Part 71: The Hidden Circus
Last time, we finally finished deactivating the Planet Storm. It's time to hit the endgame, but... well, we have some stuff to wrap up, first.
Yeah, remember this guy? We've been holding off because one of the items he's requesting is a stripe ribbon, which we can't actually buy until after we defeat Largo. We could have made one at Din's shop, but...
We get some rings we'll never use.
However, we're not done with him just yet.
: “He's still here...”
: “Me Ant Lion Man!”
: “We know that already.”
: “You have to admire his perseverance.”
: “Any normal person would have collapsed wearing all that in this heat.”
: “So what is it this time?”
: “What?”: “Me want eat lots of different things! Ask Astor!”: “I don't really understand, but let's go talk to Astor.”
: “Um, well, we have a message from someone who wants more ships from Chesedonia...”
: “More ships?”
: “I expect he wants an increase in the frequency of the ferry liners.”
: “It's true that fewer trips are being made, with the war and falling land and all.”: “And while the volume of goods being transported may not have dropped, demand has skyrocketed.”
: “That would explain the request to increase the frequency of ships.”
: “Is there anything you can do?”: “I see. Yes, as a member of the Merchant's Guild, I'll take responsibility for seeing to it.”
: “Really?!”: “Yes, if I use my personal assets, I should be able to nearly double the number of sailings.”
: “Your personal assets?! Whoa! You're super generous!”: “Oh, I intend to fully recover it using the increased ship runs. Hee hee hee.”Really? Astor is the head of the Merchant's Guild, but he needed us to realize that if demand is skyrocketing you should increase supply? Okay.
: “He said he'd increase the frequency of the ships. Good news, huh?”: “Now tourists come more! Me get more items!”
: “He's selfish enough, that's for sure.”
: “Whatever. Hurry up and give us our reward.”
: “Anise, be civil.”
: “Oh, who cares? Booo!”: “Okay. You like?”
: “...It's okay, I guess.”: “Oh, well. We got our item. Let's go.”: “Brother is waiting for you.”This little cryptic bit means we've opened up the final part of the sidequest. You'll see in a bit.
: “Are we going to keep going along with this guy?”: “...Maybe.”
Right, Daath next.
Heart of Chaos
: “Wait, Florian! That belongs to Ion--”: “Papa! What are you doing?”: “Oh... we were just sorting out Fon Master Ion's belongings. And then Florian suddenly grabbed one of them and ran off...”
: “So you're chasing him?”
: …!: “Florian! We don't have time for that right now!”: “...Well, there's nothing wrong with taking a break now and then.”
: “You must have some reason for saying that...”
: “So, let's play a little game of tag! Or would it be hide-and-seek?”
: “All right! I didn't spend my whole life stuck in a manor for nothing! You're so mine!”Heh.
Now you could either spend a literal hour searching every nook and cranny of this giant cathedral, or you could just do what I did and look up a walkthrough.
: “Heh heh heh, that was fun!”
: “Could this be a planetary arte catalyst...?”
: “Mama, was this staff Ion's?”
: “What? Yes it was... well, actually it belonged to his predecessor Evenos.”: “Oh yeah... Evenos was trying to resurrect the planetary arte, wasn't he?”: “Then it would make sense for him to have one of the catalysts.”: “Mama, can we borrow this?”: “That's not something I can decide, Anise.”: “Let's ask Tritheim about it.”: “Florian, let's go back to our room, okay?”: “Okay. Anise, let's play again some time!”
: “Would it be possible to borrow it?”: “...Very well. I'll permit it, but please be certain to return it once everything is finished.”
Another catalyst down.
However, we're not done with Daath yet. Or Florian, for that matter.
: “Wh-wh-what is it? What's wrong, Florian?!”: “We need someone to play the role of the mischievous demon! Otherwise we can't do anything at all!”
: “This mischievous demon?”: “If they're looking for a demon, we've got one with us...”
: “Did you say something?”: “...N-no, nothing.”
