Part 1: Meeting Meis

Part 1: Meeting Meis


Be quiet already!

We rejoin our hero stumbling along an endless dirt road, his growling stomach his only company.

I said stop it! But, I'm starving... This is all their fault... If it wasn't for them, I could still be having fun with the ladies.



Truly an example of the heroic prototype. But wait! A group is coming from the opposite direction.



Villager B: They were noble yesterday, but they'll be like everyone else from now on.

A terrible event, wasn't it? And now our hero-

What do you mean, "what event?" Didn't I...oh, right. Hang on a second...



Right, that's better. And so, with remarkable speed for a JRPG, we are given direct control over the protagonist. We can run around the mansion at will, but if we try to leave,


The butler stops us. Instead, we get to perform the traditional JRPG pastime of running around and clicking on everything. However, instead of finding the usual random assortment of potions and accessories, random searching gets us this:


Elemental Spirits, AKA "MP." I'll get more into what MP is when the game lets us use it, but for now just know that we can never have too much of it. MP drops are randomized when we get them, but for now we can expect around 10-20 per location.

Let's have a chat with the hired help, shall we?


Maid 3: I love strong swordsmen like him. Oh, Young Master, you aren't supposed to touch me like that...


He certainly seems livelier than most other protagonists.


Butler: Wherever you go, you must not forget the pride of being a member of the Triumph family. Please lead a reputable life.

We can also speak with the butler here. Hey, wait a second...


NPC's aren't supposed to move like that!

Butler: I'm the butler of the honorable Triumph family. I'll be at your side at all times.

I'd be more creeped out if I thought he could pull it off...


Checking the chimney nets us some more MP.


Speaking to the other maid (2), we hear:

Maid 2: Young Master, you should stop flirting with the girls and spend more time training...sob, sob...


Well, that's enough time spent speaking with the help. Let's check out the second floor.

Incidentally, if I tried to leave now, a Maid 5 would block my path instead of the butler.


This room here is Meis'. Note the books and papers strewn about randomly, as well as the strategically placed bag of spilled chips. Also, I believe that's some kind of kung fu guy on the wall poster.


I wonder why it started from the end of the year. Oh well, only 1 page has writing on it, anyway.

It seems I'm not the only person who sucks at writing daily journals. If we approach the floor books from another angle, we instead find this:

This photo album is incredible... Pictures of a masked beauty... I wonder what's under her mask...


I'm getting the feeling that all these pink books are girly mags.


We find another Spirit in the unused bedroom across the hallway.


In the top corner is Dad's bed, along with his poster collection. Aside from the chibi rabbit thing, we can find:

Wow! A portrait of a beauty! What?! My...that is my mother!!

and more generically:

Hmm, she's dynamite! Very nice...


This rack of swords holds yet another Spirit.


This corner holds the Triumph family library. On the table is this book, which holds some advice from generations past. Note the change in descriptive words in the three entries.


While I suppose the Triumph family wouldn't have reached seven generations without loving some women, I get the feeling that they wound up sidetracked somewhere along the way.


Anyway, that's enough wandering around. Let's go down this hallway and meet Meis' dad.


You are so wonderful, Master Cliff!



What follows is a weird zooming effect where it moves down to Meis' point of view. It's a lot easier to see in the video.


Also: that is one hell of a cape.

That's exactly why I'm with this pretty woman. I'm making a stronger sword!
Well...you are a Spirit Blacksmith and this, I guess, is your job...But, I don't know about this woman thing. Don't you think there are other things you should be doing now? Like gathering weapons and soldiers or something?


It's not like anybody could point out the obvious flaws in my preparations!
That's not the point, Father!


I don't know what they want but I'm prepared to fight them! Meis, you should be prepared as well.
Wow, I'm impressed! It sounds like you've finally pulled yourself together. OK, then. I'll...


Like father, like son.

That's it! But don't get carried away. Even more important than my land...is my property...Errr, my people! It's my duty to protect my people!


People are preparing to leave the land. Meis, you should get ready too!




We return to the present, said leaving in progress.


I guess she's OK too. What a relief.

You know something I like about this game? How self-aware it is sometimes. For instance, here we've got the standard Doomed Hometown scenario, but everybody made it out okay. It's as though Meis' dad said,

What's that? You say my son became a protagonist and now the whole town and I are doomed? Well nuts to that! C'mon, floozy, we're taking this show on the road!
Tee hee!

Anyway, now Meis will-


Shit, we're still not done? Oh, right, we have to find out what Meis was talking about just now.


The screen shakes and a low rumbling can be heard off in the distance as we rejoin our hero just outside his family home. The people are panicking and running to the south.


Still, that's no excuse not to do some last-minute rummaging.


Specifically, there is one area which we can only reach by passing through the smith.


This fenced area holds a furnace which itself holds MP. Man, I have been rolling low for this playthrough.

With that done, we can leave the mansion once again and talk to some of the stragglers in the town.


Don't get left behind...Come on, start heading for town!


Oh, that...Y...you know...if we fight back, people may get hurt, right? We should hide until they leave.

Boy: Hmm...OK! I understand. Whatever you say!


Meis enters the town proper as more explosions rock the land.


People are fleeing the area in droves. One woman stops to talk to Meis:

Lady: Young Master, you better get going too! Most people have already evacuated. I'm leaving too!


A shop owner bids a tearful farewell to his livelihood.


Yet another young lady touches base with Meis before continuing on. Soon enough, everyone has disappeared from view.


Still, there's no harm in looting just a little more, is there?


Seriously, some of these numbers are supposed to get over 15!


Meis notices a voice, surprised that anyone is still left.


It's love at first sight!


Seems a bit young and scared to me, but hey, you're the hero.


So our choices here are A. hit on a woman during a crisis situation, or B...


Hit on a woman during a crisis situation with a really lame pick-up line. However, before she has a chance to slap Meis,



He gets trampled by a bunch of fleeing townsfolk.


That must have hurt his pride if nothing else. By now the sounds of rumbling have stopped, replaced only by the whistling wind. It would seem that the Dark Acolytes aren't interested in empty towns.


And now we know why he's been trudging down a road alone for several days.


The Dark Acolytes took everything from me, my noble status, the land my family has ruled for 7 generations. I've lost everything, all I have left is...


Then maybe you shouldn't be treating it like a walking stick.

Ohhhh, I'm so hungry...Should I sell my sword? No, this is my heritage...What am I gonna do now?


Well, it looks like you've finally reached a town, so I suppose you could-


...uh...





Shit, looks like the main character's bit the dust. I suppose you know what time it is now?

Why, it's J-pop time, of course!