@---+----^----+----^----+----^----+----^----+----^----+----^----+----^----+--@ | _____ __ __ __ __ __ | | / ___// /_ ____ _____/ /___ _ __ / / / /__ ____ ______/ /______ | | \__ \/ __ \/ __ `/ __ / __ \ | /| / / / /_/ / _ \/ __ `/ ___/ __/ ___/ | | ___/ / / / / /_/ / /_/ / /_/ / |/ |/ / / __ / __/ /_/ / / / /_(__ ) | | /____/_/ /_/\__,_/\__,_/\____/|__/|__/ /_/ /_/\___/\__,_/_/ \__/____/ | | _ __ ____ ________ __ ___ | | | | / /___ _/ / /_/_ __/ /_ _________ __ ______ _/ /_ ( _ ) | | | | /| / / __ `/ / //_// / / __ \/ ___/ __ \/ / / / __ `/ __ \ / __ \/| | | | |/ |/ / /_/ / / ,< / / / / / / / / /_/ / /_/ / /_/ / / / / / /_/ < | | |__/|__/\__,_/_/_/|_|/_/ /_/ /_/_/ \____/\__,_/\__, /_/ /_/ \____/\/ | | /____/ | | ______ _ ______ _ __ | | /_ __/____(_)___ _____ ____ _____ / ____/_ __(_)___/ /__ | | / / / ___/ / __ `/ __ `/ _ \/ ___// / __/ / / / / __ / _ \ | | / / / / / / /_/ / /_/ / __/ / / /_/ / /_/ / / /_/ / __/ | | /_/ /_/ /_/\__, /\__, /\___/_/ \____/\__,_/_/\__,_/\___/ | | /____//____/ | | | @------------------------@---------------------------------------------------@ | Version: 2.02 | Game Developer/Publisher: Sacnoth/Midway & Azure | | Updated: 05-Feb-2004 | Guide Author: APL | @------------------------@---------------------------------------------------@ CONTENTS A. Walkthrough I. Northern Asia: A One-Way Journey ...includes Discussions on: the GRAVEYARD and SOUL ENERGY, the TOMBSTONES, CLEARING MALICE, SP, Meiyuan, Lotteries II. Southern Asia: Some Forks in the Road III. Europe: The Beginning of The End ...includes Discussion on: CLEARING MALICE -Part 2 IV. Britain: The Party is Complete ...includes Discussions on: CLEARING MALICE (OR NOT) -Parts 3 & 4 V. Some Forks before the "Final" Battle with Albert ...includes Discussion on: learning the ???? skills VI. Wales: The "Final" Battle with Albert VII. Will Alice's Soul be Saved? VIII. Prepare to meet GOD ... 4(!) Secret Books, 3 Secret Areas, and the Ultimate Fusion Soul IX. The Float to GOD X. 2nd Game: New Game with Clear Data XI. Summary of Major Triggers ... Steps to get Seraphic Radiance B. FAQ on Special Features of this Guide C. Appendix 1. Revision History 2. Acknowledgements ============================================================================== A. Walkthrough ============================================================================== This guide is a complete walkthrough with some new features. See Part B. FAQ on Special Features of this Guide if you have any questions about the new features, abbreviations, what triggers are, or how trigger work. ****************************************************************************** * I. Northern Asia: A One-Way Journey [Approx. playtime: 5-6 hours] * ****************************************************************************** The early game is a series of one-way trips from one location to the next. The world map shows places you have been, not places you can go. After leaving a location, there will be no way to return to that location in Part I - unless, of course, you load a previous save. Approximate times are shown as [hr:min]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Trans-Siberian Express [0:10] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: save "Girl in Danger" from Roger Bacon. * After opening FMV, walk to next car, search dead bodies, walk to next car. * TRIGGER: approach dead bodies >> NPC 1 * When ASIA map appears after FMV, press SQUARE to open menu, select "data", and save. Then, from the ASIA map, select PLAINS to continue. Items: ? [Mana Leaf, Thera Leaf] Monsters: Wind Shear (m1/wind) <..> [Thera Leaf; E=2] BOSS: Roger Bacon (NPC 1) [..] .............................................................................. . Battle tip: If you look at the damage done by *Y*'s physical attacks, and . . compare this with the damage from physical attacks after he transforms, . . you'll see that more damage is done by the fusion form. It doesn't "cost" . . you anything to transform other than a few seconds for the animation, and . . even if you only use physical attacks, transforming will probably "save" . . you more time in the long run by shortening the battles! . .............................................................................. 2nd game tip: Remember, all level-1 fusion souls are available to equip now!! In fact, all fusion souls that you earned in the first game will be available to use as soon as *Y* gains enough SP. This means SP replenishing items and accessories, if used wisely, will let you use powerful fusion souls way before you did in your 1st game!!! (See Part X. 2nd Game: New Game with Clear Data) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Midnight Plains [0:30] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: after mysterious voice tells Rude Hero to protect girl, search for items. (Tip: you can find 2 items before the next trigger: one near the left side of the first screen, and another by walking north-east from the second screen - after you hear "EEK!", which is a minor trigger event.) * Trigger: follow path until you see the girl, walk towards her >> dialog, name Yuri (*Y*) and Alice (*A*), then continue exploring. * Trigger: Cross wooden bridge >> *A* suggests doing something with the sluice gate so they can cross the river. ****************************************************************************** * SluiceGate Minigame [Thanks to apache24@famvid.com for finding this!] * * ========================================================================== * * Don't examine ANY sluice gates yet. Go to blue circle and SAVE. * * Trigger: examine upper-right sluice gate >> "This sluice gate... looks * * like it would work with handle." * * > Note 1: There's a choice of 2 games here. Examining the lower-left gate * * triggers a 10-second "push" ring (meaning you have to push the sweep hand * * into the red target area when the 10-second clock counts down to 0), while * * examining the upper-left gate triggers a 1-rotation "normal" ring (meaning * * you have to hit 3 target areas while the sweep hand rotates once). * * > Note 2: Each gate/ring offers 4 levels of difficulty & prizes: (1) the * * first-level ring is the most difficult; (2) if you weren't successful, the * * second-level ring is somewhat easier; (3) if you still weren't successful, * * the third-level ring is the easiest; you have several chances at this ring;* * (4) eventually, if you keep missing, *A* offers to help; her ring is * * incredibly difficult with extremely narrow areas - some help!; then the * * level-3 ring appears again and keeps appearing until you finally succeed. * * So, select your gate (upper or lower left); then... * * Trigger: examine the gate >> "Yeah... the gate itself is all rotten, but * * the handle itself might work." Then, play the normal or push ring minigame.* * When you succeed, you receive >> [Sluice Gate Handle/VAL] * * > Note 3: the minigame prize (awarded according to which of the 4 rings you* * succeeded at) will appear in a chest after completing the graveyard scene. * ****************************************************************************** * TRIGGER: put handle on upper-right gate, then walk away >> Camp Items: chest [Leather Belt/Acc]; minigame prize described below... ? [Pure Leaf, Mermaid's Tear] Valuables: ? [SluiceGateHandle] Monsters: Vampire Bat (m2/dark) <..> [..;E=5] Venomous Spider (m3/earth) [..;E=5] Wolf (m4/wind) <..> [..;E=9] ---- Camp ---- * Story: While *A* sleeps, *Y* meets Fox Face, fights a no-win battle, dies, and appears in graveyard. BOSS: Fox Face (NPC 2) [..] --------- Graveyard --------- * *Y* appears here fully healed. * Trigger: examine glowing gravestone >> fight Earth soul, Raging Tiger * Equip Soul of Raging Tiger * Note: The first action (examine) can be delayed, but cannot be omitted. If you try to omit it, you'll discover that you won't be able to leave the graveyard; so, this trigger action is mandatory. The second action (equip) is optional, meaning that you can progress without doing it; but, of course, you will probably want to do it unless you want to play a minimalist game. * Trigger: talk with the 4 masks >> fight one of the four forms of evil according to your malice level * Trigger: attempt to exit graveyard >> *A* tells *Y* to open his eyes... MALICE: Evil 1 (m105), 2 (m106), 3 (m107), or 4(m108) [win a random item] ============================================================================== Discussion about the GRAVEYARD and SOUL ENERGY: Since this guide focuses on the mechanics of how to play the game and only gives highlights of the story, I'll try to not get overly philosophical here. *Y* is a troubled soul that has to deal with a number of difficult issues in his subconscious - which is the "graveyard" of his mind. While he is trying to keep his rage under control (see below for Discussion on CLEARING MALICE), as a harmonixer he also accumulates SOUL ENERGY (shown after each battle) according to the elemental nature of the enemies he defeats. When this elemental energy reaches certain levels, *Y* can fight the corresponding elemental soul and, by winning the battle, he will earn the ability to transform into that elemental fusion soul. *Y* will need to "equip" each new fusion soul before he can use it in battle. ============================================================================== Discussion about the TOMBSTONES: The six tombstones in the graveyard serve as markers that glow when *Y* is ready to earn a new elemental fusion soul. When he examines a glowing stone, he will be asked if he is ready. Answering yes starts the battle. Unless you're playing a 2nd game, you'll need to reach Europe before you can learn level-2 souls. ============================================================================== Discussion on CLEARING MALICE: If you keep an eye on your malice stone, which you'll find in the lower right corner of the menu after you wake up from the graveyard, you'll see that each time *Y* and his companions complete a few more battles, the stone will change color from blue to green to yellow to red. If you let your malice reach red, and then hear an eerie groan, you will probably face a tough battle with Fox Face. Unless you decide to escape from the battle (hold R1, then press X) , you will probably die (GAME OVER) from his SP lowering and !!! attacks. To avoid this, you will need to clear your malice by visiting the graveyard and talking with the four masks. The masks transform the accumulated malice into an Evil Monster at one of four levels depending upon how much malice was accumulated. An advantage of clearing malice often is easier fights with lower level Evil Monsters and increasing the number of (usually small) free items received from the masks. On the other hand, if you wait until your malice is high, you can concentrate more on progressing through the game and you will fight stronger Evil Monsters, although you will probably receive no item if your malice is red. Tip: Occasional higher-value items (like Seals!) are received rarely and randomly at all malice levels except red. The masks are not impressed with conservative fighting such as when *Y* does not bother to transform into a fusion soul, and in such cases they tend to reward such ordinary efforts with lower-value items like Mana leaves. If, however, *Y* fights aggressively and over-kills the Evil Monsters, there is an increased probability they will reward him with higher-value items! ============================================================================== Discussion on SP: If the SP of a character reaches 0, that character will go berserk, meaning that you will loose control of him/her. The character's actions will then be unpredictable. While the berserked character could attack an enemy, it's more likely the character will attack other members of the party or waste items. Unless you escape the battle (assuming you have the proper accessory equipped), your party could die and it will be GAME OVER. ============================================================================== ------ Plains ------ * *Y* wakes up from graveyard experience fully healed. * Upon leaving the camp area, you observe a chest that wasn't there when you first arrived. This is the SluiceGate minigame prize. (The same prizes are awarded for both versions of the game, except for the 1st prize.**) * After *Y* and *A* have a brief discussion, *Y* says "C'mon, let's go." Finish exploring, then walk to next area. When they see a village, *Y* hears a warning from the Mysterious Voice. Items: Minigame chest [Ring (1): Leather Belt/Acc or Bandana/Acc; Ring (2): Mana Seed; Ring (3): Thera Leaf; Ring (4): the chest is empty] chest [Holy Mother Bust (outside village, before entering)] ** Demon Of Heaven, BearusMcMojo@aol.com, reported he found a Bandana in this chest on his first try with the push ring. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Zhaoyang Village [0:60] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: approach village gate >> *Y* & *A* enter, then gate is sealed shut. * Walk to end of street, meet Lost Peddler who becomes the Wandering Merchant. * Trigger: visit shrine, exit >> kids invite you into Granny's house "at the very end of the square. We'll be waiting..."; SAVE. * TRIGGER: enter Granny Mayor's house >> Granny says she's going to see Yamaraja (at the shrine?), *Y* and *A* take a nap and wake up fully healed, then... m5 x2. * Exit to find the town appears like a sea of blood; monsters start attacking. * Trigger: enter shrine >> cat lady appears... then, Poof! * Chase cat lady to front gate, and meet Zhuzhen (*Z*), who joins the team. * Level-up opportunity: while chasing cat lady, level up, have Meiyuan boost your weapons, and earn Level 1 Wind Soul. * Trigger: enter Granny's house, examine altar >> *Z* reveals Anti-Cat Powder and explains importance of finding a metal vessel (1-rotation normal ring) & a torch; search the village. * Talk to Lost Peddler for clues about finding the metal vessel and torch. * TRIGGER: return to Granny's house with vessel & torch, examine pit >> m9 * TRIGGER: examine altar at shrine, dare to violate it >> m10 * Before leaving village, unequip accessories from *Z*, speak to Lost Peddler [receive your first guild card]. * Trigger: exit village >> *Z* leaves team, and village gate is sealed again. When Fengtian appears on map, press square to SAVE. ============================================================================== * Discussion about Meiyuan: This chap shadows your travels, so he can be found in most towns. He offers acupuncture treatment to improve the harmony of characters with their weapons. Up to 3 successive treatments can be used either to increase the attack power or to widen the target areas of the weapon's judgement ring. Note that acupuncture boosts the weapon attributes by relatively small amounts. You should look ahead in this guide to check if the shops in the next town or two will offer *NEW* weapons. Ask yourself if it will be worth it to spend your hard-earned cash on acupuncture NOW just to inflict a few more points of damage or to widen the ring areas a little for a few more battles... or can you wait for your new weapons? Leveling up by 1 is about as effective at increasing attack power as each costly acupuncture treatment, so unless you have money to burn, the best use of acupuncture is to widen the target areas of weapon rings - if you want to make the ring easier to get perfect hits. ============================================================================== Shop: Wandering Merchant (Armor-1) -> Money-saving tip: avoid buying accessories & armor until Fentigan. -> Equip *A* with any accessories you find since she is weakest. Items: ? [Angel's Feather (near front gate), Bronze Arrowhead, Tent, TalismanOfLuck, Phoenix Tail, Shell Bracelet/Acc] Valuables: ? [Metal Bowl, Torch] *Z* > [Anti-cat Powder]; Lost Peddler > [Snake Card] Monsters: Zombie (m6/earth) [Holy Mother Bust; E=13] Green Flyers (m7/wind) [Mermaid's Tear; E=13] Canus (m8/water) <..> [Bronze Dagger; E=17] BOSS: 1. Hellcat (m5/light) <..> [TalismanOfLuck; E=20] 2. Felinus (m9/wind) <..> [Lottery Ticket; E=120] 3. Yamaraja:Earth (m10/water) <1/2 ring areas> [Star Brooch/Acc;E=180] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Fengtian Tragedy [1:20] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Scenes of (1) Jap army in the Trans-Siberian Express, (2) Roger Bacon and Dehuai discussing key role of *A* in Demon's Gate Invocation, and (3)*Y* and *A* near a fountain in Fentigan. * Trigger: talk with everyone (yep, everyone!) around the fountain, including Silent Peddler >[receive Pedometer] and Lottery Member #15 (you can wait to play in shop so you can save and reload if necessary) >> *A* will wake up when you talk with her; so, talk with *A* to wake her up. * Head left into town, meet shopkeeper, and explore alleys before entering. * Trigger: enter shop >> story scene introduces Alluring Spy, Malkovitch. * Power-up opportunity: save, talk with shopkeeper to checkout the *NEW* W&A, and consider taking advantage of services from Meiyuan. Lottery Member #15 and the Silent Peddler will also be here after next trigger. * Trigger: exit shop >> story scene of bomb exploding. Shop: Fentigan Item Shop (*NEW* W&A-2, Bracelets) Items: chest [Tent] ? [TalismanOfLuck, Lottery Ticket] > [Pedometer/Acc] Lotto #15: [Jade Lariat/Black Tortoise Fang] ============================================================================== Discussion about Lotteries: The top prize for each lottery is in the red area(s) of the spin ring. They can be won only once (the missing red dot is a handy way to confirm that you've played each lottery). All other prizes can be won multiple times as long as you have enough lottery tickets. Don't ignore the second-place yellow items! These include some rare ring-altering items and, later, are the only way to get additional Seals to boost character attributes. (Save as many as you can for yellow items in the second half of the game!) Note that you will probably be able to buy the top-prize items later in the game, either at a shop or from the Silent Peddler with pedometer steps, or you may even find them lying around. The lotteries do usually provide the earliest opportunity to obtain red and yellow items. Since the number of lottery tickets is limited, you may want to consider ignoring some of the red prizes to get an early start with some ring altering items or to collect additional Seals. The items shown in square brackets after Lotto #.. are the top two lottery prizes: [red/yellow]. ============================================================================== --------------- Fengtian Sewers --------------- * Follow Alluring Spy into sewer (can return to shop anytime before escaping). * Trigger: examine hole in wall (1st corridor on left, upper branch) >> rescue puppy, hear gunfire, and name Margarete (*M*), who joins the team. * Save (1st corridor on right), then... * Trigger: climb ladder near save circle >> hear explosion; search site of explosion at end of main corridor, approaching on left side. * Level-up opportunity: earn Level 1 Water Soul. Items: chest [Pure Seed, Type 94 Pistol/W-2:M] ? [Gold Hourglass, Lottery Ticket, Rosewood Bracelet/Acc] Valuables: ? [Jewel (another name for the Sealing Stone)] Monsters: Fire Bat (m11/fire) <..> [Mermaid's Tear; E=26] Shiki Bug (m12/earth) <..> [Mana Leaf; E=29] Mutant Frog (m13/water) [..; E=33] Frog God (m14/light) [Phoenix Tail; E=45] Kappa (m15/water) <..> [Tent; E=125] BOSS: none ------------------- Climb Escape Ladder ------------------- * TRIGGER: climb ladder near save circle, set the Sealing Stone >> m15 x2,m16. .............................................................................. . Battle tip: Since Kappas use healing spells on their allies as well as on . . themselves, you'll have an easier battle if you eliminate them first.) . .............................................................................. BOSS: Kappa x2 (m15/water) [Tent x2; E=250] Water Tiger (m16/fire) <..> [Spikes/Acc; E=150] ------------- Landing Strip ------------- * TRIGGER: climb ladder near save circle again, and go above ground >> escape to landing strip, immediately get attacked by m17 (2 waves), then m18. * After brief scene of Jap soldiers, Dalian will appear on world map; press square to SAVE. BOSS: (1) Elite Guards x2 (m17/wind) <..> [TalismanOfLuck; E=70] (2) Beast Dog Dehuai (m18/fire) <..