Part 23: Update 23

Update 23



Time to head to Tethe'alla now!




By the way, have I made a mention of the fact that Emil walks across the static background of the world map between destinations? He does, but thankfully you can skip it.


"High speed transport" means the elemental cargo.



Video Record








: Is this your first time here?
: Uh, Yes ma'am, it is.
: I should've said something earlier, but just drop the formalities. That kind of thing makes me itch.
: Yes ma--I mean, okay.
: I hope Glacies' core is still here.
: Regal and I both know this town like the back of our hands. I'm sure we'll find it.
: Let's pay a visit to the item shop first.
: All right.



Skit Video: Meltokio
: Meltokio is huge. I bet you could get lost here pretty easily.
: This was the capital of Tethe'alla when the world was still divided in two. So both people and goods gather here.
: It's no wonder the people in Tethe'alla look down on us.
: Marta?
: No town in Sylvarant can even come close to this size. We don't even have a leader to unite the people as a proper country.
: But Sylvarant was ravaged by the Desians. The prosperity we Tethe'allans have enjoyed was at the expense of your people. If anything, we should be making every effort to repay what we've taken from you. Please forgive us.
: Oh, that's not what I meant. I wasn't blaming the Tethe'allans. I was just thinking we're going to have to build a city to equal Meltokio ourselves.
: You're amazing Marta.
: Hey, you're Sylvaranti, too, so we're in this together.
: R-Right.







: It certainly looked like him.
: Someone you know?
: Yes. The Chosen of Tethe'alla lives in this city and--
: Zelos.
: Oh, right. You met him in Palmacosta?
: Yes, you said you did. Anyway, the man you just saw is a butler to the Chosen's sister, Seles.
: Really? Maybe he's running errands for her, then.
: Yeah, probably. All right, let's go inside and talk to the shopkeeper.





: Um... We're looking for a rare jewel that was found in Flanoir. Did anyone bring anything like that here?
Shopkeeper: Ah, I know the item you're talking about.
: Someone brought it then?!
Shopkeeper: They sure did. But I already sold it.
: Who did you sell it to?!
Shopkeeper: Sorry, I can't tell you. Customer confidentiality and all that. You understand, don't you?
: What do you mean?
: Merchants are bound to keep their customer's information private. Especially where high-price items such as jewels are concerned. If the wrong people found out who possesses such a priceless item, the buyer could become a target for theft.
Shopkeeper: It's just as the gentleman here says. Sorry, I can't help you.
: But it's not just the person who bought it who'd be in trouble. The whole city would be in danger.
: Shouldn't you have said that to him before he walked away?
: I have an idea. How about we go and ask His Majesty?
: His Majesty, the King?! Why?
: Most of the customers for fine jewels are members of the nobility. And they tend to show off their latest purchases.
: I see. We'll hobnob with the local aristocracy and find out which one has Glacies' core. Good idea, Regal. You never cease to amaze me. A duke and a scholar to boot.
: Regal, you're a duke?!
: I suppose I forgot to mention it.
: This is the first I've heard of it! Wow, president of a huge company and a duke, too. Amazing.
: I may have titles and rank, but under all that I'm still flesh and blood like you. All right, let's get going to the castle.
: All of Lloyd's friends are really amazing people.
: It makes me wonder about the Lloyd that they believe in. If it wasn't for the Centurion's core, maybe he'd even be an okay guy.
: Yeah, maybe.



: Unfortunately the king wasn't available at the moment, so they had to kill a little bit of time.



Video Record
Welcome to the Arena's return.




This option seems like a good idea to have but in practice just serves to focus your attention on how terrible the AI for your monster party members is.



We don't even get the MC to come out and announce our title or anything


I was originally going to go over things a bit here but honestly there's too many images in this update and the Coliseum is fairly boring right now.



Instead, we'll visit Asgard and see a non-voiced cutscene.


