Part 35: Inista Marsh

Last time, we forced to flee Baticul after Ingobert threw his own daughter to the wolves for the sake of the fucking Score. Now, it's time for the worst dungeon in the game.

Into the Marsh



: “He'll be fine, the people of Kimlasca are on his side.”

: “Yes. All those people, just for my sake...”

: “You can express you thanks by saving Auldrant. We're the only ones who know this world is in danger.”

: “...Yes.”

: “Where does the marsh lead?”

: “Belkend, I think.”

: “Let's first meet up with Asch there.”

: “Belkend is Duke Fabre's territory. We'll have to stay sharp.”

: “I know.”



You don't know the half of it, Mieu.

: “...Yes. Let's pray we don't run into any nasty monsters.”



Welcome to Inista Marsh. If you can't tell from the terrible quality and camera angle, this is another 'world map' dungeon like the Meggiora Highlands. The same issues plague us: terrible lag, maze like design that's impossible to navigate given the camera, and butt-ugliness. Only this time there's a new twist: we move at about 1/3rd the speed we normally do. Why? Because it's a marsh, silly! It should slow us down to slog through it, right?!

So yeah: not only is laggy as sin, we're also moving way slower. Paradoxically, this somehow makes the lag worse, because of the extra processing needed to slow us down. The result is that this dungeon takes fucking forever despite being relatively short in length. I hate this damn place.



Oh, and just as an extra kick in the dick all the monsters move at normal speed, so they'll easily catch up to you, forcing you to fight every monster that spawns in proximity to you. Luckily I've packed a few Holy Bottles, which repel monsters from us. This would take even longer, otherwise.

The Behemoth



: “What is it?”

: “About that nasty monster Jade mentioned...”

: “It looks like it was more than just a rumor.”

: “Is there something here?”

: “It's an old story, but... they say that a violent monster in these parts used to attack travelers.”

: “They sent teams to exterminate it multiple times. They never succeed, so they instead trapped it inside the marsh by planting flowers it didn't like.”

: “I thought it was just a story, but you saw those flowers right?”

: “You're saying that story's real?”

: “Whaaat? It should be dead by now, right?”

: “We can hope...”









: “Is that the monster you were talking about...?”

: “We'll gain nothing from fighting that creature now. I doubt we could defeat it in our present state anyway. We should avoid any confrontation with it as we pass through the marsh.”

: “Why are you so certain we can't defeat it?”

: “If you could beat it by brute force, other teams would have taken it out already.”

: “Exactly. For now, let's run. We know it doesn't like rafflesia pollen. We can use that fact to make it through the marsh!”

: “Okay! And if it does catch up to us, we run immediately!”

: “Understood.”

This is the game's not-so-subtle hint that you're not supposed to try to fight this thing right now.

Skit: Natalia's Future

: “Natalia looks pretty down...”

: “You can't blame her. Recent events have proven to be too great of a shock.”

: “I guess we'll just have to let her sort her feelings out...”

: “We should probably consider what to do with her once we reach Belkend. It could be better for her not to travel with us anymore.”

: “But...! How come?!”

: “We'll eventually have to meet with King Ingobert again. If the King should reject Natalia, that could be an even greater injury to her psyche.”

: “Oh...”

: “It is, of course, a decision Natalia will have to make on her own.”

Hmm, looks like Jade isn't without his own character development. At the beginning of the game, could you imagine Jade caring about his companion's mental health? He would have wanted to ditch Natalia because her presence might incite the King's wrath. Instead, he's worried about her. Jade you big softie.



Oh, and when the characters ran away from the monster, they ran all the way back to the start. So I get to backtrack to where I was. Through lag and a swamp. Thanks.



Thankfully you move normal speed across bridges, so I get some small breathers.

Attacked! Part I



: “What's wrong, Natalia?”

: “Oh! Nothing...”

: “Are you not feeling well?”



Welp!

: “Oh no!”

: “Damn!”



Tear sings and Luke jumps to the rescue.

: “Anise! Rafflesia pollen!”

: “Right!”



And it buggers off.

: “Let's get out of here, now!”

The Monster's Weakness?!

: “It's a good thing we have this pollen. I don't want to become lunch!”

: “Yeah, I never would have though such a big monster would be afraid of a little thing like this.”

: “I've seen similar cases myself, I suspect the rafflesia pollen stimulates its brain cells in such a way that it flees.”

: “Huh... hard to believe that pollen could do that.”

: “There are many more incredible things like that in this world. Many small things, like this pollen, have the power to dispel the greatest of monsters. They're simply amazing.”

: “But running away like that... I guess it's not much of a monster after all.”

: “Right, Natalia?”

: “Huh? Hee hee... yes, indeed.”

At least this one didn't set me back a good minute.



So... much... running...



I take my frustration out on a nearby tree.

Princess of Light



: “...Jade! Time for a break!”

: *Sigh* “You're too nice. You know what happened earlier. Keep an eye out.”

: “Right, the people in Baticul would be in tears if Natalia got hurt here.”

: “Yeah, I was so surprised. They really love her.”

: “Natalia's in charge of public works. She uses the profits to help the needy... everyone admires her.”

: “If Luke were the prince, he would have just enjoyed his nice, cushy life.”

: …

: “Even statesmen need to have character.”

: “Yeah, the people of Baticul don't love the princess. They love Natalia.”

: “But father...”

: “If His Majesty insists on rejecting you, then come with me to Malkuth. I'd welcome you with open arms.”



: “...How can you say things like that with a straight face?”

: “Hey, don't let Guy sweet-talk you into defecting to Malkuth!”

: “How about instead we take King Ingobert of the throne and make Natalia Queen?”

