Navigation
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SHADOW HEARTS II: COVENANT
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Guide by: Sicondera byakko@blademail.net
Present Version: 0.685 Fixed a pair of points regarding Crests. I'd mistakenly
put Halphas in the treasure chest in the Petrograd
Great Square, when it should really be Furcas in there.
Defeating Viktor gets you Halphas.
Previous Versions: 0.68 - To all my loyal fans out there waiting, sorry!! I'm
typing as fast as my stubby little fingers will go!
Oh, I'm stuck Read Only on the boards, though I do
visit often!
More fiddling with names.
Added Training Day and Foreigners' Graveyard FAQs.
0.65- Fixed some names to jive better with the English
version, thanks to Frosty Dragoon and Aramas LuxDragon.
Added "Affinity" section.
Yokohama Warehouse District thru Warship Mikasa FAQ
completed.
0.5 - Complete FAQ for Disc 1.
Character Info 99.2% complete.
Legal Stuff: Shadow Hearts: Covenant (hereafter "SH2") isn't mine. It's the
brainchild of the wonderful people at Aruze, and brought to you by
the nifty people at Midway. This Walkthrough, however, IS mine.
It took me scads of time and a ton of research to write it, so I'd
appreciate it if you don't go around saying it's yours. I am a
nice person, though, so if you want to use parts of it or post it
on your site, email me and ask, and I'll 99%-likely say yes.
Put simply: Copyright 2004, Adrienne Beck. If you want to use any
part of this, ask first.
Credits: A million and three thanks go out to 3 sources who undoubtedly don't
even know me. Top of the list are the great people at VR LAB
(vrlab.info/sh2/). Their FAQ is detailed, well-composed and complete.
I used it a lot. If you (and your computer) can read Japanese, I
highly recommend you visit their site and check it out.
Secondly, I must express my appreciation to the people who wrote the
Shadow Hearts II: Official Navigation Guide and the Shadow Hearts II:
Navigation Book. The maps and chara info in both of those books
provided invaluable help in my getting this FAQ organized.
Thirdly, a big THANX!! to all the players of the English Version who
have been kind enough to email me and help me straighten out the names
I screwed up. Especially Aramas, who sent me a list of all the Disc 1
Crest names in English. You ROCK!!
Warnings: ***READ THESE PLEASE!!!***
First and foremost, SH2 is a totally 3D game, with lots of maps in
which you can wander around freely. This makes giving directions
awfully difficult. So, as a standard, all my directions are given
from the *player's POV*. When I say 'go right', that means go to your
right, no matter which way the character on the screen is facing. On
some of the more confusing maps, I've done my best to establish some
landmarks, but if there are any parts that are unclear or hard to
follow, let me know.
Secondly. SPOILERS, SPOILERS and a whole bunch more SPOILERS!!! I
let slip quite a bit about the game's story line and what happens
when. About the only thing that I don't blatantly spoil are the
endings. You have to go and see those for yourself.
For those of you hoping for in-depth, detailed boss-fight strategies,
I'm sorry. I am a strong proponent of the simple theory that if you
hit something long enough, it'll eventually stop moving. I cannot
recommend Combos enough, they are very, *very* useful. Using them and
the occasional spell about does it for my strategies. However, what
I will tell you is what the Boss will try to use on you, and what you
get for winning.
This is more of a note than a real warning, but there's no
other appropriate place to put it, so... SH2 is a direct sequel to
SH1. That means there are neat goodies available if you play SH2 with
a memory card that has SH1 save data on it. If you've got one, I
definitely suggest you use it.
Next, I played through the JAPANESE VERSION of both SH1 and SH2.
The resources and FAQs I've used in playing these games were 90%
Japanese. I've never seen the English version of either game. Hence
I'm going to get names screwed up. It's inevitable. I've browsed
through the SH1 FAQs to learn as many of the English names as I
could, but there's lots of things in SH2 that weren't in SH1.
I've made my guesses as intelligent as possible, and used the English
names written in the Shadow Hearts II Navigation Book, but should you
find mistakes (and there should be loads, especially among the Crest
names), let me know please.
Finally, for all you short-cut loving people out there who'd like to
CTRL-F your way through this FAQ (which might not be a bad idea. this
thing is HUGE), there are a couple tricks to doing it.
1) Enclose city names in <>. That'll take you right to the header
for that particular place.
2) Enclose Chara names and Mini-game names in .: :. to get to their
respective sections.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. Characters - 99.2% finished.
A. Abilities
i. where to find them
ii. how they work
iii. what they do
B. Ultimate Weapons & Armor locations
2. Affinity. How it works.
3. Combo Magic - 100% finished
4. Walkthrough-- Europe (Disc 1) - 100% finished
A. Tower of Apoina
B. Dom Remy
C. Ardenne Forest
i. Graveyard
D. Paris
i. Old Apartment
ii. Mon Martre
a. Wolf Bout #1
iii. Champs Elysees
iv. Subway Tunnels
v. Old Cathedral (Notre Dame)
vi. Back into the Subway Tunnels
E. Le Havre
F. The Winecellar
i. Wolf Bout #2
ii. Lucky Box
G. Southampton
i. Grand Gama
H. The Abandoned Mines of Rhonda
I. Wales
J. Firenze
i. Wolf Bout #3
K. Isla Man Mariara
L. S.G. Headquarters - Italy
M. Wales - The Ruins of Neam
i. Wolf Bout #4
N. Cannes
i. Treasure Hunt Begins
O. Ste. Marguerite
i. Wolf Bout #5
ii. Treasure Hunt Clue #1
P. Petrograd
i. The Palace Enthralled
a. Wolf Bout #6
Q. Goreme Valley
i. Castle of Mirrors
ii. Treasure Hunt Clue #2
R. Petrograd Again
i. Hall of the Dead
a. Wolf Bout #7
S. Idar Flamme
i. Wolf Bout #8
T. Tower of Apoina Again
5. Walkthrough -- Japan (Disc 2) - 20% finished
A. Yokohama
i. Warehouse District
ii. Streets
iii. Warship Mikasa
a. Wolf Bout #9
b. Treasure Hunt Clue #3
iv. Training Day
v. The Foreigners' Graveyard
B. Tokyo
i.Nihon-bashi
a. Wolf Bout #10
ii. Todo Laboratories
C. Forest of the Wind
D. Inugami Village
i. Wolf Bout #11
E. Mt. Fuji
i. Wolf Bout #12
F. Azabu Mansion
G. The Queen's Garden
H. The Stone Platform
i. Bronze Bell
6. Sidequests - 10% finished
A. Wakuraba - Castle of Pale Leaves
B. Tiffauge
C. Zurich
D. Neam Ruins Again
E. Shwartzwald Forest
F. Doll House
G. Kurama's Dog Shrine
H. The Man Festival
7. Mini Games - 75% finished
A. Lottery
B. Lucky Chest
C. Treasure Hunt
D. The Straw Millionaire
E. Quiz Show!
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CHARACTERS
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.:YURI HYUGA:. Our rude-looking, ruffian of a Hero.
Age: 25 Nationality: Japanese/Russian Affinity: Dark
Weapon: Claws Ability: Fusion
Details: Technically the "Hero" of the story, Yuri doesn't actually join your
party until after you've cleared Dom Remy for the first time. Thanks
to Nicholai, you'll find him much changed from the Godkiller you knew
in SH1.
Yuri's ability is Fusion; shapeshifting into any one of up to 21
Fusion Monsters (FMs). If you're looking for the same FMs he had in
SH1, you'll only find two: Amon and Seraphic Radience, whom they're
calling "Dark Seraphim" now.
However, the principles behind the system are pretty much the same.
Gather Soul Points through random encounters and use them to power up
the FMs.
Like in SH1, there are 6 basic FMs, one for each element. There are
3 Grades to each basic FM, and they all can be leveled up to LV10.
Grade2 FMs cost 3 SP per round, Grade3 cost 4 SP and GradeMAX cost 5.
That's *COST PER ROUND* folks. Every time Yuri's turn comes up, his
SP are going to drop by that amount. Even with 40 SP, that's only 8
rounds with a GradeMAX FM, so be careful!
.:BASIC FUSION MONSTERS:.
Earth Water Fire Wind Light Dark
Grade2 - Vastitas Amnis Karol Malakia Radius Nox
-at LV.1 they learn Stats-up spell and low-damage attack spells.
Grade3 - Tholm Maale Balbaria Graan Puera Aulexis
-at LV.3 they learn low level healing/protection spells.
-at LV.5 they learn medium-damage attack spells.
GradeMAX- Gaudion Beneficium Faidis Libeltis Miserati Solmnion
-at LV.6 they learn Stats-up spell, all allies.
-at LV.8 they learn high level healing/protection spells.
-at LV.9 they learn high-damage attack spells.
.:SOUL CHARGE:.
Gather enough Soul Points and you can do one of two things, raise a
FM's *LEVEL* or raise it's *GRADE*. These are two separate procedures.
Raising one doesn't automatically raise the other.
---Raising a FM's *LEVEL*
Go to Yuri's "Personal" section in the main menu. There should be
an option called "Soul Charge". Choose that option, then flip to
the FM you want to charge, press and hold the O button and voila!
Note: you can only charge the highest grade of any particular FM.
Raising the highest grade automatically raises the level of that
FM's lower grades.
---Raising a FM's *GRADE*
Find a save point and enter Yuri's Graveyard. Go to the gravestone
of the FM you want to charge and examine it. The option to charge
the gravestone should appear. Press and hold the O button to get
the job done.
Note#1: This only works for raising a FM from Grade1 (existant but
unusable) to Grade2, and then to Grade3. Raising a FM to GradeMAX
requires a separate item.
.:GradeMAX Fusion Monsters:.
Raising any of the 6 basic FMs to GradeMAX requires a totally separate
item: Soul Drop. You can find them any time after you've acquired the
FM Amon. Here's where they are:
---In Dom Remy church, there should be a shiny yellow spot way in
the back.
---Talk to Lawrence in Goreme Valley after you come back from the
Castle of Mirrors.
---Prize for beating Lucky Box at 300 Cash.
---The place where the Crew gathers in Yokohama after Yoshiko's
been kidnapped. Check the floor up and to the left.
---The Foreigners' Graveyard. After you've cleared it for the first
time, there should be another shiny yellow spot.
---Inugami Village. At the entrance to the village proper, there's a
little wooden hut-thingy to the right of the path. Look in there.
Soul Drops work on any FM, so you can raise them in any order you like.
Once you have one, just go to that FM's gravestone in the graveyard and
touch the Drop to the stone.
At that point, you'll be dropped into a fight with a shadow-beast in
order to acquire the FM. Each shadow-beast has about the same amount
of power, they just use different spells. Defeat them and the FM is
yours.
.:SPECIAL FUSION MONSTERS:.
Besides the 6 basic FMs and their 3 Grades, there are 3 more special
FMs you can get; Amon, Neo-Amon and Seraphic Radience.
---AMON: Unlike SH1, Amon isn't an optional FM this time. You get him
automatically. After escaping from Petrograd the first time and
going to the Goreme Valley, Jovis will send Yuri and Karin into
Yuri's Graveyard. This time the Door to Destruction will open,
taking you into the Castle of Mirrors. Amon awaits you at the
end. Defeat him and he's yours.
Amon costs 5 SP per round.
---NEO AMON: He *is* an optional FM. Neo Amon awaits you at the end
of the Tiffauge Castle.
Neo Amon costs 6 SP per round.
---DARK SERAPHIM: Perhaps the coolest FM, he's also the hardest one to
get. There are several requirements you need to meet first.
Requirement #1: All 6 basic FMs must be at GradeMAX.
Requirement #2: You must have both Amon and Neo Amon.
Requirement #3: Kurando must have Ogre.
Requirement #4: You must have at least entered the Bronze Bell.
Fill all 4 requirements and the Stone of Rebirth should appear at
the base of the tree in the Graveyard. There won't be any yellow
light or anything to let you know it's there, just press the O
button in the general area and you should pick it up.
Stone in hand, go to the Door to Desire. It will open. Go in until
an event triggers. After a long talk with Ben Hyuga, a fight with
Seraphic Radience will start. Win, and he's yours.
Seraphic Radience costs 7 SP per round.
.:ULTIMATE WEAPON:.
Nightbird Claw
The same one as in SH1, it's also hidden in exactly the same place;
on the Moon. Once you''re capable of going between Asia and Europe
freely, visit Roger at his house in Wales. You'll know it's the right
time if he's standing next to the glorified hamster wheel that players
of SH1 will recognize. Yup. Same weapon hidden in the same place, so
it follows that you have to do the same thing you did in SH1 to get
it; Spin Ring 10. ::whimper::
Fortunately, the hit areas take up 95% of the whole ring, so the first
8 or so spins aren't that hard, but damn are those last 2 difficult.
Good luck!!
.:ULTIMATE ARMOR:.
Hell's Riders
This one's a little bit more difficult to get. Once you're able to
move freely between Europe and Asia, head to Cannes. There should be
two kids standing on the beach. Talk to them and they tell you about
a mean-looking giant guy they hauled out of the surf a few weeks ago.
It's Lenny, who you probably thought was dead.
Well, he's alive and well apparently, and also long gone from Cannes.
So, go track him down. After talking to the 2 kids on the beach, head
up to Petrograd. There should be an old lady standing by the bridge
near where you go down into the Halls of the Dead. She'll tell you
about this mean-looking giant guy who nabbed the thug who stole her
purse.
