#octopath travelogue

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Therion Chapter 4

For the first time all game I switched Ophilia out of my party. I’m feeling the absence, to be honest. I trekked up to Northreach with a party of the boys, and Cyrus is just not as good a healer as Ophilia is. I wish I knew what strengthens healing so I could focus on pumping those numbers up.

Time to go stab Sean Chiplock.

Wow these townspeople are cockney as fuck. Not one H to be seen in the whole of their dialogue!

Ohhhh, interesting -- Darius has Therion on wanted posters. I like how Therion gives zero fucks. Of course, he’s probably been on wanted posters before.

Alfyn continues to be The Goodest Boi, reassuring Therion about how he’s a thief to be reckoned with.

Fuck ‘em up, Heathcote!

“When I was your age, I never imagined time would be so hard on my bones. ...Getting fucked up by you in milady’s manse probably didn’t help, either.”

...ooh, interesting. I should’ve guessed Heathcote used to be in this line of work.

I’m sorry, Heathcote, I promise I’m paying attention to your story, but look at that snow sparkling outside, isso pretty! Ahem. Sorry. Continue.

Therion, you can try and ignore this all you want, but Heathcote is comin’ atcha with all the force of a train. A train named CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. And THIS PATH I HAVE TAKEN IS A SHINING EXAMPLE OF WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOURSELF IF YOU BELIEVE IN OTHERS.

...I feel like this talk Olberic and Therion just had followed up on a talk they didn’t have in one of Therion’s earlier chapters. Oops. Still, nice to know Therion’s learning to trust in others.

“Sidequest item up for grabs from this dude at 8%, huh? Meh, I’ll give it a shot before switching Tressa in to buy it.” *DING* “WAIT WHAT THE FUCK, DID I REALLY JUST SUCCESSFULLY STEAL AN 8% ITEM?!?” Sheesh, why couldn’t I have had that kinda luck whenever I played Fire Emblem Heroes or other gacha games?

...Sheesh, Therion, you’re just gonna leave the poor sap naked on the ground in a place as cold as this? That’s cold, man. Pun not intended.

I wonder if there’s a practical difference between the normal brigand’s garb and the leader’s. Ah well.

Shame this scene with the lookouts isn’t voiced. I’d love to hear Therion’s actor trying to do cockney.

Cyrus encouraging Therion too. Funny to think that Therion’s in this situation entirely of his own fault, but his friends are backing him up nonetheless. ...A little heartwarming, too.

...A purple chest in a dungeon where you need Therion seems redundant.

hahaha, I just noticed Olberic, of all people, has the lowest HP of the guys. 3062 compared to Alfyn’s 3553 at the highest. To be fair, most of the others are wearing Empowering equipment, but still. It’s funny.

Oh boy, I can see the dragonstones right there...Let’s do this.

Hey look, Ophilia had the power of love. So did H’aanit, to an extent. Now Therion’s showing off the power of friendship and trust! And of course Darius Cannot Comprehend Good.

Alright, here we go! We’ll show you what trust is all about, Dari--*Your items have been stolen!* blinkingwhiteguy.gif ...Well. Shit. Those were...kinda why I brought Alfyn to this fight. I...guess I’ll figure something else out.

Ah, okay, just had to break him to get them back. ...I bet he’ll take them back as soon as he recovers, though... 

HAHAHA 24,000 damage with Abide, Armor Corrosive, and Brand’s Thunder! FUCK ‘IM UP, OLBERIC!!

...why aren’t these mid-battle dialogues voiced? Ophilia’s were...

Cyrus why are you mumbling when you’re healing, I can’t hear a word you’re saying!

Hm. Darius was holding a Red Apple, which grants full BP to someone. I wonder if that has any relation to why Therion’s holding an apple in his artwork.

Darius: “I CAN’T LOSE TO A NAIF LIKE YOU!” Therion: “NO U”

Man, he does not have a lot of HP! He’s already in the red!

C’mon, Ther, bring it home...dammit. A whole 9999 damage with Aeber’s Reckoning, but that wasn’t quite enough to kill him! Olberic’s all ready though...and bada-boom! 23900 damage Brand’s Thunder and Darius is down for the count!

He’s getting away? Huh...I guess Therion realized he’s not worth the effort. Also, massive props to Therion’s actor. These line reads are amazing.

...and yeah, him getting shanked by the mooks he never trusted is pretty damn karmic. ...only Gareth ever cared, though? Iiiiiinteresting... 🤔

And yikes, that was probably the first time I’ve ever heard anyone die with a gasp of air. Creepy. Good job, Mr. Chiplock.

bahahahahahaha NICE. The bangle wasn’t ever locked! You totally fooled yourself into going on an adventure to collect the dragon balls and regain trust in other people, Therion! SELF-OWN OF THE YEAR. 👌👌👌

...The...Gate of Finis? 🤨 ...Why...do I feel like I’ve heard of that? Or at least...had it obliquely referenced by some of the other stories? I mean...now that I think about it, Mattias was talking about Galdera being sealed away -- he has to be sealed somewhere, right? And H’aanit noted how she couldn’t feel anything from Redeye, despite being able to do so with all monsters...Was Redeye an aspect of Galdera?

...Shit. These stories are starting to link together. There’s a goddamn endgame, isn’t there?! Even after beating everyone’s stories!

...well, I guess I’ll find out when it comes to that.

Cordelia: “Where will you go?” Therion: “Wherever my feet take me. ...which is code for ‘I got swept up with a bunch of other chucklefucks who I’m indebted to and need to help out now.’ So. Yeah.”

And that’s Therion. What a dumbass dweeb boi. I love him.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Postgame Part 5

here we go here we go here we go here we FUCKIN GO AHHHHHHHHH

So right now I’m going with a team of Alfyn/Warrior, Tressa/Runelord, Cyrus/Cleric, and Olberic/Hunter, all around level 65. Ophilia/Sorcerer, Primrose/Starseer, H’aanit/Warmaster, and Therion/Dancer are on standby. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to swap out people as I need them.

Let’s do this already...fast travel to the Ruins of Hornburg...

...and...we are right where Olberic fought eight years ago. Huh.

Seriously, I mean, the king’s tent where Erhardt murdered him is right up here. Crazy.

And over here is a big super-ominous gate, HMMMMMM I WONDER WHAT THAT IS.

...shit. And there’re Kit and Lyblac. Kit, don’t do it man. DON’T DO IT. CAN’T YOU TELL HOW UNTRUSTWORTHY SHE IS.

GOD DAMMIT KIT, SHE JUST TOLD US IF YOU PASS BEYOND THE GATE OF FINIS YOU MAY NEVER RETURN TO THIS WORLD. KIT NOOOO.

fuck it we’re doing this no matter what she says, IN WE FUCKIN’ GO.

oh god she was right, we can’t leave. D: Fuuuuuccccc--

But thankfully there is a thing right here that lets me swap the party. Along with these very ominous blue flames. Let’s see what they do...

WHAT THE FUCK?! MIGUEL?!

Oh god this is a Mega Man boss rush! And they’ve leveled up too, they don’t have their original stats! Welp!!

Still, he went down without too much trouble (THANK YOU RUNELORD TRESSA, MY QUEEN). And here’s...

...oh my god, here’s Graham Crossford’s journal. Talking about how he lost his wife and how Lyblac approached afterwards. And tempted him with talk of seeing his wife again if he went to the Gate of Finis. It was on that pilgrimage that he stopped and treated Alfyn.

Okay, next one...is Simeon. Who immediately blocks off all weaknesses except daggers...which is the one weapon type this party doesn’t have. AWESOME.

Well, Tress’s Hired Help did, and with the help of that and a lot more runes, he’s down. Let’s see who’s here...Geoffrey Azelhart? What does he have to do with the Gate...?

...oh. oh fuck. He was murdered because he found out something about the Gate. And he’s...is he writing this from the afterlife?

Next one is...Darius. Alright, no problem! And he’s finished off with my first usage of Balogar’s Blade. Which was awesome. And the diary here is...House Ravus’s? Huh. The dragonstones were bestowed upon them by the first King Beowulf of Hornburg, they house the actual power of dragons...and the great sorcerer Odin Crossford used them to seal the Gate of Finis. This was written by Cordelia’s late father, it seems. While he was late. How are these people writing these journals from the afterlife...? Regardless, it does explain why Cordelia trusted Heathcote and (and obviously fell in love with) Therion so much.

Next one...is the Dragon of Stillsnow that H’aanit fought. Alrighty then, here we go...and down. No problem! The journal here is Graham’s...third part. I missed the second, whoops. Regardless...

...oh fuck, Lyblac transformed him with a dark ritual, intending to use him as the host for the “horror [that] truly lies beyond the Gate of Finis” (SPOILERS IT’S GALDERA, I GET IT ALREADY). But he...fucking knew. He knew that she would manipulate him, and that she needed the blood of the line of Crossford, the ancient sorcerer...but he did it anyway because if she didn’t do him, she would go after--

Kit. Oh my god. Kit’s father is Graham Crossford.

He resisted at the end, with the memory of his family, and struck out at Lyblac, but even then the transformation overcame him. What did he beco...

...oh my god. Oh my god, don’t tell me.

...it doesn’t confirm it, he just continues to write like his caps lock is breaking. But...holy shit.

Redeye was Graham Crossford, wasn’t it?

This party’s taking a beating, so I swap out Cyrus for Ophilia and Olberic for H’aanit. Not that I don’t have enough items to easily recover everyone to full, and Alfyn spamming the concoction that grants the whole party 2 BP is serving me incredibly well, but even so, I’m getting worried about the inevitable final showdown with Lyblac and Galdera.

It also concerns me that I haven’t been able to save. I’m getting nasty flashbacks to the final two-dungeon three-hour gauntlet of Final Fantasy III DS. At least here it’s just a Mega Man boss rush that is fairly easy, so far at least.

Next fight is Yvon. On a totally different note, I appreciate that this boss rush is bringing back the Decisive Battle themes. It’s been so long since I’ve heard them.

And Yvon goes down like a chump, thank you Battle Cry. This journal belongs to Yvon himself. He explains that Lucia brought a young woman (you can say Lyblac, it’s cool) to him fifteen years ago and convinced him he was totally the best fit for headmaster, and taught him about From the Far Reaches of Hell. She stroked his ego enough that she was able to convince him to assassinate the former headmaster and take his place Klingon-style. Her reaction afterwards makes him suspect that all she wanted was to rid herself of the former headmaster. No idea who he is, because he then dissolves into a hissy fit about Lucia using him for her own agenda and getting disposed of by Cyrus.

Next up is good ol’ Mattias. The first time I heard Battle at Journey’s End, which I kinda wish played here too. ...Bahaha, he went down on the first break. What a chump. This journal is, like Yvon’s to the right, Mattias’s himself. Lyblac met with him, of course. The interesting thing here is that he actually did use to be a devout servant of Aelfric’s Sacred Flame. His turn was because his hometown was ravaged by a lightning storm and wildfire and his prayers did nothing.

...Wait, what? That didn’t happen within anyone’s lifetimes! Lyblac granted him immortality -- he was over a hundred years old, because of a ritual from “that tome”! He waited for everyone who knew him to die off and then reintegrated himself as a merchant named Mattias, implying that that’s not even his original name. And--whoa holy fuck! Simeon and the Obsidians financed him! And Ophilia and Lianna’s father didn’t actually die a natural death -- the Obsidians provided Mattias with a slow-acting poison that he was able to feed to Josef! He plotted all along to break Lianna’s heart to be able to use her to feed Galdera’s dark flame.

Jesus Christ, I think Simeon still wins for most despicable villain in the game, but Mattias just took a big ol’ leap upwards. In the end, he is trapped in eternal darkness praying for light after all. Rot in hell, asshole.

Next up is the Venomtooth Tiger? Not Esmerelda? Alright, whatever. Thank god I brought Alfyn this time. Not that I needed him -- turns out with elemental defense reduced, Tressa can deal 25,000 damage with one rune! BWAHAHAHAHAHA--anyway. Here we have...Graham’s first journal. Huh. I guess the first one I encountered was actually the second.

Which explains how Graham’s journal, the one that inspired Tressa found its way onto Leon’s ship: Graham offered it for passage to the Forest of Rubeh so he could get the Ogre Eagle’s feather. Nothing huge or revelatory, but good to have that cleared up nonetheless.

Finally, we have Werner, just as I expected. Down in three turns. I am a beast whoisprobablystillgonnagethisasskickedbyadarkgod. Anyway. Werner’s journal. ...Of course it was Lyblac who convinced him to sack Hornburg. Bitch was behind literally everything after all. He formed a band called the Black Brotherhood, gathered intel on Hornburg for three years, and then staged a bunch of false flag operations where he’d hire bandits to attack towns in Hornburg and drive them back with his own band. At some point in this process he recruited Erhardt and set him to assassinate the king.

...He doesn’t explicitly say it...but I have the sinking feeling one of the towns he did a false flag operation on was Erhardt’s own. Meaning the bastard manipulated Erhardt all along.

After sacking Hornburg he severed ties with both Lyblac and his company. As evil as Werner was, even he was repulsed by Lyblac, apparently, wanting nothing to do with her once he used her resources to achieve his goal.

A giant door appears. Beyond it lies Journey’s End.

