Part 3: Doomed to Obscurity

For the boy, we're going with the name Billy.


UPDATE 3: Robbing Ozymandias

Whenever you load a saved game, you're treated to a short opening animation, as if this was an episode of an anime. Interestingly, this video changes in minor ways as you progress though the game.
Here's the video as it shows now.

Youtube



Which is a week after Pearl's attempted Suicide By Gob.


He's not a treasure hunter, he's a thief!





MUSIC: "Scars of Leftover Memories"


Most of the dungeons in this game have vaguely ominous names like these. It can make it tricky to remember which one is which. I like this name though.
Trying the door won't get you anywhere.
That figures; it's locked. Might as well search the area.


Most of the puzzles in this section are platforming puzzles. You'll need to loop and weave your way around this pyramid to gain access.
Note that Billy jumps off a platform in the third shot. When you approach a drop, the character will teeter on the edge until you press X to drop down.


And a kid will. Pressing Square makes Billy use his tool - a Boomerang. This breaks down the barrier and lets us in!


Hey hey! Treasure!


DAMN IT ALL


While Billy is plunging to depths unknown, someone comes out of hiding.


He looks entirely too cheerful as he runs to the front door and picks the lock.
Billy must suck as a thief and treasure hunter if it was that easy.


Inside the pyramid, Billy drops into a chaotically designed room. The purpose of this place is to teach you to rotate the camera, as you'll need to to find the path though it.


The path is easy to follow, and will lead you to the green switch in the third and fourth shots - hitting it with a boomerang lowers a section of wall.


You can now walk over it and get to the door. The two treasure chests in the room contained a Heal Berry and 600 Gella.


There's monsters too, of course. These weird... things... are really no threat at all though.


Their sole attack is Hard Touch, where they flail their tentacles at you. It does next to no damage.


On the other hand, Billy can easily one-shot them.


These passages descend deeper into the ruin. Not much in them though, except...


OW

Ugh! What the...? What's with the spears, huh?

This place is full of traps, though most of them are these spears. They're easy to recognise once you know what they look like.


Sneaking close enough to spring the trap (but not be hit) and then destroying it with the boomerang is a good bet, but if you're feeling adventurous you can just sprint through.

In the next room, Billy encounters a few people who, quite frankly, remind me of Muppets.

(Agh, just ignore 'em. I've got bigger fish to fry.)

The two groups awkwardly ignore each other for a moment until a bald guy runs in.


I couldn't find him back there. The only place left is this ruin.
The lock to the entrance was already picked by the time we got here. Looks like Pike got here one step ahead of us.
(Sounds like the person who picked the lock is causing quite a scene. Heh, it's got nothin' to do with me though.)

Unless, y'know, he's going for the same treasure as you Billy)

(Better move on before this nonsense gets outta hand.)
Young man... Might you be a Drifter?
(Gimmie a break...)


Would it be too much to ask you to go find him? This place is full of traps and monsters, and none of us can go any further.
I'm looking for the [Crystal Flower]. That's all -- I'm not interested in any manhunt.
The Crystal Flower!? But that thing's...



Kovahn reaches out and stops Goodwin before he can finish.

We'll offer a reward. I'm not sure if the amount will be worth your while, but...
How much...?
Two hundred...
That amount isn't even worth my time to negotiate. Sorry, but find yourself a good Samaritan.
But...!

But that's that. You can continue with the dungeon now, but these people have more to say if you talk to them.

That youngster Pike... He's leaving for another village pretty soon, so that he can work and send money to us. I can't just stand here knowing that he might die! Can't you think it over?

"I'll stand here and let you save him instead!"

Many Drifters have explored this ruin but nevertheless, it's still dangerous. Many traps and monsters infest the area. Danger might not mean much to you, but for us common folks, there's no way we can go any further.

I'm well aware that Drifters make a living undertaking dangerous tasks. However, under this sudden circumstance, we are unable to prepare a substantial reward. Please understand and reconsider.

