Truth Revealed

The Tower of Mysteria isn't that long. Everything has a purpose, and there are no wasted rooms. Well, there are, but world building is a perfectly acceptable "waste."

We enter the aforementioned tower. Head straight north, and we'll meet an old friend. The man who saved Arres at the start of his life is waiting here, Ibez. I still have his sword, but it doesn't seem to matter. Ibez is the guardian of the four elements, which, I think, makes him an actual god, along with Ely. Could be wrong, though. The reunion isn't as chummy as you'd think as Ibez tells us our next mission is to kill the Four Elemental Gods. All of us are shocked, but it's the only way to bring about peace. TFEG plans to use the Pendent of Labyronia to erase the monsters. However, the monsters are a spawn of their creation brought on by imperfect beings using a tool that should only be used by an actual god. If they use the pendent, it'll plunge the world into chaos. He then wonders why Arres is still alive. He was created by TFEG to obtain the Orbs; he should have died the moment he returned all of them. But that's something they'll have to think about later. We have a mission.

There are, essentially, two puzzles in this tower, and neither of them are a maze. Each follows the same basic Order of Elements: Fire --> Earth --> Water --> Air. The first puzzle is to step on the golden plates in the offshoots around Ibez. This'll unlock a door in the entry hall. Inside that room is a staff that allows the user to reveal secrets. It's usually treasure, but the doorways are the important part. Investigate the golden square below the room, and we'll discuss the second puzzle.

The second gimmick of the tower is what to destroy. There are four golems scattered through the east section we're in. We have to find the golems and kill them in the proper order. They're all named after the elements, so I'm sure you can figure out the order. All the lesser enemies are weak to lightning except for the one single wind follower I found. The mobs also drop gear as I got an amazing wand for Ann after one. There are a number of diary entries in this area that help to grow the world, but there's one in particular about Arres. He's the son of Windir. He was held in status as a child to develop into the Counter Spell, allowing him to fulfill his mission of gathering the Crystals. There was very little objection to this from the gods, and even our dad saw us as a simple experiment. Besides plot, there are the last two cues in the North Section of the Mage's Quarters. Once you get them, it's time for one final side mission.
 
Return to Windir's room in the university. Inspecting his cue machine will cause it to malfunction and attack us. Keep your HP up, and you'll be fine. If you're in your mid 30's, Release IV doesn't do enough damage to kill anyone. It was weak to lightning, and it dropped a Replica Air Crystal, which is this game's ribbon.

After that and the golem smash, return to the tower and head to the left secret path. Walkthrough the door in the middle of the four statues, and our party will discuss their plan. No one wants to kill anyone, so they hope they can talk through everything. This is a video game, so guess how it goes. Most of TFEG seem peaceful, but the one in charge has let power go to his head. Cordin, the water god, has the most followers and, therefore, ego. He admits that their plan is likely to kill a large portion of the population, and even Windir says it's necessary for peace. They plan to rebuild on the backs in a nicer, monster free realm. And then Cordin asks why we're still alive. Things get tense for a moment until the old man, who I think was the guy in charge of fire, reveals that he can sense light, Ely's power, from Ann. He believes that her love is keeping Arres alive. In response, Cordin summons lightning to blow a hole in the floor, killing our healer. This enrages Garric and Arres, and the final boss fight breaks out.

The wind and fire gods occasionally don't attack, so go after them last. In theory, at least. I ended up killing them in the middle because of all the multi targeting moves I used. I did focus Cordin first, though. He died, and then I went after the earth fella. He had the Pendent, and he used it every few turns. It's pretty much the only way to get harmed in this battle as the other gods simply use basic spells. I used gear that focused on stats instead of resistances for some reason, but I found this battle to be a pushover. I had to heal with some of the items you can buy from the gardner in the tower, though, and I'm sorry I stepped on the plants. Don't step on the plants. Once the earth god gets to a certain threshold, he'll unleash more power from the pendent. It leaves Garric at one HP, making a slight breeze kill him. But it doesn't affect Arres, who can mop up at this point.

When the dust settles, Garric confirms the deaths of the water and earth gods. The other two got away. Arres asks his friend to leave. Gently at first, but he gets loud when Garric wants to hang around. Arres shall take the pendent and become a god, something that might harm the surrounding area. He also says he wants to mourn over Ann. Arres takes the pendent, promises to rule with a just heart, and the screen goes black...

The earth god infers that Ann is still alive, protected by a magical barter he cast. The fall left her in a terrible state, but she should survive. He suspects Ann's love will be the only thing that'll keep Arres sane going forward, but we'll see how that works...

...in the sequel!

Yes, dear reader, Labornia RPG is the start of six games. I have RPG 2 and Mages of Mysteria, but I have no plans to play them anytime soon. And if I do, it'll be on my own time. I might share the review for it here, though. I enjoyed the game. It's straightforward enough, despite the point of the mazes, but it rewards exploration, which is always great.

The credit roll offers us a look at how many people helped make the game, and it's more than I thought. One guy defiantly led it, but he brought in a good number of artists and musicians, as well. No one even remotely well known, but who am I, anyway? And who am I to complain. We also learn the game has roots going back to 1997, so I can understand how there are currently six games about it.

See ya'll in a few days.

What an awful dungeon.

Just terrible. Absolute crap. 

We left off just before the Air Temple, so we're gonna go right into it. Firstly, climb the stairs to the right of the entrance. Wind was the first spell Arres learned, and we'll finally get the whole party spell here. Afterwards, I'm glad I beat up that mage last night. He was hiding heavy boots, which we'll need to uae here. Beyond that is the labyrinth. It's as maze like as any other, but there are really annoying gimmicks scattered about. At several crossroads, we have to avoid moving wind bursts. Hitting them will send us off into a, seemingly, random location somewhere in the maze. I know what you're saying, "just avoid then." Well, you can't. You need to hit someone of them to access the final section of the map. You also can't reach the giant purple pillar within them either. Having to find the correct gust, hit it at the correct angle, and avoiding the ones at the was was so frustrating. Is it better than Denizen Path? Dunno. 

That aside, walk though the labyrinth and walk on the fifteen yellows squares, turning the orange. Them find the random trigger to the otherside. Make sure you find the Wind Sphere and confuse it with Arres' wind. Hitting or killing it does nothing, you need to inflict it with the syatus effect. Head north, avoid more guats, safe, and prepare for the boss rush. 

First up is someone I don't remember the strategy for. I think I'm finally strong! 

The second fight is against the stuffed animal girl. I tried to kill her first because I really like stuffed animals, but I had to take out Bunny first. He heals, and you should always focus the the healer. Lilly has an annoying habit of casting reflect magic every three turns. Her other turns involve her making is blind. She's not hard, but she is annoying. I wonder what happens if Bunny survives? 

The Air Orb was behind her, so grab it and use the hexagon teleporter in the back of the room to return this cursed place. 

Leave the university, get in the airship, and head back to the Fountain. Install the four orba into their gravestones to get keys to something. The only other place to go to now is the Tower of Mysteria. As we approach, we canp out for the night. Garric is sleeping and Arres and Ann are getting cozy with each other. But it turns pretty fast. Ann reminds is she fan sense the light inside people. And Arres' light is changing. It scares her, and Arres isn't sure what it means. Eventually, he says that he's gotten cold and can't feel anything. He asks Ann to hold him, which they do all night. The guide on Steam indicates this is the final dungeon, so I'll try to finish this...

...tomorrow! 

I did the last dew side quests, too. I beat up Mobster Leader at the old world capital. Behind him is Release IV, an incredibly powerful move for Arres. I took that to Windir's castle to lay waste to the dragon. Ann's  Srain Life ability is there. Finally, I did some grinding at Cannibal Island. Were in the lower 30s, so I'm prepared to ens this. It seems to be a long dungeon, so here's hoping!

A party, an investigation, and side quests.

I took to the skies and entered the Schietar University. We can't get down, but we'll be too busy to leave.

As we enter the first floor, a man will stop us. This is a detective. It turns out someone stole the Wind Crystal/Orb, and he's been put in charge of finding the culprit. He's not very good at his job. In fact, he's absolutely terrible. Arres is a fan of murder mysteries and like, so he offers his aid. For reasons I won't try to understand, the detective allows us to do just that. We have to exhaust all dialogue options with the five people on floor three, so we'll head there eventually.

But first, take a left. Near the cafe is a man who we should talk to. If he looks familiar, it's because he is. Garric is here! Arres will ask the old archer how he got here if we have his airship, and Garric will say he stowed away. He was worried about us because a woman had been followed for some time now. But it's not like she was scary or anything. Garric took her and hopped aboard the Artemis just before we took off. I'm still not sure how they beat us to this location, but whatever. Garric will join us, so I went looking for this mysterious woman who's been stalking us. Up on floor three, we find Ann. I'm sure you're shocked. She quickly confesses her love for Arres and how it drove her to leave her useless medical job. We learn healing magic has been passed down in her family for centuries because of someone named Ely. After a strange conversation, Ann joins the team, and we finally have a team! But we have a mission to do!

Talk to everyone on floor three; the lower floors don't matter. Afterwards, head up. This is where the Air Crystal is usually housed, but we can't investigate that because the guard is competent. Go up one more floor, and we'll meet the wind god himself, Windir. Garric has an audience with him, somehow. Talking to him lets Arres ask a few questions about the labyrinths I spoke about last night. We go into a bit about the monsters spawning, which no one can answer. But Windir tells us that we're important somehow but doesn't divulge how. He does say that the Four Elemental Gods aren't actually gods. They're high ranking Wizards of Mysteria. The war between the wizards was because the lower ranks felt that these four had too much power. Windir gives us the key to the Air Crystal room and tells us to return all four crystals to the fountain I was at last night.

Inside the Crystal room, we find a small rat hole. This is the last piece of the investigation. Return to the detective and tell him who you think it is. These two people were the last ones I suspected, I'll be honest. I have no idea how the dev came up with these two being evil, but pick the bunny girl and the piano player. I don't remember their names, I'm sorry. I thought it would have been the old guy and glutton. The screen fades to black, and we hear a commotion. The two guilty parties manage to evade arrest and head to the Air Temple. For choosing correctly, Arres learns a strong buff. I don't know what happens if you're wrong. The detective also gives us a pair of wings that we can use to get down from here. He urges us to give chase, and I'll do that...

