Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Sun Aug 19, 2018 5:25 pm

Thanks for the kind words! Dang but I'm glad this has been working out this well so far, and it means the world to me that people seem to enjoy what I'm putting out there. I'm going to keep giving it my best; these games deserve it, and you all sure as heck deserve no less.

AerynB wrote:But 3, not so much. They were... I dunno, one-dimensional to me.


If there's an aspect about DW3 that is weak where in JRPGs in general it is usually at least moderately strong, it's in the characters, yeah. But it's kind of out of scope for the overall design in a way. It's hard to have the mechanics based around the flexible create-a-party deal while still having strong in-game characterization. (Though you can look at the likes of DQ7 and FF5 for fairly successful compromise attempts at both. But the medium's evolution just wasn't there for DW3.) You end up with a notion where you hope the character creation and art design and world-building are evocative enough to let players bring in their own narrative; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and it won't work the same for everyone.

And it's interesting to note how heavily DW4 pulls the lever in the other direction! It's sometimes difficult to see in retrospect, but it can hardly be said enough: these games were experimental is some really profound ways.

If you can do this with 3, I only wonder what you can do with 9's blandness (because even in 25 years my imagination is still not up to the task of creating backstories for blank slate party members).


Haha, good grief, DQ9. I don't know to which extent I want to go into detail, or since it's been a long time, to which extent I even could... but let's just say the wedding outfits got a surprising impact on my internal narrative for that one, heh.

It'll be weird not being able to read new chapters right now, but I'll deal. I've gotta find a way to subscribe or something so I don't miss a post. Keep up the awesome work. I really do love it!


I didn't necessarily aim for this and I don't want to hold myself to it strictly for a variety of reasons, but I've been putting out an update every other day for a while now, and I expect to go on with one every two or three days for a while still. I've got a sleep ailment going on so it's hard to be more precise than that, unfortunately.

Alright, in other news... oh my goodness everyone look at the little guy Silversong made for me.

Image

Drakees are the best and this is the best Drakee.

Image

He is the cutest and also the strongest!

Image

He's keeping me company as I play and write and it still blows my mind that he's there. Words fail me. Look at 'im! <3 <3 <3

Seriously, Silversong, saying it once more still isn't enough: thank you, ever so much.

AerynB
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:50 pm

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby AerynB » Sun Aug 19, 2018 7:30 pm

Wow! He is awesome. (Necrosaro's pretty cool too. :) )

I didn't necessarily aim for this and I don't want to hold myself to it strictly for a variety of reasons, but I've been putting out an update every other day for a while now, and I expect to go on with one every two or three days for a while still. I've got a sleep ailment going on so it's hard to be more precise than that, unfortunately.

Don't worry about posting. I found out how to subscribe to the thread, so now I get notifications of new posts. I won't miss anything. :) (In other words, take care of yourself first.)

DQ9's hero was definitely a self-insert for me, and my number 2 was a blond, spiky-haired martial artist to start off -- since hubby is a big MMA fan. But other than them, number 3 and number 4 were just... adventurers. Bland, one-dimensional, bags of HP. Not that 9 failed storywise, just in terms of PC characterization. Same with 3. Both have compelling stories, just lack a little party characterization, that's all.

...these games were experimental is some really profound ways.

And for the most part, their experiments panned out. That's the other thing I love about these LPs, all the history and comparison that you and other posters bring to it. Someone posted an article about how Horii made DQ2, and how they were making adjustments and testing new prototypes down to basically the last minute. That was a really cool read for me.

Anyway, keep up the good work. I really love it!

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:44 pm

Image

Image: You know, I've been thinking... Isn't it weird that we're the only ones trying to find the archfiend?
Image: Hmm.
Image: I mean, we've been all over the world, right? You'd think there'd be even one more person going "hey, I can swing a sword, I can carry a bunch of Herbs, let me help".
Image: Buncha lazy asses everywhere.
Image: Everyone has their own problems.
Image: Well they're about to get an extra big problem on top if we screw this up.
Image: Which we won't.
Image: I guess we're doing alright on our own. But still...
Image: You can tell a farmer that a demon lord is going to kill everyone he loves in a month if no one stops him, and he'll tell you that starvation is going to kill everyone he loves in a year if no one brings in the harvest.
Image: Besides, we fight so others don't have to, right? The fewer have to face Baramos' horrors, the better.
Image: And Zofia, where would you be right now if the king hadn't sent you?
Image: ...home. Yeah, fine, I get it. It's just the four of us then.
Image: Is that so bad?
Image: Ha, okay, it's not.

Image

Image

Image

Along the way, Rebeca reaches level 28, for 1 Str, 4 Agi, 5 Vit, 5 Luc, 3 Int, 9 HP, and 7 MP.

Image

We spend the night at the inn here, and attempt the crossing in the morning.



Olivia's curse repels us again. But using the Locket of Love calls on Errol's spirit, and the long-suffering couple is reunited at last, both free to move on to whatever awaits next. The curse on the strait is no more.

Image: Something good came of this after all.
Image: I prefer definitions of "good" that don't include drowning aboard a slave ship and suicide.
Image: Well... less bad, maybe.
Image: The situation did significantly improve once we got involved.
Image: There will be no such luck for Simon, I suppose. Let's see if we can find out anything here.

Image

We run into Poison Toads on the island; it must be in the same encounter zone as Romaly.

Image

Image: Spirit, what is this place?
Image

Image

Image: I get that sometimes you need to put criminals away, but this place...
Image: It's something else for sure.

Image

Image

Image: Was this place forgotten because of the monster ruling Samanao?
Image: I think it's all on Olivia. Simon was shipped here before she sealed off the strait, and then no one could resupply the place.
Image: ...talk about a chain of tragedies.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Are you... were you Simon?
Image

Image

Image

Image: That'll be the key to the Necrogond, then.
Image: How is it supposed to open the way?
Image: I have absolutely no idea.
Image: Is it any good as a weapon, though?
Image: ...hmm.

The Sword of Gaia offers 48 attack power (exactly as much as Giant Shears), and it can be wielded by Heroes and Soldiers. If you've managed to make it all the way here, you're almost guaranteed to have much better weapons already; the Zombie Slasher and the Orochi Sword are a lot stronger.

Image: It's no ordinary sword, but I don't think it's anything special in combat.
Image: It's just a question of figuring out what good it does us, then.

Image

Image

Image: So, where are we going next?
Image: I was thinking I'd try the Navel of the Earth again.
Image: Hmm! You might just be up to it.
Image: How would you know? You didn't go down there.
Image: Zofia's always improving, and besides she has much better gear than last time, too.
Image: Speaking of which, do you mind if I borrow the Meteorite Armband for a bit?
Image: ...oh! Of course I don't mind. Good grief, I should have given it to you the first time!
Image: And Reb, can you give me that ring again? And maybe the Staff of Thunder?
Image: You got it.

Image

Image

Image: Alright then, one more time.

Image

Image

Image: I wonder what's on the sides here... There are a lot of passages I didn't even check out the first time. But maybe I should retrace my steps and pick things up where I left off.

The first enemies are a group of Infernus Crabs. They only hit for 2 now, and while we didn't have enough room to bring the Orochi Sword along, the Staff of Thunder kills them dead just fine. We also run into a couple Minidemons though, and they land several solid blizzard breaths.

Image

Zofia has no trouble one-shotting Rogue Knights this time, so that's a lot of damage she doesn't have to heal through.

Image

Image

Image

Welp, moment of truth. Zofia could easily one-shot each of them with Zap, but that'd cost 32 Mp and it's not an option.

Image

Whew, she can one-shot them with her Dragon Killer instead. They hit back for 8 so it's still not trivial, but she definitely doesn't need to turn back immediately.

Image

Image: Huh, that's a weird mask there. But it'll take more than that to scare me away.

Image
Image: Gah! What the... No! I'm not turning back!

Image

Image

Image
Image: To hell with you.

Image

They can be one-shot too, but their Firebane is no joke.

Image

Image

Image
Image: ...

Image

Image

Image: Dang but Reb would be coming in handy right about now. Here's to this test of courage, I suppose.

The western chest has a Medical Herb, but we can't carry it.

Image: ...aw crap, if the Blue Orb is in this other chest, I won't have enough room to take it back with me.
Image: ...
Image: ...
Image: ...
Image: ...dammit.

Image

Image

Image: So, uh, Alvaro and I were thinking, did you have enough room to-
Image: I did not.
Image: Hmm.
Image: Here, you can have the Armband and the Staff back. I'm going back in tomorrow.
Image: Did it go well otherwise?
Image: Yeah, yeah, it did, just... no room.
Image: Welp.

I wish we could leave the Final Key behind, but there's a locked door at the entrance.

On our way back down, Zofia reaches level 29, for 3 Str, 1 Agi, 5 Vit, 2 Luc, 2 Int, 11 HP, and 2 MP.

Image

Image

Image: Whew. That sure took some doing. But I might as well see if I can clear the place out now.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Huh, that last one didn't tell me to turn back.

Image
Image: ...eh?
Image: However, rashness by itself cannot be said to be courage. It is also necessary to have the ability to listen to others.
Image: Yeah, well, if I did that down here, I wouldn't have the Blue Orb, so shove it up your nose, alright?

We run into a Sky Dragon on the way back. True to its name, the Dragon Killer one-shots it. As we finish mapping out the big mostly empty floor, we stumble on a new stairway up.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Ooooh, nice.

No, not the... Get out of here!

Image: Pfft.

The Armor of Terrafirma offers 50 defense (10 more than Magic Armor), and can be equipped by Heroes and Soldiers. It doesn't have any elemental resistance so it's not strictly better than Magic Armor, but Zofia can wear it until she gets another upgrade, while her old Magic Armor can be passed down to Isabel. She has a ton of HP besides, so she's inherently more difficult to kill with elemental damage than her companions.

Image

Image

Image

Whuh-oh. Zofia uses Ironize to let the Mimic exhaust its low MP, then goes on the offensive. The thing then drains almost all of her MP, but she survives two Defeat casts by sheer moxie and emerges victorious.

Image: Wow, that sucked. Better get out of here while I still can.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Any good news?

Image

Image: Is that good news enough for you?
Image: Alright, Fia!
Image: Three more to go, then.
Image: Did you clear out the place?
Image: Gah, no, there are Mimics down there. I'll have to come back some other time, but I've had enough for now.

Image

Image: So, we're back to exploring the western continent, then?
Image: Yeah, pretty much. If we can get our hands on that Flute, we'll have an easier time finding the other Orbs. And maybe someone can clue us in about how the Sword of Gaia is supposed to help us.
Image: I wonder if Pancho got his head cut off yet.
Image: Ooof, yeah, better check in on that business right quick.

We Return to Soo, and as we head down the Mississippi, Isabel reaches level 28, for 1 Str, 3 Agi, 6 Vit, 2 Luc, 4 Int, 10 HP, 8 MP, and a new spell. Defeat costs 7 MP (just like Beat), and attempts to instantly kill an entire group of foes. It's supposed to have smaller odds of working than Beat, but both spells roll against the exact same resistance stat so it looks like there's actually no reason to ever cast Beat again.

Image

Image

Image: Whoa, that guard's new.

Image
Image: But it's not just Pancho's town anymore.
Image: Well then.
Image: I suppose it was inevitable.

Image

Image
Image: Yeah, "friends" is a bit much.
Image: He was more like... a temporary acquaintance.
Image: He was some chump we hired in thirty seconds.

Image

Image
Image: ...huh.

We get Isabel a Silver Shield from this store, taking her defense from 96 to 119.

Image

Image
Image: ...!
Image: I'm not keen to see his price.

Image

Image
Image: Huh, that's some different show.
Image: Can't be worse than the last one.

Image

Image
Image: Just watch how good they get once we give them a peaceful world.

Image
Image: Oh I'm sure you'll do fine. Just remember to breathe!

Image

Image
Image: Yeah!

Image

Image

Image
Image: ...hey.
Image: I was just doing this for the sake of the townsfolk and now it's come to this.
Image: It didn't have to, Pancho. It's not like no one tried to warn you.
Image: Oh, I almost forgot. Please look behind the chair in my house.
Image: Oooookay?
Image: Let's all hope for Zofia's sage conduct in his journey.
Image: Wait, you thought I was a dude all this time? Screw you, and screw this town.

Image
Image: Whuh... buh... huh?
Image: This whole situation has been effed up the a.
Image: It does seem odd to overthrow a local ruler on account of construction schedules after the construction's all done.
Image: They finally had enough time to think about holding a grudge, I guess.
Image: Let's just stick to archfiend business from now on, shall we?
Image: Yes please.

Image

Image
Image: Anyone.
Image: Pretty much.

Image

These two chests haven't had anything put in them since we last were here, but...

Image
Image: Whoa!
Image: Huh. Pancho must have bought it while its seller was in town.
Image: So he was good for something after all.
Image: That makes four, then.
Image: We know the Silver Orb is in a shrine somewhere in the Necrogond. That leaves us with only one more to locate.
Image: Right. Let's stay here until tonight just in case we can find out anything else. But tomorrow, we're heading south.

Ooooh, a yellow orb. The box art finally makes a bit of sense!

Image

Image

Image

Aaaand that's the only difference, other than there being a bunch of sleeping townsfolk. Time to head down the coast!

Image

Image

Image

We might be able to reach the west coast from here; let's give it a shot.

Image

Image

Image: Oh hey, this might be the tower we're looking for!

