Part 8: Ruins of Memory

Update 8: Who can you trust if you can't trust an obvious villain?



Jolly Roger is far to the southeast, across this bridge. It's just in the shadow of that cliff to the right of the screenshot.



Searching near the beach turns it up.



We had something to do on the way though.

Farming for gems is a little bit annoying at this point because we need to build some FP before we can use arcana, and attacking to build FP invariably kills the enemy.
These gobs are perfect for farming gems because the accuracy on their Reckless attack is so low everyone can block, effortlessly dodge it and get the 12FP bonus. They can then be mowed down with Arcana in the next turn and precious gems harvested.
Since I already have about 3000 gella, all I need is 20 gems. This doesn't take long to gather.



Of course, I also have the option of complete overkill. Summons count as elemental attacks and convert enemies into gems too.



There are also these things, but they're no fun, as they're accurate enough to make dodging rarer.

MUSIC - Scenery Called Everyday



Well, what now?
We obviously need to get some leads in order to continue. In addition we need...



It's so amazing how well we get along after just meeting each other! So, let's liven up our farewell party with some food! I can't stand morose gatherings.
...
You mean ask around over drinks at the saloon? Makes sense... Let's say goodbye and discuss our individual agendas over at the saloon.

Lets explore the town for a bit and meet the locals before heading over there though.

Each crashing wave of sand bites off a little more land from the continent. This town's time will come, too. When did the world get this way? I'm not talking about legends and stories, I want to know the truth.

Ask Volks for directions if you ever lose your way in life. He always spews authentic-sounding advice on cue, even though he barely knows much about anything.

I have been short on gurus lately. Maybe I'll give that a try...

The badge of a Drifter is never given; you must find it yourself. It can be found just about anywhere...Even in this old port. If you ever get stuck, just blaze yourself a new trail. I know you'll find a path out of the darkness.

I'm sure that's very useful to someone. Now if only you could get into the asylum to tell them it.

A strong body will get you over the dunes and through the wasteland... But you'll need more than that to get by in this hard, tough world. You'll need brains. Come and see me if you've got something you need to know. I'm always happy to help.

This kid will drops us some hints if we don't know where to go next. He's also got a book on his bookshelf.


Right, I've had enough of these losers. Where's that grub and ale?

Inside the Bell Starr Saloon...



Typical inn system. Staying refills your HP, VIT and MTC. It's cheap enough, so do it when you get the chance, but it's also worth remembering there are a few places (such as Baskar Colony) where staying the night is free.

Looking for leads? You're quite the diligent Drifter, aren't you? I love my job, too. Life's easier if you like your job... And it's great not having any complaints. What do you say? I'll give you some info if all four of you eat here. It'll be about 150 Gella.

It's a deal
We're not hungry

Much obliged! Leave it to me for good food, good drink, and good company! Oops... Did I say good company? Well, shucks. Please excuse me and this mouth of mine... Here in Jolly Roger, we got lots of old tales of treasure. And they ain't really that old! I'm talkin' about a prize that none of you Drifters have ever been able to get their hands on: The [Eternal Sparkle].

She spins us a tale of ancient demons and the treasures they left behind. I'm summarising because someone's about to repeat it word for word below.

Uh... I'm glad you are all such good listeners, but I need to start fixin' dinner. Just have a seat at the table. I'll bring you some supper and get to the rest of my story in a jiffy.

A little bit later...