...tomorrow.

With a full party, I went cue hunting! There's a guide on Steam I used for it, so I'll spare the minutia of it. I also did a few side quests. I bought the boat from Travel's Haven and found the four (I hope it's only four) whirlpools. The gear is pretty good, and it gets your money back and more. I also found two side dungeons, the fire maze, and some wizards hideaway. Both contain cues and gear. They also have EXP, which Ann and Garric are lacking. We've got a good team here. Garric is an archer with debuffs and X-Attack, and Ann is a healer with a few light damaging magic spells. We're set up for the rest of the game, which could end in a day or two!

From the Arena to the Skies...

I left off in the middle of the five fight arena matches in Carallan. The trick to all of these fights is counter, so check out the shield in the bar. I didn't get it for the first three fights and had to spend a lot of time on defense. With counter, though, I can go all out. I don't even need to heal because it's less of a counter and more of a preemptive strike that removes physical damage from happening altogether.
 
Round one is against a fairy who's weak to will strike.  
Round two is against a mage with the same vulnerabilities.
Ditto for round three.
For round four, have enchant blade on, as well, since the general of the lava lands isn't fond of lightning. Or use the ligating axe, I guess. As for equipment, make sure you're wearing whatever it is that makes you immune to being stunned.
I used basic attacks for the last guy. I was running out of MP pretty fast, so I wanted to let him take himself out. I think his attacks come in a predetermined fight, so once you figure it out, you'll know when to reapply counter, attack/defend, and heal. When the fight switches to phase two, use Wave to take out his summoned hands. They'll die in three or four uses. Finding an opening to use those spells is gonna be a bit tougher, but I found Harkon the easiest of the fights. After the battle, you and Harkan will be back in the pub. He'll congratulate us and hand over his crown, along with the Fire Gem inside it. We've made a friend, and even the whole town recognizes how cool we are. As we return to the snowfields to fuel the airship we read about, an NPC will tell us a quick way back. To the west of the city is a maze that takes us to a dock. "Rent" the boat for 1000 gold, and take it upriver to Glimthar.

But first, I took out the two forest bosses. Equip the Quizzer's Pendent, to make sure you can't be confused, and go find the two you can reach (I assume there's more later). Make sure you use counter, and spam will strike on Octos. His drop is okay enough. Matrys doesn't like fire. The Crimson Axe he drops is a lot better than the Gladiator's Sword.

But head into one of the houses and talk to Garric. He's the one who told us about the Artemis the first time we were here. He said it needed a fuel source, which the Fire Gem should be able to provide. After discussing it, Garric decides to join the party and escort us to the airship. He's an archer who kinda sucks. To make him better, we'll need to find some cues through the world. You can do whatever you want to here, but you really should get the ones in town. One is a flame shot skill, which will be very useful in the upcoming dungeon. But guess what I didn't get...

We'll head over the Airship Cave entrance that has been blocked by a dude since we first got here. Garric says it's okay for us to pass, and the guard allows us through. Inside are demons, giants, a miniboss, and an actual boss. Some have fire weaknesses, and others aren't fond of Aura Strike. We also learn that his dungeon wasn't always here. The mazes are constantly altering the planet, this cave included. But we get a lot of backstory on Arres while we're in here. Garric will try to talk our ear off and learn about our past. Arres is open enough and answers them with only mild annoyance. It's the one where Garric asks about his family that seems to upset him. We learn that Arres just showed up one day in town. The villagers thought he was a monster or something and didn't like him. They locked their doors, and a guard tried to kill him. Arres was looking for "radiance" again, and the pillar of light that teleported him here was silhouetted by four unknown powerful entities. They reminded everyone of the elemental gods. A mysterious person in a small house convinced everyone to let Arres live, but he had to be alone, far away.

Make sure you do whatever it was you have to do with the ice "fountain" puzzle before the locked door. A Frozen Memory will appear, dropping an accessory that negates 80& of ice damage. The password to the door is 4355, I think. You should have read about it in a book in the castle. On the otherside of the door is the boss, Ice Trapper.

Use Ice Shield when Ice Trapper "readies for Ice Trap," and you'll be fine. The shield lasts through the Ice II, and I didn't need to heal at all once I figured out his attack order. Attack with as much fire elements as you can, and this guy is easy. Garric only had his default skills, so he was pretty much useless. Once through the dungeon, Garric will put some final touches on the airship, hand over the keys, and be off. We're back to a solo journey, which is really disappointing. I wanted a pal... But I did get an airship!

I traveled around and looked for fun places. Most of them killed me, so I didn't do that much exploring. I did investigate the colored circles in the middle of the map. Fountain of Fortune is a place to stash you're Elemental gems. I didn't, but I think I will later. While here, investigate the four pillars in the center. These will reveal memories from the Four Elemental Gods. The history of this planet is finally revealed. The Gods created the mazes to bring peace. If they can't find their enemies, then they don't have enemies. There's a lot of talk about a crystal and whether or not its power is too strong. There are also some minor arguments between the four...

But I went to the ...clouds... of the game, north of Glimthar. I get big Zeal vibes from this place and landed in the center. We'll talk to a guard with wings who'll tell us out the flinger works. He also lets us know the Wind Gem is in the library above. So it looks likes Arres will do some learning...

...tomorrow!

Arres is named after the god of war and has been called "the counter spell" twice now. I wonder what that means?

Gonna Stay Lost!

Turns out I already had those boots, but I did buy a stronger helmet!

So I went back down to the Earth Labyrinth. I walked through the maze one more time. I even stopped to cast Stone on the Earth Slime, and it rewarded me with the dispel magic. Lycia told me that I'd meet the same fate as the gods, and the battle began again!. Lycia is weak to wind magic, so spam that. Every three turns or so, they'll buff themselves. Thanks to dispel, we can get rid of that. I'm "starting" to notice how combat works in this game. Use one skill over and over again, and eat some food when you get low. So far, there has been no need to change that strategy. I got my revenge on Lycia and found the Earth Crystal behind him. There are vines to the right, so use them as a shortcut out. Thanks to getting lost in the frozen north last night, I can skip that part and head right into the desert.

For some reason, the breakable rocks in the first screen look exactly like all the other rocks. This is bad game design. You're looking for something in the lower right hand corner, which will take you to the winding path around and to the Desert of Illusions. This place combines two mechanics that I've never been fond of.
1.) A time limit on survival. We have five minutes to explore this entire area and find all that it hides. Fortunately, we can reset that timer by buying a canteen at the merchant we spawn in near.
2.) An enormous open area with very few landmarks. The Desert of Illusion Has a handful of locations and great treasures scattered about its expanse. Unfortunately, you don't get a map. There's one at the start, but you can take it with you, and we have to pay to use it. It's also useless.
Regardless, you will need to find the Fairy's Playground and move a rock onto a button. That'll remove the statues and free the trapped fairy that can't fly despite having wings. Your reward will be a scorpion pheromone because they can see your future and that you'll need it.
While you're nearby, there's a mesa to the east of this that takes you to a boss fight with Nefer. Nefer is weak to water and dispel. Make sure to get the chests when you beat him, as there's an important key item in one of them. Better to get it now than need to figure out this place again later.
The only cue Arress can use is the left most one on the map, which is Enchant Sword. This allows you to make physical lightning attacks for five turns.
From here, the easiest thing to do is find the boat. Follow the green path and step onto the sandboat. It'll take you to the clown, which can teleport you to three places. Choose the Hot Quiz first and answer the questions (Althar, Slavery, Artemis). You'll get an accessory that makes you immune to confusion, thus making those special forest mobs much more manageable, I'd assume. I didn't get to them tonight. When you leave the Hot Quis, you'll be in Nowhere.
Nowhere is south, southwest of the boat. Head back to the clown and look for the Desert Care. The door will be locked, so head east to the Green Valley. If you came here before helping the fairies, nothing will be here. Now, though, there's a scorpion. Getting close to it will get Arres stung, and he'll pass out due to the poison. But he'll be fine. He dreams of someone telling him he's special, and then we'll hear something about the radiance that has left. And then he'll wake up.

A young woman found and saved him. He'll be out of it for a few days, but Ann here will help him. The two of them have an awkward conversation about how pretty each other's eyes are. This confuses Arres because it makes him think of his mother when she held him with her radiance. At least, he thinks. He's been a hermit his whole life, so maybe he's just weird. Anyway, he's uncomfortable, so he sneaks out when he's physically able to. He wants to go back to Ann and be with her, but he must carry on with his mission! Take the northwest exit from the Desert Care. By gosh, it's story in Labyronia!

Welcome to the lava lands of Carellian! Before we reach civilization, we need to cross the mountain. This is a traditional RPG dungeon, and I'm shocked it's here, honestly. Most things are weak to water, but the spider is vulnerable to getting attacked. Climb ropes to reach the top, open the chests, and find a rock to push down. Go down to where it fell, and a new path will open up to the summit. Get the chest north and then head south. We'll find a cue for Fire Shield, which isn't necessary here if you have the Flame Cloak on, but it'll probably be important down the line. Save and head west to reach a boss.

Firebird has two flame orbs near the top of the screen. On its first turn, it'll cast reflect and buff itself. Despite that, use wave on the whole party. You'll take damage, but it'll make sense in a moment. On your second turn, use wave again. The orbs will die, and the buffs on the Firebird will disperse. Taking two rounds of damage will be less than the four rounds you would otherwise have taken. From here, it's a bit of luck. With the Fire Cloak on, Firebird's Flame Pillar won't do much damage. But it can also use Peck, which hits Arres three times. The accuracy seems suspect, but it can take out 600 HP a turn. Heal every three turns if you're around level twelve and hope you brought enough sausages or boar meat.