Form two parties for the final confrontation. Yikes. I’ve...heard some bullshit about how the final battle works, but I can’t find it right now, right when I need it. Damn it.

I hope I’m right, though, in setting up my backup party as the Primary Party: Olberic/Hunter, Cyrus/Cleric, Therion/Merchant, and Primrose/Starseer. Secondary is Ophilia/Sorcerer, Tressa/Runelord, Alfyn/Thief, and H’aanit/Warmaster.

Here we go.

*gulp*

Fuck. She’s already succeeded -- Kit has become Galdera’s vessel. The Crossford line apparently carried the dark power necessary to do just that.

Galdera absorbs her. He speaks of bringing us all to eternal slumber. All that JRPG villain jazz. It’s nothing I haven’t heard before...but damned if my palms still aren’t sweaty.

And here. We.

GO.

A few turns in, Saving Grace is saving my ass. Electrocute is his strongest attack so far, dealing something on the order of 2,500 to Olberic, who has the weakest elemental defense. The Starseer’s Divine Grace keeps triggering on Therion and Primrose, though, allowing me to survive long enough to set up the Starseer’s super-defense buff on everyone. Galdera emits a shadowy mist that makes it harder to hit my foes, but hopefully that won’t affect spells.

Fuck. I managed to kill the first spirit, but Galdera just summoned more. Hopefully it gets to the point where he stops and I can focus on him.

...”More will emerge as long as one soul remains.” Fuck. Does that mean I have to kill these dead souls at the same time?

Seems like it, ‘cause I was just able to pull it off. Here we go!

*45 minutes later*

Arrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh I was doing so well, and then it just ramps up the bullshit and the dead souls and multiple attacks that suddenly start doing 3500 damage. I don’t know how much HP he had left, but that was a painful, painful loss.

It will probably be worth it to put one other advanced class in this front party...but I can’t figure out who. Though...there was so much status effect bullshit going on that if the second form eases up on that a bit, it might be worth it to put in Alfyn against the first form.

...Oh god, if his first form is this strong...I shudder at how strong the second form is. As much as I felt hamstrung by this secondary party’s abilities, I feel like I need to save the strongest party for the second form.

I’ll try again later, I suppose. At least the run-up to him, albeit long, was still pretty easy. And I did get all those plot revelations, so I don’t consider this play session wasted, even though I technically lost an hour and a half.

But holy goddamn people were not kidding about how strong Galdera is. God. Damn.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Primrose Chapter 3

Primrose: “When I left, I thought I would never return here...” Therion: “uh we were here like two weeks ago to take care of my thing, do you not remem--” Primrose: “Nobody asked you shut up.”

Not to make light of someone’s death but the sun rays shining right down on him making him look all heavenly and angelic is laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?

“The lord’s own guardsmen are investigating the murder...? Where is the city watch?” Ah. Privatized police force. A matter that certainly has no relevance today. 😕

My love? Wait what? Prim has a lost love? Huh? But...wasn’t she like, ten when her father was killed and she escaped? Was it like a prearranged marriage/courtship thing? 🤨🤨🤨

...iiiiiiiissss this Simeon fellow the guy with the neck tattoo of the crow and therefore her ultimate villain? Hoo boy.

wait he was the gardener’s apprentice but was an adult when they met while she was a kid? ...yikes. 😬😬😬 I hope I’m reading it wrong and he was a teenager, that’d be a lot less creepy.

Primrose’s story seems to be using these bordered third-person narrations in a way that none of the other stories do. It makes me wonder if all eight stories were written by different writers.

...okay but really, how old is Primrose? I thought she left when she was a child. Maybe a young teen at the absolute latest. Yet everyone she is running into is recognizing her without a problem. Timelines are confusing.

Aww, Therion dispensing well wishes and helpful advice to Primrose. Boy really does care.

Revello’s coming with me? Son of a bitch. Poor bastard just signed his death warrant, I just know it. 😕

“That’s our boss. He always had a flair for the dramatic.” ...Ahh, crap. It is Simeon, the playwright, isn’t it.

oh thank god I can finally pick up that hidden item that I revealed when I came here with Therion ages ago. And it’s...a Rare Stone? ...ah, vendor trash. It better be worth a lot of money considering how long it’s been sitting there. Taunting me.

Mansion Dungeon # Fiiii...well, no, Yvon’s home didn’t keep up the mansion aesthetic, it went into his underground lab. So like... #4.5, I guess?

hey look a purple chest I actually brought Therion for. 🙃

Alfyn: “Level Slash!” *swing at two mooks* *whiff both of them* “...uh. Heh. I uh. I meant to do that.” 🤨 (thirty seconds later: And they were weak to swords too! Dammit Alfie!)

jeez Therion keeps missing one out of his two stabs with HP/SP Steal. Super frustrating.

...Constituent I seems a lot stronger than Constituent II. 🤔

...oh, shit. It’s Albus, isn’t it? So much for being an honorable man who went down with the ship. Derp. ...sounds a lot like Travis Willingham, but I think he’s union and Nintendo’s being dumb and refusing to use union actors. It’s a good impression of the types of characters Travis plays, at least.

Primrose’s theme is one of the ones that segues really well into the boss theme. 👌👌👌 again for how well that’s executed.

Damn, Ophilia’s Holy Light has started doing 1000+ damage even before breaking! I love my sweet cleric daughter.

8500 with an Abided Brand’s Thunder...mmm...not quite up to Olberic’s standard, Alfyn.

“Death to the Unseeing!” *Primrose and Ophilia, both blinded, immediately die* blinkingwhiteguy.gif Well, shit. God dammit, why can’t Alfyn concoct an all-party blindness cure?!

phew, broke him before he could act on brandishing his dagger ominously.

rekt with a triple-boosted Holy Light from mah girl Phili. 😀

quick Primrose slit his throat, cut out his heart, do something before he stands back up and assassinates Revello! QUICK!

oh, okay, phew. Looks like Revello lives. Thanks for subverting that expec--wait, Simeon? Dafuq?

...I don’t like the way he’s talking--GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, I FUCKING CALLED IT. YOU ASSHOLE. Simeon the PUPPET MASTER. I FUCKING KNEW IT. I FUCKING KNEW I COULDN’T TRUST YOU YOU ABSOLUTE DIPSHIT.

Jesus he’s a large ham. Both voice actors in this scene are fucking killing it, to be honest. Awesome.

This is getting so tragic I started expecting Anna to be part of the Obsidians and backstab Forsythe. ...I’m glad I’m just paranoid. ...About that, at least.

Alfyn gives her medicine and wants her to take care of herself. Such a good boy.

And now to help take care of everyone else’s shit before exacting the vengeance she’s been hanging onto for over a decade. 🙃

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Postgame part 3

sidequestin’ all day erry day

Found Lianna being mopey in her room in Flamesgrace, which was weird because I could swear I had been through there before. Poor girl decided she hadn’t done enough to atone and went back to Wispermill to see what she could do, at which point “So begins the tale of ‘Lianna and Eliza’” popped up. So. Someone’s got a girlfriend.

Over in Stillsnow, Arianna’s looking for a warmer place, so obviously I feel obligated to Guide her to the Sunlands or something. I also finally figured out how to take care of that sidequest with the girl who wants to be a singer, but can’t leave her father in debt...beat the snot out of the father. It seems like I’m coming across a lot of sidequests I could have finished ages ago if I had been Challenging or Provoking more often.

The weird part was, after I beat up the pathetic father? That supposed immoral moneylender I had previously beaten up twice came in and expressed his hopes for the father to turn himself around, sounding way more moral and kindhearted and understanding than he did when I talked to him on his own.

I feel kinda bad now.

Up in Northreach is none other than Ogen! After some commiseration, he stands at his wife’s grave and says he’d like some Mind-me-always to place there. Unfortunately I have zero idea where they could be. But I’m definitely keeping an eye out. Poor guy deserves some closure.

Weirdly, that guy researching dragons in Northreach accepted some tales of dragons that I had apparently picked up from I-don’t-know-where, even though I was making note of caves throughout the land that were named things like “Dragon’s Lair,” and I completed that sidequest. So I was like “then what is in those dragon caves?” I went and delved into the one outside Northreach, and it turned out that the optional boss in there wasn’t a dragon, just a Dreadwolf. Whoops. Silly me for making assumptions.

Out of the Frostlands and to Wispermill, I find Lianna and Eliza talking about wanting to investigate the cultist’s lair, but they’re getting sabotaged and the culprits are hiding out in the Forest of Purgation, which I’ve been afraid to step into because its danger level is even higher than most of the random caves scattered around. I need to both physically and mentally prepare before going in.

Just on a hunch, I check back in Rippletide, and now Leon is there on the docks, carrying the Battle-Tested Spear to boot! Which Therion was able to lift. Instead of Tressa honestly purchasing it like what should’ve happened. Hehe.

Stonegard next. This guy here in Dominic’s house is a lot taller than I remember--wait holy shit, it’s Russell! Yet another old villain who’s turned over a new leaf. Good for him. He’s searching for histories that can be found about the Woodlands (so H’aanit’s region), Frostlands (Ophilia’s), and Cliftlands (Therion).

Surprisingly, over in the common quarter, Natalia takes an interest in hiring Arianna and giving her a new life. I figured Arianna wanting to find somewhere warmer meant the Sunlands, but then, I suppose anywhere is warmer than Stillsnow. They also hint that she needs a carriage driver and that Arianna trusts Oren, the man who drove her and Primrose to the Obsidian Parlor, so that’s another trip to make.

I still haven’t figured out how to get rid of those ruffians harassing the old man at the bottom of the quarter...

Over to Everhold. Nothing much of note there...except the new manager of the theater is waxing poetic about expanding the theatre to others, to an even greater stage. Perchance, sir, have you considered Marsalim? Lemme take you there.

...and indeed, that’s the solution to that sidequest. Lots of good lines in here about the importance of theatre and supporting and patronizing the arts, which I appreciate as a theatre major! And of course they want to put on the story of the eight travelers who helped them so much. Gee, I wonder what this play will be called.

A quick trip back up to Stillsnow to pick up Oren and deliver him to Natalia, and that quest is set. Good for them.

Over in Grandport, I’ve picked up a bunch of things that I noted where for a diarist, so I delivered them to Ing.

I notice a cave on the map that I don’t remember exploring near Cobbleston, so I go in there. I eventually find what looks like a stone monument. A...historical stone monument...wait, that’s it! Hop back to Cobbleston, Guide Noelle, and bring her back -- and indeed, that’s her quest, the first part of it at least.

I get the idea that she went to Stonegard next for some reason, and indeed she did. I don’t know what to give her now, though, so that quest continues. Poking around the common quarter some more, I find a man named Tobias looking down at the ruffians guffawing to himself about how they’ll distract him, and then he will...hmmmmm. You know what to do, Linde.

And yup, that solves the ruffians harassing the old man. I thought it would have something to do with the ruffian’s sister Layla, who I could swear I’ve run into at some point. But oh well.

Finally, into the Forest of Purgation to help out Lianna and Eliza. Strangely, there’s a sense of extreme danger really close to the entrance, which makes me think there’s two things to take care of here. Indeed, I fight my way to the end and find a cultist...who won’t do anything except rant. So...H’aanit sics Linde on him, because of course, and that takes care of it.

And, I’ve already posted about this, but Lianna and Eliza then come up and discuss Lianna’s need to atone...and I’m pretty sure Eliza is very overtly expressing her affection for Lianna and Lianna reciprocates to some extent. It’s heartwarming.

And this continues to be one of the gayest JRPGs I’ve ever played. It’s fantastic.

Finally, I go investigate the extreme danger near the entrance. To zero surprise, given the NPCs discussing it outside Wispermill, it’s a giant direwolf named Managarmr. He’s not quite as difficult as the gods guarding the secret jobs, but he is incredibly powerful on the order of being able to deal 2000 damage with his normal attacks. Physical defense buffs are a necessity, and thankfully a cheap one since Alfyn’s a Merchant at the moment. I also get to pull of Winnehild’s Battle Cry with H’aanit, and it is beautiful. Something on the order of 7000 damage six times! The direwolves it summons as backup are annoying, and it starts letting out ominous howls that I’m sure are leading up to its ultimate attack, but the super jobs, multiple Battle Cries, and the power of money win the day. I go and deliver the Direwolf Fang to the shepherd and that wraps up that sidequest.

...except on the way, I run into a weird-ass glitch. If it’s not noticeable...there are duplicates of H’aanit, Alfyn, and Therion standing in the background, in their normal clothes, not their assigned jobs. I have no idea what triggered it, it didn’t affect anything or crash the game or anything, and they didn’t show up in the next battle. Weird as fuck. And a little ominous.

Apparently I picked up a Lapis Lazuli in Grandport at some point, because I run into Kit’s troupe between Stonegard and Goldshore and he uses it to paint them a new sign. This was apparently the last of his debt to be paid to the troupe and he departs to search for his father again, saying he’s heard of a woman who knows his father’s whereabouts...and that she’s been looking for him too.

I get a creepy chill down my spine.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Primrose Chapter 4

...god dammit, my theatre education is failing me. I really want to say Primrose's situation right now is very Shakespearean, but I can't actually think of an appropriate play. ...it's a stretch, but I guess you could kinda say it's sorta a cross between Romeo and Juliet and Othello? I really thought vengeance was a big thing in a bunch of Shakespeare and I’m sure it is but I'll be dammed if I can think of anything other than Othello.

