the bounds of humanoids and become a new kind of being.
He is indeed nothing less than the hope of our future personified.
: This bit will be important later.
: Ah...
: Lambda here has a good many things yet to learn. And I want him to grow up to be a healthy and carefree young boy.
Yes. He should live as nothing less than human.





: That was the research institute on Fodra, right?
: I believe we saw part of the same vision there.
: It wasn't just Lambda. Emeraude and that man from the institute's records were there, too.
: I don't understand. How could we share a vision like that?
: It may be because Lambda is trying to merge with this world.
: Yeah, well, I don't think it was harmful or whatever. Everybody still feel okay?
: No problems here.
I've been thinking about that vision ever since we saw it in the institute. I guess I'm surprised that Lambda would smile like that.
: We can't discount the possibility that the vision is a trap of some kind. There could be trouble ahead. Let's move fast, but watch our steps.
: (He did smile, didn't he...? Why did Richard choose to be with you, Lambda...? Just what are you...?)



Skit: All Smiles


: When I was a kid, everyone was always all, "Oh, there goes that smilin' Pascal again!"
: Not me. When I lived in Strahta, I was known as the child who never smiled.
: You don't smile now either.
: I suppose I can't really deny that. But nonetheless, I was still shocked to see Lambda smile.
I didn't think he was capable of it. What may have prompted him?
: Maybe he just felt like it.
: That's not an answer.
: How should I know?! It's just, when I see someone smile, I feel good. So maybe it was something like that.
: Does that mean...you'd like to see me smile?
: No, not really.
: I had a feeling you'd say that.



Dungeon Video Part 2


I'm sensing a theme here. I wonder if there's a "Symphonion" or something further ahead.



: Ahead were more walls.






: Stop this at once, Emeraude! You can't just throw him away!


: But why?! Why would you do this after all the progress we've made?!
: You and I know very well the current crisis that is affecting our world.
The creatures we injected with Lambda's cells have turned into violent monsters, and now they threaten our very lives.
And we now know for certain that the cause is Lambda himself.
Lambda has the unique ability to mentally control any creature that has been injected with his cells.
And for this reason, the board has determined that he is far too dangerous to be left alive.
: This is your fault! You're the one who forced him to undergo all of those horribly cruel experiments in the first place!
Who wouldn't lash out like that if they were treated in such an awful manner?! Who in their right mind wouldn't fight back?
: Nevertheless, he remains a threat to us all so long as he is permitted to exist.
It's too late. The board has ordered us to dispose of him immediately.
: Enough! You've gone too far this time. I'll see that you hang for this, Emeraude! Mark my words!
: No, Cornell, I'm afraid it is you who will hang. The board has ordered you to be placed in detention.
You ignored the direct orders of your superiors and raised Lambda as you saw fit.
You were trying to make him into a new Lastalia, now weren't you?
: No, I was just-
: You might wonder why they needed a new Lastalia.
: What a shame. This research is a threat to all of Fodra. Your ideas are fanatical and your methods reckless.
Even the thought that you might use Lambda as our new Lastalia is utterly terrifying.
: Do you have any idea at all why I put so much effort into raising him as a human being?!
It's because I-




: No stop! Emeraude!
Emeraude!






: Emeraude!
: Cornell was insane to treat this thing like a human.
Lambda is a scientific curiosity; a bit of data sloshing around a tube. Nothing more.
Wouldn't you agree with me, Lambda?
Now then. Go to sleep.














Skit: Glimpses of the Past, Part I


: Emeraude told us that Lambda was responsible for Fodra's destruction, but now...
: Asbel, now's not the time to begin contemplating the past. All we know for sure is that he was the subject of multiple scientific experiments.
And that those experiments were the source of the ensuing chaos.
: But it also seems like it wasn't his fault. At least, not as much as we originally thought.
Maybe the scientists just blamed it all on him because they needed a scapegoat or whatever. What do you guys think?
: Whatever the case may be, there's no point in wild speculation. We should focus on reaching Lambda as soon as possible.
: You're right.
: (Lambda had a hard life. ...Just like me, I suppose.)
(But I had friends to help me when things were at their worst. I had the support I needed to get through it.)
(What about him...?)



Skit: A Piece of History


: To think that this place was built here so long ago... I can barely imagine it.
: But...this is real. Even if it feels like a dream.
: Regardless, this is our world, and we will figure out how to exist in it.
: True. After all, people found ways to survive in the harsh environments of Fendel and Strahta.
: Yeah, and because they stuck it out, this world survived and became a home to everyone!
: You don't often consider it, but in a way, the work of those people serves to protect our lifestyles even now.
: You're right. Why didn't I see it that way before?
They probably couldn't think of anything else but their own survival. But by working hard to secure their own future, it helped pave ours.
It gives me hope that what we do now will eventually help those who come after us.
: I think so too, Asbel.



Skit: Emeraude's Mistake


: The Emeraude that we all met was probably a humanoid.
: You think so?
: Yes, she must have transferred her psyche. That's how she survived the deep sleep.
: She went to such great lengths to protect Fodra! Contrary to what we originally believed, she must have been a very committed person.
: Too bad nobody committed her.
: I think so. But even if her intentions were good, she was still wrong in the end, wasn't she?
: Oh, I'm sorry, Sophie. You're right.
: But hey, don't worry, okay? Even if we could understand Emeraude's intentions, we'll never agree to her methods.
We'll protect the things we love without hurting anyone. Right?
: Yes!



: After that point, Sophie determined that they had absorbed too much Lambda eleth to continue. Fortunately they were able to reactivate a teleporter to the surface. This meant that there was enough time to let things inside them stabilize a bit before returning.




Actually the real reason is that due to whatever space madness infects Tales developers, while AFAIK all the sidequests were unlocked when we got the airship, some skits associated with them only unlock at this point. It breaks the pacing a little (since you can see wall #3 right there) but oh well.