Part 137: Siren's Fang, Jim, and Patty's Cooking

Today, we're doing a bunch of Patty related sidequests.



First, we're finishing off the odd set of mostly unconnected scenes about finding love charms in the sea by checking this search point.


Brainiac Grace: Avoid staggering while casting in Brainiac and Critical Forms.
OVL Concentrate: Become immune to fainting when in Over Limit.
Recovering Guard: Chance of stagger is reduced while using Recover.



This is... The great pirate Gran Carei's...
What is it?
This belonged to the leader of the great pirate guild, Serpent's Dream. He held the world in the palm of his hand. I can think of no greater man than him. He's my hero.
Serpent's Dream? As in, a sea serpent? I can see how Siren's Fang and Leviathan's Claw got their names...
Aye, that's right.



Huh. Interesting...
When Serpent's Dream's leader Gran Carai died, the guild split. Half stayed at sea and went on to become Siren's Fang. The other half came ashore and became Leviathan's Claw.
Wow... Oh! Is that why Yeager and you both use guns?



They never really got popular outside of our group.
True, you don't see guns very often.
So, is that Gran Carei's weapon?
Aye. But it's not a gun. Too bad.
Oh! Here's an idea, Patty. You can use that new weapon to show Yuri how tough you are.
Do you think that would work on him?
Yeah, no man can resist a strong woman.
No, I think that's just you.
Hm... Now that you mention it, Sea Doctrine No. 7 agrees with you. "The strength of a man of the sea is his splendor." I'm going to go challenge Yuri to a fight!



...

Patty/Yuri conversation is offscreen, obscured by the boat.

Yuri! I challenge you!
Huh? What th-- Wah...! Hey! OW! Stop tha-- What're you doing?!
Prepare yourself for my charm!
You're not making any sense! Hey, hold up!



Yuri's out like a light. I suppose I was simply too charming for him.
That's not what I meant when I said you should show him how tough you are.
This is beyond stupid.



Say something! Did a monster attack you?! Why didn't you call for help?
Estelle's a force to be reckoned with.
You reap what you sow.
...Sea Doctrine No. 118, "A pirate is not made in a day. One may work for a decade and still be but an amateur." I'll make myself into a fine woman. So fine that I'll never lose to the likes of Estelle or Judy!
...I don't even get a mention?


Apart from some backstory, this only gives us that knife weapon for Patty.


In Capua Torim, there's a man standing around that Patty recognizes if we talk to him.




Hey, is that you?
Huh?
Jim?
How do you know my name? Wait...it can't be! Boss?!
Boss?
Well, ah, how do I put it...? I used to be a pirate. You just look so much like my boss back then, it took me by surprise. But of course, the boss wasn't a child. So, are you a relative or something...?



I've heard plenty about you, Jim!
What?! That's amazing! I didn't know the boss had grandchildren. But, I suppose you do look pretty similar, so I can't really deny it. A granddaughter. Huh. Geez! Unbelievable.
What's wrong with him?
Wow... this is uncanny. You have the EXACT same face as the boss... I can't believe it. A granddaughter? This really takes me back. Those were the days!



Now, now. Don't cry! You're a man, aren't you?
S-sorry. I just can't help remembering how things used to be. I was just a budding pirate back then! The boss always had to help me out.
Wow. Patty, y-- I mean, your boss sure was something.
Yeah, the boss was really cool. *Sniffle* Boss!
How long are you going to keep crying? You'll tarnish the name of Siren's Fang!



Huh? I feel like I just got scolded by the boss again.
No more tears, now.
Y-yeah, you're right. But just thinking about it, there's something else I should tell you. I wanted to be just like the boss. So much so that I tried to copy her artes.
Then, you must have been pretty strong, even back then.
Naw, I couldn't get anything right. There was only one arte I could master. This arte is special. You never know what's going to happen.
Is that a good thing?
When the boss used it, sometimes it would just completely wipe all the enemies out! But when I use it, nothing good ever happens.
Then why do you use it? It sounds kinda dangerous.
This arte is all I have left off the boss! *Sniffle* Boss!
...



