Part 2: A boy traveling alone

LP Note: Like my Azure Dreams LP, I'll be tossing these in every once in a while to make it more natural to read the archived version of this LP. In between the 0th and 1st Updates, a couple noteworthy things happened.
First, a couple people decided I should stay snarky and keep with the Fuck Up Count, which gets included in every update from now on.
Second, ATM Machine was awesome and bought me the Platinum Forums Upgrade so I could PM Azure_Horizon while we were working on the LP. Turns out we didn't use it too much, but it was a very generous gesture.

Last time, we saw the semi-hidden prologue video and the introduction cutscene. Fortunately, this update contains 0 cutscenes, or at least not in the same style that that game handled them before. To replace them, we get actual gameplay, and maybe a few more


Okay...that is one really sweet background, with a lot of blue-red contrast, much like this boy himself. Although I can't tell if that background is a photograph or digitally made. I'm guessing photograph.



"Filgaia"
I'd like to point out really quickly that it's "Fargaia" in Japanese. Twilight Venom took the middle route and called it Falgaia. And Boy of Hope is a really nice song. I'm just imagining some kind of cowboy sitting beneath a tree watching the cattle grazing far below.
People have banded together for survival, uniting to fend off the harsh elements and menace of monsters.
Those few who travel the withered world seeking adventure are called "Wanderers."
Fuck-up count: 4! Seriously? The original game used Dream Chaser, which I suppose isn't all bad and sounds kinda cool, but Wild ARMs 3, which this game is very very similar to, came out just before it and was translated as Drifter. All other games in the series use Drifter as well! ARGH!
A young wanderer is staying at Surf Village in the Frontier.
Though he looks quite young, he is skilled beyond his years.


That's a good horsee.
Anyway, a voice calls out to the wanderer Drifter, and he turns around.
Bambollo: Hey, you can finish up now. Thank you so much! The ranch looks twice as big now that you've cleaned it.
I'm not going to include mugshots for everyone, just people I consider important enough to get them. Unlike 3 and all the games later on, this game didn't include mugshots somewhere in/near the textboxes.
Bambollo: I hired you through our village chief, but I didn't expect you to work so hard. Oh, I still don't know your name! I keep calling you, "boy." Tell me, what's your name?


My nostalgia is asking me to keep the original names in, sorry folks. Azure'll probably change them for you though.
Bambollo: Ok... Then Rudy is what I'll call you. That's a good strong name. You're a great guy, Rudy. You have power and a tireless work ethic. Best of all, you took care of my horses as though you understand their feelings. Why don't you stay in this village and work for us? I'm kidding, I know you're a wanderer. Here is the payment for your time. It's not much, but it's all I can afford.


Alright...someone help me out here. I seem to remember seeing an adverticement for one of the Wild ARMs games that showed a fake Wild West style gift shop with tons of random items, like T-shirts with the Sheriff Star on them, Duplicators sitting in a case, but what I remember most is a postcard that said "I <3 Heal Berries." If someone could please find this, I would be eternally grateful. I think it was in an old Game Pro magazine, and I think I saw it for Wild ARMs 3.
Either way, yay Heal Berries!
Bambollo: Say hello to the village chief for me. Thank you very much for your work today. I will ask you for help again, I am sure.


We can finally walk around again, and I need to start getting into the habit of asking every single NPC for advice along the way. Recently I haven't been doing such, but it's probably better to do this for an LP. Let's start with this guy again.
Bambollo: Wanderers handle plain chores, like working in the pasture, and taking care of horses? I thought you only did rough work, like fighting monsters and hunting. Though you are still young, you live like this on purpose? That's great.
No, we also steal from old tombs, rescue kids from old tombs, go find flowers, help people get their memory back and fight against a corrupt government. Being a Drifter really is a tough job. (At least this game is consistent about using Wanderer...)
Now, where should we go next! Ah, I know.
>Dennis


Ooh, green text. I'm sure this is on no way important.
Dennis: The name of the herb was Holy Berry. It had an amazing power to heal any wounds immediately. The cave was sealed by our village chief. It had become a dangerous place, full of nasty monsters. This village will become rich someday, if we can harvest Holy Berries again.
In future games, the Holy Berry is an item that heals all HP.


