Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Part #74 - Seraphic Gate

Part 74: Seraphic Gate - Introduction

Once we've finished all three paths, there's a small change - first, the title background turns from white to black.

The second is that... well, a new addition has been made to the menu.

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What is it you are trying to say, Wyl!? You assume it is for your sake I stand here?

N-no, I-I merely-?

It's pure coincidence. I'll have you know the world does not revolve around you.

O-of course.

That is enough from you! You would do well to listen for once.

"Their laws defy reason. Their horrors defy the imagination. Enter at your peril."

Oh, and "Nothing you see here is real. Whatever happens in Seraphic Gate, stays in Seraphic Gate."

That is kind of you.

N-no, you have the wrong idea! I care not what happens to you!

...

Who are you talking to?

Ancel? What are you doing here? What in blazes is going on?

What do you think, Wyl? I thought dear, sweet Tilte could use a makeover.

After all, what red-blooded male can resist the hot-and-cold type, eh Wyl!? ...Wyl? What are you doing?

...

Feather o'er the battlefield...

No! I... I'm not ready to die!

You're already dead! And if you weren't, I'll kill you! Back to Valhalla you go!

I'll hold on to that for you. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt...

Just as well. I've wrought enough sin for one year.

Good luck... you'll need it.

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Welcome to the Seraphic Gate. Please leave your canon at the door.

The Seraphic Gate is a mainstay postgame element of the series. It's basically a long dungeon with lots of battles. There are ten laps of the Gate, and each one is divided into ten floors. The first nine floors of each lap is also divided into two parts. In total, that's 190 battles to go through - more painful for me than for you, obviously. You can start over from the start of a lap if you wish, but once you finish one lap, you're done with it.

The main quirk is that as implied, the Gate is pretty much non-canon. Characters break the fourth wall, act out of character, and in general there are a lot of amazing quirky scenes that show the developers really do have fun poking at their own game.

Let's talk about how we start off with the Gate - every character that was at any point fully controllable during the main story is usable from the start at level 1, with basic equipment. This means every recruitable party member, plus Ancel. You don't have to use Wylfred, so you can basically make any combination you want. Team Drama of Lieselotte, Rosea, Fauxnel and Ushio? Sure. Just a random team of Auguste, Gwendal, Phiona and Natalia? Well, have at it. There are eight 'secret' characters to be picked up along the way. I likely won't be using them since some of them are grossly better than their competition, but I'll take the time to show them off.

The shop is also available, and is massively revamped - a lot of equipment that was previously Sin or treasure only is purchasable, some at outrageously imbalanced prices, and some things (like Sacred Javelin) have to be found throughout the Gate. You can save between every battle.

Finally, siege techniques are no longer unique to one character, like Caution is to Duwain. Instead, all members of a class gain access to that technique. So any Swordsman can learn Razor's Edge, any Warrior can learn Shield Wall, and so on. Virtuosity, Gold Rush and Killer Instinct are still unique to Ushio, Natalia and Auguste respectively. You can pick them up along the Gate as well.

So, Voting Time!

Here's how it'll work. Vote for four characters which we'll use for the whole Gate - they don't affect any scenes, if you're wondering. No doubling up on any one character this time. The top three will automatically secure their place in the party. The fourth member might get a place, unless I think the resulting party is going to be awkward for me to use - in which case I'll veto it and place a character of my own choosing there. Just a bit of insurance so I don't get stuck with something like an all-Warrior party.

As a reminder, here are all your choices:

Swordsmen

Wylfred

Darius

Mireille

Warriors

Ancel

Gwendal

Mischka

Phiona

Lancers

Heugoe

Earnest

Duwain

Archers

Cheripha

Valmur

Reinhilde

Sorcerers

Note: Mechanically, all Sorcerers are identical except for their gender and starting spell lists. Each Sorcerer's starting spell list is next to their name in parentheses.