When you win, a path down is revealed. Taking it will spawn us just south of the town of Carallan. Upgrade your gear while you're here, of course. I'm rocking stuff that doesn't have the best stats, but I have a well rounded area of elemental resistances. That'll be important in a moment, but I'll get to that tomorrow. In the top right of the map is the pub. There's a man named Harkon drinking alone there. Townfolk have told us that he's the arena champion, but he lost his sword some time ago, shutting down the fights to everyone's chagrin. But what was that sword we got in the Desert of Illusion's name? Giving him his blade back will reactivate the arena fights. More importantly, he'll tell us the champion's crown has a bright, red jewel with immense power in it. The cogs in Arres' brain start to turn. All we have to do is beat five bosses, and the, I assume, Fire Crystal will be ours. There's a shield in the pub that's a cue for the counter spell, so get that and head to the arena. Follow the steps the guard inside tells you, and we can begin to fight for that crystal. But I'll do that...

...tomorrow.

I couldn't beat boss four, so I'll talk about all of them tomorrow. The only negative I have to say about Labyronia RPG is the controls are really strange, at least with an Xbox controller. Having X be confirm and B be cancel feels so alien, and I hate it.

I'm lost.

Labyronia has an FFI style story in that there is no real story, and you're gonna be walking around a lot, it seems.

After obtaining the water crystal, I went north towards the snowfields of Alalthar. Sadly, the path northward is blocked off, as is the way through the mines to the east. So I guess we're going to figure out how to get through the werewolves! It turns out it's pretty easy. Find the gates where you met the fairy for the second time and read the gravestone. It'll tell you to follow the path of the stonemasons, or whatever. It means you need to follow the pillars. They start on your left, and you'll have to pass a few invisible walls. If you didn't already, get the fire spell. Follow the pillars until you reach a dragon statue and head north. We'll come to a dark part of the forest. This is where I ran into werewolf problems last night. To the left of the entrance is a hole. The hole takes us to a cave along with a witch who wants to open a potion shop. To do that, she'll ask you to find a simple, brown mushroom. One can be found in the manageable areas of the forest south. You'll need to find a few more invisible walls. Return it to her, and she'll sell you full heals for both HP and MP. They're cheap, too. Not only that, but she'll grant you passage to a shortcut through the forest. Take the locked door, and you'll come to the very end of the werewolf part of this wood. Go east, not west, and leave.

We're back on the world map. There's a tavern to the north, which you can use to sleep and buy food. Heal is already lacking any real oomph, so items may be the go-to when you need to heal. From here, travel east and into the mines. The goal here is to find the pickaxe in the northeast. The pickaxe can break certain rocks that you might have seen a few times by now. Arres will say something to the effect that "these rocks can be broken" when inspected. Now, I made a mistake here. I traveled all the way back out of the forest, passed the bridge, the water temple, and the Cold Shoulder Bar to get to the mines east of that. That was dumb. The mines near the Cold Shoulder are the same mines you're already in. Regardless, we're still going to be going east. More east, and we come to a checkpoint that we can't do anything in because it's blocked, so head south. We'll come to the Earth Labyrinth!

The puzzle part of this dungeon is you can't see anything; you only get the small bubble of light around you, so you can't scout anything out very well. You're blind and in a maze. Rad! Bumble around for a while until Arres notices the moss on the floor. I think it means we're supposed to follow it to get to the end, but it's a really bad hint. A lot of mossy paths just take you to dead ends. There's a lot of treasures down here and another blob you can talk to. Doing so will start a fight, though, and the Earth Blob will scream "Stone" at you forever. I didn't know stone yet, so this didn't mean anything to me. You can learn quake done here, but it doesn't work. Do find it, though, for obvious reasons. In time, you'll overhear voices talking about how the path was a good idea. I have no idea where those voices come from, but okay. Keep "following" the moss until you teleport. You'll be near the exit, which takes you to the boss. As you approach the sphinx looking fella, it'll say it wants to teach you things, but this starts a boss fight.

Lycia was too strong for me, so I left. I tried a few times but couldn't last past round four. I decided to travel all the way back out and into the snowfields once more. I opened the path with the pickaxe and came to a strange place.

It's a giant, open field with no good landmarks around. You're gonna walk around for a year and a half unless you can find a map. Places of interest include:
A hut with a journal. We learn that the village used to be a farming settlement, but the deep snow ruined it all. And then bandits attacked and left the farmers dead in the fields.
A graveyard filled with dead farmers. As we approach, a spirit will ask that we bury her body. We can't find her body, but burying the journal will suffice. She'll open the "path" forward, which we can use to reach the world map.
Somewhere in the mini rocky mazes are interlinked locations. One takes you to a ladder key, which opens up a hill somewhere to the west of it. That's Sled Hill, and it takes you to Ice Dragon. The dragon is sitting on a chest that Arres might be able to dislodge. He can't, so a fight starts. You should come back here later when you learn Ice Shield, but it is a doable fight at around level 11. Spam Fire and use your Sausages to heal. You'll get a Plate Key, which can be used elsewhere.
But go back to the graveyard and take the new path. We'll exit to the world map south of Glimthar Village. It's the land of forever night! There are journal entries scattered about the entire town by Windir, the Elemental God of the Wind. Glimthar is an industrial town researching airship technology, but they're having issues with a fuel source. We also learn that the zombies we fought earlier are his ideas, too... There's not much here now but upgrade your equipment. I couldn't find anything to help against Lycia, but you can get a Thunder Axe, if you aid the blacksmith, and Fur Ears, which increase ice resistance, in a workshop. You can have a conversation with an old man in a workshop, too, and he'll tell you all about Artemis. Most importantly, get the Ice Shield spell by breaking the well lever in the middle house.

West of this is a large castle. The floor is falling out, so the paths between rooms are narrow. Head to the lower west room first to find a lighter. Then, go to the upper right room and light a candle. Read the book nearby to get Windir's Ring. This allows you to pass the checkpoint to the desert from earlier. There is a dragon in this castle, but for the love of your god, do not engage. I repeat, do not engage. Flee, flee, flee! There's nothing there now, but you do learn how to get the Stone Spell. Somewhere in Deep Grotto, the dark forest part, is the gravestone to an elvan Queen. The werewolves are tough, but they are killable at this point. Spam fire and hope it blinds them. That's the only strategy I've got now. Once you have the ring (or signet), return to the Earth Labyrinth. But I'm out of time, so I'll get my revenge...

...tomorrow!

Remind me to stop by Junica first, though, and buy some Winged Boots. I'm rich at the moment, and I need earth resistance, which I'm told those give.

Labronia RPG

I've had this game since...I don't remember when, but I got it for free long ago. It's been sitting on my hard drive ever since, just waiting for me to play it. I've been trying to clear room on my computer, so now's the best time to get it done. Other than it being an RPGMaker game, I don't know anything about it. Is it good? Is it bland? I hope it's short. Let's find out.

A man talks to a book about the world. It's gone "restless," and powerful monsters roam the planet. Across the globe, things called Labyrinths have appeared. Nobody knows why, so our intrepid homeless looking man decides now is the time to find the answers. He's a battlemage, so he grabs his sword, the Sword of Ibez, and heads out to the world map. Before we do, though, we can read a few books around his hut. One is his diary that tells us he's going to look for answers, and another is about the Four Elemental Gods of Water, Fire, Water/Ice, and Wind.
 
It's a rather somber tune, isn't it? I really like it. It seems to be stock music, which is fine, ya know. I'm not a musician, so I'd probably use default stuff, too. Quality is quality, my mans.

From here, something tells us to search for the "four elemental crystals," and it calls us Arres. I'm sure other people call us Arres, but this is the first. We also get a tutorial on how to learn new spells. Throughout the world, there will be places called "cues." Inspecting a cue will grant us new spells and skills. To the east of us is Meidor Villiage. Despite living far away, people know who we are. We can buy new gear and weapons here, which I find odd, but we'll have to do some training first. It's one or two fights to get enough gold for everything, and I'd suggest you do it.

Combat is a simile, FFX style, turn based affair. It doesn't push any boundaries, but it doesn't need to be. Not everyone needs to reinvent the wheel. While we're getting a few gold pieces, head east from the village to the small camp. Check the green tree on the left to learn wind, which will be helpful against upcoming mobs. There's also a leather vest in the tent, which'll save ya some gold. There's an elven forest further west, but I'll get to that later. Once you're upgraded, head north across the bridge. An old man will give you a warning about what we're about to do. "North of here, a land of water reigns. "He knows who we are, but we don't know him. He tells us to come talk to him after we finish with what we're about to do. As we try to leave the bridge, a voice will remind us to seek the crystals again, and Arres will ask the old man if he said anything. The old man says he didn't... Follow his advice, check in with the tobacco farmer if you want, and head to the temple at the mouth of the river. Get the treasure, but Arres will tell us that he can't walk across helipads, so we'll need to turn back.

Southwest of the temple is a cave system. It's blocked by a guard who looks like Captain Farrell from Forever Home to remind you that stock assets are a thing, alright. We'll ask to pass, and we'll be allowed. But it was a trap! The guard will knock us out. Arres will "force open his eyes to see" that we're trapped in a water cavern maze. You'd think a game called Labronia would have labyrinths, and I can assure you, it does.
 
We're trapped down here, and the only way to escape is to find six red crystals throughout the dungeon. If you're into mazes, this is a good one because I got lost for an hour. Fortunately, there are no random battles, and the mobs aren't terribly difficult. The scary sea serpents are actually the easiest; just attack them. Take out the bug if you find it since it's likely to blind you. Remember that Arres has heal unlocked at the start, so you'll be using it. The game is nice, and you can find a Cross Shield down here, which restores AP (MP) every turn. I suspect I'll be saying this a lot, but go find a map. Sure it's fun to explore around, but I walked around for 45 minutes. Once all six crystals are activated, a path forward (at the top of the screen) will open. On the otherside is a  boss fight. Well, sorta. We're up against seven of the insects that can blind you. Arres suggests trying to survive as the fairy with the bugs might change her allegiance. It takes three turns to do so, but she'll eventually buff you. I guarded for all three rounds, but you can try to take one out if you want. The first time I tried to fight, and it went poorly. Her buffs are incredibly strong and will nearly negate all damage. It still takes you two turns to kill a bug, but you should survive. The fairy will flee, and you'll kill everything else, so inspect the gravestone. This is the cue for Wave, your first target all move. As you'd expect, it does water damage, which has a chance of lowering enemy magic defense. You can also find a single target water move down here from a blue blob. You may want to do to save AP. The "boss" will drop the key, so now you have to find the way out!