Image

Image

Image

A pair of Lethal Armors ambush us as we come in, and we run into three Bighorns further inside. If this is the grade of monsters awaiting us in here, we should be in business. In fact there are Venom Zombies too, so I expect we'll find other Soo regional enemies, which will be fine as long as there aren't too many Hades' Condors.

Image

Image

Image

You can get out a short way into the lawn on either side here, but it doesn't lead to anywhere useful.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

It still doesn't make a lot of sense to blow 12 MP on Snowstorm to wipe out a bunch of Lethal Armors, but a 6 MP Snowblast lets everyone else finish one off, so it's a good compromise. There are also Blue Beaks popping up now and then, and those are good for a recharge.

Alvaro levels up after this fight, for 12 Str, 4 Vit, 2 Luc, 1 Int, and 8 HP. He still gets a juicy one every once in a while!

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Dang, we haven't seen Barnabas and Shadows in a while. They're still pretty tough, and there's a lot of stuff Shadows can mimic at this point, but we can handle this one just fine.

Image

Let's try going back down first. I'm not sure where these stairs could possibly lead to.

Image

Image: Hmm, we might have to fall on those chests from above, just like in the Tower of Garuna. Let's keep an eye out for a good spot above.

Image

Image

Image: Oh you have got to be kidding me.
Image: It'll be fine. You managed it last time.
Image: It's not that I can't, it's that it's gonna suck.

These tightropes might seem like mere embellishment, but considering we saw them last in the Tower of Garuna, they're actually a good visual reminder that we had to jump down to progress back there. In fact, if you couldn't find the Book of Satori and gave up, seeing the notion spelled out for you here could make you think back and figure it out!

Image

Image

Image

Image

Alright, Eliminators are new. They're pretty strong and have a fair bit of HP, but their defense is below average for here, with a slight chance to roll crits and the ability to cast StopSpell. They're slightly resistant to almost all magic, with the exception of an immunity to Expel and vulnerabilities to wind and lightning. I suspect they're meant to have a sort of neat "mage hunter" archetype going on. (Doesn't protect them from the old "claw in the face" trick though.)

Image

Image: Nope.

Image

Image: ...I need to modify that spell so worthless crap also glows red.

Image

Image

Image: Still no.
Image: Better find a spot to jump off from, then. Let's get to the middle of the floor.

These bad chests on the top floor indirectly point out that there has to be more to this tower than meets the eye, in case you didn't spot the "inaccessible" pillar in the middle.

Image

Leaping into empty space just to the west...

Image

Image: Whew, good call Alvaro.

Image

Isabel's only 3 points ahead of Rebeca, so she gets them, for 5 points.

Image

Ooh, nice. These go to Rebeca, for 5 points as well.

Image

Image

Image: Haha, alright!
Image: Leave that one to me, will you?
Image: Can you play, Isabel?
Image: If it can be played, I can play it.



The Flute plays the same short melody as it did back in DW2!

Image: No echo...
Image: Would have been too convenient, I suppose.

Image: Eh, I played it better.
Image: No you didn't.
Image: She's got a fair bit of skill on you, Zed.
Image: Yeah, well, she can have her skill. I have heart.
Image: Pretty sure she's got you on heart too.
Image: Hmm-mmm.

We should have enough juice to clear this tower out, so let's finish our map.

Image

I like the layout of this dungeon, what with the large vestibule in front of the tower proper, and the wide hollow center with a bunch of ropes going across the top floor; it's just pretty neat to imagine. I kinda want to try building it in Minecraft, heh. You're probably expected to go through this place before you get your hands on four of the Orbs, but I can see it being very difficult if you try it as soon as you get your ship.

Hopefully we won't actually need the Echoing Flute, though; we have four Orbs, we know where the fifth is, and we still have vast swathes of America to explore. Let's get to that next time!

User avatar
Friday
Posts: 6264
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 7:40 pm
Location: Karma: -65373

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby Friday » Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:54 pm

Yeah, weirdly, the Flute is not only optional, but borderline useless. All the Orbs have specific, precise hints on how to find them. It's not like DW2 where they fucking hid the crests in super random crazy bullshit spots.
ImageImageImage

User avatar
Blossom
Posts: 2297
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 8:58 pm

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby Blossom » Mon Aug 20, 2018 2:18 pm

I don't remember specifically, but didn't the Flute in DW2 not work unless you were on the specific screen the Crest was on, not just in the location? Like, the Water Crest in Hamlin, you couldn't just be in Hamlin, you had to specifically use it in the underwater jail?

I think it was always useless.
Image

AerynB
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:50 pm

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby AerynB » Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:00 pm

TA wrote:I think it was always useless.

Even in 8. But I guess players who put the games down and then come back weeks or months later might need an item like this to remind them they're in the right place.

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:25 pm

I don't remember how it was in DW2 and I'm no longer in a position to test it immediately, but the flute's melody will in fact echo if an orb is in the same overall location as the party, even if it's on another floor.

It's probably superfluous here, but in general, having that sort of fail-safe for an open-world plot coupon hunt is going to be a good idea, and I'll say it's good practice that it's there even if it isn't strictly necessary. In the context of this specific game, it's kinda meh, but in the context of gaming, I'm giving it a thumbs up.

User avatar
Friday
Posts: 6264
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 7:40 pm
Location: Karma: -65373

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby Friday » Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:21 pm

Oh, the idea behind it is sound, absolutely.

It's very possible that younger players (kids 10 or less) would need it, also. (Or at least find it somewhat useful.)
ImageImageImage

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Wed Aug 22, 2018 1:24 pm

Image

We've still got plenty of MP left, so let's keep going up the west coast of North America.

Image

Image

Image

That's the Bering Strait again, so we're already in Alaska. We've officially been from one side of the strait to the other the long way around.

Image

Oooh, Metal Slimes; we might be in Muor's encounter zone. We manage to take down two of them, for another Agility Seed, and enough experience to get Zofia to level 30! She earns 4 Str, 1 Agi, 1 Vit, 3 Luc, 1 Int, 1 HP, 2 MP, and new spell: her own Healmore! The earliest a Hero can learn Healmore is level 29 though, so it could have come a bit sooner.

This really goes to show you how much better Pilgrims are at raw healing. Heroes learn Heal very early on, but it takes them all this time to upgrade it.

Image

We start running into a weird mix of Arctic/Antarctic monsters and Soo-area critters around here. Overall I think the game does a pretty good job of populating the non-linear sections of its overworld with enemies that stay dangerous for a long time but that can still be taken down by a determined party even if they're somewhat underleveled for the area. If things are too tough for you, you're given have a chance to figure that out for yourself and turn back instead of just being obliterated by creatures you have no chance to defeat even one of.

Rebeca levels up a few fights later, for 4 Agi, 3 Vit, 5 Luc, 3 Int, 5 HP, 4 MP, and a new spell: Firevolt. Firevolt is the strongest of the Firebal/Firebane line of spells; for 12 MP, it deals 88 to 111 fire damage to an entire group, making it equal to Snowstorm in all respects but element. It's not exactly an increase in overall power for Rebeca, but more versatility is always welcome.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Ah, okay, this isn't the Muor encounter zone after all, there are just tons of Metal Slimes up here! Bikill will double the single point of damage normal attacks usually inflict on them, so it may help bring them down a bit faster. But a turn spent casting Bikill isn't a turn spent poking the Slimes with a Poison Needle, so I'm not sure what helps the most.

We take down three this time, bringing Isabel to level 29, for 1 Str, 3 Agi, 6 Vit, 2 Luc, 3 Int, 11 HP (!), and 5 MP.

Image

Image

Aaaaand that's all of North America. The only locations of interest are Soo, the tower with the Flute and Panchoville, but the numerous Metal Slimes still make it fairly rewarding to explore the northern areas.

Image: Well that was a bust.
Image: At least we know where the Orb is not.
Image: Let's head back to Soo and rest up. We can leave the south for next time.

Image

Image: Ah, it's good to see civilization every once in a while!
Image: You guys want to take the day off?
Image: There's a good idea. I don't remember the last time we took it easy on solid ground.
Image: Time is something of the essence, but we could probably use the rest.
Image: Yah, sure.
Image: Whew, at ease then. Let's meet back up at the inn in the morning.

Image

Image: Lovely night, eh?
Image: Some of 'em have to be.
Image: You got a moment?
Image: Plenty.
Image: So!
Image: Feeling nosy?
Image: Yeah.
Image: Heh, fine. I guess you've earned it.
Image: You don't seem like the bookworm type. Where'd you learn your magic?
Image: Thaaaaat's a long story.
Image: I got plenty of moments too.
Image: Where'd you learn yours?
Image: Dad showed me a few tricks. He said I'd get better over time.
Image: You did.
Image: It's in my blood, I guess.
Image: Lucky.
Image: I know.
Image: ...
Image: ...
Image: Keep this under your hat, okay?
Image: Promise.
Image: Well, my dad didn't show me any tricks, that's for sure. My parents were... uh... pretty shitty people.
Image: I'm sorry.
Image: I ran away from home when I was, I dunno, nine, ten? Figured my life could only get better.
Image: I'm guessing it didn't.
Image: Heh. Within a week I was stealing everything that wasn't nailed down and that I could eat or sell. Or, trying to. Starving ten year old girls caught cutting purses get a bit of slack, but not that much. Don't get arrested by the same guard twice, right?
Image: I can't imagine how it was.
Image: Better not. It sucked. You don't know the Aliahan I know. But I was kinda pissed off at everything all the time so it was like, who cares, right? Nobody else gave a crap. No reason I should.
Image: But I bet that's not how you learned to set things on fire.
Image: Five years on, some old lady grabs my hand as I'm pulling it out of her bag. She didn't yell at me, didn't call the guards either. Musta seen something in me, I guess. She just... took me back to her place. Big old house in the woods, for her and her two sisters. Full of books like you wouldn't believe, big garden in the back... It was falling apart, kinda. But nicest place I ever seen in a way.
Image: Let me guess. Witches.
Image: Yup. If you ever wonder where I learned something, that was it. Anyway, maybe seven years go by. I'm a decent cook, I can put together dried herbs to sell, I know a thing or two about burnin' stuff. I figured things might've started getting better for once. Then the oldest one falls ill, and the others start looking at me funny. Well, long story short, none of 'em were on their first body. Probably not on their second neither.
Image: ...what?
Image: They didn't say it to my face, but I'm not an idiot and I learned a lot more than they thought. Put a few pieces together. They were grooming me so when the elder's time was up, she'd take me over. And that's it for Reb. So long. Nice knowin' ya.
Image: Holy crap! How'd you get away?
Image: I didn't. I was done running. And it turns out when you teach someone about all sorts of weird mushrooms growing in your yard and you trust them with your meals, you never know what kinds of crazy accidents can happen.
Image: You poisoned them?
Image: Sure as hell did. They had more than their share of time anyway. Good riddance.
Image: Then what?
Image: Kept up the herb trade for a bit, but nobody was buying anymore. I figured it was time to leave. We know how the roads are though. Dropped by Luisa's once in a while, maybe see a new face now and then, but nobody I liked the smell of. And then one day you called me an idiot.
Image: Aw, come on, I didn't-
Image: I know.
Image: ...
Image: ...
Image: Wow.
Image: Yeah. You think any less of me yet?
Image: What, are you kidding? Why would I think less of you?
Image: Well, the thieving and killing and such.
Image: Get out of here with that. If I ever heard someone judge you for surviving, I'd kick their ass.
Image: ...heh. Well, alright. Anyway, that's it. Now you know.
Image: ...
Image: ...
Image: What happened to the house?
Image: Huh?
Image: The witches' house.
Image: Oh. Ha. You know what happened.
Image: I don't-
Image: Yes you do.
Image: ...you didn't.
Image: Oh yes I did.
Image: No!
Image: Yup!
Image: With the books and everything?
Image: Sure thing. Heck, some of that stuff still... it was giving me nightmares. Wanted to stop reading. Couldn't.
Image: I kinda get it but...
Image: Plus, I never... I guess I never really stopped being pissed off at everything.
Image: Even now?
Image: ...
Image: ...
Image: Ehhh... Maybe a little less. I mean I... I didn't... Before we... I never really...
Image: ...?
Image: Ah, forget it.
Image: What? Oh no, no way! Don't leave me hanging on that!
Image: Heh... well... fine. I don't... I never had a family. I-I don't know what it's like to have a little sister. But I'm thinking maybe it feels something like this.
Image: ...!
Image: Is... is that okay?
Image: Yeah! Yeah of course! Tell you what, Ortega has two daughters now, I don't mind.
Image: Is that how that works?
Image: Tell me it's not.
Image: I'm sure not getting that magic blood.
Image: You don't need it.
Image: Heh, guess not.
Image: I better figure out a way to tell mom that won't give her an extremely wrong idea, though.
Image: You're serious.
Image: Never been more.
Image: ...thank you.
Image: Don't mention it. Dad used to say... we all get to decide what really matters to us in life. I think I get what he meant now.
Image: Smart man.
Image: Sure was.
Image: ...
Image: Well it's getting pretty late. Ready to turn in?
Image: I think... I think I'll just sit here a little longer. Go on ahead, will ya?
Image: You know we got a big day tomorrow.
Image: Yes, mom.
Image: Pfft, shut up.
Image: G'night, Fia.
Image: Night. I'm glad you didn't get bodysnatched by a hag.
Image: You don't know that for sure!
Image: Go to bed, Reb. Good grief.
Image: Heheh.