This ruin has been plundered by many Drifters over the years. You won't find any rare treasures here. But the young lad who is lost is our treasure. In other words, he's the only treasure left in this ruin. Sir, as a Drifter... Won't you please make it your goal to find the last treasure?


No matter how powerful you were in life, you can't take it with you.


The next area features a pair of large metal nets suspended over a pit.
Those nets should be strong enough to support me.


Pressing X under a net makes Billy jump up and swing hand over hand under it. If you head to the edge of the net and press X again, you can flip him up onto the net and walk on it.
Walking on top's faster but you don't get random encounters while hanging, so if you want to avoid them it can be worth your time to do it the slow way.
Using this net will let you drop down to the treasure chest which contains a Mini Carrot.


Then you need to backtrack to the entrance. As you might have guessed, spikes will shoot out of the floor if you walk over those holes.


Dropping onto the central block instead lets us get to the other net and the exit.


This dungeon LOVES it's platforming, and you'll spend a lot of time hanging from and walking on nets. This room is pretty typical - clambering on these nets will get you to the treasure chest (Heal Berry) and let you drop down to the exit.


It's still throwing spears in your way too, and doubling them up to try and trick you, but I think I have this sorted. I don't think spears will be of any further concern to us...


DAMNIT
In my defence, you can't see the holes they come out of at that angle.


You deal with these with the boomerang, just like the other ones.
The chests contain a Gimel Coin and a Revive Fruit. I don't know why the game is giving me Revive Fruits, because you can't use a Revive Fruit on yourself on account of deadness.



Downstairs, the green haired kid is tapping the ground.


Nah, I ain't here to hurt you, either. I have other plans, although I'm not sure my source is reliable.
Wait, are you a Drifter? Were you hired to find me and take me back? Then you're here a little too early, you know...
So you're the one everyone's makin' a fuss about. Don't worry. I have no intention at all to take you back against your will. I'm just here for the treasure.


He starts searching the crates.

Umm... Excuse me...
Hey, hello!?
I thought I already told you I'm just here for the treasure.
Is it the Crystal Flower you're looking for?
Why? You know something?


So, where is it!? Tell me everything you know!
Well... Uhh... I have no idea where it is now, but...
Where it is now!? What do you mean by that?
Well, like I said, the legend of the Crystal Flower's really famous. I think it was just the other day... that a Drifter girl came here and took it.
Damn... Someone beat me to it. Or maybe I was just duped by my informant...
That's too bad. I hear there's nothing worthwhile left in these ruins. And everyone says this ruin is unstable. So if there isn't anything here for you, it's best that you leave now.

Incidentally, this explains why Kovahn interrupted Goodwin earlier before he could tell Billy this. They're totally taking advantage of him here.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.


Then let me ask you... What are you doing here if you know how dangerous this place is?
I'm here looking for treasure -- just like you. But this is a treasure that only I know about.


Yo, I think something's coming.
Yeah, I think I got something, too!
This isn't the time! Either you help me out, or run away! Now, which is it?
Sorry, neither...I've come here for my treasure and I'm not leaving without it. I won't be able to survive in a faraway place if I don't take this with me! It's a sentimental treasure that reminds me of this land--where I grew up!
...You can get as sentimental as you want, but that's none of my concern.




Something drops down from the ceiling!

BOSS BATTLE: TATZELWURM

MUSIC: "Blood, Tears, and the Dried-Up Wasteland"


Like the Hobgob Boss, Tatzelwurn isn't too hard. He's also not nearly as cool.


He has two attacks, but neither are really reason to worry.


However, once he's near death he will start to use a skill to heal himself. Unfortunately, since he is faster than Billy and will always move first, this makes him impossible to kill by conventional means.
It regenerated!? ... Fine... This time, I'm gonna make you eat bullets before you get the chance to heal!


The trick here is to use Accelerator, Billy's Force Ability. This ability costs 25 FP, and ensures that he WILL go first in this round.
We're using it here to make an ordinary attack.


This gives us two attacks in a row before it can heal, and kills the beast.



