Part 25: When Worlds Collide.

Last time we stormed the Gate Generator after Zeikfried so nicely let us in, blew up another Golem, made a fool of Zed, sent Zeikfried through a black hole and Rudy shot off his left arm.
Also: WARNING. incoming.



Looks like they got Rudy to Emma's basement in time. He's sleeping soundly, with that blanket to carefully cover up the oddity of Rudy's model missing his left arm. (Note: I really checked to see if I could get a glimpse of his arm, and it looks like they just gave him a stump.)


Well of course. If healing items work on Rudy like normal, then clearly human medicine would work on Rudy like normal. He's only made completely out of metal with mercury blood, he's not that different than a human!
Although, having healing items affect him differently would be an interesting story and gameplay integration...
: Emma, you're a scientist...
...I think you wanted to call her a miracle worker, not a doctor.
: Before you ask... I don't think there's anything I can do... I am truly sorry... I wish I could help.
: No! Then what about Rudy?!
: We all have the same skeletal, muscle, and nervous systems... But there is one fundamental difference, which is, thousands and thousands of tiny machines...
What? Nanomachines in my Western-Fantasy-Sci-Fi-JRPG?
: It is as if...as if he... ...has the same body system as a demon.
: That's a lie!


: We have to face the truth. Lying to ourselves will not save Rudy.


Bartholomew and Magdalen also enter. Jane must have hurried ahead.
: Rudy's body structure is similar to the demons'. Similar, but not the same. Rudy must have been created using technology that is now lost. This is clear from the way he can maneuver and control the ARM. It is beyond a human's capacity. I believe he is a product of the war 1,000 years ago... A human cyborg.
: So what you are saying is... Rudy is not a demon!!
: Wonderful! He is truly one of our own: a child of Filgaia.
: If he is a cyborg, then let us seek out his maker and ask for help.
: Of course!! Let's find his maker!
: But... If Rudy was created 1,000 years ago...
: Wait! I know of a possibility! There's an Elw who's the creator of an ancient technology.
: Mariel from the Garden!
...uhh...Mariel hasn't created anything. She just grows flowers...
: As long as there's a chance to help Rudy, we have to do all that we can. Let's not give up just yet!
: Our job now is to take Rudy to Mariel.
: Mariel the Elw will certainly help us.
Alright, so I guess despite Mariel probably not having anything to do with ancient technology, we're going to her anyway. Why not?
: Captain, please prepare your ship. We are relying on the Sweet Candy.
: You can count on me!


He really runs away quickly. I set it to deinterlace, but he's still blurring. He must really love his ship.
: Do you believe that Rudy will be cured?
: Of course!! ☆
: Then let us plan for after Rudy's been cured. Could you lend me a hand?
: What are we doing?
: I think we should get Rudy a gift for after he's cured. I'll take you to the secret base. Feel free to bring your butler.
The three of them leave, and Cecilia turns to Rudy.
: Don't worry, Rudy. You're going to be just fine... We're all here for you. And we're going to do everything we can to make you better... So please... Hang in there...


Or maybe Jane didn't leave after all.
: This kind of determination... It means seeing a sliver of hope and giving it all you've got. ... ... ... I only get this determined about someone I really care for. And I will not quit for anything. No one can make me quit, and that includes you.
: ... ... ... I am not quitting either. We have to stick together.


Part of me wants to complain about them using all right instead of alright...but alright is just a shorter form of all right. Whoever translated this part is weird though.
: ...Oh oh... I smell trouble...
: What?
: I'm afraid Rudy's real suffering won't start until after he's cured...
: Don't talk nonsense. We have to take Rudy to Mariel.
Jack, you're blind. Hanpan's right though. This situation for Rudy can only get worse with both Jane and Cecilia.


What do you mean you don't see anyone using an ARM? Jack's probably carrying Rudy right now, just tinker his ARM so that the moment I get him back we have the ultimate killing machine! Dammit. Now I'm going to be carrying this spare Gella for nothing.