Man, am I full! And what a good cook she is! She hooked us up good.
I wouldn't worry about the tab. Not only did we have our goodbye party, but we got a valuable lead as well...
Yeah, you got a point. Anyway, what do you all think about the information she provided? Do you want to go investigate?
I'm goin'. I don't care what you guys do. I prefer working alone, anyway.
So, the legendary Eternal Sparkle...
In ages past... our world was ruled by a race of wicked demons, until they were pushed to the brink of extinction. The demon knight assigned three followers to protect a treasure. That treasure was the Eternal Sparkle. The three followers transformed themselves into seals to protect the Eternal Sparkle, awaiting the return of the demon knight. And one of those seals lies nearby this town. That's what she said, right?
It's the 'sparkle' part that makes you think it's some kind of gem, don't it? Aren't the legends full of these things? Unless we're sure it's worth something, I don't want any part of it. I'm outta here.
An old legend, huh? Hmm... Considering that they remain strong... Either this lead is a red herring, or, even if it is true, then there's no doubt that it would be hazardous. I have nothing better to do, but I'm just not enthusiastic about the prospects.
Don't worry about it. Our partnership ends here. Once outside, we'll scatter in the wind. I'll head out alone. I've always been alone, and I like being alone.
There you go again! You can only do so much by yourself. If we stay together, we can do that much more! The four of us have different likes and dislikes, so we should all support each other. Who cares if its tough? As long as there's four of us, there's always a glimmer of hope in the darkness.
We released the guardians! The four of us together can make a great team!
Hmm...I didn't expect that after our farewell celebration. Have you been thinking about that?
The first meeting might have been coincidence. But we didn't come all this way due to our individual strengths. We did it as a team! Someday I want to say it wasn't just coincidence; it was fate. Guys, let's make our mark as one!
Uh... Hahahaw... Well, that was a mouthful.



Hey, did I say something funny? Am I missing something?
Yeah, you're missing something! Never thought anybody could say stuff like that with a straight face. But you do have a point. Drifters would never leave their mark if all they did was drift.
You mean...?
You betcha. I'm all for it! And you ain't got anything else to do, right?
Oh, well... I suppose you're right... Hmmm...
All right. I'm game. I consider it prudent for all of us to pool our resources until we're able to set individual goals.
Yippee! We're a team! Now, we're all gonna seek out the Eternal Sparkle!
Not so fast!



Huh? What, you got some kind of problem?
Yeah! A big problem!
That's funny...I thought you couldn't wait to head out treasure huntin'?
I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about you pestering me on my way!
(What nerve!)
I work alone. And I don't have time to play with wannabe Drifters!
Wannabe Drifters!? Okay, tough guy! You say you work alone, so fill me in! Tell me what you've done! Tell everyone here all about the great things you've been able to do all by your fantastic self!



Oh, before you start mumbling excuses, let me ask you what you were doing in the car with the Ark Scepter? You were plannin' on makin' off with it, weren't you?



And here you are, sayin' you work best when you're alone. Where did you get such a big head?

Pearl... that was beautiful. I think I temporarily love you. Don't worry, it'll wear off soon.

Wh-Why you... That's... That's not--Arrgh! I wasn't the only one after that cargo that night!
Whoa! Hey...uh...That's all beside the point!
So, like... Yeah! We're so... you know... Who cares if we're wannabe Drifters? We can take it easy and have fun while we venture into the unknown! Right? Right?
Perhaps you're right. Look, leader...
Me!?
Who else? This is your idea, isn't it? So, leader... Let us reaffirm our collective purpose.
Well...We have three goals: To find the ruins where the Eternal Sparkle lies... To work as a team... And, lastly... To make the Eternal Sparkle ours!
See, that's why I work alone...
Give it a rest, hero. You're just hurtin' yourself. Besides, when it comes to persuasion, she trounces all of us hands down.
Were you two listening?
Oh, of course. And we're looking forward to working with ya, leader.
Speak for yourself, punk!

With that resolved and Billy shouted down, lets take a moment to explore the back rooms of the saloon.



Heading up the stairs to the back of the room leads to this corridor. The door to the right is locked.

SANDCRAFT DOCK
Danger. Restricted Area. Go away.

Heading in the other direction brings us to some stairs. Going downstairs brings us to a second counter in the shop next to the saloon, where we find a Dragon Fossil in a barrel.



Back upstairs there are a few barrels at the end of the corridor, containing a Heal Berry, and an exit to a balcony overlooking the town. Checking some barrels on it gets us a Mini Carrot!

The only way out is back through the saloon though. As we exit, we see someone familiar...



Howdy! Good to see you, kiddos.



Let's go.
Oh, what's the face for? I know! You found some clues. Come on, give us a little hint. Please?
Why would I help a scoundrel like you?
A scoundrel!? Oh, that hurts! We're Drifters. Sometimes our goals collide, but it comes with the territory. So please, lay off the insults.



