Part 141: The Necropolis of Nostalgia, Part 1

Well, it's been a long time coming. We're gonna check out the last piece of major PS3 exclusive content: The new bonus dungeon.

To start the events that lead there, we have to go into Estelle's Room in Zaphias Castle.





Wow...
What are you so amazed about?
So this is what a princess' suite looks like... You lived in a room this nice, Estelle? Amazing...
Karol, it's rude to ogle at a lady's personal effects.
Back when I first came to this room, Estelle threatened me at sword-point.



I didn't really mean to threaten you...
There are so many books here... You must really love reading.



It's the tale of a nameless pirate's grand adventure. It's very thrilling!
Oh ho? A pirate, you say? Aye, I couldn't possibly pass this up! Hmm? What's this?
Huh? What's up?
This book... it's the Tale of Gran Carei!
Gran Carei? Isn't that...
He's the great pirate that founded Serpent's Dream, the pirate guild that preceded Siren's Fang. Legend has it that he discovered a paradise known as the Garden of the Waning Moon. Aye, and the Maris Stella and Maris Gemma are said to be the keys to reach that paradise.
Huh. So there was a reason they gravitated towards each other.
Aye. It's a well-know legend among seamen. I was planning on searching for it myself some day. And this book can tell us exactly how to find it!
Lemme have a look-see... “Head for the heart of the ocean and present the keys. Once the keys are so enshrined, recite the incantation... Know thee the tranquility of the ocean, where stars shine, and coral blooms.”



I dunno, sounds like nonsense to me. This book was probably written way after the fact.
But still, doesn't that mean there really was something about stars and coral?
That's right. This may just mean the paradise really does exist.
Aye! Looking for paradise is every pirate's dream! Who could resist an adventure like that?
Really? Paradise? Great...
Can't you indulge in daydreaming just once, Rita?
Well excuse me for being pragmatic!
We'll never know unless we take a look for ourselves. Aye, we've got to take action!
Easy, there. Where exactly are you planning to search?
Um... The heart... of the ocean?
And where's that, exactly?
If I recall, we found the Maris Stella in the Shrine of Zaude. Perhaps we can find a clue somewhere inside Zaude.



That's kinda like bein' the heart of the ocean.
Hm? That's odd. There's nothing in this book about the paradise itself.
I wonder if there's a reason for that.
It must be a place so magnificent that it can't be described in words!
Yeah, yeah, I get it. Next time we hit Zaude, we'll look into your paradise.


The script file for this scene also has a few more lines, but I have no idea what triggers them and what the item you get is:

Oh, what's this?
Something someone stuck between the pages and forgot?
It's so pretty... Can I bring it with me?
Sure, why not? Why are you asking me? Isn't that your book?
Oh, you're right!


Also, fun fact: You can do most of this sidequest before you get Flynn into your party, so most scenes have alternate lines of dialogue from other party members replacing Flynn's. The differences are super minor so I won't bother actually showing them off, though.


Anyway, off to Zaude! Specifically, we need to go to the innermost room, where we fought Alexei.





This is the innermost section of Zaude.
I know we talked about how there might be some clue about that paradise here, but I don't see anything that stands out.
What did I tell you? It was a lie after all.
Aww... Is it really?
N-now wait a minute. This IS where we found the Maris Stella. I don't think we should count it out just yet.
Even if there was something here, Zaude is broken now.
Wait.
Huh?
...I can feel something flowing. Is it... below us? Yes, there's definitely some power running below us.



...You're right. Is there a separate system down there?
It's a very faint power. I don't think I would have noticed it if Zaude were still active.
...
Give it a try, Patty.











They combined?!
Whoa!



What happened?!
A formula?
It's... a warp formula.
So we hit the mark?
So it seems.
Amazing! Aye, the legend was true, after all!
So then the paradise really does exist! The Garden of the Waning Moon should be below!
Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We shouldn't let our guard down before we know what's down there.







And here we are, in the Necropolis of Nostalgia! For reference, the popular sidequest guide translates this place as "Telescopic Graveyard".

This... is what's under Zaude?
So it seems.
Hurry! Let's get moving!



Ah, Patty! Wait!
Don't rush off alone. We're going together.

Just through that door is another scene.





What in the world is this place...
It looks more like ruins than a paradise...
Come on, yer tellin' me these ruins have just been sittin' under Zaude this whole time?
This is the discovery of the century! Aye, we're bound to find some great treasure if we dig deep enough!
There's something over there.