Next, go to Champs Elysees. Standing somewhere in the middle of the
sidewalk should be a hunched over guy that looks the world like an
Iron Claw in street clothes. You know what? He really *is* an Iron
Claw in street clothes. Intimidate him and he'll point you back to
where this chase started.
So, back to Cannes. At the long, double-back staircase, a new guy
will challenge you to a math contest. Win, and he'll cough up Lenny's
whereabouts: the cell in Ste. Margueritte where Roger had been held
prisoner.
It doesn't take too long to get this done, and you can do it
relatively early in the game.
HOWEVER. Lenny *won't talk to you* until *AFTER* the Stone Platform
has appeared. Trust me, I tried. Go before that and you can hear a
really amusing through-the-door conversation between Yuri and Lenny,
(it's such a pity they didn't have voice-overs for it), but not much
else. Once the Stone Platform has appeared, then Lenny will actually
let you in the cell, and a neat little FMV will commence. At the end
of it, Lenny will give you his coat; Hell's Riders.
.:KARIN KOENIG:. Lovely, if somewhat confused, Heroine.
Age: 25 Nationality: German Affinity: Fire
Weapon: Sabre Ability: Sword Art
Details: Heroine of the story, Karin is the only character that you keep
through the entirety of the game. Even the Hero, Yuri, doesn't join
the party until a couple hours in.
Karin's special ability, like Blanc's Howl and Joachim's Muscle
Arts, is limited to four different attacks. To learn/level up those
four attacks, you have to collect pieces of the script to Wagner's
opera, "Der Ring des Nibelungens". For brevity's sake, I'll just
call them "Nibelung Chapters."
There are 10 chapters in total, and to get them, you often just have
to find and talk to the right person.
.:Nibelung Chapter locations, in numerical order:.
---Prologue: You get this from Geppetto automatically when you first
visit his Old Apartment. He'll give it to you after you
beat the Iron Claws who invite themselves in.
---Chapter 2: Nimble-Fingered Locke will give this to you after you
gather all 3 pieces needed to make the key during your
trip through the prison on Ste. Marguerite Island.
---Chapter 3: There should be a guy standing at the entrance to the
Japanese Warship "Mikasa". Talk to him to get it.
---Chapter 4: After the storm stops in Southampton, talk to Sergeant
Apham, who's standing at the base of the staircase up the
wall.
---Chapter 5: Old Boris in Petrograd has it. Once you have control
of the whole Crew there, go from Edgar's shop towards the
Great Square. Old Boris is standing on the left side of
the street.
---Chapter 6: Foreigner's Graveyard. After you've cleared it once
go back and talk to one of the old fogeys there.
---Chapter 7: In Florence, talk to Rich Merchant Jones, who stands on
the south side of the water fountain. Listen to his sob
story about Lucia's prediction, and at the end of it he
will give you Ch.7 because he doesn't need it any more.
---Chapter 8: Examine the skeleton directly to your left when you
first enter the Halls of the Dead.
---Chapter 9: After you have the first eight, go back to Southampton
and talk to the weaving drunk Sepheau in the Inn. He's
the same guy Katou rescued way back in the beginning of
the game. If you don't have the others first, however,
he won't give you a thing.
---Epilogue: Once you have Chapter 9, and you've cleared the Queen's
Garden, head back there to the room where you beat the
boss. Examine the center of the very back wall, and
another boss will jump out at you. Defeat this Guardian
to receive the Epilogue
Unfortunately, you don't get the Chapters in neat, numerical order.
Here's the order you do get them in:
--Prologue->Ch.4->Ch.7->Ch.2->Ch.5->Ch.8->Ch.3->Ch.6->Ch.9->Epilogue
Interestingly enough, according to the Official Navigation Guide, you
will get the Chapters in the above order, *no matter what order* you
talk to the people carrying them. Should you accidentally skip, say,
Rich Merchant Jones in Florence and go on to talk to Nimble Fingered
Locke, Locke will give you *Ch.7*, because that's where you are in
the order.
.:ULTIMATE WEAPON:.
Durandal
You get this at the end of Wakuraba, the Castle of Pale Leaves.
.:ULTIMATE ARMOR:.
Kulz Granze (sp?)
Once you've been in the Bronze Bell once, Healthy Runie gives it to
you if you have 10,000+ steps on the pedometer.
.:EXTRA OUTFIT:.
Matahari's Dueling Clothes
When Yuri already has both his Ultimates and you've completed the
Straw Millionaire mini-game, talk to Roger again and he'll give it
to you.
.:GEPETTO:. Old magician and old drunkard.
Age: 60+? Nationality: French Affinity: Changeable
Weapon: Strings Ability: Marionette
Details: Alice's uncle, Gepetto met Yuri shortly after the last shovel-ful of
dirt had been laid on her coffin. He's been tagging along with Yuri
since then, and becomes a member of your party after the mess at Dom
Remy church.
Technically, Gepetto's weapons are strings, but the more visible
component is the marionette at the end, Cornellia. Modeled after his
long-dead daughter, she sometimes seems freakily alive. By changing
the dresses she wears, you can change Gepetto's elemental affinity
and add elemental spells to his "Marionette" spell list.
But before you go about changing the dresses, you have to actually
acquire them first. To do that, you need items called "Stud Cards".
These are ....unusual.... collecter's cards which Pierre Mazymell is
very fond of. Present him with a card, and he will make your choice
of six dresses; one, of course, for each element.
Wearing one of these dresses will change Gepetto's affinity to
correlate with that of the dress, and it will permanently add an
elemental "Cast" spell to his "Marionette" list of spells. It also
ups Gepetto's magic power when casting spells of that element.
To change the dresses, go under Gepetto's Personal section on the
menu. There aught to be a "Change Dresses" option. Flip through the
sketchbook and pick which dress you like.
.:SPECIAL DRESSES:.
Things wouldn't be nearly so fun if there weren't some extra dresses
to find. To get these dresses necessitates an extra item, one to
inspire Pierre's creativity. These extra items are different for each
extra dress, of which there are 3 (4 if you have SH1 save data).
---Black Mistress
Once Idar Flamme has appeared, go back to Petrograd and look around
in the room that was Rasputin's. On the bed, there should be an
item called the "Purple Bondage". Get this and go talk to Pierre
when you have a Stud Card to give him.
Black Mistress, for all its obvious leanings, is a affiliation None
dress. It boosts the strength of Dark and Wind spells. It also
adds the Marionette spell "Passion" to Gepetto's list.
---Queen of the Beasts
You have to wait until you get to Japan for this dress. After you
clear the Yokohama Warehouse District, re-visit the first warehouse
on the left, and talk to the item-selling smuggler. He has several
odd and unusual things for sale, besides weapons. One of them will
be a Stuffed Raccoon. Buy this and talk to Pierre when you have a
spare Stud Card.
Like the other 3 special dresses, Queen of Beasts is an affiliation
None dress, and it boosts magic power for Earth and Fire.
---Virgin in Blue
Once you have the first two special dresses and the Stone Platform
has become available, go talk to Pierre. A short scene will commence,
and Yuri will offer up for inspiration a dress that he supposedly
designed himself. Pierre loves it, and with a Stud Card to pay
him, you will get a dress that is exactly like Alice's outfit from
SH1.
An affiliaton None dress, Virgin in Blue ups Gepetto's magic power
with Light and Water spells. She also gives Gepetto the Marionette
spell "Advent".
---Beautiful Fool (Not in English version??)
You can only get this "dress" if you have SH1 save data, mostly
because you can only get the 10th Stud Card if you have said
save data. Manage to get that last card, and all you have to do is
talk to the Pierre in *CHAMPS ELYSEES*. Talk to him anywhere else
and he won't do a thing.
Go there and Gerrard will lament that Pierre has gotten all moody
after reading a particular book. Entice Pierre with the last card,
(a super rare one), and he'll eventually relent and make the last
"dress." I put dress in quotes because it really isn't a dress.
It isn't *anything*, really. The curtain opens and Cornellia is
stark naked. ...y'see, the book Pierre read was "The Emperor's New
Clothes." ^.^;;
Anyway, the "dress" is affiliation None, just like the other three
special dresses, and like the special outfits for Karin, Lucia and
Anastasia, it drops stats. In Cornelia's case, it isn't attack or
defense, it's elemental power.
.:Stud Card LOCATIONS:.
---Mr. Somlier: Yuri finds this in Gepetto's Old Appartment when you
first go there. (If you have SH1 save data, you also get
Mr. Swan here, not in Petrograd)
---Mr. Detective: You find this one in a treasure box in Southampton.
Look in the hotel room that has 2 beds.
---Mr. Matador: Talk to Artist Peggy in Florence. She's in maid's
clothing, wandering around the right side of the
fountain.
---Mr. Swan: In the Hermitage in Petrograd, find Sentry Krile
patroling the West Hall and talk to him.
**You have to do this after you've beaten Idar Flamme.
Thanks,
---Mr. Chef: Clear the 100 Cash round of Lucky Box.
---Mr. Sax: Clear Sara's Challenge, Disciple's Trial 3.
---Mr. Samurai: Go to the bar in Cannes and find the fat man hiding in
the corner, Staring Anatole. Buy him a drink and he'll
give you the Card.
---Mr. Doctor: Yokohama Streets, check under the black awning next
to the Mazymell Bros. shop.
---Mr. Pro Wrestler: It's a card of the Grand Gama. >.< Don't look
too close. You get it from Yamaguchi, the working guy
who stands to the left of Gama's ring in Nihon-bashi.
---Mr. Meiyuan: Yes, you read right. Meiyuan. As in the acupuncture
specialist from SH1. This is the special 10th Builder
Card, and you can only get it if you have save data from
SH1. Once you can move freely between Europe and Asia,
head to the Wine Cellar and the Lucky Box game. You
should get the option for a 1000 Cash round. This one
is a super-difficult 4x4 grid. Good luck in beating it.
The card is your prize.
.:ULTIMATE WEAPON:.
Red Strings
Beat the boss of the Doll House side quest and you get these as a
prize.
.:ULTIMATE ARMOR:.
The Fool's Inpanes
Clear every one of Sarah's Challenges, and you get this as a bonus
prize.
.:BLANCA:. The animal sidekick who's usually smarter than the people he
follows.
Age: 2 Nationality: French Affinity: Wind
Weapon: Whetstones Ability: Howl
Details: Pet to the little girl Jeanne in Dom Remy, Blanca was the town's, well,
watch-wolf. When the whole mess with Yuri and Nicholai happens in the
church and Jeanne dies, Blanca tags along with Gepetto and Yuri.
Blanca's ability may be called "Howl", but leveling it up involves
playing the mini-game "Wolf Bout". The premise behind Wolf Bout is
Blanca going one-on-one with the wolves you come across in the course
of the game. Beat a wolf, and you get a paw-print stamp in a little
booklet, plus, one of Blanca's skills goes up a notch. Collect a row
of three stamps, talk to Earnest (the creator of the game) in
Monmartre and you get a neat little prize.
There are a total of 15 different Bouts, 12 regular and 3 hidden. Most
of the wolves show up in a dungeon directly after you've cleared it,
but a few are right there in your path. Earnest will actually give
you hints about the first 12 wolves' locations, should you ask him.
Or you could just look at the list below.
Wolf Location
Tetsu Monmartre. You're forced into this one when
you first come through that area.
Kelly Wine Cellar. After you clear the area, Kelly
will appear in the very back room where the
boss was.
Jerome Florence. He's sitting in the one corner,
near where the Mazymell Brothers are.
Henri SG Headquarters - Italy. Like Kelly, he shows
up right after you clear the area, in the back
room where the wall gets blown in.
Phillipe Ste. Marguerite. This is another that's
unavoidable. When Blanca has to get into the
island prison by himself, Phillipe gets in his
way.
R-3 Petrograd. From Edgar's clock shop, go down
and right-ish. It's the road that doesn't go
to the Great Square. About 15 steps down there
should be a slim alley that branches off from
the far side of the street. R-3 is back there
once you've un-Enthralled the Palace.
Necros Hall of the Dead. He's in a caged off nook,
and the halls are dark, so it's pretty easy to
miss him. Look carefully.
Meyer Dom Remy. Some time after you clear Ste.
Marguerite, it'll become a viable destination
again. Speak with the old guy who's walking
circles behind the well to get the wolves to
appear. Meyer and his cronies are hiding in
the dead end you hit if you go straight through
the woods from the entrance.
Kiborin Battleship Mikasa. Again, you have to clear
the dungeon first. However, he doesn't show up
in the last room. He's hiding in one of the
dead-end hallways on the first deck.
Elenore She's dead obvious in the park in Nihon-bashi.
Matsunaga Another really obvious one. He's guarding the
Sacred Spring in Inugami Village.
Lobo Clear Mt. Fuji, then go back in again. Place
the colored stones in the order BLUE, RED,
YELLOW to open up the proper path to his
location.
THE HIDDEN THREE
Defeat the above 12 wolves, and it looks like you've completed
Wolf Bout. Go back to MonMartre to brag to Earnest, but he's *not*
*there*. Instead, Tetsu gives you a little note, informing you
of another three wolves on the list. He's not around to give you
hints, and you must defeat one before the next one will appear.
Henri, again Tiffauge, once you've already cleared it for
the first time. He's hiding all the way in the
back-most part. Have fun getting there again.
Young Lobo Kaze no Mori. Beat Henri for a second time,
then look on the trails in the forest.
Wolfman Monmartre.
PRIZES
Earnest will hand out nifty little prizes when you collect a row
of three stamps. Here's what they are:
3 Stamps - Thera Extract
6 Stamps - Crest Zagan
9 Stamps - Tarot Card "Emperor"
12 Stamps - 7th Key
15 Stamps - Seal of the King
.:ULTIMATE WEAPON:.