Image

Image: So what were you two up to yesterday?
Image: Oh! Um, prayer, meditation, the usual.
Image: I helped Ed with some verse he was working on.
Image: ...how'd that turn out?
Image: Better than you'd think, not quite as well as you'd like.
Image: I didn't know you write poetry, Al!
Image: Oh, I don't really... well... heh...
Image: I only ever see you make poetry with your fists!
Image: I choose to take that as a compliment.

Image

So, South America then. We'll just leave the ship in Mexico again and head south.

Image

The first enemies here are Stingwings and Blue Beaks. It looks like we're heading in some serious hills, but if there are no new enemies it shouldn't be very difficult.

Image

Ah, Kongs, those were in Samanao. They're a bit tougher than what we've been fighting up north but still nothing we can't handle.

Image

Yeah, that's Samanao in the east there, on the other side of the Andes. Looks like we're heading towards Peru and Chile.

Image

Image

Image

Alvaro gets to level 28 off a Metal Slime kill, for 12 Agi, 4 Vit, 5 Luc, and 8 HP.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Oh-ho! Let's see if there's anything at Cape Horn first, just for the form.

Image

Nope, alright then.

Image

Image
Image: Huh. It feels a little weird to think of pirates as having a house on land.
Image: Did you think they're all born at sea only to die at sea?
Image: It could be true for some of them!

Image

Image

Image

Image: Pretty nice digs.
Image: There can't be that much money in piracy nowadays, right?
Image: The smarter captains probably got to retire with their gold when ocean trade slowed down. Otherwise they'd just keep on pirating until someone did them in. Or... something.
Image: Huh, you sure know a lot about that. Did you have any run-ins with pirates back when you were traveling with your folk?
Image: Not... pirates, no. I... I suppose we were lucky.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Eh? Where's everyone?
Image: Gone pirating, presumably.

Image

Image

Image
Image: Better make tracks while you can then, old man.

Image: So, night-time. Care to give us a hand there, Reb?
Image: Sure, I'll move the heavens for you. No biggie!

Image

Image

Image

Image
Image: That... sure is something we have in common.

Image
Image: Whoa, really? What happened to it?
Image
Image: Gah, pearls before swine.
Image: Maybe he's talking about the Yellow Orb, and he sold it, and it got sold again until it got in Pancho's hands.
Image: Ugh, yeah, maybe.
Image: We're only missing one of the six. It stands to reason that we might just find more clues towards the Orbs we already have.
Image: Or... maybe...
Image: Hmm?
Image: Isabel... How about you play us a little something?
Image: Oh! Oh! Right! Just a moment!



Isabel plays the flute again... and it echoes!

Image: Oh my goodness!
Image: It's still here.
Image: We're not leaving without that Orb. I don't care if we have to blow up th-
Image: Last resort, Reb.
Image: Yeah, yeah.

Image
Image: If I had been a pirate, it would have scared me straight.

Image
Image: We gave the bone to an old man in Greenlad.

Pretty smart of the game to point you there from a couple different places. If you've heard about Errol and Olivia's story from that bard at the inn on the Black Sea, this definitely sets you on the right path.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
Image: ...no?
Image: Nope.
Image: Not at all.
Image: Why would it be? Zofia's the boss here, and we're doing great.
Image
Image: You do realize I'm a woman too, right?
Image: I don't understand why this is supposed to be strange! What's going on?
Image: Some macho pirate nonsense I suppose.
Image: Okay, fine, let's say it's weird. What are you on about?
Image
Image
Image: Hmm!
Image: I've never heard of such an island. It might be a trap.
Image: Eh, I'm not scared of pirates. Besides, it looks like we might be done with this continent anyway, so we might as well visit.

Image

Image
Image: Whatever helps you sleep at night, man.

Image

Image

The outer edge of the building is accessible. Let's see where it goes.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Does that boulder look suspicious to you?
Image: It does seem out of place.

Image

Image

Image

Image: Ah-ha!

Image

Image: Well then, let's see about stealing from scoundrels.

That's a Wing, a Strength Seed, and...

Image

Image: Ha! Score!
Image: Only one to go now. And we know where it is.
Image: But not how to get there. Yet.

Image

Image

Image: We'll be headed to Luzami, then?
Image: Eh, our ship is still way up north and we can't Return here. Let's go up the east coast on foot in case we find anything else.

Image

Image

Image

That's the cave of the Mirror of Ra.

Image

Image

Aaaaand that's all for South America.

Image

Image

Image: Let's just go back to Aliahan. If the pirate boss' directions are correct, Luzami should be southeast of there anyway.

Image

We Vault all non-essential gear, and head back to sea.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Oh, and, well, there's no reason to be coy about it: there's a lot of open ocean we haven't charted yet, but we've seen everything of note.

Image

We're only missing the Necrogond and that mysterious castle in... Kazakhstan I guess? Dang but we've come a long way.

Luzami, though!

Image

...a Hades' Condor launches Isabel into orbit on the very last tile before we reach the village. Good grief. Let's just go get her right quick.

Image

Okay.

Image

Image

Image

I don't think it corresponds to a specific place in the real world, but it could be any of the Polynesian island nations, such as Fiji, or Samoa, or Tokelau, or Tonga, or...

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
Image: Is that so?
Image: Sure is.
Image: Because no one would believe me in this, I was exiled to this island.
Image: Wow, that seems harsh. Are you sure you weren't being even a little bit of a dick about it?
Image: Nevertheless, the world is turning.

Image

That structure is probably meant to be a telescope!

Image

Image

Image
Image: Just like that old man in Najima!
Image: The Castle of the Archfiend is deep in the mountains of the Necrogond.
Image: Following you so far.
Image: Before long, thou wilt heave the Sword of Gaia into a volcano's crater and thine own path shalt unfold before thee!
Image: ...!
Image: So, that's how... Hmm!
Image: Thank you, sir. You might just have saved the world.
Image: She means you helped us save the world. Let's get the details straight here.

Image

Image: Hmm.

Image

Image: Well that's odd.

Image

Image: Do mind your step, everyone.
Image: ...eh?

Image

Image: Eh.

Image

Image
Image: It was indeed.
Image: But not anymore!

Image

Image

Image: This is not such a terrible place, for a forgotten island where exiles dwell. Maybe I...
Image: ...?
Image: Ah, never mind.

Let's see if there's anything different at night.

Image

...aaaaand there is not. This place is hella crucial though!

Image: I can't believe we're finally going to attack Baramos directly.
Image: And find the sixth Orb too!
Image: Ha! If I had known your quest would have me travel the entire world, I might have had second thoughts!
Image: Any regrets?
Image: No, no, not at all. Staying home would have made me the truest fool in history.
Image: So, I believe Assaram will be closest to the volcano.
Image: We'll... we'll have to watch our backs. We know for sure my father didn't have the Sword of Gaia, and he might have been ambushed by Baramos' servants as he was trying to leave.
Image: We'll take care of you.
Image: I know. I know. Thank you. Time to finish what he father started, then.

We leave most of our gold at the Vault, and retrieve the Sword of Gaia. There probably aren't any shops where we're going.

Image

Image

Image

Image: Here goes nothing.



Zofia tosses the sword into the volcano, immediately causing it to erupt! Lava flows west into the river blocking our way south, and quickly hardens into passable terrain.

Image: It's always the smallest bodies of water that are the most troublesome to bridge, isn't it?

Image: ...wow.
Image: Do you think this is safe to traverse?
Image: The water should have cooled the lava plenty. Maybe we ought to cross at the furthest point though... just in case.

Image

Image

Image

We're attacked by new foes as soon as we cross the river. That's the Necrogond alright!

Frost Clouds are fairly fragile, especially to a party that's been nearly everywhere else in the world, but they have a high chance to breathe a basic blizzard breath or cast Snowblast, so they can do a bunch of damage if you're not careful. They're immune to ice, highly resistant to Stopspell, slightly resistant to RobMagic, Sleep and wind, and not at all to fire and lightning. Using staves of Thunder and Judgement is a great idea here.

Frost Clouds have a 1 in 128 chance to drop a Multi-Edge Sword, a +100 weapon for Heroes and Soldiers. It comes with the unfortunate drawback of inflicting upon its wielder about 25% of the damage they deal to their foes, so use it at your own peril.

Image

Regular Trolls come with low defense, but truly enormous HP and attack power. They also ignore formation, and have a moderate chance to roll crits. They're completely vulnerable to all elements and highly resistant to Beat, so it's a good idea to bring your raw-damage magical artillery to bear before they massacre your back line. Limbo always works in a pinch (they're worth a ton of experience though, so think twice about it), and if you're trying to save MP, they're only slightly resistant to Sleep, Surround and Chaos.

Alvaro still has the highest defense power of our entire party by a bit, and Trolls hit him for around 40 damage. It's nothing we can't heal through, but we haven't taken this many blows this hard in a long, long time, and there's still a ways to go. Even if you didn't go after any of the Orbs, the game knows you've been through a lot to make it here, and it'll take you seriously.

Image

Image

Image

Oh cripes that's a mean fight. Better not let a battle like this take too long; Firevolt comes in extremely handy.

Rebeca reaches level 30 after a battle against a pair of Trolls, for 1 Str, 4 Agi, 1 Vit, 5 Luc, 4 Int, 6 MP, and a new spell: CurseOff. For 18 MP, CurseOff destroys any cursed items its target might be wearing. It's mostly there to avoid the House of Healing's fee.

Image

Holy crap, we rolled low on initiative and facetanked a bunch of ice damage. I'm honestly not confident we can even come out of this fight in one piece, but failing to run will definitely kill us. Let's put both Zofia and Isabel on Healmore duty here, and see where it takes us.

Image

Whew. Zofia levels up from this, for 3 Str, 3 Agi, 3 Vit, 2 Luc, 1 Int, and 5 HP.

Aaaand Isabel manages to bring Rebeca back... after seven Vivify casts. This trip isn't over, but it's definitely been shortened by a lot. We can't go through many more pyrrhic victories like this.

Image

Image

A Troll crits Rebeca... and she lives! Good grief, a level 30 Wizard survived a Troll crit. She's incredibly tough! Alvaro crits him back immediately, and he survives as well. Man, these fights.

Image

Image

Image

Image: Oof, I'm getting dejà vu over here.
Image: A swamp, and a cave through the mountains.
Image: At least they're not carrying the eye of their greatest enemy.
Image: As far as we know.
Image: ...?
Image: Yeah, okay, they're not. I was just trying to sound ominous.

Image

And so awaits before our heroes the path into the accursed mountains of the Necrogond... and Baramos' fortress on the other side. We're almost there!

AerynB
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:50 pm

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby AerynB » Wed Aug 22, 2018 2:02 pm

Cool backstory for Rebeca, but you teased us with Isabel not being a real nun... What gives, man?!

Just kidding. Great update! (And that screenshot in Soo doesn't even look possible.)

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Wed Aug 22, 2018 2:56 pm

It's isnt. :3

I almost didn't edit it because I haven't done that at all otherwise... but I Iiked this picture in my head of them sitting under the same tree so much that I figured it would be worth it to have just one of these LP series' nearly 6000 screenshots so far not being 100% authentic.

...it does still kinda bug me a little though, heh.

AerynB
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:50 pm

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby AerynB » Wed Aug 22, 2018 3:01 pm

Oh good. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. ;) It's a cool pic, and I like them sitting under a tree talking, too. Very DQ8. :)

Your next backstory segment needs to be on the ship, ala Yangus.

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:11 pm

Image

Whew, here we go. I don't expect this to be quite as brutal as the cave to Rhone was, but I'm still foreseeing rough times ahead, especially since both Zofia and Isabel only have some 30 odd MP left. Maybe we can identify a few dead ends before we have to bail out.

Image

Image: What strange warriors these statues are. They look human, but they're protecting the archfiend's domain.
Image: The lure of easy gain has driven many to perdition...
Image: Or they might just be demons that look like people.
Image: Yes, I suppose... there are some like that.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Marauders are a fair bit weaker than Trolls, but with higher defense; they get two actions, and a 25% chance to breathe "gales of scorching breath", which deals no damage but has a small chance to cause the Numb status. They're highly resistant to Beat, Sleep and Chaos, but vulnerable to Sap, and slightly resistant to everything else (including Expel).

Marauders have a 1 in 256 chance to drop a Snowblast Sword, a +80 weapon (stronger than a Dragon Killer!) that Heroes and Soldiers can equip. It also casts Snowblast when used as an item in battle, which is a pretty big deal any way you slice it.

At this point, Zofia needs to take care of healing between fights, because we need to save Isabel's MP for combat. I'm relieved that the former has Healmore now!

Image

Image

Ooooh, a Metal Babble! They have 5 or 6 HP, with the same ridiculous 1023 defense as Metal Slimes; they can cast Firebal, but they have about a 2 in 3 chance to flee when their turn comes up. They're also immune to all magic. Crits and Poison Needle strikes are still your best bet!

They're worth about 40,000 experience total (divided between party members as usual of course), and also have a 1 in 64 chance to drop Shoes of Happiness, which are equippable accessories that increase the wearer's experience by one point per step they take. They're neat toys, and do put them on if you get 'em, but it hardly breaks the game.

This particular specimen resists Alvaro's first strike and immediately runs away. Oh well.

Image

Image

Image

Image

I figured we'd start running into groups of these before long. Dang but I don't feel like facetanking a bunch of Blazemores and blizzard breaths right now! We're probably going to run out of healing juice before Rebeca's MP gets low, so we unleash Snowstorm justice as needed.

