Part 31: TF System: Tower M

Before we continue on to take down the TF System, there are a few more sidequests I want to finish up.



Now that we have the Anchor Hook, we can return to the Isolated Path, purify the Sol Niger, and grab some loot.



The Sol Niger here has a Rapid Coat, one of Dean's alternate costumes which cannot be found anywhere else.



There's also a Duplicator chest in here, containing a Cloak of Illusion.



Next we head for Gounon.



Press Apples

Apple-Pressing Guy: Thanks! I can't find the man in charge of that machine, and I just can't squeeze the apples hard enough.

There's a crank nearby. We spin it about 20 times, then speak with the man again.

Apple-Pressing Guy: Well, looks like you pressed a few of them. Not quite as many as we needed, but...thanks. Have this wine when you come of age!
Obtained Fresh Apple Wine!

This man sure is a responsible adult. We take this bottle of Johnny Appleseed to a man in Laila Belle.



Corporate Peon: But the wine costs an arm and a leg. I suppose I could but some if I really wanted to...but it would be a massive hit on our family's budget. My idiot boss is well aware of this, and yet he insists on bragging about how full-bodied its taste is, and about how he can never go back to other wines...
(This guy really, really wants to drink some Johnny Appleseed... On that note, we happen to have some apple wine, but...what should we do?)

Give him the wine.

Corporate Peon: Eh? Huh? Whooooa! Is that...! It couldn't be! Fresh-squeezed Johnny Appleseed, from this year's harvest! Your generosity is amazing... I wish I could show my boss how to be this decent... Thank you, boy. Maybe there's some good people left in this world after all!
Obtained Blank Medium x3!
Corporate Peon: This is for you. Your giving nature has moved me... I hope that these help your travels go a bit easier.

Is it me, or does it seem like every sidequest just nets me a few Blank Mediums? These things are so worthless.

Hey, guess who I ran across in Twelbit!



For the sake of completeness, I'll show what happens for every letter, but the game only lets us give him one.

Deliver the Fragrant Letter.

Young Drifter with a Quiet Smile: You have a letter for me? It sure smells nice! I wonder who it's from?
Delivered the Fragrant Letter!
Young Drifter with a Quiet Smile: It's from that girl I met on the train. So she remembered me, and even wrote to me... It sure is nice to get a letter like this. I guess I should write her back, too.

Our reward awaits us in Gounon with Cecilia.

Golden-Haried Noble: Thank you so much for delivering that letter for me. After he read the letter, he came to this town for a visit. We talked about all sorts of things, and I was so very happy. And I was overjoyed when he promised that he would visit again. I cannot thank you enough. Here are some keys used in my house, and some apples I found on the way here. Please use them as you see fit. He said that such items were precious to Drifters...
Obtained Duplicator x3!
Obtained ATK Apple x2!
Golden-Haried Noble: Today I am in a wonderful mood. Perhaps it is because I received a letter from him? You humans say that "healing begins from within." I'm beginning to think that you may be right about that!



Young Drifter with a Quiet Smile: You have a letter for me? What cute stationery! I wonder who it's from?
Delivered the Flowery Letter!
Young Drifter with a Quiet Smile: It's from that shy girl that raises flowers in Honeysday. So she remembered me, and even wrote to me... It sure is nice to get a letter like this. I guess I should write her back, too.

After this, we visit Mariel in Honeysday.

Flower-Tending Girl: Umm... Thank you very much for delivering my letter to him... It made me so happy... Here is a reward for you. Please, take it.
Obtained Muse Amulet!
Flower-Tending Girl: I have lived for a long time... But I don't think I have ever been happier than I am right now. After that letter... I was tending to my flowers one day, and he was standing before me...and he smiled. So we talked for a while...and then...well... ...It was all thanks to you. Thank you so much...

I already have like, three Muse Amulets. What a terrible reward. That doesn't matter though, because neither of those things actually happened! What actually happened was...



Young Drifter with a Quiet Smile: You have a letter for me? It's sure sealed tight. I wonder who it's from?
Delivered the Simple Letter!
Young Drifter with a Quiet Smile: It's from that hard-working girl in the white suit in Laila Belle. So she remembered me, and even wrote to me... It sure is nice to get a letter like this. I'll have to go visit her later.