Something's written here... ...Hmm. I can't read it.
This is the language of the ancient Geraios civilization.
Let me see... “Here rest the Children of the Full Moon, whose lives were offered that we might oppose the catastrophe. You paid the ultimate price in penance for our sins. May you rest in eternal peace.”
Duke did say that Zaude is powered by the lives of the Children of the Full Moon.
Zaude was created to oppose the catastrophe, the Adephagos. So, in other words...
This place is a tomb for the Children of the Full Moon who gave their lives?
This place is...
I see. I was wondering what was up with those walls, but I get it now.



They're... tombs.
They do look like tombs.
So in what way is this a paradise?!
Umm... Good question.
Did Gran Carei really call this place paradise?
The paradise itself must be much further in.
Well, only one way to find out. Let's take a look inside.



Nothing to do here except moving forward.





Hmm... Looks like a dead end.





What? Again?!



Hmm... This looks the same as the warp before. We'll be able to go down from here.
Woof! Woof!
Oh, there's something shining over here!
There looks to be some kind of pattern to these lights. I wonder what they mean?



This is a map? Why do you think that?
Just a gut feeling.
That's all...?



Aye, but of course we're going! Right, Estelle?
Huh? Oh, yes. Th-that's right.
Do you think this is wise? Something scary may be lurking down below.
C-cut that out! Yer givin' me the creeps.
We have no idea what's down there, so don't let your guard down.
Woof!




Suddenly, battle on the elevator!






Huh, w-what?! W-we're locked in!
It couldn't be... a trap?
Maybe there's some reason they don't want to let us go any further.
Aye! A trial befitting one who seeks paradise!
Looks like a pretty makeshift test. Let's end this in one shot.
Grr... woof, woof!


The enemies are just some random easy things, not worth talking about. After we defeat them...



Huh. That's new.




Aah! That scared me!
It looks like we have to clear out the enemies to move forward.
I can't believe there are monsters down here. M-maybe we should hang back a bit and see how things go?
We don't have time for that.
What do you mean?
This is a periodic warp formula. It's probably being used to bring monsters inside.
So, if we dawdle, we'll have more monsters on our hands?
Can't you stop it?
No chance. Not from here.
Aye, we'll just have to get moving!
Doesn't look like we have much choice! Brace yourselves and let's get moving!



Well, let's just move over there then.



And straight into more enemies! Defeat them, and...



More path!

So in case it's not obvious yet, they made a sort of in-battle-system dungeon. It's a really cool idea and I love the concept, but as you'll see the execution sucks ass.



Some rooms also have pyramid-shaped treasure chests.



Just attack them to open them. They do have actual stats, so you may have to hit them more than once sometimes, or with specific elemental attributes.





And the rooms with the bright circle in the middle end the battle once all enemies are defeated.




Alright, let's go back to that map the game showed us for a second:



While better than nothing, it's lacking in details, which is no problem here but certainly becomes one later. So instead of relying on that, let's use one ripped straight from the game assets instead.

Floor A-1 / Enemies

Blue rooms are just regular rooms with no special stuff.
The black room is the entrance.
Red rooms are exits, with info where they go.
Green rooms have treasure chests. The items which can appear and their probabilities are listed. Some treasure rooms also in addition have special items that only spawn there until collected once; they will be noted below the common ones.
The seconds at the top tell you how long you have to go to the next room after defeating all the enemies. If you don't pick one in time, more enemies will spawn and you have to defeat them before getting another chance to move.

The game also, obviously, stores possible monster spawns for each room. They didn't quite fit into my regular layout and aren't very important, so I put them on a separate map. Each line is a group of monsters that can spawn, and the game randomly picks one of them.


Okay, that should give you an idea how this works. Back to cutscenes.





Phew! We finally made it out. Or did we?
I think we did, for now.
How could anyone possibly call this place paradise with all those monsters running around? Perhaps we've been set up...
I can't imagine anyone would go through so much trouble just to set up a trap like this.
Maybe someone who has something they desperately want to hide?
Nah, it's just because there's such an amazing paradise waiting below! The traps and monsters are here to protect it! Probably.
*Sigh* I'll never understand your fervent desire to believe in this paradise.
Now, don't say that, Rita. I think it's lovely how she clings to her dreams.
If there's some paradise down here, it better come out soon! These bones can't handle much more of this!
Hmph...



You're right. It did match the route we took.
I think the white part matched up with the entrance, and the red part was the exit.
You remembered all that? Very impressive.
And there was a treasure chest in the green spot!
In any event, we should decide if we should go any farther.
I don't mind either way.



