Part 8: Wayward Path

Music: The Dry Wind Blows Over You



To get to the next dungeon, we first have to head south from where we fell from the train, and follow this hard to spot pathway. Then it's just a matter of following the path north.



There are a few merchants on the world map. They can be pretty handy if you forgot to update your equipment before leaving town.

Talk

Traveling Salesman Paul: You all sure know how to make an entrace, don't you? Here I was, heading north to the tunnel that leads to Gounon so I could restock my inventory, when all of a sudden - BOOM! Next thing I knew, you all came raining down from the mess. Half thought I was gonna faint from shock, I tell ya...




Music: The Road to Tomorrow Follows Behind You

Finally! It won't be long now before we find Johnny Appleseed!
So what kind of place is Gounon, anyway?
Gounon? ...I haven't been back in a long time. I don't remember anymore.
Oh, well! We'll just have to see for ourselves!
Worked up as always, I see... Though I suppose I can understand, what with Johnny Appleseed so close and all.
...
And in this corner, we have Dean's complete opposite... What's wrong, Avril? Are you worried about something?
N-no... It's nothing...
Hey, so what about your promise? When are you gonna tell me about that golem arm?
Don't worry! A promise is a promise, I'll get to it. You might not believe it when you hear it, but it's all true!
(I wonder what he's plannin' to tell me? If it's about *him*...)



Does this look familiar? There are several underground paths in this game, and they all use this same room at the beginning and end. Nothing of interest happens in here, and a cutscene starts as soon as we enter the next room.



But I don't have time to listen to stupid tales from your imagination.
???
Was it interesting...or was it stupid?
I told you already, it's all true!
Relax, Dean. You have to admit, it's not exactly an easy story to believe. Think about it. A giant golem arm falls from the sky... Next thing you know, its hand pops open and a girl falls out... Finally, the arm falls from a cliff and then disappears in a flash of light. ...I mean, really.
Well, yeah, I guess if you put it that way... But I got these ARMs from Avril! That's proof that it really happened!
...Whatever. I'm only stayin' with you until Gounon, anyway. Don't worry, I'll take care of you until then.
I'm tellin' you, man! It's all true!



This dungeon introduces an annoying new enemy type. Jelly Blobs have the attribute Soft, which is pretty much an elemental resistance to physical attacks, and they can split in two, creating more enemies to fight. Luckily, the fire element is fatal to them.



Hit a Jelly Blob with an attack with a fire element, and they die instantly. It's pretty nice when a few Jelly Blobs split into a huge group and then you get them all at once with Blast.



Oh man, it's the same "puzzle" we've already done 20 times. How will I ever solve it?




Wayward Path also introduces Mimics. Mimics are one of the most annoying enemies in the game, because of a certain skill they have...




Yes, that mimic just drained 100 MP from Avril. In a game without MP restorative items, this can be a serious problem.



I just want to note that Dean grunts the entire time he's climbing a ladder, as if it's the most difficult thing he's ever done. It's very annoying and I hate him for it.



How can we make the "Shoot a blue thing to open the door" puzzle harder?
Put the blue thing behind a box!
Brilliant!




Damn! When the hell did stuff like THAT start hangin' around here?! Get back! I'll take care of it!
No! We'll help too!
Fine, then. Have it your way!

Music: I Can't Turn Away Now



I'm tougher than you kids, so I can take more damage. Use the "Swap Members" command to switch me into the fray!



Although the Ruins Guard has higher physical defense than magic resistance, Rebecca doesn't actually make a very good caster, so it works better to get both Dean and Greg on the fire ley point and go to town with Crush.



He tries to heal sometimes, but a single Crush does more damage than he can recover in a single turn, so he doesn't really stand a chance.




Music: The Road to Tomorrow Follows Behind You

...Why'd you butt in?
No - why did you tell us to stay back? We're the ones going to Gounon. We ought to be telling you to stay back.
...I promised to see you safely to Gounon. I'm only tryin' to keep that promise.
Huh. Well, if you say so!
...I do. Now let's go.



At the top of the ladder there's another mimic (this dungeon has a lot of them) and a door.



Why'd you become a Golem Crusher?
That's not somethin' you need to know.
What?! Don't be stingy!
Whatever. It's none of your business.
...You have a tragic past, do you not?
-! What's that supposed to mean?!

It was pretty obvious with all that brooding you do, Greg. Anyone could guess you have a tragic past.

Avril? Do you know Greg? Maybe you met him before you lost your memory or something?
Before I lost my memory...? I don't know... I feel like I might have known him... At the very least, I can tell that he is carrying a heavy burden...
-! I know I've never met you, Avril. So there's no way you could've met me. Now quit talkin' about me like that!
...Okay, I'm sorry...
Well, you know... everybody has stuff they don't want other people to know about.
Yeah. I remember how upset you were when I found your journal!
Hey... You're not supposed to talk about that!



The same old puzzle, but this time with a twist! The blue things only stay orange for a little while, so you have to shoot all three in quick succession.



This is easily accomplished by shooting these two from this position, then quickly turning around and firing blindly at the third.



In the next room, there's a door that leads to a small room with two chests. One contains a Bronze Moon, and the other contains our first alternate costume!



Costume changes are reflected in cutscenes, but I missed this room and came back for it after I purified the Sol Niger, so the change won't apply to the next several screenshots.



This door opens slowly as we alternate firing at these two blue things. We just have to stand in this position and hold down the fire button until the door is open all the way, then go through.



This is really getting old.