Image

Hmm, this is back towards the staircase, we should just keep going west instead.

Image

Image: There's no way this isn't a-

Image

Image: Nah, we're good.
Image: Huh.

Image

Image: Ooooooooooooh daaaaaa-
Image: -oooh daaaaaaang.

Malroth's bane makes a triumphant return! The Thunder Sword is a +85 weapon for Heroes and Soldiers. You might think it has some sort of lightning effect when used in battle, but in fact it's actually a free Boom cast (so, fire damage). The Prince of Midenhall never had a good reason to use his version's special effect, but here it can actually come in handy in certain situations.

If you're up against dragons, the Dragon Killer will still hit harder, but it's a straight upgrade against anything else.

Image

Image

With our current reserves, this fight begs for an Expel; Zofia's cast only takes one out, but we can beat the other two just fine. Isabel levels up here, for 1 Str, 4 Agi, 3 Vit, 3 Luc, 5 Int, 6 HP, 9 MP, and a new spell: Healall. For only 7 MP (two more than Healmore), it restores one target's HP to maximum. This is really a point where classes with high max HP shine since it's finally cost-effective to heal them to full.

Image

Image

Image

Image

The Swordedge Armor is a +55 suit of armor (five points better than the Armor of Terrafirma) for Heroes and Soldiers. It has no elemental resistances, but creatures that use standard attacks on its wearer receive damage equal to half the damage they inflicted, plus one. Zofia puts it on immediately. The returned damage isn't exactly going to kill enemies by itself, but it'll occasionally finish off a wounded monster, or put them within one-shot range.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Oh crap, Hologhosts. They have average HP and Strength for this place, and low defense besides, but their AI ignores formation, and that have a 25% chance to cast Beat, and another 25% to cast Defeat. (Let's just say I'm real happy we got Rebeca that Angel Robe right now.) They're slightly resistant to magic across the board, with immunities to Beat and ice, and high resistance to Sleep and fire. Physical attacks are your best bet here, but even Alvaro and Zofia won't always one-shot them without a crit, so it's worth it to gamble with wind or lightning damage, or the likes of StopSpell or even Limbo and Expel.

Hologhosts have a 1 in 256 chance to drop a Stone of Life, a new item that sits in a character's inventory until they would be successfully hit by an instant death effect, at which point the Stone crumbles and its holder remains alive. It's an amazing insurance policy if you can get your hands on it.

Image: ...well isn't that just the most convenient little thing, huh?
Image: Believe me, I know how you feel. But we would have needed to drag entire sacks of these Stones around Rhone for them to make a real difference.

Zofia and Isabel only have 9 MP each after this fight; we don't have much longer in here.

Alvaro levels up a bit later, for 1 Agi, 6 Vit, 5 Luc, 1 Int, and 11 HP.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Ugh... Zofia, I'm running dry here.
Image: I'm actually almost tapped out too. We gotta go.
Image: Right, okay, that seems like a good call. We'll have a an easier time on our next run, anyway. Take us out of here, Reb.

Image

(Just as I did for the tunnel into Rhone, I'm putting the lower floors lower on the map this time.)

Welp, that could have gone a lot worse, considering how disastrously expensive reaching the cave in the first place was. We Vault the Armor of Terrafirma for Gonzalo to earn later (since it's unique), then sell Zofia's Dragon Killer and store our entire earnings. Once we're set, we Return to Assaram and cross the Necrogond again.

Part of me wants to go directly to where we left off and keep going, but we did find some great loot and there might be more in the places we skipped, so we'll work on completing our map before we head in deeper.

Image

Alright, second attempt.

Image

Image

Gah, this first fight against three Marauders leaves us with almost everyone Numb. Do remember that if all of your living allies are Numb, you lose. And NumbOff is a whole 6 MP too, unless you're willing to take the chance to have it wear off by walking around. Dang but these guys are trouble. We've actually been holding on to a couple Full Moon Herbs for a while though, so we cure Isabel, and she cures the others.

Image

Image

Heh, this would be amazing if we had a Soldier around. I'll let Gonzalo have it once his crew reaches the Thunder Sword chest. (Unless Zofia has found an upgrade to the Thunder Sword in the meantime.)

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Alright, let's go to the northwest part of this floor then.

Image

...all right! A Metal Babble sticks around long enough for us to chip it down to zero with standard attacks!

Zofia gains a level, for 2 Str, 1 Agi, 5 Vit, 2 Luc, 2 Int, 8 HP, and 6 MP. Isabel follows suit, for 1 Str, 6 Vit, 4 Luc, 3 Int, 10 HP, and 5 MP. Aaaaand Rebeca gets to level 31 too, for 3 Agi, 2 Vit, 6 Luc, 3 Int, 3 HP, and 8 MP. Nice!

Alvaro is literally three levels behind Zofia at this point, and two levels behind the others. This isn't just because he missed Orochi's experience; Fighters get amazing stat gains, but they tend to need more experience than other classes to level up, and it's really starting to show. Only Heroes and Sages level more slowly, but of course Zofia's ahead because of her solo delves into the Navel of the Earth.

...actually Alvaro gets to level 30 a couple fights later, heh. He gains 11 Str, 1 Agi, 5 Vit, 6 Luc, 1 Int, and 12 HP.

Image

Image

Whew, I hoped this wouldn't be just another dead end.

Image

Eh. Next floor, then.

Image

Oh, good, I was getting worried that the Necrogond was running out of ghosts. Fortunately Isabel seals up all of their magic on the first turn, and Rebeca even has the cheek to steal some of their MP while they're helpless.

Image

Let's try the southern path this time.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Hmm.
Image: Oh I don't like what's coming next.
Image: Fia, these are holes. If we jump down, we'll land back on the floor below. You know how it works.
Image: But they're not even hidden! Maybe they lead to a new part of the previous floor!
Image: There's no stopping you, is there?
Image: You know it!

Image

Image

Image: Oof.
Image: Ow!
Image: Ouch!
Image: ...well I guess we've been here after all.

At least this is only the small room north of the staircase, so we didn't lose too much progress. It... doesn't make a lot of topographical sense though.

Image

Image

Dang, now I wonder what's with the rest of this floor. Buuut let's keep climbing for now.

Image

Image

Lionheads are a touch stronger than Marauders, but with less HP and defense. They only have the one action, and they know StopSpell and Firebane. They're immune to Expel, highly resistant to fire, Beat, RobMagic, Chaos, Sleep and Surround, and slightly resistant to everything else except for a vulnerability to lightning. StopSpell isn't a bad idea if you expect a long battle, which this one definitely is, since the Minidemons hit about as hard (that Blazemore!) but are much more fragile.

Lionheads have a 1 in 256 chance to drop the extremely cursed Shield of Sorrow, a +35 shield for Heroes and Soldiers.

Image

Image

Image

Image: That's the stairway we want, isn't it.
Image: ...yup.
Image: Better find a way around, then. Come on, let's go. It'll take more than a crack in the floor to stop us.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Wait, what?
Image: There's... there's no way around.
Image: Ugh, this is stupid.
Image: There must be another path up from the floor below. I refuse to believe this is where we have to give up.

Rebeca levels up as we retrace our steps, for 1 Str, 9 Agi (holy crap!), 2 Vit, 7 Luc, 4 HP, and a new spell. For 9 MP, IceSpears deals 60 to 79 ice damage to all enemies regardless of grouping. It's not nearly as strong as Snowstorm (88 to 111), but it is in fact the only ice spell that hits all foes, and it's also a bit stronger than Boom (52 to 67).

Image

Image

Image

Looking at these MP totals, it's obvious that I'm way too thrifty with Rebeca's spells, even taking RobMagic into account. I should try to make fights end faster so Zofia and Isabel aren't so taxed picking up the pieces afterwards.

Image

This path loops into the eastern tunnel we went into the first time around. Dang but that was some detour. I suspect we might even have to bail at the same place we did last time! It bodes well for our next trip, though.

Zofia reaches level 33 here, for 3 Str, 1 Agi, 3 Vit, 4 Luc, 2 Int, 5 HP, 5 MP, and a new spell: her own Boom. It won't see a lot of use as long as she's got the Thunder Sword, though.

Image

Image

Isabel levels up here, for 1 Str, 1 Agi, 4 Vit, 1 Luc, 2 Int, 9 HP, 5 MP, and a new spell. For 6 MP, Barrier gives all of your allies a 1/3rd resistance to elemental breath weapons (which is to say, fire and ice, not status effects). It's situational, but it's extremely good to have it in your pocket. Do keep in mind that elemental resistances don't stack, either with multiple casts or with special armor effects, so allies that are already resistant to fire and ice breath due to their gear will see no additional effect.

Image: It sure would have helped us out a great deal back then. All those Green Dragons...
Image: Ugh, don't get me started on Green Dragons. I still see them in my dreams.
Image: Not in your nightmares?
Image: Ha, no. When Green Dragons appear in my dreams, I slay them. And that's rad.
Image: So I... should get you started on Green Dragons, then?
Image: Huh, yeah, I guess. Thanks!

Image

Image: Is it just me or did we already come this way?
Image: It does look like the tunnel is repeating, isn't it?
Image: It could be a trick. Let's just keep going as long as we can, and we'll see.

Image

Image

Image: This is definitely looking very familiar.
Image: One more try?
Image: Just the one. If it doesn't pan out...
Image: I'm not sure what other choice we have.
Image: Maybe one of those cracks in the floor above leads to the correct path. We'll still check out this hallway first, though.

Image

Image: Yes, I see it now, this is definitely the same corridor.
Image: It's enchanted somehow, it's the only explanation.
Image: What if we just try to walk back west for a bit?
Image: Hmm, alright.

Image

Image: Gah!
Image: We ended up back here way too fast.
Image: Yup, that's a magic portal alright.

Image: I don't understand why evil overlords are so fond of this infinite corridor nonsense.
Image: It's because they're dicks, that's why.
Image: Nah, if dicks liked infinite corridors, there would be one in every castle.

Image: Okay then, let's go back upstairs and find-
Image: We'd better just leave for now, actually.
Image: Ugh, right. Yeah. Okay Reb, you know the drill.

Image

Oof. If the path isn't through one of those cracks on the upper floor, I'll be well stumped. We rest up in Assaram again, and head back in for our third attempt.

Image

Alvaro levels up on the way up, for 1 Str, 9 Agi, 4 Vit, 5 Luc, 1 Int, and 7 HP.

Image

Image: Alright, last shot. Hup!

Image

Image: Ah-ha!

Image

Image

Image: Two staircases, and a hole.
Image: It's pointless to suggest the stairs, isn't it?
Image: You got that right! Hup!

Image

Image

Image: Oh, this is...
Image: The same floor we found the Thunder Sword on.
Image: Aw, come on.
Image: Well, now we know!

It's really my own fault at this point. Leeet's just climb back up.

Image

Image

Image

Okay, let's try the north stairs instead. Zofia gets taken out by a Hologhost in the big oval room, but Isabel brings her back on the first try.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Whew! If we had waited a few more years to come here, we might not have been able to go through at all!

Image

Image

King Tortragons are about as strong as the likes of Lionheads and Marauders, but they're much, much harder to kill, with 200 defense. They can breathe fire as Sky Dragons do, and they're also highly likely to cast Bounce, so be careful with your spell-slinging; Bikill is a good pick here, since it targets your allies but still helps you kill the Tortragons faster. They're otherwise vulnerable to Sap, slightly resistant to Sleep, Surround and Limbo, and highly resistant to everything else.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Of course, this north path leads to a dead end right away. At least Rebeca levels up here, for 1 Str, 6 Agi, 3 Vit, 4 Luc, 4 Int, 5 HP, 8 MP, and a new spell: Invisible. It replicates the effect of Invisibility Herbs for 15 MP. Not quite the most useful part of her arsenal.

Image

We run into large groups of Frost Clouds for the first time since the surface. We can't afford to mess around here; Rebeca nukes them all with Firevolt every time, expense be damned.

Image

Image

This floor is neat-looking, what with the underground waterways and all. I can't wait to see the full map.

Isabel levels up in here, for 1 Str, 1 Agi, 3 Vit, 2 Luc, 4 Int, 6 HP, and 9 MP.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Ah, a good old-fashioned bridge to nowhere. How quaint. Zofia levels up as we retrace our steps, for 4 Str, 2 Agi, 3 Vit, 2 Luc, 3 Int, 8 HP, 7 MP, and a new spell: her own... Healall? Well hey, okay, I'll take it. I didn't expect it so soon after Healmore!

Image

Image

Image

Alvaro levels up here as well, for 4 Str, 5 Vit, 4 Luc, 1 Int, and 8 HP. Man, we've gained so many levels since we got here!

Image

Image

Image

Image

Welp. Seeing how this level is arranged, I'm inclined to guess the stairs up will be in the northeastern corner. But clearly we have to go all the way around through the south to get there.

Image

Or maybe...

Image

Ah-ha!

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: ...!
Image: Holy crap, we did it! We frikkin' did it!
Image: Haha, we're the best!
Image: Hmm... But...
Image: That river...
Image: This has got to be Baramos' castle on the other side, right?
Image: It doesn't look accessible-
Image: Not on foot for sure!
Image: Right, the Orb! The Orb is supposed to be around here somewhere.
Image: Keep your guard up, we're not done.

Image

Three Glacier Bashers jump us as we take a look around. They're still pretty dangerous (we definitely don't want to let them put us to sleep), and we're all running low on MP, so we better get somewhere fast.

