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Rabbi Raccoon posted:I think there's more cutscene time with the shopkeepers than the main plot at this point. All the shopkeepers combined, yes definitely. Any specific shopkeeper? Uhhhh maybe Veola, and counting Totopop's Chronolex bits as Veola scenes would probably help a bit; not sure about the rest.
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Jul 23, 2014 02:42
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Atelier Iris: Where what should be the main game is filler and what should be filler is the main game.Raitzeno posted:All the shopkeepers combined, yes definitely. Any specific shopkeeper? Uhhhh maybe Veola, and counting Totopop's Chronolex bits as Veola scenes would probably help a bit; not sure about the rest. We could count his bits with the Glope as well. Honestly, Totopop pretty much just exists as a supporting character for Veola; I think the only thing I synthed with him that was his item alone was his initial Tranquilizer, everything else is either supplementary to Veola's stuff or supplemented by Veola's stuff. Mofuma suffers a similar problem but he at least gets more versatility in which shopkeepers he overlaps with and doesn't have too many recipes that exist explicitly to be used for other synthers' stuff.
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Jul 23, 2014 05:01
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Man I played this years ago. This game, with the other Atelier series always has a special place in my heart. I love games like these or Ar Tonelico with a fantastic crafting system with lots of character in all you do.
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Jul 23, 2014 08:27
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Update 43: Night on the Cliff Last time we stuck mostly to Blaire's stuff. Now let's approach the climax to Veola's story...  Atelier Totopop &  ...Really!? They sold it at the item shop in their village. ...What? You traveled all the way there just for me? Well, yeah. We happened to find the village on our way somewhere else. We were lucky. Why are you helping me out so much? It's not a big deal. ...It is to me. The only person who's ever been kind to me is Norman. I've been alone ever since my brother passed away. It's been a long time... Well, you're not alone anymore! You've got Lita and me now. ...I suppose I do. I'm beginning to doubt my decision. ...What? Nothing, nevermind. What's going on? Forget it. Let's just finish shopping.I tried and tried and tried to get more scenes to open up, but Veola wasn't having any of it (it turns out the next trigger was somewhere else), so...  Then I went home. There's a Super Secret Scene that can trigger here, and I got really excited because I thought this might be it. It wasn't, but it wound up being very important anyway...  You aren't kidding. Too bad it's back to work tomorrow! We'd better hit the hay. We should get as much rest and food as possible.So our group heads off to dinner and bed...   I'm coming in, okay? It's not unusual. I enjoy reading novels late at night. That's bad for your eyes, you know. My eyes are fine, I assure you. Is something the matter, Lita? It's very late. You're not busy, are you? I'd like you to come with me. Music: Sadness Is Whisked Away by the Wind  I heard something in the mystical beast's town... … ... You're planning to die, aren't you, Veola? !! You're going to perform a soul exchange, aren't you? How'd you know that!? I'm not sure how...but I understand the beasts' language. “Rezareg” means soul exchange. The Chronolex allows you to appeal to the spirits of the dead. But that doesn't mean it will bring a spirit to you...It takes you to the underworld. You have to die...right? … … You can't use that thing! Don't throw your life away! It's too late, Lita. I've been preparing for quite some time now. I'm ready to meet my fate. I can't turn back now. I wanted to see my brother...one last time. But what if you can't even reach your brother!? Maybe you can't choose which spirit you get to meet! He's gone, anyway. I will not regret leaving this world. My brother was my entire family...I've been completely alone since then...It was my decision. I couldn't bear to lose anyone else that I cared about. Never again! It's just too hard...That's why I haven't made new friends. I'd rather not risk losing them. That way I never have to lose anyone...ever again. Music: To Each Their Own Way That's...just pathetic! …!? And it's too late anyway! Klein and I are your friends now. You can't deny it – you're not alone anymore! ...Heh...That's not entirely true. Klein is my friend, but I don't care about you. See? I only have one friend. What!? Well...it's a good thing I wasn't actually worried about you. Ha ha ha! You're so naïve. I was merely joking...You know, this is the first time I've ever had a chat with a girl my own age. ...I'm actually not human. What!? I'm a humanoid – created long ago through alchemy. A humanoid? I believe I've heard of that before. I've also been alone. I even thought about suicide...Just like you, I didn't want to be close to anybody. But...that's all changed now. Since I started traveling with Klein, I haven't felt lonely, for the first time in my life. I'm actually enjoying life!...And, that includes meeting you. I just remembered...There's a material I haven't yet added to the formula list. However, it's just a screw...I'll be sure to add it in the morning. Thank you, Lita...for everything. I always thought you were annoying, but now... Now what? Well, you're still annoying. What!? Sorry, just another joke. You're fun to mess with, Lita. I'll get even with you one of these days. Just to be clear, I won't allow you to have Klein without a fight. Huh? What are you talking about? Heh heh... ...Ohhh man. This is getting really disturbing, guys. Please don't kill yourself, Veola.   Music: Cute Witch Sure enough, Veola added a recipe for the Moebius Bolt. I forgot to get a pic of the ingredients – it needs some kind of metal (e.g. Thin Metal), Wax, and Moist Glowgrass. The Moebius Bolt is ready. It looks like an ordinary screw, but it's a valuable Chronolex component! Great. That means we're almost ready to make one! … … What is it? Well, that is...Nevermind. ...You know what? Let's veer away from Chronolex stuff for a bit. I went and nabbed a second Dragon Horn from Silencia; that should be the very last one I need for anything.  The Virum Horn's ready. This bugle's carved out of a dragon's horn. How can you dishonor dragons by giving this such a lame name? What? Haven't you killed a bunch of dragons? Isn't that a little worse?...Anyway, this bugle's very loud. Promise me you won't play it nearby – it curses anyone who hears it. Curse? Why would you make such an evil instrument? Shh...You might think less of me if I told you. I doubt that's possible.The Virum Horn itself sounds kinda neat, but it's also needed in a different recipe.  By combining these three instruments, we get...  Don's Clothes are ready. Don!? Who the hell is Don? The name doesn't represent a person, but your party's ability. These clothes were designed to enhance the rhythmic expression of your group. What's that supposed to mean? I guess you'll just have to see for yourself.This accessory gives an asston of HP and Dark Res at the expense of not offering much else statistically (at least in comparison to the War Tuxedo). It also offers “DonProtect”. I'm hoping that means “invulnerability” but it probably doesn't. I'll most like end up slapping this on someone for the final dungeon to see what happens.  If you recall, the prism is a tool that makes things appear larger. I realized that if adjusted properly, it could be used to make the stars bigger as well. I created a formula according to this theory. If you have the chance, you should try it out. Love Poems...what the crap? Where did I find this clutter? (the bandit archer ladies have these. Remember back when we killed the bandits at Fort Galga? You can also encounter them nearby on the world map).  How about a Milk Scope? This will allow you to see the stars in the sky. That doesn't sound fun at all. It's actually very fun...sometimes I pretend there are little lines connecting the stars. Sometimes there's shooting stars...You always see something new. ...Who knew staring at the sky could be so intersting? But what if we wanted to make a hate-based telescope? (Hit Lists drop from Gunners, upgraded archer bandit gals).  Everything is a weapon. One of the ingredients you brought me was a little off. I made this Milky Bazooka. I think it could be useful in battle. Is there any connection between the name and its function? Sometimes I name items in a similar fashion to whatever I was trying to make. I...see?A bazooka that fires milk might actually be fun at a carnival or something. You know, just a weird novelty thing. One last thing...  A LONG time ago, when we first synthed this, Veola suggested that I could make something else if I swapped the ingredients around. Well, it's time to do that...   Magic Pipe's ready. A wind sprite can pass through this tube. This is a key ingredient in the Chronolex. Other than that, it's fairly trivial. Hopefully we can gather the rest of the ingredients soon. That would be ideal. Music: Animal Village And now here we are, ready to synth Totopop's contributions. I forgot that we also needed the Organite for this. It's kind of a shame to get rid of our radio, but...   After several hundred years, I've done it! I made an Annual Gear! There aren't any gears on it. Don't be silly. There are so many that you can't see them, po! It takes an entire year for this wheel to complete a single rotation. One tiny gear cranks every second. There are 31,536,000 gears total. There's 31...MILLION!? It's a good thing you came to me, po. No human could handle such a task. Handle it? I can barely comprehend the number!What do you know? 60*60*24*365 does, in fact equal 31,536,000. Nice trivia.   After several hundred years, po, I've finally created another Twilight Board! This may be the pinnacle of my career, po! It looks just like a clock. When you get down to it, it is a clock. However, ordinary clocks count time, po. This clock counts dimensions. Umm...I don't really get it. Sorry. It's to be expected. Humans can't truly comprehend different dimensions, po. You guys can't really use it anyway. Don't worry about it, po. Whoever wants to use it po will already know how....Yeah. I guess so. Well, guys, join me next time on Let's Play Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana... 