So this is the basic layout of this thing: Come from an elevator, go into the center room where you sometimes have a savepoint and always have an escape point if you need it, then go to the next elevator where you have another in-battle dungeon thing.

This place is split into strata of ten floors each. This first one is "Firmament".


Floor A-2 / Enemies

The second floor just introduces the concept of backtracking. What a great concept!

Floor A-3 / Enemies

Floor 3 introduces alternate exits. Here is where the game's vague map becomes a problem: It doesn't tell you which exit is which, and where each exit takes you. Quite annoying, but not even the biggest issue in here.

Floor A-4 / Enemies
Floor A-5 / Enemies

Both of these floors are not very interesting.

Floor A-6 / Enemies

Ah, and here is the actual dick move. See those Stylish Shades in the lower right? Well, look at the map the game provides:



Notice how there's no indication that that room has special treasure? Yup. The game actually expects you to visit each and every treasure room to figure out if it has unique stuff or not. My run of this dungeon, using maps, knowing exactly what to do, and on Easy difficulty with a max level party, took around six hours. I don't even want to know what the intended length is.



Special treasure chests appear in the middle of the room, so you can't really miss it if you enter a room that has one.

Some of the attachments you can find here can be gotten by synthesizing as well. If you already have them, the chest simply won't spawn.





This attachment appears to be broken, nothing shows up on the character model if I put it on.



It works fine if you combine it with others though, so that's something.

Floor A-7 / Enemies

And here's another fun thing. Looks familiar? Yes, this is in fact a carbon copy of A-4. In fact, both of these floors use the exact same map file, since exits are stored relatively. This dungeon has 60 floors, but only 45 map files. I don't know why they thought a dungeon that is already way too long needed padding, but here we are.

Floor A-8 / Enemies

The Seven-Branched Sword here is Flynn's Fell Arm.



The name of this thing seems odd to me, because it's clearly intended to be the Seven-Branched Sword, yet it doesn't look anything like it.

Also look at this fucking detour they make us do, and we're only at floor 8!

Floor A-9 / Enemies - Copy of A-5.
Floor A-10 / Enemies

Not much interesting here either.

Every "bottom" floor, noted as 11 on my maps, contains a boss fight without any in-battle dungeon.





It looks as though we've reached the bottom.
Woooow! You can really tell how big it is from down here. Huh? Isn't that...
Dein Nomos. Well, I can see why they say it's got ancient and noble origins now.
All we got were tombs from top ta bottom. Not what I'd call a paradise.
Aye, you're right.
You don't sound disappointed at all.
No, I feel pretty let down. But I'm still satisfied. An adventurer lives to tread new, undiscovered ground. Sure, I wanted more, but I'm still happy we came.
I don't think anyone's more of an optimist than this girl.
I'm happy we came, too. It gave me the chance to see the final resting place of the Children of the Full Moon. They gave their lives to seal the Adephagos away. I want to strongly embrace the feelings they had at that time. That way, I too may be able to face the Adephagos with the same strength of will they had.
Well, that's good. But you better not be thinking about giving up your life, okay?
I won't.



What is it, Repede?





Waaaah!


So after every ten floors, the game throws you a boss fight. Only two of them are actually interesting in any way.



This guy, "Anubis", is not one of the two. I think he even reuses some animations from other enemies in the game.



Whatever.



What the heck just happened?
Was he a guard? Or some kind of gravekeeper?





W-what the?!



It's another formula like the ones before. It leads even further down.
Aye, now's not the time to falter! The path leads down! I'm sure we'll find the Garden of the Waning Moon!
Maybe the person we saw was a gatekeeper to paradise, not a gravekeeper.
If we ever get to the end of this place, we'll see for ourselves.
You guys are hopeless. Well, we've come this far, so I guess I'll stick with you until the end.
There's always a guard before a treasure, so there's got to be a treasure after a guard!



Another elevator ride, and we reach a change of scenery.



Ah, the City of the Waning Moon, notable for being the only area of the game where we actually changed the Vesperian text at the bottom. It actually says "City of the Fallen Moon", but we decided that Waning Moon makes more sense.

This is...
I don't get it. I thought we were going underground.
Look over there. It's the moon.
It can't be... we actually returned to the surface?
That's... a thin clump of aer. I think it's supposed to act as a replacement light source.
So, is this supposed to be paradise? The Garden of the Waning Moon, or whatever you called it?
It's unique, I'll give you that. But I don't see how it's a paradise.
Aye. I can't figure out what this place is supposed to be either.
Woof!