: “...Oh, my! Anise, you've come at the perfect time!”: “What is it, Mama?”: “Well, we're putting on a play for orphaned children, but the person who was going to play the greedy, mischievous demon got sick.”: “My, that sounds like the perfect role for Anise!”: “Colonel... don't you think that's really rude?”: “Anise. I'm playing the role of the first Fon Master. I make the mischievous demon into a good person. Come on, let's do it together!”: “...Ergh... I can't say no to that smile...”: “Anise, come on, do it for them.”
: “...Oh, all right.”
: “I'm taking all of your favorite candy!”: “It's not right to do things like that.”: “Who cares? These candies are ALL mine!”
: “...Y-you think so...? Perhaps so...”: “If she eats that much candy, she's going to become overweight. Honestly, that Anise...”: “...You really are out of it sometimes, Natalia.”: “My, did I say something strange?”: “Hmm, it looks like it's about to end.”
: “Because you were my first friend. You can have my candy. If only I'd shared the candy with everyone to begin with...”: “Oh stars above! Lorelei! Please save this mischievous demon!”
: “No, that I cannot do. But I shall give this child a new life.”
: “And became the sacred beast of the Order of Lorelei!”
: “...For some reason, that doesn't make me happy. And Mieu got all the applause in the end.”: “Aw, shucks.”: “But I was happy you protected me.”: “That was just part of the story.”: “But I was happy.”: “...Hah hah. Oh well.”
Anise gets the Little Devil title, which gives her the costume she wore in the play. Said costume also happens to be the closest this game gets to sexualizing the 12 year old girl, and is still quite tame. So good job not being creepy fucks, Bamco.
Okay, we're done with Daath for now. Time for something special.
On the northern peninsula of Meggiora, we encounter a barrage of fireworks that not even our trusty shield will let us pass through.
If we take to the sea, however, there's a cave entrance guarded by whirlpools. This, our shield system can handle. In we go!
Well, okay then.
One hilariously long climb later.
Backstage
Music: The Hidden Village
: “A circus, perhaps...? No, not exactly...”: “Looks aside, they seem to be using some pretty decent fon machinery.”: “Whoa... what IS this? It's creepy...”
: “A costume...? How cute...”: “Whaaaat? It's creepy! Tokunaga is way cuter!”
: “T-Tokunaga, cute...?”: “...So what is this place, anyway?”
Welp.
: “You're... the Dark Wings!”: “Your home? You mean this is the Dark Wings' hideout?”
: “That's right. At times, we are a circus troupe, the Black Dream... other times, we are noble thieves, the Dark Wings. But we are always the custodians of this hidden town. Welcome, visitors, to our proud home. Welcome to Nam Cobanda Isle.”If you don't know, Namco Bandai is the company that publishes the Tales Of games, and that's where the name is derived from. It's another Tales Of tradition that there is a hidden easter egg town with the same name.
: “Hidden town...? You mean Kimlasca doesn't know about this?”
Oh god, Libertarians! Run!
It's a joke, no political shitfighting please.
: “Except for Noir, that is. She created this town, after all. Well, I may not look it, but I'm actually a busy guy. I'll be on my way now. You've come all this way. Take a look around before you go.”
: “Why not? We can afford a short rest.”: “Colonel! Are you sure?”: “I won't force you to stay if you are not interested... but this is an autonomous state, in a matter of speaking. I think it would be to our advantage to look around.”: “You're probably right. We might start to understand the Dark Wings a little better, too.”: “The Dark Wings... yes, I suppose so.”: “All right! Field trip!”Another thing about the Nam Cobanda Isle locations is that in each game, they have some sort of running theme. Vesperia for example has the whole town styled as a Japanese high school culture festival. Here, it's a like the backstage of a theater group.
As is fitting then, there's tons of odd shit for you to do here.
This guy wants us to find his brothers for him. If you've ever played Symphonia, think that terrible gnome quest to get into the Earth Temple. We'll be taking care of this later, since there's a costume involved. And no, it's not a cow costume.
You can shoot fire at these targets and rack up points. As far as I'm aware you don't get anything from this, it's just a neat detail.
: “Looks like it.”: “Is it trendy now to act like Ant Lion Man or something?”: “I don't know, but I certainly hope not.”: “If we give this Ant Lion Man something, will he give us something in return, too?”
: “M-me?”: “Yes! You! Who is most important!”