There goes my theatre nerd cred.

Anyway. Let's finish thi--ooh a new shrine. *wanders in like I’m not about to be brutally murdered*

So...like I expected, there’s another superboss in this shrine: Balogar, the Runeblade. I went in just to see what he was like...suss him out, develop strategies to use against him later. That sorta thing. Primrose - Cleric, Ophilia - Scholar, Tressa - Thief, Alfyn - Warrior. There were other skills involved, obviously, but...the most important one was everyone but Tressa having Saving Grace, which allows overhealing.

So I started off feeding Primrose a pomegranate to max out her BP, she used Sealticge’s Seduction. She spent the next three turns using boosted-as-far-as-possible Mole Dance, then the physical and elemental attack buffs. Alfyn refilled her BP in between. I started sussing out Balogar’s weaknesses with Tressa, she started dealing damage to him and his break gauge, and Ophilia used a boosted Heal More to overheal everyone but Tressa and summoned that NPC from Marsalim that has the physical boosters. She did that, maxing out everyone’s physical buffs all the way up to 8 or 9 turns.

He did not last nine turns.

I’m 60,000 leaves poorer but otherwise in good shape, and I got the motherfuckin’ Runelord job. Hell. Fuckin’. YES. 😁🤜🤛😁

You’d best believe Primrose is putting that shit on, equipping the strongest elemental sword we have, and exacting her vengeance on Simeon as painfully as possible.

So. That’s all well and good. Let’s head into town and do this.

Um, speaking of Shakepearean, is that the fucking Globe? ...oh, amphitheatre...no, wait, the Globe was an amphitheater! Fuck it, I’m calling it, it’s a reference! 😀

Huh. Okay. Sure. Let’s have our confrontation right in front of a big audience of mostly elderly theatre patrons, judging by all the gray hair. I’m sure they’re not wondering why there’s a random scantily-clad woman in the aisle arguing with the theater owner in the box seats.

“Prepare to die, Simeon.” There’s the Princess Bride line! About damn time! Well...I mean, not necessarily, but it’s a subtle enough shout-out without banging you over the head with it like it would be if she said “You killed my father” before it.

...Well. This...is profoundly uncomfortable. So...it’s not enough that Primrose was physically violated by Helgenish and his patrons. She has to be emotionally raped too, having her tragedy put onstage for everyone to see. That is supremely fucked up, Simeon, and you’re only ensuring your death is even more painful.

I’ve been thinking about tonal issues with regards to Primrose’s story. Helgenish was almost cartoonishly despicable, and Primrose’s tragedy is so severe that it almost (not quite, but almost) loops back around into hilarity. The moment when she told him to go fuck himself and she reclaimed her own agency was fantastic and it’s mostly been uphill from there, but by and large, it’s still a little unnerving to have a story this heavy in the same game as Tressa’s happy-go-lucky optimistic adventure.

I guess that’s kind of the strength of this game’s design, though. We don’t have to try and interweave all these character subplots into a larger overarching narrative in which they’d be incredibly tonally inconsistent. By completely segregating each subplot from each other, they’re allowed to build on their own tones and themes. If they were tied to a central narrative about killing Anime Dad Who’s God to Save the World, yeah, it’d be pretty emotionally jarring, and it still is to an extent, but the game’s design gives us room to approach each story on its own terms instead of expecting you to accept them as part of an overarching story where the change in intensity would really stand out.

That’s a lot of bullshit words to basically say I’m okay with the incredibly dark tone of Primrose’s story existing in the same game as Tressa’s, I guess. The content is uncomfortable, but it’s the story they wanted to tell, and I have hopes she’ll find justice. At the least, if this doesn’t end with her slitting Simeon’s throat, I will be very upset.

Speaking of Tressa, Primrose to Tressa: “Why, if I were a man, I’d marry you in a heartbeat.” 😮 Oh! Okay then! ...You don’t have to be a man to marry her, ya know. ...But in all seriousness, it’s sweet how even in the middle of her trauma, she still makes the effort to reassure Tressa about her prospects.

Nothing super special about the banter with Ophilia, unfortunately, just more affirmation that Ophilia’s the sweetest girl who will support her friends 100% even if they’re exacting bloody vengeance.

A theater that’s in the middle of a performance? Don’t matter to Olberic. Any time is a good time to challenge some fools to honorable one-on-one combat! Nothing suits the atmosphere of a theatrical drama more than Patrick Seitz bellowing “My blade IS UNBENDING!!!” and “I WREAK HAVOC UPON THEE!!” in the back of the theater and ripping some poor usher to shreds! 😀

Seems we’re already in the dungeon. I appreciate that. I’m sure the writers knew the players would be eager to get their grubby hands on Simeon, so they’re not wasting any time.

aaaand Therion chest in the room immediately to the north.

and another one two rooms to the left. Sheesh.

HAHAHAHAHA HOLY SHIT I used a fire rune with Primrose, she pokes at an enemy, I think “well, that’s kinda lame?” and then a giant fucking fireball drops on the enemy and DEALS 9999 FUCKING DAMAGE WITH ZERO BUFFS. THIS JOB IS FUCKING AWESOME. ...Hold on a moment while I grind out the JP I need to get her Surpassing Power...

10,385 now that she has Surpassing Power. 👌 Let’s wreck this pretty boy’s face.

Even the honorable Olberic pledges his blade to Primrose’s cause. With him regularly dealing on the level of 24k damage? Simeon doesn’t stand a goddamn chance.

...well, Olberic isn’t so honorable that he’s above challenging more ushers to duels in the theater. Hehe.

god dammit and a third Therion chest in a hidden room. This is like the one place I totally should have brought Therion.

...is the actress’s name Shannon, or the character’s? Because if it’s the actress, she just got a ten-year growth spurt onstage in front of a live audience, and it’s weird.

...sure, asshole, I’ll just believe that you stabbed her just so she might have lived or died. 🙄

ah, okay. So you’re not only a drama queen. You’re a sadistic drama queen that literally gets off on tragedy. Jesus what a sick bastard.

(also did they...get...transported to...an ethereal stage or something?)

okay that cue when the voices came in sent literal chills down my spine

holy fuck. no Battle at Journey’s End here...just...is this Primrose’s theme? Or just the general “determination” theme? Whichever it is I have serious chills in my spine.

ok. I did Transfer Rune, then Dark Rune. Ophilia’s pal did the Physical Boost. He’s broken. Everyone except Tress has 3 BP. If this turn does not kill him...

hahaha he didn’t even make it past the Brand’s Thunder, for 22,000 damage.

oh god fuck do you have a second form???

okay maybe not he’s just going to taunt the fuck out of her. ...which...is working. Fuuuuccccck.

okay. Simeon. Maybe you’re right. Maybe vengeance is empty, and all that. Maybe Primrose just wanted to feel something, anything, and that led her to play right into your tragedy. But if you think that means you’re walking away from this alive, you got another thing coming, dipshit.

OKAY HERE WE GO. FUCK YES, PRIMROSE. YOUR FAITH IS YOUR SHIELD. LET’S FUCK. HIM. UP!

He’s only weak to daggers at first! IT’S SO PERFECT.

HAH! End of the first break, and he’s already in the red! He’s panicking and just inflicted silence on the whole party. Normally I’d be upset...but you know what Runelord doesn’t seem to need? Skills. The Dark Rune has been set up on everyone and it is ripping his shit up.

BAHAHAHA! In fact, all it took was one poke and one dark bomb from Tressa to finish him off. Eat it, dipshit.

Yeah, yeah, we get it. You think it’s poetic to recite the same poem at the end.

Welp, the real-life play did not end quite how he wrote it.

See, Simeon? All that psychological torture of her, all that mental rape, and she fucking owned it. She killed you, she does feel hollow, but she does not let that consume her. She resolves to find her own path from here. And until she does...

...she will keep dancing.

Goddamn what a story. I think I need to sit on that for a while before I figure out how I really feel about it.

But until then, I will suggest this, Primrose: as long as you can’t find your own path, you can always help your friends with theirs.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Primrose Chapter 2

alright I’m sure everyone has this thought so it’s not original, but still: Prim, honey, do you wanna put on some warmer clothes? This place looks freezing. …I guess I could class her into Cleric or Hunter or something?

“Yo wassup I’m an arrogant immoral moneylender!”

…

H’aanit: “Linde? Sicceth him.”

*Linde claws the shit out of the equivalent of a Wall St. banker*

H’aanit: “Fucketh capitalisme.”

(the above is 100% canon and no one can tell me otherwise.)

“I trust no one will mind if I take the stage.” …I mean, probably, but you should probably still ask the tavern proprietor? Or the stage manager? There should be a stage manager. I graduated in theater, I know that much.

…I just made the connection that Primrose came from the Azelhart house…which was the family that vanished from that city Therion’s Chapter 2 took place in. I’m slow 🙃

Primrose to Ophilia: “You needn’t worry, I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of troubles too.” And immediately Ophilia’s privileged upbringing smacks her over the head 😶. …I mean, yeah Ophilia was orphaned but she did end up with a loving family. Prim definitely wins “saddest backstory” in this octet.

…First Nintendo game to use the word “whore”? Or, indeed, directly reference and include sex workers? I think so.

Can’t do any Path Actions to Arianna. I like to think Therion’s hand twitched when he saw her and Primrose was immediately like “OH NO you dipshit we already let you literally take candy from babies, don’t you fucking touch her” and Therion was like “😳 yes’m”

related headcanon: Ophilia pushed him to class into Cleric so he could clean up his act. He hates it but no one tells Ophilia no.

…The fact that Arianna came with makes me uneasy. I really hope she’s not about to betray me…

That was a weird bit of third-person narration about Arianna all of a sudden. I’m having a problem with Therion. HP Thief and SP Thief are so, so good…but nobody ever attacks him so he never actually needs their effects!

…H’aanit. H’aanit, honey. Look, I need you to tell Linde something. 99% of the time, when I ask you to call her, I WANT HER TO USE SWEEP, NOT POUNCE. 99% OF THE TIME. 😠😠😠

“Master Rufus, please seek revenge for my daughter!” “Of course I shall. How about bedding one of my girls close to your daughter’s age?” “Oh yes that sounds good!” 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪 THERE IS NOT A STARE-FACE EMOTICON LARGE ENOUGH FOR THIS BUT I WILL TRY ANYWAY.  

ಠ_ಠ

…Anyway…wow Rufus kinda went down like a chump. I guess I’m a little overleveled for this chapter, but it means Prim got to zap him to death so that was good.

Also I was really scared he was gonna use his girls as shields and I’d have to kill innocent people in the middle of a standard JRPG boss battle.

Primrose and H'aanit share a conversation where the entire second half is just them ellipsis-ing at each other. Reminds me of that support in Fire Emblem Fates.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Postgame Final Part

This is it, for real this time.

So I’m thinking there’s two options for this attempt: if Therion/Apothecary doesn’t work in terms of staving off all the status effect bullshit of the first fight, then Alfyn is getting swapped into party 1 and hopefully Therion/Apothecary can handle whatever bullshit comes in form 2.

It also occurs to me that when the three dead souls popped up near the end of my last attempt, with their shifting weakness bullshit...I didn’t notice until too late that they seemed to be shifting weaknesses in order. As in, damaging them shifted them from fire -> ice -> lightning -> wind -> light. Meaning, playing the cards right, it should be much easier than I thought it would be to set up their weaknesses correctly, break them all, pile on the damage with Cyrus, and kill them all simultaneously. I really hope this observation holds true and I wasn’t imagining it.

Let’s give it another go!

*50 minutes later*

fuck.

Well, good news is, that observation did hold true and I was able to wipe them all out! The bad news is that Galdera is a cheating bastard and can resummon them after a few turns, and then he was able to whittle me down before I could repeat the process of cycling their weaknesses. And then he and his souls got to move at the end of one turn and the beginning of the next, and the one soul had the Aelfric’s Auspices-like buff where it got to repeat an attack for free in one move, which it used to repeatedly use Rend Flesh on the whole party for 3000 damage each time, so that was four instances of 3000 damage on the whole party and it just tore me to shreds. :(

So, Leghold Trap might be a good counter for that, so that it can’t be a bitch like that and get to pull it off twice before I can react. It’s also interesting to note that the status effect bullshit was, like...it hurt, this attempt, but I never had the room to use my intended counter to it -- have Therion use Dohter’s Charity on whoever could move next to heal the poison off of everyone. It might be easier to just tank the debilitating poison, as long as I can keep everyone’s HP and BP up, because there’s so much other shit to do.

After discussing things with Discord pals, I rearranged a ton of things. Apparently form 1 is weaker to magic, and form 2 is weaker to physical. So the primary forms of offense are probably Sorcerer against form 1, and Warmaster against form 2.

Attempt #3 several days later, because this is becoming a thing, apparently: 

I guess the idea is use Tressa’s Light Rune for the first half of the fight, and then when the dead souls use their scrolling weakness bullshit, work them over to the same weakness, then max-boost Cyrus and nuke the shit out of them.

