Part 14: Lunatic Garden

Update 14: Boone plays with dolls

Last time, the mediums said we should try going south-east and see what we find, and for lack of any better ideas we'll do just that. Tell us, people of Little Twister, what should we expect to find there?

There used to be a shrine dedicated to guardians in my hometown. Seems there's one just like it in these parts, too. I don't know how it looked back in the days, but it's all deserted and run-down now. You think all shrines are like that?

A customah once told me that there is a site of a <<giant shrine>> somewhere in these parts.
<<Giant Shrine>>
Ah hear it can be found south-east of this town. Its faith has died out long ago and the shrine has been robbed of its treasures over the years. Due to its rundown condition, Ah hear its home to many frightful monsters...

Deserted, run-down and full of monsters. Just like every single other place we've been on this dirtball, then. South-east it is!



The next dungeon is Lunatic Garden, located near the coast. One of the easier places to find, as it's at the end of a dead end.



Our progress so far. Little Twister is the leftmost red dot, while The Unclean Mark was the grey dot north-east of it. The white dot is our current location.

MUSIC: This Chest, and Echoes of the World's Heartbeat



I don't know 'bout you, but my stomach feels like it's bein' clawed at from the inside.
Yes, yet another unpleasant sensation brought about by the medium, it seems...
Yeah, I know what you mean... I get this sinking feeling filled with exhaustion--a different kind of energy than the one Janus emits.
I have a bad feeling about this...Let's just hurry and get this over with.

Surely you don't really think this is going to be simple, do you Billy?



The very first room has a locked door (to the left.) Thankfully all we need to do is step on the floor switch to open it. We can't reach the levers at the side of the room at all. We'll find something very useful in the next room.



Our first new tool! This doll for Boone can be thrown ahead of him to grab items, open treasure chests, or hit switches from afar.
If it hits a wall when you throw it, you can then control it directly and get it to open things out of direct line of sight.

There's also 3 Gella Cards and 3500 Gella.



So for example we can use it here to hit the switch, lowering a section of wall.

Inside the sealed room we're treated to...

A Tiny Flower - all characters have a Luck stat that affects a wide range of things like critical chance and steal success. It constantly fluctuates, but you can use this to make it take a step in a positive direction. I won't be though - I'm saving this to plant at the garden.
2 Revive Fruits
A Migrant Seal! Now migrant level 4, giving us a further discount on skipping battles!

Heading back to the central room and hitting the other switch gets us into the next room.



You can probably see where this is going.



Hit the block north one and east one, and you'll hit the switch and get into the next room.



Things are slightly more complex a few screens later, and a little experimentation might be needed to pass this one.



Knocking the top one off first is a decent move.



Then hit the top one into the corner,



And move the other two into place. Easy enough.



Easy to walk straight past this switch if you have the camera pointed the wrong way.



Next door is locked by a new kind of switch. We need to get some air in order to hit this one. This room also has a Growth Egg (more summons) which I give to Pearl.



Getting up to that ledge is a case of hitting this switch from the right position.
A couple of chests in this room also contained a couple of Lucky Cards and a Gimel Coin.



After a few passageways, we find a nice change of scenery as the drifters emerge into this overgrown garden. The door is locked of course, and to open it we need to find three gems.



Two of them are out in the open, but a third is hidden just around the corner. Throwing boxes at each of these gems lights them up and opens the door.



The last puzzley room in this dungeon, hitting the switch closes one path and opens the other, allowing you to jump down and cross over,

Of course, while we're doing this we're being beset with random encounters.



Oaks are big guys with a fire weakness and a punishing physical attack. Billy has the Cremate arcana at the moment so we can't quite one-shot them, but they're not too hard to beat.



Marids are more annoying. While flimsy (Doc can 1-shot them) they do have an annoying trick.



Water Zone changes the elemental properties of the battle, making Water deal more damage. It also allows Oaks to use paralysis attacks. Naturally Marids are resistant to Water damage themselves.



Once Water Zone is set up, they'll use Hydro Launcher an awful lot.