Sign of the King
Make it all the way through the Wolf Bout game, and it's the last
prize you get.
.:ULTIMATE ARMOR:.
Pyusel's Protection
After the Stone Platform appears, stop by the church in Dom Remy. A
short FMV should start up, Jeanne manifesting long enough to say some
last words to her favorite wolf and bequeath the armor to him.
.:JOACHIM VALENTINE:. ......yes, another 'Valentine'.
Age: 400+ Nationality: Transylvanian Affinity: Earth
Weapon: whatever he finds Ability: Muscle Arts (transformation)
Details: Strapped for cash, the Crew hires on as part of the town patrol in
Le Havre, so they can earn enough to book passage to Southampton.
The first job they're assigned; do something about the weirdo
vigilante who calls himself the Grand Papillion!
After much ruckus and hullabaloo "mild-mannered" Joachim Valentine,
alter-ego to the Grand Papillion, decides to join the Crew, nevermind
what everybody else says.
Joachim technically has 2 abilities, but you can only really affect
one of them; Muscle Arts. The transformation ability is subject to
the whims of the Joachithms.
.:MUSCLE ARTS:. Except for Drain, all these abilities you learn from
the Grand Gama.
---Drain
Joachim has this from the start. Drains HP from the enemy.
---Grand Slam
Using his weapon like a baseball bat, Joachim whacks an enemy into
the stratosphere. Sudden death effect or just minor damage.
Get this by defeating Grand Gama the first time you meet him in
Southampton. Be sure to equip a Leonard's Bear before going into
the fight.
---DeathTron Hammer
A 15-hit physical attack, the Hammer does respectable damage.
Defeat Grand Gama a second time in Southampton. You'll need at
least 200+ HP or a voodoo doll before going into this one.
---Ultima Buster
You have to wait until Grand Gama moves to Nihon-Bashi before he'll
teach you this one. A one-hit, earth elemental damage move, it's
basically one helluva body-slam.
.:JOACHITHMS:.
Instead of "biorythms", it's "Joachithms"! When the sine waves cross
the fat gray cross, Joachim will transform into one of 3 things.
---Golden Bat
When the gold line crosses the gray one, Joachim automatically
becomes the Sparkly Gold Bat. Fans of SH1, you'll recognize it
immediately. Yes, this is the same bat that gave Keith his
ultimate weapon.
The bat's HP are half that of Joachim's, but its attack power is
double.
---Invisible
Just as the name says, Joachim turns invisible when the irridescent
line crosses the gray one. His HP don't change this time, but he is
a lot harder for enemies to hit.
---Grand Papillion
The rarest of Joachim's transformations, when *both* the gold and
the irridescent line are crossing the gray one, he becomes the
Grand Papillion! HP and MP don't change, but all his other stats
go up.
.:ITEMS:.
---Bat's Gold
Forces transformation into the Golden Bat. Available with 5000
steps on the Pedometer, and findable in some dungeons.
---Strongoid
Forces transformation into Invisible. Available with 4000 steps on
the Pedometer, and findable in some dungeons.
---Getitup!
Forces transformation into Grand Papillion. Available with 8000
steps on the Pedometer, and findable in some dungeons.
.:ACCESSORIES:.
---Gold Wrist
Increases the frequency of transformations into the Golden Bat.
You get this as a prize for beating Sara's Challenge; Believer's
Trial 3.
---Prism Wrist
Increases the frequency of transformations into Invisible. This is
the Red Square prize from Lotto Member #11.
---Elektro Wrist
Increases the frequency of transformations into the Grand Papillion.
This is the prize for beating Sara's Challenge: Tai-ren-sha's Trial
2.
.:WEAPONS:.
You never have to buy a single weapon for Joachim. They're all lying
around where you can find them. You just need to look.
---Aluminum Locker
South Hampton, Grand Gama's ring. Check the bottom left part of
the screen.
---Red Mailbox
Right before entering the Nemeton Underground for the first time, it
it should be very visible right next to Roger's house.
---Earthen Pipe
After rescuing Yuri and the crew from Veronica, look in the room
where she first knocked you out with her paralization perfume.
---Chilled Tuna
After Rasputin's failed attempt to assassinate the Czar, go outside
the Winter Palace and check the very bottom left corner of the Great
Square.
---Red Pillar
Yokohama warehouse district, in the storage room closest to the
entrance.
---Announcer's Table
Once you find Grand Gama again in Nihon-bashi check the table where
the two announcers are standing.
---Haniwa
In Inugami Village, on the way to the sacred water fall, it's
sitting alongside the grass path.
---Magic Building
Once you've cleared Mt. Fuji, head back to Le Havre and the Black
Gull Cafe. There, you should meet the Peach Bat, Joachim's little
sister (Is there no end to this family?). Beat her inside 4 rounds,
not 5.
.:ULTIMATE WEAPON:.
The Nautilus.
Yup, a mini-version of that famous submarine. Complete the Wakuraba
sub-quest and it should be lying on the beach in Cannes.
.:ULTIMATE ARMOR:.
Rose Bondage
It's the Red Square item from Lotto Member #1, the Silver Bat.
.:LUCIA:. Part fortune-teller, part exotic-dancer, mostly bimbo.
Age: 28 Nationality: Italian Affinity: Dark
Weapon: fans Ability: Tarot Cards/Aroma Therapy
Details: Roger missing, and only the word of a somewhat sketchy "Thomas" to go
by, the Crew heads to Florence to look for a lady named Carla. They
end up finding not only Carla, but also her young apprentice Lucia as
well.
Short Cash to pay for the info they want (gee, how surprising), the
Crew agrees to pay for it "with their bodies". ^.^; A trip to Man
Mariara and a botched assassination attempt by Lucia later, everybody
discovers they're all on the same side, and Lucia gets sent along
with you.
.:TAROT CARDS:.
Less of a fortune-predicting game, Lucia's Tarot Cards are more
straight up gamble. Each card has different effects, and those effects
change depending on whether or not the card is straight, reversed, or
glittering. That makes all the cards potentially good or bad.
Here's a list of the cards and where you can find them:
Card Location
The Hanged Man You have this one from the beginning.
The Moon You have this one from the beginning.
The High Priestess You have this one from the beginning.
The Heirophant You have this one from the beginning.
The Hermit You have this one from the beginning.
Justice Defeat the boss of the SG Headquarters - Italy,
and you get it as a prize.
Temperance Defeat the guard dog Oscar in the prison on
Ste. Margueritte and you get it as a prize.
The Wheel of Fortune The 1st treasure in the Treasure Hunt game.
The Magician Search a skeleton in the Halls of the Dead for
it.
The Fool In the Wolf Bout game, beat the 3-wolf pack led
by Mayer in Dom Remy to get it.
The Empress Look under the teddy bear on the bench in
Anastasia's room in the Winter Palace.
The World Defeat Asmodeus at the end of Idar Flamme.
The Sun Behind a lamp post on the Yokohama Streets.
Lovers On the Battleship Mikasa, check the dead-end on
the right side of the first deck.
.:AROMA THERAPY:.
Lucia can produce spell-like effects by mixing any 2 of 8 perfumed
oils she finds throughout the game. Those effects are almost all
status-affecting ones, and depending on which ones you mix in what
order, you can do things ranging from a minor cure for Lucia to
everybody getting a free Third Key for a round.
Just like the Combo Magic spells, you won't know what any of them do
until you try them first.
Lucia can affect either herself alone, or everyone in the party
excluding herself. The ones that affect the rest of the party will do
so for 1, 2 or 3 rounds (rnd.). Now, a "round" equals the amount of
time between when Lucia uses the oils and when her turn next comes up.
So if you have a fast chara, like a high-level Yuri or Kurando, they
might go twice before Lucia gets another turn; that means they get the
oils' effect twice, even if it's technically only a 1rnd. effect.
Here's the list of where you get 'em, and what they do:
---Marin Oil: Lucia has this from the beginning.
X Misty Oil - 16MP, minor cure, Lucia only
X Grass Oil - 20MP, minor cure, party
X Night Oil - 24MP, medium cure, party
X Moon Oil - 24MP, minor cure, party, 2rnd.
X Shining Oil - 28MP, medium cure, party, 2rnd.
X Sunrise Oil - 20MP, medium cure, Lucia only
X Aurora Oil - 56MP, major cure, party, 2rnd.
---Misty Oil: Lucia has this from the beginning.
X Marin Oil - 16MP, protection from status ailments, party, 1rnd.
X Grass Oil - 20MP, protection from ring ailments, party, 2rnd.
X Night Oil - 24MP, protection from status ailments, party, 3rnd.
X Moon Oil - 20MP, protection from status ailments, party, 2rnd.
X Shining Oil - 16MP, protection from ring ailments, party, 1rnd.
X Sunrise Oil - 24MP, protection from ring ailments, party, 3rnd.
X Aurora Oil - 48MP, protection from ring & status ailments, party,
3rnd.
---Grass Oil: This is hidden in the dry water-spout at the bottom
of the long staircase in Cannes.
X Marin Oil - 20MP, medium def. up, party, 3rnd.
X Misty Oil - 20MP, medium magic def. up, party, 3rnd.
X Night Oil - 16MP, minor magic def. up, party, 3rnd.
X Moon Oil - 16MP, minor def. up, party, 3rnd.
X Shining Oil - 24MP, major def, up, party, 3rnd.
X Sunrise Oil - 24MP, major magic def. up, party, 3rnd.
X Aurora Oil - 48MP, major def. up & major magic def. up, party,
3rnd.
---Night Oil: Beat Rasputin's lackey Viktor in the Enthralled Palace.
X Marin Oil - 20MP, minor MP cure, party, 1rnd.
X Misty Oil - 24MP, minor MP cure, party, 2rnd.
X Grass Oil - 16MP, minor MP cure, Lucia only
X Moon Oil - 28MP, medium MP cure, party, 2rnd
X Shining Oil - 20MP, medium MP cure, Lucia only
X Sunrise Oil - 24MP, medium MP cure, party, 1rnd.
X Aurora Oil - 56MP, major MP cure, party, 2rnd.
---Moon Oil: Defeat Veronica's monster form on the roof of the
Petrograd Winter Palace.
X Marin Oil - 48MP, strike damage 50% up, party, 1rnd.
X Misty Oil - 20MP, agility doubled, party, 1rnd.
X Grass Oil - 24MP, critical hit rate 50% up, party, 1rnd.
X Night Oil - 80MP, 100% critical hit rate, party, 1rnd.
X Shining Oil - 20MP, critical hit rate doubled, party, 1rnd.
X Sunrise Oil - 16MP, agility 50% up, party, 1rnd.
X Aurora Oil - 600MP, 3rd Key effect on all party attacks, 1rnd.
---Shining Oil: Pester Yuuko 3 times in a row. She's standing around
in the Shopping District of Yokohama.
X Marin Oil - 24MP, major atk. up, party, 3rnd.
X Misty Oil - 16MP, minor magic atk. up, party, 3rnd.
X Grass Oil - 24MP, major magic atk. up, party, 3rnd.
X Night Oil - 16MP, minor atk, up, party, 3rnd.
X Moon Oil - 20MP, medium atk. up, party, 3rnd.
X Sunrise Oil - 20MP, medium magic atk. up, party, 3rnd.
X Aurora Oil - 48MP, major atk. & magic atk. up, party, 3rnd.
---Sunrise Oil: It's in a chest in the 2nd floor room of the Inugami
Village manor.
X Marin Oil - 16MP, minor SP cure, Lucia only
X Misty Oil - 24MP, minor SP cure, party, 2rnd.
X Grass Oil - 28MP, medium SP cure, party, 2rnd.
X Night Oil - 20MP, minor SP cure, party, 1rnd.
X Moon Oil - 20MP, medium SP cure, Lucia only
X Shining Oil - 24MP, medium SP cure, party, 1rnd.
X Aurora Oil - 56MP, major SP cure, party, 2rnd.
---Aurora Oil: Complete the Shwartzwald Forest sub-quest and take the
flower back to Carla. She'll make the oil for you.
X Marin Oil - 56MP, medium HP cure, minor MP&SP; cure, party, 2rnd.
X Misty Oil - 56MP, minor HP&MP;&SP; cure, protection from all
status ailments, party, 2rnd.
X Grass Oil - 56MP, minor HP&MP;&SP; cure, minor def. up, party,
2rnd.
X Night Oil - 56MP, medium MP cure, minor HP&SP; cure, party, 2rnd.
X Moon Oil - 720MP, minor HP&MP;&SP; cure, 3rd Key effect on all
party attacks, party, 2rnd.
X Shining Oil - 56MP, minor HP&MP;&SP; cure, medium atk, up, party,
2rnd.
X Sunrise Oil - 56MP, medium SP cure, minor HP&MP; cure, party, 2rnd.
.:ULTIMATE WEAPON:.
Nemesis
Follow the Straw Millionaire game all the way to the very end and
you'll get this from Margret.
.:ULTIMATE ARMOR:.
Stella Vestito
You get it from a treasure chest on the 2nd level of the Bronze Bell.
.:EXTRA OUTFIT:.
Bridal Dress (?)
Talk to Carla after you've cleared Shwartzwald Forest and she tells
you that Lawrence has been by and wants to talk to Lucia. Go and talk
to him in Southampton, where he's waiting, and he'll give this to
Lucia as an engagement present.
.:ANASTASIA:. A Russian princess with a talent for snooping.