It still took about 45 minutes, because the dead souls kept pulling a lot of bullshit. At some point, I nearly got caught in a loop of killing each one two or so turns apart, which would let Galdera respawn them at full health. I eventually managed to spread the damage around, get them on the same weakness, and then have Cyrus nuke the shit out of them. Meanwhile I had Leghold Trap working overtime and Therion was a surprisingly good healer. He really did clean up his act after Ophilia pushed him to class into Cleric. :3

Finally, finally, FINALLY, 45 minutes after the fight had begun, Therion tapped it with SP Steal for 1000 total damage and it died. The first time I managed to beat Galdera’s first form! Can we really do it? Can we pull it off? Will his true second form be as ridiculously hard?

...eep. Welp. He sure looks like it.

The first minute of the fight scared the shit out of me. 99 break points, not to mention being invincible as long as the three extremities of his arm, his head, and Lyblac were alive. And the main body was still able to throw out ferociously powerful attacks while the Abyssal Maw and Blade of the Fallen did as well, while Lyblac buffed them all.

So I decided, okay. Lyblac has to go first. As long as she’s around, she’s just going to make everyone else ridiculously harder to kill. It...was. Not. Easy. With the other extremities dealing shit along the lines of 3000 damage to the whole party, Saving Grace, Ophilia’s heals, Refreshing Jams, and large Olives of Life were working overtime. Even overhealing all the way to 9999 wasn’t enough sometimes because the Blade of the Fallen would just be like “lol here take 7500 damage.” Even buffing my party to survive was hard, because both times I managed to get off Sealticge’s Seduction, Galdera immediately used his next move to nullify status enhancements. I feel like that shouldn’t work on buffs that come from Divine Skills. >:-(

There were several extremely close calls. At one point, everyone except Primrose was dead, she had 500 HP left, and Galdera and the Blade would get to go before she did next turn. So I used a large Olive of Life on Ophilia and fuckin’ prayed to the twelve gods of Orsterra. Thank them all, Galdera just leered ominously and the Blade’s attack was deflected by Primrose’s Divine Grace. Ophilia managed to get everyone back up on their feet, barely.

Another one, everyone except Ophilia was dead, and she didn’t have any BP to spend on Revive. So she revived everyone, but only at 1 HP. I winced and just fucking waited for the end. But somehow, through some mad coincidences and luck, Ophilia, H’aanit, and Primrose lived. A few Refreshing Jams and a large Olive of Life later, I was back on my feet.

Finally, after far too long and far too much sweat...

Lyblac bit the dust. Requiescat in pace, bitch.

Two uses of Winnehild’s Battle Cry Later, the Blade of the Fallen fell. And soon after, so did the Abyssal Maw.

But I knew this game and I knew there would be more bullshit up Galdera’s sleeves. And yup -- an ultimate attack that knocks everyone down to 1 HP, drains all the BP, and recovers break points equivalent to the BP absorbed. Y I K E S

But thanks to Alfyn’s Concoctions and Ophilia’s amazing healing, I was able to recover. I was able to bring up my defenses enough to let me go on the offensive. And, eventually, finally, finally...

...H’aanit killed god.

It literally took an hour and a half, probably one of the longest boss fights I’ve ever done. But it’s done. The Octopath Travelers have destroyed Galdera, the Fallen. Holy fuckin’ shit, we did it, guys.

Galdera evaporates. The ominous darkness fades. Kit rematerializes, no worse for wear. He laments getting taken advantage of by Lyblac...and then an ethereal voice calls for him. Graham and his...nameless (thanks writers >:()...wife appear before us. He thanks us all for restoring light to Orsterra and bringing his journey to a close. They vanish.

We and Kit leave the Gate of Finis, sealing it shut for good, presumably.

“For life is a journey... The places you go... The deeds you do... The tales whose hero you become...Every road is yours to take. So journey forth, friend, into this great world we live in...and find an adventure all your own.”

oh cool an accessory that stops all random encounters! great, thanks for giving me that once I’ve literally completed 100% of the game. 🙃

But that’s it. I return to Flamesgrace for no particular reason other than that’s where I began and save my game at 95 hours and 57 minutes.

And that was Octopath Traveler.

Was it perfect? Nah, there were plenty of issues. Some tonal problems with the stories especially Primrose’s, the complete segregation of the eight plotlines, the extreme ramping up of combat bullshit as the finales approach, and worst of all, the extremely boring dungeon design. (I just saw something on twitter pointing this out and suggesting they could have done Path Action dungeon puzzles, which would have made so much sense.)

But in the course of a 96-hour playthrough, those are honestly nitpicks. This was one of the best damn games I’ve played in years. It reminded me of why I fell in love with JRPGs in the first place. It created a fascinating world with fantastic characters and then set me free to headcanon anything I damn well wanted about them (and, relatedly, had so much gay teasing I think I can legit call this one of the gayest JRPGs I’ve ever played, it’s amazing). It had a brilliant combat system that revitalized all the interest I had in turn-based JRPG combat, managing to create a system where every battle required thought and strategy. And as incredibly fucking hard Galdera was, it was such an incredibly satisfying and cathartic feeling to defeat him and made all eight journeys worth it.

I’m finally done with the game and I am gonna miss the shit out of it. What an incredible game.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Postgame part 4

I’m running out of things to do and I don’t want to admit it, I love this game too goddamn much to put it down.

Maybe I’ll try a character solo run or something.

While wandering around, I realized there are two cave icons on the minimap of Road to the Obsidian Parlor. The one further south is the normal entrance to the Secret Path, but the one further north is utterly unreachable by any means that I can see. It bothers me greatly.

Cyrus, Tressa, and Olberic talk about their fears and weaknesses. People are all about Olberic being a bad swimmer and Cyrus being a bad singer, but my favorite line from the banter is the last one, Olberic telling Cyrus “Best leave her be. I believe she is in the midst of ruing her curiosity.”

Continuing to poke around random dungeons, even low-level ones I’ve cleared out, I found, of all people, Gustav the Black Knight in the Whistlewood just north of Atlasdam. He’s probably not the greatest, but I had Primrose Allure him because she doesn’t have anyone at the moment, so why not. I also checked out...I think it was the Hollow Throne, remembering that was the first time I encountered the “You sense a deadly force ahead of you” message and was curious about what it was. Turns out it was probably the first appearance of that golem enemy sprite, and with three super jobs in the party at around level 65 he went down like a chump.

At some point, I ended up in Victors Hollow and found a new NPC near the flower-loving widow. Turns out it’s a flower merchant. Who’s selling, surprise surprise, Mind-me-always. It was expensive as fuck, but I literally have like 850,000 leaves at this point, so what the fuck else am I gonna do with it? Tressa haggled it down anyway, because she is best girl. Before going back to Northreach, I get a banter between Tressa, Olberic, Ophilia, and Alfyn, all talking about how they’d get someone in the corner who’s wearing a big heavy cloak to take it off. It falls pretty much as expected: Olberic would challenge him to an honorable duel, Alfyn would make friends with him over drinks and then politely ask if he could, and Ophilia would just bring him somewhere warm and let him take it off if he wants because if he’s wearing it he’s probably cold, jeez guys, consent is important. Tressa thought about buying it, but it’s “a collector’s piece” so she’d just do everything everyone else said because that’s how it works. I love my smol derpy merchant daughter.

On a more serious note, I give Ogen the Mind-me-always and he’s incredibly appreciative. And his speech to Melyssa about how he finally found a reason to keep living is pretty heartwarming, considering how set he was on dying. I then literally have a screenshot of him saying he’d like to introduce someone to her and hoping she won’t mind if he brings him by, while Alfyn is standing literally three feet away. Like. Right there, Ogen. I think she can see him. Pretty crappy weapon for a reward, but it’s good to see Ogen get some closure.

I then...did something else, but I’m going to save that for the end. Because. Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuucccccccck.

Turns out the thing Noelle was looking for was in the songbook of an NPC who definitely was not there before in the lower quarter of Stonegard. I’m sure he only spawned after I triggered that step of Noelle’s quest, but even so.

The translator in the upper-left house is looking for somebody, but fuck if I know who, so...fuck it, I give up, look it up. Turns out it’s...the exotic grandma on a pier in Rippletide. Because she said she traveled across the sea. And the guy said the book came from across the sea.

Like, in context, it makes perfect sense, but that’s asking a bit much to remember those bits of relevant information, connect the dots when you talk to her, and think to guide her to him several cities away. Ah well. That’s that done, finally.

Ali popped up in Sunshade, but I don’t really know what else to do with him after the initial conversation. He just keeps mumbling about his father. So...I presumed it had something to do with his father, but I thought he said they hail from a land even further south than the Sunlands, so I didn’t think I’d actually find him.

Until, of course, I did in Marsalim. Derp. Well, guiding him up to Sunshade was easy enough. And it was a good conversation about how much Ali has grown and was able to step into the merchant’s boots even after what Maruf said about him.

Ali gives us the Tradewinds Spear which, seriously, is just tailor-made for Tressa. Especially if I keep her in Runelord.

I then turn to Russell’s quest. After poking around in the Cliftlands a bunch (it feels like there are a lot of cities there, but it’s really only the three. They feel really big, though.), I finally find a know-it-all in Bolderfall who was not there before who I Inquire for the History of the Cliftlands. Repeat the search in Duskbarrow for the Woodlands guy, then Stillsnow for the Frostlands. Russell is grateful and talks about wanting to truly redeem himself and Dominic and aww fuck, I think I have yet another gay ship why is this game so gay in the best way.

Finally, I remember the song I told to Noelle mentioned Everhold, so I find her there, although not before finding the NPC Who Was Not There Before and buying a tapestry from him. It apparently proves the existence of King Beowulf to Noelle and she runs off to write the best grad paper ever and sock it to her colleagues. Good for her.

And that...seems to be all the sidequests! Except for that one. That one I left for now.

So in the woods northwest of S’warkii (how was I supposed to know I’d find something here?) I run into none other than the Impresario of Kit’s troupe. They’ve been waylaid by a big monster and were counting on a swordsman to bail them out, but he hasn’t returned until just now. Surprise, it’s Alphas! He specifically mentions how we rescued him from Lyblac’s cruelty and helped him find Flora. They ask for help defeating the monster, because of course, and well, why not.

It’s a big kitty. :3 A recolor of the Venomtooth Tiger that Tressa fought that is pretty much just a normal tiger that’s the size of an elephant, heh. It only had about 40,000 HP, which is like...nothing to me, at this point. It was probably overkill to have Sorcerer Ophilia use Elemental Break on him when he’s broken and then cast Ventus Saltare because it literally did 29,997 damage and wiped him out. Poor kitty.

Before they depart, the Impresario tells me about a letter from Kit that said he was going to meet the woman who knew of his father. Alphas, for some reason, chimes in with information about Lyblac. I thought you had moved on, buddy, why do you care that Lyblac found her perfect man...

...wait.

...wait.

don’t. fucking. tell me.

Alphas and the Impresario: “Hornburg!?”

😲😲😲😲😲

Impresario tells me that yes, Kit has set off for an abandoned ruin in Hornburg. Alphas confirms that was where Lyblac was heading as well.

AND THEN THIS MOTHERFUCKER POPS UP.

FUCK.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE FINAL DUNGEON.

Kit was way more important than I thought he’d be! Lyblac is definitely an evil bitch with an agenda that has a 99.999999999% chance of involving Galdera! They are definitely in the Gate of Finis and I’m going to have to save Kit -- and probably the whole goddamn world -- from the designs of Lyblac and Galdera!

These are my adventurers as it stands. I’ve been with them for 90 hours at this point but it’s all about to go down.

Next time we’ll fucking finish everything.

I hope.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Postgame part 2

Still creeped out by that woman and yet wondering how I’m going to run into her next.

For some masochistic reason, I looked the game up on TV Tropes and lord was that page a mess and needed a lot of cleanup. So much I actually created a new account to do so. There were a strange amount of insistent references to the original beta demo that isn’t even available on the eShop anymore, not to mention lots of shilling for two random NPCs in Sunshade and Cobbleston that would supposedly kick your dumb ass if you Challenged them and could even put story bosses to shame, ~~ooooooh. I went and checked, and the Sunshade turban-wearing villager that was referenced was nerfed all the way down to two pips and is a joke. The Cobbleston barmaid outside the tavern, though, has six pips now instead of five. So at least she’s still a force to be reckoned with.

I just find it really weird that there was so much focus on that original demo, like it was gospel, when clearly a lot of things were changed between then and now (and it’s not like the developers were coy about whether things would change or not, they specifically said that first demo was to solicit player feedback so they could change things). Old screenshots indicate that even things like the font changed, not to mention how Primrose’s Path Action is called Allure, not Seduce.

In the actual game, I found a man named Bryan in the Sunshade tavern, and I remembered there’s a sidequest from Wispermill involving a woman complaining that Bryan raised the prices of the windmills. So I did what I’ve done to all the other dirty capitalists I’ve met in this game -- sicced Linde on him. Heh. And it worked for the sidequest. So that was nice.

Proceeding counter-clockwise around the original towns, I found nothing interesting in Cobbleston, though I did get a reminder that I still haven’t figured out Noelle’s sidequest (to find some kind of historical monument or something). I’m thinking it has something to do with an optional dungeon that’s named Tomb or something, but I’ll have to look into it.

