Part 48: Nightmare Castle B

Last time, we jumped in a convenient portal to who-knows-where and wound up at Beatrice's base - The Nightmare Castle.
But the boss is way too tough. We need to start taking him down a peg.


Update 48: Light a Candle

MUSIC: If you Reach Your Dreams


Right on both counts.



Lighting the candles opens up a nearby passageway.



One short corridor later and...



This room has nine platforms, which are rotated by three wheels. The numbers in the above screenshot show what platforms correspond to which wheel.

It takes a little bit of trial and error, since you can't see the top row of platforms from the wheels, but eventually you can turn them to looks like this...



and cross over the gap.



There's a pit at the end of the puzzle, just in case you felt like trying to be smart and galecresting over the gaps.



The next room has a large gap and a crystal we can hit with the Boomerang.



Doing so makes three platforms rapidly extend and contract over the gap. It's possible to Galecrest across, but doing so takes VERY careful timing - the platforms are out for a second at best, and spend 2-3 seconds retracted.



The wall after it looks impassable until you notice the grapple point moving about above Doc's head...



Then Billy can repeatedly jump on this block to force it downwards.



After that, we quickly come to a room that's empty, apart from a grief seed standing by itself at the back. Get too close and...



I am Disaster... The power that guards the Nightmare Castle... Let it be known to those who trust in the power of the guardians... Your life ends here...
The Firey Rage ignites the heavens! I am the power that scorches all!

BOSS BATTLE: DISASTER FIRE



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

As a battle, this is fundamentally the same as Disaster Luck except that he won't turn into Tiamat when defeated.



Like Disaster Luck he uses one of our summons against us: Vapor Blast. Fire Ward will be beneficial. Beyond that he really doesn't have anything. He already has an Ice weakness, so attach that to Doc and Billy's weapons and blast him.
The Disasters are unfortunately rather boring. It wouldn't have hurt to give them some unique abilities.

MUSIC: If you Reach Your Dreams

Well, we've defeated a Disaster. What does that get us?

Well, when we fight Tiamat and he uses Final Disaster, he won't use Vapor Blast as part of it. By defeating Disasters, we can nerf Final Disaster down to virtually nothing.



We have to walk back from the Disaster's chamber, but the game is pretty good about giving us an easy route back. An even easier way to do it is to use the Exodus Orb to skip back to the entrance of the castle.



Some interesting enemies about. Yes that is a recolored Balal Quo Naga.
A lot of enemies about here use Sleep. Makes sense, it is the Nightmare Castle. It's also a subtle warning about what's coming...



Anyway, back in the main hall, there's another passageway behind a cracked wall. One bomb will sort it out.



This room.



Throwing a Tindercrest at one of those metal faces reveals the path, but it does not last very long - about half a second, probably. Which means that once you see the path, you have to memorize it and blindly walk along it until you get to another spot you can hit the metal head from again - Pearl only throws her crests in eight directions.



I hate these rooms. The first one isn't too bad, but...



the second one ups the ante with a more complex and much longer path that forces you to walk blind for much longer stretches. It also has a lot more dead ends.



Yay fun.
If there's one thing I wish I'd thought of earlier, it's to make good use of R2. A lot of the problems in this area come because even if you lightly tap the pad to try to aim at a head, Pearl will move a little, and possibly off the platform. Holding R2 makes her stay still when you turn her, making it much safer to line up shots.
I did these two rooms in under ten minutes this time, which I think is a new personal best. I believe I've spent at least half an hour in the past. If you want to see my least favorite part of the game, here's a video.

VIDEO: Curse the Darkness

after that there's this guy...



The Moon Spark blackens the night! I am the power that eclipses all, and awakens the blood of beasts!

BOSS BATTLE: DISASTER MOON



The only Disaster worth a damn...



Because his Merciless Queen does % damage that comes to a quarter of your Max HP. Much more than the others can muster with their elemental attacks, and there are no wards that protect against this kind of thing.
He's still not hard though. Back to the entrance for one more secret door?



Turns out these glowing cubes aren't just decoration. You can pick them up and throw them. We've thrown crates onto these triangular switches a few times throughout the game, so try that out...
Yep, it makes a door appear in the alcove to Billy's left.



See this brown platform?



When you step on it it starts to leave a short trail of platforms, leading Pearl on a winding course that'll eventually carry her across the pits. All you need to do is keep up, as it moves quite quickly and you'll fall if you hesitate.



The second room just has one trail, but it'll split and try to fake you out. Taking the wrong path leads only to the pit. Each time you're given a junction, don't go south.



It also cheats by not actually taking you to the platform, it just leads you to a dead end.
Pearl must throw a changecrest at the white gem in order to teleport to safety.



Fun random encounter 2: Tiny toy soldiers!



Not so fun boss encounter.

The Aqua Wisp summons your death! I am the power that washes away and engulfs all!

BOSS BATTLE: DISASTER WATER



Third verse, same as the first. Fight him like Disaster Fire, only use Water wards and his weakness is Thunder.

With that done, I think I'll take a break. Returning to the front door...



This door seems to bridge Nightmare Castle and Filgaia...

Return to Filgaia
We can't go back yet



There's no reason not to return. Shane and Halle as still hanging about at the Sacrificial Altar. Shane will heal us for free, just as well as a stay at an Inn, and he'll save our game too. Then we talk to Halle to jump right back in!


Next Time: Flower Arranging


A Day A Day

Today is April 8, Ferris Wheel Day. Once there was a boy who thought making the ferris wheel go faster would make it the most thrilling ride in the park. One day, the boy made his dream come true, but his gondola couldn't handle the terrible speed and centrifugal force, flinging it far off into the sky. The boy is probably still high in orbit over Filgaia...