Penultimate Rue

I got straight into it tonight and went right into Maya’s Tower. Inside was Trap Master, who blocked the exit. Rue is now stuck in here, but that’s fine since he was never turning back from Clare anyway.

Maya’s Tower is, as the name suggests, a series of stairways up leading to platforms where things happen. It’s mostly jump puzzles, but things nonetheless. On the way up, we're attacked by birds, witches, and exploding pumpkins. It’s almost Halloween, so pumpkins are another...thread of fate! All these die in a few hits, with only pumpkins being a threat. If you take too long to destroy them, they explode. The treasure you find consists of gold coins, which are high tier revival items, and the last piece of the Legendary Equipment Set, which I’ll get into after this. When you reach the top, or what I believe is the top, we see Clare. After a quick discussion, she begins to laugh. Rue is confused until Clare reveals herself to be Mode Master, an ally of Puppet Master and Maya, in disguise. Speaking of Puppet Master, he teleports in. He quickly reveals himself to The Mr. Large Hand Man and fills Rue in on some backstory. He was the one who woke up Rue five years ago. For reasons never stated, he left Rue alone, who ended up finding Clare. When Hando came looking for Rue, he accidentally killed Clare, not expecting her to be so fragile. Learning his emotions have been toyed with, Rue is filled with abject rage, and an aura begins to form. We then go into battle with our mortal foe.

This is a battle that Rue cannot win. It can last a long time, though, as Rue hits hard and takes little damage. His triangle attack has been replaced with a block command that nullifies most damage. I dig this new block command and wish it would stay.

Anyway, Rue is knocked out, and Maya enters the room. She demands to know what’s going on, and Hando steals her Book of Cosmos, saying he’s going to destroy it. Or, more apropos, Rue will. He possesses Rue and forces him to act. Rue and Maya are then teleported into space. It’s actually the book, but space/cosmos, you get the connection. Maya then suggests we should ask the Aeon who made the book, Atenacious. While he’s dead, his spirit lives on in the pages, similar to how data exists in The Cloud. The great Aeon appears and, upon seeing the gem in Rue’s head, becomes enraged. The Aeon tells us Rue is a puppet of Valens. Valens was a man who wanted to rule the entire universe, so all the other Aeons attacked and killed him. To remove to shadows of him, Atenacious attacks.

Hos battlefield is the only hard thing. His attacks are easy to avoid, but questionable jump platforms separate Rue from him. I took him down in three rounds, and Puppet Master appeared to deliver the final blow, thus killing the godlike entity.

Puppet Master then tells Rue of his forgotten backstory. Both he and Rue were created by Valens to revive and release him from his dimension. The other Aeons didn’t kill him but did weaken him. To save his life, Valens locked himself in an alternate dimension where he stopped time, waited for his enemies to die, and for his puppets to bring him back. Not only that, but he locked himself in with his [relic], The Dewprisom. Fun fact, the Japanese version of the game is called Dewprisom. The Deaprisom is a [relic] that can be used to rule the universe. PM’s gem lost its power long ago, sometime in the last 100 years, so he needs Rue to unlock the seal. He calls himself a failed creation but promises to use The Dewprisim to save Clare if Rue fulfills his duty. Rue refuses, as he can never forgive the murder of his friend. Stoic Rue remains vigilant and states that this whole thing is evil, and the Deaprisom should remain locked. PM says he’ll just use Prima, via the Book of Cosmos’ absorbed power, and bids everyone farewell.

Rue and Maya wake up back in the tower. They head back to town, and we see the game’s final dungeon from above them. It’s in the air, so we need to figure out how to get there. We also see a scene with the Masters, learn their real names, and they separate but promise to reunite soon. But first, there are side quests to do! I head to the tavern, and the owner tells us about the legendary items. They’re cooking utensils, and he promises to make us good food with them if we bring him the ingredients. The ingredients are all monster corpses that permanently raise our stat, so we go hunting. I buy three strength ups, hp ups, defense ups, and one MP up before the items break and we gain a Platinum Coin. The coin functions like the other coins do, but also raises our stats on revival.

While hunting, I accidentally skip a few scenes with Klaus and Mel when I run to the Raging Mountain. There we right Trap Master, who’s just as easy as before, and the wannabe Clare, Mode Master. Mode Master has the same powers as Rue and uses them. I’m reminded why I never use them in combat as I wail on her for an easy victory. Why am I stat-boosting if the game is this easy? At the top, we talk to Wylaf again, who gives us the ability to fly, but only once. He believes in us and thinks that we can save the world from Valens.

Rue returns to town, buys as much stats from Hobbs as he can, and says goodbye to everyone. We fight Rod once more with his last weapon. His dog gets involved, and I regret hitting the puppy. Duke and Bella say how much they respect Rue and offer him luck in the coming dungeon. Maya and Mint are in the fancy hotel having a sisterly squabble. It’s a cute scene, and I’m looking forward to Mint’s side soon. Finally, I speak to Klaus, who tells us that we first met, we were a straight forward boy, but now we're a confused and lost man raked with indecision. This is, apparently, a good thing as it's a sign of youth. I didn't get it either.

 

 With all preparation ls complete, we make way too Valens’ Floating Fortress

...tomorrow!

I could have ended tonight, but I think final dungeons and, more importantly, ending cutscenes deserve their own entry. Tonight we learned that Rue was a puppet made for one thing, but he refuses his fate. The words he said to Prima Doll become even more poignant. As long as you’re alive, you can do whatever. Fate means nothing to the living. Be what you want to be!