Once you do, you'll enter the city. Guards will rush you, but they're easy enough, and there are only three (four) of them. At the end, Captain Farrell will say that you're strong enough to go free. We're in the city of Jenise. It's filled with some rich people, but also a lot of poor people. You'll probably steal the lost 20 gold someone has, by the way. It's filled with books on the history of it and gear shops. But you should look for the shoe/accessory seller on the east side. On a desk is a pair of boots that he'll sell you if you bring him violet leather. It drops from ogres, so it's to the world map we go.

Look for the dark green areas of the surroundings, and you'll one in no time. They're big and scary but are weak to water. Without magic, you'll likely die. All is you need is one (and 250 gold), and you can get yourself some light step boots. Before you leave, though, buy the Great Fish Robe. Take them up to the temple you saw earlier, and we can now enter. This may be more annoying than the maze, but that might only be because Rockcandy makes garbage controllers. You'll need to avoid the waterspouts that randomly pop up around the walkway. Some will blast you into a fight, and others will set you back on the path. The fights are worth the EXP, but that guy at the end is the boss of this place. Make sure your HP is at max, and you're wearing the Fish Robe. The Robe increases your defense against water elements, so it's of vital importance. Before I used it, I got wiped by this guy in four turns. Triden uses only water moves, so I'm sure how you can see the worthiness of this armor. At some point, I gained Will Strike as a move, which does more damage than anything else you have at this point. Spam that and get out of here. Triden will drop his trident as a reward.

It doesn't mean anything to us, so take it back to the city where it's always raining. There's a fortune teller who runs the place. She'll be interested in it, and as a reward, grants you the ability to go wherever you want in the city. Take it to a guard north of the Water Crystal, and he'll let you pass. Travel the small maze, and Arres will pry out the gem. We have our first Elemental Crystal, and I called it a night.

Before shutting it down, I went back to the old man. He said more cryptic stuff and teleported away, but he left us a Flame Cloak as a reward. I also investigated the forest from earlier. An elf lady says that this used to be a popular place before the labyrinths showed up. Nowadays, people don't like getting lost, so they don't come here. This is another maze, one that loops, even, so it checks out. We can find a cue for fire in here. Deeper in are werewolves that hunt you down. I couldn't kill them, but they sure beat me up, so I'll get my revenge later. The fire spell is great, and I suspect it'll get used a lot in the frozen north.

Day one in the books, and I'm digging it. It's pretty quaint, but I can get behind that. It's giving me a first time DM vibe, which I can respect. I've only DMed two D&D sessions, so I get that it's hard to make a deep story, especially early on. So far, so good! Also, I don't think English is the devs first language. There's nothing wrong with that, and I'll set my college degree aside for a moment.

So, it turns out I accidentally skipped the opening cutscene. After a bright red light flashes, we learn about the history of this world. Four Elemental Gods ruled over the planet until the Pendent of Labyronia fell into the "hands of gods." The waring nations stopped fighting to join forces against "the new order." Somehow, the wizards defeated the gods, but that did not bring peace. Monsters began to appear on the planet, and contact was cut off.

Forever Home has no Home.

I'm bad with titles...

Forever Home is a positive microcosm of the RPGMaker genre. It has a lot of flaws with story holes, and it may get too artsy with character development, but it does some new things. From gameplay to cutscenes, it's got a lot of mechanics other games don't have. From my limited experience with the engine to AAA, Pixel Blade shows that originality isn't dead, even if, I assume, these ideas have been done before. I'm not gonna compare it to others, so let's get down to an actual review.

The story starts off simple: A boy and his sister are the only survivors of an attack on their village. From there, they go on a quest to find their legendary father and maybe get revenge. They find an assortment of characters with various ties to the big bad guy. Along the way. they grow, control time, and kill a god. Pretty standard affair!

The bad:
A lot of plot points seem to come from nowhere or are an act of coincidence. It's fairly nonexistent early on, but the late game stuff is frustrating. At the very end, when Garin shows up to have save the day, for example. How did he get there? Both through space and time? The entirety of Enda's backstory leaves me wondering how.did Garin find her? How did she know all of that stuff when we went to the Life Sanctuary? A lot of my questions revolve around Enda, now that I think about it.

Along a similar vein, a few other character stories confused me. Lina's ending scenes leave me annoyed. She had a big, heavy, and unique point in the game, but it gets magically waved away by something that isn't explained. Some of this may have been something I missed. Maybe I missed something about Enda or Kina, but they'd be painfully odd stretches regardless. Did we ever learn how Xero has time altering skills? There are also a few scenes where some of our characters say they don't want revenge on the big bag guy, however, it's not brought up at all outside of these two conversations.

Monster variety is a bit off. I'm fine with pallet swamps, but dungeons only have about three or four types of monsters in them. Fortunately, the dungeons don't tend to be very long, so this is a nitpicky thing from me. It's a small team, so I shouldn't expect 1000 different monsters. There's only ~160 in total, so there's no need for everyone to be different. That's not even how the real world works.

There may be a few bugs, as well. I don't think Radiate II works correctly, and battle actions stopped working once or twice for me. I ran away from the fight, and it fixed it, but what if that happened in a boss battle? I'm also curious if something went wrong during the ending scenes. Most frustrating, Steam achievements didn't pop for me.

What's up with the romance stuff?

But if I'm already being nitpicky, you know things are good.

The good:
Keeping with the dungeons, they're great! Most are short, unique, and well designed. There are a few pieces of concept art we see during the credits to let you know a lot of work was put into them. We can see the evolution on graph paper to the basic dungeon layout, all the way to second and third drafts. They weren't thrown together with no thought, and I really enjoyed them. Denizen Cave aside, of course. The puzzles aren't nerve wracking, which I'm a big fan of, too, but they might be a little too simple.

The music is top notch. None of it is RPGMaker stock, and it was all composed by David Hunt, who did the majority of everything else in the game. And there's so much of it! More importantly, it's all fun. The calm and relaxing town themes would be great on my Spotify playlist. Sadly, it's not there. The battle tracks aren't terrible, by any means, but I never felt excited and into them. I'm more into chill tracks, so I don't see that as a problem. The world map, towns, and even dungeons are enjoyable to traverse through because of the soundtrack. As I said, it's not on Spotify, but you can hear it on Bandcamp.
https://pixelblade.bandcamp.com/album/forever-home-ost

Most of the characters have a good, well described backstory and growth. No one is a trope or a one note chump, and they all feel like actual human beings. Even the mute, Burns, has a fun, unique past. I wish he felt important to the story BEFORE learning of it, mind you. Asera may be the shining jewel of this game with his personality, heartbreak, and shock. It's not perfect, of course, as I feel like there's a lot of contention between all of them. Xero flows from just wanting to "count clouds" to arguing with his teammates over tiny details. He rubbed me the wrong way a few times, so I never felt a connection with him. I also want to point out that I've read the ending cutscenes change based on character sidequests, so there's something to look forward too.

The artwork is the best I've ever seen in RPGMaker games. Hell, it's among the best I've seen from foux 16-bit games. We can get a glimpse of the hard work put into it during the credit roll, and the hard work paid off. From character sprites and scenery, it's beautiful.  It was pretty much the whole reason I wanted the game to begin with, so I'm glad the preview shots aren't lying. But Forever Home is more than just sprite work. There's a number of action sequences where two or more characters have a one-on-one duel, and it's so cool. They're super anime, filled with pretty flashes, teleports, and sword clashes, and I was into all of them.

But the battle system is the best part of Forever Home. It's a Final Fantasy ATB turnbased game, which I'm still a fan of. FH doesn't break that bold, but when it comes to learning magic and skills, that's where the game shines. No one gets new stuff by leveling up, but you have to teach them from a list that grows as they learn. Spend your PP on skills to unlock a more powerful version of them. You need to master two or more to learn a strange combination of them together. Early game characters are some molds you can choose. Do you want to rush Xero's time magic, his lightning spells, or his techniques? Do you want Enda to be a healer or a wind mage? Eventually, all players will have the same character specs, but the mid game has a variety here. Skills and spells are on different gauges, so you always have something fun to choose from. Many of them have a cooldown period, though, so you can't spam them, which means you need to learn everything! More skills; more fun! But, again, they're not perfect. I was always afraid to use Kina because her skills hurt her more than the opponents. There may be a story link there, but I didn't trust her in battle. There are enough hard hitting mobs in the game as is, so I felt like she'd die all the time. I also found Throg to be a waste. His stuff won't work on most bosses, so he's too niche. I liked him when I got to use him if that means anything...

And I haven't talked about the Shard System. It's very similar to FFVII's Materia, but I'm out of space!

Forever Home is a flawed game by a guy who might have tried to do too much. Shout out to him for doing it and doing it well, but I wonder if more help would have been nice. Some games have plenty of breadth but no depth. The scaffolding is there, but there are no bricks. Forever Home has almost the exact opposite problem. It's got the bricks, the roof, the elevator, and the walls, but I think someone forgot about the windows. So not the exact opposite, but I don't know construction metaphors...Forever Home is an amazing game filled with an assortment of great mechanics, but it's missing some things. In the end, I enjoyed the game, but I was left confused a few too many times. There are just enough questions I have from the plot that keeps this from being perfect, but it's definitely a must play if you're craving a mid 90's RPG. I got 50 hours of it and didn't come close to 100%ing it.