Up-and-Coming Businesslady: I haven't really ever thanked anyone for anything, so I feel a little awkward...but I guess that's not the best thing to say. Really, thank you so much. Now I'll be able to move on without regrets. But I suppose that Drifters would have little use for mere words? So let me give you this item as a show of my sincerity. It's very important to me.
Obtained Flegel Jahre!
Up-and-Coming Businesslady: That ARM part is the "power" that I used to accumulate wealth as I explored the wild lands outside the city. It's important to me, and I associate a lot of memories with it, so I wanted to give it to you. I'll be happy if you can put it to good use. ...Hmm? How's it going with that guy, you say? How rude, asking something like that!
Middle-Aged Butler: Every now and again, that blue-haired Drifter drops in to see the young mistress. It seems he has quite the busy schedule, and yet he still finds time... An impressive young man indeed. I might even say that he's of a caliber worthy to court the mistress.

The Flegel Jahre was Jane's ARM in Wild Arms: Alter Code F. I don't think her ARM had a name in the original.

In Wild Arms 5, it's an awesome ARM Part for Rebecca, with a major drawback of a RES stat of -48. As you can tell, the Flegel Jahre is probably the best reward, so good job picking Jane's letter, guys!



It turns out that getting up here is why you can climb the lights in Twelbit, by the way. There's a Neutrino Medal and a HIT Apple up here.

Now we COULD go save all of humanity, or we could solve some puzzles!

Puzzle Box #5
Music: How Long Will This Puzzle Box Continue



With this puzzle, you just need to keep in mind that you can't reach the middle platform unless you're standing on a box. Once you realize this, figuring out the solution to the puzzle is pretty simple.

For completing Puzzle Box 5, your reward is Full Revive x5.

Puzzle Box #8



Once you determine that the blue box on top should be moved to the right, the rest of the puzzle is pretty easy to solve.

For completing Puzzle Box 8, your reward is Dragon Fossil x3.

Okay, let's go work on taking down the TF System now.



Tower M is located in Southwest Filgaia, behind a huge boulder that Asgard needs to destroy.



Hey, a Sol Niger!

Filgaia has four Sol Nigers, one for each quadrant of the map.



Unfortunately, we don't stand a chance right now.



Tower M isn't far from the Sol Niger.

So we just need to yank out the elemental circuit at the top of the tower to stop this thing, right? Let's show 'em we mean business!



There's nothing worth noting in the first room, aside from a big pedestal that seems to serve no purpose.

Music: Only Because it's Important, Does it Easily Break



Avril stops to speak with Rebecca, and the rest of the party keeps walking.

What is it, Rebecca?
Well, um... Remember how you were saying that you only got back your memories from after you woke from coldsleep? And how you still couldn't remember some things from before? Is...is that really true?
...What do you mean?
Well, maybe it's just my imagination... But I had this feeling you were still holding something back...still worrying about something all by yourself.
...No, I'm not.
Okay. If you say so, that's good enough for me.
Thank you, Rebecca. I'm sorry if I worried you.
No, not at all. I'm always poking my nose into other people's business, after all. And as long as I'm doing that... Can I ask you one more thing?
Please, feel free.
Do you, um... Do you like Dean?



They're all just standing there... Completely motionless, yet facing away from Avril and Rebecca, as if they don't notice they aren't following. Why are they just standing there?

Wow... I wasn't expecting such a direct answer. I guess I'm a little surprised...
You do, too, Rebecca, don't you?
Is it that obvious?
Hehe... I'm afraid so.
Heh... But I guess it's a relief to have things out in the open like that. Now we can officially be rivals!
Rivals?
Yeah. Rivals - and best friends!
Hehe, okay, sure. Rivals and best friends!
But you'd better prepare yourself... It'll take a lot of resolve to break through that thick skull of Dean's.
Yes, I know. I'm resolved.
Hah hah! Well then, good luck to both of us!
Yes!
And let's not get left behind!



Music: A Muzzle Dancing in Hatred



This room (which is actually the first room, we just took a featureless spiral staircase to a higher portion of it.) introduces this dungeon's gimmick.

When we light this torch, the platform in the middle of the room moves over to us and comes to a stop, when we put the torch out, it goes back to the center of the room. After riding it out there, we just have to light the torch on the other side, and the platform carries us to the exit.



