Next stop, I go and get all the Ultimate Key chests. The undersea world doesn't have much in it, but it does have these store-rooms with Ultimate Key chests and optional semi-bosses.
The Uberkilling Machines here are "semi-bosses" because there's a trophy for beating them, but they aren't full-fledged bosses, and they're pretty strong to be mini-bosses. When I first got to the undersea storerooms, I couldn't even get in because these guys whooped everyone in no time. Now, it's an even fight.
Winning nets a scroll of the crucial Wild Side, so now someone besides Moonbrooke can get wild.
Moonbrooke gets something a lot more fun. How blessed is this bikini?
Is it this blessed? And is there anything sexier than a blonde Latina?
Next side-objective, getting the Water Flying Cloth. It's basically a towel, and the women can wear it to get ultimate protection.
...in the past, anyway, now it isn't that good compared to other stuff they can put on. I went and got it anyway, even though I won't get much use out of it.
Don Calico needs a few things to complete this exquisite gown and gaze upon the beauty of a supple miss wearing it.
This includes a Subtle Shuttle, as well as the key item from the North Dragon Horn Tower that I got much earlier. At least that place has some reason to exist.
Don Calico works tirelessly to make a sexy gown, and the Water Flying Cloth is finished. ...then nobody wears it because they all have better on. Maybe someone can at least model it for a moment for this poor old guy.
FOLKS, WE'VE GONE TO PLAID!
He then keels over. Cannock informs us that he didn't actually die, so that's good. An old man giving you an important item and then dying...has happened before in this series.
Checking the bookcases in Cantlin, which had several spell scrolls in the previous game...
Now it's all books about Kandar's DQ1 descendant. Even his old jail cell has books about him. He was found guilty of knavery and douchebaggery, and was taken to task by the judge.
Kandar the First had a Hentai Emporium that was unparalleled. Truly, the finest and grandest of all Hentai Emporiums, the Library of Alexandria of Hentai Emporiums.
That's about it, time to go back to Hargon's Castle to take out the bosses:
This weirdo, who I now know existed in past versions of the game, if only as a sus NPC.
She summons adds, but that's about it. I blast her and move on.
She was barely even a boss. More like mid-level management.
Next up is Atlas, who is HUGE.
This is the first version of the game where this guy is actually a major legit threat, as he stomps through everyone's health pool quickly with his single-target strikes. Bosses being able to take multiple turns at once is what gives them such a huge edge.
It wasn't without casualties, but I eked out a win. I'm going to need to level grind more if I'm going to defeat Hargon.
Pazuzu, probably the least-mentioned of the pack. He's well-spoken for a screeching baboon witch-doctor.
He flings his droppings while jumping up and down. Other than that, this isn't much to write home about. Atlas was worse.
Belial, the leader of the pack, references Mother Russia. He's curious how it feels to be Moonbrooke. Not great.
Another tough fight, due to his ability to heal. Still, between Insulatle and Magic Barrier, the AOEs of these guys are easier to mitigate than Atlas' rampage.
I didn't go level grind, but I did find out the game's biggest trick at this point: Prince Cannock can equip cursed stuff with no penalty. After he gets cured of his ailment at Beran, he's immune to curses from then on. Cursed gear gives him HUGE stat boosts. Combine this with Omniheal and Cannock is now far and away the strongest character. Well, THAT was unexpected.
Hargon, the one who unleashed the Dragonlord on the people of Alefgard, is cornered in his dark chapel. This is it, the culmination of the Erdrick Trilogy.
Midenhall does HUGE damage with Cutting Edge and Wild Side. Yeah, definitely want to give that scroll to him. A few Saps and an Oomph, and he'll be hitting well into the thousands while everyone else is doing 200-300.
Hargon summons his dark lord, Malroth. Or he becomes Malroth via demonic possession. Not sure. Either way, he's the final battle. He's a little underwhelming of an opponent after all of this, so I'm glad that he has a much tougher third form with the true ending behind it. I'll need to do a bit more to get that, so I'll be fighting this guy twice.
Malroth can cast Full Heal, making him a pain in the ass whether it's 1988 or 2025. Other than that, he doesn't have that much going for him.
Cannock's Omniheal pretty much ensures that it's difficult to lose here. He's got his sky-high defense, as well, and Kazing to reliably revive people.
From there it's just a matter of getting Midenhall buffed and Malroth sapped, and unleashing Cutting Edge.
Moonbrooke is relegated to a buffing/debuffing role in this version, where in old versions of the game she was most of the DPS in the endgame. Sasha is just kinda there to be cute, sometimes assisting with debuffs or throwing an attack in.
That's it for Hargon, and everyone can go home. Erdrick Trilogy done. Except now we've got postgame to do. Unlike DQ1 in this remake, DQ2 has a substantial amount of things to do after the final boss.
Castle Hargon collapses into the snow, where it will remain buried and reclaimed by nature.
Here's how the final battle went. Not a whole lot to it; most of the challenge is in the postgame.
Time for the usual world tour where you check in with everyone. Moonbrooke (the town) is doing pretty well, and Moonbrooke (the woman) is starting to emerge from her depression, stepping back out into the light.
We've got the ghosts of her parents.
Unfortunately, Prince Cannock mistook them for a random battle and blasted them out of existence with Kasizz. WHOOPS
Moonbrooke is the real main character of this version of the game, and embodies the strength to persevere. That isn't just some platitude either.
The Lords of Cannock are also doing well. This castle is so spotless that I hope they're going to help Moonbrooke (the kingdom) with rebuilding. Get some kind of Marshall Plan going. Let's get down to business.
Midenhall is even more pristine. Truly a hall worthy of a maiden.
But wait.
After the ending rolls, a message broadcasts across space and time. Something else is out there.
I hope it's Culex. That beautiful bastard needs to be in more RPG postgames.
Dragonlord's Great-Grandson senses it too. A great evil of the sort not seen in ages. What could it be? We'll find out...in the next episode.
I take a moment to put animal suits on everyone and get a trophy for that. Going for the Platinum, which means doing all the things.
The first postgame town/dungeon is Cloudsgate Citadel / Citadel Tower, which is accessed via a (very easy to miss entirely) beam of light in the Faerie Palace. The game doesn't particularly steer you towards it or add it as a quest objective / objective marker. You see the light beam for a second during the ending, that's it. It might be easy to miss until later, but you want to do it early. As in, make it the first challenge of the postgame, and use the upgrades from it in the rest.
The enemies in here are super strong and great EXP, though there'll be a better grinding area in the other postgame dungeon.
This dungeon itself is just a few floors and it's short enough that you can book it through the whole thing in one Holy Protection cast. The real meat of this place is:
Xenlon, the Eternal Dragon of DBZ fame. This guy is probably the easiest of the several postgame superbosses, and defeating him within a certain amount of turns means he'll grant a wish. Have to defeat him six times to get all six wishes, so that's what I'll do.
...next time! On Dragon Ball Z!
No comments:
Post a Comment