You want the Eternal Sparkle.
How did you--!? You been spying on us?
There you go again... Look, anybody in this town with half a brain can find that out. Ain't much else to this town.
Look...Let's work together. With all of us, I'm sure we can uncover the location of...
Nope! I just can't trust you. I hate not trusting people, but still...I...
I just said I'd make a team with these Drifters I met out in the wasteland. So I can't work with you right now.



Hmmm... That's too bad. Just listen to this. I heard the Eternal Sparkle is somewhere inside an ancient vault called the <<Ruins of Memory>>.

ASKing about <<Ruins of Memory>>

The Ruins... of Memory?
An old museum constructed by the ancients that houses the history of our world. Some say it's been plundered before, but no one knows how deep it is in there. It has quite the mysterious layout. Well, maybe that's why some still whisper of relics inside yet untouched by modern hands. Believe me or not... It's your choice, Princess. But we're not tryin' to fool you. You can trust me on that one. Next time we meet, I hope you'll be ready to help us out. 'Cause I had to make some sacrifices to come out here and see you.

Janus waves, and he and his henchmen leave. We're free to explore again, and there's two things I want to do before we head off to the Ruins of Memory.

First of all, there's the matter of the map screen. These cost 5000 Gella, and are well worth the extortionate price. At this point we've raised 3104 gella, but we've also farmed quite a few gems.



Selling off our stock of gems gets us to 5404 Gella, and the map screen is immediately bought!

The other thing to take care of is a nice little secret in the crates around town.



Inside we find one of the most useful items in the game! The migrant seal increases your Migrant level by one. This decreases the cost to skip random encounters!

In fact it's already decreased the cost enough that if we go back to the Baskar Colony area, all encounters near there can be skipped at no cost. The exclamation mark turns green when this happens.
It'll give us a significant discount in the next dungeon too.




Outside, we can finally check out our map.
To be honest, I have problems with this damn thing. Not the map functionality, but those are the among most random and contrived landmasses I've seen in a game. It's a confusing mess and I always feel lost with all the continents jammed up together like that - especially since all of them are just varying shades of brown with occasional patches of green.
I guess it's dumb to be nitpicking a world map, but it just irritates me. And yeah that's the entire world, it wraps at the sides.

Anyway, we're down at the red dot on the southern continent. You can see the path we took from Baskar Colony (green square) in the filled-in squares.



We head south-east, following the cliff wall and pressing Square every few seconds to search the area.

Hey we found someth-



Oh, it's just a sign.

"Men who cry over losing a Gimel Coin often lose their lives. The best time for a Gimel Coin is right when you find it - Alan Smithy.

I hate these things. It's sage advice and I'm sure he meant well, but the only time you'll ever see these things is when you WANT to find something else!



The Ruins of Memory are found a little further to the east.

MUSIC - Scars of Leftover Memories



It seems dark and deserted inside. A long corridor leads us under a bridge and into the central hall.



Hey, is that a bayonet? Janus!



Pretty quick on the trigger. But as a Drifter, it may cost you your life if you don't pull it.



What are you doing here?
I want to join forces, Princess. Didn't I mention that before? And I do have a name. Allow me to introduce myself -- Janus Cascade, and the pleasure is all mine.

I'm not a bad guy.

...
I seem to have made a bad first impression. You have every right to reject my offer. But that is precisely why I want to join forces. I want to redeem myself and earn your trust. If you're after the Eternal Sparkle, we'd like to help.

Honestly, I'm not a bad guy

...



Hey, hey, hey!? What are you thinking? We can't trust this guy!

PEARL, LISTEN TO BOONE

As long as you are the leader, we shall abide by your decision. However, are you sure you have carefully thought this out?

DOC, BE MORE ASSERTIVE

... I understand your concern. But everybody deserves a second chance. I don't like to hold grudges... It's too hard and painful to handle. To tell you the truth, I don't trust him one hundred percent, either. But at some point, I have to do this, or else I'll be skeptical of him forever.