I'm firm believer that birds on sticks are the second best save point. The best are actual beds. I always save my data every night! Too bad real life uses Permadeath, but that just makes it more fun.

Anyway, there are a few more people to talk to around here. There's an old man to the north too. I won't give him a screenshot.
Campbell: I've worked for 20 years in this village... The time needed for plants to bud has been getting longer year after year... I've heard from others of the same thing happening to other villages. The rumor that this entire world is heading towards destruction may not be a false rumor...
Wait, what? Rumors about the worlds destruction? Why wasn't I informed?


This kid here is Tony. Every game has a Tony in it somewhere! It's one of the minor Wild ARMs things.
: Of course I know. || No, never heard of it.
Rudy is a completely silent, spare for the occasional time we get the illusion of choice. Whenever I get a choice like this, I'll bold the option I selected. For now, let's humor the kid.
: A Holy Berry is a very effective herb, which people say grows in a cave near here. When used, any injured person can be healed and their strength revived. If only I had a Holy Berry... … … … No, it's nothing. Nevermind.
Well, you heard him folks, this is in no way important and we totally are not going to be risking our rives for a single Holy Berry. But if we talk to him again...
: My father is the strongest man around! He may not look like it right now... He was injured and has to rest at home. It's true though! He is a strong and brave man, who can beat any monster.
Again, obviously we won't be getting a Holy Berry for this boy's father.


You can use her as a free Inn if you want, but we're not going to worry about that right now. Let's choose talk and...
Clair: It's getting difficult to cultivate wheat, which is how we make our money. The soil is losing its fertility. I read a book that said the reason the land was ruined is that long ago there was a battle with monsters. The book said many scary things. I tried taking the story with a grain of salt, but had to stop reading in the middle of it. If you are interested, you can read it. It's titled "The World Moves to Wilderness." Look for it in the bookcase upstairs.


Naturally we do.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Filgaia's natural state.


After reading the book, it's time to go talk to the chief/mayor/whatever of the village.
: I understand that the horses are thriving under your care.
Yes, because Rudy takes good care of them instead of running into them like some alternate-universe Rudy's might.
: There must be something I can give you to show our gratitude... … … … The world is decaying, Rudy, even here in Surf Village. Once this village benefited from the herbs we collected from the Berry Cave, west of the village. But that was long ago... Forgive me, Rudy. Sometimes an old man's mind wanders. In the storage area next to this room you'll find our supply of Bombs. We used them to explore the Berry Cave. Please take them. They are worthless to the village now, but they might be useful to you.
So as payment for a few farm chores, you're giving some random person you hired a magically infinite supply of bombs? I fail to see how this can go wrong. But before we get the bombs, there is a book to read!

Monsters around since a time before time? Interesting...I hope we never come across it.


Anyway, now we have the bombs! Pretty much we set down the bombs as we walk around, and then they explode after time passes. Pretty basic Wild ARMs tool. What's different is that nearby bombs will activate each other, causing a chain reaction as they explode pretty much almost all at once. And as we leave this little storage room...
Voice of villager: Village chief! Mr. Tallman! We've got a serious problem!
What's that? Little Timmy fell down a well? Rats in the cellar? Some other horribly cliché RPG starting plot hook?


Campbell: It's Tony! He broke the village ban! He went to the Berry Cave!
: What? Why would he do something so foolish?
Campbell: What should we do?
: … … … The Berry Cave used to be the source of a great medicinal herb. But now it's just a den of monsters. I don't know what we should do! … … … In any case, keep it a secret for now. I will explain it to the villagers later. We don't want to start a panic.
Campbell leaves, and Tallman talks to Rudy.
: This goes for you too. You shouldn't tell anyone about Tony breaking the village ban. We don't need anyone running off and playing hero. We need to come up with a plan.
Rudy just smiles and nod like the good silent protagonist that he is. But naturally we're going to ignore The Man and go save the kid ourselves.