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Jul 23, 2014 22:13
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Awww. C'mon Viola, don't do anything you'll regret
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Jul 23, 2014 23:24
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This is Veola we are talking about. She has enough bombs to take over the world by now. She could go to the underworld for free and see her brother without costing her her soul.
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Jul 25, 2014 00:26
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Update 44: The Chronolex Music: To Each Their Own Way      Hey, it's a Chronolex. … … Excuse me, Klein...I need to tell you... Veola, stop! Don't even think about killing yourself! Kill...!? What the - There are people who care about you! Don't do this to them! ...Thank you, Lita. Now, allow me to explain this item. … ...  What? What do you mean? It's called a Bio Frame. ...I think I've heard of that before.Totopop posted:
 Music: Village of Snow and Glass Wearing a Bio Frame will protect you from death. In fact, it restores life. Veola, didn't you mention meeting the spirit of death using the Chronolex? I apologize, Klein. I kept some important information from you. The Chronolex could allow you enter the underworld...though doing so would end your life. End my life!? The...The only thing I wanted was to see my brother again...However, meeting you guys has encouraged me to continue clinging to life... I've decided not to use the Chronolex for a while, now. If I were to die...I'd never see you again, Mr. Klein. Hey, what about me? You don't matter. What!? Just kidding...Heh. How can you say freaky stuff like that as if it doesn't matter? Please take this Bio Frame as a token of my appreciation. You've all worked so hard. I hope it will always protect you. Thanks a lot, Veola. Just...don't try to kill yourself again. If you do, I'll have to hurt you. I doubt you could stop me if I wanted to do it. I told you to stop talking like that! It was only a joke, Lita. In reality, I'll probably outlive you. ...Why, you... I truly appreciate your friendship. Thank you, all. I hope we'll remain friends...Forever. Sounds like a plan. You can count on it!  The Bio Frame is indeed an equippable accessory – I could have sworn it was Klein exclusive but the weapon synthy FAQ says anyone can wear it. I'm letting Klein have it anyway, although I might pass it to Lita instead depending on how stuff works out. So it looks like a piece of trash in the above screenshot because I'm comparing it to my Super Fairy Bracer Deluxe™, which currently offers huge +spd, +def, and some +HP/MP. But guess what?  You can put a Mana Crystal in the Bio Frame.  Ohhhhh baby. Great stat boosts AND constant HP/MP regen. This thing is easily one of the best accessories in the game (possibly THE best, but I think there are a few coming up that match or outclass it; we shall see).  That's all I wanted to do for this update. Never fear, there is still more Atelier Veola in our future, but I guess it's about time I did that “main plot” thing I've been putting off. Let's get on that, next time.* * Unless I can make a certain scene trigger that I want to happen but might not be possible right now, in which case it's Ka Luda time.
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Jul 25, 2014 06:44
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...Main plot? ...You mean to tell me saving the world and all that was more important than Veola time? This game's priorities is bonkers.
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Jul 25, 2014 07:10
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What's the point of the chronolex anyways? If it is lethal and everything, wouldn't jumping off a bridge serve the same purpose?
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Jul 25, 2014 07:22
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LordSloth posted:What's the point of the chronolex anyways? If it is lethal and everything, wouldn't jumping off a bridge serve the same purpose? I think it's supposed to bypass all that ugly afterlife-sorting nonsense or the disorienting effects of death? You just get to go to the underworld, but you can never return.
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Jul 25, 2014 20:27
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Might as well do a half-joke entry for the final boss. He's kinda tough at worst on normal difficulty, but now you'll crush him like a grape.
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Jul 25, 2014 21:22
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I kind of love that you can mod the ultimate expression of alchemy.
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Jul 26, 2014 03:29
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bathroomrage posted:You just get to go to the underworld, but you can never return. That's basically how I thought of it, too. Using the Chronolex is less like throwing yourself off a cliff and more like taking a one-way trip to Nowhere. It's "lethal", but in an abstract way that is maybe easier for Veola to convince herself of going through with. Granted, that's purely speculative and the real reason is because the Chronolex provides a good way to wind Veola's plot arc into the gameplay and narrative. But I think that more or less makes sense. 