Alright, so I've been doing some pondering as to why Tom is so weird. It's only supposed to take a few random battles. Like somewhere between four and ten, it varies on the building. But I'm pretty sure this doesn't include event battles, or battles I run away from. And with my high Migrant Level and my ability to crush bosses in three rounds or less, I tend to skip lots of random encounters to keep my recording length down.


Last thing I do at town is re-learn Gorun Nova. I'm wanting to get all eight elemental spells back.



Returning to Mariel is pretty uneventful, although now my screenshots have gone back to being slightly darker. I guess I have no idea why it does this after all.
: Poor Rudy... His arm...
: We didn't mean to scare you... Let us explain to you what's going on...
: Oh, no! The sedative is wearing off...
: I understand. ...I see it now...
: Mariel's herb must be working. Rudy already seems to be in less pain.
: ... ... ... ... ... With this herb, you can take away the pain. It also cauterized the wound...because it is Living Metal.
: Living Metal... How do you know about that?
: This is also a Living Metal... My brother's sword... ... ... …


She pulls out the strange metal shard from before.
: It is the essence of life in the shape of a demon. It is capable of closing up a small wound just as any human body would do. However... I am afraid there is not much we can do about Rudy's left arm or the sword... Not anymore... We have neither skills nor the technology to create Living Metal in this day and age. In this day and age...


Wait? Travel back in time? Oh no...I don't like the sound of this. I've already had to deal with fuckery involving black holes, I am NOT dealing with time travel!
: Travel back to that time? Is that possible?
: Why don't you come with me to the 'Holy Wood Mound'. In that place we may be able to travel back in time 1,000 years.


I'm sure none of you who played the original game were expecting this, were you?


Mariel starts at level one. Compared to the other members of the party...err...one second.


Need to take care of something.


Right. That's better. Now, compared to the other members of the party... her stats just flat out suck. She's got decent Magic, Accuracy and Evasion in relation to her other stats...but I'm pretty sure Rudy had higher Magic at Lv. 24, which should tell you a lot.
Fortunately, none of that matters. Her special command, Herb Magic, recreates the function of an item at the cost of a little MP. Her Force is Extension, which spreads the use of the item to the entire party.
If you noticed, she has three Herb Magics now instead of only one. Mariel learns more Herb Magic by leveling up, and is the ONLY party member in the game to do so. She learns a new Herb Magic every ten levels until Lv. 70...but you're crazy if you do that much.
Notice she has two items we haven't seen yet...nor will we ever get. Status Apple acts like Great Booster, dramatically increasing everyone's stats. Magic Carrot restores 50 MP...which since she can use on herself makes her incredible. However, Mariel mostly just hovers around this level for me. She doesn't need to be any higher. I just wanted her to survive a hit.



The Two different worlds will be one on this pass.
Let's just go to Holy Wood Mound and get this over with. _{Also, am I the only person who at least once has accidentally read it as Hollywood Mound?}


The path ahead is through a tiny path just north of these lily pads. I like lily pads.


Well now, this seems interesting...


: ...1000 years ago... ...the Elw left Filgaia because it was ruined in the war against evil. ...Green trees, and blue water... For we who live in harmony with nature the world had become a harsh place. There was nowhere left for the Elw... ...anywhere in Filgaia... So the Elw left and created a second homeland on the floating island which drifts in space. That world is the Elw Dimension.
: The Elw Dimension is the world, which Filgaia used to be 1000 years ago... In the Elw Dimension, there must be a technology to heal Rudy's arm.
: So let's go! Rudy doesn't have much time here! Mariel! Please take us to the Elw Dimension now!!
Mariel pulls out the shard.
: This relic opens the passage that connects Filgaia and the Elw Dimension. To begin we must tell the relic that the user is an Elw...


Wait, WHAT?
: ...Brother Vassim... Please lend me the power...