Noble A: I never thought I'd see such a lovely girl out in the savages of Sylvarant.
Aisha: Please, just leave.
: Hey, isn't that Aisha?
: Yeah, that's her.
Noble B: Oh my, you're a feisty one, aren't you?
Noble C: Sylvaranti or not, with her pretty face, I think she'd make a fine servant on my estate. Hurry up, girl! Gather your things--you're coming with us!
Aisha: No thank you.
Noble A: What? An uneducated Sylvaranti peasant dares to defy a noble from glorious Tethe'alla?
Noble B: No matter. I doubt anyone in these wretched slums would notice if she went missing. If she won't come, we'll just take her.


: Let go of her!


Noble A: Oh, I see. This little girl is jealous. She wants to serve at the foot of an earl as well.
Noble C: So that's what it is? I'm sure she could handle a few jobs for me. I'm feeling rather generous today.
: Holy shit. I've met a lot of nobility and royalty types and very few of them were, you know, such dicks.
: Honestly the Tethe'allan upper crust had a lot of really terrible people in it.
: You make me sick!
: Aren't you all ashamed of yourselves?!
: You make me embarrassed to be a Tethe'allan.
Noble C: Oh, Duke Bryant, as I live and breathe! I would have never expected to run into you in a place like this. Did you come to tame some Sylvaranti monkeys as well?
: Apologize to them!
Noble B: Why Duke Bryant, I must have misheard you. Surely you're not saying a proud Tethe'allan such as yourself would take the side of these savages?
: That's enough!
Noble B: You're getting my clothes dirty! Let go of me!
: Marta!
Noble A: Sylvaranti scum...


: That's kind of a sad fireball.


: Well, he's not really a spellcaster by training.
Aisha: Harley!
Noble C: That was magic! You're a half-elf?!
Harley: So what if I am?
Noble B: Associating with half-elves. How vulgar.


Noble B: We are honorable nobles of Tethe'alla, and--
: Shut your mouth!


: But...
Noble C: Well done, girl. I shall grant you a reward. How much would you like? You Sylvaranti are quite poor, aren't you?
Aisha: That isn't necessary. Please just leave our town.
Noble A: Who are you to tell us Tethe'allans what to do?
Noble B: Savages and half-elves... You deserve each other!


: What the hell was their problem?!
: I didn't know Tethe'allans were that horrible.
: Tethe'allans are always like this. They're always insulting and belittling us Sylvaranti. I hate them!
: As a fellow Tethe'allan, I apologize.
: Regal, I didn't mean you and Sheena.
: We know, Marta, but it's still embarrassing for us to see people like that. Aisha and Harley, I'm sorry for their treatment of you.
Harley: Well, I'm a half-elf, so I'm used to this sort of thing.
Aisha: Humans and half-elves... Tethe'alla and Sylvarant. Why do people always find a way to hate each other for their differences?
: Yeah, it's really sad.



: They decided to track those guys, in order to make sure they didn't get up to more misdeeds. They caught up in Iselia.


Villager A: What's so glorious about Tethe'alla?! You mock our Chosen of Regeneration!
Noble B: Insolent knave! The only Chosen in this world is the Chosen Zelos! You foolish Sylvaranti need to learn some humility!
Noble A: Indeed. What have you trash or your primitive society ever accomplished to make you so proud?
Villager B: You're no better than common thieves, stealing food from our lands and kidnapping our people. And worst of all, you deny our Chosen of Regeneration!
Villager C: Kill them! They won't leave Iselia alive!
: Marta, what should we do?
: Those noble brought this onto themselves.
: Yeah, but we can't just leave them like this!
: Emil!


