I'm not gonna lie, since we’re in a tropical paradise, I decided to enjoy it. I’ve never been to a beach or an island, so I just kinda bummed around and listened to Mitsuda-san’s masterful score.
The first thing I did was look for a dead guy’s bones. What could be more relaxing than looking for a dead guy's bones? I scoured the archipelago looking for the rest of Skelly’s body. The Isle of the Damned, Water Dragon Isle, Goldove, and the Hydra Marsh all housed a part of his skeleton. I picked up the piece in the Shadow Forest when I got Nikki. Every time I pick up a body party, he tells us about his past. His favorite food, what his grandma is like, his circus history: it’s a fun way to give backstory. I approve of this unconventional storytelling. His body...complete, Skelly sings the bones song and bids us adieu. I have a hunch he’s going to visit his grandma, so I return to Termina to learn I’m correct. His blind grandmother welcomes him home with open arms, while his sister (?) seems totally fine with his new appearance. He joins up with us, but I’m not sure I’ll use him. There aren't many dungeons where a black innate character has an advantage, although he'd fit the theme in an upcoming one.
While still in town, I visit the cemetery, again, to recruit the Luchador/grave keeper, Greco. He was the guy we filled in for in Fossil Valley and has a dead brother/in-law. He also lives with his widow in the cemetery. Peculiar...
Other things I did while Skelly searching included talking to faeries about a drought, finding a Life Sprout in the toxic Hydra Marshes, and revisiting Viper Manor. The manor is empty, so most of the treasure I missed the first time through I was able to pick up now. Still missing some, so I’ll be back. Riddle seemed fine, even apologetic towards Kid. I forgot to visit Glenn’s house, so I’ll do that tomorrow. Some demi-human threw a rock at me on Marbule, so I ran away.
After my voyage, I went to the place Glenn asked me to go, Hermit’s Hideaway. There we see a burnt down tree. We didn’t have to search long to find the culprit, as Harle immediately showed her face. She destroyed the place on the orders of Master Lynx. To slow us down further, she attacks.
Bosses in the game are harder than I recall. I always feel defeated when I need to heal, but I need to fix that mentality if I don’t want my characters to be under leveled. Harle didn’t kill anyone, but she came close to taking out Leena twice.
Defeating the clown, she hits on Serge and makes her leave. As she does, Arni’s village chief, Radius, shows up. He’s not the chief in this world but, instead, lives here. He had a secret basement...built that is intact, so we head down there to catch up. He tells us his history as a former Deva who gave up the sword to become a trainer. He didn't officially retire until a few years ago, after Glenn's brother, Dario, died. Radius also tells us that Viper is a benevolent leader who once served in the Poore army and that, recently, the Poore army has wanted to own El Nido. He tells us what little information he has about Lynx. This reminds me that we saw a sketchy dishwasher during our Manor Invasion... We spend the night and leave in the morning, ready to carry on.
Knowing where Lynx is, so we head to Fort Dragonia, where he and Viper now reside. Before reaching the beach, we lose our way in a deep fog. El Nido isn’t large, so I question how deep this fog cloud is. Regardless, we somehow come upon a ship and casually jump aboard. On the deck, we meet the shiphands who tell us they have a history with Lynx. To test our fighting prowess, they challenge us to a duel. Round one is with the sailors, who are easily dispatched. Round two is a GIANT bird named Polly, who, despite being a boss, falls easy. Round three is with the Captain himself, Fargo. He’s tougher and requires a bit of healing, nearly killing Serge, but goes down in time. Just as we think we’ve won, Fargo admits he’s a pirate who poisoned (?) us, and we pass out.
We awake in time for a skeleton to burst through our door. We’ve been boarded by an actual ghost ship! This is a simple and straightforward dungeon, except we have to find a key. The crew members are, mostly, okay with us being free and, after we save them from the undead, give us the key we need to reach the deck. We find Pip, who we freed back in the manor, onboard, fleeing the monsters. I don't use him, but we have another white (for now) innate character, so I probably should have. There’s not much exploring or treasure, ironically, so we make our way topside and join up with the Captain. His arm is injured, so we take the helm until we’re beset upon by a giant ghost/blob.
This dude is annoying. He spams a lot of full party attacks and weakens all elemental damage. Even fully stocked on white elements, I don’t do much damage. Fortunately, his accuracy seems to suck, and, since I prepared for a long fight, I succeed in banishing the ghosts.
I can't believe I brought my girlfriend to this!
Now at peace, Fargo lets us pass, but only after informing us that, in order to reach Fort Dragonia, we have to walk through a volcano, lava, and all. He suggests we stop by Water Dragon Isle for a blessing to pass through the dungeon.
Which is what I'll do tomorrow!
I’m beginning to hate the combat. This isn’t turn-based, but instead, every character goes when you want them to, assuming they have the stamina. You choose whomever you want, and can even end their turn early to re/use another character. That’s how I went through the ship. I got Serge’s elements up, which usually killed a mob. Then Leena attacked once to refill a bit of Serge’s stamina, allowing him to him unleash his special tech attack for a near one-hit KO. It flows well and can be fun, but...enemy attacks are random. At least, they seem to be. Now, normally, this is fine and standard, but in Cross, they attack in the middle of your attacks. It ruins that flow. You’re getting into the murder mood, until your character jumps back into line, just to get attacked by the enemy. To make it worse, if the attacking character is hit, their accuracy is reset. It’s manageable with one or two mobs, but with four or so, it can really break up the action. It rubs me wrong and is so, so frustrating. Other than this mild annoyance, I’m still having fun. I’m looking forward to 11PM every night and dreading 3AM. It’s one of the marks of a great game. Although, I question why my girlfriend has more HP than me...
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