Part 24: Infinitum

Last time, Janus told us he's set a trap for us. Since we can't resist a good trap, lets go fall into it!


Update 24: Descent/heredity/forebears/ancestry/pedigree/genealogy and fortune/predestination/fate/kismet/predetermination



The fifth Guardian Shrine, Infinitum, is located near Baskar Colony - just across the dunes. I need to take a train back to Boot Hill to pick up the sandcraft, but once I have it reaching the island is easy.



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

... Bound by the lineage and destiny of priesthood... I couldn't bear it. That was until yesterday... I rebelled and left Baskar, but that didn't change a thing... I couldn't find the freedom I was looking for. I'm here today so that I can find my freedom here, and ascertain its true meaning.
I'm pretty sure Janus is already here, and that... an unknown trap lies before us.
Bring it on! I know the price of freedom ain't cheap.
Okay, you all know what the plan is. We kick Janus's behind right here, right now. We have to stop him from gettin' any more guardian life force!

That's a simple plan, but I approve.



First floor's exit is locked with this needlessly-large mechanism. Some of the gears are misaligned - turning the wheels to move them into place and hitting the switch will open up the way forward.

The next floor has... this guy.



MUSIC: He Who Holds the Word of God

Let's start putting Boone's brilliant plan into action!


This is the last existing pillar point on Filgaia... Here, I shall take the remaining life force from the last of the guardians. Everything is according to plan.



But first I must eliminate all of you for my plan to run smoothly. Then, this planet can begin to evolve. By the way, how did you know to find me here?
What do you plan to do with the guardian energy!? What do you mean by Filgaia's evolution!?
Oh... So that much you already know...

Leehalt, I don't know if you noticed but Melody and Malik like to talk. A lot. About secrets.



He summons something, and battle begins!

BOSS BATTLE: Pyrodrake



We preach the word of the gods... And to us, their word is wisdom, the wisdom left behind by the demons. They are the ones who will lead this planet to decay. Why do you refuse to accept this? This planet will evolve by the power of the demons. Not just the planet, but mankind and all other creatures must evolve into demons to reach the future!

Has there ever been a word that's more abused in JRPGs than "evolution?"

Nobody wants that kind of future!
No one is obligated to accept. They will just perish...

Leehalt suddenly kneels down, apparently in pain.

(Ugh... Am I not worthy of acceptance on Filgaia? Time is of the essence.)

He teleports away, leaving us to fight the boss. This guy's not too hard, nothing too complex going on.



He's got "The Giant Groans" and "Caloric Sphere", single target physical and fire attacks, neither too threatening. He also has an ice weakness.



That's a trap though, as any Ice attacks will be countered with the aptly named Volcannon Trap. Still, the damage isn't too bad and Billy is protected by Fire Ward, so I look at it as a way to build up Valiant damage quickly. As long as you watch your HP he's easy.



Something useful to remember is he only has 50% Grav resistance, so getting lucky near the start of battle can save a lot of time.



Well it's more impressive than a donkey but still, the Prophets need some better monsters.



With the boss defeated, we need to find our way to the next floor. The door is to the north, but it's on a ledge we can't reach and locked.
Man, those blue blocks to the right are suspicious as all hell.



Moving them out of the way reveals a bombable wall that leads to a treasure room! Inside there's two Gella Cards, the Adventure 3 storybook, a Potion berry and 7000 Gella.
Still, no way to unlock the door through here.



Rearranging the blocks to form a bridge lets us reach the door but it's still locked. Doing a loop around the room to the south-west corner brings you to a crystal only Boone can use.



The lineage and destiny of a priest shall become the power that sustains the world.

Yeah, I understand. It's the lineage of priesthood that flows within me, and the destiny that I carry, right? If I have the qualifications of a priest, open up---darn it!

Haranguing the crystal is enough to open up the door.



A central walkway that's blocked by these stationary pendulums. First off, you can...



MUSIC: Whirlwind Blowing Against Death

WOAH WHAT THE

Shortly after you get the sandcraft, the game starts throwing Danger! battles at you.
These are effectively solo ambushes. A random character needs to face the enemies alone for three turns.



As you can imagine, these can be VERY dangerous situations depending on who the character is. Boone or Doc might be OK, but Pearl can easily get her ass kicked.
Generally it's best to turtle down unless you have the means to defeat the enemies quickly. You can't swap mediums to change your arcana or PS choices. If you die, it's game over, but all party members are present in the rematch when you Continue.



After three turns, the other Drifters show up to help out. From there it's just like a regular battle.
Often a minor inconvenience, but it's still worth getting and slotting the Eagle Eye PS to avoid this.

... anyway, there are some treasure chests to find around the edges of the room (Gimel Coin and Revive Fruit)



Rotating the camera reveals an orb for Billy's boomerang. This starts the first pendulum.



Standing in its path knocks us over to the platform with the switch, which starts the second pendulum.
Tempting death and repeating the process gets us to the pedestal with the crystal.



Yeah, that's right... The power that I seek is my lineage and destiny!

I'm sure this won't ever get old.
The crystal seems to like it, as the door opens.