Mariel twists the shard in her hands...presumably cutting herself underneath the mittens... but I really can't tell.
: Mariel!? ...You, your hand!!
: Elw exist through bonding. By our bond with time, we are allowed to live eternally; by our bond with the world, we hear nature's voice. And, to preserve these bonds, we're not afraid of giving up everything... Rudy protected me in this forest... So, I also want to preserve that bond...
Oh great. Now Rudy's got a third member of his harem. Next thing you know they'll be hiring random drifters they meet to deliver a love letter to him.


The whole area starts shaking as Mariel falls to her knees.
: I don't know! Trust Mariel...


They get turned into spheres of energy as it fades to white and...



Welcome to Elw Borea. There are some minor changes. Everything's greener, and the blue energy lines are now green energy lines.
: The air is so different... The wind feels much cooler...
: We're here, Rudy, in the Elw Dimension... Just a little now...
: Mariel is also weakening considerably... We must find a place to treat them somewhere, and soon...


The way up to the teleporter has a stone staircase now. When we reach the bottom...


: We are here to ask for your help!
Kenneth: (Elw in white) We, the Elw, do not wish to have contact with humans. Leave our premises immediately.
: We have an injured man here. And only you can heal him! And... We have an Elw who requires your attention, too!
Chitwood: (Elw in brown) Her?! She is the sister of the traitor... There is no reason for us to help her... Take her back to your decaying world!
Kenneth: Wait... If we let them go, people will know about the mound. ... ... ... Let's take them back to the village. We will ask Fulcani for guidance.
Fade to black, transition the area...



Mariel and Rudy are in the beds. The elderly Elw looks at Rudy, touches him on the shoulder, then looks back.
: So will you help us?!


Hey...wait a second. He looks familiar...


Holy crap, it's that dude!


: Rudy is a member of our team. We are fighting together to save Filgaia.
: So you are to fight off the demons who are again invading our world? ... … ... How can you trust that boy when you are aware that he is not fully human? Can you accept him, even if he is more closely related to demons than humans?
: Why do you think we came all this way?! Of course we trust and believe in him! And the people of Filgaia feel the same way we do. They are waiting for his return!
: Rudy is the hope that the world needs right now! He's saved the lives of many people, myself included.
: ... ... ... During the Great War, the Elw and humans created eight giants...
: You mean the Golems... They possess a devastating power...
: However, a Golem is only as good or evil as the one who controls it. This led us to search for ways to create a Golem with heart and conscience without knowing the consequences.


Yup, they kept this one in. Which is good, because Holmcross sounds rather badass. I'd prefer it over Homunculus.
: The 'Project' started with an analysis of a demon we captured. This would help us create a cyborg utilizing Living Metal. The idea was to mimic a human's inner structure so that the cyborg becomes capable of adapting to various situations. The Artificial Intelligence would be complete only if the cyborg could both make its own judgments and had the capacity to reason. 'Holmcross' was to be a perfect weapon. It would be fully adaptable to ARM, which was designed to be compatible with demons. ... ... ... However, to the dismay of its creators, the 'Holmcross' turned out to be a malicious killing machine. ... ... ... We were baffled by the result of our efforts. Perhaps using a body derived from demons triggered a demon-like desire to destroy.


Prototype? If they wanted to make a Golem with a heart...does that mean the Holmcross was golem sized? I guess it would makes sense to have the prototype be human sized, for "small-scale" testing.
Wait though, at the bottom of the sea? How the hell did Zepet get down there?
: But Rudy isn't a killing machine! He has a bigger heart than anyone I know!!
: Are you telling me that Rudy feels human emotions? That is impossible...
: Old Man Zepet must have taught him! He was the one with whom Rudy used to travel, before we met him. The old man's compassion must have transformed him from a cyborg weapon into a lifeform with a kind heart.
: ... ... ... No matter how much the 'Holmcross' has changed, we cannot be of any help to you... The technique of coaxing life from metal has long been gone for over 1,000 years.
: No!
: Are you telling me... Rudy...
: There is nothing we can do for him...