Alright...the world map theme is just fucking awesome. Listen to it. It's like Michiko Naruke took the theme from Ecstasy of Gold and added a second part to it. But this makes me wonder. I don't know how many other songs Michiko may have borrowed from throughout the soundtrack, so I'd really appreciate you all listening to them and letting me know if you catch any.


The Search System that has been used since Wild ARMs 2 returns here, and functions a lot like it does in Wild ARMs 3. You find dungeons this way, but you have to hear about them first. I happen to remember from the PS1 version that the Berry Cave is somewhere over in this mountain area...
Huh? Wait a second...where is it? Ah! Random battle!



The battle system has remained mostly intact from Wild ARMs 3. We cannot run away from battles. To the top we can look at everyone's status, the right is system. Left is auto-battle and is better left ignored because it's stupid and likes using items too much. To the bottom we can switch around the party later on.


Rudy has an ARM, so he starts with the Shot action instead of Attack. Yes. Rudy has the same weapon that the entire village fears. I'm sure this will end up well. Anyway, to the top is Items, to the left is Force, which we can't use yet. Bottom is Defend, which also reloads.


To the right is the "Special" option, which is different for each character. Rudy has special Cartridges that he can use for better effects. We only have 3 shots of the Boosted Shell (normal shots refill after battle, these don't), which deals more damage (150% I believe), but Rudy attacks later in the turn for both this turn and next turn. Also, it's supposedly more accurate, but by virtue of it having limited shots, it will be very inaccurate, thanks to the RNG.
Oh yes, RNG, I know you're watching.
: Good, because I will forever haunt you.


Fortunately these Rat Monkey's are easy and we don't need to use the Boosted Shell quite yet-wait, did I just get a Critical?


I like the critical effects in this game. It replays the attack twice (but not by splitting the screen, like it did in 3. That was kinda cool) and knocks the enemy way back with an explosion of smoke. Note the EXP Bonus Rate. Normally we only get +0.1 for a kill, but a Critical gives us another +0.1 every time it activates.


The other Rat Monkey attacks us back, but it's really weak and can't do any damage. Heck, Rudy even gets another +0.1 for not taking damage. Sweet.
As the fight goes on, characters will accumulate Force, which can be used for various things. For example, when we start a Counterattack, we get the option to do an Inertia Cancel, which let's us choose the action for the Counterattack. Very nice. Can even use it to use items. But, Initial Cancel costs 25 FP, and generally is not worth it. I'd rather take the basic attack.


Which just so happens to be another critical. Uhh...the RNG is very fickle today. Anyway, +0.1 for a kill, +0.1 for a critical, and +0.1 for killing the last enemy. Too bad it's wasted because Rat Monkey's give little experience. Instead of 8 for those two, I get 1.6 times that, meaning I get 12. Woo.


After laying waste to a few more Rat Monkeys, I remember that Berry Cave is moved in the remake. They moved it over here. You know, West of the village like everyone kept saying. Most of the dungeons are in a relatively similar place but this is the only one that gets me.



I rather like this dungeon song, it's a good anxious song, and that guitar is sweet. The moment we enter, we get hit with this cutscene. The entrance to the cave looks noticeably less menacing that it did in the original game. Or maybe it's just the angle.
Campbell: I still can't believe it. I hope Tony is all right. I turn my back for one second... Under our law, all who live in Surf Village are prohibited from going into this cave. What should we do? … … … I got it! You're not from our village, right? Therefore you are not bound by our law. Will you risk your life and go in the cave? Please find Tony and bring him back to me...
: Enter the Berry Cave and rescue Tony. || Much too dangerous to accept.
Campbell: Thank you! I am forever in your debt. This is advance payment of your reward. Please take it!
Obtained Item [Lucky Card] x3! Obtained Party Item [Migrant Seal]!
This is our first Migrant Seal, so now we can start avoiding enemy encounters. Lucky Cards are nice, they'll double your EXP for the battle for the party member they get used on. However, in this rather obvious But Thou Must, if you actually say no once, you'll get a lesser reward, 3 Nectars which will restore your Max HP if you end a battle Fallen. If you say no twice, you'll only get the Migrant Seal. They won't keep that away from you.