Up to Rippletide, and oh what a surprise TV Tropes lied to me, they said Leon was here on the docks and I see nothing. I did find Princess Mary, though, surprisingly, and discovered that Therese had nothing to worry about in terms of her crush on Cyrus because Mary is clearly holding out for her other professor from ten years ago. (...For the sake of avoiding age difference creepiness, I hope they’re both in a graduate program at the Atlasdam university. Even though it seemed like Cyrus was teaching extremely basic history... 😕) Then the news came that Paul’s ship crashed, and I realized “oh, that’s what the dungeon named Undertow Cave is for, isn’t it?” So I went and checked, and indeed, there was Paul, waiting to be Guided back to Mary, upon which point she received some interesting character development. So that was nice!

I cleared out Atlasdam already after clearing Cyrus’s story, as far as I can tell, so I skipped over that and went up to Noblecourt. A number of interesting things there -- first, apparently Orlick is back to working with Barham, and second, they got into an argument with Mikk and Makk about Leon apparently having returned to his pirating ways? He wouldn’t do that, that would upset our smol babby merchant girl too much...

Kit’s also here. I can’t figure out who to bring to him because he’s kinda nonspecific in his wish for a band of traveling partners. :/ I can pass on Why Odette Doesn’t Visit Geoffrey to Revello though! ...Ah, she told me offscreen. Okay. ...Well, that was a heartwarming resolution. :3 ...Interesting, though. Geoffrey knew he would die soon, huh...?

...okay, Kit is really bothering me, so I give up. I’m gonna look him up.

...what? The Aspiring Actor on the next screen over from him? How was I supposed to figure that out?! 😕 Ugh, fine, whatever. At least that’s finally taken care of. For now.

Back into town and oh, hey, there’s Leon! ...uh, okay, maybe not. Let’s check him out...Yeah, that’s definitely not him. Well, only one thing for it...Sicceth him, Linde! Hehe. ...Yep, just an impostor. That explains it. Ahahaha and even his name changed to Definitely Not Leon. Nice touch.

That seems to be it for Noblecourt so...Wispermill next? Sure why not.

...Hm...this 67-year-old man knows Heathcote, does he? Hmmmmmm. 🤔 Do come with me, good sir. Doesn’t seem to be anything else here, unfortunately, that I haven’t already taken care of.

So back to Bolderfall...And indeed, just as I surmised.

...Uh.

...You took being mugged for your precious Cat’s Eye pretty well, Heathcote.

Oh, that’s why. That’s pretty interesting. So I guess you feel like you don’t deserve the Cat’s Eye, since you didn’t get with this woman back in the day, so really you let Nighteye take it. Okay, sure. Thanks for the dagger. Got some impressive Elem. Atk. on it! I’m sure Primrose will be very happy with it.

...Oh, wait, I forgot, I do have business in Atlasdam, Zeph’s letter! Let’s go do that. ...Aww, that was sweet, and she misses him too. ...And also wrote a letter but never sent it. COME ON, YOU AWKWARD NERDS, JUST TAKE THE LEAP. Ugh fine let’s just take it, Therion. Back to Clearbrook.

Aww, that was also very sweet. And hey, here she is! Back to visit, at least! That’s sweet.

They should be a throuple with Alfyn.

I’m just sayin’.

Let’s check out Wellspring. Erhardt’s here, and I can Guide him! Awesome! ...And his Inquire profile states that he used to be known as the Blazing Blade. As if Olberic’s story didn’t already have enough Fire Emblem references. Heh. ...And he has the Battle-Tested Blade! Sweet! As if Warmaster H’aanit wasn’t OP enough, heheh.

And Bale’s sidequest has him wanting to get back in touch with Donovan...That was the bishop in Goldshore? Sure, let’s revisit there too.

...Donovan’s Condition? I don’t like the phrasing of that. ...Ah, okay, it was a positive thing after all. Just phrased ominously. Some good backstory on Bale, too.

Over to Marsalim now...

...uh. Wow. This sidequest with the prisoner Kevin got really depressing because it’s heavily implied he went to the gallows after. I wasn’t able to save him, just ease his mind regarding the woman he loved. Poor man...

Ah, here’s the guard with the mother in Orewell who regrets their final argument. Let’s Guide him...oh, nice, and the king is wondering how to put on plays for the masses. I’m sure the theatre troupe Kit joined will have something to do with that.

This is getting pretty long, but I’d like to stop in Victor’s Hollow now. There’s that high-level forest dungeon, and it seems like the bandit Alaic is chasing is in there too. Turns out I had to bring Alaic to him to trigger a fight against him...after which, Alaic gave his backstory -- as a member of the Obsidians, stopped by Z’aanta when he tried to kill Susanna, and then saved by Susanna when he tried to drink poison. Wow.

At the end of the forest, I found the missing daughter of the man in Victor’s Hollow, taken by a monster that jumped out at me...and looked like some kind of HP Lovecraft writhing mass of grossness. It was surprisingly difficult -- it managed to kill everyone once, with a crazy powerful AoE dark spell that did around 2000 damage and caused blindness, and even when I got a handle on things, it did a lot of damage and put up a crazy good fight, not helped by the fact that it kept spiriting away party members and reducing the number of weaknesses it had. It took like 15 minutes, but I got it and returned Ellie to her father. Phew.

I haven’t run into Lyblac again, which only makes me more nervous. But I’ll keep hopping around and seeing what’s up.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Postgame part 1

I don’t really know what I’m doing; I’ve just heard that I need to do a couple of sidequests now that every story is done, and then there will be...some kind of finale. So this is just me dicking around, for now.

First thing I did was travel to Riverford, form a party with Ophilia, Alfyn, Tressa, and Primrose, and set them up as Sorcerer, Thief, Runelord, and Starseer respectively. I figured these super jobs would stand the best chance against the Warmaster, whoever they were.

The Warmaster is a six-armed woman named Winnehild wielding every single weapon type in the game. Kind of awesome.

So I was doing okay, for the most part. Starseer works extremely well on Primrose, just as I had hoped, as Sealticge does indeed work on Starseer’s ridiculously powerful buffs. Runelord Tressa may actually be the most broken thing ever, what with being able to put four Sidesteps on the whole freakin’ party against a boss that uses exclusively physical attacks, not to mention how ridiculously powerful the runes are. Ophilia works quite well as a Sorcerer, though she’s not dishing out quite as much damage as Cyrus was -- but the difference isn’t notable enough that I’d want to give up her healing powers for Cyrus’s extra 1500 damage or so. And then there’s Alfyn, I guess. He was there. He was holding his own pretty well, like the good boy he is.

And then Winnehild unleashed her Battle Cry and hit everyone six fucking times.

Thankfully only Ophilia was taken down and Primrose’s Divine Grace triggered on half of the blows, and I guess Alfyn and Tressa were overhealed enough to survive once their Sidesteps ran out. So all it took was a large Olive of Life to get Ophilia back on her feet. At which point I found out that using a large Olive of Life on someone with Saving Grace overheals them all the way to 9999. Holy fuck this game can get so broken.

Anyway I beat Winnehild soon after, and now Alfyn’s lost his shirt but gained four more arms to wield every single weapon type in the game. Cool.

Ophilia has 989 Elemental Defense.

This isn’t relevant to anything that happened, I just wanted to point that out.

I love my sweet doting cleric daughter who can take the biggest fireball in the universe to the face and shrug it off, then sighs and casually flicks her hand towards the rest of her party to heal them and put them back up on their feet.

Weird. This servant in Riverford is talking about a man who ran off yelling about being the Chosen One. I thought I’d guide her to him, because I’m fairly certain she means the man standing outside the Dragonsong Fane or whatever it’s called. But um, no. No reaction. I guess I’ll have to find another way to complete that quest.

Poking around in Bolderfall now and uh, hi Morlock and Omar. Nice to...see you again? Weird trend of releasing some of the old villains out into the world as just average NPCs. I ran into Vanessa earlier in some dungeon too.

...Taking the staff that Morlock was holding boosts Ophilia’s Elemental Attack to 983. Get. The. Fuck. In. 😀

Out of curiosity, I switched H’aanit in (she seems like another good fit for Warmaster) and provoked Omar. He just has his normal field sprite, not his giant-ass boss sprite, heh. Still had a charging-up purple aura that the bosses have, though!

There’s this guy up here by the Ravus manor who’s staring at a purple-haired chick, both talking about wanting to find true love or their other half or some shit. I cannot guide either of them to each other. I can’t actually do anything to the purple-haired chick. It’s weird.

omg I’m Inquiring these guard dogs and I think the middle one had a goddamn Pulp Fiction reference. Or Biblical, but I mean let’s be fair most people know that verse from Pulp Fiction.

Cordelia’s back in town, as is Heathcote with a new sidequest, nice! Interesting...I will have to keep an eye out for this Nighteye fella.

Out of curiosity, let’s see what happens if I provoke Alphas. Maybe that’ll help him get this woman’s attention. ...Hm, seems like it did! ...ooh, ouch. Shot down for a blond-hair blue-eyed ideal. Sorry, bud. If it helps, that probably means she’s a nazi. 😕 She wouldn’t be worth it.

...especially...since...she just said “he would surely never dare to cross me” like a giant creeper. Uh. And...he’ll...give...her everything? And...change the world? ...Who the fuck is this woman? 😶 Is she the secret final boss?! Because that was CREEPY AS FUCK.

I’m sorry the name of that sidequest was DAUGHTER OF THE DARK GOD?!? Like...the dark god GALDERA that a bunch of the storylines hinted at?!

I just stumbled onto the important sidequest that unlocks the endgame, didn’t I?!? 😮

Over to Quarrycrest now. Hi Revello. How...do you and Odette know each other? ...Oh, huh. Geoffrey took care of her? ...Do she and Primrose know each other? ...Inquiring her acquires the information Why She Doesn’t Visit Geoffrey, but it doesn’t tell me the actual why. Heh. I guess I can take that to Revello anyway.

Man I got this whetstone ages ago. Can’t believe I never dropped it off before.

Over to Clearbrook. Oh yeah, I had that tavern banter where Alfyn told H’aanit and Therion about the letter from Zeph he forgot to deliver to their friend Mercedes...who, thanks to finishing Cyrus’s story, I remembered now works in Atlasdam! So hey, I still think you and Alfyn are perfect for each other, but sure, I can help you get back in touch with your old ladycrush.

And on to Saintsbridge and...

...and...

...oh fuck, here she is again. Her name’s Lyblac.

And here’s Alphas again. Buddy...I get the feeling you can do better than this creeper. Regardless, I have his poem now? I don’t know who to give it to. I hope I get an option to not give it to Lyblac.

Here’s Emil again with a new sidequest. More kids in love.

...And here’s a noblewoman searching for her other half. Hmmmmmm. Hey lady, mind if I take you somewhere? Or at least give you this poem.

See? Told you we could find someone better for you than that creepy frigid bitch, Alphas! ...What? What are you staring at me like that for?

...She’s right behind me, isn’t she.

Oh, so she found her perfect man. Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better.

ahhhhhhhh Ophilia taking cooking lessons from H’aanit is so wholesome :3 H’aanit being a good cook makes perfect sense.

...ouch. Poor Nate, shot down for his best bud. At least they’re all still friends. Ad what’s this, the reward is a JP-boosting accessory? Yes please.

I think that’s a fair amount of progress, so I’ll stop this here for now. But this Lyblac chick is severely creeping me out.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Cyrus Chapter 4

I ran around and did a few sidequests, the most interesting of which informed me that Cordelia is only 17 years old, likes to travel, and is pen pals/gal pals with Noa. Somehow I feel like a trio of Tressa, Noa, and Cordelia would all get along great.

Then I formed an unusual party of Cyrus - Cleric, Therion - Dancer, H'aanit - Merchant, and Alfyn - Warrior, and headed up to Duskbarrow from Victors Hollow. Found yet another shrine on the way...made my way inside, fought my way through, and found myself face to face with the Archsage. It was a tough fight, especially since he immediately shut down my attempted strategy to try and use Sheltering Veil after Sealticge's Seduction by doing that thing where you can't apply buffs...but I was able to pull through, mostly thanks to One Cool Trick that Archsages Just Hate. When I did manage to get Sealticge set up on Cyrus...I misclicked and set up a boosted Reflecting Veil first, instead of Sheltering. Meaning everyone had 4 reflections set up. Meaning...when he cast an all-party spell that hits three times, twelve frost blasts reflected back and hit him for 4000 damage each time for a total of 48,000 damage. He didn’t last long after that. 😀

So now here I am with the Sorcerer job, and Cyrus just so happens to have enough JP stored up to learn everything at once. Now he looks like Doctor Strange and is ripping shit up. It is awesome. This strange blood magic cult doesn't stand a chance.

Here we go with my last Chapter 4... 🙁

Oh hey, there’s Lucia, right off the bat. Time to Metal Gear this shit. 😀

H’aanit: “Thou art confident of our success.” Cyrus: “I always am.” That was a Sherlock Holmes-as-fuck line.

For some reason, the prompt to press the button reminded me of a classic: the “Push the big red shiny button?” prompt from the original PS2 Ratchet & Clank. I’m a little disappointed this one didn’t blow up in Cyrus’s face like that one did. Heh.

“I must be losing my wits. How does one even go about pulling a button?” Bahaha.

Smash it? Twist it? Flick it? Punch it? Bop it??? 😀 This is getting silly. The answer was to twist it. Again, mildly disappointed that it wasn’t something completely out of the box like just ignoring it entirely.