Mariel stumbles in. Keep in mind, Mariel and Rudy were in another building, even though it showed him sleeping in this scene...I think? The Elw buildings all look the same to me, so I can't tell too well.
: Mariel! You should be resting!!
: ... ... ... The Guardian Blade is derived from Living Metal. I think my brother Vassim can help.
: Do not speak of the Guardian Blade!!
: I clearly remember when it vanished 1000 years ago! The Guardian Blade ravaged through Filgaia with its uncontrollable and devastating force! There is a massive crack in the dune at Rosetta which disrupted the world. It is evidence of the destruction caused; a weapon, inadequately forged by my brother.
: ... ... ... Mariel stayed in Filgaia to make up for what her brother had done. She was determined to stay in the dune until the day when the flowers returned to the land and flourished. I cannot afford to make another mistake... If we wish to revive the world...
: We must take action now before it is too late! Running away from past mistakes will accomplish nothing but the imminent demise of the world! ... ... ... I... I... I cannot afford to lose Rudy. He's the one who gave me the strength to carry on during tough times. Please...
: ... ... …


: May I... May I come along? I must teach him not to give up, just as you have taught me.
The party starts to leave, but Fulcani speaks up before Cecilia leaves.
: You have to understand, the Guardian Blade may again ravage the world, even in the hands of a skilled blacksmith like Vassim... It could happen. Are you willing to take that risk? Know that it will take a miracle to complete the Guardian Blade.


: And I am sure to make it happen.
She leaves.
: Impossible... A miracle does not happen so easily unless you are... ... … ... (Humans...the Guardians of Filgaia are humans...)



: I'm afraid we cannot do this alone. We need you to help us. Come on, Rudy...
Yeah, how are we going to kill bosses without abusing Gatling Raid?


Here we can see another Ex. File Key for sale, although you'll notice the shop in Tarjon Village (where we are currently at, according to the other NPCs in the area) uses Gimel Coins, instead of Gella. Same is true with the Inn, you have to pay using a Gimel Coin. I'm saving up all my Gimel Coins to buy this one key...and I already spent like fifteen grinding Jack up.


Ravinia: Same air, same water, and same residents. I'm starting to wonder if it is OK to live this way.
Ah, the pains of immortality. Glad to see the Elw are not immune. Immortality would suck after a while.


I also stop by Fulcani for some advice and to read his books.
: As a result, you can say the Elws have an untroubled daily life. The Forest Prison confines the monsters which crept into the Elw's Dimension. The prison is protected by a maze spell which keeps any monsters from escaping.
Well, this explains why he knows so much about the Holmcross Project. Presumably this means he was also responsible for the Golems, which the Holmcross Project was a branch off of. Explains why he warns us about Lolithia, though she wasn't that tough.


...Mage? That's a monkey, not a mage! I had to use the Magic Staff to even talk to it!
Calm Mage: We, the mages of the woods, know the way to not get lost in the maze. It is quite simple. Just follow the directions of the orange colored fragments of life force.
It's nice when they tell you how to get through something without making you stumble through it first!
Yes, I imagine quite a few of you reading this now are angry that you never talked to this monkey.



Elw Borea has a overworld just like Filgaia, though there are some major differences. First, it's not round as Elw Borea is really more of a floating island. Second, there are no random encounters on the world map, thank goodness. Although you can still find some items sitting around, this Search nabbed me a PS Ray Break 3.


I even find a bottle floating in the nearby pond...but how can I get to it if my boat is back on Filgaia? Quite a mystery.


I guess another oddity is that since you never find a world map for Elw Borea, you have to manually find all the locations yourself, instead of relying on a flashing dot on the world map like I have been doing. Back to your roots.



Many monsters are taken captive in this green prison.
First things first, the music choice. It's just another dungeon theme we've heard over and over again, so I wanted something different. When digging through the Music the Best collections, I noticed this song, Ordinary Scenery, which is a remix of the Wild ARMs 3 song Scenery called "Everyday," which is one of it's town themes. I'm using this simply for the name, because Elw Borea is supposed to be a recreation of (well, part of) Filgaia before it started decaying. So all this greenery, the bountiful forests and nature...that's everyday for them, but unique to the humans of Filgaia. So for this, I'm using this as the song for here.