Age: 14 Nationality: Russian Affinity: Water
Weapon: mechanical eggs Ability: Snapshot/ Album
Details: Anastasia's two abilities, Snapshot and Album, are interconnected.
During random encounters and boss fights, you can use the Snapshot
command to expose your enemy's HP, MP and Affinity. This works with
any enemy; boss or random encounter.
As a nice bonus, taking the picture of 10 particular enemies will
add spells to Anastasia's Album. It's a concept very similar to the
"blue magic" spells in the Final Fantasy series.
Here's the list:
SPELL ENEMY EFFECT
Aqualize Penduram Water and poison damage.
Direct Press Hati Cut enemy's HP in half.
Castille Andre Steal Cash from an enemy.
Restore Oscar Negate any status-boosting spells on
an enemy.
Thieving Gale Toy Tanuki Swipe nifty stuff from an enemy.
Run Away! Tengu Run away from a battle.
Hyper Cannon Kanazuki 17-hit Affinity None attack, range
like a laser spell.
Spirit Off Boot an enemy out of the encounter.
Nightmare Cockroach Just like the SH1 version, decent
physical damage plus a schlew of ring
and status disorders.
Euthanasia Oropas
As you might notice, a considerable number of these beasties are old
news long before Anastasia joins your party. Some don't even show up
in random encounters. The only way to get them is through Sara's
Challenge.
.:ULTIMATE WEAPON:.
Golden Angel
Collect all 5 Silver Angel pieces, then visit Edgar in Petrograd.
Piece #1: In a corner of the Winter Palace's rooftop, after you
beat Veronica's monster form.
Piece #2: Hidden behind the rack of drying things in Inugami
Village.
Piece #3: Defeat Sara's Challenge, Worshiper's Trial #1.
Piece #4: Hidden on the second floor of the Doll House.
Piece #5: Clear the Stud Card Quiz run by Yamaguchi who stands
near Grand Gama's ring in Nihonbashi.
.:ULTIMATE ARMOR:.
Prayer Coat
Once the Stone Platform is available, head back to the Winter Palace
in Petrograd and go to the room behind the Ball Room. The whole
Romanov family should be there. A cut scene starts up and at the
end of it, you get the Coat.
.:EXTRA OUTFIT:.
Autumn Kimono?
Once Kurando has acquired Shuten Doji, go visit Saki one more time,
and she'll bequeath it to Anastasia.
.:KURANDO INUGAMI:. Loyal, honest, polite samurai. ...What's he doing with
*this* crew?
Age:17 Nationality: Japanese Affinity: Light
Weapon: katana Ability: Fusion
Details: What? Kurando uses Fusion, too? Did the folks at Aruze just run out
of ideas? Nope, there's a viable reason behind this. Kurando and
Yuri are cousins. Yes, they're related (though you'd never know
without being told -.-;;). Kurando's mother Saki is younger sister
to Yuri's father, Ben Hyuga. ...Yuri and Kurando were pretty shocked
too.
Anyways, Kurando is the last member to join your party. He shows up
in Yokohama, your first port of call in the Japan half of the game.
While everybody's busy worrying over Yuri's near-lethal case of sea-
sickness, Blanca scouts out the area and comes across a lone samurai
facing off against several soldiers. That meeting kicks off the
storyline for the second half of the game.
8 years younger than Yuri and minus his experiences, Kurando's
Fusion abilities are, not necessarily "weaker", but much less
sprawling in scope than Yuri's. In fact, Kurando only ever gets two
fusion monsters, Tsukuyomi and Ogre.
.:FUSION:.
Kurando's fusion ability works just like Yuri's, except for one part;
both learn their new spells at Lv4 and Lv7.
---TSUKUYOMI
You get her as part of the plot, defeating her when you first go
through the Foreigner's Graveyard in Yokohama. She's equivalent to
a GradeMAX FM, so she costs 5 SP per round.
---OGRE
You have to wait for not only the Stone Platform to appear, but you
must also have actually entered the dungeon. Turn around and come
back out, then pay Inugami Village a visit. Get ready to go up
the steps to the manor house, and Sachi will tell Kurando that his
mother is waiting for him at the Sacred Springs.
Kurando enters the Springs alone, and things fall out that he has
to battle his mother one-on-one. Win, and Shuten Doji is yours.
Shuten Doji is right up there in power with Seraphic Radience, so
naturally, he requires 7 SP a round.
.:ULTIMATE WEAPON:.
Nameless Wolf
Make it all the way through the Kurama's Dog Shrine and it's waiting
for you at the end.
.:ULTIMATE ARMOR:.
Ogre's Loincloth
It's in a treasure chest on the 4th level of the Bronze Bell.
.:TEMPORARY CHARACTERS:.
There are 4 additional characters who you have the (short) opportunity to play
at various points of the game. They are: Nicholai Conrad, Ohka, Hien and
Raiden.
Seeing as how they are, well, temporary, their special abilities are limited
to the point where they are essentially non-existant. Of course, there are no
weapons or armor to get for them, either.
###############################################################################
AFFINITY
###############################################################################
Affinity is, in a nutshell, just how well two characters work together in a
combo attack. The higher the affinity between between two charas, the more
extra damage they're going to rack up when they go back-to-back in a combo.
The more often you combo two charas together, the higher their affinity for
each other gets.
For example, take three charas; Blanca, Yuri and Karin. Say the affinity
between Blanca and Yuri is a 5, between Yuri and Karin is a 10, and between
Karin and Blanca is a 3.
So, you're in a random battle and you want to combo those three charas. That's
all well and good, but then comes the hard part; what order do you put them in?
This is where you look at affinity. You're going to more extra damage if you
put them in the order Blanca->Yuri->Karin or Karin->Yuri->Blanca. (basically,
you don't want Karin and Blanca directly one after the other)
Raising Affinity is the simplest thing in the world. When a chara's turn comes
up, shift down in your command menu to the "combo" part, and combo with another
chara. At that point, the affinity between those charas goes up 1. You don't
even have to finish the combo.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COMBO MAGIC
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Combo magic is an option that automatically shows up for the last character
in a 4-man combo attempt. Look closely at your command menu when the fourth
character's turn comes around. It should be the second one available, right
under the fat bar for attack.
When you first start out, all 7 Combo Magic spells are listed as ?????. The
only way to find out which one's which is to pick one and cast it.
Unfortunately, you only ever have a maximum 4 of the 7 available to you.
Eternalm wrote in and mentioned that your spell selection likely depends on the
elemental affinities of the charas currently in your battle party. Thanks!!
The Ring for each one has 4 step-areas and one final, really narrow hit area.
If your characters are working with a Technical Ring, be ready for a hit area
narrower than most strike areas.
All 7 spells cost 64 MP.
Here's the list:
Strong Earth - earth - circle:med - 1hit - down
Limit Shock - water - circle:med - 1hit - shove
Flame Mine - fire - circle:med - 1hit - shove
Air Shot - wind - laser :med - 15hit - up
Holy Pulse - light - laser :med - 1hit - down
Meteor Burst - dark - circle:lg - 1hit - down
Tempest - none - circle:lg - 1hit - down
**IMPORTANT NOTE: While Yuri can't use regular magic, he *IS CAPABLE* of using
Combo Magic.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
WALK-THROUGH: EUROPE
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
1915, Spring. WWI is well under way, and Germany has made advances deep into
France. However, one small hamlet --Dom Remy-- refuses to submit. The few
survivors of the German companies sent in there all shudder and whisper in
terrified tones about an unkillable demon.
Utterly worthless strategically, Dom Remy is instead a huge blot on Germany's
military pride, and the upper echelons are willing to do whatever it takes to
bring the village under control.
One Karin Koenig, survivor of the latest normal attempt to subdue Dom Remy, is
given orders to guide an exorcist from the Vatican to the place where she last
spotted the alleged "demon", and assist with the attempt to send it back to
where it came from.
Before heading to Dom Remy, the exorcist, a charming young man named Nicholai
Conrad, says that there is one thing they will need to acquire first; a very
*special* weapon. One powerful enough to put a crimp in the lifestyle of even
an immortal demon.
To get that weapon, they must first travel to the---
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
You first gain control of your party of two on the world map. The only place
to go is the Tower, but I suggest that you open up the menu (triangle button)
first and 1) save, 2) take a look at what Karin and Nicholai can do. Not that
there's much that you can change. ^.^; Still, it's helpful to know that Nick
has Cure, and Karin only has 3 SP.
So. On to the game itself. Press the O button and you'll go to the Tower.
There's a short cut scene, and you'll find yourself in the middle of a large,
circular hall on the first floor.
Go directly left and up a short little spiral staircase for a treasure chest
with a Thera Leaf. Directly right and up a similar little staircase will bring
up a "?". Press the O button to get a Talisman of Luck.
In the midst of doing this, you will undoubtedly get hit by at least one random
encounter. Your first two fights are more tutorials than real fights, so don't
get too nervous if you're unfamiliar with the battle system. The Judgement Ring
has received quite a few upgrades from SH1, and while it may seem pretty
complex at first, you'll get the hang of it quick.
Anyways, those two treasures are the only things of value on the first floor,
so go down, then right for the stairs to the 2nd floor. There's a matching set
of stairs curving up to the left, but at the present it's doors are locked
tight. They won't open up until you come back to the Tower for a second
go-round later in the game, so ignore them for now.
Round and round the stairs (disturbingly reminiscent of the endless stairs of
the Blue Tower in SH1 for a moment) we go, until the hall takes a 90-degree
turn up, leading to a small intersection. Left and down will net you a Mana
Leaf, right and up a Hit Area Expander.
Follow the hallway all the way to the right, and you suddenly come across a
creature...? thing...? ...er, the whatever-it-is calls itself the Spirit of
the Ring, and it's something you want to find. Besides handing out additional
attacks, it's an amusing character. I suggest you give Karin the additional
attack, as you'll only have Nicholai until you reach the church in Dom Remy.
That done, sally forth! Up the stairs, around and around we go again, to the
third floor. Off to your right is a second sealed door. This one, too, won't
open up until you come back later in the game, so you can safely ignore it for
now.
The big, glowing purple crest won't activate unless you press the O button
first, so you can explore the two nooks off to the left and right. Well, the
one to the right, anyways. The left one is empty, so it's hardly worth the
fuss. In the right nook is a Pure Leaf.
Warp through the crest, and again duck over to the nook on the right. The save
point is obvious, the Tent hidden in the far right corner isn't so obvious.
I definitly suggest you use the save point, and gird yourself for a boss fight.
Go through the golden double doors, and after a short cut scene, you'll find
yourself fighting in a---
------BOSS FIGHT: GARGOYLE
The first boss in the game, he's nothing special. Combo attacks don't gain you
much in the way of extra damage just yet, but now's a good time to start
practicing.
The only thing you need to worry about are your SP levels. Karin's got a
grand total of 3, and Nicholai isn't much better. You'll probably need to use
at least one Pure Leaf, if not two, before you finish Gargoyle off.
Defeat him, and you're off to---
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
There's a short stretch of woods before you get into Dom Remy proper. You can
talk to the soldiers stationed here and there, but they won't give you
anything.
There is stuff you can find, though. First take the left fork all the way up
for a Mana Leaf. Go back two steps and to the right. On the next screen keep
going straight until the dead end. A "?" should pop up. Press O and get a
Thera Leaf. Again, go back two steps then up, past the soldier for another "?"
that will net you a Hit Area Expander. Go right again to get to the village
itself.
First, talk to the soldier just on the far side of the bridge. He'll heal you
if you need it. Then, take a look around your screen. You should see some
thin yellow lines drawn here and there. Those are "tripwires". Touch them
and you'll trigger a battle. Unfortunately, most are unavoidable.
Check below the buildings to the right for a Strike Area Expander (SAE), and
between them for a tent. Then go a little further up to what I guess is
supposed to be the town square. It's a slightly broader area with a well in
the middle. Go around the well counter-clockwise (you'll avoid a tripwire
that way) and open the treasure chest for a Thera Seed. The soldier won't
tell you anything interesting, so you can ignore him if you want. Then go
up-around and behind the buildings on the right for one last treasure chest
that will relinquish a Pure Leaf.
Now head up and on to the church. Stop by the save point and then settle in
for a nice long stretch of FMV that'll kick-start the game's plot. Yuri
finally makes his appearance, (YAY!) and Nicholai shows his true colors (dang
it, I liked him). In the ensuing fuss Karin gets royally confused, Yuri
gets staked, and Life-In-General just gets really, really interesting.
When Yuri finally comes to, you're in a cave in the ----
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The situation has changed massively since you last had control of your party.
Nicholai is out, for good, and Yuri takes over as the "Hero". Gepetto and
Blanca also join you. Karin is still there, but she's out of the fighting
lineup for the nonce.
Open up the menu and tweak your three new charas as much as you like, then
talk to Gepetto for a quick explanation on Crest Magic. He also gives you
three of them to start off; ---Focalor, Furfur and Andras---.
Equip those on whomever you like, then head out the bottom of the cave to
leave. Go a few steps along the forest path and an event will trigger. Yep,
Yuri is no longer the Godkiller he was at the end of SH1. Nor does he have
the same fusion monsters any more. Things shift and you see Lenny and his
long-clawed cronies in hot persuit.
Time to get moving. Things back in hand, you find yourself at a fork in the
road; one path going to the right, and another going across a bridge and to the
left. Pick a direction, either direction. They'll both take you where you
need to go. My suggestion? Go right first.
Over one screen and the path branches off again. Right path gains you nada,
so ignore it. Stick to the main path and go over another screen. You're
confronted with yet another fork in the path. This time go left, then left
again to pick up a Thera Leaf. Instead of going back the way you came, turn
around and go straight, over the tree's roots.
