Tales of Graces f Part #66 - CH62: I Wish I Had a Map

Part 66: CH62: I Wish I Had a Map

CH62: I Wish I Had a Map

Receptionist: I apologize, but for the time being, we won't be able to accept any challengers at Riot Peak. If only there were someone who could fix the elevator...

: Oooh oooh oooh! Me! I'll do it! Pick me!
Y'okay! All set.
Receptionist: Thank you very much! That was very generous of you to help.

: Aw, that was a cinch. It looked like old amarcian tech, so it was really no trouble at all.
So the fights here are locked out until you recruit Pascal again, but we're not going to seriously challenge the arena right now.

Let's check out some Accel stuff though!

Richard's Accel mode grants him half casting time on spells and gives him CC whenever he attacks. IMO this (and Shooting Stars) makes Richard the best caster. His only true drawbacks are not being present for most of the game and not being able to hit as many vulnerabilities.

As far as Mystic Artes go this one's kind of meh.

Sophie gets HP and CC regen, as well as the ability to front step through things.

This one too.

Cheria gets the ability to STOP TIME. Unfortunately it doesn't last nearly as long as the other Accel Modes.

She does have one of my favorite Mystic Artes (aside from the clunky dialog).

We've seen Asbel's Accel before, but here's his MA.

Yes I have him wearing the Turtlez Shell attachment.

Yes, Lambda is giving him the power to claw the shit out of things with his hands.

Pascal's Accel throws down a "Runic Shield" which makes it so that every attack against any party member in it is counted as being blocked, but their attacks are unblockable. It's pretty cool, but the AI doesn't always know to stand in it.

I don't have her Accel MA yet though.

Anyway let's get back to the main plot. Remember that? We have to investigate the monsters coming from Fodra, so we're flying there.

: Richard hadn't been to Fodra, so all of this was new to him.

: It looks bad now-but a long time ago it was teeming with life.

: What's that over there?

: It's beautiful.

: It's her!

: Brace yourselves!

: Pascal! Is there anything we can do?!

: I sure wish there was!

: Huh?!

: Hold on!

: They made it.

: Oh, man... I thought we were total goners.

: Is this really a city?

: Supposedly it was once a truly splendid sight.

: And now it's fallen to this. ...How sad.

: There was a girl in the meadow.

: She was real, right?

: I saw her with my own eyes.

: Does that mean someone's still living here?

: Even if that were the case, it's unnatural to see an area so full of life on a dead rock like this.

: Was that a monster?!

: Look out!

NBD, aside from...

...all the spells they spam.

Richard's got my back here.

: There's still some left.

: Looks like somebody needs to take a broom to this place.
So after this you need to fight four trash mob fights to use the city services and/or continue the plot.

: The monsters posed no challenge to them.

: What do we do now?

: Let's start by investigating the city.

: Okay.

Skit: By Royal Decree

: Whoa, Richard, you're eating natto on toast, aren't you? But everyone else seems to hate natto. I wonder why?

: ...Everyone simply dismisses it without even trying it. They have no idea how truly delicious it is!

: Oh? So it's a favorite of yours!

: Yes, if only I could find some way to make people understand the succulence of fermented soybeans!

: I know, right? But you're the king! Can't you just order everyone in the kingdom to eat it?

: I suppose. I could draft a law stating that every citizen must eat natto on toast each morning.

: Perfect! And once that's in place, I bet my big sister could do something to mass produce the natto itself. I'll talk to her about that.
Oh, and I can create an easy-to-use device that would automatically cook natto on toast!

: You've done Windor a great service.

: Wait, think this over, Richard!

: We can't let Richard and Pascal talk anymore. It's much too dangerous...

: What happened?

: Hmm... What's this?

: It was a security monitor.

: Eleth upwellings had mutated native monsters.

: What was that?!

: I think the light was some of Fodra's eleth. But in that case...

: The building on that map looks to be some kind of facility.

: Eleth...Research Laboratory? ...Huh. I bet they were researching Fodra's core there.

: Can you locate its position?

: Yep! Lemme just send the coordinates to the shuttle.
Sweet! Now we can just zoom on over there!

: If monsters are in this city, I hate to think what it's like outside.

: Psi, do you know what's happening at the lab right now?

: *Shakes head*

: Looks like we'll have to go there and find out.

: Looks like it.

: Pascal, can you find the meadow with the flowers?

: Well that crazy lady blew us way off course, but yeah. I think I could find it again.

: I...I feel like I have to meet that girl.

: What do you think?

: I've been wondering about the meadow myself, but I think we should check out the lab first.