PEARL, STOP BEING SO GULLIBLE

That's why I chose to trust him just now.
Understood. I shall accept his propo... I mean our leader's decision.
Look...You have my utmost respect, Princess. I wish I could think like you. Actually, maybe I did back in the day.
Well, now that we're a team, what are you guys gonna do for us?
Information... We can provide information about the <<demons>>, who are said to have sealed the Eternal Sparkle.

ASKing about <<demons>>

Demons?
I'm sure you've heard of them. Those demons you hear about in folklore? They are said to have existed ages ago, and their spiteful rancor supposedly lives on within these ruins. Do you know what that means? The Eternal Sparkle and the demons are somehow connected. I'll tell you more once we find it. I think it's a fair deal. We just need you to escort us deep within these trap-filled ruins.
With our strength and your information, we'll get through these ruins in no time. We're counting on you, Janus.
Same here, Princess... Same here...

I'm still not a bad guy!

We can now explore the ruins. The passage ahead of us is blocked by a huge pile of stone and rubble.



A large heap of rock, resembling a human form. Could it be a sculpture from ages past? An overwhelming sensation can be felt from these rocks.

The only exit is to the northeast, which leads to a room full of smashed display cases.

Only the broken showcase remains, which is believed to have displayed artifacts from ages past.

These artifacts may have provided valuable clues as to Filgaia's history.

There are a few new enemies in the ruins. Annaberge is some kind of freakish spiky chimera.



All it does is Stampede, a fairly powerful physical hit.



Using Analyse on it reveals it has an Ice elemental weakness we can exploit, though in this case bullets work just as well.

Annaberge tends to appear by itself, but Blue Books and Spartoi generally appear in groups of up to four.



Spartoi have a basic attack called Geist Gust. It's a decent amount of damage but wouldn't be a problem if they didn't have a high amount of health and their only elemental weakness wasn't Light, an element we don't have access to yet.

Blue books cast Quicken, Decelerate, Refrigerate and Pressure. Personally I think that any time enemies waste casting Quicken is a bonus for me - in random battles, it doesn't have THAT much of an effect.
They have an elemental weakness to fire, but Billy has Firey Rage and his MAG is so pathetic that he can't one-shot them with it. In fact...



...

For comparison, Pearl does about 60 damage with that. I pass it over to her for the rest of the dungeon.



The door is locked, but bombing the glass breaks it and lets us hit the switch.



Another locked door is opened with a boomerang...



And a third opens after putting out four fires.



Once again, bombing the glass lets us push the block onto the switch. The treasure chest contains a Heal Berry.

The next room contains a number of smashed display cases and a treasure chest with 1500 Gella. One of the exits leads back to the main hall - we've gone in a clockwise circle around it.



That plaque reads:

The sparkle of the Teardop shines ever so high. Many have tried to reach for the top, only to wipe a teardrop from their own eye.

I'm sure that will make sense eventually. Returning to the previous room and going north leads us to another treasure chest with a Gella Card. These special items are used on enemies, and double the amount of money it drops. Best used on bosses!

Heading north brings us to a dead end full of treasure! A Dragon Fossil, a Lucky Card and a Gimel Coin.
Lucky cards are similar to Gella cards, but you use them on your own characters and they double the amount of EXP the character receives. Once again, excellent for boss battles, especially if you Mystic them.
... though I should admit, in the chaos of a boss battle, I'm pretty bad at remembering to use Gella and Lucky Cards. I'll try to remember to.

Backtracking a little bit and heading east, around the back of the large hall...



As we enter the next room, the doors slam shut and lock behind us. Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any immediate peril, but we have to figure out how to get out of here.



This hall is lined with statues, but that once seems more fragile than the others... hm.



A little bit of explosive vandalism, and we have the switch we need.



We're starting to see treasure chests after battles. These provide additional treasure if you feel like chancing your arm to their traps. At this point the only trap they have are Booby traps, which cause the chest to explode if you're not successful. The explosion might not hurt you, but if it does it takes off half your health - a massive drain on VIT!
I typically have Billy open them, as he seems the most expendable.



The next room is a library. A few books of note here.



The war ended, and our reward was Ragu O Ragla.



There's also a book called "This Might Interest You," but it's sealed by magic and I don't have a duplicator to unlock it with.



Hm, a cracked wall. Wonder what you do here.