The Future is Ours

I forgot to do a write up about last night's sidequests, so here are the bullet points:

Burns joined an anti Tren organization shortly before the Tren attacked Tryton. It ended up being more of a gang than anything, led by a man named Cross. Cross demanded absolute loyalty to the Peace Keepers, going so far as to keep Burns, and his friend Holden, away from a girl named Lerran. Holden is Lerran's brother, so I'm sure you can see an issue here. One day, after Burns' work was done, he heard a scream from a back alley. He rushed there to find Cross in a compromising position over Lerran. Cross demanded that Burns leave and never say a word about this, or else Cross would kill his family. Burns bumped into three Tren soldiers but was too afraid to say anything because of what Cross stated, which is why he was blamed for the murder. In the present time, Burns brawled his way to Cross all alone. He didn't kill him, but he did get Cross to admit to all his wrongdoings. Return to the roof to get his best weapon.

We can go to Slash's house to relive the day he almost burned it down out of grief. His quest involves psychological horror and jump scares. We run through the forest on the day of the storm and then his never ending house that grows more and more dilapidated. Eventually, we overheard Slash having an argument with his wife where both hate each other. The boss here can be beaten by attacking the Slash that hangs from a rope. Toss an apple to it before it "dies." When we return, we see a mad version of Slash's wife. But our Slash is a bit more calm. He says how he misses her, but he needs to live for something now. They promise to be with each other in the afterlife. Check the furnace after for the final crafting component for his best weapon.

Enda's quest takes us back to Ellea, which is almost completely rebuilt. We relive her early days with the family, but it's mostly about how the villagers hated her. She was shy and an outsider, so the kids talked about her behind her back. Even Xero didn't want to be around her. One day, after failing to make friends, she took her teddy bear to a lake and asked the spirit that resides there to make Mr. Pink alive. She lists all the things she'd like him to be. Sometime later, Enda began school, but Xero still wanted her to sit far away from him. But then he overheard all the terrible things the other kids said about her, so he got up, dragged his chair loudly across the floor, and moved his desk next to hers. Back to reality, he apologizes for everything. Check a wardrobe for Enda's best katana.

Asera's mission broke me. In Sandria Jara, there is an old chemical research facility where Asera used to work. We learn that he was a straight and narrow man, but a fellow new recruit made him come out of his shell a bit. The two develop feelings for one another, so it turns out Asera is gay. That's fun. Too bad his lover is an idiot and ran into a live research experiment. The result of that turns him into  Fume, a boss immune to poisoned characters. He can do massive damage to our entire party, but what's worse is he has an instant death move with 99% accuracy. I had to lower the difficulty for this fight and never bothered changing it back out of spite. What a terrible battle, But you get a compound for Asera's best weapon, as well as his best device in here. Good luck farming empty bottles from relics.

For Sandra, we see more of the guy she locked in her shed. He's ready to get on with his life, but she's afraid of him leaving. Eventually, though, he sneaks out and climbs back to the top of the mountain they first met on. It turns out he's been dead for a long time, as we now have to search his mausoleum to the west of Colport. I think he was reincarnated as Scruffs the dog, though. Her best weapon is behind a boss I wasn't gonna defeat.

Throg, not Throng, takes us to the Hayama Theater District. We see him perform a play, but it's one where his lines get smudged. We experience the tension of our failing party member, his boss, and his love interest. Unlike FFVI's Opera Scene, we need to get the lines as wrong as possible. It goes so wrong, in fact, that everyone loves it. It's a hit comedy! Now though, the main villain of that play has been holding Throg's love, Emory, hostage for 100 years. They promise to be lonely together when all of this is over.

Eidol didn't regain any memories with us, but Enda is determined to save her. Eidol's last memory is of a hill, so we travel around to where our party members think could be the place. But Xero knows what's up. Traveling to where Kina died causes Eido to get mad, and we think she's gonna jump as well. But everyone convinces her that, just by being herself, she'll always have a place on the team. If we inspect the grave marker for Kina and her family, a boss shows up with Eidol's best weapon.

Xero's best weapon is behind a dungeon that I ran out of time to do, and I heard the boss is really hard, so I didn't do it. But I did find Farrell's Blade at the South Docks, so this is better. I did a few other things, but I stocked up on food, revives, and other healing items and went to the final dungeon!

Affliction is a pretty simple dungeon. The enemies die in one hit at this point, but there were a few chests I couldn't find the path to. There aren't too many side paths, and the ones that are are short offshoots that we'll probably have to come through anyway. Before we go far, though, we have to fight Kail. It turns out he didn't die, but he's still all about that death. His fight is very much the same, but he's brought along a giant robot with him. I don't know what it does, though. Use the same strategy as before.

Eventually, we'll run into Heindrovia again, as well. Her fight is quite different. She doesn't change forms, but her weakness will still be altered. Attack her with whatever color the screen currently is. We'll learn that she and Barclyss have been a thing for a long time. He turned her into what she is now with a terrible promise, but she's done listening to his psychopathic ways. She asks us to tell him that she's waiting for him in the paradise he promised long ago and will jump off the side of the stage.

In time, we'll reach the Point of No Return. Xero will warn us now's the last time to prepare, but I'm ready. We'll pass the giant screen overlooking space we saw at the very start of the game. As we do, we see the Dome shoot two shots from its canon... Beyond that is Barclyss himself. We see the shots land on the planet, and the ground zeros will light up from miles away. He prepares to shoot another one to end the earth but offers us a chance to convince him that life has meaning. Xero takes the lead and says that every happy-go-lucky thing his teammates would say isn't important. All Xero wants to do is relax and count clouds...

I think ya pissed him off, Xero.

We're teleported somewhere else, and Barclayss thinks it was stupid and attacks. His first form has him surrounded by four gems, each coordinating to a stat. Kills the crystals to lower his stats and remove his buffs. This fight isn't that bad. Form two...also isn't terrible. He's a monster now that uses moves named after the forms of life. Birth, Adolescence, etc. Each does something different, but none are scary after all the level grinds (and difficulty switch). Once again, make sure you remove his buffs and use nullifyer on your debuffs. I was just over level 50 with Xero, Enda, Asera, and Slash. We were doing anywhere between 1500 damage to 7600 with late game skills. I think I could have taken him at normal difficulty, but I'm ready to end the game.

Before the fight began, he had loaded up a shot. As one last trick, he tries to fire it. However, Xero starts to fight like his dad, to Barclyss' amazement. It's effective, and our enemy dies. Alas, peace is not at hand. Kail is still alive...STILL...and manages to activate Affliction. We can't deactivate it, so we see the massive mineral deposit launch towards the planet. Asera thinks a giant magic attack can trigger it, but fire won't reach it from beyond the glass. So it's up to Xero! He summons lightning as best he can, but his accuracy is off. He tries and tries and tries but is unable to hit. But then it all goes calm. Only Enda's voice reaches him, and it allows him to focus. With her encouragement, he musters up his strength and uses his greatest Sky Fireworks that he's ever done. In a spectacular show, it vaporizes the rock, turning it into dust above the planet. The world is saved?

Kail is still around...STILL...and tries to manually take another shot. But this time, we're going after him. As we pass the windows, we see the planet looks destroyed and covered in dust. Did Xero save everyone? Slash says we need to hurry. From here, we get attacked by Judgement Faction members and have to split the party. Each fight their way through Affliction with great success, despite the constant fire from the zombies. Even Scruffs manages to take out a whole platoon. Slash, however, rushes ahead of his group and locks the door behind him. Despite our best attempts to talk him out of it, he's going to take on Kail alone. As Slash steps forward, Garin appears, ready to do his thing. Garin draws aggro and teleports around the room, slaying the undead, while Slash runs gung-ho as best he can. During all this, he activates the doors to our escape. Despite being hit once, the two men make it to Kail's room and effortlessly defeat him.

The other seven reach the escape teleporter and make it through. When Xero, at the rear, jumps in, though, it turns off. A flaming door appears behind him, and he walks through. We come to a lava filled area that's violently red. At the end, we see Barclyss, indicating we've gone to Hell for one more duel. In something right outta FFVII's Cloud/Sephiroth Omnislash fight, all Xero has to do is charge up 100 TP and unleash his new technique. Barclyss poses no threat here. We return to the others on the ground, where we see Affliction explode. Enda begins to illuminate, and we cut away.

Someone, probably Enda, is telling, I assume, Xero that it's okay to go back, back as far as he wants to. They come to The Spot, but something is different. Firstly, there's nothing but land in the background. Ellea is gone. Also, the two trees aren't there. They ask each other if this is fine and if they're ready. They are, so they turn into the trees.

Time moves forward. Centuries perhaps? Who knows? The trees grow, watch over everything, and then their leaves blow off their branches and across the world. We go from long before the start of the game to a month later...

The badlands around the Cataclysm Fort turn into a sea of green grass. The camera cuts to the former battlefield, and we see the dead rise up. They're not zombies, but living, breathing humans. Magleou and Higgs are there as well. They all remark that they're alive and thank some unknown force.

Asera is in the workshop, discovering something new and cool. As a reward, he sets out for a night on the town. There's a new scientist with blond hair who just wants to keep working. But nope, Asera drags the poor man along.

We head to Heyama as the King learns that everyone who died in the dome attack is being revived!

Thong, who's still a ghost, is performing a show! He recites poetry, but it gets booed. Everyone wants the comedy! He's unsure if he should, but Emory, a pink ghost, comes out behind him and, in her own way, encourages him.

We see a ghostly Slash spawn from a leaf in front of his house. He thanks Enda for giving him the opportunity to return to the planet, but he has to turn it down. A portal opens behind him with his wife in the middle of it. He says he has somewhere else to be and a promise he needs to keep elsewhere... This one got me a little bit, I can't lie.

Burns arrives in Teyton and is welcomed home. His mother, though, wants her son to be happy and like a bird. I think he should have stayed, but instead, Burns went off on another adventure. Did I mess something up in his mission?

Sandra is at sea with her crew. She says she's giving up sailing and insinuates that her crew's new captain will be Scruffs. Everyone is unsure, but she lets them all know she's joking and that they're stuck with her forever.

Eidol is alone in the forest near Parrin, but she's unsure why. Suddenly, we hear a girl call out for her sister, Kina. Eidol has no idea who any of these people are, but she cries tears of joy regardless. Aliss wraps her arms around her, and they walk towards a cape. As they do, we see Eidol transform into Kina. ...huh!?