Now, you can figure your way through by stumbling through the forest. (I have done this before, actually. It's possible, and even a bit easy if you can just keep track of the Floor Number) There are VIT and ENC gems scattered all throughout the dungeon. The VIT gems point you towards Vassim, the ENC gems point you toward Tarjon. It's easy when you know the solution, difficult when you don't.


Oh fuck you RNG. The random encounters in Forest Prison are unique; you can encounter ANY enemy on the Filgaia world map here. I think it keeps track of the ones you've fought already though...which is why I'm encountering these fuckers! Maybe grinding at Arctica was a bad idea in hindsight.
It also costs you ENC equal to what it was on Filgaia for the same encounter, so these guys only cost me one, while most encounters here I can bypass without problem.


To be perfectly honest, I never really used Mariel all the times before, because I just skipped all the battles here, or just had her defend and not die. This is actually my first time seeing her using Herb Magic (to use a Nectar on herself) and I never noticed her animation is a call back to the opening video of the original game. She gathers purple lights in her hands and lets it fly everywhere.


I'd say this is the only tricky part of the dungeon that can catch you off guard. You have to jump down the first time you see the bridge. That stumped me because I didn't see the missing railing here to jump down.


I encounter an enemy I've never seen before in here. I like that I can steal an FP Advance from it...there's just one problem.


It's attack, Super Beast Rush...the only thing I feel that's noteworthy I could add to this image is that this game does not have a damage cap. It ALWAYS deals 9999 damage, which you can never survive. Fortunately, Ape Vargon is trained by the AI to retreat when there is only one party member left. Fortunately Mariel has infinite Nectars!


I'm sure this is unimportant.


The way it is through these torches again, although this time on Floor 012 instead of Floor 001.


Sinner's Studio is right over here.


: Mariel?! It's you! What are you doing here?


: Calm down, Mariel. Now, tell me what's going on...



: We need Living Metal to heal Rudy's left arm. I bed of you, brother... Will you please create the Guardian Blade once more?
: Forget it, Mariel! You want me to deliberately endanger the world for a second time? I will not recreate the Guardian Blade... The weapon would destroy our world. It is completely out of the question...
: It is more than a weapon! It is life I ask you to bring back. A living thing, neither good nor evil! Brother Vassim, you are the only one who is capable of breathing life into the cold metal.
: ... ... ... Mariel... My dear Mariel... How you have changed... Your spirit is much stronger than before...
: Rudy taught me to never give up. I believe Rudy can change the future, maybe even the minds of the Elw... So please, recreate the Guardian Blade. We are running out of time. We need your help to save Rudy...


: Yes, a fragment of the Guardian Blade... ... ... ... Use it to recreate the Guardian Blade! Let it shine with our hope!
: Using this fragment, it shouldn't take very long...
: So you'll do it?!
: I will make the Guardian Blade to heal his left arm. To do that, I will need the Guardian of 'Life' to revive the metal and the Guardian of 'Evil' to control it. Looks like I have to ask you to gather up the powers of both 'Life' and 'Evil'.
: You can count on us. We will get them in no time!
Guardian of Evil? I really wish they translated this one to Guardian of Dark or even leave it at Guardian of Illusion. Guardian of Evil just doesn't feel right at all.
Fuck Up Count: 20


: This is the key you will need to release the Guardians of 'Life' and 'Evil'. It's the least I could do for those who have helped my sister.
Vassim then hands us several items. First is the Freedom Key which is an Event Item. Next is a Migrant Seal. Then, based on Mariel's level at this time, you'll get various consumable items. Because Mariel was level 24, I get 12 Heal Berries, 8 Revive Fruits, 6 Potion Berries, 4 Alter Parts, 2 Nectars, 1 Small Flower and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
: There is a secret fountain hidden in the Forest Prison. They key that opens up the path is the 'Freedom Key'. To hear the Guardian's voice, you will...
: I know... That's my job... I'm a Shrine Maiden of the Guardian.
: Let's get started then. Mariel, I'll need you to help me. OK?