Again, I toyed with the idea of having a vote, but come on. I knew what you were going to say.
: “Tear, I guess...”: …!: “He said it! He casually said it!”
: “That's what I always thought.”
: “Hah hah, I thought so.”: “My sympathies, Tear.”: “Luke! Wh-what are you...”: “Okay!”
: “H-hey! What did you do to Tear?!”: “You give me Gald. Me, give back!”: “Hey!”: “You give no Gald, me no give back important person.”
: “How much do you want?!”: “76,500 Gald!”: “Dammit! Fine, take it! Now where's Tear!?”: “...She's outside.”
: “Yes... I think.”
: “Phew... I was seriously worried...”: “What...?”
: “Uh, I mean, uh... y-you know, if we lost all your equipment, that would suck...”
: “...Oh. Well, you can relax. The equipment's safe.”: “R-right...”
Ayup!
: “Yes, thanks. And when I was struggling, it seems I grabbed on to this. How about you try it on, Anise?”
: “I knew it! It's a Katz costume!”: “Boo! Boo! Why do I have to wear this kind of kiddy costume?”: “Hmm... because you're a kid.”: “Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo! I'm not a kid!”: “Ah, well, just be grateful, Anise. It cost us 76,500 Gald.”: *Sigh* “I'd rather have 76,500 Gald than this suit...”Anise receives the title Cat Cat Kitty Cat. It's also her best costume, because it's absolutely ridiculous.
This here is why we did all of the quests for Ant Lion Man in Chesedonia.
: “Me have special item for you, who helped out brother! Ultimate grab bag of stuff! Act now, and it only 1,000,000 Gald!”: “1,000,000 Gald?! No way!”: You helped our brother. Me give big discount! 150,000 Gald. Good deal!”Well, why not?
: “Thank you, here.”: “What's in it? What's in it?!”: “Hang on. I'll open it. It's kind of heavy...”Received Apple Gel.
: “...It's got sand all over it.”: “What else? What else?”Received Magic Lens.
: “This is covered in sand, too...”
: “...I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this.”Received Apple, beef, chicken.
: “Ewwww, they're all sandy. what else is there?”: “The rest is... sand. The heavy part is sand.”: “Whaaaat?! That's all we get for 150,000 Gald?!”: “I figured. These are the items we--”: “Yeah! This is the stuff we gave him!”
: “...Whoa...”: “When money's involved, she's something else...”: “Wait, please. Me give bonus.”: “...Bonus?”: “here. Take, please.”
The Ant Lion Doll is basically Anise's best equipment in the game, and the only reason I went through this bullshit from the beginning. “Periodically” turns out to be “five seconds”, which means as long as you're careful Anise is basically unkillable. It's the Jewel of Lorelei for Anise.
Here's a man cosplaying as Pac Man.
There are a fair few shout outs to old Namco Bandai games around here.
Defensive Display
: “This is a monitoring system... it looks like it's keeping an eye on the town's surroundings.”: “Then the attack on the Albiore came from being monitored here.”: “That's really nasty...”: “I doubt that it was originally intended for a counterattack. The attacks launched on the Albiore were mere fireworks, after all.”
: “We never had to worry about nobody flying in before, so we just used regular fireworks.”: “...So have people approached by land and sea?”: “Yeah, but our defense systems kept them out.”: “I see... so those unnatural whirlpools are your handiwork.”: “Can you really make whirlpools?!”: “Well, all it really takes is a difference in water level.”: “And there are rock walls all around. Blocking the sea entrance would truly make it a solitary island.”: “But wouldn't that make it difficult to replenish supplies?”: “They're thieves, They probably just steal it all. Though I guess it would be hard to bring back in...”: “Regular thieves wouldn't build a base here. It's just not efficient. Isn't that what you're trying to say, Tear?”: “Yes.”: “Yeah. So why did you build a town in a place like this, anyway?”: “Hmmm... I'm not too sure. If you really want to know, you should try asking Noir. I got no idea if she'll tell you nor not, but you can try...”
With that, we can freely go to and from here at will without having to charge through a whirlpool. Normally this would be the end of the road for us, but since we did that sidequest way back where Guy saved Noir from the circus hating Grand Chokmah citizens and got the Dark Wing Key, we can charge on.
The Noble Bandits
: “Oh, my. I don't recall giving it to YOU.”: …: “Does it really matter? Anyway, there's something I wanted to ask you. Can you tell me about Nam Cobanda Isle?”: “What do you want to know?”: “Why did you set it up here?”: “Oh... hmm, what to do...?”: “Hey, lady. Tell us, and we'll give you Guy.”
: “Anise! What are you trying to-”: “That doesn't sound too bad. I was getting tired of these good-for-nothings anyway.”
: “It might be fun to work with a handsome man for a change.”: “N-no, I... I don't think I'm your type. You need someone a little more, uh...”: “Relax. I'm kidding. But you are darling when you panic, so here's the deal.”: “Noir!”: “Noir!”: “Quiet, you two! It's been fifteen years now. I was born in Malkuth, on the Island of Feres. It was destroyed by the tidal wave from Hod's destruction. I'd probably have been monster food, myself, if a passing ship hadn't picked me up.”
: “And not just me. York and Urushi, too.”: “We was awful lucky to have been saved under them circumstances.”: “We lost our homes, our families, everything in that instant.”: “From that day on, we did anything to stay alive... anything. We nabbed a Scorer, one time, and heard what happened to Feres was part of the Closed Score. If they'd told people earlier, everybody could have survived.”
: “The truth was really hard on Noir... she got more depressed by the day.”: “All we could do was watch over her...”: “That's enough, both of you. Anyway, I got to thinking. Daath controlled the world through the Score. As long as the Order held the Closed Score, neither Malkuth nor Kimlasca could disobey them. So the rulers of both countries forgot their people and started kissing up to Daath. We figured it'd be better to give those idiots' riches to their suffering people.”: “As time went by, we started to pick up war orphans and whatnot. And before we knew it, we were a family of four hundred and fifty-nine.”: “As thieves, we can't live out in the open... but with so many people, it's kind of hard to hide. So we built a town out here.”: “Only a few work as thieves. Most are performers in the circus.”: “Nobody but the thieves knows there's thieving being done.”: “Well, I think that probably answered your question.”
: “...You're really kind.”: “O-oh, my, that's unexpected...”: “Jade, about this town...”: “Yes. We can't just let them go.”: “Jade! That's cruel!”: “Their past certainly deserves sympathy, but that hardly excuses the theft of property.”: “Colonel, it's not that bad!”
Jade, you big softie.
: “Well, that's a surprise. Mister Necromancer, I'd heard you were pretty rough.”: “We have no intention of being caught, either. The town should be safe for a while.”: “Noir, it's time for the next 'performance.'”: “I know! So long, kids.”
: “I must admit it rather pains me to be trusted...”
: “Colonel... you can't mean you tricked them?!”: “No. Their knowledge could come in handy. It's best to keep them on a short leash for now. Besides, a small town like this would fall to a siege in no time.”
Well, it was a rather long dialogue.
Still, I quite enjoy the Dark Wings' backstory. Hell, I just like them as characters. They don't really change over the course of the game, we just find out more about them and realize they aren't bad people. It's a nice subplot.
Anyway, time for us to shove off... well okay, one more thing.
I love this town.
The elevator is working again, so no more ladder climbing. And yeah, the elevator is pac man reference.
Skit: The Reason Behind the Noble Thieves
: “The collapse of Hod had some pretty far reaching effects, hasn't it?”: “Yes. If not for that, the Dark Wings might not even have been formed.”: “Hod's collapse was caused by Malkuth, right?”: “Yes.”
: “Well, if they knew that...”: “Yes... it might be a shock to them, but they already understand what was really going on.”: “What do you mean?”: “They know that both Malkuth and Kimlasca relied too heavily on the Score and didn't actually govern.”
: “They have taken to noble banditry, precisely because we, the royalty, have been so foolish.”: “Though I still can't condone theft from ordinary people working hard to earn their living.”: “Wow, you really are tough, aren't you?”: “Not at all. Even bad laws are still laws, after all.”
Unfortunately, I am. See you all next time.
Next Time: The Calm Before the Storm