I am 100% behind this proposal.

: “...Hah hah.”



: “It's okay. So much has happened, it's got to have been unsettling.”

: “...I'm sorry, everyone. I'm all right. Thank you, Guy.”

: “I'm happy I could help bring back your smile.”

: “You're going to make me blush.”



: “...Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot.”

Dammit, Guy...

Skit: What We Can Do for Natalia

: “It looks like Natalia is getting hold of herself again.”

: “Thanks to Guy.”

: “I just don't like seeing her all gloomy like that. She's one of us. It's our job to keep her spirits up.”

: “You really are nice, aren't you?”

: “Yeah, a little ditzy, though.”

: “I never expected to here YOU call ME ditzy.”

: “Ditzy! Ditzy!”

: “Look who's talking!”

: “Mieuuuu....”

: “Hee hee. Natalia still has a lot ahead for her to face. I hope we can help her.”

: “Yeah.”

I do like that both Natalia and the party don't just shrug off Ingobert's rejection. Natalia was stripped of both her status as royalty (which she held very dear) and her own father ordered her killed right in front of her. I think anyone would be shaken to the core by that. The group consoling her, the switching back and forth between quite shock, laughing, and sudden emotional outbursts is very human, and Natalia's voice actress does a very good job here. I think I've said before that Natalia's role as a whole is rather underplayed, so I'm enjoying her time in the spotlight.

Attacked! Part II



Thank god.



Seriously?

: “Anise! Oh no! We've got to do something!”

: “We'll keep it busy while the others perform the rescue.”

: “Okay! Go in for the rescue while we keep it busy! After that, run!”

: “Understood!”



With that, we're put into a forced fight. As hinted before you're supposed to run pretty much immediately. Not only is the Behemoth a very high level and powerful monster, but you also get nothing for beating it here. And I mean literally nothing: zero experience, zero gald, no items. Book it as soon as the fight begins.







: “We may not have killed it, but that's enough for now. Let's go!”

: “Right!”



: “Jeez, I thought we were dead!”

: “I heard that attacks barely harm the Behemoth, but Luke's attacks worked.”

: “Perhaps Luke's hyperresonances had an effect.”

...Er,what hyperresonances? It's not like he's creating them every time he swings his sword...

: “You're amazing Master!”



Remember Luke: humility.

: “Attacks damaged it twice. Both times, Tear was singing a fonic hymn. We should keep that in mind as well.”

: “At least we got away. Let's get to town.”

: “Yeah. Belkend is to the west, along the mountains.”

: “Right.”

Right, then let's go!

...By which I mean let's go back. Into the marsh.



Thing is, the Behemoth is sort of a bonus boss that roams around the marsh. He doesn't give a reward the first time you're in the marsh, but if you go back in immediately after you leave he's just wandering around, and is completely killable. He's very tough, but also gives out a pinata of experience and gald, along with some nice items. Also all that shit about needing Luke and Tear is nonsense: anybody can murder this guy. Whatever.

Boss Battle: Behemoth + Tear's Mystic Arte



Anyway, this boss. He may be killable, but the Behemoth is no pushover. You're not supposed to fight him now, and even with 2x exp I'm still underleveled to fight him. I'm also on hard mode because why not, so this fight is probably the most difficult I've had up till now in this playthorugh. He's hard to stagger, does a metric ton of damage, and is quick enough to not be completely cheesed by free run.



Case in point: this is about a minute into the fight.



Oh, and he has a TON of health: 135,000, which is a huge chunk at this point. The last guy we fought had aorund 45,000.



The Behemoth also spams overlimit like an asshole. Speaking over overlimit, I'm also gimping myself this fight by not having Luke use his Mystic Arte due to plot. So that's about 15,000 damage I could have inflicted much easier.



Of course, that doesn't mean others can't use their Mystic Artes.



Speaking of which, I might as well show off Tear's.







Tendrils of light come up from the ground, damaging the enemy. They converge in the sky and then fire a giant beam down, doing more damage. It's actually one of the weaker mystic artes, to be honest. It also has a bad habit of knocking the enemy over and thus out of range of the second part laser beam. Still, it can do decent single target damage.



I finally defeat the thing (five minutes is a long time in Tales of the Abyss) and oh boy. The Gold Helm is an accessory for Luke, which I believe is one of the highest defense boosting accessories in the game for him. Not too shabby.



We're actually done with the marsh now and forever, so let's leave this miserable place behind and head to Belkend.

Next Time: Angst is pushed aside so the plot can come back with a vengeance.

Synopsis:

Inista Marsh is the largest marsh in the world. With the dangerous
monsters living here, almost nobody passes through, but we don't have any
other choice. I'm worried about Asch, who we left behind in Baticul, but the
longer we stay here, the greater risk we run of being caught. We'll have to
make it through here and to Belkend, beyond the marsh.

There's an incredibly tough monster called a Behemoth living in Inista
Marsh. I don't know whether it has some sort of special power or what, but we
couldn't do anything at all against it. Since we can't defeat it, we'll have
to run if we encounter it.

The Behemoth is a problem, but I'm worried about Natalia, too... She's
been looking down ever since we left Baticul.

I can't blame her. It was really tough on me when I found out I was a
replica, after all. Guy tried to cheer her up, but she probably still hurts
inside.

Just as we were about to make i tout of the marsh, the Behemoth attacked
again. We did manage to make it away, though--for some reason it flinched
from my attack.

Why would that be? Up until now we hadn't been able to even scratch it.
Jade said Tear's fonic hymns might have had something to do with it, but who
can tell? Anyway, we managed to make it out of Inista Marsh, so let's head
for Belkend. It's west of here along the mountain range.