> [Voodoo Doll/Acc; E=540] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Dark Port Dalian - Daytime [1:20] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: (1) *Y* dreams of talking with his dad by tree on hilltop when he was younger, (2) another warning from the Mysterious Voice, and (3) the plane crash lands. The party arrives fully healed. * Trigger: talk to man who lost turtle, find turtle in grass >> [variable item] (Note: If you play this game immediately after arriving, the prize will be a Lottery Ticket; otherwise, various other prizes will be awarded depending on how much later you play.) * Trigger: talk with unemployed man >> advises to get to an inn before sunset because Dalian is under a curse; talk with Filthy Samo in Sea Turtle Restaurant >> suggests talking with Sea Mother to learn more about Li Li * Trigger: enter Inn >> story scene about Li Li's curse. * Trigger: try to enter room on left >> Innkeeper suggests visiting W&A shop. * Trigger: go downstairs to visit W&A shop, walk around, go back upstairs >> you can now enter room to left of entrance; search it for a hidden item. * Trigger: exit Inn (stay to LEFT of save circle!) >> night has arrived. * Unequip accessories from *A*; SAVE. Shops: (1) Helpful Owner, Sea Turtle Restaurant (Brigand & Pirate Earrings) (2) Innkeeper's Son, Weapons & Armor shop in basement of Inn (W&A-2) Items: chest [Lottery Ticket, Silver Hourglass, TeaOfTheHealer] ? [TalismanOfLuck, Seal of Aura, Tent] Monsters: none BOSS: none --------- Nighttime --------- * Trigger: walk onto street, to the right of save circle >> Li Li curses *A*, bring *A* to Sea Mother, listen to long story (about 10 min), then *Z* returns; scene of Kato joining Kawashima. * Level-up opportunity: earn Level 1 Light Soul; recover at Inn for 100 cash. * Search turtle pen while man isn't here. * TRIGGER: enter red circle by the sea >> m20. * After some post-battle dialogue, *Z* suggests going back to the restaurant. * Trigger: enter Sea Turtle Restaurant >> *A* has recovered, listen to story from *Z* about Valorization, decide to go to Shanghai to fight Dehuai by accepting offer to take boat ride from Smuggler Boss in the morning, sleep at Inn; party awakens fully healed. Items: ? [Red Phoenix Talon] Monsters: Frog God (m14/light) [Angel's Feather; E=45] Water Creeper (m19/wind) [Phoenix Tail; E=50] BOSS: Yamaraja:Wind (m20/earth) [Seal of Life; E=720] .............................................................................. . Battle tip: Strangely, Yamaraja:Wind is an earth elemental weak to wind. . . Level 12 *Y* does special damage of about 81 (perfect hit) when fused with . . the Earth soul Raging Tiger; compare this to special damage of about 120 . . (normal hit) or 140 (perfect hit) when fused with the wind soul Tornado. . . Attack magic from *M* and *Z* do about the same damage, so either can be . . a healer if HP gets low. . .............................................................................. ------- Morning ------- * Prepare for trip by talking with Wanderer Meiyuan, visiting the Armor Weapons shop, and talking with the Innkeeper's Son's Son at rear of the W&A shop who let's you open the chest to get [Flare Brooch]. * Talk with Fish-Drying Woman [receive dried fish], then give fish to Sea Mother to hear clue about a stash of money: "Where the turtle looks, walk 3 steps", which means upon exiting the SeaTurtle Restaurant, walk 3 steps left (5 or 6 mini-steps), then press X >> Normal Ring: get [2000 cash]. * SAVE, then talk with Filthy Samo in Restaurant, who is Lottery Member #14 * Talk to man who lost his turtle >> Receive hoe, search leaf field, and dig- up items. Keep playing until you find the [Third Key]! (No need to save and reload, unless you want to save some money and try to win it with the first 300 cash; you can just play again and again until you find it.) * Trigger: talk with Courier Subordinate at dock to depart >> Smuggler's Boat Items: Chest [Flare Brooch/Acc] ? [2000 cash, Third Key] Valuables: Fish-Drying Woman > [Salt-dried fish] Lotto #14: [Pocket Watch/White Tiger Hair] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Smuggling Boat ... Li Li's Tears [0:60] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: *Y* wakes up seasick. *A* says *Z* and *M* are up on deck. * Trigger: exit lower cabin >> *Y* sees *M* making entries in her "diary" * On the way to check with *Z*, trigger: examine wheelhouse door >> overhear conversation between Kawashima and Kato. * Trigger: talk to *Z* >> he says they should arrive in Shanghai tomorrow. * On the way back to the cabin, search around the 3 barrels on top of deck. * Trigger: return to lower cabin >> *A* exclaims she was worried about *Y*, *Y* recovers as they talk, then *M* rushes in and tells *Y* and *A* that something is going on up on deck; "You two had better come outside." * Search wheelhouse while no one is inside, then... * Trigger: walk to front of the boat >> story scene with Li Li and Sea Mother * Trigger: enter wheelhouse >> m22 (a forced monster battle) * Trigger: return to lower cabin >> m21 (a forced monster battle) * Talk with Courier Subordinate in wheelhouse; reply "What are you saying?"; he reveals he is Lottery Member #13; otherwise, he will open his shop. * Trigger: talk with *Z* >> m22; after pentagram appears, * TRIGGER: *Z* asks "Are you ready?", Yes >> m23, then NPC 11; after final dialogue on boat and scene of Dehuai with Wugui of Kowloon, Shanghai appears on world map; press square to SAVE. Shop: Pachimon General Store (W&A-2) Items: chest [Rosewood Bracelet/Acc] Note: if you open this chest when the boat is docked in Shanghai, the item will be different (lower value). ? [Witch's Broth, Lottery Ticket] Lotto #13: [Iron Clogs/B. Dragon Horn] Note: Iron Clogs can be bought from Silent Peddler. Monsters: White Wolfing (m21/water) [Phoenix Tail; E=78] Ogre Flame (m22/fire) <..> [TalismanOfLuck; E=65] BOSS: Li Li (m23/dark) [W. Tiger Hair; E=800] Li Li (NPC 11/dark) [B. Tortoise Fang; E=1000] .............................................................................. . Battle tip: Since both forms of Li Li are dark, this is one of the few . . times when *A* is one of the strongest fighters! Also, if this is a 1st . . game, *Y* probably doesn't have a Light fusion soul yet. Therefore, use . . *M* to heal instead of *A* and have *A* attack as much as possible! . .............................................................................. ****************************************************************************** * II. Southern Asia: Some Forks in the Journey [4 - 6 hours] * ****************************************************************************** Shanghai is the first location on the world map that you will be able to re- visit. (The Smuggler's Boat can also be re-visited at Shanghai, under a different name, but it is not selectable from the map.) There is a hidden area that you can optionally decide to explore, and you can return to some locations to level up which is great if you want to win Zhen's pit fights. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Shanghai-Huayuan ... Demonic Shanghai [0:45] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: scene from 15 years ago, fight as Col. Hyuga; then arrive fully healed in Shanghai Inn. .............................................................................. . Battle tip: You can have some fun fighting as Col. Hyuga since it is . . almost impossible to loose. If you don't transform, you can receive . . damage of -1 pt, so if you only defended and were able to have 2 rounds . . per minute, it would take over 4 hours to die. There is a Seven Key in . . your inventory, which means you can kill all 3 monsters in a single turn! . .............................................................................. * Begin exploring as *Z* alone; go downstairs and SAVE. * Tip: look for treasure chest just outside Inn! * You can walk around & collect all outside treasures before the next trigger. * Trigger: go to "Entertaining Show" >> story scene mentioning Temple Ruins * TRIGGER: talk to bartender >> FMV of violinist; *Z* meets Quihua, Mr. Zehn, and Wugi of Kowloon, then a series of fights: (1) m15, (2) m15, then Wugui appears and says to *Z*, "You do remember... you're magic has no effect on me." When the battle begins, Wugui baits *Z* by saying "How about using your famous Taoist magic?" (3) NPC 13, *Z* can't win; *Y* appears and fights (4) NPC 13; then *Y* comments that Dehuai "better hide his girlie magazines" (foreshadowing an important valuable to find!) and the party returns to the Inn. * Save; go to Junk Dealer's boat, lower cabin; the boy is Lottery Member #12. * Power-up opportunity: after winning second guild card in the lottery, visit the Weapon Studio to checkout the *NEW* W&A; note that the level 3 weapon for *Z* can be (or has been) found. Meiyuan is in Zehn's bar. * Try the pit fights in the back room of Zehn's bar. Each character needs to complete 10 successive fights. Prepare to die, unless you're very lucky or skilled. You'll have a better chance of winning when you're stronger on a return trip to Shanghai. (For more on Zhen's pit fights, see Section 13.) * Talk with Courier Subordinate at the Inn, then ... * Trigger: exit main gates >> Temple Ruins appears on world map. Shops: (1) Shanghai Weapon's Studio (*NEW* W&A-3) (2) Mika's House Shop (Brigand & Pirate Earrings) Items: chest [Pilgrim's Staff/W-3:Z] ? [Lottery Ticket, Mana Seed, TalismanOfMercy, B. Dragon Horn, Seal of Life, Lottery Ticket] Valuables: Boy > [Star Card] Lotto #12: [Star Card/Red Phoenix Talon] Tip: Since this ring is difficult - fast sweep and narrow bands - you may have an easier time if main character equips the Jade Lariat. Iron Clogs work in battle, but not for lottery rings. Monsters: None BOSS: (1,2) Kappa (m15/water) <..> [TeaOfTheHealer; E=125] (3,4) Wugui of Kowloon (NPC 13/dark) [Weird Bottle/Acc; E=1500] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. Temple Ruins ... Xiyuan 9 Courts [1:25] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: examine altar >> *Z* needs to think; Kato's shop is now open * Trigger: talk with both smugglers >> *Z* remembers spell * Trigger: return to altar, talk with *Z* >> *Z* casts unlock spell, door to underground temple opens; climb down, proceed to closed doors. Shops: (1) Kato Pachimon General Store, outside temple (Bracelets) (2) Master Shoho's Allowance Shop, in each maze (W&A-3) Items: chest [Lottery Ticket, TalismanOfMercy] Monsters: none ============================================================================== * Maze Tip 1: In each maze, you'll see four colored warp circles: green, violet, yellow, and red. You will find the end of each maze by warping from green to yellow to red. The violet warp circles can be skipped since they warp you to a different location within a level without helping you progress. The paths indicate directions (U, D, L, R), colored warp circles, and ALL unopened chests. (Some chests are empty!) * Maze Tip 2: Each screen has at most 4 exits (U, D, L, R), but some exits may not be visible from your current location. You may need to roam around a bit. For example, "L, chest/D, Yellow" means "find a left exit, find a chest (you might consider opening it :) then go down, go to the yellow circle and press X." If, when you're supposed to take a left, you only see U, D, and R, then walk around WITHOUT CHANGING SCREENS and soon you'll see an exit to the left. ============================================================================== ------------------------------ Maze 1: Dan Tian Court [0:20] ------------------------------ * Trigger: proceed through doorway >> Xiaofang appears, *Y* and *Z* selected, items sealed, Xiaofang opens door. * SAVE, check malice, then... * Path: enter, chest/U, U, Green, R, R, chest/U, chest/L, Yellow, Xiaofang/U, chest/U, chest/R, chest/L, L, chest/D, chest/L, chest/D, chest/U, U, chest/L, chest/R, U, L, U, Red, Xiaofang/U, U. * SAVE, check malice, then... * TRIGGER: examine altar, put hand in front of gem >> m26 Items: chest [Tent, Bronze Arrowhead, TeaOfTheHealer, W. Tiger Hair, Bronze Dagger, TalismanOfMercy, Mana Seed, Bell Bracelet/Acc] Monsters: Python (m24/fire) <..> [Thera Leaf; E=140] Sea Gremlin (m25/wind) <..> [Mana Seed; E=155] BOSS: Xieshi (m26/fire) [Jade Lariat/Acc; E=1600] ---------------------------- Maze 2: Jiang Palace [0:20] ---------------------------- * Story: *A* and *M* selected, skills sealed, Xiaofang opens door; SAVE. * Tip: Between fights, use *A*'s CURE (still available!) to replenish HP. * Path: enter, chest/U, U, Green, L, L, chest/U, chest/D, L, D, Yellow, Xiaofang/R, R, chest/D, chest/U, L, D, D, chest/D, chest/U, R, R, chest/R, chest/U, chest/U, R, chest/L, D, R, chest/R, U, chest/U, Red, Xiaofang/U, U. * Save; TRIGGER: examine altar, put hand in front of gem >> m29 Items: chest [Tent, B. Tortoise Fang, Thera Seed, Western Belt/Acc, Voodoo Doll/Acc, Silver Hourglass, Gold Hourglass, Witch's Broth] Monsters: Raging Spirit (m27/light) <..> [Thera Seed; E=140] Puppet Guard (m28/dark) <..> [Witch's Broth; E=155] BOSS: Baigu (m29/light) [Coral Lariat/Acc; E=1700] ----------------------------- Maze 3: Ni Wan Palace [0:20] ----------------------------- * Story: *Y* and *Z* talk about *Y*'s dad, door opens, items & skills sealed! * SAVE, check malice, equip Bell Bracelets, then... * Tip: Between fights, use *Z*'s NOURISHING POTION to replenish HP. * Path: enter, chest/U, U, R, U, U, Green, U, chest/U, chest/L, U, chest/R, chest/D, R, chest/R, U, R, chest/Yellow, Xiaofang/L, L, U, chest/D, D, L, D, Lottery/U, U, chest/L, D, chest/D, chest/U, U, L, chest/D, D, D, Red, Xiaofang (talk to him to hear explanation of Wood Token)/U, U. * Xiaofang (before Red warp circle) is Lottery Member #11. * SAVE, check malice, then... * TRIGGER: examine altar, look at stone plate, set wood token >> m32 Items: chest [Tent, Thera Seed, Soul Benediction, Mana Seed, Leonardo's Bear/Acc, Seal of Wisdom, Pure Seed, Studded Cap/Acc] Valuables: chest [Wood Token] Lotto #11: [Flash Badge/Kirin Scale] Monsters: Succubus Queen (m30/water) [..; E=210] Brain Sucker (m31/earth) <..> [..; E=185] BOSS: Qinggu (m32/water) [Leonardo's Bear/Acc; E=1800] ----------------------------------- End of Maze - Nirvana Palace [0:20] ----------------------------------- * Story: Xiaofang opens final door, *A* & *M* re-join group. * Before walking through door, check equipment inventory and make sure the party has at least 3 Leonardo Bears; buy more from Xiofang if needed. * Trigger: enter door to Nirvana Palace >> Story: (1) scene of smugglers meeting Suketani; (2) group meets Master Xifa, items and skills restored, [get FruitOfYggdrasil]; (3) Dehuai appears inside Xiaofang, then disappears with *A* to Kuihai Tower; (4) Master Xifa says "Go to Kuihai Tower and rescue the girl!!", and transports group to Samsara Pavilion; (5) Kawashima sends Suketani underground; and (6) the group materializes in the pavilion. * Battle tip: As soon as you gain control of *Y* in the pavilion, make sure everyone is equipped with Leonardo Bears!! * TRIGGER: attempt to exit >> Wugui appears, m33 Items: Master Xifa > [FruitOfYggdrasil] Monsters: none BOSS: Yamaraja-War (m33/dark) [R. Phoenix Talon; E=2000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. Return to Shanghai-Huayuan ... Kuihai Showdown [0:20] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: everyone awakens at Inn fully healed. *Y* leaves room alone, but can not leave the hotel until the next trigger. * Trigger: go next door to smuggler's room >> story scene: Kawashima orders Kato to give "them" the Yawang Gate Key. * The party walks outside. Now, you can not go back inside the hotel, but you can exit to world map to SAVE. * Fork: it's now possible to re-visit Temple Ruins (level-up opportunity) * Trigger: enter Zhen's bar >> story scene: ... How do we get inside Kuihai Tower? ...Dehuai destroyed every entrance... but one, Yawang Gate; while you're in Zehn's bar, try the Pit fights. * Trigger: exit Zhen's bar >> Jap soldiers are now everywhere in town. * Trigger: walk to town center >> Kato appears, story scene: learn that a precious item has been hidden in the boat. * Trigger: Search boat >> find [Yawang Gate Key] *************************************************************************** * Major fork in the road ahead! You may want to replay this differently! * *************************************************************************** * TRIGGER: return to Inn, SAVE; enter smuggler's room >> m35; vision... Valuables: ? [Yawang Gate Key] Monsters: Corporal (m34/earth) <..> [Thera Leaf; E=150] BOSS: Sergeant (m35/light) <..> [Thera Seed; E=250] <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> <> Vision of *A* in Kuihai Tower Laboratory <> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> * Fork/Trigger: in conversation between Dehuai and *A*, select the first option for all 3 questions >> these answers surprise Dehuai and he does not shock torture *A*; Kowloon Fortress is now available. Otherwise, if you select response 2 or 3 for some or all of the answers, Dehaui shocks *A* and Kowloon Fortress will not be available to explore; you'll find that the smuggler's boat will be repaired (talk to man next to the boat), but no one will offer to take the group anywhere. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10. Kuihai Tower ... opps, I mean Shanghai-Huayuan to Kowloon [0:05] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: after the vision, the group arrives outside the tower. * Fork: After arriving, but before fighting Dehuai (m49) and leaving Asia for the rest of the game, go back to Shanghai-Huayuan. * In Shanghai, (1) check out the doors in the alley across from Mika's House Shop next to Broke Chike, and (2) play Shanghai's Famous Dog-Picking Contest with the man by the boat to win up to 3 prizes. * Trigger: board the boat >> Will you launch? Let's sail >> Kowloon Fortress * Note: If you are not asked "Will you launch?" when you board the boat, you did not answer Dehuai's questions appropriately during The Vision. This means there will be NO WAY you can go to Kowloon Fortress - unless you load a previous save and try answering the vision questions differently. Items: ? [TeaOfTheHealer] Dog game> [Lottery Ticket, Leonardo's Bear, Monkey Paw] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11. Kowloon Fortress [1:10] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Talk with Invincible Nee outside fortress; he is Lottery Member #10 until the monsters are cleared by fighting m42. * Search fortress for key to room on top floor; equip Leonardo's Bears. * TRIGGER: enter Wuggi's room near save circle at top of tower >> m42. Items: chest [Mana Root, Hand Needle/W-4:Y, Face Guard/Acc, Thera Root, Pure Root, Soul Benediction] ? [Seal of the Soul, Lottery Ticket] Valuables: ? [Wuggi's Room Key] Lotto #10: [Mind's Eye/Moon Swallow] Note: Mind's Eye is a very powerful accessory, but it is risky because it requires you to have a good memory with your timing. If you think your ring technique is excellent, consider getting the Mind's Eye. Shop: Silent Peddler is Tight-Lipped Merchant (Cosmic/Zodiac Bracelets) *** These bracelets are the best protection you can get in Asia, and this is the only shop in Asia that sells them. You will be able to buy them in Europe, but the goal there will be to get 4 Crucifixes. Monsters: Namida (m36/wind) [Thera Root; E=450] Speckled Creeper (m37/light) [..; E=450] Happy Creeper (m38/dark) [Pure Root; E=450] Blue Ogre (m39/water) [TalismanOfPurity; E=800] Red Ogre (m40/fire) <..> [TalismanOfWisdom; E=800] Dark Judge (m41/earth) [TalismanOfPower; E=1000] * NOTE on collecting monsters: you may have to walk around a while before some monsters appear; The rare monster is different in different games; usually m36, m39, or m40. If you're having difficulty getting a monster to appear, try resetting the game; this seems to reset the selection of the rare monster. If you've found all monsters easily, consider yourself lucky! BOSS: Cursed Puppet (m42/dark) [Seal of Wisdom; E=2000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12. Shanghai-Kuihai Tower ... final destination in Asia [1:20] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Explore outside to find two treasures, then... * TRIGGER: open front door >> m43. * Story: to find *A* and rescue her from Dehuai, you need to break seals that are blocking various pathways; this is done by finding and hanging 4 Votive Pictures (VP) on specific altars. * Save; walk left to room on left-side of main altar, find an important valuable (a HEART appears above *Y*); find hole with picture of TIGER above; Trigger: take R.Phoenix VP >> room is sealed; Trigger: hang B.Tortoise VP >> room unsealed. (This is a temporary step to unseal the room.) * Return to central area by main altar, climb left staircase to 2nd floor; find hole with picture of BIRD above; Trigger: hang R.Phoenix VP >> candle lit up, hear a key turning; walk right to closed door in center of room; enter central lab, find W.Tiger VP. * Return to central area on 1st floor, walk left to room on left-side of main altar; Trigger: remove B.Tortoise VP >> room sealed; Trigger: hang W.Tiger VP >> candle is lit, room unsealed. * Return to 1st floor central area, climb right staircase; find hole with picture of TURTLE above; Trigger: hang B.Tortoise VP >> candle lit up, hear a key turning; enter door to right, go up to 3rd floor, find B.Dragon VP. * Return to 1st floor central area, find hole with picture of DRAGON above; Trigger: hang B.Dragon VP >> candle lit up, the last seal is broken. * Climb left staircase to 2nd floor, enter central lab, save. * TRIGGER: climb up staircase from central lab to 3rd floor >> m49. .............................................................................. . Battle tip: The Badger Devil can be killed instantly by SNIPE! . .............................................................................. * Find small downward stairway to hidden chest; return to a save circle; SAVE! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> < WARNING: You are approaching a major point of no return. If there is > < anything else you want to do in Asia, do it now!! (Have you completed > < Zhen's Pit fights? See Section 13.) > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> * Climb up stairs from central lab to 3rd floor; TRIGGER: walk to upper platform >> NPC 5; then Jap soldiers arrive and secure the tower. * Story: after *A* rejoins group, select *A* or *M* to fight with *Y* and *Z*; don't forget to equip *Z*'s new weapon! * Return to central lab, climb up stairs to 3rd floor, talk with the two side- by-side Jap soldiers outside the door, not the ones by each of the stairs who prevent you from leaving the tower. One soldier sells items, the other is Lottery Member #09. * Return to upper platform, climb up next staircase to find Dehuai; SAVE! TRIGGER: climb to top floor >> m50; incredible FMV of Reverse Demon's Gate Invocation and the destruction of Shanghai. * Story: This was The End of Asia. *Y* and *M* leave the group for a while... Shop: Item Shop soldier (W&A-3, Bracelets) Items: chest -outside: [Seal of Life, Third Key] -inside: [LotteryTicket, TalismanOfWisdom] ? [PureExtract, LotteryTicket] Valuables: chest [W.Tiger VP, B.Dragon VP] ? [B.Tortoise VP, R.Phoenix VP, Erotic Book] Lotto #09: [Warlock Earrings/Star Swallow] Monsters: Vengeance Demon (m44/wind) <..