Part 39: Crimson's End

Part 39: Crimson's End


Once again, we find ourselves in a samey ship dungeon. Almost the whole place is just short, connecting corridors, and all the area transitions mean that there aren't many enemies to fight. Still, I did encounter a couple.


Such as this gyrocopter! Yep, a gyrocopter. In the middle of a set of short corridors. Because why not?


The Spear Gearmen at least make some sense, plus they use the strongest Wind spell every so often.


Ah yes, the Benly Brothers. I somehow missed the first one, but they all grant a full rest and restore when you talk to them. Very convenient, I have to say. Also nice is the Restore he was keeping in that chest.


Up the stairs first...


And then an elevator to the bridge.


Hey, look who it is!


Whoa, Muza for the Heroic Speech.


It's utter nonsense, but he's nailing those poses.

Muza! *Relationship Up Jingle*


Looks like the speech didn't take (not like it ever would, honestly).


All right, now it's Meis' turn!


Or more precisely, Golda's turn. I kept this combat in mostly because I'm so overleveled by now that I killed Bearing here with one use of each summon (plus two of Golda). As such, it's pretty nice to watch.


I mean seriously, I murdered this poor bastard.


Seriously! He's just pouring out the engine oil.


Then, as usual (mostly), he blew up.




Seems like the Death Crimson controls were built with random explosions in mind, however, since it did a much better job of not exploding. Oh yeah, and that blue flame there isn't just decoration.

Meis! Your hammer!


One hammer and glowing orb later...


We have ourselves the Wind summon! Hang on, that means the Wind summon was hanging out in a volcano. What the hell was it doing there?


Right, on to the next important thing.

But where are we supposed to go?
It is most likely that Sodina was taken to Dianova...


Feeling a sudden inspiration, Kyleen walks up to the console and starts pushing buttons.

Hey, wanna try the computer? Maybe we can find Dianova with it.



At this point, Meis is rather suddenly able to wander around freely. Talking with Kyleen ends this segment, so it's mostly just a way of having a last chat with everyone before the big confrontation.

Meis, we have to get Sodina back and smash the bad Emperor!
There is no need for fear. We trust each other, and that strengthens us.
Let's go, Meis! Sodina must be going through hell!
Let's get movin', Meis! We'll bust into Dianova and rescue Sodina, just like that!
Hey Meis, guess what? This ship will take us directly to Dianova!
Alright! Let's do it!




In spite of their enthusiasm, it does not go as planned. I was thinking of saying, "How can the Death Crimson fly without the Holy Flame?" but as it turns out, the answer really is, "Not very well." Also, you can tell that this is all one video file thanks to the horrible artifacting during the bridge cuts. Compression has really come forward leaps and bounds in ten years, hasn't it?


Still, everyone has managed to survive the impact through whatever means.


For once, Muza actually points up at something in particular.

Yes, indeed.
OK, then. Let's head for the top floor!


At this point, while I could head straight into the massive gash Death Crimson opened in the superstructure, I can also go down this way.


This puts me out on the world map. And while there isn't any real way to get out of here, I can use Meis' new Warp ability to teleport to any visited location while on the world map, including going to and from Dianova. Still, I'm not going anywhere with Sodina still trapped in here. She's got all my support spells!


In general, Dianova is an irritating series of mazes that look like a kid's playhouse. Lots and lots of primary and secondary colors everywhere. This area Meis is standing in is the stairway maze; each floor is made up of different sections connected by staircases, and like most JRPG protagonists, Meis can't be bothered to jump a few feet across and circumvent massive chunks of the maze.


Monsters include the excessively winged Wind Dragon,


Water Spirits (who oddly tend to use the single target Water spell more often than not), and yet another upgraded Shutvaltz Leader. I didn't respect those guys the first time they showed up, and they're still just as pathetic as ever now.


A few areas up is the holding cell area. No Sodina, of course, but there are a few assorted townsfolk who got captured and stuck here.


Guarding the release lever (and the way out) is another pair of Shutvaltz Leaders. Still nothing to worry about, naturally.


After killing them, Meis moves on his own to flip the giant lever.


Several of the cells hold some pretty good loot, plus the last Benly Brother (who assures us there are no Benly Sisters).


Upstairs from the holding area is the elevator maze. There's two floors of catwalks connected by elevators, and the goal is to find the one that leads up even farther.


Also in this area is Lord Armor, which adds more to Speed, Offense, and Defense than any of the other, specialized accessories can. Supposedly, the downside is that Lord Armor also doubles the damage you take, but when Meis is tremendously overleveled and gets that much Defense, it doesn't even matter. I'll take it!


Up here, I also encountered the Dark Doll, which is just as annoying as its counterpart was in the Cloud Manta dungeon.

There was also a perspective maze above the elevator maze, which consisted of a series of repetitive intersections. Reaching certain intersections caused the camera to move 90 or 180 degrees (with a fadeout so you couldn't tell exactly). I'm still not sure how I managed to navigate out of that mess.


At long last, I've reached the boss corridor. You can tell because there's a Save Damashi at one end and an intimidating door at the other, plus all the nice stained glass displays along the way.


Ooooohhhhhhh...


While we're staring at her, we get this weird flashing effect here.

Sodina!


Pull yourself together! We'll have you free in no time!


But then guess who slithers in?


Schmidt! What are you doing with Sodina!?
I'm going to make the ultimate sword! To do so, I need her elemental power!


Also, paper beats rock. Ha!


(Damn it, he got me!)

It is expected. The Emperor is a god to us, the people of Darkness. Now I see...Jyabil was afraid of my awakening to my potential. That's why he avoided answering my questions...


Oh, so NOW she's aware of her surroundings. Not when I was in danger, oh no, but when Jyabil gets mentioned...

He was trying to show you that it didn't matter which Clan you were from.
What are you saying?
He said you had the potential to become a great Spirit Blacksmith, but it depended on what you set your mind to.
Jyabil sent me to the Mirror of Souls. I know you've seen my reflection...You can't expect me to turn to the way of Light, just like that...


I wanted to make a strong sword, so I did it the only way I knew how! Great Spirit Blacksmith? Do you truly believe that you, the people of the Light are the righteous ones?



Funny he should mention that, because Golda utterly raped the two of them.


I barely had the chance to use Raou once before Schmidt fell, as you can see in the video.





And with Schmidt defeated, that dark crystal thing he had Sodina trapped in breaks, freeing her. Unfortunately, this update is getting really long and Schmidt talks for hours before dying, so

Next time: Schmidt's death and the final fight of Dianova.