Heh, this banter between Cyrus and Therion is, for once, completely true to how my game has played; I’ve never classed Cyrus into Thief or Therion into Scholar. It’s cute that they think the other would be good at it, though. (...And it’s mildly depressing that Therion thinks about what it would’ve been like if Cyrus had caught him when he was younger, and how he might have turned out different. 🙁)

Anyway, let’s mosey. The last final dungeon, at least of the normal game...

...Runes...of High Hornburgian...flowing forth from some kind of gate, you say. Hmmmmmmm. 🤔

An underground library? Like the one Sokka enthusiastically declared he was going to spend his summer vacation at?

“No, such a vast repository of knowledge must have been accumulated over decades...even centuries!” Are you suggesting, Cyrus, that your enemy is centuries old? Perhaps someone given eternal life by some dark force to enact its agenda? 🤔

“One thing is clear: if there is a mastermind behind all this, I can expect to find him here.” Him? ...Cyrus, come on. How are you not utterly suspicious of Lucia and whatever her agenda may be at this point? Did you forget she literally stabbed you in the back? 🙄

Twenty years after Cyrus’s conversation with Tressa about how to disseminate the knowledge in these books quickly, efficiently, and cheaply, Cyrus invents the printing press and does just that with all the tomes in this library. I guarantee it. 😉

Aw, shit, am I here already? Seems like it: ominous staircase with a circular platform at the top upon which Lucia stands. Let’s do this...

I like that they’re using all this highfalutin’ language with each other. It’s conveying their sense of “I’m gonna see you fucking dead by the end of this conversation” quite well. Heh.

A passionate searcher for the truth, eh? Guess that Honest Trailers spoof that happened yesterday was kinda accurate in calling Cyrus Phoenix Wright. I still say he’s way more Miles Edgeworth, though.

Ahh, this is gonna come down to their differing views on teaching lost knowledge, isn’t it? She’s just another selfish prick who covets all the secrets of the universe for herself because she feels entitled to know it as a self-professed genius. Whereas Cyrus believes the secrets should be spread among everyone so everyone can learn...and that even includes the “simpletons,” the mediocre ones, because he believes everyone has the capacity to learn.

Cyrus really is a good teacher, explicitly saying he hopes to one day learn from his students as they learn from him. I think the best teachers understand that it’s a two-way street.

Oh my god Lucia’s actress’s reading of “...Enough” was terrifying.

Alright, here we go! She hulks out too, which is kinda disappointing because I wanted to fight her in her normal form, but whatever. Another good ol’ summation from Cyrus, and it is time to throw down! Let’s do thi--I’M SORRY WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE HAS 30 BREAK POINTS.

Okay, those went down quicker than I thought, largely thanks to -- I can’t believe I’m saying this -- Rain of Arrows. That bow is really helping the multi-hit skills be actually effective. And now, it’s time to unload. Heheheheh.

Alright, she’s in the yellow, and she’s changed tactics -- no longer physicals, apparently throwing super-powerful spells. Her defenses have changed appropriately as well. This fight is clever. And this part, in particular? Going way faster than it probably should, thanks to the three-hit spells of the Sorcerer. I think it’s thematically appropriate, though.

And that’s her down on the second break, with H’aanit’s big...ice bird whose name I can’t remember dealing the final blow with an Ice Floe. Bada-bing, bada-boom. 😀

Lucia fades away just like Yvon, and there’s From the Far Reaches of Hell at last. It is...big, holy shit. I think it’s like the size of Cyrus’s torso.

Oh, interesting, we’re not actually done with the chapter? We have to actually do the deciphering right now? 😶 Huh! Okay then!

It would appear the gods sealed the power off the edge of the world...

The forbidden power of the gods has been likened to a golden fruit...

A ritual to bring back the forbidden power from beyond the edge of the world...

And the mural...🤪😬🤪...UM. FUCK. THAT’S. THAT’S REALLY SCARY.🤪😬🤪 Like, that is The Shining “Wendy discovering the hundreds of typed pages” scary! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.

And Cyrus concludes that that means...a warning, to never open this gate and release the forbidden power.

...Which, of course, people are trying to do, even if people like Mattias claimed he didn’t have to.

I understand his reasoning for not destroying From the Far Reaches of Hell, but it still unnerves me to have this tome of necromancy still around, because that means it can still be taken and used for evil, as he’s so afraid of. Destroying it wouldn’t destroy “the darkness in the hearts of man” (very Castlevania, that line), sure, but it sure as hell would deny them a very useful tool. 😕

And back to Atlasdam we go to burn the midnight oil.

Oh, and hey, you have more than two students this time. Go you, Cyrus. ...wait, Susanna Grotoff? Like...the Susanna who lives in Stillsnow? H’aanit’s kinda-grandmother?

This speech, and Cyrus’s whole philosophy of teaching so that knowledge can be passed on to those who follow...kind of reminds me of Hamilton’s dying speech in the musical. About your legacy, planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. Somehow, though, I don’t think Cyrus is as upset about it as Hamilton was. I think the whole idea is that he’ll only feel secure knowing that those who follow have what it takes to win.

And that’s Cyrus, the last of the Octopath Travelers. All eight tales complete at almost precisely 80 hours flat.

...

...now what do I do? ☹

I loved this game so much, it’s hard to believe it’s over. But I’m determined to poke around and see if there is, indeed, some mysterious endgame involving Galdera, the Gate of Finis, and Graham Crossford. There’s still plenty of sidequests left, too. So, we’ll see how that goes.

If anyone is reading this, thanks for putting up with these posts. It was a lot of fun to document all this crap running through my mind for a game I fell in love with. 🙂

See ya for the sequel series of posts about the postgame, I guess!

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Tressa Chapter 4

Time for something light, I think! I mean, unless we’re going to have a very severe shocking swerve on the level of Nuklear Age, I could do with making sure smol babby happy merchant girl is taken care of.

I did notice the Shrine of the Warmaster outside Riverford, but again, considering I’ve been beating these recent final bosses by basically sneezing on them, I decided to avoid it for now and put people in normal jobs for this episode. Maybe then it’ll be a bit of a challenge.

So, let’s check out Grandport!

...man, Aston Wyndham is definitely the name of a stuffy stupidly rich venture capitalist. Bet HE’S the final boss, so Tressa can learn about the evils of capitalism! 😈 Nah, just kidding.

...yeah. Uh. If he’s willing to give away one billion leaves (1,000,000,000) as a prize, maybe he actually is one of those good-hearted capitalists! I mean, fuck, other than Bill Gates I sure as fuck can’t think of any billionaire who’s given up that kind of money. Musk. 😒

uhh Ophilia is that you? in a blue dress? (obviously not, but the similarity is uncanny.) ...hm. Name’s Noa...I’m willing to bet she’s the Wyndham daughter. Only the best for the poor girl whose legs are weak so she can’t see the world like she wants to, something like that. Heh, even Tress sees how similar they are.

These two are either gonna be BFFs...or she’s the final boss and it’s gonna be heartbreaking. 🙁

...or okay no it’s probably that mysterious black-clothed white-haired stalker.

Ophilia prays for Noa, because of course, the sweetest girl.

Huh, according to Cyrus, the Wyndhams are big art and scholarship patrons. That’s...actually good. Again, the kind of capitalists I wish we had in the real world.

ahahahahaha how cute, I thought H’aanit was uncomfortable at being in a big city surrounded by thousands of people. But no, she was just watching and enjoying Tressa being cute. :3 Ophilia and Olberic are team mom and dad in general, but everyone is Tressa’s surrogate parent.

All these names Tress is rattling off sound like nowhere I’ve ever been. I mean, I’m sure there’s a world outside Orsterra, it’s just the continent. But still.

Oh hi creepy stalker lady who’s probably the final boss.

...who just walked up and took the notebook from you without even confirming if it was okay with you.

Tress. Tress she’s gonna steal it. She gon’ steal it Tressa. Get H’aanit or someone to do Leghold Trap or something--GOD DAMMIT TRESSA WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED ALL THIS, BUT NOOOOO, YOU JUST HAD TO GET SUCKER PUNCHED

poor smol merchant babby 🙁

A Khafqa carpet, you say, Ali? How...Khafqaesque.

Starting the bidding at ten thousand? Ali, with clientele like this, I feel like you’re lowballing!

What kind of person would steal someone else’s notebook, Ali? What kind of person indeed...With the black robe, I feel like she’s an Obsidian member. Which...makes me think...the previous owner of the notebook was an Obsidian too.

...are the Obsidians...linked to Galdera, somehow? 😮

“Over there! Follow me, quick! We can’t lose her!” Tressa runs off...while Therion stays behind, side-eyes the gigantic crowd of NPCs, and starts a pickpocketing rampage. (literally ten minutes later: oh my god, so much stuff!)

INCLUDING THIS DOGGY ON THE BEACH WHO ALFYN SPECIFICALLY NOTES AS BEING A GOOD BOY BECAUSE ALL DOGS ARE GOOD. :3

Anyway. ...This guy looks creepy. ...is he the super-secret final boss? Or Tressa’s, at least? I’m sure we’re going to get this Esmerelda chick, but someone that big and ominous isn’t going to get away scot-free either...

Something about the eldrite feels different, eh? You don’t think it’s your secret greatest treasure that Leon mentioned, do you, Tress? Because it’s a material object -- it can’t be, that wouldn’t be dramatically satisfying enough. 😉

oh boy we’re gonna have to rescue Ali’s dumb ass again aren’t we, just from big creepy black-robe man this time

How do you know how old Ali is, Tressa? I mean, you’re like 18, aren’t you? He strikes me as older than you, how’s he too young for the alehouse? ...bahahaha. “Alfyn, if you ever have the urge to become a merchant...Don’t.” But SP Saver is so good, Tressa! 😉

Alright...sewer dungeon time. Yay. 😕 Tressa - Scholar, Primrose - Cleric, H’aanit - Thief, Alfyn - Warrior. We’ll see if this is still too overpowered for Esmerelda when we catch up with her.

Purple chest at the bottom of this fork on the first screen, because of course.

...wow, an armor named Robe of the Dragon Princess should really be statistically more impressive than that.

dammit alfyn do you need me to put an accuracy booster on you? there’s so much better stuff that can go in that slot but i will do it if i have to.

Alright, there she is...just hanging out...reading the book...like she’s not in a hurry like she said she was... 🤨 ...anyway. Let’s do this!

...lemme guess. Galdera wrote the book. Or something equally crazy. And that’s why it’s so important.

...what has Tressa done to you to warrant killing her, Esmerelda? Aside from carry this notebook that you just deemed as utterly useless to you! Sheesh, you crazy lady. Let’s...act in self-defense, I guess?

Nothing too spectacular so far, though the fact that she can seal off physical attacks by sticking a knife in Tressa and leaving it there is unnerving. I can’t figure out how to get rid of it, either. It doesn’t seem like a status effect Rehabilitate can fix.

...ah, breaking her fixes it. Of course. When all else fails, break ‘em.

YIKES SHE HAS A FULL-PARTY DOOM

...that breaking her removes, phew!

...yeah, I guess being in the normal jobs does make it harder. Especially against her broken-ass Five Strikes ability, which I wasn’t able to lift the weakened defenses on everybody to protect against. 😶

And that’s that -- nothing super-climactic, H’aanit just axed her in the face for 950 damage. Kind of a weird final boss, because she clearly wasn’t the big bad and any emotional investment she had with Tressa is still a mystery...but oh well!

“Hehe. I told you not to underestimate me.” That’s right, because not only is she a smol happy merchant...she can be a smol furious merchant too. 😀

There it is. Her precious special treasure. There ya go, girl.

...oh, wow, and Ali outsmarted the dude to the extent that he was able to turn him over to the cops! Good going, man!

...okay. Okay. Cool. She’s gonna enter the notebook...not because it’s monetarily precious, but because she thinks it’s something Noa, the focus of the whole competition, can treasure. Because as a merchant, she wants to give her customers something they can truly treasure. That’s...clever. I like that. Tressa is such a good girl.

Primrose’s advice to Tressa for getting up on stage: “Just imagine everyone else is a fish.” Ha! I like her logic. And it’s more family-friendly than imagining everyone naked.

Of course this audience of capitalists doesn’t get a word she’s saying. 🙄 I like it, though. It’s a good, heartwarming speech, it means a lot to her, and I can just imagine the rest of the party members watching with vast amounts of pride in their smol happy merchant daughter. Even Therion. He would never admit it, though.

...And Aston Wyndham likes it too! HAH. EAT IT, CAPITALISTS.

“What!? Are you a merchant or not? This is a fair trade, Tressa!” Are you sure about that, Ali? One billion leaves for a notebook, even the most emotionally important notebook in the world? 😛

Oh, so she’ll take it in lottery payments, basically. Or as a lump sum later when she’s in need? Or something? Whatever, I guess they needed an excuse to not dump one billion leaves on you just for completing plot...

...wait. Wait. WAIT. Is this the guy? The guy who wrote it in the first place? Ah, okay, no, just the guy who made it, the guy who wrote it was someone else named GRAHAM CROSSFORD?!?!? 😮😮😮 HOLY SHIT! TRESSA GIRL YOU NEED TO SHARE NOTES WITH ALFYN RIGHT THIS GODDAMN MINUTE.

Ali is totally the boy in class who teases the girl he has a crush on...