Over another screen and follow the edge of the pond. There's a hidden path
branching off to the left about half-way up the screen. It's not shown on
your radar map (in the upper left part of your screen). When you see a pile
of rocks to your left, go straight right and that should put you on the hidden
path. At it's end is a HAE.
Back to the main path and up another screen. Then you'll come across, you
guessed it, *another* fork in the path. Take the left side to get a Faerie's
Sigh, then turn around and take the right side.
Go over yet another screen and a raised drawbridge will come into view. To
drop it, manipulate the levers in this order: RIGHT--CENTER--LEFT. The
bridge will drop, and you can pick up a Hit Area Expander in the middle of it.
**NOTE** If you screw up, or get confused, manipulate the levers a total of 10
times and the bridge will drop anyway. However, the HAE won't be there any
more.**
Use the save point on the other side. Now it's time to make a decision. Are
you in a hurry to continue on in the story? Or would you rather take a little
more time and pick up a couple more items (including a Crest)?
Those in a hurry: head straight along the path and into the clearing to start
an event. (skip the next 5 paragraphs)
Those not in a hurry: turn around and head all the way back to that first fork
in the road where you started. Yes, aaaallll the way back there. It isn't
*that* far, so quit your whining.
This time, take the left path, across the log bridge. Up one screen and along
the left branch of the fork will take you to a treasure chest with a Mana Leaf.
Take the right branch to continue on to, yes, *yet another fork*. Go right.
Guess what. You get to a fork in the road. Who would have known? Well, take
the right branch and cross the log bridge to find a treasure chest. In it is
the ---Barbatos Crest---. It is possible to keep going right. However, it
leads you to a place you've already been, so turn around and go left. Twice.
That should take you out to a path along the edge of a rock wall. Dip down
a few steps to a nook in the wall with a chest. Inside it is a Battery that
you'll need shortly. Back up and follow where the path leads. Thank
goodness, the forks are at an end. Don't forget to check the treasure chest
for a Pure Leaf and get the Faerie's Sigh hanging on the wooden fence by the
lift.
Pop the battery into the gadget at the back of the lift and ride it down. Use
the save point that comes into view and get set for a boss fight.
(people in a hurry, you can start reading again)
Half way into the clearing, Yuri suddenly collapses. Then we get our first
look at his new---
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It's *quite* different than the one in SH1. For starters, there's this huge
dead tree in the middle with a sleeping Yuri stuck in it. Two sets of stone
double doors lead off to the left and right, and a plain looking set of wooden
ones go north.
You get control of Yuri for a while, so poke around to your heart's content.
The stone doors to the left lead to another wide court, again with three
stone double-doors leading north, west and south. These are doors to the
Fire, Wind and Light fusion monsters. The stone doors to the right of the main
court lead to a similar set up for the Earth, Dark and Water fusion monsters.
The rickety doors to the north lead to another court, but this one has only
two elaborately carved stone doors; The Door to Desire, and the Door to
Destruction. Neither of these will open at this time.
To get things going, you need to touch one of the gravestones in the fusion
monsters' courts. Touching the stone will automatically suck out 20 Soul points
and activate that fusion monster, so choose carefully which one you'll want.
At this point, Yuri figures out he hasn't totally lost his fusion skills, so
All is Not Lost. For details on how his abilities work, see his Character
listing above.
Events get rolling again, and this time Gepetto and Karin share a little
talk about the last 6 months. Then Yuri starts having trouble.
Lights flash and out pops--
------BOSS FIGHT: ARACHNE
Yuri does wake up in time for the boss fight, but Karin again stays out of it.
Not much of an improvement on Gargoyle, the only slightly dangerous thing about
Arachne is the poison attacks.
Having Yuri fuse or not is your choice. At this point, there's not much of a
difference. Use Faerie's Sighs if you get hit by the poison, and just whale
away. Arachne shouldn't last all that long. As a neat bonus, you get the
---Crest Vassago--- when you win.
---Side Trip---
Squash Arachne and the World Map will open up, with the new destination "Paris"
available. Unlike SH1, you don't immediately have to go there. If you want,
you can go back into the Ardenne Forest. If you want two handy items, I
suggest you do.
You start out at the clearing where you fought Arachne. Go over to the lift
and this time ride it all the way to the top. There should be a little nook,
at the back of which is a Leather Cap. By the wooden fence is a tent.
That taken care of, your free to go to---
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...well, you get a quick cut scene before actually arriving in Paris.
Apparently, the little girl Lenny held hostage way back in the Dom Remy church,
Jeanne, died in the resulting ruckus. But, for some strange reason, she didn't
go on up to Heaven. Instead, she's loitering around in Yuri's Graveyard,
looking for something. Pick either answer to her question, it doesn't matter,
......I think, anyway.
Anyways, finally reaching Gepetto's old apartment, he does a little research
on the curse put on Yuri. Karin also gets a change of clothes. All 3 decide
it's too dangerous for her to return to Germany, since Nicholai is out to
"silence" her for witnessing the events in Dom Remy. So, she comes along. Now
she's an official member of the Crew. Yay.
Just then, some Iron Claws invite themselves in through the windows. Take a
few seconds to show them the way back out, and another event starts up. Her
skill with a sabre proved, Gepetto gives Karin the Nibelung Prologue. Yuri
also finds a Stud Card; Mr. Somlier. (Have SH1 save data and you'll also
get Mr. Swan). If you don't know what a "Stud Card" is, check out
Gepetto's character info at the top of this FAQ.
Once the crew is back under your control, pick up the obvious treasure chest
sitting to your left for the ---Crest Crocell---.
Then go through the door to the north. There should be another treasure chest
tucked in the bottom right corner of the room. Open it for a Thera Leaf.
That concludes your business in Gepetto's apartment for a good bit of time,
so out the other door we go.
Follow the sidewalk for a short ways, then take the steps going off into a
nook to the right. Examine the square board (a "?" should pop up) to open
a hatch down into the subway tunnels. (Should you try to go the other way, an
Iron Claw will keep jumping out at you, preventing you from going through.)
Go where the tunnel leads and you'll end up in---
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You can't ride the subway train just yet, so head up the nice, white marble
stairs and into the town proper. Nobody there says anything importan, so
tromp up the stairs all the way to the very top, first. A "?" will appear and
you'll get a Hit Area Expander.
Half-way back down the stairs, there's a landing where two men are loitering.
Neither one says anything important, but the one to the left side of your
screen is standing next to the door to a cafe. Duck inside and talk to the
bartender, Louis, who's an old acquaintance of Gepetto's. He'll give you the
idea to use the subway tunnels to sneak out of the city, and the location of
Prof. Gauchet, who designed the entire layout of the tunnels.
That concludes your business in Mon Martre for the moment, so back down the
stairs and to the subway. Half-way there, you get stopped by a man named
Ernest. At his side is a young wolf-pup named Tetsu. This serves as your
introduction into Blanca's skill-acquiring game, Wolf Bout. Tetsu himself is
all bark and no bite, so choose to fight the puppy and teach him a lesson.
For more details on Blanca's abilities and Wolf Bout, check out his character
info section above.
Tetsu sufficiently reprimanded, head back into the subway and ride the train
to---
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The station is void of interesting things at the moment, so up and out onto
the most famous shopping street in Paris. The second you step out into the
sunlight, you're greeted by a pair of........unusual.... fellows, the Mazymell
Brothers (would you believe they're both over 50?!).
More old acquaintances of Gepetto, Pierre will make dresses for Cornellia,
provided you can hand over a Stud Card. Look over Gepetto's chara info
above for details on the Cards and Cornellia's dresses.
The other half of the pair, Gerrard, is the shopkeeper. He'll give you a
discount card. This works quite a bit differently than in SH1. First of all,
you only ever need that one card. Buy things for a discount, and you'll stock
up points. Reach a certain number of points, and the card's rank will go up.
As the rank goes up, so does the percentage discount you can get. Using the
price-raising feature for selling goods does not get you any points. Second,
you can choose what percentage discount you want to try for right at the
beginning, so you don't have to do the Judgement Ring 3 times to get a 30%
discount any more. Yay!
At the moment, Gerrard has weapon upgrades for everybody, so pick them up and
start racking up points. Swing around the back of the staircase you just came
up and inspect the right side of the double doors back there for a LV1 Defense
Down.
Turn back around and head down the street. At the street lamp next to the
mother and son oogling a car is a Thera Leaf.
A little further down is the hotel. Go inside and duck around the far end of
the front desk to find a treasure chest. In it is the ---Crest Haures---.
Up the stairs are three doors, but you can only ever go in two. The one to the
left is eternally empty, so from here to the end of the game, it is safely
ignorable.
The first door to the right never opens, and the guy inside is always in the
shower. Again, ignorable.
The last door leads to a nondescript room with an equally nondescript old man
hanging out in there. This is the Professor you've been looking for, and it
turns out he's a huge fan of Gepetto's, so he gives you all the info you need
for free. Don't forget to open the chest between the beds there for a tent
before you leave.
So, back to the subway. Stop by the Mazymell's shop again and stock up on
Faerie's Sighs. Critters down in the Tunnels will come at you with poison and
paralysis.
Down the nice, white marble stairs and to the bottom left. Talk to the
kerchif-wearing guy, he's the Prof's #1 Student, Victor. He'll move, so that
you can get at the short set of steps behind him.
And beyond those are the---
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The Prof said to go right when you reached the first fork in the tracks. Well,
take that right and it's not to long before you come up against a huge engine
car, and it ain't budgin'.
No way to get around it where it is, and before you can start it up, you need
to replace a fuse in the engine itself. Wonderful. Not much choice in the
matter, off fuse-hunting we go.
Take the left fork and go over a screen, and you find yourself confronted with
three more tunnels to choose from. Wonderful again. Well, first things first;
treasure.
There's an obvious treasure chest in the far right-bottom corner with a Strike
Area Expander. A "?" should pop up if you look around under the little
dangling lightbulb to the left. That yields a Seashell Bracelet. Put that on
somebody quick, you're going to need it.
Next, take the leftmost branch. At the next intersection, take 2 steps left
from the fat wooden pole to find another "?" with a Pure Leaf. Veering left
only leads you to a dead end, so take the right branch.
For the moment, ignore the two corridors that show up, and instead go all the
way back until you reach a dead end. There, you get to see the Ring Fairy!
...er, Spirit of the Ring, I mean. Geez, he didn't have to get so mad about
it.
Put that extra attack on whoever you like, then back up three steps and go down
the corridor leading left. At the T-section, dip down to open the treasure
chest. It gives you an Magic Defense Down, LV1.
In the distance, you can see a Save Point glowing, so go up there and save.
Use a tent if you need it, the next save point is a ways off. Fiddle with the
switch-box in the upper left corner. That causes two far off engine cars to
shift.
Then go back to the three-way fork. You can go back exactly the way you came,
or you can take the tunnel going right that you skipped before, it doesn't
matter. Both take you back to where you started, without anything interesting
in between.
This time, take the right-most branch at the intersection, then left at the
next fork to get a treasure chest with a Pocket Watch in it.
Retrace your steps and go down the right fork, then take the very next left you
come across. Left again, then up all the way to the dead end. The treasure
chest there has a Pheonix's Tail.
Back 7 steps and left-then-up yet again. This treasure chest will give you a
Talisman of Luck.
Now, all the way back three screens to that first left turn you took, and go
up. Not 10 steps later should be yet another left. Take it, then go up, past
the tunnel to the right and to the dead end again. Grab the ---Crest Amy---
out of the chest and then go take that right tunnel you just passed.
Head up at the T-section and you shouldn't need to go far before you see light!
Yay! Climb the ladder and get some fresh air in---
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Nobody amusing to talk to right now, so go down the stairs and check the boxes
in the bottom left corner for a Faerie's Sigh. Use the save point, should you
need it and duck into the Junk Land Item Shop.
Talk to the proprietor once and he'll give you the fuse you need. Talk to him
again to stock up on items you're running low on.
*MENTAL NOTE*: Remember this store. Later in the game, you can get some nifty
items for Gepetto, and at the very end you can buy HAEs and SAEs here.
That done, dive back on down into the---
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Now, back aaalllll the way to the VERY beginning of the Tunnels. Fun, fun, fun.
Do you remember the way?
Down - left - down - right - doooooooowwwwn - down - down some more - oh, and
down again, then hook a U-ie at the end. Don't go back to Champs Elysees by
mistake, there's nothing you need there.
Anyways. Stop at the save point, put the Pocket Watch on your main fighter
(read: Yuri) and heal everybody up. After a length of FMV, you're going to
get dumped into a boss fight.
Preparations complete, go up to the engine car and get this whole thing
rolling.
Lenny finally catches up to the Crew, but bad luck and a cheezy gag send him
off spinning his wheels elsewhere. But, unfortunately, at the end of the line,
there's somebody else waiting for you. Enter Veronica! She calls in two of
her "pets" to deal with you.
-----BOSS FIGHT: KALTOS & BOLLUX
The red one is a Fire elemental, and the blue one is a Water elemental. They
will Combo and pile on one chara, as well as use the most annoying Petit Ring
on you, so pick one and get rid of it first.
A possible strategy is to fuse Yuri with Karol/Balbaria and use Karin's Sword
Art Feuerwelk in combo to bury the Water elemental first. Then shift Yuri's
fusion to Amnis/Maale and use Ice spells to destroy the remaining Fire
Elemental.
In compensation for that nasty little adventure, you get not one, but *two*
Crests; ---Sitri and Zebal---. Yay!
