Part 51: BF46 – Ancardia, the Lost Paradise
The Royal Army slew Gulcasa, ending the new Bronquian Empire.
Just when the battle seemed mercifully over, though, the sea south of Bronquia parted, and an island surfaced from its depths.
The island, festooned with azure coral and reflecting crystals, floated enigmatically on the night seas. Through the Gran Centurio, Yggdra sensed a powerful presence aboard it, and resolved to investigate.
Yggdra and the others traveled to the island, led by the Holy Sword, and found a deceased comrade awaiting them.
Video - Reunion
It looks wrong, hanging there... Like it's not of this world.
I know what you mean.
Hm!? Princess, look!
I should, of course, be calling you Queen Yggdra. Who... are you...? You're that Imperial Magician... but we saw you die! Nessiah, was it...? *chuckle* I'm flattered that you remember me. I knew I wasn't seeing things when you reappeared... You were alive after all! Yes, the process didn't take as long as I thought. I suppose the Gran Centurio was simply that powerful. No matter. Everything is still going according to plan. What plan? Who are you? I don't understand... You orchestrated all of this? Is that your implication? *chuckle* Exactly. As I said, it's all according to the plan. Now then... I've arranged some light entertainment for you. Enjoy it, and excuse me as I withdraw to steer the island. Huh...? So, without further ado... I present: a touching reunion.
K... Kylier!? No... It can't be... Impressed? It was no easy task, collecting all the pieces! I may have overlooked a few, but don't be alarmed! Anything missing was amply replaced with spares I found. It wasn't so hard. You left a generous supply in your wake... You monster...! What do you think? Exquisite craftsmanship, no?
…......... Nessiah... Wh-Why you......! Such ingratitude! After I worked so hard to rebuild her! Well, I have things to do, and islands to steer, so... I'll leave you two to get reacquainted. Now... O wretched soul... Eliminate your former friends with your own cold hands.
Hey! Wait!
Is that really her? Kylier, can you hear me!? Is it really you!? (… Milanor, help me!) What's wrong? Say something! (Please... Hurry, while I'm still myself... Put me out of this misery!) Why won't you speak!? Can't you understand what I'm saying!? ...She is... I hear her heart's voice through the Holy Sword. Huh!? ...She's crying... From the torment and pain of having her soul violated... Kylier... (I can't fight it... He's going to make me hurt everyone. Aghhh...!) She wouldn't really fight us... Would she...? (You have to stop me... That's my last request... Put a stop to this obscenity! Please, kill me...!) She asks that we free her soul from the cursed body... She asks... That we kill her. Y-You're joking, Kylier... You have to be kidding me! Why do we have to fight you!? Milanor! Kylier has charged us to free her. Let us grant her wish! Argh! She doesn't want to hurt us. She has no choice... Her feelings are so clear that I'm almost in pain with her... Dammit... Is that... Is that all I can do for you, Kylier? Kill you!? Goddammit all!
Kylier herself isn't too much of a threat. Her stats are all overall low, and her Gen is kept low enough that she won't put up much of a defense. She can't fight Nessiah's will, though, so her High status will keep her fighting until we finish her for good. Her card, Gravity Chaos, is strong enough with 6500 power to deal decent damage, so it's best to finish her off swiftly.
Milanor advances forward.
Kylier doesn't really fight back, and Milanor defeats her swiftly.
Mi... Milanor... Thank you... Everyone... I'm sorry... Kylier! Are you, well... you!? ...Thank goodness... I'm finally... free... I didn't realize if before, but... The reason he was able to control my soul... I still had an attachment to your world... He took advantage of that to revive me... Kylier... Princess... No... Yggdra. I wanted to have seen it... The new world you'll make... The one without war... I was so sure that you could do it. I had to see... A world without war... War only brings hatred and death... You know that now. So I wanted to see what kind of world you'd make... …......... ...Kylier? ...You have to stop Nessiah. He... wants revenge on the gods... …...!? I saw into his heart... when I was being controlled... Immense hatred of the gods... I felt so sorry for him... He'll drag this entire world into a senseless war... Everything you're trying to accomplish... will be lost... So please... stop him... … We got it. Don't you worry, Kylier. We'll take him. Thank you... I'm so tired, Milanor... I have to go back... to sleep... Kylier...! Don't let hatred and revenge... consume you...
Kylieeeeer! Kylier... …......... Milanor... ...That bastard... We gotta go after him! That plan of his... We can't let him do it! You're right. Let's hurry!
Loot
Maiden's Tear: One time revival, or a large morale recovery for Milanor or Yggdra. It can be useful sometimes, even though we're near the end.
Notes
There's really nothing to say about that mission. If you want to aim for one final specific MVP, you may as well. Otherwise it's straightforward.
Since that was a quick mission, and we're near the end, I'll show off a little of the bonus stuff.
When the PSP version was announced, Sting released a a quick animated scene for the game. It plays if you wait at the title scene long enough, and it's pretty neat. It showcases nearly every character and event in the game, even the bit parts like Amareus. I didn't show it early because it does show stuff like Elena shooting Aegina in the eye, and Yggdra's coronation.
Video – Opening
If you sat at the opening screen long enough on the GBA version, a little attract-mode demo would play that showcases a random selection of units. The PSP version includes this as well, so I'll show one here. It starts only with basic units, but as you've witnessed them in game it unlocks more. It doesn't show semi-special classes, like Pamela's Mystic Witch, or Baldus' Guardian Knight, but it does show both of Yggdra's and Gulcasa's classes.
Video – Never Fight Alone
It took too damn long to record that and not show one of the upcoming enemies...
Finally comes the extra content menu, unlocked as soon as you see an ending. What you unlock depends on the items you've found, like the Mirror of Truth or Music Box. It's nothing too special, but it's neat enough. Since it's impossible to unlock everything in one playthrough, everything in extra contents is cumulative.
Chronicles: The first extra content piece shows you your lowest turn count for each mission, and you can replay the mission briefing. It will also archive other scenes, the Nyllard Desert Oasis, or the endings.
Characters: The next mode shows you the character art for each named character in the game, both full body and battle expressions.
You can also listen to a random voice clip of that character, selected from a small pool of audio samples from them.
It shows you every NPC you've ran into, as well as special frames like Yggdra tied up.
Here's the card icon in the lower right. It's the face of Vanessa, Empress of Darkness. When you use Kiss of Death, the enemy's portrait is briefly replaced with this one, as she grants you her power. The chant for the card is also credited to Vanessa, so it makes sense. Outside of the card art, this is all you see of her. She has no full body portrait.
Cards: Simply enough, you can view the art and effects of each card you've either collected, or fought against.
Items: This shows you every item you've collected, cumulative through the playthroughs. There are 265 items total, and I'm still missing 30...
Sounds: Soundtrack mode. You can listen to any track that you've heard. Nothing fancy.
Quotes: It's similar to Characters, in that it shows you the character art, but you can toggle a single defining voice quote. *shrug* Special NPCs, like Bly, also get a quote here.
So that's about it for the extra content. If you can think of anything else you want to see, just say so. Otherwise, we should have 3 updates left. The next mission is more or less the final mission. After that is really gimmicky, and mostly just for story. Finally, we can unlock the PSP exclusive mission, and that'll be a riot...