Speaking of confusing: there's a scene with a young Barclysss and Heindrovia. Some of these ending scenes are a bit farfetched...

A leaf lands before Xero and Enda's house. We cut to Garin rebuilding Enda's wing, but he's a bad carpenter. Mom, who still hasn't been named, tells her husband to relax a little, but he wants everything ready for when "they" return.

We return to The Spot to see that all the leaves are off the two trees. Then, a scene with a blue tint shows about Xero and Enda getting married with all the friends we've made along the way. We see scenes of them raising a child together and teaching him as Garin did to them. He knows fire, which upsets dear old dad.

Sometime later, Sandra has gained control of the airship and is picking up the party. Garin and Mom are at the spot, enjoying the peace and quiet. They really understand why their children came here to soften. Sadly, it doesn't last as Sandra and the others drag Garin off on an adventure. Garin claims he's retired, but when Mom says he has to be back by supper, he runs off! The camera pans to the two trees, and we can see that two leaves still remain, one on each.

The ending credits roll as concept art is displayed on screen. You can tell a lot of hard work went into this game. From character artwork to dungeon creation, you know this wasn't some spur-of-the-moment lark. And, despite a few odd pieces of plot, it really shows. I liked Enda's alternative costumes, though. Those should have made it in. In the end, we see many of the characters we've met at The Spot as we're asked to save our clear data. At just over 50 hours of gameplay, I do.

The End.

War For Existence

Tonight was a weird one, and I'm not sure how I'm gonna write it. Clear and concise, just to show that I can!

Talking to Garin has him asking us to make a party of four. These four will head to the Life Sanctuary with Enda and Xero, and the other half of our group will join the assault on Barclyss under Slash. Those three are the only locked members. Burns and Asera went with Enda; Sandra, Throng, and Eidol joined Slash. I accidentally made two very good teams!

Team Enda goes first, but we flip back and forth through the next two hours. However, her stuff was pointless, so I'm going to get it out of the way now. In the southeast of the map lies a massive, forest covered continent. In the middle of that is the Life Sanctuary, floating above the world. We fight some unique battles through the forests and the cliffs until we reach a teleporter. From here, we travel along a straightforward path. We have to fight mechanical looking creatures and books, doing a few side puzzles along the way. Nothing is too scary, though. At the end, there is nothing. Enda thought she'd find the Maiden of Life up here, but it turns out she moved away years ago. We then see a scene where the Goddess is overlooking a cliff, lamenting that life will be surrounded by darkness in the future. She grants her powers to her daughter, turns into a leaf, and blows away. When we cut back to the party. Enda, that daughter, still calls out to her. She wants to know what she should do, and Xero wants to learn how to stop the zombies. Neither of them get an answer because Kail shows up. He's learned that Enda is important and wants to kidnap her for his diabolical plans to take over the world.

Kail is kinda easy if you take the battle slowly. He can multi image himself, creating four copies on the field to interfere with us. If we kill a fake, they'll counter with a spell that hurts. Take them one-by-one so as not to be hit by three or four of them in one turn, and you should be fine. Kail's damage is pretty low, and his physical attacks are weak. I don't remember there being any status effects.

For Slash's party, we start by having to defend a choke point. It's similar to FFVI when you have to protect Terra or the Esper in Narshe, but with only one party. We have to defeat several rounds of Judgement Faction members with a boss at the end. Atrophy is undead, so I'm glad I brought Throng along to let our attacks do good damage to it. It was around this time that I learned Sandra's Gattling II tech can do nearly 2000 damage per turn. Let it Rain is also pretty good if you're against something weak to water. Or weak to getting attacked in general. Eidol, though... They did her dirty. She's just not good... After this, a horde of enemies will try to surround us, but wind casters will blow them away. Our first duty is done, but we're not.

Next, we board the airship and get dropped off on the castle ramparts. We have to stop the cannons from firing on our men below. We get a lot of sneak attacks during this portion, which is nice. They're the same old Faction members, so you know them by now. But we're still not done!

Our next attack is to infiltrate the keep itself. We navigate through until we reach Heindrovia. She and Slash remind us they know each other, and then the battle begins. She can change her form again, but without Asera, I don't know what it is. In hindsight, Eidol and Asera should have been swamped. I didn't have a strategy here, I'll be honest. She's pretty tough, and I got lucky. Unlike Kail, Heidrovia doesn't die, though. And, finally, Slash is done. One side sure does feel more important to this plot point than the other, eh?

All of this is happening during a chaotic war sequence. Our allies are fighting zombies, and our dad is commanding them all. All is going to plan. We have a pincer attack on the keep, and we've prepared for all their counterattacks. Earth casters have tunneled a hole into the courtyard only to be chased off by Faction members. But then water casters flood the place, removing countless zombies from the battle. Shiang has infiltrated the enemy ranks and got them to fire off a dome shot early, only for our dome to show up and destroy the second enemy dome. Sandra's men have joined up and shoveled powder into the cannon faster than Barclyss' men could and got a second shot off, destroying both domes. Even Captain Farrell's men split the frontline troops into two with a distraction for reasons I'm not sure of. But all of these wins don't mean a thing...

Barclyss hits the scene and hits hard. Gee, who would have thought he'd show up? He slaughters a large portion of our forces and kills two generals we've known since the start of the game. Magileu and Higgs are no threat to the demon. Eventually, though, Garin finally shows up. The two men have a fun battle that shows off how good the RPGMaker Engine can be and props to everyone involved on the dev side for this scene. Your story needs a little work, but your art, graphics, and timing are top notch. This was exciting and action packed as anything 16-bit. But not even Garrin can win. Barclyss has his opponent prone and is about to pierce his chest when we hear a cry from a distance. Demon birds descend from the sky and attack the Judgement Faction. Not only that, but they start doing damage to the keep. Heyama has shown up to the battle with their army of summoners! This causes Barclyss to panic and retreat back inside, ending the battle in our favor.

But not the war...

A new dome takes to the air and fires off a salvo at our men. We don't see what happens, but we know it injures Garrin. Xero and Endo rejoin the group now, proving how even more useless their side of this was. Garrin is alive, assumes he'll be fine, but he is out of commission for a while. A soldier enters the tent with a communication shard from Barclyss. He tells us that he wants "the girl," which we know to be Enda. She's down to head up there to finish the war, so we'll do that...

...oh, wait! As we go leave, the cute ginger receptionist from Blaze HQ pushes us aside. It is here she tells us about the seven-and-a-half sidequests this game has. Every character, several locations, and a few other assortments all have something for us to do. Many of which I'll try to do...

....tomorrow!

I'm thinking two more days of Forever Home. It was a weak longer than I thought, but that's on me. The game has its flaws, but it does some neat things, as well. But I'll talk about them Friday. Let's see how it ends first, yeah?

Saying Goodbye

We left off with Slash and them making their way to the control room to stop the second Aquadome from destroying the city of Heyama. Will they do it?

Yes, yes, they will. After a short walk through several hallways, fighting Judgement Faction members and robots the whole way, they make it to the powder room. Go all the way south first, though, in the room before this. North is the proper way. After disposing of four more Faction members, we see we're in the powder room. This is where all the flash powder is stored and loaded for the shots. Eidol gets the idea to overload the cannon, which could cause the whole dome to go up. While they shovel in more, we cut to Xero and Enda.
 
Last night, they were met by General Barclyss, who wanted to kill Enda. During a quick duel between him and Xero, a part of the walkway we were standing on was damaged. Below us lies a floor of gears and mechanical manglers, which no one should fall into. Alas, Enda took the worst of the blast and is barely holding on to Xero. He's trying to keep his grip up, but Enda's arm is injured, and she can't aid him in pulling her up. Barclyss shoots a fireball at them, which isn't helping. After a few volleys, Enda asks Xero to let her go. She feels as though this is correct, but he refuses. In time, though, he has no choice. We see her silhouette disconnect from Xero as the screen starts the snow again. We cut to visions of their past: Xero first giving Enda her pendent, being at the Spot, and learning from Garin. And then we're on a hill somewhere...

The Guide is here, and the game gets confusing. I got lost in the particulars, but the gist is Enda has a connection to the Life Crystal or something. She's the exact opposite of Barclyss' Abyss Crystal. If Enda dies, all of the Judgement Faction will return to dust since she's a version of Charon, the ferryman. She and Barclyss are linked, but he doesn't even know it. After that, it gets weirder. The Guide tells us that this always happens. "She's meant to die." No matter how many times they try, nothing ever changes. Xero asks the Guide to take off his robe, which he does. He sees an older version of Xero, like the one from the space scene, standing before us. We learn that he has a Guide as well, who had a Guide, who had a Guide, and so on. The screen is mostly Guide's at the end. I'm lost now, so I've forgotten why, but we then walk a small dungeon reliving more of our memories. Along the way, we fight other Xeros. At the end, we fight our Guide as a boss. He's kinda hard, but that's only because he uses all of our moves. He starts with delay, so get rid of that, use an orange or a grape if need be, and just attack. Just wither the early storm, and you should be fine.

We're back at The Spot with Enda, and it's for Xero to say goodbye to his sister/lover. They're both crying, and it's a pretty heavy scene that gets to me a bit. Even the bewilderment can't gate the emotion. We then cut back to the falling Enda, but the clock from the Glarefrost Dome appears on our screen again. Xero is holding Enda by the arm still, so not much has changed. But they both know that it's about to. Enda has a feeling that she'll be fine. "I'll wait for the rest of Eternity." A light erupts from the two of them, which knocks Barclyss back. When it dies down, only Xero is there...

Everyone else comes back and asks where Enda is. Xero, emotionlessly, says that Enda is fine. Has he accepted her death? We cut to Kail, in the control room, who has called for another attack on Heyama. His soldiers load a round, which causes damage to the dome because of the excess flash powder. As it starts to shake, our party wonders about Enda. Xero says she'll be fine and that we should leave, which shocks the party. How could he leave his sister/lover unaccounted for? Regardless, we all make our escape. There's a new open door in Slash's route that takes us to the docks. We'll be met by giant robots who won't let us escape.