The next room is dominated by this strange spinning thing. No explanation is given or even hinted at.



Soon, we encounter the Slickster doing something obscure to a giant transparent woman.

MUSIC: He Who Holds the Word of God

Hey! What do you think you're doin'!?



Life... is what I'm seeking. My desire is to pour life into a vessel of human form.
Your dubious, stuck-up attitude... You're just like that woman!
Oh...? I see you've met <<Melody>>.
<<Melody>>
You seemed to have offended her. I took the brunt of her fiery wrath. She's back at the lab working diligently, but... She's not the type to keep her feelings bottled up. Even as we speak, I'm sure she's raging furiously.

That, or binge eating like the old days

I don't know what it is you're scheming, but your actions speak of evil intentions. Stop this at once!
Oh, does that <<light>> bother you?
<<Light>>
Sure the heck ain't normal! Don't play smart with us!
Your boorish behavior annoys me. Take a look around. This warm, shimmering light... Oh, how beautiful life is...



The existence of this guardian will cease, but will continue to live on in a new and beautiful form. A much more worthy demise than decaying in this forgotten shrine, wouldn't you agree?
Not if we can stop it!
But what must be done, must be done. I must get on with my work, understand? My motto is: 'Work with a smile and always go the extra mile.'

Yeah, well my motto is "Work with an ARM and make you buy the farm."

... what?

But if you really insist on fighting, then I guess it cannot be avoided. However, there is still much I need to do... so I will leave the dirty work to someone more appropriate for the task. Janus!

There is a lengthy pause.



Janus is right there, but does he give a shit? Not even slightly. He's on break.

What is it, Janus? Do you not accept!? If I cannot count on the Dark Knight, then I will take matters into my own hands!

Fight time!

BOSS BATTLE - Slickster

MUSIC: Black as Sin, Red as Blood



No, I didn't rub vaseline on the screenshot, he's supposed to look that blurry. Any and all attempts to shoot him will MISS.

The bullet passed through the man's body! His quick motions create an afterimage confusing your party. To stand a chance in battle, prevent the man's quick movements.

We can't hurt him. Meanwhile he's hitting us with a magical attack called Disorder.



It inflicts confusion - obviously he's going to stay phased and try to get us to kill ourselves. We need to slow his movements.

Well, there's always...



Casting Decelerate slows him down, removing his afterimage and letting us hit him with physical attacks. It also expands his own repertoire...



Tri-injury inflicts Misery, Disease and Amnesia on a character - no special abilities, less FP, no healing and no XP after battle. More a collection of nuisances than a real threat, Misery is the biggest problem here, but getting rid of all three is ideal. Disease only becomes an issue if he starts using Eliminate Scanner on the same character - it's still the same high-damage magical attack the Robed Woman had.

A little bit of care, especially with the Confusion status, will get you through this with few scratches. As a bonus, we get an anti-confusion Clear Chime gear for our efforts. Pearl gets a levelup, bringing everyone to level 18.

You do have the option of never decelerating him and defeating him solely with arcana and force abilities, but I find that slower and not all that easier.

Your perseverance has given you the upper hand in this drawn out battle. But I have gathered enough guardian energy for the time being. The wise choice is for me to retreat...

MUSIC: From Beyond



Well look who decided to show up.

Janus!? I could have used you!
The coordinate axis of my mutation is still unstable. My body hasn't fully adapted to its powers and there are times when it won't function like I want it to.

"Like when I can't be fucked helping you. See? I can make up bullshit technobabble too!"

The nerve of you to say such things... Even your mutation is unreliable! Moreover, there never would have been a need to utilize the guardians if only you had acquired the Ark Scepter in the first place! Do you realize the pain and suffering my body endures by trying to make contact with an intangible, spiritual being!?
My apologies... But hey, no worries. I'll personally deliver the energy you've collected and escort you out of here. You have my word.



Janus and "friend" barge past the drifters and... they just let them, I guess?

You're not getting away with this!

But you just let him! Pearl, Billy and Doc chase after them, but Boone pauses for a moment.