> [TeaOfTheHealer] Rage Demon (m45/water) [Witch's Broth] Mournful Demon (m46/light) <..> [TalismanOfMercy] Man-snake (m47/earth) <..> [Gold Hourglass] Shadow (m48/dark) [TalismanOfMercy] Water Tiger (m16/fire) <..> [Mana Seed] BOSS: 1. Yamaraja-Stone (m43/fire) <..> [B. Dragon Horn; E=2600] 2. Badger Devil (m49/fire) <..> [Seal of Luck;E=1200] 3. Dehuai (NPC 5/fire) <..> [Hermit's Staff/W-4:Z; E=3500] 4. Yamaraja-Calamity (m50/light) [Fifth Key; E=6000] .............................................................................. . Battle tip on m50: Equip everyone with Bell and Mirror Bracelets, or be . . prepared to devote much of your time to healing silence and petrification. . . If you won the Warlock Earrings in the lottery, *Y* will attack with more . . power and can best tolerate the increased damage handicap. Heaven's Fiend . . is almost mandatory (in a 1st game) since Yamaraja:Earth uses simultaneous . . damage attacks quite frequently. You can shorten the fight by using a . . combination of Bronze Dagger with B. Dragon Horn and/or Gold Hourglass . . with R. Phoenix Talon so all players will attack with double power (both . . physical and special attacks!) while the effect lasts. . .............................................................................. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13. Zhen's Pit Fights [0:35 for each participant] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You will need to fight 10 of these groups of monsters selected at random to win. Equipping a Pocket Watch and a Bell Bracelet will be helpful! .............................................................................. . Battle tips: Be sure to keep you HP at least half full, particularly when . . you fight the Perfect and Custom Windshears. Don't hesitate to heal . . multiple times before attacking. The strategy for winning all 10 rounds . . is to make sure you can survive a strong attack on the next turn. When . . weak monsters (first half of the list) appear, use this time to fully . . restore your HP and MP so you will be ready for the next strong monster. . .............................................................................. EXP Monsters ---- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 0004 Wind Shear (m1/wind) <..> 0040 Hellcat x2 (m5/light) <..> 0135 Frog God x3 (m14/light) 0180 Yamaraja:Earth (m10/water) 0234 White Wolfing x3 (m21/water) 0260 Ogre Flame x4 (m22/fire) <..> 0400 Kappa x2 (m15/water) , Water Tiger (m16/fire) <..> 0540 Beast Dog (m18/fire) <..> 0720 Yamaraja:Wind (m20/earth) 1000 Li Li (m23/dark, NPC 11/dark) 1500 P. WindShear (m101) 1500 Custom WindShear (m102) *Y* wins [5000 cash, another story from the past, and Anne's Cross] Everyone else wins [5000 cash]. Only *Y* receives Anne's Cross, even of the other players win first. Level 25 is strong enough to ensure winning. ****************************************************************************** * III. Europe: The Beginning of The End [3.5 - 5 hrs] * ****************************************************************************** 6 months later, after most of the group has been on their own, they gradually find each other and *A* promises to make a huge sacrifice to save *Y*. If this is a 1st game, you can now fight and equip level-2 fusion souls by examining the glowing tombstones in the graveyard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 14. Prague Exorcists [0:15] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Begin exploring as *A* and *Z*; read poster by front gate; enter town; sleeping man is Lottery Member #8. * Trigger: enter tavern >> *Z* goes to men's bathroom. * Trigger: talk with Peddler Rosa >> *Z* returns from bathroom. * Trigger: talk with *Z* >> Terry (owner of Bistritz General Store) enters, asks for help, leaves tavern (Gismot's Bar), then you hear a man's scream. * Power-up opportunity: talk to Peddler Rosa to checkout some *NEW* armor. There is another guild card in the next location, so you may want to wait! * Explore town to investigate the reason for the scream. (Note: can't check men's bathroom as Alice; remember to look here when a man leads the party.) * TRIGGER: enter courtyard >> m51 x2; story resumes in tavern. * Trigger: exit Prague >> Bistritz appears on world map. * Fork: proceed to Bistritz (storyline), or continue to explore Prague. Items: chest [Lottery Ticket] ? [Zodiac Bracelet/Acc, Kirin Scale, Priest's Wine (on a table)] Lotto #8: [Berserker Earrings/Seal of Luck] Shop: Peddler Rosa's Time Is Money Shop (*New* A-4) Monsters: none BOSS: Birdman x2 (m51/fire) [Holy Mother Bust; E=840] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 15. Cursed Bistritz [0:25] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Search for Terry's General Store; Trigger: When you hear "Who is it? ..."; reply "I'm a friend..."; accept offer to "Come inside." * Story: meet Nina, her mom, and Mayor Keith who warns that monsters appear when the fog turns red, mentions a nobleman's castle, then leaves. * Trigger: find mayor's house >> *A* suggests asking people here about mayor * Trigger: Talk with Hunter Warda and Cowardly Ido, then return to Terry's General Store >> Nina talks about letter with leather bag attached; *Z* suggests checking out the castle next; receive [Easy Gate Key] from Nina. * Talk with Nina; her shop is now open. Find Moon Card before shopping. * Power-up opportunity: talk with Chickenheart to checkout his *NEW* gear. * Trigger: approach east gate; "Unlock gate?"; reply "Yes" >> Blue Castle appears on world map. * Fork: proceed to Blue Castle (storyline), or return to Bistritz. Items: ? [Lottery Ticket, Mana Seed, TalismanOfWisdom, Moon Swallow] Valuables: Chest [Moon Card] Nina > [East Gate Key] Shops: Weapon Shopkeeper, Chickenheart (*NEW* W-4:A, W-2:K) Nina's Do Re Mi shop Monsters: Birdman (m51/fire) [Holy Mother Bust; E=420] Mailman (m52/earth) [Bronze Arrowhead; E=380] Police Dog (m53/water) <..> [Bronze Dagger; E=510] BOSS: none ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 16. Blue Castle [0:25] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Explore courtyard outside the castle on the right-hand side; meet Meiyuan. Treasure tip: You can find 1 more item before you even reach the courtyard! * Trigger: attempt to open castle gate, fail, start to leave >> gate opens. * Trigger: enter castle >> *A* sees a ghostly figure walking in the castle. * Try opening wooden doors on north & west walls; discover they won't open yet * Roam around castle corridors until *A* sees ghostly figure again; follow the ghostly figure downstairs. * Talk to man sitting against wall for cryptic clues about (1) the coffins and (2) a sealed door to the throne (upstairs). * Trigger: Light up candles on all 8 coffins by praying to them in alphabetical order (see map below) >> hear a door being unlocked. * Don't forget to explore the ledge above Abel's coffin. * Trigger: examine open coffin (#9) >> ghostly figure appears; follow ghostly figure upstairs to north wooden door; enter. (If the door to the throne won't open, you haven't completed the coffin puzzle yet.) * Trigger: attempt to leave >> hear Listless Male Voice; name Keith (*K*) who joins the group. Note: he is already equipped with a Pocket Watch. * Story: now that *K* is in the group, examine door on west wall to learn why this door is closed. * Fork: proceed to Bistritz (storyline), or revisit Blue Castle. Items: chest [Cosmic Bracelet/Acc, Thera Seed, Star Swallow, Pocket Watch/Acc, Tent] ? [Lottery Ticket] Monsters: Garm (m55/dark) [Angel's Feather; E=650] Gremlin (m56/wind) [Phoenix Tail; E=370] Hollow (m57/light) <..> [TalismanOfMercy; E=440] Dead Knight (m58/dark) [Pure Seed; E=680] BOSS: none Map of Coffins in basement of Blue Castle ***************************************************** * --------- 1-Abel 8-Steven 3-Frank 6-Maria * * | Open #9 | * * --------- 4-Helen 7-Robin 2-Edgar 5-Leon * ***************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17. Back at Bistritz [0:20] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Talk with Cowardly Ido (the neighborhood watchdog); then... Trigger: enter general store >> Nina says her mom disappeared, *Z* suggests going to the mayor's house, Nina shows her special bag to the group. * TRIGGER: Break into Kevin's house >> m54; the red mist is cleared. Nina and *A* exchange gifts; *K* wants to see the mayor's laboratory before they leave the village. (Make a note to check back about Nina's special bag.) * Visit Hunter Warda; after the red mist is cleared, he is Lottery Member #07. * Trigger: enter mayor's house >> *K* asks *A* and *Z* to exorcise a demon from his castle. * Fork: accompany *K* back to Blue Castle to exorcise the demon (storyline), or revisit Bistritz. Items: chest [Flash Badge] ? [Seal of Strength] Lotto #7: [Oracle Earrings/Seal of Life] Monsters: Birdman (m51/fire) [Holy Mother Bust; E=420] Mailman (m52/earth) [Bronze Arrowhead; E=380] Police Dog (m53/water) <..> [Bronze Dagger; E=510] BOSS: Tindalos (m54/fire) [Iron Clogs; E=8000] .............................................................................. . Battle tip: Deathtouch knocks off most HP from any one player, so it's . . important to keep everyone's HP at least half, and preferably 3/4 full . . before Tindalos can attack again. *Z*'s Corpse Arm is a very effective . . attack, so use *K* if the party needs a second healer during a round. . .............................................................................. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 18. Blue Castle - Dark ... one soul for another? [0:55 (+0:20 graveyard)] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: approach wooden door on west wall >> seal disappears; enter and climb tower; explore doorways on the way up; save at top floor. * TRIGGER: enter room on top floor >> find *Y*; start battle. .............................................................................. . Battle tips: In his present state of mind, *Y* is a very dangerous enemy! . . Use *K*'s Bat Dance as the main attack, and - unless you're sure you don't . . need to keep everyone fully healed - use *Z* and *A* to maintain your HP, . . MP, and SP levels. . .............................................................................. * After about six rounds of attacks, *Y* transforms into Dark Emperor; after about 11 more successful attacks, *Y* stops fighting and *A* appears in the graveyard of *Y*'s mind. You are now controlling the movements of *A*. * Trigger: As *A*, talk with the four masks >> they will open the Gate of Self (upper right-hand corner in graveyard), where *Y*'s soul is; but if they do, they will one day come back for *A*'s soul!!! * TRIGGER: As *A*, enter the Gate of Self (no choice, since *A* can't leave the graveyard until she enters this area) >> dialogue, then NPC 2. .............................................................................. . Battle tips: After *Y* makes 2 or 3 strong attacks, Fox Face uses his !!! . . attack to deplete *Y* of all HP except 1. Fox Face can use !!! multiple . . times, so finish this battle as fast as you can! When you see Fox Face . . slouched over, *Y* should be able to defeat him with one more attack! . .............................................................................. * Story: *Y* and *A* decide to travel together again, *A* suggests heading back to Prague, *Y* receives a brightly polished talisman from *A*. (Did he drop it? A sparkling dot is visible on the jail floor just before the scene fades! Make a note to check this later.) Select whose going to fight; the group appears outside Blue Castle. Don't forget to equip *Y*'s new weapon! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> < ================= >>> Important Note on MALICE <<< ===================== > < Fork (1st game): Now that *Y* is back, check the graveyard to see which > < tombstones are glowing, and earn any level-2 fusion souls that are ready. > < You'll also notice two new things: (1) the Gate of Self has remained open, > < and (2) a tiny tombstone has appeared next to the Seal of Darkness. > < With Fox Face defeated, malice will no long grow when *Y* fights monsters! > <----------------------------------------------------------------------------> < Note: Danny Robinson found a way to start Malice > < increasing again BEFORE the critical dream in Section 20: Rouen Reunion. > < He found that if you go to Bistritz and ask Meiyan to change characters > < (he switched *Z* for *Y*, removed some equipment from *Z*, then switched > < back to *Y* and had *Y* add this equipment), Malice will start increasing > < again as long as *A* is also in your fighting party. He replayed this > < several times and concluded that switching characters with Meiyan was the > < trigger that started Malice increasing. Then, he was able to start > < fighting the Masks BEFORE they revealed their intent in Section 20!! This > < may be a glitch because there doesn't seem to be any reason in the story > < for the Masks to start appearing just because Meiyan switches characters. > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> * Fork: proceed to Prague (storyline), or revisit Blue Castle (see Section 30) or Bistritz (to shop and catch Meiyuan peaking at...). Items: chest [Seal of Speed, Pure Root, Head Gear/Acc] ? [Lottery Ticket, Tent, Seal of Force] Monsters: Garm (m55/dark) [Angel's Feather; E=650] Gremlin (m56/wind) [Phoenix Tail; E=370] Hollow (m57/light) <..> [TalismanOfMercy; E=440] Dead Knight (m58/dark) <..> [Pure Seed; E=680] BOSS: 1. Yuri (dark) [..] 2. Fox Face (NPC 2/no soul energy earned) [Brass Knuckles/*NEW* W-5:Y; E=13000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 19. The Witch of Prague [0:25] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Enter Prague tavern, then ... Trigger: walk to center of room >> (1) Owner Gismot has message from *M* to meet her in Rouen (where *A*'s father fought Roger Bacon and died), (2) Flirtatious Yuria wants to party & goes to the bathroom, (3) *A* says she will look for Yuria. * Have *A* talk to everyone (including *Y*!), then ... * Trigger: enter lady's bathroom >> ? appears by both stalls. * Trigger: check both stalls >> ? appears by mirror. * Trigger: look in mirror >> ? appears by both stalls. * Repeat triggers: look in stalls, then mirror, then stalls, then ... * TRIGGER: look in mirror >> two people appear, then NPC 24. * Fork: proceed to Rouen to look for *M* (storyline), or revisit Prague, Bistritz (Section 29), or Blue Castle (Section 30). Items: ? [Lottery Ticket (have you checked the men's bathroom?)] Monsters: none BOSS: Arcane Olga (NPC 24/dark +5) [Monk Earrings/Acc; E=15000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20. Rouen Reunion [0:30] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: scene of Roger Bacon & Arcane Olga, then the group arrives; *A* suggests looking for *M* in the Inn. * Trigger: enter Inn >> (1) Innkeeper prepares 2 rooms upstairs, and the group goes to sleep. (2) *Y* dreams, appears in the Graveyard, notices the Gate of Self is closed again, and thinks "A small grave appeared without my noticing it" (even if *Y* did see it earlier!); Have *Y* talk with the 4 masks >> they tell him he should be thankful to the girl for saving his soul from the God of Death, the one who wears the fox face. "This girl offered her soul to us! ... When Malice reaches it's peak, we'll come for the girl's soul in place of Fox Face!" (3) *Y* wakes up in room with *Z* and *K*. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> < Discussion on CLEARING MALICE - Part 2 > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> < This dream is a critical event! From now on, if Malice reaches RED ("it's > < peak"), one of the four masks will appear at random in place of Fox Face. > < They're now after *A*, so she needs to be in the party with *Y* for Malice > < to change. These guys are even more difficult to defeat than Fox Face! If > < *Y* let's his Malice reach RED and encounters one of the 4 masks, the only > < realistic option - for now - is to escape from battle. If you decide to > < fight, and loose, it will be GAME OVER and *A* will have lost her soul. > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> * Talk with *Z* and *K*, then go next door to *A*'s room; *A* is gone!. * Trigger: Talk with *Z* and *K* again, and/or talk with Innkeeper >> *Y* can now leave the Inn to search for *A*. (NOTE: This is an "Either/Or" trigger.) * Power-up opportunity: Talk with Silent Peddler to checkout the *NEW* W&A, and visit Meiyuan in the room at the bottom of the stairs. * If you try to leave, *Y* remembers that he has to look for *A*... * Exit Inn, enter alley. TRIGGER: walk to end of alley >> dialogue with *A*, Bacon & Olga appear, *M* drops in, m59 x2; *M* suggests heading back to Inn. * Story: scene in *A*'s room where *A* recalls that day when she & her dad were supposed to meet a warlock as powerful as Bacon, but Bacon appeared first; *M* learned that the first Roger Bacon in history appeared in England in the 13th century as an alchemist and warlock, but was exiled in 1540; when the group decides to visit the church to talk with Father Doyle, the Voice of Arcane Olga interrupts stating she won't let them. * After selecting party members for battle, search *Y*'s room, check equipment (note that *M* already has upgraded her W&A), and save. * Fork: It is now possible to leave town, stay and fight monsters to level up, or continue with the storyline. ****************************************************************************** * Note about Malice: Malice starts increasing again - IF *A* is in the * * party with *Y* during battles. If you fight a few battles and let Malice * * reach Red, one of the four masks will now appear in place of Fox Face! * ****************************************************************************** * Trigger: Examine door at end of alley >> spin ring 3: door opens. * TRIGGER: Proceed into the church until the group meets Father Doyle >> after some discussion, Doyle describes what happened 23 years ago: Story (below), then NPC 24. * Story: In 1890, 3 secret books were stolen from the Vatican. Two exorcists were hired to find them: Father Morris Elliot, and Father James O'Flaherty. In 1899, O'Flaherty disappeared in England. Father Elliot received a letter from O'Flaherty that said one of the books had been sold to a scholar in Wales; no second letter ever came. *A*'s father found the scholar; it was Roger Bacon! The warlock that was going to help Father Elliot was Cardinal Albert Simon. Just as Doyle was about to tell where to find Simon, a magic bolt struck him down and Olga appeared. After the battle, Doyle said, "The cardinal... is in... London..." Doyle vanished, and the group appeared outside the church. * Re-enter the church through the front door next to Happy Leonard; search the confessional chambers. * In the alley, Hooked-nose Robin is Lottery Member #06. * Fork: proceed to London (storyline), or revisit Prague (Section 27), Bistritz (Section 29), Blue Castle (Section 30), or Rouen. Items: chest [Jasper Cape/A-5:female] ? [Lottery Ticket x2, Huge Jug/Acc, TeaOfTheHolyOne, Seal of the Soul] Lotto #6: [Accelerator/Seal of Aura] Shop: Silent Peddler is Tight-Lipped Merchant (*NEW* W&A-5) Monsters: Bifronze (m59/dark) <..> [Thera Root; E=860] Camazotz (m60/wind) <..> [Mana Root; E=620] BOSS: 1) Bifronze x2 (m59/dark) <..