The blue one can shield itself or move the shield onto the red one. I don't know how much that shield does after the first move, though. Blue is weak to fire, and red is vulnerable to ice. Both absorb lightning. When one dies, the other gets a massive stat boost and 9999 HP back. The stat boost can be nullified. I had Sandra on the team at this point because her single target healing spell is quite good. Dr. Scruffs can pick up the whole party in a pickle, too. The dome will explode, but we'll be on a nearby beach, still wondering about Enda. Before we begin our search, however, Slash demands we meet with the Heyama King.

The city is mostly fine, but there's rubble everywhere, and the people talk of their missing loved ones. The King regrets what he told us and is willing to join in the fight against Barclyss and gives us the airship. We then discuss the peace treaty between Tren and Aruia that will take place on the Tren side of the Front Lines, but Xero wants to look for Enda first. Fortunately, he knows just where she is. Take the Airship to The Spot, which is sparkling on the world map. Climb up, and we'll see more memories of Xero and Enda. When we return from them, Xero is holding his sister/lover. Later on, she asks what she is and where she came from. Xero says it doesn't matter, which really annoyed me. We're running out of dungeons to learn about her backstory, Pixel Blade! When they rejoin the party, Enda wants to make another pitstop. Ellea can revisited at this point, and we can see some early rebuilding going on. We're not the only survivors, either!

But I flew around the world for a bit. I stopped by the South Lighthouse to get the Denizen Pass 2 and opened all the quick time event treasure chests. I got a few other misc things I missed from other places in the world, too. After that, we went to Baila's House. She's gotten a little better but is still barely alive. Enda steps up to her and starts to do some stuff. The lights flicker, and her father tells us that Baila's stopped breathing!

We cut to Xero and Enda walking a desolate road, where Xero asks if that was a waste of time. Enda says some stuff about always being cheerful, especially if you're trying to make someone happy. Doubly so if that person is a friend or family member. Even one life is important in this world. We cut again to Baila getting out of bed and joining Nickolas and Cynthia. She runs after them as they head to a giant flower field. They keep running as they come to a cliff. They run off and turn into birds that soar through the air. We cut back to Baila getting out of bed. If we return after this scene, we learn that that was a dream meant to give us the impression Baila died. I can get behind it.

But now we head to the Front Line and enter the Tren side. We're told where the meeting house is and proceed in. Inside, Enda sees Garin, who we've been chasing the whole game. He's quite chipper, which annoys Xero, so he leaves. Garin goes after him, and Xero asks him how he can be so excited with his wife dead. Garin says that he's been looking for a way to undo everything and tells us how he survived at Fort Shaul when he failed to stop the third volley of cannons way back when. It turns out that he didn't survive. He's dead. But, while his body perished, his soul is linked to another Crystal that keeps his spirit alive. He then phases in and out of existence to prove it. But he can fix it all if he gets the three stones. He has two, but his son has the third. Xero throws it on the ground, and Garin picks it up. He frantically tries to activate it, but it fails. Again and again, it doesn't work. Garin wonders why until Xero tells him to stop running. After a heated debate, Xero convinces his dad that he should own up to his errors. He should respect what's happened and fight for those who've died. Gain agrees and hands of all three stones.

The Guide appears again and tells us that this is all new. He believes that Xero can save the world and says farewell, never to be seen again. Xero then throws one of the stones into the air and destroys it.

The peace treaty happens, and the Tren leader agrees to let Auria be free. Garin plots the downfall of Barclyss, and we plan to head to a place that Enda heard about when she was ...dead..., which I'll do...

...tomorrow!

I think the game's jumped the shark at this point. A lot of Deus ex stuff is going on, and I can't get over the slight incestuous romance going on. I know they're not blood related, but they grew up together, so it's still weird.

Ancient Kingdom

Heyama is a nation heavily based on Japan. Pagodas, katanas, and cheery blossom trees are all over the place. The capital screenshot on Stream was one of the reasons I wanted the game!

But before heading anywhere, I looked around. There's a small village south that's pretty useless, but it's where you get stat improvment fruit. There's a junk collector that trades fruit for your misc stuff. We've picked up a few so far, but he gives you a crafting book for future transactions. East of that is an abandoned city filled with various undead. The best stuff, I assume, is behind a boss I couldn't beat. Overcast is harmed by curative magic, but I can't survive his opening salvo of debuffs.

So I went on with the plot. Heading into Heyama City, I found shops for new gear. I also found an arena, so guess what I did tonight?

Eventually, the mobs became too hard, so I went to the castle. The guards let us approach the King, a descendant of a friend of Throng from 100 years ago. Slash asks for aid against Barclyss, but the King becomes enraged. He's sick of this squabble and refuses to even listen about the Abyss Crystal. He threatens to throw us all in jail, so we leave. Apparently, that went better than Slash thought. But now what?

Somehow, Throng knows about the airship Heyama is constructing and suggests we steal it. Enda isn't down, but everyone else is for their own fun reasons. The construction is to the east, so we head there. Mountain of Sarati has the same mobs as the world map, so I'll skip to the important parts. Don't forget to head south after the save point, though, to get another summon shard. Head back up, and the team prepares their attack plan.

The airship is guarded, so Xero makes the plan. A pincer attack from all sides after Enda makes the initial surprise strike. And then someone comes down. He yells at us, not for being sneaky but for being late. The man thinks we're the engineers he's been waiting for, and we can pass with ease. We head into the tower and into the ship. After an exciting scene of its liftoff, we all talk about cool it is to be so high. After all we've been through, it's a refreshing thing to experience. Sadly, it won't last.

Over the last few dungeons, we've seen various birds fly off before us. In one instance, the camera followed and saw it land, turn into a woman, and speak to Barclyss. We've been spied on the whole game! Our enemy knows our plan and where we're at, so to stop us, they've sent a second Aquadone to the beach under the cliff of Heyama City. Kail and the bird woman, whose name confuses me, take aim and fire at the city. Our pilot, Frants, will memorialize his dead friends and family members but shows some spirit when we tell him we'll make sure they can't fire again. He'll warn us we have eight minutes and set us down near the dome's side entrance.

While Slash, Burns, and Enda blast our way in, the Guide shows up to Xero. He tells him that he'll end the war tonight and that he should never second guess his actions. The door is opened, and we head inside.

Aquadome II isn't long, and the enemies are easy, so I got some overtime tonight. The path is straight, but a bomb suddenly explodes as we enter a medium sized area. The bird woman, Heindrovia, is standing before a split party. Xero and Enda are on one side, and everyone else is on the otherside. Xero and Enda run to find the control room while the others stay to fight Hein. She and Slash know each other, but we quickly get to the boss.

She changes form four times, which also alters her weaknesses. My party was Sandra, Burns, Asera, and Slash. Everyone had a heal, so it made sense. Eidol plays exactly as Kina did, so I couldn't use her, and Throng is...uh...ya know. Hein uses a lot of team wide attacks, but Slash's Bastion worked pretty well. As did Burns' not chakra spell. Those also restore MP to make sure Sandra doesn't run low. Sandra can do high single target, and Asera can remove debuffs. There were some issues, especially with MP, but links and summons did the trick. Hein runs away after the battle, and we cut to Xero and Enda.

They're on a long bridge, but Barclyss is waiting for them at the end. He tells us that he's felt a strong aura for some time now and wants to end it. Xero thinks it's him, but Barclyss reveals that it's Enda who's special. Regardless, the two men prepare to duel as we return to Slash. Hein runs away, and we give chase. Sadly, I ran out of OT, so I'll end this...

...tomorrow!

Uniting the Nations

Is it a Burns episode?

It's so inconsequential that I'm just gonna skim it. Burns was chased out of town because everyone thinks he killed a girl. He used to be a loving and talkative boy until he joined a quasi anti Tren group/gang, so I suspect the issue lies somewhere with them. Everyone hates him, so Xero gets beaten up until Burns "saves" him. And then he doesn't fight back, but he does finally speak. "I'm sorry." And just like that, it's over.

The sun is setting as we leave Teyton, so we camp out for the night in a forest to the south. While we sit around the campfire, Enda tries to cheer everyone up from yesterday's events. Ya know, when we saw all our comrades slaughtered by a demigod? Xero begins his "emo" phase and starts to wonder if Barclyss is right. Enda says that she survives/fights to make sure others don't have to. And then everyone else gives their reasons.
Xero fights because he's got no choice and nowhere else to go. And then Enda convinces him to fight for "we."
Sandra fights because she wants to sail.
Asera fights to further science.
Slash thinks this is dumb but eventually says the same thing as Enda.
Throng fights to share poetry, and everyone thinks he's bad, so he keeps lowering his goal.
At one point, Sandra and Burns have a pose off, which ruins the man even more.

After this, they hit the hey. But Xero is still up. He walks over to a sleeping Enda and places the Future Stone on her head. It's a vision of the two of them sitting peacefully behind a log. But the tint is blue... Slash is awake and notices Xero's reaction. He asks, but Xero lies. The boy eventually runs off, but this stirs Enda. Slash tells her to let him go so he can think, but she ignores him. During the chase, Xero wants her to leave her alone. Ever the strong willed, this just encourages Enda on. At the apex, a strong argument ensues. The two begin to charge spells, and we get the sense a fight is about the happen. The savepoint before this further indicates this. However, they decide to embrace for a very long time. I can't tell due to pixel graphics, but I think they're kissing. The fight ends, obviously, and they make up. Each apologizes, saying that they suddenly feel better. Xero is over seeing his mom zombified and is prepared to go forward. As they return to the site, the Guide says that this changes things.

South of this is Fort Shaul. It looks destroyed, but Slash says it's an active area. Inside are more ruins and bats. We have to find three levers to get deeper. One is on screen one, and the other two are in the second. Use Burns' shockwave field skill to destroy rocks to reach treasure. In the third room, we get surrounded by Tren soldiers and meet their General, Shiang. Slash tries to convince her to join forces against Barclyss, but she doesn't see it and throws us in jail.