You're coming with me. Let me show you the right way to kick their behind.

Moon Spark acquired!

New medium in tow, we have to backtrack through the dungeon as far as a long two-levelled room.



There's no way you'll make it out in the shape you're in!
Persistent, aren't we? Tell me, what motivates you to act with such passion?
Persistence is the key to survival.



It's a creature from ages past, but it shall suffice to buy us some times. Angolmois! Unleash your hidden frenzy! Do not hold back!


BOSS BATTLE: King of Angolmois

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



I dunno what that is, but it sure is ugly. And pretty powerful...

This thing has 10000 HP - for comparison Slickster had 1650 and the Ring Keeper had 4800. It also has some powerful attacks.



Screaming Mad is an unpleasant Dark attack. The damage isn't too threatening, but the way characters' colours desaturate and they bloat up before exploding... weirds me out a bit.



Agony Effect's single target damage is about as mean but non-elemental, so you can't reduce it with a ward.



His biggest attack is The Seventh Moon, which will hit for nasty damage even at my slightly boosted level. Thankfully he won't use it once he's below 75% HP, but just shaving 2500 HP off him will take forever. Lets see what this new guardian offers us...

The Dark Guardian, Celesdue, offers four Arcana and three Personal Skills

ARCANA
Feeble Mind: Lowers an enemy's magical defence
Sleep: Sends an enemy to sleep. Uh huh.
Eraser: Removes magical effects from an enemy. This also includes debuffs you have cast!
Grav: Halves an enemy's current HP.

It's a mixed bag - debuffs are always good, but careless use of Eraser can work against you and while Grav is useful a lot of enemies resist it - including practically all bosses.

PERSONAL SKILLS
Sleep Status Ward: What it says on the tin. Quite useful.
Dark Ward: All elemental wards come in handy, especially in this fight where the enemy likes to cast Screaming Mad.
FP Save: Superb, it's worth giving Moon Spark to a character for this alone. At level 4, halves the FP Cost of all Arcana, which is extremely useful once you start getting Arcana that need 50-100 FP to use.

I give the medium to Boone, feed him a mini carrot and have him try out its summon - Merciless Queen.



Somewhere on the moon, Celesdue raises her hand...



What an incredibly bad camera angle. The enemy floats away from the surface of Filgaia, pulled by a strange gravity, and as Celesdue lowers her hand...



WHAM

5200 damage?

Most bosses are immune to gravity damage, but King of Angolmois is an exception. Once you figure that out, he's not too hard.



All that drinking with next-gen monsters at the clubs, and he still wasn't as cool as a Gob when he died.



That said, at least he managed to cover Janus and the other guy's escape.

Something has been set in motion with the guardians at its core. No, it's surging around the world...

Meanwhile, somewhere else...

MUSIC: A Needle in the Heart, Broken and Washed Away



Ughhh... What's your problem!?



The game, seemingly at random, decides to finally give us these guys' names.

You do not seem to know what kind of predicament you are in. If only we had the Ark Scepter, we could have easily made contact with the intangible, spiritual guardians. Instead, due to your negligence, Malik has expended more of his energy than intended...
Panakeia fluid is our life support as well as the source of our magic. However, our bodies cannot fully decompose this Panakeia, and it leaves a highly toxic metabolic decomposition within our bodies. Without the proper circulatory cleansing, we ourselves are in danger of disintegrating.
Our degenerated bodies are like a foreign element trying to survive on Filgaia. This very planet will try to cleanse itself by removing these foreign elements: us. Your duty is to protect us from Filgaia's purification. That is why we let you live.
The Dark Spear you have received shall expose the truth, and lead us to the garden of truth. You have been endowed with the power that exceeds all so that you can stop the terraforming at all costs.
Oh... Now I get it... So that's why you gave me the power that exceeds all, even you blokes!



Kanda... Es-trata... Amantos...



Ughhhh...Uwarghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Do not be impudent, Janus. The remote bomb, Gias, implanted within your body is set to activate in synch with our spell. Never forget that your perfidious actions might activate this at any time.