Yeah. That's all Avril could remember when we found her.
Yes. My name, and the words "Johnny Appleseed."
Ah, right. You mentioned she'd lost her memory. So you still can't recall anything?
No, nothing.
So you came all this way just to find Johnny Appleseed, huh? That's certainly...generous of you two.
Well, it's not just that...



Ah, anyway, is it still a long way to the exit?
No, we're almost there. But it does look like we've got one last hill to climb...
I sense something nearby.
So, what do you want us to do this time? Help out, or stay back?
...Whatever you want.
Well then, you know what that means!

Boss: The Tarasque Brothers
Music: Defense Action Squad Heroes!




It's Tarasque! Tarasque/Trask has been a recurring boss fight throughout the Wild Arms series, making an appearance in every game but the original and its remake, Alter Code F.

Tarasque Gorath has high DEF, while Tarasque Mons has high RES, so you want to hit Gorath with magic, and Mons with physicals.



They have a pretty nasty physical attack which can cause some serious problems if you don't heal quickly enough. I used Heal Berries in this fight because Heal only recovers about 300 HP right now, while Heal Berries recover 500.



I set Rebecca and Greg up on the fire ley point, shooting at Mons with Greg while Rebecca blasts Gorath. After moving Avril onto the fire ley point, something happens.

Greg, I have an interesting idea.
Build a gate with your twin swords? I like that!

I'm not sure what that means. I guess the Combination Arte is called Heaven's Gate, and I think by "your twin swords", Greg is referring to Avril's only sword, and his sword. (Oh, I forgot to mention, Greg's ARM is also a lightsaber. You can see it on his profile artwork.)



Heaven's Gate attacks all enemy HEXes for moderate magic damage.



Holy shit, Greg.



Well, we made short work of them.

Music: The Road to Tomorrow Follows Behind You



Me? Don't. I'm not that kinda guy. There's plenty of other people for you to look up to. Like-
Like Nightburn! I admire him more than anybody!
Heh. Nightburn, huh? He's the top Golem Hunter, right? The complete opposite of a Golem Crusher like me. Now do you get it? I'm not worth lookin' up to.
...
Greg... I still cannot think of you as a bad person.

In the past two days, he caused a major cave in at an important mine and blew up part of a train.

Why do you insist on acting like that?
...I'm not "acting" like anything. This is just how I am. Besides - good, bad... That all depends on who you ask. I'm not gonna let that change who I am. You can think whatever you want about me - just don't hold me to it.



In this same room is the Sol Niger for this dungeon.



These guys will get pretty tough later, but for now they're still small fry.



Also in this room is a set of floating white balls. We can target them with our ARMs, but shooting them does nothing. Guess we'll have to come back later.



Whew... That was a lot longer than I thought it would be. People really do need the sun to live, don't they?
I agree. I've had enough of cold, dark places...
Hmm...? Don't worry, Avril! We're right near the exit, see? And we should be able to meet Johnny Appleseed soon, too!
Yes. Let's go, Rebecca! The sunlight is just a few steps away!



Aren't you goin' with 'em?
Of course I am! But first, there's one thing... Destroying golems is bad. They're important resources and - well, we already talked about that stuff, I guess. What's really important is that I love golems! They're so freakin' cool! But more important that that, I can feel the dreams of a lot era of technology within them. So... Well, I thought I could never forgive you.
...
But...like Avril said, you really don't seem like such a bad guy to me. After all, you've helped me so many times already.

Music: A Rusted Scar




I just didn't wanna think that someone might've died from a bomb I set. That's all.



Heh... Well, that one was my fault, too.



Any of those times, if you didn't care about us, you could've just let us be, couldn't you?
... Hah! And so because of that, I'm not a bad guy? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! Listen, kid. I'm a Golem Crusher. I'm one of those people you just can't forgive. That's all that matters! As soon as I see you all to Gounon, I'm goin' right back to crushin' golems!
That's enough talk for now. Gounon's right up those stairs. As soon as you're there, that's the last I'll see of you. ...But I'll tell you this. What might look like a handy tool can easily turn into a destructive weapon. Make sure you don't use it the wrong way - or I'll crush you! You understand?



They run up the stairs, and the screen fades to black.

Music: Pilgrim's Progress



Navigator: N-no, sir! We're searching as quickly as we can!
Dammit... Those radicals will stop at nothing.
Navigator: Who would've imagined they'd take over Mother?
I should have. Especially with Volsung leading them. He'll do anything to accomplish his goals. ...But I suppose it's my fault people like him exist in the first place.
Operator: No, Captain! Don't blame yourself! Your leadership during the settlement was flawless. We simply succumbed to our own weaknesses. We couldn't restrain our jealousy of the native inhabitants after our long journey through space. If only we'd been stronger...
No. I shouldn't have allowed that to happen. But when I sowed those apple seeds, I left behind the seeds of nobility too... We all became arrogant, and look where it got us. Even I've been rejected by Filgaia.



Don't worry about it. It's too late to change any of that, anyway. All that matters now is what we can do going forward. I'm afraid I'll be needing your help with my repentance a bit longer!
Crew: Yes, sir! You have our utmost respect! We would gladly give our lives at your order!
Would you, now? Then I'll see to it that I take good care of them! I just wish I knew what the radicals were up to. At this rate, I may indeed need to give that order. *Sigh*
Crew: We're prepared for such a situation at any time, sir!
...Thanks. At any rate, right now, the important thing is to find Johnny Appleseed before the radicals do - no matter what the costs! The fate of Filgaia is at stake!



The Art of Wild Arms



I'm running out of Wild Arms 5 pictures without character spoilers, so here's some artwork of a golem from Wild Arms 1, (Lolithia to be precise.) along with Rudy, Jack and Cecilia.