: Does that work for you, Sophie?

: What is it? Hmm... I see...

: You understand what he's saying?

: Not really, no.

: Psi, do you want to come with us?

: *Nods*

: Is that okay, Asbel?

: Of course.

: The Eleth Research Laboratory looked like it had been attacked by something.

: What happened here?

: It's very different from the other places we've seen on Fodra.

: I think it's kind of creepy.

: I'm guessing it's been this way for at least a few hundred years.

: Whatever happened took place at the same time Fodra was dying.

: Dying...

: Are you all right? What is it?

: I knew it. She's...calling me.

: Strange. I didn't hear anything.

: I think we should wrap things up here as soon as we can.

Skit: Crafty Women

: Hey, what are you thinking about now, Pascal?

: Well, I'm trying to figure out the language Psi uses. If we can understand each other, I'm kinda hoping we can be friends.

: Oh, but will it be easy becoming friends so quickly?

: Sure! I mean, you and I are already buds, right?

: Yes...

: Are you getting jealous by any chance, Sophie?

: Jealous?

: Oh, right. Jealousy is when-

: I know. Jealousy is what a crafty woman causes in order to get her hooks deeper into a man.

: You've been talking to Captain Malik again.

: Oh! I wanna be a crafty woman!

Dungeon Video. This dungeon isn't actually that bad once you know where you're going. If there was a map function in this game like in Xillia, it'd actually be decent.

Skit: A Painful Finish

: If only we could fix the elevation difference.

: Check that machine gizmo over there! I think its switches correspond to the colors on the floor.

: If I mess around with it, I'm sure something will happen!

: Something meaning...what? Something good?

: Oh, it should be fine.

: You seem oddly calm about this.

: I'm resigned to the fact that Pascal's messing around will bring us to some sort of painful finish.

: Hubert! You want Pascal's messing around to bring you to a painful finish?!

: What?! That's...I didn't say that.

: Hey, maybe she's into that sort of thing. Who am I to judge, right?

: I did NOT say that!

This is the major puzzle mechanic here, not too bad.

Here's Richard's Level 2 Mystic Arte, since I don't think he had this one before we lost him earlier.

: They eventually reached a console with a video log.

: Hmm...

: The data's all damaged, so it's kinda hard to tell. I think it's some kind of research log.

: Researchers who have been sent to investigate are due to return shortly.
We asked Director Cornell for his opinion, but he has yet to respond.
He appears to believe that his research with Lambda will somehow provide us with the answers that we seek.
In the meantime, we've asked Emeraude for her assistance.
We hope this leads to new developments in our quest for the truth.

: In truth, we're not quite sure how to handle this predicament.
Our initial research team was completely annihilated...
Survivors from the second team, however, managed to bring back samples for further study.
Unfortunately, these survivors are in critical condition and are undergoing medical treatment.
They aren't expected to live much longer...
We must not let their sacrifices be in vain.
We will begin researching the samples immediately.

: So it's Lambda and Emeraude again, is it?

: And something called the Little Queen.

: Any idea what he's talking about?

: Fodra's core produces eleth, which has an effect on creatures the core created. Nothing more.

: Do you know something, Lambda?

: I, too, was created by Fodra's core.
It is a trivial matter for me to observe the flow of the core's eleth.

: Is it possible the core will affect you? Or Sophie?

: Do you fear the evolution of my power? Are you afraid of losing control?

: No, it's not that. I'm just worried that you and Sophie might be...hurt.

: Hmph.

: Asbel, your eye! Are you okay?

: Me? No, I'm fine. ...Are you okay?

: I think so. But I feel...strange.
...I'm not sure what it is. But it's like I've felt it before...

: If everyone's ready, we have more exploring to do.

: Let's see what we can find.

Skit: A Few of Her Favorite Things

: You hate this place? So what place do you like, Cheria?

: I like Lhant? And I love that flower meadow on Lhant Hill.

: And Asbel? Do you love Asbel?

: Asbel?! Um, that...isn't really the kind of love I was talking about.

: Oh, because I love Asbel.

: Well, if you put it like that, then I guess...I do too...

: Hooray. We both love Asbel. I also love crablettes.

: Crablettes?!

: They're so delicious. Do you hate crablettes?

: I don't...hate crablettes, no, but... I just, I wouldn't put them at the same level as Asbel...

Skit: Bearer of Bad Tidings

: If she were still alive, she might have been able to help us resolve the situation.

: Yes, by murdering everyone. You have met Emeraude.

: You seem a bit keyed-up.

: Well, this is my story here, so I'm more emotionally invested. Also I hate Emeraude. A lot.