Villager D: What? You're a Tethe'allan too?!
: No, I'm not.
Villager A: Then mind your own business!
Villager D: Isn't he the little brat who said Lloyd killed his parents or something?
Villager C: So you're on the Tethe'allans' side!
Phaidra: All of you! Stop this right now!
Villager B: Phaidra--
Phaidra: If you don't stop this at once you will distress Colette--distress the Chosen One. Go back to your homes.
Villager A: Damn it.
Phaidra: As for the Tethe'allan visitors, you should leave our town at once.
Noble C: Rescued by the likes of a Sylvaranti... how ridiculous.
Noble B: If you're looking for a reward, little one, it won't work!
: We should've just let them get what they deserved!
: But...
Phaidra: That is not prudent. Imagine the problems we would've had with Tethe'alla if it was allowed to proceed. The Chosen would be put into a very uncomfortable situation. Thank you for stopping our villagers from doing something they would regret.
: But still, I hate people like that.
: It is because of fools such as them that Tethe'alla and Sylvarant will never come together. I apologize on their behalf.
: Regal...
: We'll do everything we can to get Tethe'alla to see things the way we do. But Marta, I want you to at least understand this: There are people in Tethe'alla who love Sylvarant just as much as you do.


: Along the way back, they decided to search for a famous treasure.








: Well, we'll know as soon as we find it, I'm sure. We're got to make sure no other treasure hunters beat us to it either!
: Right!





You know, things have been too easy lately. In retrospect this might be a bit of a mistake since Mania here is less fun than in Symphonia.


It doesn't really help random encounters that much though.



Treasure Hunter: You two are looking for the treasure, too? I'd love to get a glimpse if you end up finding it. Don't worry, I wouldn't try to steal it.
: That was fishy.



: Now we can keep going. Come on, Emil.
: You're pretty into this, aren't you, Marta?
: Well, the idea of a secret treasure's just so exciting! I hope it's a humungous diamond. Then you could use it for an engagement ring and give it to me.
: Shouldn't we get going?



Treasure Hunter: You kids have nerve, thinking you're treasure hunters. Shouldn't you be in school?
: But you're just a kid yourself!



: All right, let's keep moving.
: I wonder what the treasure is. Maybe it's a long lost wedding dress once used by a lady in ancient times. If it is, I'll put it on right there and we can be married on the spot.
: I seriously doubt it's a dress. I'm sure it's your typical gold and silver.
: Well, that's not very romantic at all!
:



Woman: Did you find any treasure? I don't think there are any around here. Why not run along home now?
: But why haven't you left yet, ma'am?
Woman: Oh, there's still something I have to do here. Okay, run along. Don't worry, I'm not planning on looking for it after you kids are gone. Not at all, you know.



: We're almost to the deepest part. That's got to be where we'll find the treasure.
: It is pretty exciting.
: What if the treasure hunter's trophy turns out to be a pair of wedding rings that once belonged to a king and queen? We'd have to use the rings in our wedding, of course. It's like our meeting was fated.
: Your power of imagination just astounds me.
: What's wrong with it?!
: Whatever it is, I doubt I'll be able to compete with it.





: If it's being guarded by a monster, it must be something good.
: That's got to be the treasure hunter's trophy! Let's get rid of that monster and grab it for ourselves!
: Right!


Despite there being two of them, the Black Wolves are the real "bosses" with massive HP. Nothing really interesting happens.
: We did it! Let's open it, and see what's inside!
: Okay, here goes. ... This is the treasure hunter's trophy?
: Well, that's sort of a letdown. Where are my diamonds, or my dress, or my wedding ring?
: There's something else in here. It looks like a note with the letter "L" written on it.
: Perhaps it's a message left behind by the great treasure hunter. If there are other notes like it, and you bring them together, then--
: It will lead us to the hidden treasures of a lost civilization?!
: I can't be sure, but if we have an opportunity like this in the future, we might be wise to take it.
: Yeah!
: Right!



Video Record
: They returned to the castle to see if the King had seen the core exhibited by any of the nobles, but before they could do that, they had a much bigger problem.