Image

Image

Image: Ugh, that hole...
Image: That's the Pit of Giaga.
Image: It's not hard to imagine how misfortune might come from it. What a fell place this is.
Image: I can hardly wait to be away from here.
Image: Let's at least get to that shrine before we go.

Image

Image

Image
Image: I'm amazed you apparently live here!
Image: You can surely defeat the Archfiend!
Image: Haha, we knew that already!
Image: Here! Take with you this Silver Orb!
Image: ...!
Image: Yes, yes, thank you! We won't let you down!

Image

Image: We got 'em! Fia, we got 'em, we got 'em! We have to go to Liamland again!
Image: Right, right, I got you! We'll go to the Vault to pick up the other Orbs, we're having a bit of a rest, and then we're sailing right there.
Image: Aw yeah!

Ww Return to Aliahan, where we store the Echoing Flute for good and retrieve the other Orbs. Then we sleep at home and Return to Noaniels, since we can sail straight north from there to Liamland.

Image

Image

Image: Holy crap guys, we did it. We're here! We're really here!
Image: Heh, it sure took some doing, didn't it?
Image: That's a new side of you, Rebeca. I've never seen you so excited!
Image: Well, yeah, of course I'm excited! We're gonna fly! Don't you want to fly?
Image: Haha, sure.
Image: Well... I... At some point you get to an age where there's... there are many things you hoped would happen when you were young that you understand will never come to pass.
Image: Pfft, screw that noise, we're making it happen right now!
Image: I... suppose...
Image: Alright then, six thrones. Might as well just go for it.

Image

Image: We offer the Purple Orb, recovered from the serpent's nest.

Image

A flame appears over the first Golden Throne.

Image: We offer the Yellow Orb, bought, sold, and given.

Image

Image: We offer the Green Orb, once more among the living.

Image

Image: We offer the Blue Orb, risen from the lonely depths.

Image

Image: We offer the Red Orb, stolen and stolen again.

Image

Image: Rebeca, here.
Image
Image: Oh!
Image
Image: W-we offer the Silver Orb... conquered from the fiend's domain.
Image



"We have waited (we have waited) so long (so long) for this day to come. Let us rejoice. (Let us rejoice.) The time has come. Awake, awake, the time is high... to fly on wings into the sky. Higher, higher into the sky!"

Ramia, the phoenix, bursts forth from her egg and flies in circles around the room, through all six of the Orbs' flames, and out of the shrine.


Image

Image: There she is, there she is! Ramia! This is amazing! Come on everyone let's go let's go let's go!
Image: ...

Image

Image: Oh, wow!
Image: What a wonderful creature!
Image: Is she waiting for us?
Image: Of course she's waiting for us! We're saving the world, and she's going to help us.
Image: N-no...
Image: ...?
Image: No, no, no, no no no no no...
Image: Isabel?
Image: I can't... I'm staying behind.
Image: ...what?
Image: You... you can find someone else to go with you. There's a monastery near Dhama. If you show up with a phoenix, I'm sure-
Image: What the hell are you talking about?
Image: I don't deserve this. I don't... I don't deserve you. This is good-bye.
Image: Where do you think you're going? Isabel!
Image: I used to HURT PEOPLE for a LIVING. I belong in a HOLE! LEAVE ME!
Image: ...what the-
Image: Aw heck. Guys, I'm going after her. If we're not back in ten minutes, come get us. ISABEL!

Image: Good grief!
Image: What's gotten into her all of a sudden?
Image: I suppose there's a lot we don't know about her life.
Image: Well I sure do know that she's messing this up for me!
Image: Aren't you even a bit worried?
Image: Gah, I am. Ugh! Dammit!

Image: Isabel!
Image: I can't be with you! I-I had no right to join you in the first place! Leave me alone!
Image: That is NOT happening. I don't-
Image: I ransomed a child to a woman I made a widow! I turned good people into paupers! If... if the woman I was fifteen years ago was still who I am today, I would have fought by Kandar's side, and I swear you'd regret not finishing me off.
Image: That doesn't-
Image: I don't deserve to even look at that... that god-bird. This was supposed to be HARD! This was supposed to be PENANCE! I do NOT get to touch something this BEAUTIFUL!
Image: Isabel, I-
Image: Someone like me riding a phoenix... It's not even a joke! It's a sin! You have NO IDEA how many people I-
Image: SHUT UP!
Image: ...!
Image: I don't know what you did. And I can't... I can't even say I don't care about it. But I know that you're not who you were fifteen years ago. You're not even who you were when we met. None of us are. And I'll be damned if I let someone I love walk out of my life today.
Image: ...I...
Image: Come on, Alvaro and Rebeca are waiting for us. Ramia's waiting for us.
Image: N-no... I can't...
Image: You can. You will. You're not staying here in the cold. I won't let you. Come. Come with me.
Image: ...

Image: Are they...?
Image: Yeah, they're turning around. Al, what do we do?
Image: There's... probably something she needs to work out on her own. Being there for her may have to suffice, for now.
Image: ...yeah.

Image: Alright, here we are.
Image: Is everything...?
Image: ...
Image: No, but... We'll have time.
Image: Well, good, because we can't leave without our cool nun.
Image: We're glad you're here, Isabel. No matter what.
Image: ...thank you.
Image: I apologize for the delay, Ramia. But we're ready now. Shall we?



Ramia takes flight with the party on her back. The music is lovely. There's not much else I can say about this one.

AerynB
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:50 pm

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby AerynB » Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:47 pm

Ooooooooh. Backstory, repentance, change, character growth. Very interesting. I like it!

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:00 am

Image

Image: So, uh... Where do we go now?
Image: I... I don't know. Hmm.
Image: ...
Image: Maybe we can go to Portoga after all, someone there could know-
Image: Gonzalo, that reasoning got us halfway across the world, only to find places she's already been to. Chasing her like this is a fool's errand.
Image: You know I'm not giving up.
Image: I'm not telling you to give up. I'm telling you to change strategies.
Image: Huh. Alright, I'm listening. What do you have in mind?
Image: Instead of trying to go where she is, we could try to go where she hasn't been. Chances are, sooner or later, we'll meet up somewhere!
Image: Oh! That's brilliant!
Image: Okay, sure. But, uh... Where hasn't she been to?
Image: ...
Image: I... I don't know. Hmm.
Image: How about we take a step back for a minute. You know, look at the big picture.
Image: What do you mean?
Image: We know where she's been. She conquered monster-infested towers, bandit lairs, and a cursed tomb. Everywhere, all doors were open, all treasure chests were empty, and the most dangerous creatures were dead. She's done what we've done, except with more danger. I get that we want to help her, but... can we? I mean, she's clearly not just some regular teenager, right?
Image: Yes. I suppose I hadn't seen things that way.
Image: So what do you propose?
Image: Well, we could just... not chase her. We could just do our own thing, try to make the world better in our own way, and get stronger. So when we finally do run into her somewhere, we actually have something to contribute, and we're not three randos she has to drag around.
Image: Hmm.
Image: That makes a lot of sense.
Image: I know, right?
Image: So... Where do we go now?
Image: I... I don't know. Hmm.
Image: Oh for goodness' sake, it doesn't matter. Let's just go somewhere we haven't been to. We saw Jipang on the way to Muor, right? We could start there.
Image: Right!
Image: I approve of this. Let's go!

We'll be spending a bit of time with the B Team again while Zofia's crew recovers from their emotional travails. They had about 2100 gold last time around, but we can only take out money in 1000 gold increments, so they end up with 2968. This is kind of heartbreaking, given that the A Team still has literally 60000 gold in the Vault, heh.

Now then: seed distribution! It takes a very long time for a Sage's stat growth to slow down relative to their soft caps' growth, not to mention that they start with higher stats than any fresh character, so Mercedes does without this time. Gonzalo gets three Agility Seeds for 6 points, and Leonor gets three Strength Seeds for 7 points. Pretty average, I suppose.

Let's look at everyone's stats for a bit.

Code: Select all

         | Lvl | Str | Agi | Vit | Int | Luc | Atk | Def | HP  | MP  |
---------+-----+-­-­---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Gonzalo  |  20 |  77 |  27 |  92 |  17 |  15 | 132 |  82 | 192 |   0 |
Leonor   |  21 |  61 |  41 |  68 |  29 |  20 | 101 |  65 | 137 |   0 |
Mercedes |  12 |  33 |  34 |  48 |  34 |  89 |  68 |  60 |  92 |  32 |


Everything's pretty much as I'd expect at this point, though Leonor and Mercedes having practically the same defense is a bit surprising. I really wish Intelligence did anything at all though. Merchants are much smarter than Soldiers but they get no benefit from it. If it helped them, say, resist magic or status effects, it would positively differentiate them by a considerable margin.

Alright, let's get back in the saddle.

Image

Image
Image: Oh, yes, she came through. She was hard to miss. Within a week the townsfolk were talking about her like she was a war goddess.
Image: Huh.
Image: What did she do?
Image: She destroyed some sort of demonic hydra that was passing for the queen here. Nasty business!
Image: That's beginning to sound like her.
Image: Now when a storm rolls in, the children have taken to say that she must be fighting somewhere in the world, and the thunder is her battle shout.
Image: ...wow. Okay.
Image: Where was this hydra exactly?
Image: Oh it all happened in the castle over there. Everybody who cared to see it saw it. But I hear she went to the volcanic cave in the northeast first.
Image: I certainly wouldn't mind seeing us forged into war gods by this cave!
Image: Yes, yes, of course, it was the cave that did it.
Image: Eh, at least if we can make it through, we might prove ourselves worthy of cleaning her boots.

Image

It would be easy to get overconfident now that we finally have access to magic, but the entire A Team was around level 21-22 when they arrived in Jipang, and they had many more spells at their disposal. If we had to kill Orochi again, we'd just have to grind a lot to even stand a chance. Still, making it to the secret passage out of its cave is probably going to take some doing.

We can't really afford new gear right now, but as soon as we have enough money, we'll get a couple suits of Magic Armor from Tedanki. I can't justify them knowing to go there right away in terms of storyline, but it's going to have to be a compromise I make so I don't end up tearing my hair out, heh.

As far as weapons go, the Zombie Slasher is the best weapon in the game for Merchants and Sages, and the Orochi Sword is only two points weaker than the Zombie Slasher and can be equipped by Sages (but not Merchants), so we'll have Mercedes with the Orochi Sword and Leonor with a Zombie Slasher at some point. Gonzalo of course will keep having access to the best weapons, so we'll upgrade him basically as we did Zofia, gold permitting.

But... that's not for right now. Let's see if we can make it through Jipang's gauntlet of Derangers and Lava Bashers first.

Image

Oh good grief. Wow. If Mercedes was still a Goof-off, this would be a run-ending disaster. We manage to flee though, and Meche heals herself.

We make it about, I don't know, one third of the way through before we have to turn back, but it's not because somebody died or we ran out of Herbs, it's because Mercedes only has enough MP left to cast Outside. I can tell this is going to take a while, but I don't feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall at least.

Image

A fight like this is made enormously easier now that we can put one or two bears to sleep. Gonzalo will even one-shot a bear half the time, which I don't think is something that could be said for even Alvaro back then.

On our third attempt, Mercedes finally learns Healmore! That's gonna be a huge help for sure.

...but not enough help for our run to survive Gonzalo being confused again. Welp.

We do have enough cash for a Magic Armor though, so we go on a quick trip to Tedanki before heading back in. Inasmuch as a trip from Japan to South Africa can be quick. The first Armor absolutely goes to Mercedes, because her low HP makes her especially vulnerable to spell damage. Her Cloak of Evasion goes to Leonor, replacing her old Half Plate.

This is the Merchants' secret shame: apart from a rare drop from a late-game enemy, Half Plate is their "best" armor. The Cloak is only five points weaker though, so the 20% evade chance is more than worth the trade-off. Even though Leonor has nine levels on Mercedes, her defense is now 20 points behind. On top of that, the Iron Shield is their best shield, and the Turban is their best helmet. Once we get her a Zombie Slasher, she'll have her endgame equipment.

It's a good thing that Merchants level up faster than other classes, because from mid-game on they become enormously stat-dependant. Of course Fighters are also stat-dependant, but their stat gains are much better.

Alright then, run number four.

Image

Haha, wow, the secret passage has disappeared. It's good enough either way, we've got Outside.

I had the good sense to have Zofia's ghost carry the Orochi Sword, so Mercedes can have it right away. (Again, sorry, no plot justification, I just don't want to have nightmares about grinding!) It's 8 points stronger than Gonzalo's Sledge Hammer, but he already hits hard enough, and it's also 28 points stronger than her old Staff of Judgement. One day we might get her a Zombie Slasher because of the occasional bonus damage (and she knows Defence besides), but that 9800 gold expense is the lowest possible priority.

Image: That was a workout and a half! Well done, everyone!
Image: Yes, I sure got a lot better at getting hit in the face with a sledgehammer without dying!
Image: It's good to see you're staying positive about this.
Image: It's that or I incinerate him on the spot!
Image: You have my apologies.
Image: Eh, I know it's not your fault. We can't all be born with cosmic insight.
Image: ...would be nice if at least one of us was.

The A Team explored Russia at that point, then founded Panchoville, and went on the quest for the Final Key before overthrowing the Boss Troll in Samanao. That's a long stretch without any dungeons! For this crew, I want to try something else first.

Image

Image

Image

Image: What ho! A tower!
Image: Talk about the ass-end of nowhere. Maybe we have Zofia beaten to the punch this time.
Image: You wanna bet?
Image: Pass!