Defeating those two and it's clear sailing to---
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Down the steps and into town, and who do you see right in front of you?
Gerrard! He's got armor upgrades to use all that Cash you earned in the Subway
Tunnels on, but first check under the lamp post in the bottom left corner for
a Seal of the Heart.
**TIP**: Use the Seals in battle, not off the menu. Using them off the menu
guarantees that you only get the lowest possible value whereas in battle, you
get the middle to high value. Don't worry about failing the Ring, you won't
lose the Seal, you'll only waste your turn.
When you buy the armor upgrades, by one less Wool Coat than you need. There's
a free one in a treasure chest elsewhere in town.
Speaking of treasure, there's quite a bit of it lying around this town. First,
head to your right from Gerrard's little shop and go across the bridge. There
is a small little nook directly up from the other side of the bridge. Look in
the back right corner for a Pure Leaf.
Around the building to the far side for an obvious treasure chest with a Thera
Seed. Go straight down from there to the tree to see the Spirit of the Ring.
Don't forget to add that attack to a chara of your choice before heading back
over the bridge to the other side. Follow the dock until you find two men
standing side by side; Captain Milco and 1st Mate Petas. Talk to them about
passage to England. They'll do it, for a price. One you can't pay at the
moment. ^.^;
1st Mate Petas offers a suggestion to remedy that; join the Le Havre Town
Patrol and earn the money. No counter-arguements available, the Crew decide
to follow that advice.
*Use the save point* to your left before heading off. Trust me.
Continuing on your merry way, you don't get 7 steps before you get yanked to a
halt by some strange guy. Turns out he's Lottery Member #16, Faukes. Here
starts SH's grand old Lottery tradition. You have no choice but to do it, and
the red square item is the ---Crest Bathin---. At the moment, you only have 1
ticket, too. Now are you glad you saved?
Anyways. That done, skirt the edge of the sea into a deadend alley to pick up
another two items; a Wool Coat in the treasure chest, and a tent secreted in
the left corner.
Back to the intersection and down past Faukes to the manor house, but before
you enter the double doors, duck off to the storehouse on the right. On the
right side of the door is a HAE. Half way into the storehouse and to the left
is a SAE, and the treasure chest holds a Star Broach.
Now you can go into the Manor House proper. Walk up to the group of four thugs
who look like they came right out of 1920's Chicago. An event scene should
trigger, and congrats! You're now officially a member of the Town Patrol!
Oh, BTW, there's a Lottery ticket in the head of the bearskin rug, and a Thera
Leaf hidden by the painting up the stairs. Don't forget those.
Finish off any leftover preparations you might have left and talk to Patrol
Leader Cole. Then go out for the start of the evening's rounds.
You're given the assignment of patroling the south side of town, with the
warning that there's a pretty tough weirdo wandering the night streets. Catch
sight of him, and you're to call for help.
That mentioned, they head off to the left, and you go to the right. Mosey on
past Gerrard and across the bridge to the other side. You have to at least
pass the center of the square before the next event will trigger.
Nothing suspicious on that side of town, start back over the bridge. Before
you can set foot on it, the screams of your fellow "officers" echo your way.
Off to the rescue! ...but on the way stop at the save point, just in case.
Dash over to the dead end alley on the other end of town and an interesting
FMV scene greets you. Thoroughly whupped, your oh-so-brave fellow officers
turn tail and run the second you show up, leaving you to deal with one of the
cheeziest (in a good way) charas in the game: the Grand Papillion, champion of
love and justice!
-----MINI BOSS FIGHT: The Grand Papillion
A fairly tough customer, the G.P. will come at you with a considerable physical
attack, or the spell Drain. Make sure Gepetto and other charas on the low
end of the HP scale stay healthy enough to take a hit, and combo until the G.P.
gives up.
Or, as is actually the case, runs away, turning into a sparkly gold bat and
flying off into the night.
.....waitaminute.
Sparkly, gold bat?
Yes, fans of SH1, he's *THAT* Sparkly Gold Bat.
That thought aside, you still have to go back to your boss, Mayor Renaldo, and
make excuses for the G.P. escaping.
It turns out that it's not so big a deal, however, as Patrol Leader Cole takes
you to the south side of town again. Lo and behold, right in front of the
Black Gull stands the G.P., playing with some kids. Cole hands you a sack of
money, says basically "you know what to do" and beats feet, ignoring your
protests.
The smell of fish in the air not being because of Le Havre's proximity to the
sea, the Crew decides to talk to the guy first. You meet Granny Lotta, who
runs the Black Gull, learn that the G.P.'s real name is Joachim Valentine (Yuri
still can't place where he's seen the guy, the yutz) and everybody sits down
to describe what's really going on in town.
Deciding to change sides, head back to the Manor House to return the money
Cole gave you. But first, look in the far back left corner of the Tavern to
get a Mana Leaf.
Talk to the Mayor, and he has a problem with the Crew deciding to defect to the
other side.
-----MINI "BOSS" FIGHT: Le Havre Town Patrol
I put "boss" in quotes because these guys hardly warrant the title. Yuri
can take one out in a single hit. Heck, Karin can take one out in one hit.
The only potential danger is letting them live long enough to combo. They'll
make one big group to pile on a single chara if you don't wipe them out fast
enough.
After convincing the Patrol that no, they don't really have a problem with
your quitting, head back to the Black Gull to spread the good news. You're
barely there before Granny Lotta comes running in to tell you that the two kids
Joachim had been playing with earlier were kidnapped. The note from Mayor
Renaldo says that if you want the kids back again, you must bring the deed to
the tavern to the---
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Joachim takes command for this dungeon, so arrange your party members to your
liking and leave Le Havre. Don't forget to equip Joachim! He comes with the
---Crests Agares and Gremory--- too.
While you're at it, make sure your Pocket Watch is on somebody and if you
don't have enough Cash left over to buy another one from Gerrard, stock up on
Pheonix Tails. Two of the baddies in the Wine Cellar (Thugs and Hoodlums) will
come at you with Tight Ring and Fast Ring.
Plus, save any left over Faerie Sighs you might have. The Centepedes you come
across will try to hit you with Paralysis, and the Bugs will use Mental Break.
You'll get a Rosewood Bracelet and a Silver Bracelet fairly quickly inside
the Cellar, so you don't really need to buy one right now, unless you're
paranoid.
Equipped to your satisfaction, leave Le Havre and a new dot should mark itself
on the World Map; the Wine Cellar. Save and head in.
A group of Thugs much like the Town Patrol will attempt to stop you as you
come in. They're also just as easy as the Town Patrol was. Just be careful
that they don't have the chance to combo.
Be amused by the FMV that follows, use the save point, should you feel the
need, and continue on your way.
Through the door, you're greeted by the sight of a long, straight hallway.
Follow it all the way to the end, temporarily ignoring the two doors going to
the right. The hall should dead-end with a door leading to the left. Duck
through it and into the storeroom beyond.
Cross the catwalk on the back wall, but don't go through the far door just yet.
Instead, go up onto the catwalk lining the near wall to reach a treasure chest
and the Seal of Knowledge inside. Now use that far door and move on to the
next room.
There isn't much in it at the moment, except for a treasure chest tucked by
the back wall. Its contents is a Rosewood Bracelet.
**MENTAL NOTE** Remember this room and how you got to it (not that it's
terribly difficult). Once you clear the Wine Cellar, the Lucky Box mini-game
appears here.
Anyways. Rosewood Bracelet gotten and equipped on the chara of your liking,
head back through the other storeroom and to the main hallway. This time take
the first right turn you come across. Or the second one, should you want to
take the long way around. It's not like you're going to miss anything
interesting, one's just more roundabout than the other.
What you do need to look for is the hallway leading up. Sit through the event,
then hook a left where the corridor splits. Follow it until you can go left
again, which shouldn't be that far.
The door should lead you into another storeroom. Duck down to open the
immediately available chest and the Thera Seed inside. Now go around the row
of barrels blocking most of the center of the room and underneath the catwalk
at the bottom of the screen. There, you'll find a switch. Hit it, and the
stepladder on the left side of the catwalk will lower, clearing the path to
the other side.
Back around the barrels, over the catwalk and through the door. The only thing
of interest in the next storeroom over is a treasure chest that has a Silver
Gray Bracelet in it. Nab that and go back out to the hallway.
This time, go up and across, ignoring the hallway branching up for the nonce,
and then follow the hallway's turn down. Go 6 steps and duck through the door
going to the right, into yet another storeroom.
Clamber over the catwalk to your right, since that's the only way you can go
at the moment and ignore the switch by the door. Instead, duck underneath the
catwalk on the left to find a Mana Seed first. Then you can go and hit the
switch by the door.
That lowers the stepladder up to the catwalk on the left. Climb up on it to
reach the switch that will finally unlock the door. Into the storeroom beyond
and the lottery ticket inside the treasure chest.
Back through the storeroom and to the hallway again. Go up, then up again and
through two doors until you come to another storeroom, this one with a save
point glowing a little off to your left. I'd suggest using it to heal up.
Up the catwalk to the right and flip the switch. That lowers the stepladder to
the other catwalk, the Catwalk to the Left. Now let's go over to the Catwalk
to the Left and down the stepladder at its middle.
Do a U-turn and peek under where you just went over to find another switch. Hit
it to drop another stepladder.
Retrace your steps back to the door, then go across the Catwalk to the Right.
Pass the double doors and hit the switch to the left of them. That will lower
one stepladder and raise another.
Continuing to ignore the double doors, go up the stepladder just below you (the
Catwalk to the Left) and across the bottom of the room and under the Catwalk to
the Right, to reach the door hidden underneath it.
That door should lead you to another storeroom. First, go under the catwalk
lining the bottom of the room (the Bottom Catwalk) and flip the switch there to
lower its stepladder.
Climb up the Bottom Catwalk to reach another switch. This one drops the
stepladder to the Top Catwalk.
Rinse and repeat the process on the Top Catwalk. This time, the other
stepladder on the Bottom Catwalk comes down.
Back to the Bottom Catwalk. Go across it, then hook a U-turn to go underneath
it for the last switch, to lower the last stepladder.
Now you can get all the way across the Top Catwalk. Pick through the barrels
to find a treasure chest with a Pure Seed in it.
Peek into the storeroom beyond to snag the ---Crest Raum (sp?)---.
Shiny new Crest in hand, trudge all the way back to the save point. Use it and
prepare for not one, but *two* boss fights. If you don't have many Thera
Leaves left, stick a Crest with cure on Joachim.
All set, open the double doors. The scene you come across is not one you'd
have predicted. Patrol Leader Cole and Mayor Renaldo, who kidnapped the two
kids in the first place, are laid out flat.
The culprit stands in the center of the room, cracking her whip in impatience.
Veronica.
Righteously indignant over the treatment of the children, Joachim challenges
Veronica at first, and procedes to get his hiney tanned until Yuma can toss him
the butterly mask (oh, the melodrama).
Transformed into the Grand Papillion, you take over control of Joachim for a
quick---
-----MINI BOSS FIGHT: VERONICA
Grand Papillion vs. Veronica. This one shouldn't take too long. All Veronica
uses is Evil Ray, or an inconsequential physical attack. Don't bother with any
magic, just pound the snot out of her.
Thoroghly chastised, Veronica makes a hasty retreat, leaving behind a "pet" to
entertain you.
-----BOSS FIGHT: MULSO
This one is a little more serious. You have the whole crew to deal with this
over-grown frog and his two insect cronies. Mulso himself doesn't do anything
too effective besides Paralysis, but the Centepede and the Bugs can get really
annoying if you let them live too long. Squish the two bugs first, then combo
up and beat Mulso bloody.
Your biggest worry should be your party's SP levels. Karin still has only 6
SP, and Blanca only 9. Those can disappear in a surprisingly large hurry,
especially if you combo a lot, so pay careful attention to it.
According to the Official Navigation Guide, if you manage a 15+ hit combo, you
will get a weapons upgrade for Gepetto. To make 15 or more hits, you of
course need to succeed on a 4-Man Combo, and somebody needs to use Evil Ray.
Manage to slam Mulso into a wall in there somewhere and you can reach 16 or 17
hits, if not more.
15+ hits or no, you still get the ---Crest Sallos--- for winning.
The scene then moves back to Le Havre. In appreciation for saving their lives
(and stark terror), Mayor Renaldo promises never ever to bother Granny Lotta
about selling the Black Gull ever again. Not only that, but with a little,
ahem, "prodding", he also graciously offers to pay your entire way across the
Channel to Southampton.
Head on over to said Tavern to tell Granny the good news. In the FMV that
follows Joachim becomes a permanent member of your Crew, and you get the item
----King Solomon's Key----. It becomes the top option on the second page of
the menu.
----Side Trip----
Your business in Le Havre is now officially over with for the moment, but
before going to Southampton, there are some things you can do first: Wolf Bout
#2 and Lucky Chest.
You can do these at any point later on in the game, too, but now is always a
good time, so why procrastinate?
Lucky Box: Go back to the room I asked you to make a mental note about
earlier and there should be a man standing there. Talk to him and he'll start
up the Lucky Chest memory game. Right now, you can only do the lowest level of
the game, 100 Cash. But manage to beat it and you do get Thera Leaves, Mana
Leaves and the Stud Card Mr. Chef for winning.
Wolf Bout #2: Kerry. He's waiting for you back in the room where you just
beat Mulso. Nothing special at all, Kerry comes at you with not much more than
physical attacks. Fight fire with fire, and whale on him until he gives up.
It won't take much.