Ooh, nice touch to have the ending narration done by Noa writing new entries in the diary! ...Kinda strange considering she wasn’t an important character until literally this chapter. But still sweet! I like the connection Tressa made with her. I hope she has a good postgame sidequest or something.

And that’s good sweet smol happy baby merchant girl Tressa.

That was real nice. I needed that after how intense a bunch of the other stories got. Heh.

Just Cyrus left to go...and then whatever the hell’s waiting in the endgame that certainly won’t have anything to do with the Gate of Finis, Graham Crossford, and Galdera...

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Olberic Chapter 4

So after my success with the shrine near Everhold, I went back to the shrine near Wispermill and attempted that again. Despite that boss’s lower HP, she was a lot harder and nearly killed me several times near the beginning of the fight...but once I managed to get off a full-party Sheltered Veil from Primrose, she started doing a lot less damage and became a lot easier. It took some more effort after that but I eventually pulled it off, with tons of thanks to the ridiculously powerful runes from Runelord (Olberic, btw, looks INCREDIBLY FUCKING BOSS as a Runelord!) and the unexpected MVP being Hunter Therion spamming Leghold Trap, and now I have the Starseer job. 

Seems to be a good fit with Primrose, as it looks to be a powerful buffer that she can hopefully expand across the party with Sealticge’s Seduction. It’s expensive, though. She needs SP Saver. Which I would grind out for her except for the fact that my whole party is kiiiiinda overleveled. Everyone’s in the high 50′s, at least, and that’s made the last couple of final bosses kinda...anticlimactically easy. I don’t want to just not buff my characters though because I tend to die very quickly if I don’t, it seems like. *shrug* Oh well.

Anyway, let’s get on with Olberic and put things to rest for him.

Hard to believe I did Olberic’s Chapter 3 first, and now I’m coming to this third-to-last. Sorry it took so long, dad. At least we’re finally here, so let’s do this.

...Border security. No doubt due to an incredibly paranoid despotic ruler. ...And they say video games aren’t political.

Did Olberic just say “’swounds!” out loud? I’ve never heard that spoken before, although I’m fairly certain it’s Shakespearean. Either way, awesome.

Tressa’s eye twitches mightily as Olberic bribes the guard, but unfortunately she’s not in the party this round. Next time, sweetie.

Cyrus: “Seek out the victims and downtrodden, and they will tell you what you need to know.” Olberic: “I see. I shall do as you counsel.” Cyrus, utterly surprised that anyone even hinted that they may have been listening to him: “You will?”

Olberic to Primrose: “Fear not. When the swords are drawn, a corrupt man is cut down as easily as any other.” See, this is why I keep hoping for a very certain public figure in real life to get into a sword duel with a very certain cyborg ninja who is on the record as assassinating politicians in the year 2018...

Oh shit, it’s the Inquisition (what a show!) all up in here...Even for a despotic regime, this is pretty fucked up.

Sheesh, lots of people standing in front of lots of doors. ‘Scuse me while I go on a Challenge rampage... Hm. All except this guy farthest on the right. What’s with him, I wonder...?

Ahh, not just pleading ignorance, but actively pointing guards in the opposite direction. You’re a good man, Olberic.

I wonder, if I lose this duel with the man in the red hat, if I would actually be forced to leave this town and get a game over or something. I’m not gonna test it, ‘cause...I mean, I’m 15 levels above the recommended level. It’d take ages.

I wonder if it’s because of that or if it’s because of Runelord that I’m taking like 200 damage max. By this point, who can tell?

Ohh, that guy who couldn’t be challenged was the guard for the rebel base, wasn’t he? That makes sense.

jfc, Werner’s rise is literally the step-by-step plan to becoming a fascist authoritarian regime that in no way has any relation to real-life happenings, cough cough cough. 😕 I’m sure that the writers did not intentionally make any comparisons to any certain real-life leaders, but the similarities are way too goddamn close to not notice.

So I guess Olberic is now part of the hashtag Resistance.

“...by way of a secret passage known only to me.” “It’s that sewer grate outside, down by the riverfront, isn’t it?” “...Uh. ......No?” “It’s alright. I only noticed it because it had an icon on my minimap. No one else can see it. Your secret is safe with me.” “...The hells are you talking about?”

...aww, Therion. Buddy. I’m sorry to hear about your abuse. Poor guy...

...As much as I want to see the power of Starseer, Primrose really is quite overleveled. ...H’aanit is the lowest, so in she goes, in a Dancer costume she probably feels super uncomfortable in. I probably missed her banter already, but oh well. (Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a banter between her and Olberic. What a shame. I’d be interested to see what the two strongest party members have in common.)

...I have a bad feeling Werner already knew the plan and is all set to kill everybody. We’ll see--oh cool, I didn’t miss H’aanit’s banter. ...How odd. She got the exact same gut feeling that we’re walking into a trap! Hmmmmmmm 🤔

...uhh holy shit, this Battle-Tested Bow I purchased from Z’aanta is stupid strong. H’aanit wasn’t buffed at all and she did over 1000 damage with it. 😲

...Lord of the Flies is the name of one gross enemy. Woooowwww.

It just occurred to me, I feel like if Cyrus classes into Cleric or Ophilia into Scholar, their clothes should turn red. Because White Mage + Black Mage = Red Mage, see? Heh.

Aaaaaaaaaaand trap sprung. On us. Don’t worry, hashtagResistance, I’m the goddamn Unbending Blade. I’ll take ‘em all on single-handedly if I have to!

And there’s the man himself. Just as cruel as expected, enough to even, say...cut down his foes who are attempting to surrender.

“[Must I]...Watch while those I swore to protect are cut down before me!?” 😬 I...yeah, equipping Cover on you miiiiiiiiight not have been a bad idea, Olberic. I’M SORRY MY OPTIMAL SKILL LOADOUT CONTRIBUTED TO THESE PEOPLES’ DEATHS. 😭

...wow, now that he’s speaking actual lines...Sean Chiplock is a very convincing Werner. I thought he was fairly young -- I have no idea whether he is or not, I just sorta assume everyone on tumblr is around my age. Heh. But seriously, his Werner is good.

OH. OH SHIT. ‘Sup, Erhardt! ...Shame you couldn’t have arrived like two minutes ago so you could defend all those resistance members! 😬

Oh, and cool, Werner continues to be The Worst Boss.

These mansion dungeons are laid out alright for dungeons (though again, I would not call the dungeon design this game’s strength), but man, they’d suck to live in.

Oh, neat detail to have Werner’s portrait on the wall, though!

Dang, I think this Battle-Tested Bow makes even Arrowstorm good.

Hm, here’s the manor entrance. Just outta curiosity...NOPE, literally nothing in the town square is any different. No signs of any sort of riot or violent resistance. Heh. You doin’ alright down there, Erhardt? Just gonna take a quick nap to recover! Hope that’s cool! 😀

And here we are. Time to end this...

Ahh, so you think you can entice Olberic...of all people...with a We Can Rule Together speech, Werner. That’s cute.

Speaking of tropes this is one hell of a Kirk Summation by Olberic, both summing up why his cause and his blade are just and Werner is actually a sad, pathetic man. Right when his trumpets come in, too! Here comes the fiiiiight!

And HERE. WE. FUCKIN’. G--WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT HORSE COME FROM, WERNER?!?

And just as I thought. After a decent amount of recovering from his opening salvo of weakening everyone’s physicality and sweeps, he starts to crumple like a chump. At the end of the first break, just like Simeon, he’s already in the red. And I took Surpassing Power off of Olberic! Hah!

He just activated his “go three times a turn” thing, but I have a feeling it won’t help. If he’s not dead by the end of next turn...

Here we go, Olberic. Your blade...is...UN...BENDING!! 

...yep. The Brand’s Thunder didn’t quite do it...but the Bright Pursuit, dealing almost as much damage, did. Suck it down, Werner!

Oh, c’mon, Olberic, you hardly broke a sweat, don’t you pant like that took any effort. 😀

I’m sorry what’s this about the Gate of Finis?!? It was in Hornburg?!?! 😮 holy fuck. This definitely has something to do with the mysterious endgame!

...so...Cordelia’s dragonstones open the Gate...and the Gate lies in Hornburg...and Mattias ranted about the dark god Galdera being sealed away. I’d bet anything Galdera is in the gate, and he’s the ultimate final boss and this is actually Yet Another JRPG Where You Have to Kill God, despite all appearances otherwise at first.

...now basically all I need to know is how Mattias, Redeye, Simeon, and undoubtedly Cyrus’s ultimate villain (probably Lucia) plays into Galdera’s plans.

(unrelated but Patrick Seitz’s disbelieving reading of “The what of what?!” was fantastic)

And all is well. Erhardt returns to Wellspring, and Olberic to Cobbleston. He thinks on all those who need protection and how he shall run to their aid, and how he has much more to protect now than he did when his journey started.

Such as, for instance, the seven bosom friends he made along the way.

Good, simple yet effective and heartwarming story. I’m glad things worked out for you, Olberic. 🙂

Six out of eight. Three-fourths of the way there. I’m 72 hours in and I still fucking love this game.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Alfyn Chapter 4

On today’s episode of “how can we break Alfyn’s heart and dreams even more than we already have.” Though, since it’s the finale, it’s just as likely he’ll find reason to believe in himself and his ideals and revalidate everything the last couple of episodes made him doubt. Let’s see!

“Gadzooks.” Oh, Alfie.

...uh oh. I’m...thinking Ogen may not actually be the villain. His hands were shaking...ahhhhh shit, he’s about to become a plague victim, isn’t he?

“Thanks, but no thanks. I always work alone.” “Aw, c’mon, man. I just got done with a friend of mine who kept telling me that same bullshit.”

I get the feeling Alfyn and Therion, both frequent partakers of booze, would make really good drinking buddies.

did you just try and flirt with the barmaid, Alfie? man, your game is weak. Just how I thought it’d be, sweet boi.

...yeah, Ogen’s a fair bit less villainous than I first made him out to be. He’s just a depressed old...well, middle-aged man.

...A depressed middle-aged man who has definitely caught the plague. Welp.

No rest for the wear--dude you just coughed up BLOOD. That’s 3000% the sign that you’ve come down with the deadly disease, you dimwit!

Yeah considering how well Ogen is holding up I think it was probably a good thing that Primrose did not approach him last night!

...I like how Alfyn is the nicest, sweetest boy and yet swears heavier than anyone else in the party.

Oh, so he knew about his Incurable Cough of Death. Alright, buddy, but we all know how this is gonna work out -- Alfyn’s gonna save your ungrateful ass and make you see that life is worth living again.

...He better, at least. No more heartbreak for Alfie, please.

Alfyn to Ophilia: “Have you ever thought of becoming an apothecary?” Uh, did you miss the part where Apothecary was the first job I got and I classed her into it immediately? 😉 It’s cute that Ophilia does things like draw baths for the others, though.

It is hilariously tone-deaf to have these people describing how much pain and agony they’re in from their sickness only to Alfyn pipe up with “Nice chattin’ with ya!” afterwards.

Oh. Damn. I still don’t appreciate how Melyssa was fridged solely for Ogen’s character, but...I’d be lying if I said his story isn’t effective. Yeesh. Because he feels the same way about himself that he does about the lives he deems not worth saving. Yeesh.

A letter from Zep--dude, how have you gone this long without seeing this?! It’s not like I haven’t had you reaching into your bag to concoct something nearly every boss I have you fight!

The answer, of course, is because “it’s dramatically appropriate,” and dammit, it still works. These wholesome boys love each other so much. :3

Oooh, wow. Therion’s having some real mixed feelings about Alfyn’s total trust in his best friend. On the other hand...I just finished dealing with your shit, Ther. You should be feeling better about Darius by now. 😉

Fuck yeah, Alfie! You go, punch a sick and dying guy in the chest to make him lie down! 😀

Is this Alfyn’s theme playing right now? It’s good.

...wow. The exact same plague that hit Alfyn when he was a kid? What’re the odds?

...is the dungeon in Alfyn’s mind or something? Am I gonna have to walk his brain pathways to recover the recipe for the elixir? 🤨

Okay, maybe not a whole dungeon. Just this little flashback. Cool!

“Ah, okay. This elixir was brewed from the feather of a monster who just so happens to nest right outside the town where you currently are!” We’re approaching a few too many contrived coincidences in this chapter, Octopath writers. 🙃

“Damned if I know how...” You and the rest of us, Alfie.

Before leaving town, I rejiggered my party, because Ophilia really is crazy overleveled compared to everyone else -- I swapped in Olberic/Hunter for her, classed Therion into Merchant, Primrose into Cleric, and Alfyn into Scholar. ...Honestly Alfyn’s kinda a terrible Scholar, but he already knows all the spells so I have that coverage, at least. I’m hoping I didn’t already miss Olberic’s banter, but knowing my luck I probably did. 😕

Prim’s Cleric lines are...kinda cool, gotta say. I mean, they’re the same as Ophilia’s, but she says them real good.

So I think healing may be tied to Elem. Def.? It would explain why Ophilia’s Heal Wounds heals like 1700 (unboosted!) while Primrose’s only does around 800. Let’s see how she does when I beef up her Elem. Def. a bit more...Hm, managed to get it up to 1100. So yeah, I think it’s Elem. Def. Good to know!

i hate these stupid-ass devil deer that always always always use the first turn to gather strength and have 5 damn break points.