Huh...?
Uh... Above. We came from above.
Above? Cannot be. Bad omen. Understand?
Do you all live here?



...Looks like they're scared of you.
W-well, could you please tell us where we are?
City of Waning Moon. You, same as us, know not? Strange.
The waning moon... So this really is paradise?
Cannot speak, too difficult. Master Ohma knows all. Seek knowledge there. Ohma will speak.
Ohma?
Master. Cannot see. Only speak. Inside.
Hey, what's with that weird way of talking?
I kind of get the feeling it's some sort of archaic form of speech. Just a bit.
So, is this where our journey was leading?
So this is the paradise we get after our endless descent from Zaude... Aye... it's not exactly what I had in mind.
What, disappointed about not findin' some amazing treasure?
People live here, so you can't just scrounge around.
Since we came all this way, we might as well get some answers. Let's see what this Ohma has to say.


This area is considered a Town by the game, but it's really just a room that happens to have some NPCs to talk to. No Inn or Shop or anything else you'd find in a regular town.









The people you can talk to are all pretty strange.



Well, not much else to do except talking to this Ohma.



Hm...it's kind of sparse in here.
A master we cannot see... Well, I certainly can't see anyone in here.
It's so bright over there...



Aah! What's going on? Where is he?!
My name is Ohma. You are not of my people. Answer! Where did you come from?
You don't have to yell. We came from the surface.
The surface? So it's true. What I felt was the millennium gate opening.
Um... We came in search of the Garden of the Waning Moon. Is that where we are right now?
We were told that the Garden of the Waning Moon is paradise.



Paradise? Did you say paradise?! This place is certainly called the Garden of the Waning Moon, but it is no paradise! It is a prison!
P-prison?!
At least, it was until now. The gate is now open. You have my thanks!
...I'm sure I'm gonna regret askin' this, but what exactly are ya plannin' on doin'?
I shall return to the surface and crush the Entelexeia and all else who betrayed me. I shall regain all which was taken from me, and reign supreme over all once more!
The Entelexeia? Wh-what exactly are you?
What's this? I can feel your power. Their blood flows in your veins. Then you deserve to know. A thousand years ago we, the Children of the Full Moon, were the rulers of this world, its kings! But your ancestors betrayed us, and allied with the Entelexeia. You deceived us, and buried us here!
Betrayed? The Children of the Full Moon turned on each other?! Why?
So there was in-fighting amongst the Children of the Full Moon?
And you held this grudge all this time? You're awfully patient.



I did it all so that I could have my revenge. Finally, the time has come!





He's gone...
This place really ain't paradise! Looks like we got more trouble ta take care of than ever before.



It would seem that, a thousand years ago, the Children of the Full Moon refused to form a compromise with the Entelexeia until the bitter end. In order to deal with the Adephagos, those Children of the Full Moon who wanted to repent for their actions sided with the Entelexeia and imprisoned their brethren here.
That would make those guys outside their descendants. They don't look like bad guys to me.
More importantly, what should we do now? Look for Ohma?
We can't leave things as they are now. At the very least, let's see what Ohma really plans to do.
There's another formula over there.
It's another warp formula. We can keep going down.
We don't really have a choice. There's no stopping now.


Well that doesn't sound good. After him!







...And we're back to the familiar architecture. The whole rest of the dungeon looks like this, just with some slightly altered color palettes.

This is the second stratum, "Existence".



Yeah, it's all probably going to look the same as above. A mausoleum the whole way down.
Let's just get moving and try to stay out of trouble.








A city full of Children of the Full Moon, huh? Come to think of it, they did kind of look like Estelle.
...
Something wrong, Estelle?
My ancestors locked Ohma and the city's ancestors down here.
I hate to say it, but I'm sure there's a reason for all this. They had to do it.
Besides, it didn't look like the people in that city were upset about it anymore.
They don't even seem to be aware of who they are themselves. I guess with every passing generation, a little bit of their history was forgotten.
But Ohma has held on to his grudge for all this time.



I don't know, I've never heard of it. Maybe it's some sort of drug that extends your life?
That'd be some drug if it really existed.
I wouldn't want to live my life relying on a drug like that.
...My curiosity may have opened Pandora's Box. I have to take responsibility.
Don't let it get to you. Someone would have had to take care of everything down here some day.
I wonder if we could persuade Ohma to come to peace with everything. I hate to think of someone holding a grudge for so long.
Who knows? I'd be overjoyed if he was willin' ta listen.
I think we need to do less worrying and more searching. Ohma isn't going to wait for us, you know.