Anyways, when you're ready to move on with the plot, talk to 1st Mate Petas in
Le Havre, and he'll take you to---
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Typical England, it's pouring rain when you arrive. Take 2 steps and a short
little cut scene informs you that the road to Wales is blocked by a landslide.
Wonderful.
There's nothing else you can do in town right now except get sopping wet, so
hussle into the Inn before you catch cold.
Step inside and you immediately get tugged into a fairly long set of FMV and
cut scenes. You come across Katou, one of Yuri's acquaintances from
SH1, as his huge presence alone stops a potential fight from breaking out
among the inn's other patrons. Like Yuri, he seems to have had some major
life-altering things happen to him since the two parted company in Shanghai
little over a year prior.
When it's mentioned you were headed to Wales, the guy Katou saved from a
beating a few moments ago, Sefeau, pipes up and tells you about an alternate
road, through the Abandoned Mines of Rhonda. So what if there are a couple
strange critters lurking about in it? Nothing the Crew can't handle, right?
However, there's no going there this night, as the rain doesn't look like it's
going to let up until morning. Katou begs leave, Karin and Gepetto decide
to get drunk, and Joachim and Blanca crash up in your room, so you're left on
your own to explore the Inn.
First, nab the Hit Area Expander in the chest right at the base of the
staircase.
Since it's still raining cats 'n dogs you can't go outside yet, so go on
upstairs and poke around up there.
The first door leads to your room, with Joachim and Blanca happily off in Zzz
Land. Open the treasure chest between the two beds to get the Stud Card
Mr. Detective.
The second door opens into the room Katou is using. Talk to him to start up
a short cut-scene that does more to bring him up to date on what's happened to
you than give you any new info. He does stiffen up suspiciously when you
mention Sapientes Gladio, though.
The cut scene continues, and you find yourself in the Graveyard. Jeanne still
hasn't found what she's been looking for in Yuri's soul. She does finally let
you know what that something is, though; Yuri's happiness. Pick either answer
to her question, I don't think either are right. ~.~;
That done, morning comes and you're ready to tackle a town chock full of things
to do. First off, head outside to the gate leading out. No, you're not
leaving town, just look around the base of the lion statue there, where someone
dropped a Strike Area Expander they weren't using. I'm sure you'll have a use
for it.
Next, go talk to the guy in a nice suit standing at the base of a staircase cut
into the town walls. This is Sergeant Abham, and he'll give Karin a Chapter
of the Nibelung Opera.
Since you're right next to the staircase, go on up. Hook an immediate right to
find a hidden chest that'll give you a Leonard's Bear. Equip that on Joachim
right now. Trust me, you'll thank me later.
While you're up there, go talk to the gentleman in a white suit standing close
by; Imorahimovich, the Straw Millionaire. He will give you a straw, the first
piece in an item-trade mini-game that can net you Lucia's ultimate weapon at
the end if you do it right.
That's it for the top of the Wall, so head back down and go up, towards where
you see the Mazymells' car. Don't talk to them just yet, first duck off to the
right to find a lottery ticket tacked on the wall, near where the lamp-post is.
Take that ticket and talk to the stooped over old lady standing to the right of
the Bros. She's Gossipy Molleen, Lottery Member #15. Her Red Square Item is
a LV1 Slow, a really handy ring item.
Next in line are the Bros. Gerrard has weapon upgrades for you, as well as an
armor upgrade. Keep up a healthy supply of Faerie's Sighs and Phoenix's Tails,
as there are critters in the Mines that use the highly annoying Paralysis and
Blind Ring.
*Bargain Hunter's Tip*: Don't buy the weapon upgrades for Karin or Blanca. You
will get both for free in the Mines.
Now head on left-wards, and go through the open gate in the wood fencing.
You'll find yourself in a small yard, taken up mostly by a rather modern
looking wrestling ring. Almost immediately, an FMV starts up, as Joachim
recognizes the turbaned man in the ring. Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the
Grand Gama! He's also Joachim's errant Mentor, and the two immediately
launch into a training session.
---MINI BOSS FIGHT?(I guess...): The Grand Gama
A Leonard's Bear makes or breaks this fight for you. Equip it, and it's
pathetically simple. Don't, and it's downright impossible. The reason is,
about the only attack the Grand Gama will use is Grand Slam, which causes
instant death. The Leonard's Bear cancels that little bit of friendliness, so
instead the attack only does a piddling 10-20HP damage.
On the rare occasion when Gama uses only a regular attack, it'll still only
do a handful of damage, nothing really to worry about. Smack Gama a couple
times and the fight's yours, along with the Muscle Art Grand Slam!! Yay!
It is possible to go another round with the Gama immediately, but I'd strongly
suggest you wait until you're at least LV20 and/or have a voodoo doll or three
to spare before attempting to get the DeathTron Hammer skill.
Anyways, you get control of your party back, complete with new and improved
Joachim. So lets explore the area.
First off, go to the bottom left corner, and there should be a gray rectangle
kinda off to the side. Examine it, and you discover it's an aluminum locker.
Joachim instantly declares that he loves it and walks off with it, nevermind
that it might actually already belong to someone.
Ta-da! Joachim has just picked up his first weapon upgrade. See his chara
info above to find the locations of his other weapons. Don't forget to
actually equip him with it!
Walk around to the left side of the wrestling ring for a treasure chest that
contains a Seal of Aura.
And that's the extent of interesting things in Southampton, for the moment at
least. Make sure you've got all the supplies you need and pack your bags,
we're off to---
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Compared to the other dungeons you've been through so far, the Mines are huge.
In here, you'll also face your first huge enemy; Ramton Worms. You'll know
what I'm talking about when you come across one, trust me. They have (for
this point in the game) mega-HP and they do considerable damage, so don't mess
around. A 4-Man combo is just about right to take one out in a single round.
This also provides a great oportunity for unveiling Combo Magic spells. Don't
let it slip, because it'll be a while until you find another non-boss creature
that can stand up to a 4-Man combo.
So let's dive on in already!
Take the first left you find. Pass the path branching upwards, it only leads
to a dead end. When the tunnel takes a 90 degree turn, check the corner there
to pick up a Lottery Ticket.
At the T-section, go left and open the treasure chest at its end for a Mana
Seed.
That's it for this piece, so retrace your steps to the first tunnel and go up
to the save point. You'll want to use it.
Moving on, hook a right at the next intersection and poke around in the rubble
at its end for a Thera Seed.
Turn around and go straight through the intersection this time, round the fat
bend to where the tunnel makes a 90-degree turn again. Hidden in that corner
is a treasure chest with another Thera Seed.
Take 7 or so steps and go right, then right again into a short nook. The
treasure chest at the back of it holds a Casual Bone, Blanca's weapon upgrade.
About face and go up at the intersection. Around the other 2 sides of the
square, and go straight across the next T-section you find, as the path going
down will only take you back the way you came. Don't forget to read the
notice pinned on the post before riding the lift. You'll get a Lottery
Ticket.
Off the lift and you've only got one way to go. Follow where the tunnel leads
and again poke around in the corner formed where the path makes a sharp left
turn. You'll get to meet the Spirit of the Ring again.
After it leaves in a huff (Yuri tried a little too hard, I think ^.^;), keep
going along the tunnel. Skip the branch leading upwards, you can't go that
way just yet, and take the branch going down.
Ride the lift and it drops you off in a short tunnel that deadends into a
shack 8 steps later. Peep into the shack and a "?" comes up immediately.
Tap the O button, and you get the Key Item "Lantern" for your troubles. That
will come in very handy in a moment.
Back up the lift and head for that upward-branching path that you skipped 2
minutes ago. Turn the corner and the path suddenly goes pitch black. Yuri
comes up with the brilliant idea of using the lantern you just found, and
voila! the dark is no longer a problem.
You can take about 4 steps before you run into another little shack. This one
requires that you actually look to find the goodies, so search the boiler in
the back corner for a Seal of Agility.
Make a 180 degree turn (left or right, it doesn't matter ^.^) and go left at
the intersection. Go until you hit a T-section, hang a right, then a
left a few yards later. The path will deadend in a big, 2 level cavern, with
an unopened treasure chest waiting patiently for you. In it is Karin's
weapon upgrade, a Fine Rapier.
Spin around, turn right at the corner, straight through the next intersection,
and veer left at the next. You should only be able to go a little ways before
you hit a stone wall. Dig around in the rocks at the bottom of it for a Pure
Seed.
Retrace your steps to the last intersection and take the left-ish way. Follow
the twists and turns until you eventually come across another T-section. Veer
to the right. Over one screen and go right again.
You'll find yourself back in that cavern again, just this time on the other
side. Pick your way around the outer edge and under where the treasure chest
was before, and you'll meet Antisocial Anthony. He's Lottery Member #14.
*WARNING*: BLIND RING!! You have 1 second to look at Anthony's ring before
all the hit areas fade out! Pay careful attention and you can wrangle a Third
Key out of him.
Alright. That taken care of, go back an intersection and turn right. At the
next fork, go left.
Now for something new and interesting. Instead of a mere fork in the road,
this one's almost a full-blown crossroads! Whoopie.
First, and shortest, go straight ahead. It's more of a nook than an actual
dead end, but the treasure chest there has a real Studded Belt in it.
Take the up branch to get to a shack. Inside is...Gerrard?! How the heck did
he get there? Ask and he'll tell you.
Pick up enough Studded Belts to equip your party and re-stock on any items you
might need.
Once you're satisfied, head out and take the down branch of the cross-roads.
Ride the lift down another floor, and use the save point you find. Prep for a
boss fight.
The path only goes one way, so on we go, nabbing the Pure Seed in the pile of
crates to the right on our way. Where the tunnel widens out into a cavern, a
short FMV should start up. Get ready, here comes a---
-----BOSS FIGHT: GRIMLOCK
Grimlock uses Slow on you, and Gale on himself. A lot. Unfortunately, there
isn't much you can do to counter this beyond using Gale yourself. Believe it
or not, the ring item LV1 Slow works nicely on this guy. So you can use Gale
on yourself, and Slow on him. It all evens out in the end.
This is also a great chance to show off how good you've gotten at 4-Man combos.
Grimlock is Dark Affinity, so nail him with the Combo Magic Holy Pulse (if you
have it), or just about any spell besides Meteor Burst. Whichever spell you
pick, 2 good combos and you should have this fight well under control.
You get another Crest when you win, ---MurMur---. Also, according to the
Navigation Guide, an 18+ hit combo will earn you a Voodoo Doll. Good luck
pulling that one off.
*NOTE*: Don't hurry out of here. I don't know if you caught a glimpse of it,
but there is a treasure chest hidden at the base of the huge stalactite column
in the middle of the room. It's almost impossible to see on screen, but
put the exit diagonal from your chara's right shoulder and check the base of
the column. It should be in that area. In it is a Seal of Power.
Get that, and let's move on to---
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First comes a super-condensed recap of the events from SH1, as told from Yuri's
POV. (If you have SH1 save data, you get a neat little picture-in-picture box
at the bottom with footage from that game). Then you get to look around.
Not a dungeon, yet not really a town, Wales is home to the Strange Creature,
Roger Bacon. ...a very, very strange home, for a very, very strange creature.
First thing SH1 fans will notice is there's a huge crevase blocking the way to
the Nemeton Monastery, so that interesting old dungeon is off limits for the
whole game. Drat.
So down to the "house" we go. But first open up that obvious treasure chest
right behind you for a Seal of Life.
Head down the path and duck behind the first one of the "house's" huge "legs"
that spans off to your right. Back there should be a chest with a Hit Area
Expander in it.
Now go back to the main "body" of the "house" and poke around the two
uppermost claw/staple thingies tacking it to the ground. You'll meet the
Spirit of the Ring.
Last but not least (though certainly late), there's one more treasure chest to
the left-ish of the staircase leading into the "house" that has a Bear Claw, a
weapon for Yuri which you probably purchased in Southampton. Ah well. You
can still sell it.
Anyways. Onwards into the unknown wilds of the inside of this "house". A cut
scene promptly opens up, Yuri and Karin looking around and calling for Roger.
(Who anyone who's seen the opening movie knows has been kidnapped and, hence,
is not home).
You regain control with Yuri standing all the way at the top of the "house".
Go down around the left set of stairs, they're shorter. Once at the bottom, go
straight across, towards the bookshelves. You should see a treasure chest, and
in it is the ---Crest Forneus---.
Next, go down and around the near side of the red-checked stairs going through
the floor. The screen will shift, then examine the fat book sitting farthest
away from you on the counter for a Lottery Ticket.
Lastly, head over to the save point, heal up (the damage you took in the
tussle with Grimlock still isn't healed), and put Rosewood Bracelets on your
most important people. You'll need them in the coming boss fight.
Once you're ready to get things rolling, go down the red-checked stairs and out
of the "house".
Sit back and be very amused by the FMV that follows, (good Lord. What with
both Joachim and Lenny, Yuri comes off as a regular Einstein...).
Understandably annoyed after being duped by such a see-through trap (laid by
Yuri, no less) Lenny at least gets the fight he'd been itching for.
-----BOSS FIGHT: LENNY
With him come two Iron Claw Commanders. Squoosh those two pests first, then
concentrate on Lenny. He doesn't use magic, but his 6-hit physical attack will
do considerable damage. Plus, he uses Paralysis, which can get royally
annoying.
As always, combos are a Good Idea. Still, it's going to take a while to
convince Lenny to give up, so pay careful attention to SP levels, especially
those of Karin and Blanca if they're in your party.
Beaten, Lenny takes off with his tail between his legs and you get set to move
on to Italy, when this rather sketchy character calling himself "Thomas" shows
up.