Image

The flute's tower is pretty hard, but we don't have to worry about Chaos or much elemental damage, so we're actually well suited to the place. Eliminators aren't particularly dangerous to a melee-focused group, and Mercedes knows Antidote so Venom Zombies are no real threat. Lethal Armors take some doing to bring down though, as our offensive ability might be beginning to fall behind the curve and high-defense monsters are getting to be a problem.

On the way to our third run, all the way from Jipang every time, Leonor gets Limbo'd by a Hades' Condor. Oh boy.

Image

Third time's the charm, though.

Image: All opened, and recently too.
Image: We might be getting closer!
Image: Yes, you can keep telling yourself that.

Image

Image: So, do you have any suggestions for our next destination?
Image: Come to think of it, if Zofia went all over the place, she could have found a way to unlock the old Travel Door network.
Image: Ah, that seems worth checking on.
Image: We won't necessarily run into her, but it could be easier than spending all this time on the ocean.
Image: How do we reach these Doors?
Image: Well I know there's one in... Portoga? Or thereabouts?
Image: Wait, actually... Um...
Image: What is it, Leonor?
Image: Do you have a better idea?
Image: Not... really. No. But... Maybe... Do you think we could return to Dhama?
Image: ...!
Image: Hmm? Right, maybe a companion of-
Image: No, no... It's... for me.
Image: Oh! What about taxes and overhead, then?
Image: Well... How I felt about being a Merchant... The more we've been traveling together, the less true it became.
Image: There is more to you than you thought, isn't there?
Image: Yeah! That's... that's exactly how it feels.
Image: Shall we go, then?
Image: Absolutely.

Image

Oh dang, we never did visit Dhama at night, did we?

Image

...this is the old man who wanted to become a young girl.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Heh, that's adorable.

Image: This is your last night as a Merchant, then.
Image: I guess so!
Image: I hope you've given a great deal of thought to who you want to become. This is important.
Image: Yeah, I know. I have.
Image: ...well?
Image: Ha, you'll see tomorrow!

Image

Image

Image

Image: ...!
Image: I swear, if you get one iota of smugness about this in your head, I'm changing back.
Image: I didn't say anything!
Image: Besides, you couldn't exactly change back right now-
Image: Ugh, yeah.
Image: I promise I have nothing but respect for your decision, Leonor.
Image: Yeah, okay.

I actually didn't plan on doing this, and in fact if the A Team had a Merchant by popular vote I'd have stuck with her all the way, but we've seen everything the class has to offer by now, and trying to imagine crossing the Necrogond with the party we had until moments ago seemed nigh-insurmountably masochistic.

Anyway, what are Leonor's stats like now?

Image

Merchants don't typically bring anything remarkable to any class they change into, though once the early-game advantage of their unique equipment is no longer a factor, they make good candidates to use the Book of Satori on, especially since they're likely to hit level 20 before anyone else. That said, with the B Team being how it is, I'd rather have a second Soldier than a second Sage. We need sources of damage that don't depend on MP.

On top of that, once we upgrade her gear a little, Leonor will have caught up on her old self in everything but HP, and Soldiers have better HP growth than Merchants in the first place. And speaking of upgrades, she can't wear her Turban anymore, so we get an Iron Mask from Muor to replace it.

Image: Oh, and, um, here.
Image
Image: Oh! Thank you. Are you sure?
Image: My magic will suffice for now, don't worry.

Just upgrading Leonor's Battle Axe to the Orochi Sword gives her back almost all of the attack power she had as a level 25 Merchant. And getting the Iron Mask gives her more defense than she used to have, while she's still wearing the Cloak of Evasion. Which we have enough cash to replace with Magic Armor immediately! She only has 5 less Agility than Gonzalo; if they had the exact same gear, she'd be nearly as durable as he is, despite her lower level.

That's a shift from stat-dependance to gear-dependance right there.

Anyway, enough of that! Time to head for Samanao!

Image

Image: So it is unlocked.
Image: Are we sure that Ortega's daughter did it?
Image: We are not.
Image: Eh, we kind of are though. Let's be honest.
Image: I'm starting to think the world's not big enough for two groups of adventurers.
Image: It would be plenty big if her party didn't have such a head start.
Image: Speaking of which, Gonzo, if helping her is so important to you, why didn't you leave sooner?
Image: Oh, uh, well... I was a guard captain and... I... I didn't want to lose my pension.
Image: ...
Image: ...
Image: I'm quite sure that my current opinion of who I was back then matches yours.
Image: Actually, it's more sensible a reason than I expected.
Image: If it wasn't for you we'd all still be in Aliahan, we have no business being harsh on you there.

Image

The monsters here are a couple notches tougher than anything we've seen yet of course, but we make it to the newly-liberated castle with minimal difficulty.

Image

Image: Okay, let me guess, Ortega's daughter came through here and defeated a monster that was masquerading as your monarch.
Image: Yeah, yeah! That sounds about right!
Image: Wh... What?
Image: It was a real shitshow for a while, but the real king's on the throne again and we're back to the usual number of executions!
Image: How... how many executions is that?
Image: That's zero. I meant zero. Sorry, I'm just so dang happy all the time now. That Zofia sure is swell!
Image: She sure is.
Image: While she was here, did she go to some sort of... tower or cave maybe?
Image: I couldn't rightly tell you. But there's the old monster pit across a big bridge in the southeast. I wouldn't be surprised if she cleared it out!
Image: We wouldn't be surprised either.
Image: Man, she's the best!

Image

Oh, cripes. Okay. So.

All three of us here want a Silver Shield, there's no getting around that. We won't need a third Magic Armor, because Gonzalo's going to inherit the Armor of Terrafirma once someone clears the Navel of the Earth, and we'll only need one Dragon Killer, since we have a Snowblast Sword waiting for us once we clear the first level of the Necrogond tunnel. So that's... 41400 gold.

Aaand here we see the dark side of being gear-dependant, heheh.

Still, the cave of the Mirror of Ra is the first dungeon that the A Team has neither fully explored nor mapped nor looted, so we'll be here for a while and even cover new ground! Mercedes recently learned X-Ray too, so we'll be safe from any Mimics.

Image

Image

Image

Voodoo Shamans were always total bastards, but now that their RobMagic has only one potential target and that her MP is low to begin with, they're extra dangerous. We're not carrying a Wizard's Ring and we have no backup caster, so if Mercedes runs out of MP, we can't cast Outside unless she steals some back. We'll have to play it very safe.

This highlights one of the rare unique strengths of Sages: they are the only class naturally capable of casting healing spells that also has access to RobMagic, outside of class-changing or an impractical late-game edge case that we'll see when it becomes possible. That's a big deal.

Anyway, our first run ends when Leonor gets killed by a Tortragon who put everyone else to sleep. Rough chuckles.

Image

Ha, I didn't realize the ship pops up in this lake when you Return to Samanao. We can't even get to it from here. Or, well, Ramia pops up next to the castle so we could get to it from here but we're not supposed to have her yet.

Image

Image: Ooooh! A trail of chests!
Image: Hot damn! I forgot there even was such a thing as a closed chest!
Image: Doesn't it look kinda suspicious to you?
Image: I can't hear you over the sound of treasure!
Image: Treasure!
Image: Sweet treasure!
ImageImage: TREASURE!
Image: ...welp.

Image

Image: That's not very-
Image: I don't care! Treasure!
Image: Trrrreasuuuuuuuuuuuuure!

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Oh, they've earned those. Mercedes eats them, for 2 points.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Oh my goodness.
Image: This is beautiful.
Image: Forgive a man his tears, for he must weep.
Image: At least let me check them for traps.
Image: Yes! Checking for traps! Now I feel like a real adventurer!

Image

Image: Sorry, not this one.
Image: What!?
Image: But... But...!
Image: It will eat us. I mean that literally. Ortega's daughter was smart to leave them behind.
Image: ...fine.

Image

Image: Not this one either.
Image: ...no!

Image

Image

Image: I'm sorry. All of these chests would kill us.
Image: This is the worst dungeon in history.

Man this is some trick! You've got all these harmless chests with minor treasure leading straight into four of whatever those are, probably Mimics. Good grief.

All of those X-Ray casts depleted Mercedes' MP, so we have to call this run. On our way back, a Kong drops more Acorns of Life, increasing her HP by 4. Leonor gains a level too, and I only mention it because she now has exactly as much Agility as Gonzalo despite being seven levels behind him. It looks like she's seeing some benefit from her Merchant days after all!

Gonzalo also levels up at this point, which is of note because he's clearly hit the Strength soft cap already.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Ugh.

Image

Image

Image

Image: Um... let me guess... Great? These are great, right?
Image: They sure look great!
Image: Aaaaaand they're bad.
Image: Gah.

Image

We have to leave here again, then come back and pick it up right there.

...or we would if we didn't have several runs where Mercedes kept getting all her MP stolen before we got back. We have to try so many times that we get enough money for a Dragon Killer. Leonor gets it, and Mercedes gets the Orochi Sword back. Gonzalo's Sledge Hammer should be enough to last him a while, so we'll be looking at those Silver Shields next. Aaaand it probably wouldn't hurt to replace Leonor's Magic Armor with a suit of Dragon Mail from Panchoville sooner or later... but the shields come first.

Image

Image

Image: Nope.

Image

Image

Image

Oh dang, talk about stacking mean on top of mean! This chamber is partially reversed, with the Mimic at the entrance, and one of the chests inside containing actual useful treasure. We make a trip to the inn again, and return.

Image

As we reach this floor, Leonor levels up to 21. Coincidentally, Mercedes is also at level 21. That's a taste of how much more experience than anyone else Sages need.

Image

Image

Image

Dang, Mercedes gets all her MP drained, and we get wiped out before she can steal back enough to cast Outside. Gonzalo managed to map the last parts of the cave before a Skeleton finished him off, though.

Image

This did cost us 2400 gold and send us all the way back to Dhama, and we have to spend most of the remaining 2400 on revival. But I'm gonna count it as a win! (Because I wouldn't know what to aim for if we went back!)

Image

Image: There's another place I can think of: a shrine in Lancel where one's courage is put to the test.
Image: That does sound like a place a hero like Zofia would go to.
Image: That describes every place, Gonzo.
Image: Still, it doesn't matter if she's been to or not. I want to go.
Image: You hardly need to prove your courage to me, Mercedes.
Image: ...I'm not doing this for you.
Image: Hmm.
Image: Alright, fair enough. To Lancel!

Image

Image

Image: To be honest, when I first met her, if you had told me I'd once see her go alone into a dangerous dungeon and fully expect her to perform admirably and come back in one piece, I would have laughed.
Image: Best not to judge people by their appearances, eh?
Image: ...did you know she had all this power in her back then?
Image: Nah, we were just drinking buddies. I guess I was still pretty judgy too.
Image: I... I wonder if there's something more to me too.
Image: You're... actually... Well...
Image: Hmm?
Image: Eh, I don't know, I was just thinking... Maybe if Zofia wasn't around, the world would have been in good hands just with you.
Image: Oh, I-I wouldn't say that...
Image: You're not giving up, and it's for a good cause. Lineage or not, it counts for something.
Image: ...thank you.
Image: Well, don't get all mushy on me yet, we've still got a long way to go and you've got plenty of time to disappoint me.
Image: Ha! That's one goal I would prefer failing to reach.

Image

I don't know how far she can get like this, but she won't need to reach the bottom floor where the Orb was. If she can just finish our map, she'll "bring back" the Armor of Terrafirma for Gonzalo. And she has two advantages over Zofia: X-Ray and RobMagic.

Image

Image

Image

Okay, that first big crossroads is an east-west infinite loop. Let's get to the main room with the pillars, then.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Meh!

Image

Well hey, that's literally it. Let's see if Meche can make it to the Armor's chest at least.

Image

Gonzalo's finally getting to upgrade from the Full Plate he's had since Isis!

Image

Image: Welcome back.
Image: Welp, Zofia was here for sure.
Image: Eh, doesn't matter. We'll catch up one day.
Image: So how was it? Do you think we should go too?
Image: Uh, no. You'd die. No offense.
Image: O-okay then.
Image: Anyway, let's hit the hay, I need a drink and a break.

Image

Image: Hey, did you guys hear? A dormant volcano south of Isis erupted a few days ago. You can see the ash cloud all the way from here! Crazy times, huh?
Image: ...south of...
Image: I wonder if the Navel of the Earth's gonna blow up one of those days.
Image: South of Isis... that's the Necrogond, isn't it?
Image: What's the Necrogond?
Image: That's where the Pit of Giaga is. If there's an archfiend somewhere on our plane of existence, it'd feel right at home there.
Image: Wait, you knew where the archfiend was all this time?
Image: Yeah, but we couldn't reach it anyway, there's a river running across the pass at its only entrance. A river and... and a... volcano. Holy crap!
Image: Do you think Zofia caused that eruption?
Image: ...
Image: ...
Image: What, are you kidding? Of COURSE she caused that eruption. Let's go!

So here's our final objective for today: traversing the Necrogond tunnel. Zofia was level 30 when she threw the Sword of Gaia in the volcano. Right now, Gonzalo is level 26, Leonor is level 21, and Mercedes is level 22. It's gonna take some doing, but levels and gold ought to be coming fairly quickly at this point, as long as we don't get instantly vaporized in the first couple fights.

Image

Image: Yeah, that lava hasn't been here long. Come on.