The next room has an inaccesible Duplicator chest, an open door, a sealed door, and four torches.

The open door takes us to a room with a long pole, at the top of which is another door.



This Duplicator chest is totally isolated from the rest of the room, so we have to turn around and return to the room with the four torches.



When all four torches are lit, the sealed door opens, but once even a single torch goes out, the door shuts. The solution is to line yourself up so that a single bullet will light all four torches, fire, and then run for the door before it closes.

On the other side of the door is another pole room, which leads us to...



The opposite end of the room with the Duplicator chest that has Divine Crush in it.

We light the torch, which pulls the center platform to us. We get on and put the torch out, then ride the platform back to the middle of the room.



There are open doors to the east and to the west, and they each have a torch by them. As you can probably guess, the eastern platform goes to the eastern door when the eastern torch is lit, and the opposite goes for the western platform.

First we go through the eastern exit, which takes us to the top of another pole room.



That room leads us back to the room with the four torches, allowing us to grab that Duplicator chest from before.

After that, we go back up the pole and take the western exit of the platform room.



This room contains four torches and a springboard.



The springboard takes us up to a platform. From up here, we light all four torches, which causes the platform to rise to the top of the room.



In this room, we have to get on the rotating structure in the center, and light the four torches in the corners of the room, which opens the door to the next room.



Partway up this staircase, a boss!



We're up against two Iron Maidens in this battle. Their basic attack does about 1200 damage, and they'll use Hyperion Ray, which deals about 1200 damage to a line of HEXes. They also have Gravity Earth, which reduces your HP to 25%. And they like to use Ley Change too, which is especially annoying when you get your caster onto the water ley point and suddenly he's standing on the earth ley point.

They can do some pretty serious damage, especially if they choose to use Gravity Earth a lot, but they go down easily enough.




Rebecca...you dropped something.
Aah! My diary!
Here you go.



I love this, because Rebecca goes through the animation to grab the book, but they didn't actually bother to put the book in her hands, so she just moves around in an awkward manner.

Music: Only Because it's Important, Does it Easily Break

Not at all. This diary is important to me as well.
...Huh?! Avril! Don't tell me you've been sneaking peeks at it or something?!
Of course not. I wouldn't touch it without your permission.
Whew... That's a relief. There's some pretty silly poetry and stuff in the beginning, so...
...? What's so silly about poetry? I think that's wonderful.
Well, it's just, you know, they're all kind of corny...
Then how about you write one of my poems in there as well? That way we can feel silly together.
W-well, it's not like you have to or anything... But Avril, I didn't know you wrote poetry, too.
I didn't have much time for poetry 12,000 years ago, but now I find it very enjoyable. For example... "Thanks to you, I realized that two together is better than one alone. I just wish you could realize it, too..." How does that sound?
Wow, Avril, that was great! Really heartfelt... I could tell it was full of your feelings and emotions... I'm definitely going to write it down!
Hehe... Thanks, Rebecca. Now this diary will be a bond between us.
Yeah. I'll never lose it or anything - I promise!
Hey! Hurry up, you two!
Okay, okay! Shall we, Avril?
Yes, let's.

In the room at the top of the staircase, we get a conversation between Dean and Rebecca.

Music: A Muzzle Dancing in Hatred



Rebecca? What is it all of a sudden?
Oh, nothing. I was just thinking. It just seemed kind of amazing how we've spent all this time, always together, you know?
Well, Capo Bronco's a pretty small place, after all, and there was nobody else our age. That reminds me - are you still keeping that poetry journal?
No! I've turned it into a travel diary!
Yeah? Well, when everything's done and we're back in Capo Bronco, can I read it? It'll be great for going back over memories and stuff.
N-no! Don't you dare!
Don't worry! I won't look at the poems, okay?
Don't look at the rest either! How dare you even THINK about reading a girl's diary!
Y-you don't need to get so upset about it. I was just thinking it'd be nice to look back on our journey and stuff...
I don't care! If you even touch it I'll never speak to you again!
Okay, okay! I promise I won't ever read it, okay?
(After all, practically all I've been writing about is my feelings for him... I'd die of embarrassment if he ever saw that... ... No, wait... Wouldn't that be a good way to tell him? He couldn't miss it then no matter how dense he is. I mean, yeah, maybe it is embarrassing, but at least then he'd know how much I like him...)
...Um, Dean? About the diary...
Don't worry. I wouldn't read it even if they tortured me!
Uh, th-thanks... I'm, uh, counting on you!
(Rebecca, you idiot! Idiot! IDIOT!)