: W-We can't fight here!
: Why not? I don't care if this city gets blown into tiny little pieces.<3


: Isn't that the Tethe'alla palace behind them?
: Yeah.
: Where are all the guards?
: I guess most of them weren't there, since due to the earthquakes a lot of the governmental functions were done elsewhere.
: But the King's there!
: Yeah. I actually don't know what the guards were doing.




This fight sucks, not because it's hard though.


It's because these bastards don't flinch. Normally a Tales enemy, even a boss, will stagger when you land a solid hit.








Here's a good example of the bastard not flinching properly, I hit him in midswing...


...he completes it rather than flinch.


I'm hitting this fat fuck in the middle of an attack and it's not causing him to flinch AND not contributing to the combo counter.


Yeah this typo is present across all versions of this ability.


Unfortunately this Devil's Hellfire fails to kill him.




Not really much to write home about.


GET BACK DOWN HERE!


I decide to enable Marta's best attack spell. Note typo.


Not half bad. It's not all Divine Saber but it's pretty good.



Honestly I did not enjoy that fight. It was tedious without being challenging, despite the enemies being cheating bastards.





: Oh, I don't think so.<3


: Man, they did a really poor job of finishing it off.
: I think it was programmed to play dead.
: G'uahh!


: I've rigged the little darling with a special collar that self-destructs if he gets defeated. Pretty clever, if I say so myself.<3
: Shouldn't the Tethe'alla army have shown up by now? That took a while.
: Wha-What the hell?!


: Oh come on! They didn't manage to take out that stupid balloon-cat-thing either?
: Honestly it was pretty sad. Sheena and Regal had seriously been neglecting their training.
: Let go of him right now!
: I'll handle this!


: No! Please! I-I don't want to die! Let go of me!
: Emil! Wha-What should we do?!


: Allow me!


: Servant of darkness bend to my will!




: Tenebrae!








: Tenebrae! Answer me, Tenebrae! He's not dead is he?!
: Ah man. That guy was kind of cool.
: He can't be!
: It... It's just like what happened with Corrine.
: Tenebrae!
I seriously considered stopping the update here but that would be a dick move.




: What?! What is this?!
: The Centurions...


: Ok, I guess I was wrong and they speak once.




: Emil?
: Don't worry, the Centurion told me that Tenebrae is only asleep. I'm gonna go after him.
: What do you mean go after him? Where?
: The Temple of Darkness. If it's the same as the other Centurions we've encountered, then there should be an entrance to the altar in there.
: That's where we'll find Tenebrae!
: Now I understand. I'll go with you. What about you, Regal?
: I'll meet with his majesty and advise him on the situation with the Glacies' core first. After that I'll follow you.
: Whatever.
: All right, then we'll meet you there!



Skit Video: Our Journey
: Centurions are such mysterious creatures.
: You got that right. I mean they just return to their altars when they're injured.
: Actually, when they are inflicted with so much damage that they revert to their core state, they're supposed to return to Ratatosk himself.
: Then, Tenebrae is with me?
: But Ratatosk is also currently in core form, without his powers. He doesn't have the strength to heal the Centurions, so Tenebrae returned to his altar or at least that's what they said.
: You mean, the other Centurions?
: Yeah.
: Wait, so if Ratatosk wasn't taking his nap, there would be no need to go to the Temple of Darkness?
: If Ratatosk was awake, we wouldn't be on this journey in the first place.
: Oh right.
: If Ratatosk had been awake... hoo boy.



Skit Video: Really Okay?
: Hey, do you think Tenebrae is really okay?
: Yeah.
: He's just changed back into a core, right? He's not dead or anything, right?
: No, he's not dead!
: You don't have to yell at me, you know!
: N'gh!
: S-Sorry.
: A Centurion can always be revived as long as their mana source doesn't dry up. They're like summon spirits in that way. The Centurions say it's not a question of his being alive or dead.
: Okay, I get it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't panic just because I don't understand.
: No, I like you better angry than meek and apologetic.
: Emil in Ratatosk Mode tells it straight like a man.



Next Time: More like "Temple of Gaudy Purple".