You're her granddaughter, so you deserve to know it.
Aye. That'd be a big help.
Uh, I kind of think it would be better not to know it...
Don't worry. Let's see if I can make it work.
I've written the details on how to use the arte here. It took me ten years to learn it!
T-ten years?!
Patty... That's a long time...
Oh, this arte.
You know it?
Huh? Oh... No. But, I can learn it right away. Behold! This is the potential of the granddaughter of Aifread!





Amazing! I'd expect nothing less of the grandchild of the boss!
...I bet you knew it the whole time.
I completely forgot about it.
*Sniffle* Boss!


As you might expect, this gives us access to the mentioned arte, Critical Moment.







Despite its appearance, it doesn't actually cause damage, but instead triggers a random effect, such as:






...and a bunch of other stuff, including Pow Hammers raining from the sky, all allies or enemies entering Over Limit, increasing or decreasing your EXP or Gald, healing HP/TP, or instantly winning the (non-boss) battle. Not something you should rely on by any means, but I guess it might be worth trying in a pinch? I dunno, I haven't really found a good use for it.


Now, let's talk about Patty's Mystic Arte. Like most of her Artes, it has a random element to it: Twelve mostly different variations, selected at random from a subset based on what form you're in.

Watch the Mystic Arte! / Baldurdash

It always starts the same:











Patty summons a giant roulette wheel, and jumps onto it.





After running around on it for a bit, she trips, and the icon she lands on decides the variation you get.








And here's all the possible outcomes:






Does some damage to all enemies, not very impressive.





Rarely has a different dude towing the cart, which also deals damage to allies. Note that the game counts this is a different variation for purposes of checking if you got them all or not.








A lot of these are fairly straightforward, just some damage with different cute animations.





































This is Mieu from Tales of the Abyss.










This is Quickie from Tales of Eternia. He doesn't do any damage, but instead fully fills your Over Limit gauge and restores everyone's TP.










This is pretty much a regular Nurse spell, heals the party.












This deals a lot of damage and sometimes also heals your party. I'm not sure if the angel is a specific reference to anything.
















Barbatos can also show up, doing damage to both enemies and allies and preventing item use for 90 seconds.


















And finally, what is probably the 'ultimate' variation, Seifer can show up and deal a ton of damage to an enemy. This can only show up once Patty's story is complete.


There are also two more symbols in the game files, which don't appear to be used:




After seeing each variation at least once, we can find Jim again, this time in Nordopolica.





You surprise me every single time. You're her spitting image.
"Spitting image", huh?
Oh... Boss...
A man of the sea should never cry!
That's right! I-



H-hey, where're you going?
After I saw you last, I remembered something the boss left behind. These were the clothes our boss got from her father when she was a child, back when she was still a noble.
Your boss was a noble?
Yup, I heard it from the boss and her officers. She yearned for the sea so much, she up and left home!
Hm...
No clue.



Perfect!
Wow, that suits you so much it's scary.
It really does. It's like it was made for you.
I feel almost like the boss has come back to life! It'd make me real happy if you took those clothes with you.
Are you sure?
More than sure. I think those clothes belong with you.
In that case, I'm happy to accept! I'll treasure these clothes like your boss did.
*Sniffle* Boss! You really are her spitting image! If only you could revive Siren's Fang and lead us with clothes alone!
Yeah, that's... a bit beyond me right now.
I guess so. I can't put all that weight on a kid like you. Guess I'll see you around.




There really isn't anything we can do for him. Don't worry about it.
Yes, you're right.





This gives us a pretty neat costume.


While we're here, there's a man inside the coliseum that you can trigger a scene with once Patty has three recipes mastered. My sidequest guide also claims that she needs to have cooked 600 times for this but that seems ridiculous, dunno if that's right or not.