Wow, and I thought the Grimsand Ruins were mazey...

...Alfyn has his Concoct ability. Which covers pretty much every elemental weakness. What am I doing putting him in Scholar?! GAH I’M SO STUPID 🙃

Alright, last save point...after like two hours of traipsing through this forest. Sheesh! Let’s see if this...Ogre Eagle, if I recall correctly, is as bad as they say it is...

...Well. Three turns in, and I’ve already had like five status effects inflicted on me. Yep...this’ll be a fun one...

Ahh, thank god for Concocting that mix that heals and prevents status ailments on the whole party.

Haha, with Surpassing Power Alfyn can just barely deal above 10,000 damage with Amputation. Olberic shows him up immediately afterwards (20,000 Brand’s Thunder), because of course.

I’m sorry what is this rainbow cloud doing? WHATEVER IT IS I DON’T LIKE IT. ...OH MY GOD IT’S LOWERING MY MAXIMUM HP. FUCK.

HOT DAMN! I didn’t realize I had so many high-damaging abilities. Between Alfyn’s Ampuation hitting for nearly 10,000, Therion paying out the ass for three Veteran Soldiers to come up and deal 3000 each, and a typical Olberic Abided Brand’s Thunder for 20,000, he...this Ogre Eagle is pretty dead.

Suck it.

...Wow, Ogen knew Alfyn’s hero, huh? Small world.

what is going on with this heartbeat the HD rumble is doing? WHATEVER IT IS I DON’T LIKE IT.

Graham Crossford, huh...Somehow I feel like he will be important in the mysterious endgame... Ogen says he’s dead, but...hmmm.

“Well, guess I’ll be off, then. After all, there’s still folks out there who need my help. Like...not just the sick, but...these other folks I got tied up with...”

And that’s Alfyn, I suppose.

...

I gotta admit, I’m not super-impressed by his final boss being a random big monster. But everything else in this chapter was really good, so...I can deal with it.

What a good sweet boy.

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, H’aanit Chapter 4

For reference, I’m tackling the Chapter 4s in the order I originally picked up the characters in - started with Ophilia, then went counterclockwise (basically I did the OCTOPATH backronym backwards. OHTAPOTC.).

Let’s take down a big bad wolf.

...wolf, right? Redeye’s a wolf? ...Shit, I don’t think it’s ever actually been described. Maybe it isn’t.

“The sun is merciless, even without a coat of fur.” Alright, H’aanit, if you wanted to be classed into Dancer, you just had to say so. Sheesh. 😉

...okay. I guess Tressa has a cat fursona, or. Something. I...can’t say I expected that. 🤨

“Letten us praye they did not findeth it.” Why would you say that out loud, H’aanit? You just know that’ll only ensure that they did. ...Ayyyyyup.

H’aanit wants to learn prayers from Ophilia? Interesting. Heh, I was half-expecting Ophilia to tell her she got the prayer wrong because she added her Shakespearean suffixes to it.

I was getting hints of it before, but meeting with the king confirms the Arabian influence of this place. I’m slow. 🙃 But seriously, that’s neat! I don’t think there’s very many non-stereotypical Arabian examples in video games, let alone JRPGs.

...though since this will inevitably end with H’aanit going up against Redeye to save everyone...that does start to bring in elements of the white savior trope. Eesh. 😬 ...You could sorta interpret H’aanit as a POC, I guess? I mean, she does strike me as Native or something, even if she’s pasty-white. That’s getting into some pretty heavy headcanon territory, but to be fair, so much is left unsaid in this game that headcanons are pretty much inevitable.

...okay, so the petrification comes from its glance? ...That makes Redeye a basilisk, then, doesn’t it? We’ll see.

“By your leave, I shall fighte the beast--alone.” Ophilia gives her a 😒 look and then dope slaps her upside the head. “Ow! ...I meaneth, with my companions, of course.”

Unrelated to anything, this theme is pretty damn good.

What, no “waves of enemies” battle event? Olberic did it...

...Holy crap! Vim and Vigor stacks with Saving Grace?! 😮 The brokenness...I mean, not that it’s a lot of HP, but still!

Holy shit! Uh, hi there, recolor of that Jotunn optional boss I fought a while ago! Yikes. ...Yikes, his defenses are ridiculous. Even when broken, something like Brand’s Thunder only does around 5000! Even Armor Corrosive barely helps! SHEESH! And this was a normal mob!

Wow, this is the mazingest maze that ever mazed in this game. It’s...actually kinda refreshing. I love this game, and I love Bravely Default, but the dungeon design has always been a weak point of these.

There’s even different rooms that don’t lead directly to the boss! SHOCKING. ...The one in the lower-left, of course, contains a chest for Therion. ...And longer loading times, for some reason.

I wish when Eye for an Eye triggers and the user counters, they countered with a weapon that the enemy is weak to, if they have it. H’aanit has great weapon coverage as a Warrior, but she keeps shooting enemies with arrows as a counter, instead of using the lance that they’re weak to. ...Maybe she does, it just depends on which weapon is selected? I should test that.

Aaaaand another Therion chest, down in the basement and up the stairs to the upper-right.

This part in the left side of the basement, going behind the scenery, reminds me a lot of Final Fantasy IV. Which was probably the point.

...Yeah, after I selected a sword for her, H’aanit countered with it. It’s just that a lot of her counters trigger on the first turn before she can go, so she hasn’t had a chance to switch from bow yet. Got it.

TWO REMNANT DOGS AND A GIANT REMNANT GOLEM YEAH NO FUCK THAT SHIT I’M OUTTA HERE

Dang, here I am at the end of the dungeon, and I don’t think I used any Inspiriting Plums. My SP management has gotten pretty 👌. ...Though tbf I am kinda cheating with SP Saver and SP-recovering stuff. Heh.

...Huh. Okay. That was no Frank Welker animaistic growl, Redeye. It did sound like it was coming from a groaning human.

NOPE. NOT A BASILISK. I DUNNO WHAT IT IS, BUT IT SURE AS FUCK AIN’T A WOLF OR A BASILISK.

Alright, here we go! Oh, and by the way...Battle at Journey’s End? 👌👌👌 A+ final boss theme.

Sheesh, he changes weaknesses every turn?? Even when broken? Guess that makes sense, considering he seems to be some kind of HP Lovecraft-esque unfathomable monster.

Dang, I picked a good NPC to Guide. She claims she just has a physical boost but nope, she also can hit multiple times with a bow, which so happens to be the weapon Redeye seems weak against most often!

Dammit. 9622 damage with Draefendi’s Rage. Not quite enough to break the cap.

shit goddammit he did the knock the whole fuckin’ party unconscious thing don’t you fucking DARE GOD DAMMIT. Ugh. 😡😡😡

wasn’t even his ultimate move. Fuckhead.

fuck yeah, 14,000 with Draefendi’s Rage, aided by Abide and Armor Corrosive!

okay good Bestial Roar only knocked Tress unconscious. Hopefully I can kill him before he pulls any more bullshit again. He’s in the red! C’mon, let’s do this...!

YEAH! 14,000 DRAEFENDI’S RAGE FOR THE WIN!! Suck it! 😁😁😁

H’aanit: “Not just I.” Ophilia: 😍 H’aanit: “The city guarde, and the Knights Ardante. We all fought as one.” Ophilia: 😒😡😒 “Excuse me, dear...”

Seeing Linde continue to stand at H’aanit’s side makes me really wish she continued being useful. 😕

ohmigod these villagers are praising the sun 😮

ohmigod this guy can still pick up H’aanit with one arm?! Even after how fuckin’ strong she’s gotten? 😮 Z’aanta is a beast.

“Thou were about to tellen me of thine adventures.” “...Well, it all starteth when this beautiful girl walken up to me in our village and asketh if she could do anything to help me...”

“But those are tales for another day...” SEQUEL HOOOOOOOOOK 

And that’s H’aanit. Simple, but effective. I hope she and Ophilia have a long, healthy, and loving relationship. :3

...

...wait...hold the goddamn phone. I never used those herbs-of-grace. The fuck? 🤔🤔🤔

[wildknightblaze]

Octopath Travelogue, Ophilia Chapter 4

I figured they would, but holy moly did the enemies take a big leap in difficulty. I’m finding myself spending like half of everyone’s SP per fight.

...and then I found the Shrine of the Starseer...and I dared to wander inside and challenge the optional superboss. I lasted about half an hour before it started going three times a turn and it wiped me out pretty soon after. Ouch.

...anyway. Plot time.

“A sister could get the impression she isn’t welcome around here.” yadontsay.gif Also, watch out, Ophilia. People are probably gonna start reporting you to the Savior.

Therion: “Take it from me. Most people have more faith than they know what to do with.” Ophilia: “But don’t you think there are times when people truly need a savior? I believe it’s not wrong to reach out for salvation when a helping hand is offered.” Therion: “...Then I suppose we’d best make sure it’s us who do the saving.”

Jeez, I can’t even do any Path Actions to people. This place creeps me out.

Random citizen who suddenly calls out for a sister from the church? itsatrap.gif BE CAREFUL OPHILIA. ...GOD DAMMIT PHILI I TOLD YOU.

Hoo boy. I mean, obviously super-religious Ophilia is going to end up fighting an equally super-religious evil cult, but...the way this cult has clearly brainwashed even normal-ass villagers into acting as goons reminds me a lot of...well, religious dogma in this country today. 😕

OH MY GOD WHAT A SURPRISE, MATTIAS IS THE SUPER EVIL SAVIOR. NAILED IIIIIIIIITTTTTT.

(for the record, I’m not complaining about the story being predictable or anything. I recognize it as pretty decent foreshadowing.)

Okay, talking about being a servant of the evil god Galdera and all that is all well and good. ...But implying that Lianna might die and you’ll need Ophilia as a replacement? Eep. 😬

Yes, Primrose has a generous heart, Phili. But also a very, very vengeful one. She gonna wreck Mattias’s shit before this is over.

Oh, cool, H’aanit is one of those PRIVILEGED BASTARDS who can fall asleep in an instant. 😒

Okay. Lianna. Sweetie. I’m just gonna say. I understand you’re grieving and all. But when you’re putting on a long religious habit that’s black and blood-red, you may want to consider if what you’re doing is, maybe, a tad bit super evil. Just a little.

It’s kinda convenient that Ophilia’s ultimate villains are a dark-aligned cult that are all weak to light, every last one of ‘em. Considering how much of a light-aligned powerhouse Ophilia is, I am not complaining. 😀

Not to mention how her Elemental Defense is through the goddamn roof. The various spells enemies are using hurt the rest of the party pretty bad, but Ophilia takes like 200 damage, max, and is just like “Whatevs, bitches, eat Luminescence.”

Alrighty. Crashing a cult meeting. Here we fuckin’ go!

...Lianna. Think for a second. All this talk about the flame Mattias is spewing is really making me afraid you’re gonna self-immolate.

I FUCKIN’ TOLD YOU IT WAS A SUICIDE CULT, LIANNA, BUT DID YOU LISTEN??? NOOOOOOOOOO, NO YOU DIDN’T.

Huh. So Mattias does have world-conquering ambitions. I guess at least one of these stories had to end up with us saving the world.

Dang, a preamble fight with the mooks. I figured he’d just use them as flunkies during the actual fight.

I appreciate that the voice actors don’t try to literally say “Waaaaaaahhh!” and just go for realistic sobbing.

This seems like a real in-depth, meaningful lesson on mortality. ...How did Lianna forget literally all of it, god dammit girl.

(for the record: not saying this is a plot hole or anything. She obviously just made an awful choice and wasn���t thinking straight in her grief. It’s just...kinda a big lesson to forget, is all.)

Here we go! Dramatic final speech! Dramatic heroic monologue! TIME TO WRECK YOUR GODDAMNED FACE, MATTIAS!

God damn these mid-battle dialogues! HNNNNNGGGGHHHH.

“You are unable to use magic skills!” I’M SORRY WHAT. ...okay, weird. It only seems to apply to certain spells. All of Prim’s Scholar spells are locked off, and so is Luminescence and even Heal Wounds (FUCK), but not Holy Light?

...uh.

...so his ultimate attack knocked everyone unconscious for several turns, during which he was easily able to spam his AoE spells and kill everyone.

...let’s...equip some unconscious-resisting accessories and...try that again.

...okay, cool. Breaking him lifts the magic curse. I WILL WRECK YOUR SHIT.

And this time I was able to break him before he unleashed that bullshit!

BOOM, TRIPLE BOOST THAT HOLY LIGHT AND FUCK. YOU. UP, BITCH! 😀😀😀

Well, I guess I did end up saving the world with the power of love. Even the villagers didn’t die. Isn’t that nice.

Okay, these credits are pretty great. I can’t believe the game remembers how I dealt the final blow to all the bosses! ...Amusingly, most of them are from Ophilia’s Holy Light or Alfyn’s Amputation.

...heh. The blonde sister is the one trying to comfort the sister named Anna who’s isolating herself. Hmmmmm. 🤔

Ooh. Clever usage of Guide! I like it.

what are you talking about. I’m not crying at this scene of sisters reassuring and loving each other. You’re crying at this scene of sisters reassuring and loving each other.

And that’s Ophilia’s tale. I loved it. I love this game.