Image

These fights are nightmarish. Mercedes is a long way from Firevolt, and neither Gonzalo nor Leonor always one-shot Frost Clouds yet. We have to settle for opening the first turn with a Firebane cast instead, then facetank a bunch of ice damage. I can't imagine an enemy formation we're less suited to fight.

Image

We make it to the entrance of the tunnel after three attempts, though Mercedes' MP is so low it's not worth going inside.

The sixth run is unsuccessful, but it ultimately leaves us with enough money for a Silver Shield. Mercedes gets it, replacing her Bronze Shield, and taking her defense from 89 to 112. She now has more defense than either of her comrades, and this will remain true until... well... they both get their own Silver Shields.

Image

Ooh, I tried to use the Orochi Sword on King Tortragons, and it turns out that it bypasses Bounce! I presume this is the case for all usable items.

Image

There goes run number 8. Fire breath from on side, Snowblast from the other.

Image

Whew! Run 11 gets us to the Thunder Sword chest, earning Gonzalo the Snowblast Sword Zofia's ghost has been toting around. That's huge! I mean, it doesn't help us against Frost Clouds, but it replaces his Sledge Hammer, taking his attack power from 166 to 191. Just to compare, Zofia has an attack power of 179! This puts a lot of monsters here within easy one-shot range, and that's a big deal.

That trip doesn't get us anything else of note, though. I'mmmmmm thinking I'm gonna stop counting at this point and just let you know when something neat happens.

...

I'm beginning to suspect we won't make it through this until Mercedes learns Healall. Gonzalo and Leonor have so much HP that they can receive three Healmore casts each and still not be full, and Meche herself at level 28 has as much HP as Isabel and Rebeca in their early 30s.

...

...

...

Good grief.

...

...

...

Image

Image: ...this is... this is pretty hard, huh?
Image: That's one way to put it. How long have we been at this again?
Image: I could tell you, but you'd hate to know.
Image: Yyyyeah probably.
Image: Well there's-
Image: Oh hey, phoenix.
Image: Meche, the phoenix is an old wives' ta-
Image: Oh hey, phoenix.
Image
Image: Okay, fine, all stories are true, I get it!
Image: ...Zofia's riding it, isn't she.
Image: Yyyyyup.
Image: Hmm-mmm.
Image: Well we're closer than ever, and I'll be damned if I give it up now! COME AT ME, TROLLS! YOU CAN'T STOP US!
Image: Gonzo, maybe, uh... we could be a little-
Image: You rang?
Image: ...quieter.

So, this is taking forever, and I gotta call it prematurely before it delays the update any further. We're kind of at a point where success is luck-based right now; there have been five runs in a go where we didn't even reach the tunnel entrance at all, and we've never even seen the final floor. I can't imagine how this would be going if Leonor was still a Merchant. (It could work in a balanced party, but not here.) That said, I can perfectly imagine how this would be going if Mercedes was still a Goof-off: I would quit. Heheh.

We have enough money to get Leonor a Dragon Mail, but Frost Clouds are still the biggest problem, and the Dragon Mail doesn't reduce incoming ice damage, or protect from the Lionheads' and Minidemons' fire spell damage either. Everyone's got their Silver Shield by now, and we have the best weapons available unless we farm up a second Snowblast Sword, and that's not happening.

Before we go, let's talk about stats! I'm including both squads here for comparison purposes.

Code: Select all

         | Lvl | Str | Agi | Vit | Int | Luc | Atk | Def | HP  | MP  |
---------+-----+-­-­---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Gonzalo  |  32 | 122 |  37 | 151 |  23 |  23 | 202 | 123 | 309 |   0 |
Leonor   |  29 | 110 |  42 | 139 |  41 |  38 | 187 | 116 | 277 |   0 |
Mercedes |  29 |  64 |  64 |  95 |  63 | 100 | 127 | 118 | 202 |  90 |
---------+-----+-­-­---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Zofia    |  34 |  94 |  62 | 127 |  51 |  75 | 179 | 141 | 247 |  94 |
Alvaro   |  32 | 153 | 255 | 123 |  30 | 107 | 183 | 147 | 238 |   0 |
Isabel   |  33 |  50 |  76 |  93 |  85 |  92 | 115 | 124 | 207 | 159 |
Rebeca   |  33 |  31 |  81 |  86 |  92 | 123 |  41 |  75 | 179 | 181 |


Gonzalo gained 12 levels, for 45 Str, 10 Agi, 59 Vit, 6 Int, 8 Luc, and 117 HP. He's not as strong as Alvaro, but his attack is higher because of course the Snowblast Sword is a much better weapon than the Iron Claw. Criticals balance this out, though. I'd say they're equally effective as damage dealers at this point. The main difference is in how Al is much, much faster, and Gonzo can take more punishment before going down.

And yeah, Alvaro's Agility is maxed out at 255, with his actual base Agility at 150-something. This means a portion of the Meteorite Armband's bonus is wasted, but I don't dare take it off him because it still counts for about 50 of his defense power and I need him on the frontline! If you have a party with a Fighter in the third rank (for example, Soldier/Hero/Fighter/Sage), it gets a lot more viable to give the Armband to someone else. As things are, he has more defense power than anyone, and he also has the Cloak of Evasion's dodge chance, which makes him enormously resistant to physical damage. But of course his lower HP means he can't facetank as much elemental damage, and Healall is less efficient on him.

Since she turned into a Soldier, Leonor gained 28 levels, for 75 Str, 20 Agi, 99 Vit, 26 Luc, 25 Int, and 195 HP. One of her levels earned her 20 HP! Her Merchant heritage makes her slightly faster and luckier than Gonzalo, and she's otherwise a pretty even match for him, to the point where I'm beginning to think it's a good idea to start all Soldiers as Merchants just so you can have a less grindy early-to-mid-game. She's only three levels behind him, but unless he spends a lot of time dead, she's probably not going to catch up. That's okay though, she already hits harder than anyone on the A Team.

From the start of the update, Mercedes gained 17 levels, for 31 Str, 30 Agi, 47 Vit, 11 Luc, 29 Int, 104 HP, and 58 MP. I believe her latest spells are Defeat and Firevolt. Her combat ability is already better than Isabel's, but I don't think she'd be a better fighter than a hypothetical still-Merchant Leonor would be by now. The trade-off is that her MP's really low, of course. She'll probably have more MP than Zofia before long, but Zofia's not her team's only mage.

Man, talk about Sages leveling slowly, though. Leonor made it from 1 to 29 in the time Mercedes took to go from 12 to 29.

The main other thing that jumps out at me is that Rebeca's Agility finally hit its stride. She was the slowest in her party last time we checked, but she's second only to Alvaro now. This makes her spellcasting all the more effective: it's extraordinarily satisfying to vaporize five Frost Clouds with Firevolt before any of them get to do anything.

Alright, this'll do it for now. Stay tuned, true believers! The prize is within sight!

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:36 am

Image

Image

Image: Well that was a day and a half, wasn't it?
Image: ...right.
Image: ...
Image: Isabel, I really don't want to make you feel like you owe us any answers, but if you want to talk, you know we're here, okay?
Image: Well, I... I should probably come clean. I do owe you that much. And then... you'll be able to figure out what you should do with me.
Image: That's already figured out.
Image: It's easy to say that before you know.
Image: Whatever the reason, then. We're listening.
Image: My... my parents were traveling merchants. I tried following in their footsteps for a bit, but it wasn't really for me. At some point, I think I was just a bit older than you are, Zofia, I joined a troupe in Assaram.
Image: That's where you learned how to dance and play music, right?
Image: Yes. The roads weren't so dangerous back then, so we traveled all over. And we did pretty well for ourselves. We performed in Isis a few times, and the Pharaoh came to see us every single night.
Image: That must have earned you decent coin!
Image: It did... but I was an idiot with it. One night, celebrating at the coliseum there, I managed to lose more money that I had ever made in my entire life. It's... funny the loans you'll take when you've got a little too much wine in you. The people you'll take these loans from... I needed gold quickly, and it turned out the local criminal element was shorthanded for a raid they were planning.
Image: Oh... So you... sorta had to join them.
Image: At first, yes. But it went too well. I liked it. I kept doing it. I even went to Dhama to become a Soldier so I'd get better at it. I was... I chose that life.
Image: ...!
Image: And I was shamefully good at it. There were lowlifes from around the world in that gang, and I was better than most of them. Before long, almost before I knew it, I was second-in-command.
Image: I can hardly imagine that.
Image: It was... it was long ago. At any rate, over the years, there were more and more monsters, and fewer and fewer travelers. At first I was mad, because I saw them as the competition. But after a while, I realized... I realized they were colleagues. What difference did it make to a merchant caravan if a brood of Flamapedes came right out of the sand, or if my band of thugs came down from the mountains?
Image: The latter case has more survivors, I presume.
Image: ...not always.
Image: ...
Image: One day we heard Ortega was coming after us, asking questions that the locals were all too happy to answer. We figured we'd disband for a few months, make ourselves scarce and live off our reserves. I just... I just never came back. I returned east, became a Pilgrim, joined a monastery in Dhama. I stayed there for nearly a decade. Hoping that... maybe... maybe if I could give more than I had taken... maybe it would balance out in the end.
Image: How'd you end up in Aliahan?
Image: Ortega tracked me down. He appeared one day in the cloister. I thought he was an angel of vengeance. Never been more scared in my life.
Image: ...!
Image: I begged him to spare me. He did. I don't know why, but he did. He even offered to take me somewhere no one knew my face. Where I hadn't hurt anyone. I guess he figured if he could find me, others might follow. Sparing me didn't mean anything if he just left me to some bounty hunter in a week or a month. He brought me back home with him. And the last time I saw him, he was heading to his house. To his wife. To you. I served at the House of Healing for a while, and... well... you know the rest.
Image: You're alive because of my father, and you thought I'd just let you walk away on your own in Liamland?
Image: I doesn't make sense that he's dead and I'm alive. It just doesn't.
Image: Yeah, well, it sure wouldn't be better if you were both dead.
Image: This is not how you fix this, Isabel.
Image: I can't fix this. No one can. What I did cannot be undone.
Image: That's true, but it's not your place to judge. Not even yours. Not even Ortega's. He knew that.
Image: We know that.
Image: Isabel. Are you going to let the evil work you did long ago stop you from doing good work today?
Image: ...!
Image: Is that the choice you're about to make now?
Image: I... I-I didn't see it that way...
Image: Well maybe you should.
Image: I...
Image: You already know the answer to that, don't you?
Image: We have an archfiend to kill.
Image: Y-yes...
Image: I want you by my side when we do it.
Image: So do I.
Image: Wouldn't want anyone else more.
Image: ...
Image: We're all getting some rest tonight, and then we continue our journey. Together. Can I count on you?
Image: ...yes. I don't... I still don't understand how you can think I'm worthy of this, but... Yes, alright. I promise I won't let you down again.
Image: You never have.

Image

Image: Hey. Doing better?
Image: A little, I suppose. I'll be fine. Don't concern yourself with-
Image: We're not going to stop caring, Isabel.
Image: Heh... I never thought I'd hear that from you.
Image: Ain't the world just fulla surprises?
Image: So! Are we about to assault Baramos' castle?
Image: Soon, but no. There's that castle in the mountains east of here, right? Let's see if anyone there can help us somehow.

Image

Image

Image

Image: Okay, that's new.

Image
Image: Oh, of course, the Dragon Queen! We forgot all about her!

Image: "Nearest to the upper realms"? I know what draconic royalty looks like. Honey, you spent a lot of time in the company of a dragon. Did she seem close to any kind of upper realm?
Image: Not even a little bit. I mean, she wasn't demonic or anything, but... She was a dragon. Teeth and fire, greed and cruelty.
Image: Yeah, that sounds about right. What about you kids? You've met a lot of 'em in your time.
Image: Met. Yeah. No. Assholes, to the last.
Image: Surprisingly vulnerable to gigantic magical explosions, though.
Image: No doubt their most wholesome quality.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: I'm not sure why we're supposed to care. Whose side is that dwarf on, anyway?

Image

Image

Image: I'm not gonna lie, I didn't think a dragon's castle could look like this.
Image: That is not a dragon-sized bed. And it feels so quiet, too.
Image: This place is already in mourning...

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Hmm, where could she be?
Image: She might not be keen on receiving visitors in her state, especially if her child's life is at stake.
Image: Nah, I think we're missing something. Let's look around for a bit longer.

Image

Image: ...hmm?

Image

Image
Image: It's an honor, Your Highness.
Image: If thou possess the courage to do battle with the Archfiend, I will give unto thee the Sphere of Light!

Image: The...!
Image: What. How.

Image: Oh! That's... Thank you!
Image: I hope, with this Sphere of Light, that thou canst hasten the return of peace to this land. For I, too, am with child...

Image

The Dragon Queen breathes her last, leaving a large egg behind.

Image

Image: Looks like we made it just in time.
Image: ...yeah.
Image: Her last gestures in this world were to give birth, and give us this Sphere...
Image: What a noble beast. Let us not fail her last wishes.
Image: We won't.

Image: How in the world did the Sphere of Light make it into that dragon's clutches?
Image: How could it even stand its radiance?
Image: She didn't seem... evil.
Image: She wanted the Archfiend's destruction, just like the Dragonlord of our time wanted us to defeat Hargon.
Image: I guess that's sort of consistent, then.
Image: I suspect there's a world of difference between this Queen and the Dragonlord.
Image: Ehhh, it's all the same to me. And they should really smash that egg while they can. Leaving that thing alive is just asking for trouble down the line.
Image: Hmm.