> [Thera Root x2; E=1720] 2) Arcane Olga (NPC 24/dark) [Small Jug/Acc; E=16000] ****************************************************************************** * IV. Britain: The Party is Complete [4-5 hr] * ****************************************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 21. London - Old Castle Street ... The Boy from London [0:30] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: talk with Penniless Mike >> receive [Sun Card] (for 7000 cash!) * Drunken Orro is Lottery Member #05. * Trigger: walk down the street past Drunken Orro >> scene about a runny-nose kid, Joshua, and his brother, Chris. After the kids leave, *M* notices that her wallet is missing. * Story: when you explore the area, you notice an old shutter (door) on the ground that next to what looks like an abandoned house. Talk with Diehard Smoker Ryan, who suggests going to the bar to learn more about the kids. * Trigger: enter bar >> owner tells group about the London Rats and their leader, Halley (*H*) who you name. * Trigger: return to Inn >> *M* tells *Z* she lost her wallet and ALL of their money! The group decides they need to find the London Rats. (If you try to leave London, *Y* thinks "We've got to get the wallet back first." ------------------- London Rats Hideout ------------------- * Trigger: examine the shutter near the abandoned house >> normal push ring, the shutter moves to reveal an entrance; *Y* climbs down ladder into basement. After exploring the area, climb up ladder near save circle. * Trigger: go upstairs >> overhear Joshua bragging about lifting the wallet; after some dialogue, Chris gives wallet back to *M* - minus some money (100 cash); Joshua gives *M* a [Crucifix/Acc]; Chris describes the orphanage, then *H* enters. When *M* asks if they've heard of a mansion owned by Albert Simon, Chris wonders if Old Carl might know something. * Search attic, then FORK: leave London to revisit an earlier location, or... * Go next door to Old Carl's house. Trigger: enter >> *H* asks Carl if he knows Cardinal Simon. Carl says the mansion is across The Thames River. * Search Carl's place! Examine suspicious-looking phone; it's not hooked up yet, so make a note to return from time to time to learn what it will say! * Trigger: exit town >> Orphanage appears on the map. * Fork: proceed to the Orphanage (storyline), or revisit London, Prague (Section 27), Bistritz (Section 29), Blue Castle (Section 30), or Rouen (Section 28). Items: ? [Lottery Ticket, Oak Slingshot/W-2:H, Thera Extract, Mana Extract, Demon Earrings/Acc, Lottery Ticket, Soul Benediction, TalismanOfPurity, Warning Device/Acc, Seal of Force, Lottery Ticket, Kirin Scale] Joshua > [Crucifix/Acc] Valuables: Penniless Mike > [Sun Card] Lotto #5: [Priest Earrings/Seal of Speed] Shop: Tight-Lipped Merchant (W&A-5) Monsters: none BOSS: none ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 22. London - Orphanage [1:00] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: the group appears outside the orphanage; *H* decides to wait outside. * Trigger: go inside >> low-voiced man (Jack) says Albert Simon was the previous owner, says the kids are asleep, and asks the group to run along. The group goes outside and talks with *H*; *Y* tells *H* the guy they're looking for disappeared 2 years ago; *M* says let's go back to the Inn. ----------------- Old Castle Street ----------------- * Trigger: walk away from the orphanage >> scene of Jack with Man in Black; the group appears at Inn; *Y* suggests asking towns people about orphanage. * Save, then talk with everyone on Old Castle Street and in the bar. * Power-up tip: now that you have your money, talk with the Tight-Lipped Merchant to check out the W&A and other gear. * If you return to the Orphanage and attempt to enter, the only response is that the other side of the door is enveloped in silence. ------------------- London Rats Hideout ------------------- * Go to the London Rats Hideout. Trigger: go upstairs >> learn that the kids have been taken away! *H* wants to rescue them, *Y* says "We'll go with you" and he asks one of the girls to go tell the old man; select *A* or *M*, and the other female replies that she will meet you back at the hotel. ---------------- Orphanage Secret ---------------- * Enter orphanage and search for the kids. Make sure *H* gets to at least level 30 here, because his AirShot is very effective in the boss fights. * First game tip: if you finish acquiring your level 3 fire soul energy here, you'll be able to your level 3 Fire Soul in the next location!! * TRIGGER: Examine lower-left door >> hear Joshua's voice, then m63 * Trigger: enter lower-left room >> find Joshua & Sharon, learn Chris was taken by man in white clothes, receive [Guestroom Key] from Joshua * Open upper-left door (with Guestroom Key); enter; trigger: take book on table >> 3-hit normal ring: see picture of woman holding baby, 5 March 75 * Examine upper-right door, enter passcode (5375), open door; trigger: examine desk in back-left corner >> 3-hit normal ring: find diary; read it to learn that Roger Bacon gave Jack the Emigre Document; trigger: examine picture of beautiful woman >> Mary, 3 July 54. * TRIGGER: examine downstairs center door, enter passcode (3754); open door >> *H* hears Mysterious Voice and says, "Mom?", then NPC 29, m64; then scene shifts to ... ------------------- London Rats Hideout ------------------- * Story: Learn that *H*'s mother was taken to the mental hospital. * It appears everyone has been fully healed! * Make sure *H* does NOT have his original SlingShot equipped, then ... Trigger: talk to Joshua >> ... if you're not using that slingshot, could we borrow it? Let Joshua borrow the slingshot; check back later to learn why! --------- Orphanage --------- * Return to downstairs center door and search behind the curtain on the right. * Fork: proceed to the hospital (storyline), or revisit Old Castle Street, Prague (Section 27), Bistritz (Section 29), Blue Castle (Section 30), or Rouen (Section 28). Items: ? [Zodiac Bracelet/Acc, Eye of Ouroboros, Seal of Luck, Pure Extract, Monkey Paw, Lottery Ticket, Monk Earrings/Acc, Draze/W-5:M] Valuables: m63 > [Kid's Room Key]; Joshua > [Guestroom Key] Monsters: Larmgelg (m61/water) [Phoenix Tail; E=660] Banshee (m62/fire) [Pure Root; E=775] BOSS: 1. Night Stalker (m63/wind) <..> [Kid's Room Key; E=4000] 2. Jack (NPC 29/water) [Seal of Speed; E=17000] 3. Mammon (m64/earth) [Demon Earrings/Acc; E=20000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 23. Calios Mental Hospital ... Sealed Mansion [2:00] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: enter lower courtyard >> guards say no visitors, reply "Get out of our way!" >> m65 x2; scene of Viscount Rausen (a Friar Knight), Roger Bacon and Arcane Olga. * Search guard booth and courtyard, then go inside hospital. * Trigger: walk into corridor 1 >> Friar Knight intercepts group, m65 x2 * Examine sparkling dot near end of corridor 1 [Bronze Coin]. Note that 3 of 4 coins here will NOT display ? when you stand over them; press X anyway! * Walk around corner; trigger: walk to center of corridor 2 >> m65 x2 * Walk thru door at end of corridor 2; walk through torture chamber. * Enter next room; trigger: walk to center of room >> m65 x2; search dead body [Heart Key]; examine sparking dot [Silver Coin]; save. .............................................................................. | | [Club #1] [Spade] [Club #2] [Diamond] | MAP | C | | | O | CORRIDOR 2 | | R | ______________________________________| | R [Door 4 - never opens] | I | | D [Door 3 - never opens] | O | | R [Heart #2] | | | 1 [Heart #1] .............................................................................. * Return to corridor 1, open lower-right Heart door #1, enter, open two chests [one has Club Key]; then open Heart door #2 (the next door in the corridor), enter, open chest. * Return to corridor 2, open upper-left Club door (1st door on left), enter, search chest to find [Diamond Key]; then open Club door #2 (third door from left), find [Gold Coin]; open Diamond" door (fourth door from left), enter, find [Platinum Coin]. * Return to room with save circle; Trigger: place one coin in each vase (silver in upper left, gold in lower left, bronze in upper right, platinum in lower right) >> doorway in center of room opens. Walk down hidden stairs. * Examine ventilation grate; it looks too small to climb through. * TRIGGER: Examine Door 13 >> Captive mother's voice warns, "He's near." Viscount Rausen walks up, says the patient in that room is not ready to be released yet; m69. * Story: *H* examine grate and says, "Looks like we can get through here!" He kicks in the grate and enters. The Straightjacket woman won't talk. *H* stays with his mom; *Y* and *A* decide to look for key to the big doors. * Return to corridor 2; open Spade door (second door from left); enter; rest on bed to recover for free; search chest [Dungeon Key]; scene of *H* with his mom; you see a pulsing red light in the treasure chest; search chest again [red Fire Gravestone]. * TRIGGER: unlock Door 13 with Dungeon Key >> story (below), then m70. * Story: scene of Roger Bacon explaining that *H*'s mom is the beacon to an approaching god. Bacon strikes *H* with a bolt, then Straightjacket Woman says, "Drop this act now, you who claim to be Roger Bacon..." Then, to the group, "I'll go with this man. You go and meet an old man in Wales..." Items: chest [Laurel Slingshot/W-3:H, Demon Ward Necklace/Acc, Lottery Ticket, KeyToSuccess, FruitOfYggdrasil] Valuables: ? [Coins (bronze, silver, gold, platinum); Card keys (heart, club, diamond, spade); Dungeon Key; Fire Gravestone] Monsters: Specter (m65/light) [B. Tortoise Fang; E=1600] Meat Eater (m66/wind) <..> [Thera Root; E=1320] Doom (m67/earth) <..> [Mana Root; E=1250] Buggs (m68/dark) [Soul of Benediction; E=800] BOSS: 1. Rausan (m69/fire) [Spade Key; E=15000] 2. Olga (m70/dark) [Warlock Earrings/Acc;E=22000] ------------------- London Rats Hideout ------------------- * Story: *Y* wakes-up here after fighting Olga; *A* says "His mother's death was a big shock to him." * Trigger: talk with Joshua >> receive [Oath Grail], a goblet of a king who sold his soul to Death. Let's discuss why this is important. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> <> Discussion on CLEARING (OR NOT CLEARING!) MALICE - Part 3 <> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> < * Ever since *A* saved *Y*'s soul (when she appeared in the graveyard and > < promised to give her soul to the four masks in Section 18), if you had > < let Malice reach red, *Y* would have encountered extremely challenging, > < almost impossible battles with one of the four masks. But, from now on, > < with the Oath Grail in your possession, these "red Malice" battles won't > < be quite as challenging! > < * Why should you care? *A*'s judgement day is coming. If only there was > < a way to prevent the four masks from claiming *A*'s soul... > < * What if you could kill the four masks?! > < * The Oath Grail mentions the masks in a specific order. So, what might > < happen if you were to let Malice reach Red and keep it Red so *Y* could > < battle (and defeat) each of the four masks in the order specified by the > < Grail? Let's see how the Oath Grail works! > < > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Special note about 2 triggers related to the Oath Grail. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * The Oath Grail weakens the 4 masks in 2 stages: - the first stage is triggered simply by possessing it, and - the second stage is triggered by reading it. * Using trigger notation, - Trigger 1: talk with Joshua >> Stage 1 weakening. - Trigger 2: read Oath Grail >> Stage 2 weakening. * Stage 1: If you have the Oath Grail, but have not yet read it... - the Grail Mask will not inflict a ring handicap on you, - the Grail mask will make the ring easier by doubling the target areas, and - the Gold and Staff masks will use Fast Shock instead of the more difficult Popping and Tight Shock handicaps. (The Sword Mask uses the Fast Shock handicap before and after possessing the Oath Grail.) * Stage 2: If you read the Oath Grail (from Valuables menu) and follow its advice (to defeat the masks in a specific order), then one defeated mask will weaken the next mask (even more than in Stage 1) by preventing it from using the Fast Shock handicap. Stage 2 weakening is achieved by - first killing the Grail Mask; this weakens the Gold Mask, and - next, killing the Gold Mask; this weakens the Staff Mask, and - next, killing the Staff Mask; this weakens the Sword Mask, and - finally, killing the Sword Mask. This order (1-Grail, 2-Gold, 3-Staff, 4-Sword) is the easiest and safest way to defeat the four masks... but, this is NOT the only way... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ < > < So, the Oath Grail holds the secret to defeating the masks easily, meaning > < without any ring abnormalities. However, this is not the only way you can > < kill all four masks and save *A*'s soul. How you proceed depends on how > < you want to play. There are 4 ways: > < (1) EASIEST METHOD: Get the Oath Grail, read it, and kill all 4 masks in > < the order as specified by the Grail. If a mask appears out of order, > < you will need to escape the battle (press R1, then X) and only fight a > < mask in a "red Malice" battle when the mask you're waiting for appears.> < This means you will increase the "escaped battle" counter in the Score > < menu, which may or may not be important to you. Of course, you could > < try resetting the game until you happen to encounter all masks in the > < desired order, but you could be resetting for days, months, or years > < until this happens! Possible, but potentially very time consuming. > < (2) HI-SCORE METHOD: Get the Oath Grail, read it, and kill all 4 masks > < whenever they appear. When a mask appears out of order, it will > < inflict the handicap. (Sometimes, if you've read the > < Oath Grail and encounter a mask out-of-order, they "forget" that you've> < read the Grail and still use their strong ring handicaps! If this > < happens, you can escape and reload or reset the game, read the Grail > < again, and continue playing. They "should" weaken after reading it > < again!) You can somewhat counter their ring handicaps by using ring- > < altering items that affect different aspects of the ring than the > < inalterable handicap they impose. Thus, if they inalterably speed the > < ring sweep, you can widen the target area by using items such as Bronze> < Arrowheads, Bronze Daggers, and Silver Hands. You'll discover that > < Stage-1 weakened masks have only about 1000-1500 HP (compared with > < about 2500 HP for Stage-0 masks), so they can be killed in a few > < rounds of battle. An advantage of this method is that you can avoid > < accumulating any escaped battles which may affect your score and will > < affect your statistics on the score page. Defeating the masks > < out-of-order is easier at higher levels, so you might want to wait > < until you've done some or all of the side-quests in Part VIII. > < (3) RING-MASTER METHOD: Get the Oath Grail, but don't read it before > < killing all 4 masks. The Grail and Sword masks will be at the same > < difficulty as in the Hi-Score method, but the Gold and Staff masks > < will use much more challenging ring handicaps. > < (4) HERO METHOD: If you very adept at the ring and can use Mind's Eye > < and/or other attack-enhancing items such as Blue Dragon Horn, you can > < try defeating the masks without even talking to Joshua to get the > < Oath Grail. All 4 masks will be at full strength and will hit you > < hard, but - if you equip Mind's Eye and/or use helpful items - you > < can fight back with strong counter-attacks and ultimately prevail! > < > < Brief FAQ on the 4 Masks > < ------------------------ > < Q1: What do I do if a mask appears out of order, and I want to kill them > < in the order specified in the Oath Grail? > < A1: Escape by pressing R1, then X, each time a mask appears out of order. > < > < Q2: Do I have to fight the masks in the order specified in the Oath Grail > < to save *A*'s soul and get the Good Ending? > < A2: Nope, but it is a bit easier! The order you kill the 4 masks will NOT > < affect the story, but it could affect your score (which may or may not > < be important to you). > < > < Q3: How will I know when a mask appears out of order? > < A3: If a mask has not been weakened, it will shine brightly and taunt *A*; > < otherwise, it's color will be faded (both in battles and when *Y* > < visits the graveyard); the Grail Mask (which will always be weakened > < as long as you have the Oath Grail) exclaims "What is that cup?", > < and the other weakened masks will make various arrogant comments. > < > < Q4: What should I do if I don't want to wait for the masks to appear in > < order, and I just want to fight them whenever they appear? > < A4: Equip your party (first *Y*, then the others) with Coral and Jade > < Lariats and stock up on Bronze Daggers. When a mask appears, use a > < Bronze Dagger to widen everyone's ring areas (if a mask inalterably > < speeds the ring sweep), or a Gold Hourglass (if a mask inalterably > < narrows the ring sweep), and devote one character (usually *A*) as a > < healer to keep everyone healed. Depending on your skill with the ring,> < you could use physical attacks (except with Gold) since these rings are> < usually more uniform and easier to hit; but, special skills usually > < inflict more damage (except with Staff) if you can do the ring. *Y* > < should fuse to his favorite level-3 soul (the masks are non-elemental) > < and focus on attacking as much as possible. Usually, only 3 magic > < attacks by *Y* will kill any mask! > < > < The following shows what happens when you battle the strong forms of the > < four masks with Stage 0 (none), 1 (partial), and 2 (complete) weakening: > < > < Masks: Strong Grail (m114/all) [Amber Ring/Acc] > < (0) (invisible ring) > < (1) > < (2) > < > < Strong Gold (m116/all) [Carnelian Ring/Acc] > < (0) (irregular speeding sweep) > < (1) > < (2) <..> > < > < Strong Staff (m115/all) [Lazurite Ring/Acc] > < (0) (half-size ring areas> > < (1) > < (2) <..> > < > < Strong Sword (m113/all) [Obsidian Ring/Acc] > < (0) (double-speed sweep) > < (1) > < (2) <..> > < > < For each mask, E=45000 for the strong form; +5 soul energy (all elements!) > < > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> <> Discussion on CLEARING (OR NOT CLEARING!) MALICE - Part 4 <> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> < After a mask is defeated, its remaining very weak form will attack at > < random as long as your Malice is RED! If you are interested in compiling > < a complete monster library, or if you want a quick and easy way to earn > < soul energy across the board, keep your Malice in the RED! > < Note 1: You don't need to wait until the strong form of all four masks > < have been defeated. If you encounter a weak mask while you are > < still waiting to fight some of the strong forms, there's no need > < to escape; just attack! > < Note 2: Except for your collection of monsters in the library, and the > < rapid pace of earning soul energy, fighting or not fighting the > < weak masks will have no other impact on the game. > < Note 3: When you visit the graveyard after fighting some of the masks, > < you'll see undefeated masks still bobbing up and down, and the > < defeated masks floating absolutely still. > < > < Masks: Weak Sword (m117/all) <..> [..] > < Weak Grail (m118/all) <..> [..] > < Weak Staff (m119/all) <..> [..] > < Weak Gold (m120/all) <..> [..] > < For each mask, E=10 for the weak form; +5 soul energy (all elements!) > < You can fight these masks for soul energy an unlimited number of times!! > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> * Level-up opportunity: talk with Sharon to fight some of her random monsters. Since she is new at this, her collection of monsters has just started. (See Section 48 for more info on Sharon's Pit Fights.) Valuables: Joshua > Oath Grail ----------------- Old Castle Street ----------------- * Trigger: attempt to leave Old Castle Street to the right of Old Carl's house >> Is that *H* on the bridge? * Trigger: walk toward bridge >> discussion with *H*; *A* has flashback about her father meeting Roger Bacon; *A* needs to go to Rouen by herself. * The scene shifts to the Rats Hideout, *Y* tells the group where *A* has gone; *Y* and *H* talk about their parents, *Y* says he's going to Wales. * The world map appears with Rouen selected; no other choice for now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 24. Rouen ... Confessional Pic [0:15] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * *A* arrives in Rouen; Trigger: talk to Newlywed Jane >> she complains about her husband. (Make a note to check back later about this.) * Trigger: examine door at rear of church >> 10-sec push ring: door opens. Note on push ring: Depending on your finger speed, it may help to wait a few seconds before starting to rapidly punch the X button. * Trigger: walk by altar >> *A* recalls that day... Father went to call on Doyle who was in the confessional. * Trigger: enter second confessional booth >> *A* recalls more of the past, then Spin Ring 3: *A* sees a hiding place for Father Doyle's papers, "Doyle Letter: ... I sold my best friend, Elliot, and his daughter to demons to protect my life... I know who Roger Bacon really is..." Then, *A* sees a photo of Doyle with Cardinal Simon; *A* realizes "We met him that night..." * Trigger: leave confessional booth >> Roger Bacon is standing outside; he says, "Looks like you're on to us." Bacon wishes to talk with *A*; she replies "Oh is that so... Roger Bacon. Or should I say... Cardinal Albert Simon." Bacon/Simon says he has found a different key: Koudelka! Then, Albert explains his motives and, after giving *A* a warning, vanishes. ------------------- London Rats Hideout ------------------- * The group appears in the hideout; after *A* tells the group about Simon, *H* remembers that his mother told him about an incident with a scientist at a monastery in Wales. The group decides to go to Wales; select someone to join *Y* and *A*. * Trigger: talk to Joshua with *H* in your party >> get [ImprovedSlingshot]. * Trigger: go to Britain Map >> Nemeton Monastery appears. * Fork: proceed to Wales: Nemeton Monastery (storyline), or revisit the Hospital, Orphanage, Old Castle Street, Prague, Bistritz, Blue Castle, or Rouen. Items: Joshua > [Improved Slingshot/W-6:H] ****************************************************************************** * V. Some Forks before the "Final" Battle with Albert [0.5 - 1 hr] * ****************************************************************************** This is a good time to consider taking a few forks in your journey. The events in **some** of these places play out differently before and after "completing" your first visit to Nemeton Monastery, meaning before or after the BOSS fight and talking with Koudelka. The collectable items will be available later, but if you wait, you won't be able to participate in determining the outcome. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 25. Fork to Calios Mental Hospital [0:10] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * If you forgot to check here after the battle scene (m70/Section 23), return to Door 13, enter, and search clothing remaining on the floor. * Approach chair in torture chamber; Introverted Chopin is Lottery Member #04. * Effect of completing Nemeton: none. Items: ? [Deathblade Jiru/W-5:K] Lotto #4: [Eternity Card/Seal of Force] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 26. Fork to Orphanage [0:02] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * If you forgot to check here after the battle scene (m64/Section 22), return to the center room downstairs, and look behind the curtain on the right. * Effect of completing Nemeton: the item will be gone! Items: ? [Draze/W-5:M] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 27. Fork to Prague [0:02] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This event is triggered by completing Section 20. * Enter tavern, talk to Bar Owner, enter men's bathroom to look for Darcie. * Trigger: press X at ? >> give Darcie something. * Trigger: attempt to leave tavern >> Darcie appears, thanks you for your help, and gives you a yellow stone. * Go to courtyard at end of street and talk with Darcie to find out what you gave him. * Effect of completing Nemeton: none. Valuables: Darcie > [Air Gravestone] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 28. Fork to Rouen [0:05] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This event is triggered by completing Section 21. * Go to Inn; trigger: walk upstairs >> overhear Young Female Voice and Young Male Voice; enter room at top of stairs; see man and woman standing. * Trigger: talk to Indignant Mary >> ... she complains about a blue stone. * Trigger: talk to Upset John >> ... wonders if he should see a priest. * Enter church through rear door. * Trigger: enter the second confessional >> hear footsteps; Upset John starts confessing to *Y* about a stone, a family heirloom that embodies the power of water; what should he do? >> 3 possible responses: 1. Give her the diamond; 2. It's about love, not the ring; 3. Recommend they split up. * After John leaves, go back to the Inn. If you selected response 1, John needs cash to buy the diamond and will sell the stone for 3000 cash; for response 2, New-Man John gives *Y* the stone for free; and for response 3, the room is empty! *Y* finds Wild John outside in the dark across the street from Newlywed Jane; he will sell the stone for 10,000 cash. * Effect of completing Nemeton: see Sections 34 and 36. Valuables: John > [Water Gravestone] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 29. Fork to Bistritz [0:03] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This event is triggered by completing Section 19. * Trigger: Examine sparkling dot outside Terry's store >> see a tiny sprout. * Enter Terry's General Store; Trigger: talk to Nina >> she tells you she planted some weird-looking seeds that were in her bag of wheat seeds. * Go outside; Trigger: examine sparkling spot in front of the store (see a tiny sprout); choose to watch over it, exit to Europe menu, then return. * Examine sparkle again (a small hope...), watch over it; exit town; return. * Examine sparkle again (a tiny, lovely plant...), watch; exit town; return. * Examine sparkle again (a precious future...), watch; exit town; return. * Find Nina standing where the plant was growing; talk to Nina >> ... she dug up a green stone and gives it to you. * Effect of completing Nemeton: see Section 35. Valuables: Nina > [Earth Gravestone] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 30. Fork to Blue Castle [0:20] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * If you forgot to check here after the battle scene (NPC 2/Section 18), climb the tower stairs and search the top floor. Look for a sparkling dot. * Effect of completing Nemeton: none. Valuables: ? [Dark Gravestone] ****************************************************************************** * VI. Wales ... The "Final" Battle with Albert [2 - 4 hr] ****************************************************************************** Albert will say this is the final battle for him, but is it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 31. Nemeton Monastery [0:10] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Explore circular paths inside the slick-looking house, then go back outside. Valuables: ? [Light Gravestone] Note: You should now have all 6 elemental gravestones. These valuables will let you fight and equip the level-3 fusion souls. See discussion at the end of this section for more info on mastering your ultimate souls. --------------- Ruins - hilltop --------------- * Walk up the hill, read tombstone, search around, then ... * Trigger: enter ruins to right >> Strange Creature appears, says his name is Roger Bacon. *A* says Koudelka told us to come here. Roger says, "Why don't you all come inside? ... I'll be waiting..." * Finish exploring hilltop ruins, then go back to the house. Items: chest [Mant. of Nobility/A-7:K] ? [TalismanOfPower] ------------------- Slick-Looking House ------------------- * Trigger: enter house >> story: Roger tells history of Nemeton Monastery, mentioning that the former owner, Patrick, used the Emigre document in his research. *A* thinks Albert Simon may have sold the book to Patrick. Roger replies that Albert was a student of his ... After a slide-show narrative that reveals the motives of Bacon/Simon, he say "I'll take you to Albert... This teleporter isn't completed yet, but the vending machine works fine." * Power-up opportunity: check out the new W&A in the vending machine, but shop conservatively - you'll find lots of new weapons and armor soon. (The most you should buy now: Weapons for *Z* & *K*; Armor for *Y*, *A* & *M*.) Shop: Continental Zero vending machine (*NEW* W&A-6, plus W-4 & W-5 for *K*) ============================================================================== Discussion about learning ???? skills [about 0:30 for 6 souls] ============================================================================== * When *Y* has a level 3 fusion soul equipped that has a ???? skill, his soul will learn this new skill when he goes berserk. While this can be done anywhere, it is easiest and fastest in the graveyard where *Y* is alone, so he doesn't get slowed down by his companions. * Recommended technique: Fight some monsters (anywhere; Calios and Nemeton Ruins are handy since you can heal for free) to build some Malice ... a small amount is safest, since your hero will be berserk! Then, visit the graveyard, equip Small Jug to deplete SP faster, talk with the four masks to start a battle, fuse with a soul having ????, then defend until *Y*'s SP decreases to 0. Berserk *Y* will attack with ???? and learn the new skill. If you had only a small amount of malice, a single use of the ???? skill should defeat the evil monster; otherwise, if you had high malice, the evil monster will survive the single attack, and you now have a berserk *Y* to deal with! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 32. Sanctuary Ruins [1:00] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Return to ruins on hilltop >> Roger appears and says, "I'll show you the last secret that remains"; the door slides open; Roger enters. Follow him. * Roger tells more of the history of Neam, notices that the inner door (which is illustrated with the Judgement Ring) has been opened, and says "... at the end of this path shall you find Albert and Koudelka... Let me open the Door of Judgement for you! I'll wait here." * Talk to Roger again; he will replenish your strength for free! Save; enter. ----------------------------------------------- Sanctuary Ruins - the path to Nemeton Basement ----------------------------------------------- * As you explore the caverns, you'll encounter some chests sealed in colored- light pyramids. From the entrance, let's head right and proceed downstairs until you get to a stone tablet in the wall that describes repelling chests. To solve this puzzle, let's start by going right into room with 2 chests. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Trigger: open the upper-left chest >> chest in lower cavern opens. Leave the second chest in this room closed. * Go to the lower cavern. (Path: L, L, L, L, D & R, R, R) Trigger: open chest >> chest in upper cavern to the right of the white mist opens, then all 3 chests vanish along with the white mist revealing a pedestal with a blue button. Trigger: press blue button >> a blue flame appears on a pedestal in a remote chamber. * Exit left, then up to room with two chests. (Don't miss the hidden chest on the left side of the way in!) Open left chest; return to entrance, go left into room with 2 side-by-side stone tablets in the wall that describe seals, flames, and light: "When all colors mix, the flame will glow white" which means you'll need to find more colors to add to the (now blue) flame. * NOTE on sealed chests: Unopened chests remain unsealed ONLY while the flame has the corresponding color. This means you will need to collect the treasures one at a time. If you try to unseal 2 or more chests before you collect the treasure, you'll discover that only the chest that had been sealed with the current flame color is still unsealed. After a previously sealed chest has been opened, however, it remains unsealed and open. * Continue left and proceed downstairs and go up to a room with a purple-light pyramid seal and a red button on a pedestal. Trigger: press red button >> red adds to blue to make a purple flame, purple seal vanishes, open chest. * Continue deeper into the caverns on the main path to chamber with the red fire pit; read tablet: pit will activate when all seals are removed. * Proceed deeper to a chamber with a chest under a yellow seal; go upstairs. Trigger: press green button >> green adds to purple to make a white flame. * Return to main entrance, proceed right to room with 2 chests, open remaining chest, then go to room with blue button. Trigger: press blue button >> blue turns off; subtracting blue from white makes a yellow flame. * Return to chamber that had the yellow-light seal; Trigger: open chest >> this confirms all seals have been removed and activates fire pit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - QUICK SUMMARY: 1.blue, 2.purple=red+blue, 3.white=red+blue+green, 4.yellow=red+green. All 4 items need to be collected from the chests, one at a time, to complete this puzzle. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Return to chamber with fire pit >> receive [Destruction Stone]. * Note: by now, you should have found improved weapons for *Y*, *A*, & *M* as well as better armor for *Z* and *H*. * Power-up opportunity: This is a good place have *Y* let his Malice go RED to defeat the four masks. The huge experience points gained (45000 a pop!) will make the upcoming fight with Albert much easier! * Go to the end of the caverns to the save circle; SAVE. * Fork: Proceed to door (storyline) or continue exploring. Items: Sealed Chests [blue: Mind's Eye/Acc, purple: Holy Book of Martyrs/W-7:A, white: Coat of Sage/A-7:Z, yellow: Seal of Vitality] chest [Silver Wolf Fang/W-7:Y, Mauser Prototype/W-7:M, Seal of Strength, Punk Jacket/A-7:H] ? [Lottery Ticket] Valuables: > [Destruction Stone] Note: You can collect this valuable after the battle with Albert in Section 33, but you'll have missed the opportunity to get Amon. Monsters: Straighe (m71/water) [Phoenix Tail; E=1750] Sin (m72/light) <..> [TalismanOfPurity; E=1650] Guinea Pig (m73/dark) [Pure Root; E=1800] Inverse (m74/earth) <..> [TeaOfTheHolyOne; E=3000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 33. Stairs beyond Nemeton Basement [0:25] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: examine doors >> move ahead? ... let's go!! >> doors open; after some dialogue, Albert says, "Come on up!" * TRIGGER: Climb upstairs >> story (below), then NPC 1, m75. * Story: Albert says "... This is the final battle for me... I stole 3 books: 1. The Pulse Track ... to wake an ancient god, 2. The Emigre Document ... to summon a god of death, 3. The Codex of Laurie ... to summon the "Other God", which I am now attempting! ... Koudelka, Witch of Dark Flames! Come with me and let us raise the thrones of the "Other Gods!" The legacy of the ancient gods! Neemato!" Koudelka resists and says, "Stop now. You can't defeat me with your power. You're going to disappear with me..." but something goes wrong! Albert continues, "Fly upwards... Neemato! ... (to *Y*) You think you are the only one with fusion powers!!" * 2nd Game Note: It may seem strange, but you can have *Y*'s Amon fight Albert's Amon here! BOSS: 1. Albert Simon (NPC 1) , then he transforms into... 2. Amon (m75/all) <..> [Angel Earrings/Acc, E=35000] * If you have the Destruction Stone, you'll receive fusion soul Amon. * After the fight, Albert says "... all the power generated by our battle has been transformed to the "float" ... I won!" Albert disappears, then a great FMV [about 4 min] of the Float rising... "Seven days from now, God shall descend to Earth... the Pulse of the stars..." ------------------- Slick-Looking House ------------------- * The group walks inside; Roger asks "How's she doing?"; *Y* replies "She's resting in London Rats hideout..." Then, Roger explains that the big castle-looking thing is one of the legacies left behind by beings who visited this planet long ago. It's "Neam" ... which means "float" in the ancient tongue of Ebi... Once the Float goes up, God will home in on it from the M72 nebula, some 4,800,000 light-years away... Calling it God is something humans dreamed up... more precisely, it's an "alien organism"... we've got to destroy the float inside Neam (hmmm... a float inside the float?) before God homes in on it! ... that's when the Instantaneous Matter Transporter will come into play! Go and start the generator for me! * Trigger: *Y* goes to the treadmill and runs >> spin ring 3: Roger disappears; then, he walks in and says, "I'm back... if you set the target to Neam's specific coordinates, it flies right in! It may still need a slight adjustment... Please get ready for departure..." * Then, *Y* asks, "Should we go back to the hideout, too?" * Trigger: talk to Roger >> "Time to go to work..." (i.e., Roger is still working on adjusting the transporter, so you can't use it yet!) * Fork: Go to the hideout (storyline) or explore other areas. This is the last opportunity to revisit Europe before some "post-float" events change. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 34. London Rats Hideout ... Doomed World [0:02 (min) + options] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: Climb to top floor >> scene of *H* with his mom; *Y* and *A* arrive; *Y* says "I can't believe that ... mysterious voice was actually a beauty like you." Koudelka replies to *Y*, "... You're protected by a greater spirit... look deep within yourself. You'll know who that soul belongs to." After more dialogue, Koudelka says "Roger will help you with the rest. Now go..." <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> < Note: This discussion with Koudelka (after the Float rises) changes the > < world of Shadow Hearts by triggering or activating "post-Float" events at > < several places you've already visited as well as enabling you to find > < several new places. Without activating this trigger event, lots of things > < just don't happen! > <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> * If you haven't talked with Joshua since you gave him the Slingshot, Trigger: talk to Joshua with *H* in your party >> get [ImprovedSlingshot]. (You could have gotten this in Section 24.) * Speak to Chris if you'd like to change party members. * You can attempt Sharon's Pit Fights now, but it may be better to wait until all of your characters have leveled up more. (See Section 48.) -------------- Silent Peddler -------------- * You should start checking with the Silent Peddler; if you have 10,000+ steps (and only if you've also defeated Albert at Nemeton and the Float has risen) he will say "You've really walked a lot... I'll give you this." You automatically receive [Leather Suit] and 10,000 steps are deducted from your total. (I know other FAQS say that *M* must be with you, but I've received the Leather Suit several times without *M* in my party. I wonder if there are different versions of the game, or if needing *M* in your party is an unfounded myth?) Items: [Leather Suit/!Ultimate!A-8:M] ----------------- Old Castle Street ----------------- * Trigger: Check phone in Old Carl's house >> clues about location of any un-found collectable elemental gravestones. If you are missing any of the elemental gravestones, you'll hear one or more of the following clues: one of the Stones is in Rouen, another at the top of a tower, another is from a healthy mother and daughter, in a hospital on a bluff, one near a marvelous machine, and for another you'll need a package of tissues. If you have collected all 6 gravestones, then you'll hear "Speaking of stones, you seem to already have them all." * Note: There could be a programming glitch that makes the clues look weird. In my game, the clues start with "For the game_int(nnn) Stone, ...", where "game_int(nnn)" should be one of the 6 elements. ****************************************************************************** * VII. Will Alice's Soul be Saved? [0:30 to 3hr, depending on Step 1]* ****************************************************************************** You can do this section and determine which of the alternative endings you'll get as soon as you'd like after Section 34. Alternatively, if you want to postpone this until the last possible moment, you can skip or delay Part VII until Section 43 (or even a bit later). Note that completing the last step will stop Malice. Postponing this step means you'll still have to deal with the four masks, either by keeping your Malice red and fighting their weak forms every few battles, or by clearing Malice again and trying to win more rare prizes (like Seals) each time you clear Malice in the graveyard! While the timing of the following steps is quite flexible, they must be done before you can visit the Float. Why? Roger won't finish the teleporter until the critical dream in Step 4 occurs. (One of those annoying trigger events!) * Step 1: Trigger: Complete fighting the strong form of all 4 masks (anytime, but easiest with Oath Grail) >> this activates step 4, which will now occur the next time you talk to Roger at Nemeton Monastery, assuming you've already talked with Koudelka (Section 34). Note that it could take several hours of roaming around battling monsters before you encounter all 4 masks, especially of you want to wait for them to appear in the order specified on the Oath Grail. * Step 2: BEFORE talking to Roger (in Step 4), have *Y* visit the graveyard & read the tiny tombstone next to the Dark tombstone. What appears on the tiny tombstone could depend on 1 or 2 things. Consider these 2 actions: -> Action 1: Has the strong form of all 4 masks been killed? (Verification: Yes, if you have their 4 rings.) -> Action 2: Has Albert been defeated in Nemeton basement? (Verification: Yes, if you have the Angel Earrings.) Initially (before completing either Action 1 or 2), when *Y* examines the tiny tombstone, he thinks "It looks faint, but there seems to be a name carved on it." If only Action 1 is completed (i.e., defeat the 4 masks before fighting Albert), the writing on the tombstone still looks faint. ==================================================================== If Action 2 is done (with or without completing Action 1), then *Y* always sees "Rest in peace, *A* Elliot..." before the dream occurs in Step 4. ==================================================================== The R.I.P message with *A*'s name always appears after the battle with Albert. Defeating 1, 2, 3, or 4 masks does NOT make *A*'s name appear on tiny tombstone. So, Action 1 is not a trigger for the R.I.P. message, although it is a trigger for Step 4. The trigger action for the R.I.P. message is Action 2, and this is a story event which means it always occurs when you reach this part of the story. ==================================================================== When *Y* sees *A*'s name on the tiny tombstone, he will be motivated to help *A* save her soul; this will change the ending! Until *Y* sees *A*'s name on the tiny tombstone, he will not come to *A*'s rescue in her dream - no matter how many times he's previously read the tiny tombstone, but only seen faint writing. * Step 3: If you haven't already, talk with Koudelka (complete Section 34). * Step 4: Go to the slick-looking house in Nemeton Monastery. Trigger: talk to Roger >> "I'm still working on adjusting the Teleporter... Please have some rest." *A* will dream and visit the graveyard. * Step 5: (OPTIONAL) Have *A* read all fusion tombstones - then small one. ==================================================================== ======== >>> Yes, this step is definitely optional! <<< ========== ==================================================================== The elemental tombstones provide some enlightening reading, and it helps to establish the right mood before battle, but you don't NEED to have *A* read them. You can get the good ending if *A* reads the tombstones in any order, or if she doesn't read them at all. And... you can get the bad ending if she reads the tombstones, or if she doesn't read them at all. It doesn't hurt, and the effect is good, so go ahead and enjoy reading them if you remember; but, don't worry if you forget. The important step is for *Y* to read the tiny tombstone (Step 2) and learn that *A* is about to loose her soul. Then, he will come to help Alice when she needs him most! * Step 6: TRIGGER: talk with the 4 masks >> Executioner m121; if *A* fights alone, it will be a hopeless battle, and she will have lost her soul (bad ending); otherwise, if *Y* appears and helps *A* defeat m121, *A*'s soul will be saved (good ending), you'll see a slide show of *A* thinking about her feelings for *Y*, and Atman's name will be engraved on the tiny tombstone! --------- * Note 1: Step 6 stops Malice for the rest of the game! * Note 2: The first indication of which ending you'll get is immediately after the Executioner says "... You'll become one with my darkness." -> Good ending: *A* responds "!?" then a door open and *Y* says "Hold on." -> Bad ending: *A* responds "!?" and the battle starts immediately. In this case, *A*'s soul "dies" in battle, she wishes "*Y*...", and when she wakes up in the slick-looking house, she says "I just had a bad dream." * Note 3: Getting Amon and learning THE END apparently does not affect the ending, unless *Y* checks the tiny tombstone when he visits the graveyard to learn THE END. It's Step 2 that affects the outcome, not Amon or THE END. BOSS: Atman (m121) [Moonstone Ring/Acc; E=50000] * Note: the item is received only if this battle is won. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 35. Revisit graveyard after Alice dreams to confirm the ending [0:02] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Read tiny tombstone to see whose name appears: if the name is still *A*, you will get the bad ending; but, if the name is now Atman, you'll get the good ending! * If Atman's name is on this tombstone, talk to Four Masks to receive prize. Items: > [Seven-Eyed Mask] ============================================================================== Brief FAQ on the Tiny Tombstone ============================================================================== Q1: After fighting the strong form of all 4 masks (in any order), *Y* still can't read a name on the tiny tombstone. Why is it still faint? A1: If the writing on the tiny tomb is still faint, you haven't progressed Far enough in the story. *A*'s name appears on the tiny tombstone after defeating Albert Simon in Nemeton Basement. This is part of the story. It is not "caused" by anything! Fighting the 4 masks has absolutely nothing to do with making the name visible in the R.I.P. message on the tiny tombstone. Q2: Does seeing *A*'s name on the tiny tombstone mean everything is ready for the dream in which *A* fights Atman and wins or looses her soul? A2: Not necessarily. If you visit the graveyard after defeating Albert, but you have not yet talked to Koudelka, *A* will never dream when you talk to Roger. *A*'s name on the tombstone means only that Albert has been defeated. Q3: Why did I see *A*'s name on the tiny tombstone after I fought only 1 (or 2 or 3) of the masks? A3: You must be fighting the masks after you defeated Albert in Nemeton Basement. If you had *Y* examine the tiny tombstone immediately after battling Albert, you would have seen *A*'s name engraved on it whether or not you had even started fighting the 4 masks. Q4: Why did I get the bad ending when I defeated the 4 masks and had *Y* read the tiny tombstone before *A* dreams? A4: This would happen if you defeated the 4 masks and read the tiny tombstone before fighting Albert in Nemeton Basement. Then, the writing would have still been faint, so *Y* would not have seen *A*'s name on the tombstone before the battle with Atman. Q5: If I see *A*'s name on the tiny tombstone, does it mean I will definitely be getting the bad ending? A5: No. *A*'s name always appears on the tiny tombstone before she dreams and battles Atman. If *Y* helps her beat Atman, the name on the tiny tombstone will magically change to Atman. ============================================================================== ****************************************************************************** * VIII. Prepare to meet God [4 to 8 hr] * ****************************************************************************** If you want to go to the float, skip everything until Section 43 and then continue with Section 51. Otherwise, prepare to enter side-quest heaven!!! Now is a great time to level up while you finish exploring Europe to prepare for your final battle with God - unless you want to attempt to get to the end of the game with what you have now. As you undertake these optional side quests, you will finish collecting valuables, monsters, souls, and lottery prizes - as well as the ultimate weapons and armor! The order of these events is somewhat arbitrary, but I've arranged them in an order from easy to more challenging so you'll explore the more dangerous - and rewarding - hidden areas last. You'll encounter the monsters roughly in the same order as they are numbered in the library. Also, going to the Dollhouse as early as you can will allow you to get another crucifix! Sometimes, completing one section is a mandatory trigger that activates other sections; I've noted these effects when they occur so you can understand which action determines which event. Note that the events in some of these places are different before and after the Float rises and Koudelka says Roger will help with the rest. Also note that the order shown here will delay *A*'s judgement day; if you want to determine which ending you'll get ASAP, then talk to Roger at Nemeton Monastery ASAP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 36. Revisit Rouen [0:15] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by Section 34, which you need to do first. * After the Float rises, if you haven't found the Water Gravestone yet (see Section 28), you find no one in the room at the top of the stairs. Apparently, the couple decided to split up. You can find Wild John outside in the dark across the street from Newlywed Jane; he will sell the stone for 10,000 cash. * Enter Meiyuan's room; talk with Meiyuan >> "... I just wanted to deliver a letter from Quihua in Shanghai" ... A year has past since the Shanghai earthquake ... (scene of Col. Kawashima and Kato) ... "P.S. I've enclosed a scarf ... please pass it on to *Z*"; receive [CoatOfTheAdept]. * Go to church with *M*; Trigger: walk by altar >> *M* asks to speak with *Y*; they appear outside confessionals; *M* asks *Y* to enter confessional like that other time ... Father *Y*" * Trigger: enter confessional #2 >> slide show confession by *M* of her feelings... "Here, this is for you."; examine sparkle on window ledge >> receive [Pearl Ring]; *M* leaves. (This scene triggers Lottery Member #02.) * Play Lottery #2 twice; after winning 10-guage, he becomes Lottery Member #6, so consider getting the powerful Dice of Caesar before the 10-Gauge. Items: Meiyuan > [Coat of the Adept/!Ultimate!A-8:Z] *M* > [Pearl Ring/Acc] Valuables: John > [Water Gravestone] Lotto #2: 1. [Dice of Caesar/Seal of Strength] 2. [10-Gauge(!Ultimate!W-8:A)/Seal of Strength] 3. resumes as Lotto #6. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 37. Revisit Bistritz [0:05] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * After the Float rises, if you haven't found the Earth Gravestone yet (see Section 29), you will find Nina standing outside her store. * Talk with Nina >> she has already grown the weird-looking seeds, found a green stone in the roots, and gives it to you for free. Valuables: Nina > [Earth Gravestone] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 38. Revisit Bistritz Again [0:15] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by Section 34, which you need to do first. * After getting the Earth Gravestone, Nina will be back inside the store. (If you just did Section 37, you'll need to exit town and re-enter first.) * Trigger: Talk to Nina with *K* in your party >> Nina says, "Oh, it's *K* The other day... a golden light burst from the castle! ... What could it have been?" * Trigger: Talk to Nina again >> Did you check out the castle? .............................................................................. . Battle tips: The upcoming battle is either a piece of cake or nearly . . impossible. Make sure *K* is leveled up (high 30s is good) before . . attempting this! At lower levels, accessories like Demon Earrings, Coral . . Lariat, Western Belt, and/or Voodoo Doll (for one more turn) can help. . .............................................................................. ----------- Blue Castle ----------- * Investigate the golden light with *K*. Go to the castle basement and ... * TRIGGER: approach *K*'s coffin >> dialogue with Golden Bat, then receive [Demon Sword, Tyrving], but "... you've got to earn it ... your test will be a dual with me! I'll wait just 5 turns." (Note: Rituals and Items have been sealed) >> m76; then a slide show about *K*'s thoughts... * Go to throne room without *K*; Invisible Man is Lottery Member #1. After playing, he says "... 200 years ago ... the chairman was already an old man." Lotto #1: [Thief Earrings/Key to Success] BOSS: Golden Bat (m76/none) <999 damage after 6 turns> [DemonSwd Tyrving/!Ultimate!W-8:K; E=40000] ****************************************************************************** 4(!) Secret Books, 3 Secret Areas, and the Ultimate Fusion Soul ****************************************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 39. Prague [0:05] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by Section 34, which you need to do first. * Enter Prague's tavern; trigger: talk with Flirtatious Yuria >> "I heard that man over there ran away from his home." (Then, if *A* is not in your party, she says "... *A*, do you think you can help out?") * Trigger: talk to Runaway Ewan >> "... please forgive me, Laura." Then, if *A* is in the party, he adds, "Wha?! You're an exorcist?! ... just a little ways from here, there's a house cursed by a terrible poltergeist! Can you suppress the spirit? ... I have lots of money!"; trigger: exit to World Map >> The Dollhouse appears on the Europe Map. Shop: Silent Peddler is Tight-Lipped Merchant He will offer some amazing *NEW* items after completing Section 34: -> Weird bottle .... 18,000 -> Thera Extract ... 5,000 -> Mana Extract .... 10,000 -> Pure Extract .... 20,000 -> Third Key ....... 30,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 40. Europe - Dollhouse (unlocked by talking with Ewan) [0:45] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by Section 39, which you need to do first. * Trigger: go to Dollhouse without *A* in your party >> "I can't do this without *A*." * Go to Dollhouse with *A* in your party; enter; search near grandfather clock to get [Crank]; save. * Walk through door to right of save circle; exit living room by back door; trigger: examine fountain at end of left path >> 10-second push ring: get [Storeroom Key] from fountain. * Find storeroom (outside front left), enter; trigger: examine generator just inside entrance >> start generator with crank, electricity turns on lights here and in living room. * Climb down ladder, search on barrel with open wine bottle and glass >> receive [Slide Plate]. * Return to house, go upstairs, trigger: insert slide into projector >> view photo of girl holding doll, taken 12-24. * Return to living room, notice an illuminated dial near fireplace; trigger: examine dial, input code (1224) >> drain water. * Return to storeroom, climb downstairs, examine big iron door >> note that water has drained and door is now slightly ajar; enter child's bedroom, examine things around perimeter of room, attempt to leave >> m80. * Power-up note: after you defeat the BOSS, you will be able to continue to fight monsters, but you will not be able to re-enter after exiting to map unless *A* is in your party. Items: ? [Lottery Ticket, Silver Hand, Oracle Earrings/Acc (outside)] chest [Crucifix] Valuables: ? [Storeroom Key, Crank, Slide] Monsters: Ghoul (m77/water) [Soul Benediction; E=1500] Ghouler (m78/fire) [Soul Benediction; E=1500] Spanky (m79/wind) <..> [TalismanOfPower; E=1500] BOSS: Orb Chaos (m80/light) [Holy Book of Flesh/!Ultimate!W-8:A; E=48000] ---------------- Return to Prague ---------------- * Check location where Runaway Ewan was standing in the tavern. :( ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 41. Orphanage [0:05] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by Section 34, which you need to do first. * Enter the downstairs center room; trigger: talk with Insolent Jean >> "Alright: you have 1 minute to find my hidden friends and return." After you find the 4 kids and return, Jean says "Alright... I'll let you through." and he moves aside. * Tips: If you don't find all 4 kids and talk with Jean again before time is up, the kids will remain in their hiding spots; explore and remember their locations so you can learn where the kids might hide next time! Frequent hiding places include (1) behind Kindhearted Moll in the lab, (2) in front of the bed on right wall of upper-right room, (3) behind the small round table or in the front right corner of the upper left room, (4) at the end of one of the balconies on the 2nd floor, (5) in the front-right corner of the lobby near the save circle (which mysteriously disappears during the hide-n-seek game), and (6) in the kid's room between the beds against one of the walls. Liar Ronny says you've got the wrong person but, of course, he's telling a lie! * Trigger: examine large pot >> receive document from Pot-lover Macken. * Trigger: examine large pot >> Pot-lover Macken is now Lottery Member #03. * Trigger: Read Emigre Manuscript >> Cave Temple appears on Britain Map Valuables: Pot-lover Macken > [Emigre Manuscript (secret document 1 of 4)] Lotto #3: [Crucifix/Seal of Wisdom] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 42. Britain - Cave Temple (unlocked by reading Emigre Manuscript) [0:30] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by Section 41, which you need to do first. * Character Selection Tip: Since the boss here absorbs special attacks, you should form a party with strong physical attackers (avoid *Z*). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Maze 1: Enter double doors, then, U, (U to chest #1, D), L, U, L, D, D, L, (U to chest #2, D), L, U, L to Save Pt, (U to Chest #3, D), then all directions exit. * Re-read the Emigre Manuscript; the description has changed! This means you should re-do the maze by interchanging each L with R. * Maze 2: Enter double doors, then, (U to chest #4, D), R, U, R, D, D, R, (U to chest #5, D), R, U, R to Save Pt; then U to trigger boss. * Power-up note: maze & monsters remain open after BOSS. Items: chest [Priest Earrings, Lottery Ticket, MantOfShivering/!Ultimate!A-8:K, Fifth Key, Key To Success] Monsters: Buggy (m81/wind) [Tissues; E=1350] Penalty (m82/light) [Thera Extract; E=2200] Oingo (m83/water) [Fruit Of Yggdrasil; E=3300] BOSS: Cherubim (m84/none) [Holy Peak Staff/!Ultimate!W-8:Z; E=60000] .............................................................................. . Battle tips: Since Cherubim absorbs special attacks - and uses the power . . restore its HP - you should prepare at least 2 of your 3 party members . . for enhanced physical attacks. Consider equipping your fighters with . . Demon Earrings or a Western Belt to boost their attack power, and give . . your healer (typically *A*) Angel Earrings to avoid having to replenish . . SP during battle. Everyone should wear a Crucifix since Divine . . Punishment can inflict a random status ailment (such as confusion or . . petrify) while knocking HP off all party members. This battle can be . . long, so it's a great time to use items like third and fifth keys, which . . you've probably been saving for a battle like this, right? . .............................................................................. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 43. Nemeton Monastery [0:20] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by Section 34, which you need to do first. * Trigger: go to the hilltop with BOTH *A* and *Z* >> *Z* runs off to check the tombstone, and tells *Y* and *A* to go kill some time somewhere. *Y* and *A* go to the ruins and reflect on events from their lives; *Y* has a flashback about the time when his mother died; just as *A* is about to tell *Y* something very personal, *Z* rushes in and says, "Look what I've found!" He gives *Y* the [Book of Rituals]. * NOTE: You must return here with BOTH *A* and *Z* to get the Book of Rituals. Absolutely NOTHING special will happen here if any character except *A* walks to the hilltop with *Y* and *Z*. *A* needs to be present so she can talk to *Y* (part of the story) while *Z* does his thing at the tombstone. * Trigger: Read Book of Rituals >> Ancient Ruins appears on the Europe map Valuables: *Z* > [Book of Rituals (secret document 2 of 4)] ------------------- Slick-Looking House ------------------- * Note 1: You can skip this for now (and continue with Sections 44-51) if you don't want to go to the Float yet. * Note 2: Remember, if you haven't talked to Roger since the float rose, this is probably when he will ask you to rest and *A* will have a frightening dream. (See Part VII. Will Alice's Soul be Saved?) * Note 3: If you have several trigger events with Roger pending, he will do them in the following order: 1) Please have some rest (VII. Step 4) 2) What's this! (Section 45) 3) I've finished ... (Respond Yes: Section 43 - see next Trigger below; or Respond No: Section 51) 4) Good grief ... (Section 49) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: talk to Roger >> "I've finished adjusting the Teleporter. Are you ready to go? (Wait or Let's go!); Let's go! >> 5-spin ring: activates the generator and transports group to the Float. * Fork: After you arrive at the Float, you have 2 choices: (1) You can return immediately (storyline) by using the yellow-colored circle, which is the "Neameeto [sic] Escape Point"; or (2) explore the Float (Sections 50-53). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 44. Europe - Ancient Ruins (unlocked by reading Book of Rituals) [0:35] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * The Book of Rituals says to cross the rainbow, then follow the drops of (red) blood to the royal (purple) garden, so... * Trigger: Follow torches in order: red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple >> lowers water in pool by entrance; climb downstairs, go to center. Note that orange looks like yellow except it has a slight tinge of orange around the edges, aqua is light-blue, and blue is dark-blue. * Open chest at end of maze, then re-read Book of Rituals: "...go backwards... follow the royal (purple) garden to the drops of (red) blood)" which means you need to re-do the maze in reverse order, from purple to red! * Trigger: Follow torches in order: purple, blue, aqua, green, yellow, orange, red >> water lowers in pool again; climb downstairs, go to center. * TRIGGER: approach floating BOSS >> m88. [winning triggers Section 45.] * Power-up note: monsters available after BOSS, but torch colors don't change. Items: chest [Angel Earrings/Acc, Lottery Ticket, Gold Thread Coat/!Ultimate!A-8:Z] Monsters: Asp (m85/water) [Pure Extract; E=3000] Basilisk (m86/fire) [Mana Extract; E=3000] Sweeper (m87/earth) <..> [EyeOfOuroboros; E=3300] BOSS: Seraphim (m88/none) <..> [Volt Snipe/!Ultimate!W-8:H; E=60000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 45. Nemeton Monastery [0:02] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by beating Seraphim in Section 44 and completing Part VII. (This presumes you've also defeated Orb Chaos at the Dollhouse and Seraphim at the Ancient Ruins, the bosses at all 3 secret areas.) * Trigger: talk to Roger >> he exclaims, "W-what's this!? ... Exchange this with that? ... [Exchanged Erotic Book with the Pulse Tract] * Read the new book: The rainbow's treasure (i.e., back to Ancient Ruins) is 1. a golden moon (yellow), 2. burning sun (red? or orange? - in the maze, the choices will be red, green, and purple, so "burning" must be interpreted as red here), 3. old forest (green), 4. royal garden (purple), 5. ocean's color (blue), 6. drops of blood (red), and 7. sky (aqua) to rebirth (a clue about the treasure) Valuables: Roger > [Pulse Tract (secret document 3 of 4)] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 46. Europe - Ancient Ruins (the Rainbow Maze) [0:08] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Trigger: follow torches in order: Yellow-Red-Green-Purple-Blue-Red-Aqua >> water lowers in pool again; climb downstairs, go to center, open chest to receive the treasure. [Getting this Valuable Item triggers Section 47.] Valuables: Chest [Stone of Rebirth] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 47. Visit Graveyard to earn the Ultimate Fusion Soul [0:20] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This Section is triggered by Section 46, which you need to do first. You also need to have all 6 level-3 souls plus Amon (??? skills NOT needed). * Enter gate in back right corner, examine the sun, and Trigger: attempt to leave >> hear an Old Familiar Voice... Feel like fighting me? If you win, the soul of a powerful god...; *Y* agrees; NPC 9, m122. * You appear outside the gate. (Notice a pattern yet? Seems like most times the game kicks you out of a battle area, there's something valuable remaining near the battle scene.) Re-enter gate and search behind tree! Items: chest [Father's Coat/!Ultimate!A-8:Y] BOSS: 1. Col. Ben Hyuga (NPC 9), after a few rounds he transforms into ... 2. Seraphic Radiance (m122/none) [Diamond Ring/Acc; E=60000] .............................................................................. . Battle tips: First, select good accessories. Don't worry about possible . . status effects or ring abnormalities; this is a battle of strength and . . endurance. Perhaps most important is to boost your defense; for example, . . the Seven-Eyed Mask is great here. You could also boost attack power and . . conserve MP (since you'll get damaged a lot during each turn, so you can't . . easily re-fill your HP, MP and SP with separate items). Second, make sure . . your inventory is stocked with essential healing items. If you don't have . . a lot of FruitOfYggdrasil, TeaOfTheHolyOne, or Thera Extracts have or buy . . at least 20 Thera Roots - or even better - wear Thief & Pirate Earrings . . on 3 characters you want to level up and walk around the 3 secret areas to . . collect lots of healing items. Third, during battle, be prepared to heal . . frequently (even 2 or 3 times before each attack!) because you don't want . . to be caught without enough HP when Seraphic Radiance sucks out a huge . . amount of your HP with its Malcto skill. Fourth, you can speed up the . . battle with Mind's Eye (if you dare) or Third/Fifth Keys etc. Items like . . Key to Success may not be very effective since several of your turns will . . be needed to heal just to stay alive. Finally, good luck!! . .............................................................................. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 48. Nemeton basement [0:10] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Remember the battle with Albert in Nemeton Basement? Did you remember to search that battle scene? Let's go back upstairs and see what we find... hmmm... there's a sparkling dot... examine it! Collecting this Valuable triggers Section 49 (without even having to read it). Valuables: ? [Codex of Laurie (secret document 4 of 4)] Monsters: Straighe (m71/water) [Phoenix Tail; E=1750] Sin (m72/light) <..> [TalismanOfPurity; E=1650] Guinea Pig (m73/dark) [Pure Root; E=1800] Inverse (m74/earth) <..> [TeaOfTheHolyOne; E=3000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 49. Nemeton Monastery ... *Y*'s Ultimate weapon [0:04] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note: This section is triggered by Section 48, which you need to do first. * Trigger: talk to Roger again >> "Good grief... naturally a machine based on the superior science of the planet Gamilans is impossible to adjust. Aha! ... Oh, it's you all... just in time to help me with my experiment... Trigger: Spin-Ring 10 >> "I'll be back... I went there... to the moon!!... here's the proof!... a souvenir... take it!"; receive a stone emitting a dim light, which is *Y*'s Ultimate weapon!! Items: Roger > [Nightbird Claw/!Ultimate!W-8:Y] .............................................................................. . Ring Tips: 10 rotations can be quite a challenge! If you don't succeed . . after a few tries, take a break and walk away from your Play Station for a . . while. Being calm and focused is the best advice for success. When the . . rotations start, focus on the next target area each time you succeed and . . try to relax as the pace increases. While this approach generally worked . . for me, I must admit that it felt like I was punching my thumb thru the . . X-button during the last few rotations. Failing on this ring tends to . . build frustration faster than any improvement in technique from the "extra". . practice, so it's best to walk away and try again another day. While this . . may sound silly, you'll probably find that what seemed to be impossible . . the night before will somehow just happen when you try again the next day! . .............................................................................. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 50. London Rats Hideout - Sharon's Pit Fights [0:35 for each participant] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Note 1: Before Koudelka says Roger will help with the rest (Section 34), Sharon will only summon only a few of these monsters - sometimes only one; afterwards, she will select 10 of the following groups of monsters in a random order. (To see how the Koudelka scene affects the pit fights, save in the kid's hideout and have *Y* fight Sharon's monsters before and after Koudelka's speech.) * Note 2: After a player starts fighting, don't quit or try to take-a-break until you win all 10 fights in a row! If you quit early, you'll have to start with fight number 1 again! * Note 3: Players can fight multiple rounds of 10 to gain more experience, but no more prizes are given. * Note 4: You will find some amazing healing items in the Float, so you may want to try these fights after you've stocked your inventory. EXP Monsters ----- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 00900 Speckled Creeper (m37/light) + Happy Creeper (m38/dark) 01000 Dark Judge (m41/earth) 01300 Garm x2 (m55/dark) 01860 Camazotz x3 (m60/wind) <..> 03820 Meat Eater (m66/wind) <..> + Doom x2 (m67/earth) <..> 04000 Buggs (m68/dark) 04000 Night Stalker (m63/wind) <~2500 HP> 08000 Tindalos (m54/fire) 15000 Rausen (m69/fire) 20000 Mammon (m64/earth) 00000 Full Armor WindShear (m103) <~1000 HP> 00000 Perfect WindShear (m104) After 10 wins, Sharon says, "In Honor of your 10 wins, we'll give you this." Prizes: *Y* > [Seventh Key/Ring Item] *A* > [Crucifix/Accessory] *Z* > [Silver Hand/Ring Item] *M* > [Tissues/Item that can be used in Prague] *K* > [Belt of Thor/Accessory] *H* > [Metal Jacket/!Ultimate!A-8:H] * After all 6 players win, receive [Crystal Ring/Accessory] from Sharon. .............................................................................. . Battle tips: Each participant should wear a Crucifix. If you are skilled . . with Mind's Eye, you can also add a third accessory to increase physical . . attacks or possibly boost your defense or HP. If you don't want to use . . Mind's Eye, then a combination of accessories that boost attack strength . . and conserve SP or MP is quite helpful. Here are some combinations for . . two accessories in addition to a Crucifix: . . (1) Flame Brooch (less SP consumed) + Priest Earrings (less MP consumed) . . which is a good choice for *Y* since the Brooch also boosts attributes . . (2) Angel Earrings (incr. SP) + Priest Earrings (less MP consumed) . . (3) Warlock Earrings (incr. Sp.Atk) + Brsrkr Earrings (incr. HP) . . (4) Oracle Earrings (incr. MP) + Warlock Earrings (incr. Sp.Atk) . . (5) Angel Earrings (incr. SP) + Brsrkr Earrings (incr. HP) . . (6) Priest Earrings (less MP consumed) + Warlock Earrings (incr. Sp.Atk) . . I prefer earrings that decrease consumption rather than increase attributes. . particularly for MP since this approach requires less replenishing items. . . The most important strategy is to keep your participant's healed at least . . 50% of their maximum HP. Also, take adantage of weaker monsters to refill . . your HP and MP while taking minumal damage, because your next fight could . . be a Windshear! . .............................................................................. ------------------ Knowledgeable Carl ------------------ * Talk with Carl in Sharon's Pit Arena to check some statistics beyond what's given by Score. After the Float rises, he says, "... for some reason, I went strange... I can see it! Is there anything thou needs to know?" You can select (1) Pit-fight rank, (2) Defeated monsters, or (3) Treasure accumulated. (1) When the pit-fight rank of all 6 players is 10 out of 10, Sharon awards the [Crystal Ring/Accessory]. (2) For 100% defeated monsters, Carl gives you [BlackSilkPants/Acc:A]; this is possible only during a 2nd game because the final BOSS is counted, and you can't go back to talk with Carl after the final BOSS. (3) For 100% treasures accumulated, Carl exclaims, "Was that 100%? Incredible! Quite Amazing... Why art thou looking at me like that? ..." I'll let you discover for yourself how Carl ends this praising speech!! It seems that collecting 100% of the treasures IS the prize... ****************************************************************************** * IX. The Float to GOD [2 to 3 hr] * ****************************************************************************** The Float conveniently has escape portals at several locations - including one at the initial entry point - so you can return to Europe anytime and complete any side quests you may have skipped. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 51. Nemeton Monastery [0:12] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * If you have played each of the first 14 lotteries, but have not found the final lottery yet... Trigger: talk to Roger again and tell him you have to go to the bathroom >> he reveals he is the chairman, Lottery Member #0. * Equip everyone (in case team splits into two groups!!). Visit Meiyuan in London, if necessary, then Trigger: talk with Roger >> transport to Float. Lotto #0: [Cotton Underpants/Comet Mask] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 52. Neamato - entry level to 1st FL [0:30] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Story: Find out how to unlock energy seals to various passageways. * Trigger: from ramp around entry platform, climb left stairway and proceed until you get to a red-sealed passage >> cannot move forward because powerful seal is in place (this activates next trigger). * Trigger: climb right stairway >> team splits up... then, *Y* somehow breaks the red seal, but a new white seal appears overhead separating the party into two groups... Who will you control? Select members of 2nd team. * 2nd team investigates unsealed left stairway; when the path forks, take the left branch and follow it until you reach a green seal; then, return to the fork and follow it until you reach another red seal. (This exploration maps out the next obstacles, and shows that you can't go very far while *Y* is trapped.) * Return to fork and trigger: examine the white triangular panel >> Looks like some kind of switch. Touch it? Yeah... >> deactivates seal over *Y*'s head. Guide *Y* to rejoin the 2nd team. * Note: Since *Y* walks back with only one character, this is a good time to learn Seraphic Radiance's ??? skill if you haven't done this yet. * Path to left of triangle is still sealed by green energy, so take right passage to next stairway. * TRIGGER: climb onto 1st FL platform at top of stairs >> m92. * After Soul Block is defeated, 3 colored energy discs appear: blue = save circle, purple = reform party, and yellow = leave Neamato. * From the central 1st FL platform with the 3 colored disks, walk to the end of the rightmost ramp; trigger: walk through the green lightbeam >> it fades out and is replaced by a green disk; this breaks the green seal you encountered on the lower level. Go back downstairs, walk past the triangular intersection to the left, and open chest. * Note: You should already have the ultimate W&A for each character. The W&A here are not quite as good, but you can sell them if you want extra cash. * Fork: Proceed to 2nd FL (storyline) or escape back to Europe (yellow disk). Items: Chest [Crank Slingshot/W-7:H] Monsters: Enkidu (m89/dark) [Thera Extract; E=2220] Emptiness (m90/fire) <..> [TeaOfTheHolyOne; E=2150] Hangman (m91/water) [Alchemist's Water; E=3500] Arcmine (m93/light) [Mana Extract; E=2340] Enigma (m94/earth) <..> [Pure Extract; E=2890] Keeper (m95/wind) <..> [Kirin Scale; 3300] BOSS: Soul Block (m92/light) [Monkey Paw; E=40000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 53. Neamato - 1st FL to 2nd FL [0:35] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * From 1st FL center platform with the 3 colored disks, there are 4 exits: South (back to entry level), NW, NE and E/SE. Let's explore before breaking more seals. * NW exit leads to 2 chests: left on inner circle to the end, and up then right to the end. We're done with this exit. * NE exit to 3 places: (1) right/up to chest, (2) left/up to right stairs leads to a 4-way intersection, and (3) left/up to left stairs leads to a fork. * NE exit (2) to 4-way, then NW to chest, NE to blue beam, SE to ... echoes. * NE exit (3) to fork, right path sealed by red, left path to next BOSS. * E/SE exit leads to 2 places: (1) lower path to green disk from seal that you already deactivated, and (2) upper path goes upstairs to another fork: left branch sealed by blue, and right branch to a red beam. Since we're done exploring, trigger: walk through red beam >> breaks red seal. * Return to NE exit (2), then NE at 4-way interaction, then trigger: walk through blue beam >> breaks blue seal. * Return to E/SE exit (2) to left fork (which had been sealed by blue) to room with 2 chests. * Return to NE exit (3), at fork, follow right path (which had been sealed by red) to room with 2 chests. Return to fork and continue along the left path. * TRIGGER: climb onto 2nd FL platform at top of stairs >> m96. * Note: There is some extra dialogue when the party arrives on the platform if you're heading towards the bad ending. * Fork: Proceed to 3rd FL (storyline) or escape back to Europe (yellow disk). Items: Chest [Lottery Ticket, Seal of Aura, Brsrker Earrings/Acc, Seal of Vitality, SilverThread Coat/A-7:A, Sage Staff/W-7:Z, Rubber Suit/A-7:M, Monk Earrings/Acc] Monsters: Arcmine (m93/light) [Mana Extract; E=2340] Enigma (m94/earth) <..> [Pure Extract; E=2890] Keeper (m95/wind) <..> [Kirin Scale; E=3300] BOSS: Hate (m96/dark) [seventh key; E=45000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 54. Neamato - 2nd FL to 3rd FL [0:35] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Climb stairs from 2nd FL platform, walk down long corridors to long wooden staircase and climb up to final maze on 3rd FL, which starts when you warp. * Your goal here is to warp through the maze, collecting treasures from 5 chests along the way, until you find a monster guarding the final corridor. * Directions: PART 1 - After arriving at the 1st warp point (A), go south to the next warp (B). Go up and right until the walkway joins with a circular path (Junction X), go left to chest #1, then walk right to the next warp (C) and go upstairs, then downstairs and up to another junction (call it Y). * PART 2 - To collect one treasure off main path, go left from Junction (Y) around circular path to warp (J). Open chest #2, then backtrack through warp (J) and return to Junction (Y). * PART 3 - To finish collecting treasure and proceed to the final battles, from Junction (Y) go right and walk along the upper path (skip the stairs down) to warp (D). Your now back at the entrance, but on the other side of the warp point. Open chest #3, head NW, take the first right around a square-shaped path. Open nearby chest #4, then continue around square upstairs to the next warp (E). You are now NE of the entrance! Proceed NE, open chest #5, and go west to next warp (F). At the end of this corridor, you'll find... * TRIGGER: The final monster; approach it >> m100. * Note: There is some extra dialogue when the party arrives near the end of the corridor if you're heading towards the bad ending. * Fork: Proceed to curtain (storyline) or escape back to Europe (yellow disk). Items: Chest [Mind's Eye/Acc, Heretic's Coat/A-7:Y, TalismanOfPower, V-Blade-Blodauth/W-7:K, Fifth Key] Monsters: Cockatrice (m97/light) [FruitOfYggdrasil; E=6000] Black Widow (m98/dark) [EyeOfOuroboros; E=5500] Red Cap (m99/fire) [TalismanOfPower; E=10000] BOSS: Scapegoat (m100/wind) [Crucifix/Acc; E=50000] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 55. End Game [0:30] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * This is it! Have you used all of your lottery tickets, spent all of your pedometer steps, bought everything you can think of at the shops, have Meiyuan boost all weapons to their MAX, finished Sharon's Pit Fights, collected all of the monsters you can find for your library, and checked with Knowledgeable Carl? * If you want to continue leveling up before proceeding, you can walk around on the 3 floors of The Float - or, for a change or scenary, you can go back to the Ancient Ruins, Dollhouse (still need Alice for this one), and/or the Cave Temple, wear Pirate Earrings and collect more healing items while boosting your attributes. Have you mastered Mind's Eye yet? * Select two members to accompany *Y* and equip them well!!! (For a more varied experience with your group, you could also select 3 or 4 characters, equip them all, and change 1 or 2 participants between the final 2 bosses.) Everyone should wear a Crucifix. Consider using earrings to increase attack power and/or decrease MP or SP consumed, and/or select some rings or other defensive accessories to reduce the amount of healing/reviving you'll need to do. Ready?... * TRIGGER: pass through curtain at end of corridor, and walk to the center of the circular platform >> some dialogue with Albert, he says "... Let us commence the final battle!!" >> m123. * After defeating Albert, he says, "... Let me take you to God's throne with the last drop of my power." You are given the opportunity to select 2 other characters to fight with *Y*. Then, after some visual effects, the group arrives in the Stratosphere with full HP! After some comments from everyone, the final battle begins >> m124. BOSS: Messiah (m123/none) [Silver Hand; E=60000] Meta God (m124/none) [end of game!] .............................................................................. . Battle tips: Messiah Albert is up to his old tricks by hitting immediately . . with Holy Chest and !!! attacks. Nothing special here; if you've gotten . . this far, you've survived these attacks before so you can do it again. If . . you equip Will Power on everyone, Holy Chest will be less of a problem. . . Just heal and attack. You should be able to defeat him in 5-10 rounds. . . Then, Meta God flies in(!) and attacks with some new skills: Light of . . Deprivation, Time of Judgement (depleting HP & MP), various Abyss attacks . . (White, Black, Yellow, Blue, Verdant, Scarlet, which are 6 elemental-based . . attacks that affect each character according to their elemental nature and . . include accompanying status ailments if you forgot to wear a Crucifix) and . . an occasional Nine Springs which is a very powerful physical attack on one . . character (which reduces the target's HP to 1, just like the !!! attack.) . . This is the time to use your inventory of powerful items, like (1) Star . . and Moon Swallow followed by 3rd, 5th, or 7th Keys; (2) Monkey's Paw . . followed by Phoenix Tail; and (3) Key to Success. This battle will . . typically last 10-15 rounds, depending on how much healing you need to do . . and how successful you are with super items. It is possible to defeat . . Messiah in 2 rounds and Meta God in 4, if you plan the use of your super . . items well! Then, you finally get to watch the good or bad ending, . . depending on whether or not you saved A*'soul. . .............................................................................. ****************************************************************************** * X. 2nd Game: New Game with Clear Data [0:11] * ****************************************************************************** * Watch movie of the ending (~4 min), credits (~5 min), some parting comments and a few slides (~1 min), then wait until "END" is displayed and fades out (~1 min), then answer YES to "Do you want to save your progress up to this point?" * Note: Alice narriates before the credits for BOTH the good and bad endings. The narrator and some of the final message is different AFTER the credits, depending on which ending you've gotten! * After you re-start the game, you'll find that you still have your collection of monsters, NPC, and souls. The score screen is now 2 columns to show how your 2nd game compares with your 1st game. If you've played a second game more than once, only the score from your most recent game will be saved. It's now possible to collect 100% of the monsters; check with Knowledgeable Carl after the Float rises. In fact, you won't need to fight the monsters already in your library again; make a list of the missing ones, and you can get to 100% monsters part way through your second game! ****************************************************************************** * XI. Summary of Major Triggers * ****************************************************************************** Section Trigger ------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. <> SHANGHAI: ENTER KATO'S ROOM AT INN >> Vision of Kuihai Tower Laboratory * Type of trigger: Fork (optional) * Effect: determines if Kowloon Fortress will be available * Note: an "optional fork" is more commonly known as a "side quest" 12. <> KUIHAI TOWER: FIGHT DEHUAI (NPC 5) >> FMV of Reverse Demon's Gate Invocation & Destruction of Shanghai * Type of trigger: Point of No Return (mandatory) * Effect: You can no longer explore Asia, since the Jap Guards won't let you leave. Before you started this battle was the last chance to explore Asia, find valuable Erotic Book, etc. 18. <> BLUE CASTLE: ENTER GATE OF SELF IN GRAVEYARD >> *A* promises her soul to save *Y*, and *Y* defeats Fox Face * Type of Trigger: Storyline plot (mandatory) * Effect: Malice stops growing now that Fox Face is defeated; a small tombstone has appeared next to the Seal of Darkness 20. <> ROUEN: ENTER INN >> *Y* dreams; a name appears to be on the small tombstone, but it can not be read yet. * Type of Trigger: Storyline plot (mandatory) * Effect: From now on, *A* needs to be in party with *Y* for Malice to increase. * Effect: The 4 Masks start appearing when Malice reaches Red. 23. <> CALIOS MENTAL HOSPITAL: FIGHT OLGA >> Bacon takes Koudelka; she revealed that Bacon's ID may be false * Type of trigger: Storyline plot (mandatory) * Effect: Oath Grail will be available from Joshua 24. <> ROUEN: ENTER CHURCH >> learn Bacon's true identity * Type of trigger: Storyline plot (mandatory) * Effect: the quests for all level-3 gravestones are now available. (You will need to collect all 6 level-3 souls plus Amon.) 31. <> NEMETON MONASTERY: SOLVE PUZZLE >> able to collect Destruction Stone before Section 32 * Type of trigger: Fork (optional) * Effect: AMON will be acquired when Albert is defeated 33. <> STAIRS BEYOND NEMETON BASEMENT: DEFEAT ALBERT >> acquire AMON (if Destruction Stone is in inventory) AND FMV of the Float Rising * Type of trigger: point-of-no-return fork (mandatory chain) * Effect: tiny tombstone now shows *A*'s name. (The name may change after completing Part VII.