The treasure chests contain a Memo Pen and a Growth Egg.

Memo Pen - There are items called Gear that you can equip to your Guardians, to teach them more Personal Skills. I'll cover this in more detail later, but Memo Pens allow you to resist the Amnesia status effect.
Growth Egg - When used, increases your MTC and allows you to summon more often. Usually best to give these to Pearl and Boone.

I can't open the third chest - it's sealed with magic, and I don't have a duplicator. I'll come back to it though.



Hitting this green switch is a little difficult. The trick is to stand Billy on the platform to the left and throw a boomerang. Pressing the d-pad at the right time will make the boomerang turn and hit the switch.



The last puzzle in the dungeon.



Putting out the blue flame lowers the platform...



Relighting it with the Tindercrest raises it again.



The Eternal Sparkle... Only a select few have actually come in contact with it. But one thing is for sure... It's much greater than any jewel or precious metal known to man. A great power is bestowed upon the one who comes in contact with it. It grants a spear that can destroy all life. That is the Eternal Sparkle's true essence.



But that's all rubbish if you ask me. There are, however, avaricious people in this sick world, that would do or pay anything to get their grubby little hands on it.
Janus...What do you think you're doing?

MUSIC - From Beyond

Coming all the way here, hired by some dubious blokes, covering myself in filthy dust... I guess you could call me avaricious... Thank you, Princess... I really enjoyed your company. Now, if I may, I must go cash in my treasure.

By the way, I am so totally a bad guy.

Janus...You tricked us...You double-crosser!
Tricked you? Heavens, no! Oh, I almost forgot my end of the bargain.
This here is a shield, which bears the name of the demon, [Hieraco]. It's kind of like a good luck charm. Aside from this [Hieraco], there are two more shields: the [Andro] and [Crio]. The Eternal Sparkle is said to be sealed by all three. I now hold one of the three shields scattered throughout the world. The second one is currently being excavated, and... the third one seems to be in the hands of a certain Drifter. Of course I plan on stealing that one in the near future.
I'm sorry I made a fool out of you. But I was just doing my job. As I've told you before, we Drifters are neither good nor evil... We're either winners or losers. Now, make way before I'm forced to hurt you.
I tried my best to trust you... All my comrades had doubts, and yet I went ahead and joined forces with you. I wanted to try my best to believe... I wanted so badly to trust... And then...!
Save the sob story, Princess. That's just how the game's played in the wasteland.
I won't let anyone make a mockery of people who are trying so hard!



...That's what I like about you, Princess. But the thing is...
You're starting to get on my nerves! You're rubbing me the wrong way by carrying all that inexperienced weight into the wasteland!

Did he just call Pearl fat? Oh, it's on now!

You remind me of my youth, back when I was still green! You're a reflection of the old me... You're just a figment of my past! Now watch, as I trample over you! Dario! Pull yourself together and shut your fly!
I'm good to go, Boss!
Romero! Don't be shakin' in your boots!
All set to go, Boss!



Oh god Dario's fly IS open, whyyyy...

Janus: Prepare to execute the <<Trinity>>! We can go all out here!

ASKing about <<Trinity>>

The Trinity? What are you planning to do!?
Unlike your inexperienced team, we're about to perform a feat that defines the word 'experience.' It's a triple dose of combination attacks. But I think you'll have a better taste for it once you experience it!


BOSS BATTLE - JANUS, DARIO AND ROMERO (rematch)

MUSIC - Crossfire Sequence



The battle goes a little differently this time.



Dario and Romero won't actually do anything except shit themselves and run about. Losing his nerve gives Romero a massive boost to his evasion, while zipping up his fly substantially increases Dario's defence.



On top of that, if Dario or Romero take damage, Janus will immediately heal them to full with a heal berry.
Clearly we need to focus on Janus first in this battle.

On Janus' turn he will unleash the dreaded TRINITY!



The most ANIME thing this game has done so far



Probably the coolest Dario and Romero will ever look.

I retaliate by placing Turbulence and Shield on Pearl and Billy (Boone and Doc tend not to need that level of protection) and piling on Janus. Billy's Fragile arcana is able to decrease his DEF, allowing us to do even more damage.