This room contains nine of those color-changing crystals, and a plaque.

*The White Knight was slain, blood staining his armor crimson as he lay in the center of the battlefield. His lord erected a fortress of ice to protect and honor the fallen warrior, over which four angels clad in pure white stand guard.



The red crystal in the center represents the fallen knight, the four blue crystals that surround him represent the walls of the fortress of ice, and the four white crystals represent the four angels. When we set them up like this, the door to the next room opens.



This room is the same as the room with four torches from before, but the structure in the middle rotates more quickly.

This room also contains a Sol Niger



This Sol Niger contains three enemies, all of which have Hen Badges to steal. Hen Badges increase your EXP gain, so it's a good idea to steal all three.



The next room is a platforming challenge. There are a lot of torches which set platforms into motion.



Lighting a torch to your immediate left causes the nearby platform to move to the opposite end of the room.

While riding it, you can hit the torch in the center of the room, which causes the platform to the right (in the picture on the right) to move to the opposite end of the room.



Lighting the center torch also causes another platform to start moving. Both platforms cross the center torch at the same time, so you have to quickly run across as you pass by.



Riding this platform to the end of its path gets you a Duplicator chest with a Phantom Vision, which is a piece of equipment for Asgard. Putting the center torch out and riding the same platform back to its original position gets you a Goat Doll, a badge which revives the wearer once per battle.

Lighting the torch next to the Phantom Vision chest starts a platform which takes you by the exit door.



I don't even know why these are here, we've already done these things before.



At the top of this staircase is another boss, Leonhart. He hits for about 1400 damage, and frequently uses Howl to delay your turns.

He's really not a very difficult boss. You'd think Volsung would have used a more powerful monster, this tower is a pretty important part of the TF System, after all.

When we beat him, the game cuts away to Mithysmere.



Yes, I'm fine now. That medicine Rebecca brought worked just great.
Calm Boy: That's good to hear. All of us are relieved that you've gotten well.
Hee hee, thanks. ...I wonder if Rebecca will come back again? I want to thank her.
Energetic Boy: Yeah, and see that acrobatic shooting again!!
Calm Boy: So do I. Her movements are truly fascinating.
I hope I can get her to teach it to me. I wonder what she's doing now...

Well, we've beaten the boss of this tower, so we just need to proceed into the next room and rip out the elemental circuit.

So you've come after all!

Music: Persephone IPCC_3927 (: Appearance)



Oh... Nevermind...

Yes. With Nightburn dead, I won't miss humans any longer. The Veruni have a long, bright future ahead of them - and you humans have no place in it!
Wait... Is Nightburn really dead?!
...I've spent all my time looking for him, with no success. I can't keep letting myself be held back by him...
Persephone... Then you do-
I don't care about humans any longer. If you're going to interfere with our plans to reform Filgaia, I'll kill you! Prepare yourselves!

Boss: Persephone
Music: Persephone IPCC_3927 (: Battle)



Persephone can be pretty tough if you don't handle things well. She has a ton of HP, so your healer will probably be pretty low on MP by the time the battle is done.

Her basic attack does about 1400 damage, but she has a lot more up her sleeve.



An important thing to do when fighting Persephone is to occupy the fire ley point. This is because Persephone has Cremation. Even when you're on the fire ley point, Cremation can still hit for 1000 damage.



Of course, simply occupying the fire ley point won't keep her off of it. By using Replace, she can trade positions with the occupants of any HEX. You could use Ley Change to get rid of the fire ley point, but then you don't get the defense boost provided by it.



She can also heal herself for 5000 damage at a time, which can be pretty irritating when combined with her max HP of 76000.



The biggest threat is this though.

When Persephone uses Target: ON, her next turn jumps ahead by a significant amount. (Her turn jumped ahead by four spaces at one point during this battle.)

On her next turn after using Target: ON, she'll attack an adjacent HEX with Gatling Gun. If no one is adjacent to her, she'll defend instead.