Back into the battle dungeons we go.

Floor B-1 / Enemies
Floor B-2 / Enemies
Floor B-3 / Enemies
Floor B-4 / Enemies
Floor B-5 / Enemies
Floor B-6 / Enemies - Copy of B-3.
Floor B-7 / Enemies - Copy of B-1.
Floor B-8 / Enemies - Copy of B-3.

None of these floors are interesting in any way, except maybe for the Deluxe Pirate's Hat on B-4.





And having the same floor so often so quickly is kind of ridiculous if you ask me.


I fear I might be misrepresenting how long and boring this place is by just skipping over so many floors, but seriously, 90% of my footage looks like a minor variation of this:



It's so much repetition!

Floor B-9 / Enemies

The Corbis here is Patty's Fell Arm.



Floor B-10 / Enemies

And with that we're at the second boss.







So you came... How foolish. I was willing to let you live, but not anymore!
Your voice... You must be Ohma.
Whaa?! He isn't human?!
He's revolting...
Insolent pests! I am Ohma, the rightful king of humanity, who has lived for one thousand years!
Y-you're not human at all...
The nectar of immortality, Amrita, is made from pure aer, and as such, has various side effects. This body is the result of taking it for one thousand years.
Is that why you wouldn't let the other Children of the Full Moon see you any more? I feel sorry for you. You've spent the last one thousand years, all alone, for the sake of some grudge.
Restrain yourself, woman. I need no pity from the likes of you. The drug has taken its toll on my body, but in return it has granted me the power to strike down even the Entelexeia!
Ohma, please listen. The world is being threatened by the Adephagos right now. Please, if you have so much strength, help us!
...Your ancestors asked the same thing of me in the past. Fear not. I shall resurrect the Geraios, and with their might, the Adephagos will pose no further threat.
Amrita, aer, what's the difference? You're just like the Entelexeia! So why are you doing this?
Silence! We are not the same! How dare you utter such slander! First the treacherous Entelexeia knew not their place, and now even a handful of pathetic humans think they can speak down to me? If you will not grant me the respect I am due, then I will take it by force! Witness the power of the rightful king of humanity!
And to think, I was starting to feel sorry for you.
Here he comes!

Watch the abbreviated battle! / Baldurdash
Watch the full battle. (don't bother)





So this is Ohma and, well, he's clearly balanced for a pre-final-dungeon run of this dungeon. He's laughably easy with my level 200 party unless I play on Unknown.



Even then, though, he's not great.







The biggest danger is this laser attack, which does quite a lot of damage to everyone it hits.





Sometimes he pulls out an orb of darkness and throws it on the ground.





That creates an area that slows down movement. It looks fancier than it actually is and despawns after a couple seconds.









Otherwise he just has various swipes and thrusts with his body parts, usually his hand/wing things.










Sorry, but I have no intention of losing to some guy who's living just to hate everything.
...I'm sorry.
Terca Lumireis... You'd reject us until the very end?! Then... Then why?! Why were we even born into this world? Why... do... we... even...



How pitiful...



This looks like crystallized mana. Is this the Amrita he mentioned?
Hmm. This looks just like the treasure passed down through Siren's Fang.
I see... This must be the medicine Seifer made me take back during the Black Hope incident.
This? He gave you Amrita? Were your wounds that bad?



Strong contender for the dumbest line in the game.

But it's thanks to that medicine that I'm as energetic as a dolphin now!
No way. Are you sayin' that it made ya young again?
There's no way that could happen!



It really wouldn't.

Maybe so.
I'll just leave it all to your imagination.
It doesn't matter either way. You're the only Patty we know.
Yes, I agree.



Ah! What are you doing?!
It's better off this way.
Well, that might be for the best.
So in the end, this really was paradise.
Aye. The people here live far removed from the troubles of the surface, with no fear of monsters or anything like that. Perhaps, that is what Gran Carei considered paradise.
So, what do you think all those people should do now?
At the very least, I don't think they're a threat to anyone.
This place is so different from the outside, and they've lived here their entire lives. I doubt they could cope with the outside world.
The gate's already open. They're free to come out any time they please now. Let's leave it at that.
Aye, I agree. I'm sure Gran Carei would say the same.
And so, the paradise was left hidden...


If you do this dungeon before you beat the game, here is where it ends.

But since we've already beaten it, another cutscene triggers:




There's still more down below? Well, all right. Let's see this through until the end.

I guess we should. Next update though.