After a turn or two, Janus will be a bit winded...



Tch...! I'm going to be late... Dario, Romero! You two hold them off while I go back and report.
But Boss, that's suicide! You know we can't use the Trinity without you!
Are you just using us as pawns so you can make your escape!?
Quit the whining! If I don't bring back the Hieraco shield, then who will? Listen up! For once in your life, fight like you've never fought before. And if you're still alive, meet me at the usual place.

With those inspiring words, Janus buggers off.

So it's just you and me, huh, bro?
You know, I've read somewhere that... in times of crisis, people have the power to accomplish the impossible. It's do or die now. Let's go all out, or else the boss will have our heads for sure!
It's gonna take a burning house for me to build up that power. And it ain't gonna amount to much. Anyway, let's just make sure we don't die out here. That's the best we can do.

Back to the battle, now missing Janus. All Dario and Romero have to use is their standard attacks, but they do retain the EVA and DEF bonuses they gained in the previous part, which can be a small problem. Overall though, they don't really have anything to challenge you with.



Waaahhhh! If only our boss were here, you guys would've been dead meat!
Sounds like an excuse from a sore loser! I'm sure there's more where that came from!
Ah, get off your high horse! We'll make you regret you ever met us!





Our rewards. Excellent, a Duplicator.

You might have noticed the x1.1 next to some characters names. These are the result of using Personal Skills.
Every time a PS like [Fire Ward], [Defender] or [Counterattack] activates in combat, you gain an additional 10% bonus to your XP for that battle. This goes all the way up to 990% if you use enough skills.
This is a prime powerlevelling method with certain enemies and specialised builds, but it'll take a while before we can properly exploit it.

VIDEO - Janus rematch
Cut a few turns out of this. Best watched if you want to see Trinity in action.

Argh, those guys make me sick to my stomach!
What's the matter?
I'm... sorry. If only I hadn't trusted them...
I'll say...

For once, I agree with Billy

You cannot let mistakes here and there get you down. Just remember: you are the team leader.

It's just it's a team of one now. Come on guys.

You're right... If the Eternal Sparkle really is such a deadly artifact, we can't let them have it. And from what Janus was saying, they haven't obtained all the shields yet, right? Then if we act now, we can still stop those thugs from obtaining the Eternal Sparkle!
Most likely...
Then what are we doing standing around with our heads hung low!? Let's go back to Jolly Roger and find out more about the remaining shields!

I'd love to say Pearl won't be this gullible again in the future, but...

Anyway, before we go back to town, there was a chest and a book that I needed Duplicators to access and I just got one. I only have the one, so I guess I'll open the chest for now and leave the book.



Hm, a little disappointing, but I think I have a good use for these. They allow us to rename NPCs. I'll just quickly head back to Baskar Colony and...



Rats. Lets forget about that.

Oh well. One more thing and that's us for today. Lets visit the ARMsmith back in Jolly Roger.



Howdy. Can I help you with any machines like ARMs, ships, and such?

Lets upgrade our weapons!



We can't change our ARMs, but we can upgrade them at any ARMsmith.



We have five statistics we can work with, and fifteen Upgrade Levels to spend. We can reclaim levels from a stat, but we don't get a gella refund for that so it can be good to have a plan before updating. The gella cost for upgrading a stat rises exponentially the higher you take it.

SHT (shot): Each point of SHT translates directly into a point of ATT.
HIT: Same, but for accuracy.
BLT (Bullets): Not a delicious sandwich, clip size. More means less frequent reloading.
WGT (Weight): This ties into Gatling. It takes a fixed amount of FP to fire a shot in Gatling. For example, Pearl's current cost is 20 points, and at full FP (100) she will get off 5 shots. Each point of WGT decreases that cost by one, so that firing a 5 shot gatling will take 95FP, then 90FP, and so on.
CRT (Critical): Chances of a critical attack.

It's a little bit of a confusing layout, but the number next to the statistic is its current value. The number next to the graph is what it will rise to if it's upgraded.

So, here are the current ARM setups for our characters. How do you guys think we should proceed with upgrading them?









Next time: The best character.

Oh yes, e-mails.