Another double feature.

All I did tonight was walk through the town of Vandis until I finally found the bar. Ernest asked a patron if he'd seen a woman with three eyes, and, as luck would have it, he had! Opera was last seen in another town to the south, Knott, hanging out with a researcher in some more ruins.

Rather than go there, I went spelunking! Aba's permit let me explore two ruins I haven't searched yet. Crane and Ralf both require you to transfer batteries to other engines. Alternatively, you can hover across the gaps. Crane also needs a character who can swim to fully look around, which I don't have. I didn't find anything worthwhile because of it. Ralf was even worse, but I didn't fully explore all the pitfalls. I also bungled up save states...

Lastly, I checked out item creation. Precis smithed up an amazing weapon for Ashton. This reminds me that I should start enhancing Celine's enchanting skills...

Anyway...

The Nusa Cave/Road to Knott is home to poisonous plants that are annoying and can cause poison. There's also the raptor mobs, who are just edgy owls. As before Valis, there are so many detours and secret paths filled with treasure. I don't remember exactly what they all were, but a few were really nice. It's worth the exploration! There is a cheeky dead end with a massive dome in the background. Actually, go ahead and run up to it.

Knott is another maze town that sucks to navigate. Get out of the way, NPCs!!! Seek the bar for confirmation that Opera is in town. She's been working with a scientist named Rival to explore the ruins beneath the Knott, where the giant dome we saw earlier is. Several other researchers are inside. One informs us that Opera and Rival have descended into the ruins.

There's a man down here who gives us a clue to the first third of this dungeon. The Knott Ruins are the old trope of the Lost Woods. Every direction leads to what feels like a random room. There is one correct path to follow, though.
The man leads us almost all the way to B2. At the end of his directions, walk back the way you came.
B2's path is to loop counterclockwise. Once you've gotten to the fourth room of the cycle, go right until you find the stairs down.
B3 is where we finally meet Opera and Rival. They've reached an impasse in their search for this place's Gift. It's protected by a strong guardian, and Rival is no fighter. The two women ask us for aid, and we agree to do the deed. Rival joins the team as a guest, and we can swap in Opera, which I do because I accidentally made two of her techniques, including her heal spell.
I don't remember the path here, but push the stone onto the left path. Depending on where it's placed, the layout of the floor changes. If you find the room with two missile launchers in it, take the south exit.

The Gift we're searching for is guarded by a big red dog but is represented by a plant in the world. I remember it being weirdly passive...

Rival takes the Gift and asks us to meet her in her room. I head there via the ship's teleporter, and Rival and Opera recount how they met. Rival was at the screen where you can see Knott in the distance. She saw Ernest and Opera crash and went looking for the site. She was attacked by a worm in the process, but Opera managed to save her! They've been a team ever since. But the Gift she wanted is a power source for the ancient civilization's potential spacecraft. Rival assumed it has existed but never had proof. While she can't confirm anything, this Gift is good enough for her. Rival then asks us to find someone back in Vanis. I don't remember why...

He's in the bar and answers what we need. We leave the bar, and a friend of Rival finds us. Rival asks us to return to her now. Somethings happened.

Knott has been attacked by beetles. We fight our way through them, saving the townsfolk as we do until we find Rival in her secret closet behind her desk. After killing her assailant bug, she tells us she found a way to the heart of Gravis Forest, from whence the beetles came from. Something related to the spaceship is there, so she asks us to take her secret path and explore. But I'll do that...

...tomorrow!

I'm so behind on editing. Also, the item creation mini games would fit in a Wario game, so there's another subgenre to add to the list.