Next there's...



Rotating gear platforms.

This fucking room. I hate it. With no proper analogue control, a camera that only rotates in 45° increments and no jump button, platforming can be iffy in this game.



Walking around on the gears gets you to switches that activate these swinging platforms.



They're the worst, as they swing pretty rapidly and don't always line up with the gears, so if you're not precise when it comes to stepping on and off them...



You'll fall. A lot.

Once you get to the top, there's another crystal.



My resolve is strong! If you don't think it's up to par, then may the cogs of time begin to roll! I've undid the chains with the lineage and the destiny of the priesthood that I possess!

These metaphors are starting to get confusing.



The last room, and much simpler than you'd think. A tablet to the north reads:

Thou shalt not flow against time. Proceed with the inner flow.



Very very easy, light the torches in order from I to XII.
It still took me a few minutes to catch on though, because for some stupid reason I got the impression I hard to start with XII. (because the day starts at midnight) I tried every other bloody thing before I thought of lighting torch I. Never underestimate my ability to overcomplicate a "puzzle."

But with that done the clock starts and the door opens.



Upstairs, there's the chock and a few treasure chests.

A Duplicator,
Three Lucky Cards,
A Growth Egg and
A Gimel Coin.

The chock means the Guardian and boss are probably nearby...



MUSIC: From Beyond


You're late, but you just barely made it.

I thought so.



Here's Asgard, too.

(What's Asgard doing here with Janus!?)
(This is gettin' hairy... Gimme a break...)
(What should we do? Should we still fight according to plan?)
(Hey... Haven't you heard the saying 'kill two birds with one stone?' We fight 'em both! Trust me, we can't let this opportunity go to waste!)
Are you done convening? You're keeping us waiting here.

I have been... looking forward to this rematch... Fighting... cultivates my <<memory data>>... and... enhances my... fighting ability...
<<Memory data>>
Memory Data...!? You mean you're able to learn new words and devise battle tactics!?
Indeed... But that is... not all... Cultivating data... is my greatest pleasure. Even the... smallest unmeasurable... fluctuation brings me great pleasure... Cultivating data... stimulates my senses... It makes me... feel alive... That is why... I must fight you...
I think this clunker likes you. Okay, why don't you go first. Go wreak some havoc!

BOSS BATTLE: ASGARD THE FOURTH



MUSIC: Crossfire Sequence

(That is odd... their best plan of action would be to attack us together...)
(Who cares!)
(Let's just seize this opportunity!)
(Yeah, let's rock!)

Honestly, they put way too much emphasis on Asgard being a tough but low damage tank sometimes.
Hm, I wonder if I could make him in CoH...



His "Fortress of the Gods" ability does give him a significant defensive boost, but his damage is largely pitiful - 400-500 damage, but only as a counter-attack.
Oh and Fortress never went over 0%. I don't know what the deal is there.



Fragile and Feeble Mind counteract the effect of Fortress of the Gods, leaving him a pretty pathetic sight.

After we defeat Asgard, Janus teleports in to help.

What seems to be the problem? Tch... Let me lend a hand...





Janus takes out the Dark Spear and swings it...



... right into Asgard?

This Auto-Defender system you equip is quite advanced, isn't it?



It helps you detect threats made against your master, but not yourself!



Boone takes this opportunity and dashes past them to the Guardian altar.

Guys! You gotta buy me some time! Just give me five turns, no, three! If you could hold out 'til then, I can activate this shrine!

BOSS BATTLE: ANGRY ASGARD



Okay, three turns! We have to hold him off!
Hold him off!? I don't think he really cares about time! It's either kill or be killed... We've gotta stop this thing!

Last time, Asgard fought defensively. This time, he's all about the damage.



He'll do nothing but spam Barrier Storm every turn. You can either block or use an awful lot of items trying to keep up with the healing.

All you need to do is hold out for three turns. Not too tricky to end this with no-one dead if you're careful.
You CAN defeat him by depleting his HP, but on a first playthrough I don't fancy your chances.



Meanwhile, Boone pours his energy into the Guardian Shrine.

This lineage and destiny I had considered burdensome...I will accept them fully, without reservation!!



What the hell is that portal above our heads?

They don't constrain me! They exist in order to help me win my freedom!

MUSIC: Gun-Equipped Cavalry

My idea of freedom meant casting away all restraints and doing as I please, but... I was completely wrong! I was just copping out, running away from reality! Nothing can be accomplished by doing that! Attaining freedom is to search for its meaning on your own! You create your own moment and existence by thinking and motivating, and as a result, taking responsibility for yourself!



Searching for that meaning on your own is what it means to be free! Our will is what creates the future! But freedom doesn't exist in the world you're forcing on us! You can't create a future for the planet with that! To achieve that freedom, I'm goin' all out with my lineage and destiny! Grrrrrrraaaaaaargh!!

You know, it's lines like that that make me wish this game had terrible voice acting.



Janus sneaks up on Asgard, and impales him on the dark spear. He then lifts the golem up into the portal and...





Boone slumps to the floor.