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Jul 26, 2014 05:13
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Update 45: False Start Music: Popo's Pleasant Money Lecture First of all, let's have some unlockables.      I'm not really sure why, but I adore oversized fungi. Especially ones that can be destroyed for Spirit Elements.  And from Lector's caravan, it's a quick hop over to Iris' Resting Place, and then...    Music: Drive Into the Dark  This place is strange, meow. I don't like it... Even I can feel the energy in here. How are you holding up, Lita? I'm great. I have the Ruby Prism, remember? ...Okay. Let's go down.  This being the final dungeon (well, part 1 of it), the game starts throwing some of the harder enemy groups at us. Fortunately, early on it's still mostly Puni (particularly Faux Puni and Giant Puni), which are still more cute than they are dangerous. Those little Master Puni wizards also pop up occasionally with them, and they're kind of a pain since they heal and other Puni will take hits for them, but Lita's attacks have enough range that I can generally just target something else and still kill the casters, too.  There's a three-way path down here. Progress is to the southwest, and the southeast path is basically a dead end (just a few Fire Element pieces to extract). The northeast path has good things, though.  Pattotte sells these things for an exorbitant amount of money, so it's ncie to get this one for free. This accessory gives solid stat boosts to ATK/MAG (+35) and all resistances (+25). I think it might also boost speed, but I was comparing it to the Speedster so it had a net loss. Sadly, this all comes at the cost of a hit to HP/MP (-35). I slapped this on Delsus instead of the Speedster; in retrospect, I'm not sure I'll keep it on him since he's starved for MP to begin with, but we'll see.  We can also engage Bunny Mode to sneak through this semi-secret passage...   ...We can find some Growloons and some treasure chests, most of which contain rarer Mana Stones. I almost forgot Growloons are even a thing, I need to keep my eye out for these guys.  By using Flight to reach the “roof” of the secret passage, we can get a Super Ultra Rare Crimson Mana...  ...and some more Flight shenanigans get us this Invisible Gear, which I believe is the only freebie – otherwise we'd have to farm these from lategame enemies. Fortunately, I should only ever need this one for 100% completion.  WHile Puni are the most common enemies around, there are still other creatures of note. Elda is invisible, but doesn't seem to have high evasion like other invisible enemies did (or maybe I just got crazy lucky the few times I fought them). They like to inflict Curse, which is annoying and all but not really a problem in fights that don't last long enough for it to matter.  ...and their Charon buddies sometimes reflect magic damage, but Lita carves them up well enough without anyone else's help.   Now we're in the huge wet area. This spot just requires flying around a bit.  The Mull Beasts show up again here, and sadly even the Bio Frame can't save Klein from a mob of angry cats. At least he can take two Slams before falling now.  Fortunately, we're still at the point where enemies are more obnoxious than really dangerous. The feral cats are pretty much the worst of it, and as much as they ruin Klein they can't kill Lita before she kills them, especially with Supertank Marietta helping out with damage or heals.  You can kind of see the door leading further in here. I'm going to explore some more, though, there's still stuff to find in here.   That's quite a mouthful. Marietta is suspiciously unable to equip this weapon.  There's also this teleporter that probably takes us somewhere good. Let's try it out! wait aren't the green ones the ones that-  ...oh. Well. I guess we start the dungeon again, but I have an idea about something I can do with that Invisible Gear, so let's have a bit of synthesis and call it an update.  Atelier Blaire: The Rarest Candy Music: Popcorn Strategy  Still haven't learned your lesson...? Okay, let's get this over with. Fight...again? You got here just in time, Klein! Villa's being mean to me again. Mean? I was telling the truth. That wasn't the truth! You're just trying to ruin my dream! We can't settle anything if we don't know what the hell's going on. I was merely pointing out the flaws in her plan to create a “Sweet House”. Like...an entire house made of sweets!? A yummy sweet house, meow!? Watch their little faces just light up! I agree! Blaire rules, meow! ...I give up. Waste your time, I really don't care.Villa leaves.  Heh...Thanks for your support, guys. I've dreamed about it for a long time. I'm going to give it my all. She sure has gotten serious. The recipe's on the list, so feel free to bring me ingredients. Leave it to me, meow! We won't let you down. And Blaire's insatiable need for obscure candies once again stymies our progress. Amalgam Candy is the hardest to find, and once again is something we can only get from Norn's Turn 2 Candy spell. According to the GFAQs, there are a mere three enemies that can be turned into Amalgam Candy – the highest level dragon enemies (Flame Virums), Baals, and the postgame superboss. Of the three, only Flame Virums can even be encountered regularly outside of the postgame dungeon – they show up later in the final dungeon as well. We'll see if I can grab one when I try the final dungeon again. ...I just realized that the game translated dragon names as both Vilum and Virum. Huh.  Atelier Veola: The Unbomb Music: Fun Shopping in Kavoc Huh? I added another formula. You should try gathering all the materials. What? Y'know, most people would give actual items as gifts. I see...So it's back to this, again. It was hard enough just deciphering the ingredients. What are you showing appreciation for, anyway? None of your business, Klein! I'm sorry, Klein. But women are entitled to their secrets. So you two are always fighting, but how you're keeping secrets?...Whatever. Heh heh... We'll get to that in a moment, but first, let's check out the final variant of the good ol' Craft. By using that Invisible Gear we just got, we can make a new item...   A weird type of what!? Here's a Crupt. Is this another craft? It doesn't look like much. No, I said Crupt. You didn't bring me any bomb ingredients. So...It doesn't explode? I hope not! It's a pill. It actually increases your physical strength. It's the same size as a Nano Craft, so make sure you don't confuse them. I altered the color so you could tell them apart. But...it's too small to actually distinguish the colors. Apparently “increases your physical strength” means “boosts your Max HP by a lot”. I let Klein have this since I've spent most of this LP trying to make his durability not poo poo so why stop now? (also, check out Norn's MP. 420, smoke Stained Grass every day.)  Ooh, I bet Lita's present is a new hat!   Life...pills? Yes. They should activate the mana inside your body. Even if there's only trace amounts of mana left in your body, these pills will drastically increase it. Veola, what...? Take them if you're feeling weak. I guarantee you'll feel a lot better. … … You see, this time “feel a lot better” didn't imply dying in your sleep. Er...duh! Heh. I knew that. But, thank you. This means a lot to me. Any time. Just remember to use it whenever your mana level is low.Hey, that was pretty cool. As much fun as Lita and Veola's endless bickering is, I have to say I like they're friendship moments too. By the way, this scene also shows how, as complicated and obscure as the requirements for new synth scenes can be, they don't always work out in the intended order. On my first playthrough I got the recipe for Farewell, Love pretty early, but it took me forever to get Norman to synth Powder so I could make any. So I actually wound up synthing this first, which kind of made the scene funny since Veola references something that hadn't happened yet.  The Life Pills themselves are useless to us now since I've advanced the plot far enough to get the Ruby Prism – otherwise they would restore Lita's MAX MP. Helpful to get a burst of extra MP for a boss or something, perhaps, if you can control it so Lita doesn't un-Murder Mode (if that's even possible to do mid-battle). Still, it's a cool idea and I kinda wish I'd gotten to make this earlier. Oh well, at least I can still desynth them for a ton of good elements. And that's it for this update! See you all next time.
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Jul 28, 2014 22:41
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You can only get Amalgam Candy from the Golden Pigs, among other endgame enemies? And you have to use what is, from what I remember, a spell that only has a %chance to hit? Dear god, Atelier Iris really hates completionists.
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Jul 30, 2014 01:52
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There are other, far less obnoxious enemies you can get Amalgam Candy off of. The spell itself is based off of Norn's magic stat, so if you stack up enough Dirty Power mods to hit 500(which is the cap) it should hit most, if not all, of the time.
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Jul 30, 2014 02:24
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So basically, on account of the rare ingredients, the Sweet House is, in fact, a silly dream?
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Jul 31, 2014 02:14
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A sweet house is just a silly dream. A bomb as big as a house is perfectly normal.
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Jul 31, 2014 03:02
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Glazius posted:So basically, on account of the rare ingredients, the Sweet House is, in fact, a silly dream? It's not a pie house so it's not easy to make  Arland was the best. The ending where the girls discovered the vast unknowns of alchemy and basically became gods were the best. They spent their time talking about discoveries, discussing adventures and eating pie. Best ending 
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Jul 31, 2014 03:07
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Update 46: Deceitful Wings Okay, let's actually beat the game this time. This door marks the entrance to Mull's Castle, the second half of the final dungeon.   I hope that isn't the Amalgam thing... C'mon! We need to hurry, before it's too late! Music: Beat of the Rumbling Earth The gist of this area is that there are a few passages blocked off by electricity, so we have to zip back and forth through the castle trying to deactivate them.  There are also those little blue/white spheres. Touching these makes good things happen. Unfortunately, I can't quite reach this one; I can't summon Deimia on stairs and the ceiling prevents me from abusing Flight to get up there.  Oh yeah, meet Heavy Metal. They're perhaps even less dangerous than Puni. They have good physical defense and like to block attacks, but Klein and Norn can pretty much ruin them.  Along this path...  ...is a rather suspicious looking area with a save point. Every time I play this game I forget what to do here. You can probably see the hole – and I did, too, except I couldn't figure out what to do to fall through it.   So, after about ten minutes of time wasted wandering through what few areas I can reach...  ...I finally remembered that Bunny Form allows me to fall farther than normal and used it to safely drop into the hole. It leads to a staircase that loops back around to the Growloon above the hole, and also...  ...lets me touch a sphere, which unlocks a path somewhere!  I wonder what my RIP GRLWN count is now?  Oh yeah, this palette swap of Quezzie drops Invisible Gears in case you want or need more for Crupt. I don't know how common the drop is, though, and I only encountered this enemy once in the dungeon.   Two of the spheres are special. This one is one of two we need to activate to open the path to Mull's chamber.  While Mull's Castle isn't as brutal as I remember it being, there are still some fights I just don't feel like bothering with. Anyway, there's not actually much to add about this place – it's all pretty samey looking and just running around touching orbs. So let's move on to the climax. Oh yeah, one quick thing – if you ever play this yourself, do yourself a huge favor and turn of the voices for the ending. I don't know why exactly, but the game likes to crash during the ending if voices are on.  Do you have any idea what you're doing!? Of course I do! I've spent my entire life trying to find a way that Mana can benefit humanity! You're going to destroy the whole world! Yes, it's true Avenberry was destroyed because those idiots miscalculated. My formulas are perfect! I will succeed where they failed! I won't let you! You're too late...Behold, a new age is dawning!    Hmhmhm...Ha ha ha ha...BWAAAA ha ha ha ha ha!!It's perfect! I was right! I TOLD you it could be done! It's...Amalgam... No way... Mana exist to serve humans. That's the natural order of things! I know you can feel its power, Klein. Are you amazed by Amalgam's sheer perfection!? With this much power, I can do anything! Don't you see, Klein...? A new age is upon us! From this day forth, alchemists shall rule the world! Now, in memory of the old world, I will offer you all as a sacrifice...  What...?! No, it's not possible...Everything was perfect! I – I can't be wrong! And so Mull gets unceremoniously killed off by the creature he summoned. Seriously, Mull is the worst villain. Good loving riddance. Mana fusion isn't something you can control with power. Mana have feelings, just like we do... ...We have to defeat that thing. Well, we've handled huge monsters before. How bad could it be? We're gonna win, meow meow! Every life is precious...I won't forget that. Music: Deceitful Wings Music: Pretty Excellent Remix of Deceitful Wings Welcome to the final boss of Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana. I actually really like the Amalgam battle; it's challenging, but I don't think it quite teeters into frustrating like Elder Vilum and Prism did. Of course, having decent mana crystals on my weapons and Veola's high tier equipment goes a long way in this battle. Amalgam has several attacks. The one pictured above, Ether Light, does modest damage but can inflict several status effects. Best I can tell it only ever actually inflicts one or two at a time – usually poison and sleep, although I've seen it do Paralysis as well. The Sleep rarely ends up mattering anyway, since poison damage will wake the characters up anyway, and Klein's weapon allows him to auto-recover from Sleep and Poison on top of all that. It's a nuisance, but not really dangerous to me.  Step one: Engage Murder Mode.  I also brought Norn out to try stacking Magic Shield on itself forever again. However, I eventually abandoned this strategy – most of Amalgam's attacks just weren't powerful enough to justify having one character doing nothing but buffs, especially since Amalgam needs to charge a lot of its attacks so Norn is usually better off trying to Skill Break it anyway. Plus, Amalgam can Dispel everyone, undoing all Norn's hard work anyway.  Speaking of Skill Breaks, Delsus wound up being a staple battle member for this party. Power Shot is good for Skill Break, and Flare Shot is good for just racking up damage. Since he has the War Tuxedo on, he regenerates about as much MP every turn as it takes to use a Power Shot, so he's good for spamming his normal abilities.  Of course, the Mark of Courage is still great to have, especially in a fight where I get to attack pretty often.  Amalgam also has this awful attack. This deals decent damage and has a high (guaranteed?) change of inflicting instant death on one target. This can be a serious problem if you don't have some resurrection items and he hits Klein. Fortunately, I have resurrection items and he hit Norn with it anyway.  I don't know how I feel about Amalgam's design, but one thing I really like about it is how the Growloon-looking sphere morphs into different things for its different attacks. It's a nice touch.    Reasons' Requiem...uh, I guess it must do %HP damage, but I don't know exactly what the formula is. He doesn't use it too often, and Klein can Power Item a Heal Bulb to get everyone back on their feet.  Skill Breaks really do make this fight ten times easier. I still wish I could make them happen a little more consistently, but still I'd say that I can break 1/3 of his attacks, maybe more.  I never did end up buying All The Nectar from Mofuma, but I had enough to get by when Klein got knocked out by Reasons' Requiem plus the follow up attack.  Finally, Amalgam has a little beam he can shoot that deals 80 or so damage and inflicts Knock Back. No big deal. I think that's mostly why I like Amalgam, actually – just about all of his attacks are dangerous in different ways, but none of them are overwhelming, and you have time to prepare and strategize for how to deal with them. Contrast with Prism and Elder Vilum, who just throw huge numbers at you all the time.  The only thing I don't like about Amalgam, really, is that he has huge HP. But he's a final boss so that's kind of to be expected. At least I have a few attacks that do tons of damage.  ...such as my Dragon Gem. By the way, this is the final boss and I still don't have a Time Mana. grumble  Another thing I like about this fight is that every character is useful here. I tend to find the original trio of Lita, Klein, and Delsus to be best, but Marietta's basic attack is no joke against this guy and she can provide healing support, while Norn's damage output is generally poor for some reason but she can help out with Skill Breaks.  An unexpected Skill Break marks the end...       The Mana's spreading. The Mana Chiefs asked us not to kill it...The mana must be returning to their original forms...Whew. Lita, are you arlight? Don't worry. I still have your Ruby Prism, remember? So, is it over? ...It'd better be. For me, this is a new beginning.  Music: Future Hey, Veola's outside! She doesn't get any lines here, but at least she's getting some sun.  Oh, you're back. You did a great job! How'd I know you were going to say something cliché like that? What are you doing here, anyway? I'm going to atone for my mistakes by rebuilding the town. ...Not a bad idea, Pops. You're alright. ...Everyone's doing their best.Uh-huh, uh-huh. I didn't realize just how much Lita uses her thoughtful/melancholy sprite in the ending. Weird.   Music: To Each Their Own Way (epilogue song) Music: The Path You Walk (credits song) The screen fades out and in again as an unknown amount of time passes.  Off you go, now. Bye bye, meow!  Meow!? Heh...Still just a child....I have no idea what just happened.    I believe so. Besides, someone needs to take my brother's place. What about you, Delsus? I think I'll take a little time off, see the world, retire...You know. ...I see. There's still time to change plans... … … ...All you gotta do is ask, babe. I wouldn't mind sticking around for you.A rare instance of Delsus attempting to be charming and actually being charming at the same time. I hope they manage to work things out.   I'm really going to miss you guys... Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it. Ha ha, I hope so! Take care, you two. Come on, Lita. We'd better get started... I don't know why Blaire gets to be the one to rush forward, almost admit her undying love for Klein, and then not go through with it. I'm sort of surprised she's in this scene at all given she doesn't live in Kavoc.    ...Okay, so the ending is pretty weak, but at least the final boss was fun. Oh, I forgot to throw a Micro Craft at Mull (or Amalgam since Mull is unavailable to have stuff thrown at him). Oh well. I like how one of the translators is “Jack in the Pox”.  Curiously, the credits list the Japanese VAs but not the English ones. I want to say this was back when there was some sort of union thing or something that prevented actors from getting creditied or...something...anyway, it's mostly the anime mainstay actors. Crispin Freeman (Delsus), Wendee Lee (Lita), Steve Blum (Arlin), JAMIESON PRICE (BEGGUR), and so forth. Those are the only ones I know offhand. And so the game ends...  ...but wait! Do I sense...    ...a postgame dungeon? Overrated Sage fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Aug 4, 2014 |
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Aug 3, 2014 22:01
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One thing I like about Gust is the effort they put into their music, and this game is no exception. That final boss theme is  as gently caress. I notice he has a growloon core thing too. Doe that ever get explained?