Mariel has now left the party permanently, and we will never get her back. Yes, although I'm keeping the identity of the Sixth Party Member secret, it is not Mariel. So keep those guesses going. Meanwhile, more books!
Oh, I'm sure two or three Elw will wind up on Filgaia by accident some time or another.


...yeah...the Elw stopped practicing Alchemy. Then again, I guess Vassim is the only one who does.


Backtracking to the Forest Prison, and you kinda have to take a different route to get back to this thing. The ENC gem path doesn't cross it, so you have to step back on the VIT gem path after a short while. Just use the Freedom Key on the light.


And follow it. It's not that hard. If you get lost, it hovers at the path you need to take to keep following it.


This is the only hard part. The light flies over this cliff you can't climb up, so you have to figure out how to get around and use the wire hook to get across.



Doing so eventually takes us here.
...We exist to protect life... And, LIFE is the source of possibilities. Whoever has life should cherish the possibilities to achieve. That's why life is shining. At the end of the shining life, if you wish to build the future, wield my power... Under the name of Odoryuk, your life will lead to the future...
Obtained Medium [Life Flame]!
Sweet, now let's just get out of here and...


GOD DAMMIT!


...those apostrophes are completely out of place. The way they are currently placed would imply possession, which normally uses 's, but because the word ends with s, it's written as s' instead so we don't get a lot of S. There is no reason for those apostrophes to be there.
Fuck Up Count: 21

Ahem, anyway, there are now monkeys at both entrances for Forest Prison which will warp you to each other, so you don't ever have to go through the maze again. Yay! And now that we've got the Life Guardian, I'll cut the update here before it gets too long. Next time will cover finding the "Evil" Guardian.

End of update status:
: Level 38 → 40
: Level 38 → 39
--Learned Gorun Nova
: Level 1 → 24
--Joined the Party!
--Left the Party...
Gella: 31060
Migrant Seals: 10
Ex. File Keys: 4/25
Fuck-Ups: 21

Version Differences:
Mariel joins the party for a little while. This sounds nice, except she's near useless and I'd rather have her back on Filgaia so I can use the Garden to farm items!
Forest Prison seems a bit more organized, and there is an obvious path through it...if you know the path exists.
The character models make it a bit easier to recognize Fulcani as the Elw in the machine.

A Saying A Day
: (August 10th) Today's saying is that having duplicate holidays is okay. I created this saying because there are two silver days. But, although it is okay for the day to be doubled, a wise wife doesn't use if as an excuse to buy too many things. This saying should be said loudly.
: (August 11th) Today's saying is, 'chaos is in the chaos.' When scholars dissected the chaos, more chaos came out one after the other. It was like peeling an onion. Scholars understood that they could never get rid of the chaos. Bugs are like that. Kill one and you always find more.
: (August 12th) Today's saying is, 'a chubby kid looks shy.' A chubby kid who looks shy can be very interesting. When wise King Gabes III said so, his followers didn't know what to say. Another saying, 'when a good person looks bad, he looks three times worse,' came from this story.

Guardian Roll Call!

Odoryuk is the Life Guardian, and has also appeared in Wild ARMs 2, and...kind of appears in Wild ARMs 4? I'm not sure, it's more of a Chinese Dragon with a very red unicorn horn...so there you go. Also, is it just me or is anyone else getting a huge Knight Blazer vibe from that scarf?



His material is Live Horn, which has Odoryuk step in that exact little glade we found him at, and send some healing magic our way. I'm not sure how much it is, but it was enough to fully heal everyone in this screenshot here, and these girls have several PS HP Up on them. It also removes all status effects and revives everyone, although I don't know if they get revived at full HP or some fraction of that.


Next Time:

Hold my breath as I wish for death.
Oh please God wake me..