: Hey, wait a minute. Psi doesn't know Emeraude's dead, does he?

: Emeraude told him to take care of things while she was gone. He's probably been waiting for her the whole time.

: I thought he needed to know, so I told Psi what happened to Emeraude.

: Sophie...

: I said she won't come back and he won't see her again. He seemed to understand.

: I wonder if he's capable of understanding death.
Sophie's words are clear. She won't come back, and he won't see her again.
Although that's not all there is to it.

: No, that's not all. Death also brings an enduring feeling of loss that takes hold in the hearts of those who continue to live on.

: It makes me wonder if Psi's capable of such emotion.

: I doubt it.

: An enduring feeling of loss for those who remain. I wonder if that's what I'm starting to feel; this murky fog building up in my chest.

Skit: Scent of a Woman

: Sophie was born around the time these records were made, and she's been alive ever since!

: Such a long time... It makes it easier to understand her desire to become human. And her desire to not be left behind.

: I feel the opposite. Whenever age takes its toll on me, I yearn for the power to stop time.

: Ohmigosh, I would LOVE to be able to stop time!

: So even you feel that way, Pascal?

: Heck yeah! Whenever I get dirty, I think about stopping time so I won't get any dirtier. Then I'd never have to take a bath!

: ......

: When you say things like that, your suitors may start to lose interest in you.

: Suitors? What suitors?

: What? Well, uh...

: Hey, Hubert? Why don't you answer?

: M-Me? Why do I...?!
I mean, for me... Uh... See, that's not particularly...a problem.

: Heh. Of course not. We all know you're-

: ...addicted to her...aroma, right?

: Eww...

: Eventually they reached the facility's heart.

: It looks like this place is the control room.
Lemme try something!

: What is that?

: It's completely different than Ephinea's Lastalia.

: It's like it's alive.

: Huh?

: Aah!

: Something's wrong. Get back! Quickly!

: What's going on?

: Everyone, look out!

: I've never seen anything like it!
It's coming! Get ready!

This isn't the easiest boss in the world, but it's not that hard either.

Primary difficulty is its strong, fast-casting spells. Sophie just got hit for 5k by one.

Also he has the tri-laser thing, it has trouble hitting you if you're too close.

: They were far too confident from that victory.

: We did it.

: What was that?!

: I don't know, but one thing is quite clear: something's wrong with Fodra's core.

: But with the device broken, I don't know if we'll find out more.

: Pascal, any ideas?

: Why are you pawing at that humanoid?

: I wanna access any information it recorded while it was still functioning.

: Are you sure this will allow us to finally defeat Lambda?

: Yes. It will be the final piece in Protos Heis' creation.

: Please don't be hasty with your investigations, Emeraude.
We don't even know what the Little Queen is. We mustn't jump to conclusions.

: Don't be ridiculous! Who wants that?!
Why do you think I decided to summon you in the first place?

: A very wise decision it was on your behalf.

: ...No one must know about the Little Queen situation.

: Don't worry, I understand.
Believe me. I promise you: The last thing I want to do is start frightening everyone.

: Fodra. Tell me. What is it that you want?

: What was all that?

: Looks like it took place before Sophie was born.

: So the Little Queen was actually that girl inside of the core?

: That appears to be the case.

: But the question is, who is she?

: Exactly. And why does she remind me so much of Sophie?

: I don't...know her.

: What is going on? I don't understand it.

: Emeraude said the data from the Little Queen would complete Protos Heis.

: Protos Heis... That was my...my old name...

: I think we'd better move this discussion outside.

: Wait, wait!
I wanna grab the data from that other humanoid!

: Pascal, hurry!

: Gya!

: Oh no, now what?!

: Me is what.

: Look at that. Is that her?

: Who are you?!

: Argh!

: Uh-oh!

: Wait! Please stop. We don't want to fight you!

: I was totally ok with them not fighting me.

: Asbel!

: Stay back, Cheria!

: Never get into a beam war with someone using one hand. They might add the other one.

: How did you...?

: Child of Fodra.

: Huh?

: She can speak!

: Come to me.

: Watch out, Sophie!

: Watch out! Everyone move!

: Pascal!

: Sophie, come on! Let's get out of here!

: It was a good day to run like hell.

OK so now you have to run for the elevator while beams of light strike the place where you were standing every so often.

Once you get away from that you have to run down the death corridor. Now the beams are going off in front of you and you have to dodge them.

They deal damage to you and knock you back. After a while monsters start to rush you from where you started so if you're bad enough you can get a fight with your entire party on 1hp. FUN!