Jesus Christ.

The best part of this? Since she does straight damage, it doesn't count as an instant death attack, so it doesn't matter if you're protected from instant death.

After smashing her with attacks from the water ley point for awhile, she goes down.



Even if you defeat me, there's no way you could get past Volsung. He's...he's the Devil himself...
No, Persephone - nothing's impossible. Nothing's impossible, as long as you try. As someone special to me likes to say, you can do anything as long as you don't give up.
What?! You mean, you-
Shh, Chuck! Not now!
Don't try to lecture me, you brat!
I'm not lecturing anybody. I'm just telling you how I feel.
Hmph. Well, in that case - prove to me that you're right!
...All right. I trust my feelings. I won't lose! Nobody interfere, okay? This is my fight!
Go for it, Rebecca!
Thanks, Dean! Persephone, here I come!

The Duel With Persephone



In preparation for this battle, I equipped Rebecca with a Frey Amulet (reduces fire damage), a Castle Wall (nullifies a single attack), and a Ryan's Shield. (randomly defends against attacks.)

This battle can be made easier by putting a Sea Medium on Rebecca so she can heal herself, or you could use a Sky Medium and Blast her from the water ley point. I left the Luck Medium on her though, just because.

Persephone can no longer use Target: ON or Gatling Gun, and her stats have been lowered a bit, so she's not too tough. Letting her on the fire ley point is risky, as is placing yourself in the water ley point.



Hi-Water gems are useful here, since they behave like a water-elemental Hi-Blast. If you use these while on the fire ley point, their damage is significantly reduced, so if you want to deal acceptable damage, you have to let her on the fire ley point.



She gains two new abilities for this fight, Mirror Coat and Mirror Wall.

Mirror Coat gives her the attribute Reflect Magic until her next turn, and Mirror Wall gives her the attribute Reflect Physical until her next turn.

Once you've dropped her health to 50%, this happens.



Hmph! That's none of your damned business.
Nightburn's alive! Dean still believes it! Dean hasn't given up - I know he'll be safe! But you're going to have to believe in him!
Grr... That's enough! Now pay more attention, or you'll pay with your life!



Since Rebecca can't heal herself, we have to rely on Potion Berries and Mega Berries to survive.

As long as you play defensively and come prepared, Persephone isn't a big threat.



I'm not...going to accept this! Nightburn's the only human stronger than I am! No one else can defeat me!
Whether you face it or not doesn't matter. One way or the other, I've beaten you.



Music: Only Because it's Important, Does it Easily Break

Easy. You can't beat me if you can't even be honest with yourself. I know how you feel... It can be hard to express your feelings to somebody you love. But if you don't say anything, they'll never know. You just need the courage to tell them.
Courage...?
...And besides, there's no proof that he's dead, is there?

Six people witnessed his death.

But if you keep on running away from him like that, you'll never find him. So go look for him. Because Veruni or not, I know he won't reject you.
... ...You win. You really are sure of yourself, aren't you? But I... Heh. Nightburn and my sister were lovers. They were always happy together, and I liked seeing them that way. But my sister was rejected by Filgaia, and... After that, he just lost control. He came to hate Filgaia and all of humanity, blaming them for her death. I couldn't stand to see him like that...but I couldn't do anything. If only I'd had the courage to talk to him... If only I'd known sooner...
...But it's still not too late. Right?
...No, I suppose not. I won't give up either, Rebecca.



Good luck with that, I guess. I'd start by checking under those rocks in Mt. Chug-Chug, he's probably there.



The elemental circuit is actually a Command Piece for Asgard, Giga Crush!



Conveniently, there's a crystal at the back of the room which teleports us to that pedestal in the first room.

Now, you may be wondering: why is Persephone named after a Greek Goddess?

Let me preface this by stating that I'm not actually very knowledgeable about most mythology. I'm pretty much just repeating what I read on a fansite, so forgive me if it's inaccurate in any way.

Volsung's sentinels are all (very) loose inversions of various mythological figures. In the case of Persephone, the Greek Goddess Persephone begins as an innocent maiden and eventually becomes an accursed figure, while the Wild Arms 5 Persephone gradually becomes a more sympathetic character over the course of the game.

The Art of Wild Arms



Brad is really tall. Or maybe Ashley's just short?