And right off the bat, we can see how it works. A white exclamation point will appear over your current party leader to show that you are about to enter an encounter. From here, I can press O to cancel it, or double tap O to start it right away. I try to maintain a balance between the two. Canceling battles will take away from our ENC gauge, which has 10 bars. Unlike Wild ARMs 3, we cannot fill the ENC with more bars; we can only increase the Migrant Level. I believe each encounter has a set "Encounter Value" or something like that which says how many bars it will take away. Each Migrant Level (which increases with every Migrant Seal) will subtract that by one. All encounters in this cave will only take away 1 bar at Migrant lv. 1.


The next room has a sign, which we read right off the bat.
Once famous, the Berry Cave is now abandoned. Keep an eye out for the unknown creatures that roam its dark, treacherous shafts.
Right. Worth the read. Hidden in those crates is a Heal Berry which we can get to by blowing them up like true Drifters. The entrance to the next room is to the right, down the cliff or we can walk around. Fortunately, this game actually lets you jump down ledges without penalty (unless you fall into a bottomless pit) so I do that to save some time. The only thing to keep in mind is if you are running when you hit a ledge, you'll automatically jump off. Usually the character will flail at the edge for a second, giving you the option to jump.


Oh, the battles in here are really easy. Tatzelwurms take two hits with the ARM, or I spend a Boosted Shell to one-shot them (which I do sometimes). They hit for about 6 damage, which is infinity times more than those Rat Monkeys outside.
I'm sure anyone who has played a Wild ARMs game past 3 will recognize these guys, it's the Gobs! They return as really easy mook enemies again, going down in one shot. They have about a 50% chance to attack, or use "No, you go!" if there are other Gobs there. The moment one uses "No, you go!" the rest will use "No, you go!" What does it do? Absolutely nothing. Sweet.



1 EXP? DAMN YOU RANDOM NUMBER GOD! Anyway, now is a good time to explain Vitality. If you've taken damage in battle, your VIT gauge will restore your HP. The % means how much HP you can restore with your Vitality. Each percent counts as an actual percentage, not a set amount of HP. To restore this much, I need 11% which takes me down to 76% Vitality.
Fortunately, level ups are extremely nice in this game. When you level up, the character gets their VIT, HP, MP and Cartridges completely restored. This I really like because there are too many JRPGs where I'll have a character with awesome attacks that I'll never use because I need to save them for the boss. This is still somewhat true, but leveling up in dungeons encourages using them a little bit before you meet the boss.
Oh, and here's the victory theme in this game. It's twice as long as the original, that plays a bit of the combat theme before looping. A nice touch.


That white stuff is me canceling an encounter as the ! EXPLODES! The orange Gems on the ground special gems that will restore Vitality, 10% a pop. You shouldn't be taking much damage in this dungeon because Rudy has nice DEF, but then again they don't want you dying quite yet.


Another split path. The smooth path takes you do the door, but the path with the ledges takes you to a chest with a Heal Berry in it.


The Legend of Zelda player in me thoroughly enjoys the chance to destroy all signs I encounter. This one gets blown up. Screw your laws, you'll never even enter the cave to find out!


Right where my bombs are exploding is an actually well hidden section of loose rock which can be blown up to reach a new room that contains only a chest with Lucky Card x3 in it. Three more of those is pretty decent, now I've got 6. But it's a side path, time to go back in the main road.


The next room has a Small Flower hidden inside a few crates. Small Flowers will boost your characters Luck, which I'll get into when I have more people in the party.


You can climb down ladders in this game, but I'm not going to worry about this one for now, despite the obvious chest at the bottom. There are orange gems everywhere in this dungeon, so HP's never an issue. Back there are some white gems; each one restores 1 bar to your ENC gauge. Rather nice.


Here are some of the bottomless pits I was talking about. Most of the time you don't get an "Oops" warning and you just fall off. The penalty for falling? Returning to the entrance of the room. Sometimes annoying if you're just grabbing a chest. But this room is also rather dark in areas and the lighting on my computer is poor sometimes. I fell off a few times.
Oh, that chest has a Gella Card in it. Gella Cards are used on enemies, and double the amount of Gella received. Or they can be sold for 1500 Gella. Right now, selling them is the better option.


