Part 9: There'll come a day when I get used to all these funky talking objects, I'm sure...

-The Hermit's Garden-



What do you know? Tita IS a little taller.

You don't have access to any AoE arts this soon, so Tita's orbal cannon will come in handy. If you were able to pick up her Cannon Impulse F upgrade in SC, she'll have it here too.



She's still quite frail, but eventually she'll be a serious force to be reckoned with.



I'll fill out Tita's orbment with Action 1, Hit 1, and Information.



You only need to fight five or so battles to recharge the big fountain o' craft brew, so it's a huge help.



I'm also warping back to the central monument instead of walking from here. Work smarter, not harder.





-Jade Corridor-



Tita brought an Eagle Eye quartz with her, so now I can see monsters properly.





And here's a bit of a surprise.



Slime Lumps are a little bit like Shining Poms from the first two games. They're quick to flee and hard to kill, but they drop lots of time, space, & mirage sepith.



P-Prepare to meet your d-doom!



All yours! HYAH HYAH

Now once more, with feeling!





Prepare to meet your doom!
Come on, everyone!
YAAAAAAAAAAHHHH



Phew! That was scary!

You'll notice that wasn't quite up to Tita's former potential in SC. Most of the S-Crafts have taken a big nerf: either less damage, a smaller area of effect, or both.



Heeheeheehee! We did it!



And that's what a Slime Lump gets you. You have to know when to take your lumps.





Goddess bless thee.





Wasn't this path blocked before?
Sure was... What's going on?
Is something wrong?
The last time we passed by here, this path was blocked by some kind of barrier. But as you can see, it's nowhere to be seen now.
Really...? I wonder what could have caused that.
Well, if we think about what's changed since when we last passed here and now...
...maybe it was releasing Tita from the stone that caused it to disappear? I mean, we haven't done anything else.
O-Oh, I see...
Still, that actually could be it.
Huh? You think?
Think about it. The stone with me inside was near here, too, right? Maybe that was more than a coincidence. This could be among one of the many rules that govern this place that we just haven't figured out yet.
Rules?
...Hmm. I think I get what you're trying to say.
So in this case, we wouldn't have been able to advance any farther if we hadn't released you from that stone?
That's right. I can't be sure, but I do have a good feeling about it.
And a good feeling is good enough for me right now.
We still don't have a clue who's responsible for the situation we're in, but it all feels very deliberately set up.
Which is all the more reason we'll need to be careful, I suppose.









A shining door with a moon on it...?





Bring to me the girl skilled in orbal engineering. Only then shall the door open...

Wh-Whoa! I could hear a voice talking right into my mind!
It looks like this door's got a will of its own like the tree, spring, and monument back in the garden.
There'll come a day when I get used to all these funky talking objects, I'm sure...
I can only think of one person who might fit the door's description...



Y-You think it means me?
Most likely.
It's a pretty terrible riddle. It's sure not me or Ries.
Hey, door. It's her you mean, right?
You can't just ask the riddle door straight out! That's cheating. Besides, we can't be sure if this is the door that always tells the truth or the door that always lies.

Indeed... She is the one I seek.



Only she may enter...

If she fears not the trial within, she should step forth through the door.

T-T-Trial?!
Maybe it wants to test your strength to see if you're worthy of...something. And apparently, we can't even go inside to back you up in it.
That's ludicrous.
I propose we disregard this door and move on.
...
W-Wait! I'm going to go inside!
But, Tita...
Hold on just a sec! There's no way...
I feel like this might be another of the 'rules' I was talking about earlier. And besides, we've got so little to work with as we try to get out of here. We need all the clues and help we can get. If it seems like it'll be too dangerous, I'll come right back out. I promise!
Well...
...
All right. We're counting on you. But like you said, if it seems too dangerous, come right back out. Don't expose yourself to any more danger than you need to.
Do be careful.
I will!



Since we're trapped in outer space, we can't really go back to town & hang out at anybody's house. Instead, most of the content that would happen there is locked away behind these magic doors.

Most of them are quite long, so I'm going to split them all off into separate updates. We'll see what lurks behind this door next time.





Are you feeling okay? You look quite tired.
Heehee. I'm fine!
I did have to fight some scary enemies, but I managed to pull through.
That's good.
So what happened in there?
Well...

Tita explained everything that happened on the other side of the door.



There are twenty-five Memory Doors in all: fifteen Star Doors, five Moon Doors, and five Sun Doors. Most of them require specific party members, but there are other possible requirements like certain items, amount of battles won, etc.

On that note, I should mention that you really want to try and avoid fleeing any battles on your first playthrough. Near the end of the game, you can get one of two items if you've either fought 300 battles without ever fleeing, or fled 300 times. However, you'll have to win 400 battles if you want to open every Memory Door. Attaining that along with 300 battles fled is an almighty pain in the ass.

I see...
Yep. Sounds like this is another one of our rules, all right.
In other words, first you need to meet some condition or conditions to get the door to open. After that, you fight your way through a battle, or trial... Win, and you get to see some kind of 'memory fragment' and walk away with mira as a bonus.
That sum things up?
Yeah... That's how it was for me. The memory fragment didn't feel like it was quite finished, though. There seemed to be more that I didn't get to see.
Hmm... Maybe there's more than one pattern to these doors, then.
Either way, every time we find one, we should probably note its location and conditions down.
Indeed.



Any doors you interact with will be recorded in the Gralsritter Notebook. More info will be added once you manage to pop them open.



You can also warp to any door you've discovered. If you don't meet a door's requirements, it's no sweat to go get what you need and come back later.



Goodness! Whatever could this mean??????

Maybe we'll find out next time.