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Aug 3, 2014 22:19
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SSNeoman posted:I notice he has a growloon core thing too. Doe that ever get explained? I remember someone - the Mana Chiefs, I think, or maybe Zeldalia - saying that the Growloons are sort of scouts or harbingers for Amalgam, so it's reasonable that they would look similar.
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Aug 4, 2014 18:44
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I'll give it this, that was a remarkably quick turn around between "My technique is perfect!" and "OH GOD MY TECHNIQUE WASN'T PERF-:dead:". Amalgam don't play around.
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Aug 6, 2014 00:12
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Update 47: A Gentleman and/or a Scholar Music: Huge Game Table Now that we have our precious Clear Data saved, it's time to get out of here and head back home for an important scene.  Apparently someone discovered a new dungeon. That isn't surprising. Well, no...but that's not the interesting part. “There was a master swordsman with long, blue hair inside the dungeon.” Wait...Is that - That's what I was thinking. Care to visit an old friend? Arlin... So he's alive!? I don't know about that...But it's someone who looks like him. Where's the dungeon? From what I heard, it's a hole or something over by Ka Luda's Playground.I've heard that you can actually make this cutscene trigger in the maingame if you do like 99% of the sidequests and synth recipes. Conversely, I think the scene may NOT trigger even with clear data if you've been particularly lax about optional content. I have never experienced either situation so I can't say for sure, but triggering the postgame dungeon early is kind of a neat idea.  Ka Luda's is pretty much the same as usual, but I haven't been back here since we could fly.  Oh, except this is different – there are new chests. Two Glowing Mana and a drat RING   And then there's this mysterious teleporter...   I don't really know why this place is called Mull's Dungeon. I don't think he really has anything to do with the area.  I really like this screen. It's just a pretty, soothing little spot to relax the player a bit before they enter. There's also a Growloon hiding in a little cave here to remind us that we have a few more of those to kill off to complete that sidequest.  Music: Undeveloped Region  ...Hmph. I did not expect to see you out here. I knew it! What are you doing here? ...There are many strong enemies here. I must train so I can defeat Mull. Didn't you die? What happened there? You're a...Mana! I am Luplus, the Mana of Time. You can roll back time, eh? What won't they think of next? Well, I do have that power, but I'm not supposed to use it. Each time I use my power, I risk disappearing entirely. But I already owed Arlin for saving me before. Without him, I would have died...So I had to return the favor. Interesting...So, Arlin, you plan on joining us again? It'll be a lot easier to defeat Mull if it's a group effort, right? Are you sure you'd take me back? I did abandon you without notice... You're still welcome as far as I know. Of course! Arlin rules, meow! I see. Then I suppose my answer is yes. In that case, I guess I'm coming along, too. And just like that, we have our old friend and anti-boss specialist back! ...Were his stats this lovely before? Oh wait, he doesn't have anything equipped.  That's better. I have a few options with Arlin's equipment at this point – I decided to make him super tanky, but he also has a weapon that forgoes that in favor of a magic boost. I also don't have a Mana Crystal to put on any of his stuff, so he can improve from here. Oh yeah, note the Don's Clothes. I think DonProtect is just an enormous Dark Res boost because it didn't seem to do much else.  Arlin's also learned his ultimate ability since he left. Bull's-Eye works like Lita's Rock Smash – he disappears for a bit, then reappears and executes the attack. Bull's-Eye extremely powerful – I didn't use it in this update but you can bet you'll see it before I finish this dungeon.  We also finally have our Time Mana! He also does Light and Dark but those are less interesting and mostly exist to improve the range of presents he likes so you don't have to spam Felios Globes just to get him to like you.  I don't know why, but this line cracks me up. It's like he's not quite willing to give you the full compliment that you are definitely both of those things.  He also gives skill point boosts comparable to Transformed Mana or Aion (incidentally, Luplus himself cannot transform) along with a hefty Speed and Magic boost. I gave him to Marietta to boost her tanking/healing/paladining role.  Arlin himself got Aion, also to further the tanky setup I gave him and get some good skill boosts on top of it.  And of course, I quickly put Luplus to work making me some more Dragon Gems. I even got a freebie out of it!  Okay, let's talk a bit about the dungeon itself now. The first room is enormous with a lot of empty space, some of which is secretly not empty and has pillars or whatever with prizes on them. Basically, it boils down to flying around and exploring that way.  The enemies in this section aren't anything special. There are a lot of incorporeal foes, so Lita's a bit out of her element. On the other hand, Arlin's Mana Strike still hits quite hard.  There are also pigs. ...We'll, uh, be seeing more of that later.  This tunnel is one-way from the other side, a shortcut back to the entrance. Sadly, I can't find any way to manipulate my movement to get through the other way.  Of course, there's a Growloon or two in here as well, so be on the lookout for those.  The spiky rock platform nearby holds a secret...  Not bad at all! I need to experiment/look up what these super rare Mana do. I suspect I'll have to use them sooner or later...  The exit is in the upper right corner, so once you're done exploring it's easy to get to the next section.  Now we enter the area of colored blocks. There's a red area, a purple area, a blue area, and a yellow area, connected by transporters. We ultimately want to get to the purple area to progress, but there are goodies and Growloons throughout all of them.  We also start running into more Endgame level enemies around here. I try to slug my way through most of them, but a couple of the matchups just aren't really worth it.  The lack of visible walls in this area can make platforming (mostly flight) a bit irritating, and occasionally causes problems like this. I look like I should be able to hit the Growloon from here with Destruction Blast, but no such luck.  Not even ambiguous walls can save you from the Tactical Espionage Bunny.   I tricked myself into thinking I had to find a really high spot, then fly back here from there to reach this Growloon. Turns out I could have just destroyed the pillar blocking the way. Oops.   The mine traps would be dangerous if I couldn't just ELE EXTRACT them for free fire elements instead.   Oh yeah, remember when I was talking about Amalgam Candy for Blaire? Baal spawns here sometimes, and we can get some from here.  