 Though actually the damage is irrelevant. The Tatzelwurm is scripted to die when you use Accelerator 



Our rewards include a Dragon Fossil, a rare-ish item that will be pretty useful later.


But it looks like you've ended up empty-handed.

"You won't be rubbing it in when you're bullet-ridden, treasure-less body is found, will you?"

Billy goes to leave, but...


Oh shi-



He gets away, but the stairs up are blocked.

Damnit! All this trouble, and yet I'm gettin' nothing out of it!
Hey, are you all right? That last battle must have shaken things up a bit.
By the way... About that treasure you dug up...
Oh, here. It probably doesn't even compare to what you usually charge.


Oh you are shitting me.

It's all junk! This ain't something you'd risk your life over!
You don't have to get so mad... I said it wasn't worth much. These are all toys from my childhood. They're my fond memories of growing up here. We used to play in this ruin before it got infested by monsters. As a child, I thought every moment would last forever. But as time went by, I grew up, and now I'm an adult.

"How long has been been since you last played with these things?"
"A week. But I think I've really grown up a lot since then, which is why I had to come get them NOW!

I only have a week left before I go away to a faraway land to work. That means I only have one week left of my childhood.

"And I'm going to spend it with Pretty Pony Princess Penny! Pretty pony! Pretty Penny!

To tell you the truth... I'm scared to death. Would I be able to adapt to an unknown place? Moreover, would I be able to stay true to who I am? I'm scared I won't be myself anymore. That's why I want to take with me the memories of who I am now, so I won't forget.


That's why I'm a Drifter. I'm free as a bird to fly wherever I want. I have no worries.
Maybe except for my income.
I can't pay you or offer any treasure, but I can help you get out of here.
You know this ruin well?


I told you I used to play here. It's a bit dangerous, but we can make it out of here through this door. Hurry, we don't have much time.

There are some more rooms with nets next, but they're pretty much the same as before.


The one wrinkle is that you need to hit some switches with your boomerang to lower those vertical nets. In this shot, we're actually higher up than the switch. We have to throw the boomerang at the wall - when it hits it, it'll stop and fall down onto the switch.



On the next floor, there is another brief tremor and everyone pulls a constipated expression.

Good... Sounds like it settled down. It wouldn't do me any good if I died here, even if I did find my memories.


(Why's he so passionate about it?)

(all these inner monologues... I considered naming this guy "Whatever")

But we have no time to waste. Come on, lets hurry. My ticket will be useless if I miss the train.
You're taking a train? I didn't know there was a station around here.
There isn't. The closest station from here would probably take me about five days on foot. And it'll take me about another day by train to reach my destination. Even though I have a week left before I start work, today's the only day I have to pack everything. That's why I don't have time.
Why don't you leave later?
Speaking of trains... There's supposedly one transporting a great treasure. Because of that, there's a strict screening of all passengers for every single train.

Hello, shoehorned plot point!

I was really lucky to get a ticket under these circumstances. All thanks to the villagers.
Well... We gotta get out of here first.
yeah, that's right.


Phew... All right! I don't know what I would've done if the device was broken. Looks like we'll make it out okay. This door leads to the main hall. We're almost there.
Good... By the way, can you tell me more about that train in detail -- the one transporting the treasure?
Sure... But why? I doubt you'll be able to get a ticket.
Lets just say it will be my reward for saving you. Don't worry about the ticket. I'll think of something.
Okay, deal. I'll tell you more once we make it out. But seriously, thanks a lot. I never imagined I'd be able to experience something so exciting on my last day here. This is a memory we'll share forever.



MUSIC: That Which One Aspires to and Seizes


And so they made it out OK. Pike was not slapped, despite certainly deserving it.



And there ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on!


Billy gets a lot of hate. Much of it is deserved - he's that frustrating angsty archetype that really infests JRPGS. But at least he's not the main character.


Bonus videos
In this video - climbing the pyramid, the net rooms, and the boss battle with Tatzelwurm.

Youtube


By the way, I'm still getting those weird e-mails. I guess I might as well share them.



I don't know what they're talking about. Any ideas about this King of Angolmois fella?