Eventually, a guard comes to bring Slash to Shiang for a more detailed explanation. Shiang doesn't think he's Slash because he's leading children, and she has no clue what Barclyss is doing. But it could be the Abyss Crystal. We cut back to the others as a young girl with pink hair gives us food. A few of the party get the feeling she resembles someone... So Throng phantoms through the bars and frees everyone. At this point, we split the group.
Slash jeeps talking to Shiang.
Enda and Throng run a stealth mission to find the girl. They sneak past guards, kick one in the shin after more pedo talk, and throw one out the window. But they reach the girl, Eidol, who says she has been trying to forget events of her past. A young child with PTSD...
Xero and the others climb to the rafters to listen in on Slash and Shiang. Along the way, we fight spiders and get into a boss fight.
Pid works like Sphereimorph from FFX. The blob changes its weakness at will, but that weakness is the only way to harm it. We're very limited in elements here, but use what you can, have Asera powder Xero's sword, and charge up for his link command when it's weak to lightning.

The fighting breaks the rafters, and we fall onto the meeting. Guards bring Enda and Throng in afterwards, and Shiang gets annoyed. But, she recognizes what's up and offers her aid. She lets us go but demands we take Eidol with us. She's more likely to find her past with us than cooped up here. The fort turns into a town, and we make our way north to Hayama. Radiant three balloon monster rays along the way to give to a woman at Mizora Shine. Wrap around the cliff to reach Hayama City, which I'll do...

...tomorrow!

I'm kinda starting to lose the plot here. We're almost done, though, so I'll stay around. I was hoping this would have been a short game, but that idea is out the window. I have an idea about the twist, and I'm kinda dreading it.

Chasing a Madman

I had some work I needed to do first tonight, so I had a very late start. And then I got the ability to sail around the world, so not much happened when I finally got to play. As a matter of fact, so little happened that I'm gonna combine two days into one!

I figured the way through the central pass! There's a scene about Sandra's past when we rest at the summit. She got in a fight with her parents because they didn't want her to be a sailor. She runs away and climbs to the point we're currently at, finding a wounded man at the top. Despite saying she won't help him, we cut to Sandra, hiding the guy with a dumb name in her family's shed. There's some lovey-dovey stuff going on, but we jump ahead to a bright light over the cliff where they met. This scene happens after a quiet Sandra stands before a blank gravemarker. She wakes up the party in her nightmare, and we descend down the mountain.

Throng's field skill can let us bypass jail bars, and I fought an optional boss, Lockdown. After that, I went to Camdren, met back up with Sandra's crew, and set sail across the globe!

I got a few extra items from Signey Town and radiated a few mobs I missed before. I then went back to the Igloo to get an accessory that lowers MP usage by 50%!

And then I called it a night!

But then it was a new day, yes it was!

There's a river north of Colrain. Follow it to its mouth, and you'll see the name of a cave I'm not gonna try to pronounce. Enter it, go through it, and you'll come to the world map. But it's an area we couldn't get to before. Ignore the Abyss since there's nothing there, and keep walking. In time, you'll see a massive fortress.

Our party will scout the area, and it gives them the heeby jeebies. But they still go to find a way in. The only way is locked, but Throng can use his field skill on a nearby window to get past the bars. He'll be alone, but he can walk around to open the door. Try not to fight too often since he's kinda bad.

Once we're all back together, we continue through the fortress. I'm pretty sure everything we have to kill are the Judgement Faction zombie soldiers we've been beating up on for most of the game. Every now and then, the screen will flash. It's minimal at first, but then we reach a strange door. Something triggers in Xero to go through, and he sees something that looks familiar. Confused, he places the Future Stone to his head.

The vision he sees is of him and Asera in the room. Asera is plotting away at a keyboard while Xero waits for something. Soon, Slash and Garin enter, warning us that a band of marauders is coming for them. However, they have all three time stones. Garin gives them to Asera, who tries to science them. Alas, he cannot. In an effort to buy him time, Slash and Garin go to fight the approaching mobs. A slightly bearded Xero is told to stay back to seal the door. Despite the sacrifice, Asera can't accomplish the goal to launch whatever is before us "back to when Barclyss launched" whatever it was that triggered the end of the world. The mob breaks through the door and kills Asera. Xero tries to escape by climbing to the roof, but they get to him anyway. He pleads to wake up from this bad dream...

We return to the present, and Xero tells everyone this is where he dies. Wanting to leave this place, they do. But we're still here to kill Barclyss, so that search continues.

After more walking, we see a group of civilians enter a meeting hall. Judgement Faction soldiers are on either side of them, and Kail is introducing the new members to Barclyss. The newbies think their goals are dumb, so Barclyss, himself, steps up. He informs them that his goal is the opposite of their current existence. For eons, life has only been possible because of an individual's survival ability. But no more! Under Barclyss, the need for survival will end. The only way to accomplish this is to end all life. This causes the audience to panic. As a preamble to the ceremony, Kail brings out Captain Farrell. He says that Farrell is a traitor and will be killed here.

Despite Slash's demands, Xero runs in. Our hero challenges Barclyss to a duel in the hopes of saving Farrell, and he accepts. Sadly, it means nothing as Barclyss kills Farrell before the duel. The duel that never happens...

Glarefrost troops have caught up to us with their cannons. Sandra's crew is also in on this, somehow. Kail asks if they should send the troops, but the general takes this himself.

He stands out on a balcony and waits. Glarefrost and Duran take their shots, and all hit him directly. When the smoke clears, though, he's just fine. His psy shield protected him, but judgeing by the scorch marks, you'd think the keep would have suffered some damage. But that's not important. The undamaged Barclyss jumps into the battle! Like something out of an anime fight scene, Barclyss teleports around and beheads his enemies with ease. Swings of his sword send shockwaves forward, decimating cannons, Sandra's ship, and soldiers alike. While he stands on the battlefield, Enda begins to feel an immense pain. The souls of Barclyss' victims shine on the blood stained sand before turning into Judgement Faction members. Slash uses this as the time to escape.

Xero wants to stay, feeling sorrow for Farrell, but something calls to him in another room. Inside are three Judgement Faction members. We kill two, but the third waves their hands, and a kaleidoscope of colors appears before Xero. It's his mom's special skill... Dumbfounded, Xero can do nothing. Slash enters the room, pushes the boy aside, and kills the zombie. Xero jumps on him, just like he did at the start of the game. Slash eventually gains the upper hand but is unphased by the assault. He drags Xero out to the rest of the group. After a quick scene of terror, we plan to head south to the Tren capitol.

Along the way, we need to pass the Saltwater Tunnel. It's filled with sea monsters that drop a very important crafting item, so farm them. Nothing is too bad, but watch out for Finnys. Get the chests, and make your way through the annoying underwater parts that make you walk so slow. What was the point of it?! There's a boss at the end who goes through phases of sexism. If he glares at the men on your team, don't let the boys attack. The counter will murder them. And the same for the girls.

We'll walk out of the tunnel and come to the world map. We're on the otherside of the bridge we saw near the prison, but it's still out. To the southeast of that is Teyton. We enter the town, and a woman drawing water screams. She points at Burns, remarks that he's back, and runs away. So it looks like our silent monk I haven't used gets some time to shine...

...tomorrow!

I beat the boss at the Wellspring, too. The summon you get from Lockdown is amazing!

To The Great White North

Glarefrost is so far away from everything, so why are we here? I'd be a terrible soldier. 

Last night, we learned about the dome that Tren gave up with no fight and went to bed. But before that, the midnight bell rings! Xero is happy because that means it's Enda's eighteenth birthday! As a surprise, we somehow found the pendent that he gave her long ago. She's thrilled, and the screen flashes to a memory. Xero is building The Spot's clubhouse with Garin when mom and Enda show up. Enda thinks it's perfect and starts to cry, which confuses the young Xero. Mom displays her useless but pretty special talent that I skipped over two days ago. 

We then cut to Slash and the general talking about war stories until the sun comes up. As they prepare to finally head to bed, a soldier comes in to tell them there's a problem with the dome. There was a door that was locked by way of melting. Slash starts to worry, thinking it's that way to keep something in. We cut back between here and the dome a few times, but Slash runs out of the room and wakes us up. We're sleepy, but we hurry to the confiscated dome. 

It's empty and only has one rat to kill. Burns is here, and Throng randomly shows up again... There's a save point, which you should use. In the next room is a path lined with the blood of our colleagues. Follow it, and we'll see a large shadow enter a back room. Inside that is the Scourge boss. 

Cerberus is weak to fire, but we're weak to him, so it's even. He likes to kill you in one hit and is the only boss I needed a guide for. Luckily, it's been the only boss that has one:

https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=http://foreverhome.wikia.com/wiki/Scourge_(Pt_2)

But that's for fight two!

After this, our opponent will leave. We'll return to town to see it besieged by Tren soldiers! I killed everyone outside, but you can head to the left barracks and find a key. Use the key to enter the main keep and climb up. Someone stole Asera's new stone...At the top of the keep is the commander holding an approaching Tren dome at bay with his continent wide blizzard spell. We learn this after the second Scourge fight. 

We all leave Asera behind and head to our dome. We're gonna attack them before they can strike us. Everyone's in position to charge a dome shot, and Xero fails to do what he can do. Slash aims for him, too. The five useful people charge a fire spell into the dome, but nothing happens. Of course, they wouldn't pit powder in this trapped dome. Suddenly, things start happening to Xero. 

He tries to launch his lightning out of the cannon, but it kinda sucks. And then a clock shows up on screen when it flashes. And then everything stops moving around him. Without questioning, he casts several lightning spells into the cannon, and it launches. It hits dead on, destroying the target. 

Slash is with the general, who tells us to give chase to the fleeing Tren. He gives us a snow car to make it easier, which I take for the east to a place called Central Chatisone Pass. I got lost, so I'll try to find my way...

...tomorrow. 

So is Throng an ex machina? I also tried to do an optional area, Wallstack Mountain, but it didn't go well. It was filled with hard flows and bad rewards. Maybe later.