That would be cool, except Baal takes great pleasure in nuking everyone's MP and also inflicting Curse and I decided I didn't want to blow all my MP recovery items yet (I have Mana Jars, of course, but those still take Spirit Elements and meanwhile it takes like five to completely refill Norn's MP). I'll see if I can find a good spot to farm Flame Virums instead – I haven't run across a single one yet, but I'm sure I'll find them somewhere.  At least they give a ton of EXP.  This Growloon is a pain to reach. There's a teleporter on the sorta visible green block (Accessible from the area with yellow blocks) that gets me enough altitude to fly over to this Growloon, as well as the Mana Stones up there. It took a lot of backtracking to get this jerk.  Finally, the path forward...  ...to a safe zone! This place is pretty cool. We can talk to our Mana here (or at least Mana that are the same species as ours, I don't really know for sure – Luplus and Popo aren't here, at any rate). And there are a couple of other noteworthy things as well...  ...Such as a Sans Gear! I really thought there was only one in the game.  Oh yeah, Mr. Black Market Fairy also shows up here. He'll offer these deals anywhere, by the way. What is it? Under the table, huh? What is it? Why are you so excited Delsus? Well, uh, you know...It's pretty exciting to buy something like this. You guys get a special price, since you're regulars. It'll be 29,800 Cole. How about it?For reference, this is about half of my money, and I haven't even bought anything recently.  ...You're kidding me.  Hey, what's this? It's a very hard to get forbidden item. drat...It's not as cool as I'd thought. Buyer's remorse, huh? Delsus looks disappointed, meow.Like Pattet's Happy Bags, what you get from this is random. Pattotte's stuff tends to be much rarer, but I don't think I've ever gotten something from him that I thought was seriously worth that kind of money. Then again, once you've synthed everything, there's not much left to spend money on, I guess...  Huh?  Oh. That's...cool, I guess.  Anyway, I figured I'd go ahead and transcribe what our Mana friends have to say. Have a read! Flay (Spirit): I have many friends here. I don't have many friends away from here...It's sad. It's just so beautiful here... Plua (Dark): It's quiet and peaceful here...I like it very much. Eital (Light): This place doesn't get any sun at all...but I guess it's okay. Zeilia (Lightning): There's a golden pig around here...Man, those things are FAST! I'm a fairly decent sprinter...I say, bring on the pig! Nymph (Water): It's safe here, even when surrounded by badguys. Aion (Life): Legends say this place is the origin of all life...Life Mana once filled this place. Paltia (Holy): This place is a spiritual garden...Can you tell...? Fanatos (Evil): I sense something strange nearby...I feel as evil as well...Something very devious. Silwest (Air): Wow, you sure worked your butts off getting here, huh? Grupt (Power): I hear there's a pig thing nearby. I think I could take 'em. Uru (Fire): Man...I'm pumped just being here! Deimia (Stone): So you managed to reach the origin, eh?...Not bad. This area dates back to the first land created on earth. Stone and Life Mana used to flow as far as the eye could see. Then Wood and Water Mana...They all started spreading...There's still Mana here. You can feel it if you try.  And there's a save point, too! That's it for now. Join me next time as we take on the second half of the dungeon and the optional postgame superboss!* *victory not guaranteed
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Aug 6, 2014 05:23
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WOO ASSET REUSE! Gust apparently liked this area so much they decided to stick it into Atelier Iris 2.
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Aug 6, 2014 05:50
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Without giving anything away, the optional boss is less a fight and more a test to see how well the player can abuse certain aspects of the combat system.
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Aug 6, 2014 06:06
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I never managed to put a dent in the superboss. It gets worse when there's a %chance to drop certain convo use items only, so you get to do it AGAIN.
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Aug 7, 2014 00:05
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Golden... pig? Funny, I thought the super rare enemy would be a Puni.
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Aug 8, 2014 01:19
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Update 48: In Search of Candy Music: Beat of the Rumbling Earth All right, welcome back to the postgame dungeon. This area is the screen after the little safe haven. It's just a cave with a couple teleporters and a shortcut back, but it houses this final Mana Item.  Hmm. The description sounds cool but I don't know if the actual effect is worthwhile. I'm pretty sure this is just a death spell, and I don't know if that's worth five Time elements.  I didn't run into any notable enemies here, either, so let's move on to the last part.  The Dark Scary Cave area houses the nastiest randoms and is a maze of stairs, teleporters, and Mana Stones.  It has a couple of neat (albeit recycled) setpieces, at least.  Huh? These are new.   ...Alright, then. These guys are pretty much pushovers and help counterbalance the other difficult battles. They even heal you sometimes, it's great.  Ka Luda's chess pieces make a reappearance (the Knight piece is off on it's own for some reason).  And Baal's still around. I didn't want to waste any more of Norn's MP trying to turn him into Amalgam Candy, so I just ran away from them.  This save point means we're getting pretty close...Too bad it's not one of those safe havens where I can set up tent, but I guess that would be asking for a bit much.   Hmm...That's not bad, actually, for a weapon that doesn't have +105 HP/ATK baked into it from Mana Stones. I'll have to remember I picked this up.   I also got turned around and wound up finding this back near the start of the area. It's not as impressive, but I suspect I can slap some Mana Stones into this as well. We'll see.  These two Growloons guard the teleporter to our fate...   Music: Ferocious Drive Meet the Three Golden Pigs. These guys are kind of like the exact opposite of Amalgam in all the worst ways.  They don't hit that hard, really. I mean, 70 damage is decent for a basic attack but I could take it. The problem is that they are fast. They are basically guaranteed to attack before my characters, they can occasionally get two turns in between my characters, and worst of all they are virtually guaranteed to get “Quick!” turns, so they actually get to act about twice as much as they should. In other words, this means they get like 6-10 attacks for my team's 3. That 70ish damage per hit is a lot more intimidating when they get to hit me that many times that quick, and of course Klein and Norn take more damage.   Murder Mode is go. (Murder Mode on Arlin was a mistake).    