The path branches again. The white gems lead to a room with a chest with Heal Berry in it. The boxes are the main path.


Watch out! The ladder is unsteady! Do not hit it.
Riiiiight... What's the worse that could happen?


Running into the ladder knocks it down. That chest has Gimel Coin x10 which let you save pretty much whenever you want. You can also use them to restart a battle if you get Game Over.


Advancing onward takes us to a room with a hole bunch of crates blocking the way, one of which has a Heal Berry, and down here is this chest which you will probably only see if the camera is aimed just right. Yeah...watch out for that one. I'm using a guide though so I don't miss any chests. I'm tired of missing them throughout the game, it's not happening again!


We finally find the brat, who says he went in here looking for a Holy Berry for his father, but this boulder is blocking his way.
...wait a second, I had to knock down a ladder to cross a gap over a bottomless pit to reach this point. I'm willing to accept that he climbed over the crates, but there is no way he could made that jump with his tiny legs. There isn't room to make a running start by the Gimel Coin chest!


Krysm like big boom.... It takes all 8 bombs you can place down at once to destroy this rock.
: It's amazing... …you are awesome! You blew up such a huge rock! ...now isn't the time to be impressed. I must continue looking for the medicinal herbs. My father is counting on me!
Uhh...kid? There is a huge difference between medicinal herbs and divine fruit. Fuck-up count: 5.



The music here is nice, but doesn't set the mood too well. The next room has this tree, with what looks like a grave in front of it. Several glowing lights surround the tree, and a few glowing purple berries are attached to the vines on the tree. Some are withered, some are not, and there's one nearby that's ripe for the picking.


Rudy shamelessly climbs up on the grave to pick the nearest Holy Berry.
: Thank you so much! My father will die without a Holy Berry! He's gotta get better! He's just gotta! I should be going! I've got to get back and cure my father!
Then the two of them leave the cave...buuut....


Earthquakes? The tree turning red? The dead rising from their graves? Cats and dogs living together? Clearly this must be the apocalypse! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!


The Earthquake goes pretty far, even reaching this nice section of trees here which I'm sure will have no significance what so ever in the future. Yup, none at all.


Rudy and Tony are back at the entrance, and this strange purple miasma-y darkness starts filling the cave.
: It's the village chief!
Meanwhile, Tony's looking the other way, and notices the villagers enter. For now that darkness is completely ignored.



They came armed with ptichforks and other farm equipment...but where are the torches? Do you realize how dark that caves is? What kind of mob are you!? The music here I think is supposed to be the town music that got overridden by Boy of Hope a while back.
Although that dog there...is it just me or does it remind me of...


Looks like the Tony from Wild ARMs XF. Probably a coincidence, but I say not! Anyway, back to the cutscene.

: Well now! Why do you always act so impulsively?
: I'm very sorry! ...but I wanted to heal my father. That's why I had to look for a Holy Berry.
Clair: Did you think of the possibility of getting hurt? Or worse?
Campbell: Tony is back safe because of you. Thank you.
Rudy steps closer to the rest of the group as they recognize him for his heroic deeds.
Bambollo: An earthquake and a heroic rescue... ...on the same day?
Dennis: Tell me, did you find any Holy Berries?
Tony: I found one that matched the description. The others were all wilted. Look, here it is.
Rudy pulls out the Holy Berry. It's not shining anymore, but it is away from the tree so maybe that's why. Everyone gasps with surprise.
Bambollo: Chief, we might be able to harvest those berries again.
Clair: If that's the case, it's all because of Tony and Rudy's work. If they didn't go deep into the cave we wouldn't know this Holy Berry existed.
: In any case, the most important thing is that they came back safely. Let's go discuss this back at the village.
The villagers start to leave...but then...


: Bark Bark!
Rudy turns around, and notices the purple darkness stuff is growing. Suddenly a wave of miasma rushes past.


Oooh, seeing from the predator's point of view... It steps closer, some of the villagers fall on their ass in fear. Then it suddenly steps forward and...


Dog Tony goes flying into the wall! Noooo! Dog Tony! Be strong!
: wimper
Dennis: ...what is that thing!? There was a monster trapped in the Berry Cave in ancient times. Can this be it!?