Well, I learned something today. Leehalt stops the electricity.

Y-Yeah... I won't forget... Even if you blokes forget... I won't...

Janus teleports away in a huff.

He has become another nuisance we must worry about... Melody... Waste no time with the completion of the fortress. Who knows when the floodgates will open...
I understand...
Malik...We still need more energy to materialize from memories. Continue with the investigation of the existing shrines. Hunt down all guardians, and collect their energy.
Very well... But I would like to recuperate.
I will have the Huskarls on standby. No Drifters shall interfere with our plans anymore...



Huskarls eh? Sounds promising - hopefully it won't be something completely stupid and out of place.
In conclusion, these three are even bigger jerks than Janus, but given that they gave incredible power to someone who actively hates them, they're probably not any smarter.


Our special feature today is something only those who are paying wayyyyyy too much attention to this LP (basically, nobody) would ever notice.


What's up with the timer?

According to the in-game timer, which is always onscreen while exploring, I have played for four hours, forty-three minutes and five seconds. If you think that doesn't sound like much, you'd be right.

Even though it's almost constantly onscreen, the timer in this game is messed up. It frequently pauses and doesn't count time correctly. As far as I can tell...

It does count time spent walking around, or in random battles.
It doesn't count time spent in menus, cutscenes, or battles that start in cutscenes like most boss battles.

Or to put it another way, the video for this update is 45 minutes long. During it the timer progressed by 20 minutes.

Hell of an oversight, and I don't have a clue how QA could miss it.


Meanwhile...

Today is August 21, Saucer Day. What's so fun about flying saucers? I don't see anything neat about breaking dishes. I'd rather play with boomerangs. At least they come back.

Today is August 23, Rain Day. Rain solidifies the ground, so it becomes hard to dig into. It's a real nuisance. Try this. Dig the packed dirt and pack it back up again. You will get dirt sherbet. Neat trick to show the kids.

Today is August 26, Guitar Day. Pluck the strings of an old guitar and monsters will come to listen. Whistle at night and snakes will come to listen. Fell creatures are hip to a beat.

Today is August 27, Boat Day. I'd like to ride a cruise line to commemorate this day, but we have no boats in this village. Oh well. I'll take a nap and row a boat in my dreams instead. Oh, and happy birthday!

Today is August 28, Spring Day. A scientist created an android boy powered by springs. He sprang to life. Get it? Sprang...

Today is August 29, Ponytail Day. Growing out your hair and strapping it into a ponytail is the new fashion all over Filgaia. Some people get the urge to yank on a ponytail, but pulling one will cause it to explode, blowing both of you to smithereens.

Today is August 31, Kaboom Day. Kaboom is such a great example of onomatopoeia. No one knows who invented the word, but you can literally see the sound in the air. Kaboom!

Today is September 2, Belt Day. The young man who invented the belt loved the sensation of being strapped. To pursue his hobby further, he strapped a python he caught in the hills to his waist and looked into the mirror. In the mirror, he saw a fashionable self with the perfect strap. This was how snakeskin became commonly used for belts.

Today is September 3, Warning Day. Today is the day train stations warn passengers not to chat with the conductors. I'm not going to flirt with them or anything! Is the warning necessary?

Today is September 4, Mannequin Day. Pull out your mannequins and dress them up. They deserve to wear some clothes.

Today is September 7, Appendicitis Day. Before you ask why we have unnecessary organs like the appendix, think of it the other way around. Yes, you thought correctly. According to the appendix, you are the one that's not needed.

Today is September 10, Say No to Chugging Day. A mother was cooking sauteed leek and liver. She always used milk to drain the liver of blood. One day, her son came home and, assuming it was strawberry milk, chugged down the whole thing. The poor boy fell unconscious from the unspeakably horrid taste. So please, heed the lesson of the day... And say no to chugging.

Today is September 11, Backwards Day. .yadot sdrawkcab gnihtyreve daeR ?ttub eht ni niap a ti t'nsI