The sheer quantity of turns they get isn't enough, of course. They also like to inflict Knockdown with this attack to deprive you of what turns YOU get.  Murder Mode Arlin looked like he was going places for a bit. Double hits three times, and 2000 damage to an enemy is no joke.   Too bad Arlin can't survive long enough for it to matter. It miiiight be worth it if you use Bull's-Eye, since that makes Arlin disappear (and thus become untargetable) for a while. Even so, he still has to survive long enough to attack after he buffs.  Marietta can be handy to have around since she has a passive ability that makes her sometimes survive fatal hits on Guts. I've had her survive like four hits in a row with this, but it's still luck based...    ...Whelp. I tried and tried, I looked up the “correct” strategies and tried to manage them with the resources (read: eqiupment/mana stones baked into equipment) that I had with me at the time, and it just wasn't working. I think I might have gotten close once when the RNG decided to be merciful and even then I just wasn't up to snuff. So...  ...Let's get started on Everything Else. It's time for the other postgame battle!  Okay, meow. You've been with Klein for some time, now. Has it really been that long, meow? I want to see how strong you've become. Meow!? Huh!? Meow! I can't fight you, Zeldalia! Don't worry. You won't be fighting me – you'll be fighting a phantom. Are you serious? Yes. Please don't interfere – this is between Norn and I. Please follow me to the Mystic Circle. Meow...I – I'll do my best! This is my final gift to you. I'll help you reach your full potential. Get ready, Norn...Let's go!    The first four fights might be vaguely dangerous if you don't have a maxed out Illusion spell...but probably not. Oh, Zeldalia heals Norn in between fights, so don't worry about MP (not that you really need to with her in the first place).  The fifth fight is harder – Lilim may get to act before Norn and hits kinda hard, and her allies don't do much but can still survive one hit from Illusion at my level if it doesn't make them flee.  You might need to heal once or twice, but all told this fight isn't too bad, either. I found that Telekinesis worked better than Illusion once I got rid of Lilim's cronies, but I doubt it really mattered.  You've grown very strong, Norn. There's nothing left for me to teach you. I'm so proud of you. Please take this with you as a symbol of your growth. Meow...meow!? Your cane? Oh...I'm so happy, meow! ...Norn. There's something I need to tell you. What is it, meow? Meow!? But you're still my daughter. Nothing can change that. We're still your friends too, Norn. It doesn't matter that you were a cat. ...I am happy, meow. I don't care if I'm a cat or a human, meow...I'm just glad I have Zeldalia, Klein, Lita...all my friends! You make me happy, meow. ...It looks like there wasn't anything to worry about. Norn is still Norn. Meow...was that the right answer? Of course it was...Just don't forget it, okay?And that's wraps up another sidequest, and for it we gain Norn's ultimate weapon...  whooooooaly poo poo that is loving glorious. But I think we can do even better. Zeldalia's Cane doesn't do smithing, but let's check out that old Fiary Bracer I have lying around.  Music: Flask Boy While I was running around the final and postgame dungeons, I maxed out on Glowing Mana. I also have 7 Green Mana. As it turns out, that's just enough...  First, we can have Eital turn Glowing Mana into Magic +3. I did this six times. Deimia can also turn Green Mana into Magic +1. I also did this six times.  By combining these right, I can get three Magic + 8 crystals.  Then I had Deimia turn my last three Glowing Mana into Mental Curse. If you pair Mental Curse with Magic + 8, they fuse into something else...  Dirty Power gives +50 Magic. It also causes the user to lose 2 Mana a turn, which is peanuts for Norn and I have ways to regenerate that anyway (hell, her fully leveled basic attack even drains MP).  It also stacks on itself up to three times.  So Norn can become the ultimate magical force. You know what that means, right?     That's right, I can turn Satan into a delicious treat. I can't think of a better note to end this update on, so let's stop. Join me next time for Regallzine's Item Extravaganza!
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Aug 8, 2014 05:32
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Mull was a fool. He should have been creating an Army of Norn's with those Fairy Bracers Equipped instead of Amalgam.
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Aug 8, 2014 06:36
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quote:
So, umm, did no one have the heart to tell him that Mull is dead?
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Aug 8, 2014 21:24
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Khisanth Magus posted:So, umm, did no one have the heart to tell him that Mull is dead? From the dialogue we saw, I'm assuming the game did the same thing as DQVIII and set time back to before Mull's defeat for the post-game content.
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Aug 9, 2014 00:26
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Yapping Eevee posted:From the dialogue we saw, I'm assuming the game did the same thing as DQVIII and set time back to before Mull's defeat for the post-game content. Exactly. The game just drops you at the last place you saved and acts like you never triggered the final battle and cutscenes. Incidentally, I believe that having Arlin with you slightly alters the confrontation with Mull and/or affects Arlin's bit of the ending. I'll be sure to check that out later.
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Aug 9, 2014 04:23
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So now that you have arbitrary amounts of Amalgam Candy, what's next?
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Aug 10, 2014 04:16
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My favorite strategy for fighting the pigs was to crank up each character's MP and just use abilities that took the character out of the fight temporarily, nonstop. The pigs would rarely have a valid target to attack! I wasn't even remotely savvy to any game-breaking mechanics back then, so it must have worked? I remember using Arlin, Lita, and I forget who else has a technique like that.
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Aug 10, 2014 17:44
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I don't think there is a third character who can do that, they pretty much just have to sit there and eat all of the pig's attacks. But yeah, pretty much every strategy I've found for the pigs involves Lita and Arlin spamming Rock Smash and Bull's-Eye while having really good Mana crystals in their weapons to maximize damage/minimize how badly they get murdered. Arlin and Lita also both have Fast Attack (so they might get to act before the pigs on the first turn) and Dodge/Block (so they might not get hit by the occasional attack), so they're pretty much mandatory for the fight as best I can tell. I actually have a different, strictly inferior but still maybe viable plan I'd like to try, though. We'll see how it pans out.