I really like the animation that plays when you start a boss fight. The old screen shatters away with a gunshot. Awesome. That said...I'm honestly not a big fan of the boss music in this game. I don't know why, but I just can't get into it, I don't feel an interesting melody in this. Then again, I said the same for Wild ARMs 3's boss theme, which is actually one of my favorites now. Maybe I just haven't grown on this song yet.


The Rotting Beast has come! A large skinless lizard. It has a pair of horns, and it has external ribs. Beware it's poisonous vapors!


This fight is pretty straight forward. The only annoying thing is that the boss will automatically counter all attacks with Counter Sweep. Fortunately Rudy can sometimes dodge this, and dodging gives a +0.1 EXP bonus and a nice chunk of Force to go with it.


It also has a Rotten Breath move, which does quite a bit more damage. But...now my Force is past 25%. Time to pull out the big guns.



Lock On also increases the damage done with the shot by 25%, in addition to making sure it cannot miss. This did 83 damage, compared to the normal shot's 33. Yeah, you can tell what I'm doing for the entire battle.


After I use a Lucky Card, first.


The thing then gets taken over by darkness and fades away, once I defeat the boss. This takes me to Lv. 6.


Tony seems excited...but none of the other villagers do. Clair grabs Tony and holds him back as he's about to run up to Rudy.
: What!? What's the matter?



This music is really sad and eerie, perfect for the moment. Rudy looks at his arm, as if he understands what they mean already. Naturally we aren't supposed to, so they keep yelling.
Dennis: I knew it!!! Your ARM! The legends speak of it! It's been forbidden here for a thousand years! An unholy, destructive power...
Clair: Why'd you bring such a destructive power to our village? It terrifies me to even think of having such a thing used in our peaceful village.
Campbell: Now I see... the earthquake we had, it was caused because you used the ARM?
Dennis: If it is true, I am very convinced. It's because of your ARM the monster in the cave came back to life!
: No! It's not true!! It can't be!! Because he used his power, he saved me!!!
Bambollo: You may be able to deceive Tony, but you can't fool us any longer.
: Stop it! All of you, stop!! Now isn't the time for tempestuous debate...
He then walks over to Rudy.


: However, the danger you brought to our village and the carelessness used in the Berry Cave is unacceptable. In our village, we respect peace and a hazard like your ARM is prohibited. Under our law, you must allow use time to decide your fate in this village. Do you have any objections?
: Let them decide. || I object! || BUT THOU MUST!
: I'm glad that you respect my decision. I will do my best to reach a verdict that everyone can agree on. I will go back to Surf Village now. I cannot make a decision here.
Tallman and the other villagers then return to the village, leaving Rudy behind. Dog Tony comes out from his hiding place, and follows Rudy.


He did not want such a power, but this destructive might is his. For he possess the forbidden ARM. Unaware of his inherent strength, he wanders the wasteland, seeking his place in the world...

End of update status:
: Lv 3 → 6.
Gella: 506
Migrant Seals: 1
Fuck-Ups: 5

Version Differences:
You cannot choose your prologue order. It's always Rudy first.
Rudy does not use a sword at all. He uses his ARM all the time.
This game has no equipment. There is something to replace that, but that's later.
Rudy's ARM cartridges seem to boost the base damage of the ARM in this game. In the original, the ARMs had their own stats that seemed independent.
Azure kinda skimmed over it, but the original game has four levels of Force abilities. ACF has only one.
Lots of stuff added from Wild ARMs 3, like inability to run away from battles, EXP modifiers, search system, Vitality...just go read geri_khan's LP of Wild ARMs 3 to get a better idea of what's all there.
Rudy did not defeat the Rotting Beast/Zombie by throwing the Holy Berry at it.
The Berry Cave is in the opposite direction of Surf Village. Sucks if you memorized the old map.
--EDIT: Actually the entire world map is flipped on the y-axis. Thanks Invenerable, I don't know how I didn't notice it until now.
I'm nicer to horses than Azure.

Next Time:

Memories! Courage! Absolute Power! Memories! Wings! Actually no wings.