Boone! Are you all right!?
What happened to Asgard?
Oh... that golem...? I kicked that thing's behind into the past, future, or who knows what time...



Bravo... Braaaaavo... I was a little worried there for a second, but looks like everything went well...
So the trap you mentioned refers to this betrayal, huh?
Now, the stage is complete. Heh heh... It's about to begin... Or shall I say, end?



Pearl draws her ARMs

Hold your horses, Princess. I'm saving our showdown until Yggdrasil. Pass <<Nidhogg>> to reach Yggdrasil. There, I'll show you the demise of everything.
<<Nidhogg>>
Nid... hogg...?

That's right. And don't be late for the party. It wouldn't be a party without plenty of guests.



Janus teleports away, and Boone checks the Guardian Shrine.

Defeating that golem wasn't all me, you know? This thing here released its power, too.

And we get the Cosmic Cog medium.

It sacrificed its power in order to help us...
They're all doing their best to protect Filgaia... We can't let their effort go to waste... Let's give it our all.

Janus has explicated our next destination. We are to pass Nidhogg and go to Yggdrasil. Everything seems to point to Yggdrasil, now. We must find out more about Nidhogg, so that we are not left behind. We must spare no pains in gathering information. Let us head to various locales and see what we can find out about Nidhogg...

Good idea. Lets do that another day.

For now lets check out our new Medium. First off, the Summon - System Chronos



Sand starts pouring down onto the battlefield.



It's coming from a gigantic hourglass, and...



A cat guy is dancing in front of it.

... yeah.



Hard to tell from a screenshot of course, but only Pearl and the sand are animating here. Everything else is frozen in time.

System Chronos gives the summoner a number of free turns, determined by how much FP they have.

1-24 - 1 free turn
25-49 - 2 free turns
50-99 - 3 free turns
100 - 4 free turns

Sounds great, huh? Unfortunately summoning costs ALL your FP, locking you out of Arcana and Force Abilities if you don't spend those free turns eating carrots.
If you only mean to attack or use items, and you have nothing else you think you might need that FP for, I guess you could summon this guy. Otherwise outside of a few very boss-specific circumstances I don't see the point of blowing your FP like that.

So the summon's not great. His PS and Arcana make up for it.

Arcana
Banish: 48FP. Instantly kills one enemy.
Replay: 100FP. Fantastic. Cast it on an ally, and the ally will repeat their action at the end of the turn. So if you cast it on Doc and tell him to use Lock On, he'll use it once and then use it again at the end of the turn. You're effectively trading the caster's turn for a bonus turn for someone else. The only downside is the high FP cost, which can be lowered to 50 with the FP Save PS.
Escape: 5FP. FINALLY. Allows the party to escape a random battle. Although you can cast it at low FP, the chances of success increase depending on how much FP you have.
Reset: 100FP. Pretty good. Fucked up horribly? About to die an ignominious death? This Arcana lets you start the battle from the beginning. Good if you're learning how bosses work or just did something really stupid.

Personal Skills
Fallen Ward: Prevents instant death. A must, especially as we progress further into the game and bosses start to throw it around more often.
SOS Guard: At low health, character constantly guards. Worth a few points if you have them to spare.
Eagle Eye: Keeps the user from ending up in a Danger! battle. Very useful, especially on characters like Pearl who are vulnerable in those situations.

Next time: Two heads are better than one




Current character setups

I gave the new medium to Pearl, getting her the mediums I intend to keep her with until the end of the game:


Being the fastest, Pearl gets a number of reactive emergency Arcana, like Clearance, Escape, and Reset. She grabs a few buffs and debuffs and the ability to remove buffs from enemies. If there's nothing important to do, she defaults to casting Replay on Doc or Billy, to boost their damage per turn far beyond what she could manage with her own ARMs.

As for the others (so far)


Billy's goal is simple: get as many critical hits as possible. He's also got a few worthwhile buffs and debuffs. He's also the go-to guy for trapped treasure chests.


Boone's not quite done yet, as he's still awaiting more mediums and will be passing Gale Claw to Doc later, but for now with four elements available to him he's a flexible offensive caster.


Did I mention Auto Reload before? I got it for killing the Donkey. Like the name says, it has a chance of automatically reloading his ARM when he's out of bullets, which is incredibly useful. He'll eventually get Gale Claw, because Doc Needs Counterattack. Aside from that, the less time Doc spends casting Arcana the better. If there's a critical need for Protect or Shield I give the medium to Boone for a turn.

Well, that's it for today.



A Day A Day

Today is February 24, Knife Day. Allow me to give a real explanation for a change. The name knife refers to a small blade, but it is also short for [nice wife] and [night life]. A nice wife is good at using knives. A knife can (depending on how you use it) enhance your night life. Knife Day was established to appreciate these facts.

Today is February 25, San Terrine Day. It's the day a book called the Tale of Terrine was released. The book is filled with wonderful recipes of how to make delicious terrine dishes. What is a terrine you ask? I suggest that you run, not walk, to your local book store and pick this book up. Make it your guidebook to life.


... what the hell kind of nightlife do you have?