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Aug 10, 2014 19:48
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Update 49: All The Items It's time for the final synth scenes, everyone. Since I got that super special candy, let's stop by Blaire's...  Atelier Blaire: A Feather In Your Cap Music: What was Left Behind (music links arbitrarily chosen)  I just had an epiphany! It's dangerous to leave town these days, and the sweet parlor is going to do something about it! Haven't we heard this speech before? Meow! You'd better not stop making sweets! Hiss! Oh, I'll never stop making sweets. But, I will contribute to the greater good! More military foods, huh? I hereby announce a new product line for my shop! These are extreme sweets that you can both eat and equip! ...This is ridiculous. Hmm, these don't seem too complicated. I always liked music based weapons.  I made a drum out of these rice crackers. So I guess these would be Drum Crackers. Wouldn't hitting the crackers kind of break them? Oh, don't worry about that. I made them very sturdy crackers. So this is another one of those snacks we're not allowed to eat. It's an instrument! Nobody eats instruments anymore! Meow...I wish you'd go back to making sweets... Our next item is - wait, Cueparts!? Huh, I wasn't expecting to need those for Blaire. It turns out there's also a limited quantity of these things normally, although I think you can get extras from Pattotte's under the table deals. Fortunately, Totopop still had one for sale.  It's everyone's favorite new fashion: the Pudding Cap. This is the one and only, folks! Meow! Nummies! It might be hard to balance on your head if you're moving. It'd fall off during battle. Meow, hey! You can't eat it if it's on your head, meow! Looks like it's just another flavor of the week... Don't say that! It's NOT a failure! The Pudding Cap is...not half-bad, actually. I think the cherry feather is a nice touch. Oh, if anyone was wondering, the Drum Crackers inflict “Super Knock Back” and are a usable item instead of an equip.  And now, for Blaire's ultimate recipe...  Umm...I did it! Look everyone, a Sweet House! Hey, that's really great! Meow! Good job, Blaire! What a sweet house! Hm hm hm...See? I'm pretty good. But... It's too small, meow. Even I can barely fit inside it. Yeah, that could barely feed two people. It's the best I could do with the ingredients you brought me! Geez! If you want a bigger house, you'll just have to bring me 100 wedding cakes. I'll be waiting. ...Uh...This one's fine, actually. Meow...I agree. And thus ends Atelier Blaire. Like Norman's ultimate item, the Sweet House boosts Skill points, but it's also notable as one of the only items that can be converted into Time elements. I decided to hold of on having anyone eat this in case I wanted the elements more, since I'm not really hurting for skill points for anyone except sort of Arlin. Meanwhile...  Atelier Veola: An Alchemist's Cane Music: Eternal Eyes I need to give Norman this Stained Grass. However, I can't leave my shop. Is that it? Of course I'll help. I'll be right back, Lita. Wait here. Wait up, Klein!Klein doesn't wait up, leaving Lita and Veola together.  That's...shut up... Do you really need to hide your feelings from someone who already knows how you feel? I'm a little jealous because you always get to be by his side. I've been alone for so long, and now I just want someone of my own...I'd like that to be Mr. Klein, but you and he make a really cute couple. Geez! Give it a rest already! Hey, why don't you travel with us? ...Travel? Yeah, you're always cooped up in this dingy old shop...that's why you're so negative. Plus, we could really use more of your items. The useful ones, anyway. I cherish this job...So I'm afraid I can't go. Thanks for the invitation, though. Perhaps I'll make pendants for you two. They'll keep you both safe. I just require the correct materials. Back already? What do you mean? Ha ha ha... Heh heh... ??I like to think that Klein is worried Lita and Veola are going to eat him here, even though that doesn't really make sense. Anyway, we've got Veola's final recipes here, the lockets. Let's check those out -  ...Wait, what is this? I don't remember this being there before or seeing a scene that brought it up. I guess we'll get back to this later, then.  Anyway, the lockets. There is one Spirit Prayer and one Spirit Protect each in the game. One is found in Avenberry's library area, and the other can be bought from Volco's shop in the Land of Mana. If we use the Spirit Prayer in the recipe...  Lita's Locket of Love is ready. Isn't this a little weird? We're both girls. Well, protection is protection as long as you wear it. I can make a Locket of Wishes as well. You'd just need to change a few of the ingredients.  Your Locket of Wishes is ready, Klein. As long as you wear it, you'll have protection. There's a connection between this locket and the Locket of Love. Klein, I hope you strive to make Lita's dreams come true. Huh, both Locket's descriptions reference Lita. Weird. Anyway, these are both unique accessories that only Klein and Lita can equip. They're...alright, I guess, but once again their true power lies in that they can be loaded up with Mana Crystals.  It occurs to me that I could have nine Battle Lord PWRs on Lita if I wanted. I doubt that would be particularly efficient, but I still kind of want to do it.  I also shuffled my existing Mana Crystals around a bit and put Marietta's Tank Time Crystal on the Bio Frame then equipped her with it, since Klein can have his Crystal on the Locket of Wishes.  Music: Frozen Lithograph All right, now it's time to finish off Lector's item list. This is one of those weird things were getting every item but one (well, technically two I guess) is what you have to do to actually get the last one. Fortunately, since we've got all the synthesis done, we just have a few odds and ends to dig up throughout the world, mostly by revisiting old dungeons with Flight.  Over at the Tower of Marcus, we can use Flight to drop down to some pillars. One has this Evil Sigil, the other has Cueparts.   Over at the woods by Kavoc, we have this last Growloon I stumbled upon by accident. It turns out this is actually the LAST Growloon, so I can stop by Norman's later and get the final rewards for that quest.  Fort Galga has a few more spots that I need Flight to drop to. Actually, you might be able to get these with Bunny Mode as well, it just never occurred to me to try. The Ankh is the only new thing I found, though.  There's a sword somewhere on the ascent to Avenberry. This was probably the most obnoxious item to find, since there are so many levels and altitudes and all...  ...But the really obnoxious part is these little altitude puzzles. Basically, there are stacks of blocks around the area, and you have to get on top of the shortest one, activate Flight, and then zoom around looking for the next highest stack to slowly increase your altitude until you finally get high up enough to reach whatever item you're looking for.  Ugh. At least I got a Crimson Mana out of the deal here somewhere.  There's another item that I have to find in the Forest of Ocean Mist. Well, as it turns out, I'm in the Garden of Eternity, which is where the Forest of Ovean Mist leads, but the path is one-way so I kind of screwed myself trying to go backwards. Fortunately, stopping by the Garden of Eternity worked out very well because at some point (presumably after reactivating that furnace machine with Pamela's help) the garden filled up with Prismoons and Star Prisms, which are pretty rare and which I actually need as part of my deviuos plan to destroy the Golden Pigs.   I also made a brief stop at Ka Luda's to turn a Sentry into candy, since I apparently have managed to go all this time without doing that. They turn into Chocolate Cake, which is unique to them as far as I know.  And finally, this is the item I was looking for in the Forest of Ocean Mist. I'm not sure if I was supposed to solve a puzzle here or what – the layout of what I'm standing on makes it seem that way, but I was able to just examine the chest through the top block anyway. And...that's everything! Time to pay one last visit to our least favorite antiques specialist!  Music: Future That's great! Meow, hooray! I couldn't have done it without all your help...But, I still have much to do. Like what? You finished the item list, didn't you? Yes – but what if there are items that I don't know about? If you think about it, my list might not be complete at all. Please continue what you've been doing. Oh – let me give you this to commemorate our monumental achievement. And so we have our final component for the last synthesis recipe...  I love how this requires two crazy rare, one-of-a-kind ingredients...and wax.  The Astral Cane is ready. It may have something to do with alchemy. Really? Did an alchemist really use this? I can't say for certain. However, the cane's design is based on alchemic principles. It was passed from person to person for a long period of time. Soon, it will be passed to an alchemist...Now it's yours. You're in charge of the cane's legacy now, Klein. Let the moon and the stars guide your journey. ...eh...again, that's not anything amazing, but offering almost as good stats as the Divine Cane and being able to reap benefits from Mana Crystals makes this a better weapon overall, at least in theory. Sky Sonata adds an additional fire-based attack to Klein's attacks. I haven't tested to see how effective it is or if it stacks with any offensive action Klein does or just his basic attacks, but extra damage is etra damage so I'll take it I guess.  Sadly, there was no new cutscene or anything for defeating all of the Growloons. I hear there are actually 101, and that one of them is permanently missable – I don't really know for sure, but either way I managed to get 'em. Norman also forks over a cool 32,400 Cole for our efforts. And...that's it for today. Join me next time as I cook some golden bacon. Music: Hagel's Song     That's supposed to say "Heart warming stories", by the way. All of Beggur's portraits cut off part of the text... Overrated Sage fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Aug 11, 2014 |
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Aug 11, 2014 22:47
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Norman doesn't even have anything to say when you wipe out all the Growloons? Aw.
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Aug 13, 2014 01:26
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Why does the male art look so bad compared to the female art? The Keros look like they are from a different art style too.
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Aug 14, 2014 05:46
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Yeah they polish the sequel quite a bit compared to the first one. Then screw it all up with the third.
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Aug 14, 2014 06:31
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