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Explanation: This is a very complex event to describe. It is mandatory since Albert must be defeated to continue playing the game; it is a point-of-no- return because there is no way to acquire AMON (Albert's fusion soul) after the "final" battle with Albert; it is part of a chain of triggers since the possibility of acquiring AMON was determined by previous actions (collecting the Destruction Stone); and it's a fork because the story will continue in one of two ways: either (1) it will be impossible to save *A*'s soul, or (2) hope to save her soul still exists. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 34. <> LONDON RATS HIDEOUT: TALK WITH KOUDELKA >> remaining help to prepare for final battle will come from Roger * Type of trigger: storyline plot (mandatory) * Effect: post-float events available (side quests for ultimate W&A, 10-monster Pit Fights from Sharon, etc.) VII. <> DEFEAT THE 4 MASKS and BATTLE ATMAN >> *Y* will help *A* save her soul if he read the tiny tombstone * Type of trigger: fork (optional) * Effect: determines whether ending will be GOOD or BAD; final name permanently engraved on small tombstone. 39. <> PRAGUE: TALK TO RUNAWAY EWAN >> Dollhouse will appear on Europe Map * Type of trigger: fork (optional) * Effect: needed to collect 100% monsters and 100% treasures; this is a great location to level up and collect some great items including *A*'s ultimate weapon!! 41. <> ORPHANAGE: WIN HIDE-N-SEEK, THEN EXAMINE LARGE POT >> receive Emigre Manuscript (secret document 1 of 4) * Type of trigger: fork (optional) * Effect: able to read this document >> Cave Temple appears, which is needed to collect 100% monsters and 100% treasures; this is a great location to level up and collect some great items including *Z*'s ultimate weapon & *K*'s ultimate armor!! 43. <> NEMETON MONASTERY: VISIT HILLTOP WITH *Z* AND *A* >> *Z* finds Book of Rituals (secret document 2 of 4) * Type of trigger: fork (optional) * Effect: able to read this document >> Ancient Ruins appears, which is needed to collect 100% monsters and 100% treasures; this is a great location to level up and collect some great items including *H*'s ultimate weapon & *Z*'s ultimate armor!! 44. <> ANCIENT RUINS: DEFEAT SERAPHIM >> makes Erotic Magazine visible to Roger (the implied effect) * Type of trigger: fork (optional chain) * Effect: Roger will react differently the next time you see him (assuming you've also completed the secret areas unlocked by triggers 39 and 41). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Explanation: This is optional since you don't NEED to defeat this BOSS to get to be able to reach the end of the game, it is part of a chain of triggers involving the Erotic Magazine, and it is a fork because this event will determine whether Roger will or will not be able to see the magazine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note: According to random1377@yahoo.com, Roger won't see the erotic magazine unless you also defeat Cherubim (BOSS at Cave Temple). This partially verifies that you need to defeat the BOSSes at all 3 secret areas before Roger will see the Erotic magazine: Orb Chaos at the Dollhouse, Cherubim at Cave Temple, and Seraphim at the Ancient Ruins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 45. <> NEMETON MONASTERY: TALK WITH ROGER AFTER DEFEATING BOTH SERAPHIM AND CHERUBIM (and ORB CHAOS?) >> exchange Erotic Book with Pulse Tract (secret document 3 of 4) * Type of trigger: fork (optional chain) * Effect: Reading this book >> activates new maze in Ancient Ruins 46. <> ANCIENT RUINS: WALK TO END OF NEW MAZE AFTER READING PULSE TRACT >> find the Stone of Rebirth * Type of trigger: fork (optional chain) * Effect: makes it possible to obtain *Y*'s ultimate fusion soul 47. <> GRAVEYARD: ENTER GATE OF SELF, DEFEAT COL. BEN HYUGA >> receive Soul of Seraphic Radiance * Type of trigger: fork (optional chain) * Effect: *Y* now has the most powerful attacks in the game, and can find his ultimate armor. 49. <> NEMETON MONASTERY: FIND CODEXOFLAURIE (SECRET DOCUMENT 4 OF 4) AND TALK WITH ROGER AGAIN >> receive *Y*'s ultimate weapon * Type of trigger: fork (optional chain) * Effect: *Y* now has his most powerful weapon for skilled attacks From the above summary, you see that accomplishing some goals requires doing a series or chain of events (side quests). For example, to find out what is needed to get Seraphic Radiance, start with the main trigger in Section 45 and work backwards. Here's the result: ****************************** Steps to get Seraphic Radiance ****************************** <> SHANGHAI: find the Erotic Book. <> Find the 3 secret areas (Dollhouse, Cave Temple, and Ancient Ruins) and defeat the bosses in each of these areas. >> will make Erotic Magazine visible to Roger the next time you see him. <> NEMETON MONASTERY: Talk with Roger after defeating Seraphim, Cherubim, and Orb Chaos (in any order). >> he will exchange Erotic Book with Pulse Tract. * Read the Pulse Tract >> activates new maze in Ancient Ruins. <> ANCIENT RUINS: Walk to end of new maze after reading Pulse Tract. >> find the Stone of Rebirth. <> GRAVEYARD: Enter Gate of Self, defeat Col. Ben Hyuga. >> receive Soul of Seraphic Radiance. (Before this battle, Yuri also needs to have all 6 level-3 souls plus Amon, but he does NOT need to learn the ??? skills of these 7 souls to get Seraphic Radiance.) ============================================================================== B. FAQ on Special Features of this Guide ============================================================================== Q-1: Why is this called a Walkthrough AND a Trigger Guide? A-1: This is a walkthrough that identifies actions that trigger game events. Q-2: How do triggers work? A-2: Progress in the storyline of Shadow Hearts is controlled by completing specific actions. For example, opening a door might reveal a monster and start a battle. So, opening the door is an action that triggers the monster fight. Triggers are usually "points of no return". Once you do the trigger action, the game takes control, the trigger event happens, and usually there is no way to return to the game status before the event. This is usually good, because triggers are used to open new areas of the game. Sometimes, however, triggers are links in a chain of events, and if you miss one link, you will find you will not be able to complete the chain. Q-3: How does the guide indicate trigger actions and events? A-3: Trigger: action >> event. Q-4: Why include triggers in a walkthrough? A-4: Ever wonder why something does or does not happen? What needs to be done to get the good or bad ending? (Are you sure you know?) Where are all of the side quests, and what makes the hidden areas available? These questions can't really be answered if you only play the game once or twice because while things "seem" to happen for certain reasons, unless you try many other actions, you really don't know whether an event is caused by your actions, if some other action(s) caused it, or if it is just part of the story. Sometimes the game designers included scenes and events to develop the plot or to add to the ambiance of the setting, but these background effects don't really affect how the game plays. You can only be certain about which actions trigger which events if you play the game differently many, many times and watch what changes. Since I was fascinated by the story and was curious to figure out what really caused each event to occur, I replayed the game from various save points over and over, changing one thing at a time, until I was certain which actions caused which game events. Sometimes I was surprised to learn that common interpretations given in other guides and in message boards were just plain wrong, not because people were... ahem, not thinking... but because of clever game design. Q-5: How do I take advantage of knowing about trigger actions and events? A-5: This depends on the way you want to play the game. Look at the trigger event, and decide if you want this to happen yet. If you want to level up or search for something before the event, don't do the trigger action until you are ready. On the other hand, if you want to race thru the game as fast as possible, focus on completing each trigger action as soon as you can. Q-6: What does it mean if an action is shown WITHOUT being a "Trigger"? A-6: If an action/event is not a trigger, it is either part of the story or it is optional (exploring, side quests, minigames, leveling up, etc.) Hints and tips are also given. Q-7: Are some triggers also optional? A-7: Yes, if optional means the action can be skipped and it will still be possible to fight the final boss. No, if you want a complete game experience. Q-8: How do I know if a trigger is optional or mandatory? A-8: The actions at each location are given in an order that makes sense for the storyline. At each location, there is a "final" trigger that (minimally?) completes that location and/or the opens the game to the next location. If you're curious, or want to attempt a "speed" game, try skipping everything except those triggers that are needed to get to the final trigger. If the final trigger action doesn't make sense or is not possible yet, then some earlier trigger action must be necessary to progress. (These are "absolutely mandatory" chains of actions and events necessary to progress.) Usually, these absolutely mandatory chains are obvious if you follow the story. Except for major forks in the road, I have intentionally NOT indicated whether a trigger is optional or mandatory so you can discover for yourself what "needs" to be done. The early part of the game is very linear, so most triggers are mandatory. (See, however, see Midnight Plains, Graveyard for an example of an early optional action.) As the game progresses, particularly after you arrive in Europe, so do the number of optional actions and events. Choices later in the game are mostly related to the order of events. Q-9: Is this a complete walk-through? A-9: Yes and No. Yes, in that it covers the complete game. No, because it does not reveal every detail of the story. Several wonderful FAQS and Guides have already been written that contain additional description of the story. Q-10: So, what's missing? A-10: Most of the story dialogue and detailed descriptions of game events. This guide reminds you of what to do, but does not give a blow-by-blow description of everything the characters say for each event. This lets you discover what happens by playing the game, rather than by reading about the game. Story highlights, key elements of the plot, and revealing dialogue in major events are given, however, to provide a context for the trigger actions and events, and to provide clues about what you might do next. I've tried for "just enough" to be helpful, but not "too much" to spoil the game. Q-11: What else is missing? A-11: Basic RPG game-play and info you can learn from the game's wonderful menu system. The guide assumes you will talk with every character and search everywhere for clues, treasure, and hidden locations. Leveling up character attributes and powering up weapons is a choice of how you want to play. Opportunities to level up are mentioned, which is great if you want to play as a more powerful character earlier in the game or if you want to collect every item, but you may decide that it's not worth the time or money to get a small increase in attributes or fight a lot of monsters to get some small prize. Q-12: Is every trigger action and event identified? A-12: No. Shadow Hearts has an incredible number of minor, unavoidable triggers, such as discussions among the group triggered by walking down a path. These are mostly omitted or condensed, except in early part of the walkthrough to illustrate how triggers work, since most of these are considered part of the story that you will experience by playing the game rather than by reading about it here. Sometimes, however, you may need to talk with one or more people before the game will let you proceed; although seemingly minor, these are potential stumbling blocks, so such minor trigger actions and events are identified. Q-13: This guide uses a lot of abbreviations. What do they mean? A-13: Here's a Key to the symbols and abbreviations used in this guide: Characters: Y(Yuri), A(Alice), Z(Zhuzhen), M(Margarette), K(Keith), H(Hally) Monsters/BOSS: Name (Library #/Element) [potential item received;E=#] - <..> means nothing especially noteworthy. Notes mostly on status effects. - [..] means no item is received, or that receiving an item occurs rarely; E=# shows the experience points gained. Shops: Name, level of W&A (Weapons & Armor) and some items you should consider buying. *NEW* means this is the first opportunity to buy NEW W&A, although some may be found earlier! Ultimate W&A are indicated by !Ultimate! Q-14: Can you give some examples of abbreviations? A-14: Here's how to read some of the more condensed abbreviations: (1) "Trigger: press blue button >> m15, NPC 17" means that pressing the blue button triggers a battle with monster #15, then NonPlayable Character #17. The numbers are the same as those shown in the game's Library. (2) "Pilgrim's Staff/W-3:Z" means the Pilgrim's Staff is a level-3 Weapon for *Z*. Q-15: How are ITEMS described in this guide? A-15: In each area, items are listed that can be found in chests, revealed by ?, received from someone (>), or obtained from defeating monsters and bosses. Specific locations of hidden items, however, are (usually) not given to minimize spoiling the discovery, although I have included hints for *some* easy-to-miss or strategically important items. Hence, the list of items given here is a reminder of what CAN be found or won to help you check if you've missed anything. If you need help in finding a specific item, try consulting my Treasure FAQ. Valuables are listed separately. Item/Acc means the item is an Accessory. Q-16: I fought a monster but did not receive an item. Why not? A-16: Receiving an item from a monster is a random event. If you want to try to get the item, you can roam around and hope that the monster appears so you can try again. Some earrings affect the probability of receiving items. Q-17: What does and mean? A-17: These are notes for fighting. Some monsters are healed by attack magic or special skills, so you will need to limit yourself to physical attacks. Other monsters are immune to physical attacks, meaning little or no damage is done, so magic or special skills must be used to defeat them. Q-18: What's the difference between a monster and a BOSS in this guide? A-18: Monsters can appear multiple times in battles that occur randomly (not triggered) and you have the option of fighting or trying to escape. BOSSes (weak and powerful) appear in one-time battles that are triggered by specific actions, and you have no option to escape after the fight has been triggered. Triggers that lead to a BOSS fight are capitalized: TRIGGER: ... >> BOSS. Q-19: Why are the elements of monsters and BOSSes listed? A-19: Two reasons: (1) it may be useful to know which monsters will help you gain a new fusion soul; and (2) if you equip fusion souls of the opposite element from the monsters & BOSSes, you will inflict more damage with special skills. Opposite elements are : Fire/Water, Earth/Wind, and Darkness/Light. Q-20: At what levels will the characters learn their next skills? A-20: I wrote a separate FAQ on this. See my Level & Skill FAQ. Q-21: What do the square brackets indicate in the section headings? A-21: These are estimated playtimes in [hours:minutes] needed to complete the section. This assumes you complete all trigger actions, but does not include the extra time you might take to explore, shop, or level up. It does include the time needed to fight the monsters and boss(es) you encounter while you are completing the triggers. ============================================================================== C. Appendix ============================================================================== ******************** 1. Revision History ******************** Ver 0.01 12-May-2003 Started writing the walkthrough. Ver 1.00 14-Jul-2003 Initial version of guide. Ver 1.01 15-Jul-2003 1. Rearranged guide to put Walkthrough first. 2. Added more discussion to FAQ on special features of this Guide. Ver 1.02 16-Jul-2003 1. Added possibility of an alternative trigger (i.e., two methods) for getting the good ending. [re: msg board discussion with ] 2. Added an example of chained triggers by including Steps on How to get Seraphic Radiance. [re: msg board Q&A with ] Ver 1.03 17-Jul-2003 Minor editorial corrections for consistency. Ver 1.04 18-Jul-2003 Started "final" review while checking locations of all treasures. Small additions/clarifications to early walkthrough. Ver 1.05 22-Jul-2003 Noted when full healing occurs in Part I, and clarified description of slick-looking house. Started noting approximate playtimes of each section. Ver 1.06 01-Aug-2003 Added notes to beginning of Sections 34, 36, 37, 39, 41, and 48 to indicate these are the "post-float" events that are triggered by an important discussion with Koudelka. Completed treasure review & time log for Part II. Also, added a few battle tips. Ver 1.07 08-Aug-2003 Completed treasure review and time log for Part III. Verified and noted when Fox Face stops appearing and when the 4 masks start appearing when Malice is red. Ver 1.08 15-Aug-2003 Completed treasure review and time log for Parts IV & V. Added notes to each section in Part V to identify the events needed to trigger each of these forks. Ver 1.09 22-Aug-2003 Completed treasure review and time log for Parts VI & VII. Expanded discussion about alternative ways to kill the strong form of the 4 masks in "red Malice" battles. Ver 1.10 25-Aug-2003 Investigated the origin of the writing on the tiny tombstone. Added brief FAQ on when *A*'s name first appears, and how this actually gives very little information about your progress in determining which of the alternative endings you'll get. Ver 1.11 26-Aug-2003 Clarified discussion about the timing of saving *A*'s soul, from ASAP to delaying this as long as possible. Ver 1.12 29-Aug-2003 Rearranged order of revision history so the latest version will appear at the end of the file. Expanded strategy for defeating masks out-of-order. Ver 1.13 02-Sep-2003 Included situation when the masks seem to forget that the Oath Grail has been read! Added battle tips for Zhen's pit fights. Listed amazing NEW items available in Prague triggered by Section 34. Ver 1.14 14-Sep-2003 Completed treasure review and time log for Part VIII. Changed some W&A numbering (so *K*s' ultimate W&A will be level 8). Added clarifying statement about need for level-3 souls plus Amon to get Seraphic Radiance. Found and listed the priority of what Roger will do next if there are multiple trigger events pending after float rises (Section 43). Minor revisions to Summary of Major Triggers (Part XI). Added battle tips for Seraphic Radiance. Ver 1.15 19-Sep-2003 Reviewed and changed this guide to make it agree with the item list given my Treasure FAQ, version 0.98b or later. Added Ring Tips for the 10-spin ring challenge to get *Y*'s ultimate weapon. Added map of doors in Calios Mental Hospital. Ver 1.16 07-Oct-2003 Completed treasure review and time log for Part IX. Added some battle tips for the final bosses. Added HP for some stronger monsters in Sharon's Pit Fights. Included some notes about differences between the good and bad endings in Sections 53-55. Also, listed one more treasure, making this guide agree with my Treasure FAQ, version 0.99c or later. Ver 1.17 24-Oct-2003 Added description of SluiceGate minigame and added a missing treasure in Shanghai. Also added a bit of explanation about the variable prizes awarded by the man in Dalian for finding his turtle. This guide now agrees with my Treasure FAQ, version 0.99d or later. Ver 1.18 27-Oct-2003 Expanded description of the SluiceGate minigame to include both versions (upper/normal and lower/push). Ver 2.00 03-Dec-2003 This FAQ now lists 100% treasures as counted by knowledgable Carl. See my Treasure FAQ for the locations. Also, clarified the need to defeat all 3 bosses in the 3 secret areas in the list of trigger actions needed to get Seraphic Radiance. Ver 2.01 01-Jan-2004 Added another prize in the SluiceGate minigame. Ver 2.02 15-Jan-2004 Added an additional cross-reference about effects from completing Nemeton on events in Rouen, ie how the fighting couple won't appear. Listed a missing Lottery Ticket in Section 44. Added a note about a way (possible glitch) that allows Malice to start increasing again in Europe BEFORE *A* meets the masks in her dream (see Sections 18 and 20). ******************** 2. Acknowledgements ******************** * Many thanks to corxina@fuse.net for proof-reading this guide and encouraging me to include additional explanation in the discussion sections. * Thanks to apache24@famvid.com for identifying the Sluice Gate minigames and finding a treasure not listed in Shanghai. * Thanks to random1377@yahoo.com for finding that Roger will not see the erotic magazine and exchange it for Pulse Tract unless you defeat Cherubim (BOSS at Cave Temple) in addition to Seraphim (BOSS at the Ancient Ruins) and Orb Chaos (BOSS at Dollhouse). * Thanks to Garyog41@aol.com for discovering the final treasure needed to make Carl acknowledge that you've found 100%!!! See Treasure FAQ for locations. * Thanks to DarkAmon@aol.com for commenting that a Lottery Ticket was not listed in Section 44. * Thanks to dhrobinson@gov.mb.ca for finding an apparent glitch that allows Malice to start increasing before the storyline indicates it should. <---+----^----+----^----+----^----+----^----+----^----+----^----+----^----+-->