No, I'm just looking for someone... Excuse me, Miss. Are you, perchance, Miss Patty Fleur?
Aye, I'm Patty. Who are you?
I'm from the guild Gourmet Bouquet. I'm so glad I finally found you!
Gourmet Bouquet is a guild centered around high-class food, right?
That is quite right. I have come today to scout you for our guild, Miss Patty.
You're being scouted? That's amazing!
Your cooking DOES taste good. But that's about it.
I don't remember ever having anything to do with Gourmet Bouquet, though.
In the past, one of our guildmates collapsed from starvation. You were kind enough to treat him to oden.
Did I do that?
That guildmate said your oden was so delicious, he still cannot forget its flavor. Thus, the guild would be most pleased to have someone of your skill join us.



Who're you?
I'm making her the head chef at my restaurant, La Mer! There's no way I'm going to hand her over to some... gourmet guild!
Whoa! La Mer is a five-star restaurant on the top level of the Nordopolica arena! Amazing, Patty!



Hm? And who are you?
I'm a secretary acting on behalf of the Imperial Council.
Are you here to talk to Patty, too?
Yes. I have been instructed to recruit this young lady as a royal chef.
So it's a royal chef this time?



Is this some sort of joke? Well, I guess it isn't but--
Yeah, everyone's way too serious to be joking.
Are you just gonna leave them like that?
Now, now everyone. Just calm down. First things first...



Eat this!



This must be...!
I dare say, it sure is tasteless to fight before a delicious meal!
You honor me.
Astounding. Even better than I ever imagined!
Delicious. Such bold flavor. And yet, a subtle balance of spices... You must come to my restaurant.



I'm not joining any guilds. I have something I need to take care of. But I'm happy to treat you all to a good meal any time. All you need to do is listen for the rumors about me and find me.
So for now, you're a wandering chef?
Aye. My food cares not for where it's being eaten, or by who.
Cooking for all. I get it now. That must be your Way of the Chef.
If it strikes my fancy, I'll drop by and cook something for all of you. Can you let me off with that?
A monopoly on delicious food would definitely be a bad thing.
Understood. I shall await you at the capital.



I guess we're pretty lucky to eat your food, Patty.
I think that's what you call a fluke.
Well, we really are grateful that we get to enjoy her famous cooking any time.
I'll cook you up something any day of the week, Yuri!


There's also a cooking and Patty related scene in Zaphias' inn, I think you need to have seen the above scene to trigger it but I'm not entirely sure.






It's been a while.
Oh, Flynn too. Welcome back. With you here, I'll have to pull out all the stops and whip up something great!
You're cooking? Let me help out!
You want to help, little miss?
Don't underestimate me! I'm a well established cook. Would you mind teaching me what kind of food Yuri likes?
Hehe, I see where you're coming from. You're on!
Leave it to me!
Ya know, the other day, a self-styled world-renowned chef stayed here and left behind his chef whites. You should put them on. You don't want to make a mess of your clothes.



The design on Patty's clothes sure looks familiar.
The Wonder something-or-other. That guy's a real mystery.
You really are a good cook. A real natural.
Really?! I'm going to be Yuri's bride one day! So I've gotta work hard to make delicious food for him!
You're working this hard for Yuri? I guess I can rest easy if such a steady girl is going for him.
I'm honored you approve of me, ma'am! I'm actually a seafaring lady, so I plan to take him with me, not the other way around. Do you mind?
No need to worry. The Lower Quarter will get by whether Yuri is here or not. He's free to do whatever makes him happy.
Then he's going to search the depths of the ocean for treasure with me! Forever!
Flynn... What're you laughing at?
Sounds to me like she's got you wrapped around her little finger.
Woof!



Hey, Yuri!
Hmm, I'm going to have to do something about my popularity.





This gives us another Patty costume.


And that's it for today! Next time, we've got something much more exciting: Vesperia's interpretation of one of the series' recurring optional bosses!