Image

Image

Image

In any case, the Sphere of Light is indeed in our inventory. It doesn't seem to have the power it demonstrated at the end of DW1, though.

Image

It doesn't do anything in or out of combat. Maybe its magic has been used up. Still, it must be good that we have it!

Image

Image: Did you have anything else you wanted to check on before...?
Image: Actually, I thought we'd check out the Pit of Giaga first. If it's connected to our enemy somehow, it can't hurt to investigate the place.
Image: Let's just hope there's nothing there that's more dangerous than he is.

Image

Image

Image: ...did you see that?
Image: Hmm?
Image: I think... Down there... Armored figures...? Three Lethal Armors fighting a Troll?
Image: They're far away from home.
Image: Maybe monsters are territorial. I know bandits are.
Image: Oof, yeah, the pass is open now, there might be a turf war going on.
Image: Welp, none of our business either way.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
Image: It does seem to have something of a reputation. What did that dead king say again...?
Image: It's the source of all misfortunes.
Image: What's in the big castle, then?
Image: Maybe Baramos first came through this pit, and then set up his lair nearby.
Image: We should seal it up, then! It could even be the source of his power!
Image: Ah... I wonder if it's that simple.

It's hard to tell what this guard is doing here. I suspect he might not be totally human. Or maybe he's as human as the man who gave us the Silver Orb, or the people who tended the holy shrine in Rhone.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
Image: It's... already sealed.
Image: There are no monsters here, either.
Image: Well this is weird.
Image: If things are already taken care of here, we might as well assault the castle immediately.
Image: Right, right, let's go.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image: Here we are.
Image: Zofia, I...
Image: Hmm?
Image: I just wanted to say... Regardless of what happens from here, it's... it's an honor fighting by your side.
Image: Oh! T-thank you.
Image: When I joined up with Ortega's daughter, I thought it would be the next best thing to what I actually wanted the most. But... If I had been born twenty years earlier, and could actually fight by your father's side, I can't imagine it would have been any more glorious than this.
Image: He's got a point there, Fia.
Image: Alvaro... If you had actually been there, by his side... I think he might still be alive today.
Image: Ah! Well... I'm sure his companions were of the utmost skill...
Image: Anyway, I'm glad you're all here too. We're about to kick an archfiend's butt, and there's no one else I'd rather do this with.
Image: Haha, yeah!
Image: If you say so!
Image: You know I do.
Image: Let's do this.

Image

Before we head in what appears to be the main entrance, let's check out the sides, just in case there's something noteworthy going on.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Stone Hulks are a touch weaker than Trolls, with less HP but slightly better defense. They only have regular attacks with a slight chance to roll crits, and also ignore formation. They're slightly resistant to most magic, except for a high resistance to fire, Beat, Surround and Chaos, and vulnerability to Limbo. (They're also immune to Expel, but that's the rule more than the exception now, and I won't mention Expel resistance anymore unless it's extremely relevant.) In addition, Stone Hulks are the first standard enemies that come with regeneration! They regain 44 to 55 HP per round.

They also have a 1 in 128 chance to drop an Armor of Terrafirma, which could still be relevant to some party compositions.

In a fight like this, it's best to take out the Marauders first, even if only to avoid getting Numbed while trying to focus down the regenerating Hulk.

Image

Image

Oh-ho, this looks interesting. Let's finish having our quick look around this garden area before we enter, though.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Lots of options here! There are two stairways in the main entrance, another stairway in the garden, the little shack, and possibly a path up north around the eastern side. We'll look at the shack first.

Image

Eh, might as well head down.

Image

Image

Image

Man, this dungeon already has a neat feel to it. And it's not with the sort of mazelike semi-pointless complexity of DW1 dungeons either. This place has character, and it makes me want to figure it out!

We'll take a quick peek up those stairs, but I want to finish up this basement before we go much further on the ground floor.

Image

Okay, this is the entrance hall. Back down we go.

Image

Image

We've only had the one fight so far. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Image

Image: Cripes, what kind of crime do you have to commit to get put in jail by an archfiend?
Image: It's probably a prisoner or an hostage, not a criminal.
Image: Oh... Uh, yeah, okay. Makes sense.

Image

Image: I don't know what I expected.

So much for this basement, then. Let's see if we can't squeeze through the northeast corner of the garden next.

Image

Evil Mages have fairly low HP for this place, but surprisingly high defense, enough that Zofia and Alvaro can't one-shot them. They can breathe a dragon-grade fire breath, and they can also cast Healall, Snowstorm, StopSpell, Sleep, Chaos and Blazemore, with Snowstorm being twice as common as anything else. They're immune to Chaos, highly resistant to fire, ice, Beat, Sleep, StopSpell and Limbo, and only slightly to wind, lightning, RobMagic and Expel. Aaaand they have a 1 in 128 chance to drop a Leaf of the World Tree.

They're also toting a ludicrous 255 MP, so while you're never going to run them dry, they can be a good source of MP for your own Wizard types, especially if you manage to land a StopSpell. With that kind of arsenal though, we'd better not mess around right now.

Image

Better make note of this staircase on the east side here; it leads to a couple chests we could see earlier.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Oof, Hologhosts again. At least we still have a Leaf in case Isabel gets taken out, and Rebeca has her Angel Robes.

Image

Gah, this is bad news. Isabel takes out the remaining Hologhost first, then she's gonna have to do her best to revive Zofia while Rebeca deals with the Hulk with ice damage.

...aaaand the Hulk perishes after two Snowstorms. Whew. Zofia comes back after two Vivify casts, and Alvaro comes back right away. Could have been worse!

Image

Image

Snow Dragons have average stats all around for this place, but they come with the first ever instance of medium-grade blizzard breath (though they will more often use a Demonite-grade blizzard breath), and they both ignore formation and have a 50% chance to get a second action every round. A Barrier cast can be definitely justified here, as we have no resistance to blizzard breath otherwise! One use of the Staff of Thunder (or Firebane cast) will wound them to the point where even Isabel can one-shot them though, so if you trust your Wizard's Agility, taking the offensive like this may be more effective.

They're predictably immune to ice, and weak to all other elemental damage, with slight resistance to everything else, except a high resistance to Beat. They also have a 1 in 128 chance to drop Acorns of Life.

Image

That staircase is kind of out of the way, better check it out while we're here.

Image

Image

Image

Image

It's interesting that this dungeon is straight-up using the castle/town tileset. No wonder it feels so unusual.

Image

Image

Reb opens with Bounce on that one, no sense taking risks.

Image

Image

Image

Yyyeah, there's 8 MP well spent. Snowstorm, good grief.

Image

Bounce only protects Rebeca, though. I want to wake Zofia up with Awake, but both her and Alvaro are just going to die to ice damage. Better Healall Al and try to limp through with only three of us.

Image

...aw heck, I forgot about their StopSpell. Gah! What a bunch of miscreants!

Image

Image

Rebeca earns herself 8800 experience for this one. Good thing none of them thought to use their fire breath. This run is absolutely over, though.

Image

That said, we sure did cover a lotta ground! And overall the monsters are a good match for us; if these Evil Mages hadn't gotten a perfect storm of disables, we could have kept going for a while longer.

Rebeca Returns to Assaram (the castle isn't considered an interior location, so casting Outside first is not required), pays to have Isabel revived, and the latter brings the others back. We're ready for run two.

Image

What a relief it is to be able to just fly back to the castle. No trekking across the Necrogond over and over again for this crew!

Image: Yaaaaay.

Image

Let's keep that staircase in the back for later. We'll check out the remaining one in the entrance hall first.

Image

Image

Image

Oh. Okay. Good to have that one cleared up! Let's head to that staircase in the back and pick up where we left off, then.

Image

Ha, Rebeca survives another ludicrous crit! Good grief, the iron will on that woman.

Image

Wow. Just, wow.

Image

Okay, this is officially the best.

Let's see... 1 Str, 6 Agi, 5 Vit, 4 Luc, 1 Int, 10 HP (aw yeah!), 4 MP, and a new spell.

Image

Yes, you're reading this correctly. "BeDragon". For 24 MP, it turns the caster into a dragon for the rest of the battle, automatically breathing fire at all enemies every subsequent turn for about 90 to 180 damage. This dragon breath does not count as a spell, and will bypass Bounce, StopSpell, and even fire immunity! (Though of course if you're suffering from StopSpell you can't cast BeDragon in the first place.)

The drawback, besides the MP cost, is that you lose control of the caster until the battle ends. This is a big problem if they have Pilgrim spells and you need them to heal someone, but that's not an issue for Rebeca.

At least we definitely have a way to take out groups of four Evil Mages now.

Image

Image

Let's go for the basement first.

Image

These other stairs should lead to the central part of the ground floor. We'll leave that for later, though.

Image

Image

Image

Huh, okay, these other stairs back west lead to a dead end after all. We already know the south path here would take us to an empty room, and the north to an up staircase instead.

Image

Image

That down staircase visible to the south is the one leading to those three chests. It looks like the path west of here would lead to those other stairs in the northern courtyard, so we actually retrace our steps from here. There must be some cool treasure in that room.

Image

Image

Image

Yeah, I'm sure that's the right path.

Image

Whoa, I didn't expect to see these guys again here. They're not too hard by now though, compared to the other critters we could be running into.

Image

Image

I will never get tired of seeing this.

Image

Image

Bingo! Let's have a look.

Image

Ooh, not bad. Isabel gets to hang onto that one.

Image

We've mentioned Demon Axes when we discussed the rare Mimic drop (+90 attack, surprisingly not even a little bit cursed, 1 in 8 chance to miss, 1 in 8 chance to crit), but this is a guaranteed location. It's one of the few Soldier-only weapons, so we absolutely can't use it, even if we wanted to. Which we might! It's really strong!

Image

Ah, this is the Minidemon rare drop. That one's not really worth wearing. Welp, better get back to where we were moments ago.

Image

It's nice to see they show up here too. I'll have Alvaro and Rebeca try to take it down, while Zofia and Isabel try to quickly Expel the Marauders.

...aaaand it fled. Oh well.

Image

Image

Image

This is the last part of the main building we hadn't explored yet. We still have to visit (and find a way to reach) the western part of the backyard, and that weird staircase in the middle of the pond in the northeast.

Image

Image

Image

Okay, that's definitely the back wall on the western side.

Image

Image

Ugh, that's a sneaky trap right there.

Image

Image: Well this isn't spooky at all.
Image: I don't think this dead king will be as amiable as the one in the Final Key's shrine. Keep your guard up.

Image

Image: Huh.
Image: I don't understand what this place even is. I guess maybe this was once a regular castle, then Baramos took it over... and left the king's bones here?
Image: Maybe he sold out his people for a boon, and this was his reward.
Image: "Yes, yes, of course, you have my word, king of men. You shall have this throne for all eternity."
Image: This palace ought to be razed to the ground.
Image: It'll be a lot easier once we clear out the squatters.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Nothing in the corner there. Better check that pond, then.

Image

Image

Image: If he's not down there, he's not here at all.

Image

Image

Image

Image: This has to be him.
Image: What a foul creature! I can hardly stand to look at it!
Image: You guys know I don't think much of this no-name asshole, but if he's really an archfiend, he's a lot more powerful than he looks.
Image: Even I can feel the evil might coming off of him. I assure you I won't take him lightly.
Image: Alright then. No sense backing down now. Let's go.

Image: BARAMOS!
Image
Image: But, alas, too soon. For thou and thine do not yet know thyselves well enough to oppose the Archfiend Baramos!
Image: This world hates you, fiend.
Image: Everything that lives and breathes opposes you.
Image: If anything, today didn't come soon enough.
Image: Thou wilt regret thy coming indeed!
Image: I already do! What's that smell, anyway? Do you bathe in fart juice?
Image: You shall be dead for good, for I wilt surely feast on thine innards!
Image: COME AND TAKE THEM!

Image



Image: Ow, mine innards!
Image: ...okay, maybe it really was too soon then.

User avatar
nosimpleway
Posts: 4514
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 7:31 pm

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby nosimpleway » Sat Sep 01, 2018 9:36 am

Baramos casting Limbo is a self-Healall level supreme dick move, but that's what you get when you're up against the Very Obviously Final Boss at the end of the Very Obviously Final Dungeon.

User avatar
Rico
Posts: 548
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:29 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby Rico » Sat Sep 01, 2018 12:17 pm

(OT: DQ11 is PRELOADABLE this is NOT a drill)

User avatar
François
Posts: 1708
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:00 am

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby François » Sun Sep 02, 2018 4:55 pm

nosimpleway wrote:Baramos casting Limbo is a self-Healall level supreme dick move, but that's what you get when you're up against the Very Obviously Final Boss at the end of the Very Obviously Final Dungeon.


At least he's like Hargon in that it points to the notion of "use stopspell mang", buuuut it didn't occur to me. :mrgreen:

Rico wrote:(OT: DQ11 is PRELOADABLE this is NOT a drill)


As much as I want to play it, considering what I've been doing and what I plan to do, it's probably the worst idea. Feels like it'll be half price when I'm done with this, heh.

User avatar
Blossom
Posts: 2297
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 8:58 pm

Re: Let's play Dragon Warrior III: you mean they made a sequel to that one game with all the instant death monsters?

Postby Blossom » Sun Sep 02, 2018 10:25 pm

Eh, using Stopspell is a bit of a weak strategy. Just means he's doing that breath all the time.

Use Sleep instead.
Image

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests