Part 53: Episode 52: Bleak Seasons Part 1

Update split into two parts unexpectedly because I have to transcribe all of this since the game script doesn’t have optional stuff Part 2 should be up tomorrow.

So we are down to two goals before we blow this popsicle stand for the end game. Put the spirits of the original Dragoons to rest and put down Faust. Faust gets to wait til this bit of business is over since he is supposed to be the super boss and I want all the delicious XP I can get! So let’s bring Rose back to Vellweb to deal with old friends. It...is not going to be a happy and uplifting set of updates.

For thematic sake every fight will have Rose and the corresponding party member. It is far from the most efficient way to fight them, but by god its the RIGHT way.


Rose: “(Nothing has changed here. Not even a bit. Syuveil....it is such an irony that you who studied life and death cannot die completely.)”


And as he is named in Rose’s head the man himself pops up. Meet the original Jade Dragoon! Of the four we need to take on he is the most like our party member Dragoon. He seems a fairly bookish sort, if far more morbid than Albert. The other three skew pretty far off those that came after them.

Rose: “I was asked by Shirley, and came to see how you are doing. How are you? How are your studies?”

Syuveil: “Through the subjugation of Mayfil I think I completely understand where life comes from and where it goes. Winglies have been manipulating souls, namely life, from Mayfil the place known as the Death Capital, and the Crystal Palace, known as the Life Capital. We saw in Mayfil the destination of life. The darkness opened up into Hell.”


Rose: “That is why you cannot die completely.”

Syuveil: “I don’t want to go to a world of nothing spread out on the tip of darkness. I don’t like nothingness. Where should I go!?”


Nothing says a shitty afternoon like putting down your friend that is so fucking terrified of death he’s clung to the world for 11,00 years.


Boss fight!

So time to put down Albert and Greham. Like the other two he is a spear user and can use any of the Jade Dragoon offensive magic. He will not buff himself up with Rose Storm thankfully.


Syuveil decides the most prudent course towards living is to kill Albert and take the real Jade Dragoon stone back.


Being basically Albert: The boss fight Syuveil hits pretty strongly with physicals doing about 700 damage. Also of note is he is WAY faster than Albert/Lavitz. All the Dragoons we fight are hopped up on speed compared to their playable versions.


Albert repays the favor of being stabbed by doing parkour of Syuveil’s chest.


As much as I’ve abused magic attack items this game I’ve never shown them mid-throw I think. Syuveil is about to eat a Psychadelic Bomb for 1200 because he has awful magic defense.


He then decides to bust out a Gaspless at Albert.


And show off his sweet glasses. I wonder how he keeps those on while spinning around like a crazy man.


This attack may look flashy, but is really a poor decision because Albert is wearing the Jade DG armor and is immune to wind damage. WOOPS.


Having gotten her work in on the Bomb and buffing Albert Rose starts helping to beat down her old comrade.


Syuveil thanks her with a Dragoon attack to the face.


Slightly more effective magic! He can use wing blaster all day long for all I care. It only does about 350 damage to Rose and Dart.




I totally forgot to turn Dragoon transformations off so hey, enjoy a shot from Rose transforming.


I really don’t feel like wasting items on healing so have her use a good ol’ Astral Drain. She can do those all day long and do a bit more damage than a Demon Dance. Only heals for 210, but the fight is going pretty well. He’s definitely the easiest of the four fights.


One Jade Dragoon is not enough! Albert decides to join the party.


Who is the real Dragoon!?


Apparently Syuveil because Albert is only level 3 and certainly can’t do this.




Apparently there is quite a variety in Jade Dragons. This thing looks completely different than Feyrbrand.


It also shares the Divine Dragon’s love of back cannons.


And this game's general love of occasionally being completely psychadelic.


Albert still gives no fucks. Rose shrugs it off. Dart eats it for 1000 damage. Suddenly I realize no one is actually wearing the Legend Casque.


Get ready for a familiar sight! Rose has hilaribad HP and if any of these Dragoons double her she is in serious risk of grievous injury or death.


And to keep things appropriate Albert gets the killing(rekilling?) blow in on Syuveil.


All the Dragoons actually get unique little animations after defeat in here. It’s pretty unique in the game. Almost everything else gets a Dart killing blow or just fades away in an explosion of red polygons.


Our reward is some pretty solid experience and an accessory that halves damage from Wind. All the Dragoons drop the same XP and an equivalent elemental accessory. By the time we fight all four about ¼ of Dart’s total XP will be from just these fights!


Rose: “Life does not come from anywhere or go anywhere. It just goes around with all other lives. It is part of a great wheel.”

Syuveil: “I can come back...again. To the place with light....To the place with warm lives.”

Rose: “How...can I tell you?”

You can tell Rose is like “How the hell am I supposed to really know. I’m just trying to help you get over yourself. At least its hope.”

Rose: “But maybe ahead in the 'hell' you saw in Mayfil, there might be a place with light waiting for you...all is...up to you.”




Syuveil: “I must think it through....Thank you, Rose.”


And all that remains of one of the great heroes of the world is an empty hall and the memories of less than 10 people.

Rose: “Let’s keep going...Dart.”

I imagine Rose is feeling a little lost in time and having a hard time separating Dart from the Zieg of her past. Well, maybe Haschel’s predecessor will have been a bit better off!


Rose: “(Here too...the same as the past)”


Kanzas: “Who is it!? Oh it’s you. You hate this place so much. What made you change your mind about coming here?”

Rose: “I didn’t change my mind.”


Wait, what?

Kanzas: “Huh! Say what you want! These are mementos to remind me of the taste of blood dripping from my fist! There is no reason to be criticized by you!”

So, uh yeah. Kanzas may have been a total badass that gave up his life taking out a virage. But he’s also basically a fetishistic serial killer that just happened to be fighting for the good guys. Kanzas is seriously not nice people.

Rose: “The people killed by you won’t be saved if they find a memento in such poor taste as their tomb.”

Clunky editing team assemble!

Kanzas: “You...”


Rose: “I now understand the reason why you are clinging to this world. You haven’t killed enough.”




I have to say I’m going to be a lot less broken up about beating Kanzas down than Syuveil.


Haschel manages to go first and Shoryukens his dick ancestor. But for only 350 damage. And Kanzas doesn’t even have great defenses. Omnisweep is still at level 1 and Haschel has the lowest base strength of the men folk. Once he levels Omnisweep up he is a tyrant with speed gear, but atm he’s pretty mediocre.


Dart, I know it looks cool. But I’m pretty sure swords do not work that way. Not at all!

Or maybe they do cause he does triple the damage of Haschel. Blazing Dynamo is up to level 3 and Dart has a lot of levels on everyone else because I can’t get him out of the party.


Redeeming factor for Kanzas: His beard is way cooler than Haschel’s old man stache. Also all three Violet Dragoons in the game have about the same skin tone. Despite being Albert’s uncle Doel was pretty dusky too.


Kanzas keeps his promise to try to kill Rose.


 He’s going to succeed  Although not with this attack. It only does about 450.


So Kanzas does his best DBZ power up.


Seriously.


And because Rose can occasionally match her early game ownage she dodges level 2 Dragoon magic!


Oh god this guy is serious about wrecking her shit.


He then makes the poor decision of attacking Haschel with lightning magic for 31 damage. Pro AI.


Haschel is having none of this and punches Kanzas in the face.


Oh god. I know this. Oh wait he’s targeting Haschel. Carry on.










Emboldened by being the best old dude and shrugging off an incarnation of pure electric power Haschel jumps into Dragoon form as well!




This time Kanzas has way better targeting and fucking vaporizes Rose for 1800 damage. Character death count: 6


Get your ass up. You’re, uh, too old to die.


Seriously this is the most DBZ of boss fights.


God damn it, Kanzas. Character death count: 7

And then after she is revived he immediately beats the shit out of her again. He is really keeping to his pre-fight promise. This is the last of her deaths this battle though. Kanzas is about dead.


I wanted to give Haschel the final hit but I really did not want Rose to die again and she was certainly in range of it.




Rose: “But after all, it was to kill?”

Kanzas: “Yes, that’s right. But, it wasn’t the only reason.”


Kanzas: “I thought the nobleness of Shirley, which I could never have, would take me somewhere I could otherwise never know. Some bright place I couldn’t know. So, even after death, I have been looking for that place.”


Well, you might have been kind of an asshole. But good luck on the other side, buddy.

Rose: “The ‘bright place’...I hope you can reach there. Let’s keep going”

Half way through and we aren’t even close to peak depressing yet! Belzac isn’t that bad really, but the water Dragoon is pretty crushing.