Claiming acquaintance with Roger, he gives you some rather basic info on the
Sapientes Gladio organization, as well as the name and location of someone who
theoretically knows more; one "Carla" in the Italian town of Florence.
With nothing much else to go on, the Crew decides to trust Thomas and meet that
Carla person in---
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Your first visit to the Italian City of Flowers starts off with a very unique
and ...enthralling (well, Yuri was quite enthralled, anyway) tarot card
reading. Carla is a retired fortune-teller, apparently, and the reading was
done by her successor to the business-- Lucia.
Carla does agree to tell you what you ask, for the proper price. It doesn't
take much of the old gypsy's fortune-telling skills to divine that you're
nearly broke, so she offers a task to complete instead of cash up front;
retrieve a delicate flower from the gardens of a deserted island, Man Mariara,
and bring it to her. Lucia would come along as a guide.
No alternative choice readily apparent, the Crew goes along with the offer. So
out into the city for supplies.
And lots of useful treasure.
Before leaving Carla's house, check out the pillar to the left of the curtains
in the back to find a Strike Area Expander.
Ouside Carla's house and directly to your left is a treasure chest with a Thera
Seed in it. Go right from there, and peek in between the two wooden benches
above the large water fountain. A "?" with the ---Crest Vapar--- should be
there.
Swing around to the south side of the fountain, and you'll come across Rich
Merchant Jones, the poor sap who just had his fortune told by Lucia. Listen
through his lament over the fortune, and you'll get the next Nibelung
chapter from him.
A little farther to your right, and you should see a lady in maid's clothing
wandering around. This is Artist Peggy, and she'll give you the Stud Card
"Mr. Matador".
Against the far right side of town, a save point, the Mazymell Bros, and a
wolf should be readily apparent. You can do either the save point or the Bros.
first, it doesn't matter. Gerrard has armor upgrades for you, and you can get
another dress in exchange for the Card Peggy gave you.
Do make sure that your stock of Faerie Sighs is up to par, as the critters on
the Isla will use Seal and Panic, ailments that are annoying enough, but not,
IMHO, worth spending 3000+ Cash on the respective preventative items.
There's also another treasure chest secreted to the left of their car. In it is
the item "Bat's Gold", which will force Joachim's transformation into the Gold
Bat.
I'd definitely suggest you use the save point before fighting the Wolf (Jerome)
waiting near the Bros., just in case. Jerome is a magic-user, his physical
attack pathetic. He will occasionally use Seal, which will prevent you from
using any magic, so just be sure to have some Thera Leaves/Seeds handy and
pound the stuck-up brat into the ground. You should be able to do it before
needing a Pure Leaf.
Jerome sufficiently chastised, he will give you your third stamp in the Wolf
Bout booklet. Yay! Before heading off to Isla Man Mariara, stop by Earnest
in Mon Martre to get a nifty prize.
But first, there are a last few things to pick up. Go one vendor's stall up
from Jerome, and there should be a kerchiefed guy standing there. Talk to him
and he'll ask you for the "Dirty Straw" that you got from Imorahimovich in
Southampton. In exchange, he'll give you the Amateur Film.
Go even further up, and check in the right side of the doorway for a lottery
ticket.
That about does it for stuff you can pick up, so head to the bottom right side
of town for the way out.
Half way out you get called to a halt by Healthy Roonie, who will give you a
pedometer for free. Unlike SH1, this is the only one you'll get. You can't
buy more. Plus, Healthy Roonie never leaves Florence, so whenever you want to
check how many steps you have, or trade for a prize, you've got to come to
Florence.
When she finally lets you out of town, there's a short cut scene before you
arrive on the "deserted"---
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For all that it's supposed to be deserted, there is a really lovely, and very
large manor house on it. The house in which Lucia was raised, in fact. You'd
think she'd remember a little more about it. ~.~;;
There's nothing at all to see outside, so make sure you're equipped with the
apropriate accessories, like your newly acquired Pedometer. Also, the critters
inside occasionally affect you with either Panic or Seal. I don't think it
necessary, but put on Feather Bracelets and/or Bell Bracelets as you see fit.
All decked out, go up the long set of steps and into the manor house itself.
Lucia's grand tour of her childhood home starts with her stepping on a trap
switch. >.<
Swat the critters and get Lucia out of the cage, then open the obvious blue
treasure chest for a Hit Area Expander and use the save point to the right.
Sticking to the first floor for the moment, go through the wide double doors
at the back of this room, which we shall randomly name "The Foyer". Inside,
another short cut scene starts up, where Lucia kinda-sorta remembers something.
In the end, the only useful thing she tells you is that you need to collect 12
Zodiac Plates to unlock the three doors. However, which one of those doors
leads to where you want to go, she can't remember. ::sigh::
Well, first, the Plates. Open the obvious blue treasure chest in the room to
get the first three; Virgo, Aquarius and Taurus.
Out into the Foyer and hook an immediate right. Let's start on the right wing
of this manse.
The room on the other side of the door is a circular one. Thank goodness there
isn't much in here at all, because the camera is placed so that you can hardly
see. To get the single treasure in the room, put the big, fat pillar directly
in the center of your screen, and put your chara on the right of it, all the
way at the back of the room. There's a treasure chest there with a Pure Seed
in it.
Take the door in the back of the room and get out of there, into a corridor
that's much clearer of clutter. Go a short distance and another corridor will
branch out to the right.
First, check the lamps on the left side of the hallway at that intersection.
You should find a Seal of the Soul.
Now actually head up that corridor to the right, and open up the obvious blue
treasure chest in the solar at it's end. You'll get the Libra, Aries and
Capricorn plates.
Staying in the solar, put Yuri in the lower left-most corner you can get him
in to pick up a Lottery Ticket.
Back to the center of the room, then right, towards the end of the solar. The
Spirit of the Ring will pop up again, and before it (..he?) can leave, he lets
slip about having ...a wife?! ::blinkblink:: Okay. So. Judgement Rings can
get married.
Right. Moving on.
Back to the major corridor and up to the end. The solar on the other side of
the door isn't nearly so fun-filled as the previous one was. There's a box
with the Star Key in it, but that's about it.
However, that Star Key will get us into the Left Wing of the mansion. So back
all the way to the Foyer. Use the save point to heal up, should you so choose,
and take the curving staircase to the left of the double doors.
The door lets you into another innocuous-looking solar, with an equally
innocuous-looking table in the middle, set for tea. Approach this table, and
a "?" will appear. If you're insatiably curious, press the O button. The
little dialogue box informs you that there are Fortune Cookies, do you want to
eat one?
You take your life in your hands should you decide to eat one, because these
are Evil Fortune Cookies. They will randomly hurt or heal you, dropping or
healing you 1HP or dropping you *to* 1HP. They could equally likely heal you
completely.
If you're really curious, go ahead and eat one, though do keep in mind what
curiosity did to the cat. Otherwise, they're of absolutely no significance to
clearing this dungeon whatsoever.
Moving on. The Left Wing is a mirror image of the right wing, so going through
the door will lead you to another corridor, this one with a branch going to
the left. Duck down that corridor, and open the blue chest peeking out from
behind the foliage on the back-left part of the solar. That'll net you 3 more
plates; Sagittarius, Pisces and Scorpio.
Nothing else to find in there, back to the main corridor and up to the doorway
at it's end. On the other side is something a little Different.
To continue on into the last room, you need to pass a little quiz; you must
discover who in your party has AB type blood.
Well, you don't really *have* to, you could just have random people try to
open the door. But doing so, you'd lose the ring item LV1 Petrify, which is
nice to have.
To figure out who's the right person to open the door, you need to see which
member of your party makes the big crystal lamp light up when standing opposite
*both* Karin and Lucia; aka- Gepetto. (FYI- Yuri is O-type and Joachim is
B-type)
So get Gepetto to open the door, and the two treasure chests in the solar
beyond will both hold nifty things. The one on the left has the LV1 Petrify
(should you have opened the door with someone other than Gepetto, that chest
would be empty). The one on the right has the remaining 3 Plates; Gemini, Leo
and Cancer.
The last of the Zodiac Plates in hand, let's head back to the Foyer and through
into the room with the three locked doors. Place the plates in the following
order to unlock all three doors:
LEFT-MOST DOOR: GEMINI -- SAGITTARIUS -- LEO
MIDDLE DOOR, LEFT PANEL: TAURUS
CAPRICORN
ARIES
MIDDLE DOOR, RIGHT PANEL: SCORPIO
CANCER
PISCES
RIGHT-MOST DOOR: VIRGO
AQUARIUS
LIBRA
First, go through the Left-Most Door. It's a dead-end, but the treasure chest
inside has a Fifth Key, which is extraordinarily handy.
Next, take the Middle Door. It opens first into a short hallway, with another
treasure chest. This one has a Thera Seed.
Through the door at the far end and you find yourself in a wide, empty ball
room sort of place. Swing an immediate left and check the potted plant there
to get a free Feather Bracelet.
The door to the right of where you came in links directly with the Right-Most
Door, so unless you feel the insatiable need to unlock it just to have it
unlocked, you can forget its existance.
Use the save point at the far right side of the ball room, and equip your party
with Pocket Watches. There's a boss fight coming.
So, down the stairs and out into the garden. An event will unfold, the Crew
busying itself hunting the myriad of flowers for the one Carla asked for, while
Lucia slips off to the side... She flips this suspicious looking lever to
open up the cage in the back of the garden, unleashing a giant, ferocious pink
persian cat on you!! (that's ferociously pink, mind you. the cat himself has
vim, but not enough to be worth calling "ferocious.")
Or, well, she tries to unleash it on you. Kitty seems to think she looks
tastier. After watching for a sec, the Crew decides it'd probably be the best
thing if they saved Lucia from a mauling.
-----BOSS FIGHT: ANDRE
The most annoying thing the big, pink kitty will use on you is Fake Ring, which
is right up there with Blind Ring as the Most Annoying status ailments in the
game. Equipping Pocket Watches should take care of that problem neatly.
The second most annoying thing Andre does is Castille, an attack where he not
only swipes you with his claws, he also swipes a goodly bit of your Cash.
Anything else isn't really all that much of a problem. By this point, the
added damage from a Combo should start being really worth it, so see how many
more of those Combo Magic spells you can open up.
You get the ---Crest Peret--- when you win.
Subdue Andre, and Lucia admits that she and Carla had thought you all members
of Sapientes Gladio. Back in Florence, Carla expresses her apologies in the
form of the ---Crest Purson--- which she gives to you. She then launches into
a condensed history of the Sapientes group and her connection to it, as well
as the location of S.G.'s Italian Headquarters.
As you try to leave, Carla gives you one last thing: Lucia. Yep, the fortune
teller comes along as the 6th member of the Crew. Yay!
The end of that long event leaves you in Florence, so use this chance to stock
up on anything you might be running low on, and equip Lucia. She has the
---Crest Aim--- to start, but not much else. Keep Pocket Watches on, and you
might want to purchase a Mirrored Bracelet or two. In S.G.'s Headquarters,
there will be an enemy with Petrify.
Lastly, as a bit of a side note, there is one last treasure left in the manse
on Isla Man Mariara, in the grotto where you fought Andre. It is only a Mana
Seed, however, and there is no way to get it on your first trip through there.
If you think it's worth it to go all the way back through the house, then
you're welcome to.
Anyways. Time's a-wastin'. On to---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Leave Florence, and the HQ should pop up on your World Map. The enemies inside
will use Petrify, Petit Ring and Blind Ring, so have Pocket Watches and
Mirrored Bracelets handy.
The first screen starts you outside the building, where there's absolutely
nothing of interest at all. Go on inside.
Again, the camera angle is positioned such that a lot of clutter gets in your
way, but there is one treasure chest tucked behind the right-most pillar. In
it, you'll find a LV1 Delay, a handy-dandy little ring item.
Over another room, and you'll find yourself in a rather posh living room, like
what you'd find in a normal, well-to-do gentleman's house. It's also, for all
appearances, a dead end. Here's where you have start hunting.
First and foremost, peek behind the piano for a treasure chest with the
---Crest Uvall--- in it.
Second, check out the grandfather clock. At the moment, the little dialogue
box should only say that the clock has stopped, and not much else.
That clock is actually a hidden elevator, and your ticket to the next stage of
this dungeon. But to make it work, you must first open the option to move the
clock's hands. To bring those options up, there are four Books scattered about
the living room for you to read. The one you're looking for is the Red Book,
which sits on the table at the bottom-center of the room. In its little story
is the time 9 o'clock.
Go back to the grandfather clock, and the option to adjust its hands to 9:00
should be there. Move the hands to make the clock take you up a floor (with a
*really* annoying rattle, I might add).
There are another three books, Blue, Yellow and Black in various places in the
room, and they'll add options for 3:00, 6:00 and 12:00 to the grandfather
clock. However, putting the clock's hands at any of those times results in
nothing but quaint, pointless, effects. Once you've set the hands at 9:00,
you can't re-adjust them.
Anyways. You're on the second floor. And it again looks like you're stuck at
a dead end. To remedy that situation, examine the painting that's next to the
potted plant. It's a fake wall that'll spin around and put you in a little
room brimming with complex radio and computer equipment, a-la the fireplace in
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (minus rabid Nazis and spreading fire).
For lack of enough caffeine and a better name, let's call this place the
"Control Room".
Slide along the left wall until a "?" pops up, and flip the switch. That'll
open up a section of wall, and make a dead end about 5 steps longer, with a
door at the end.
That particular section of wall is to the right and up the first branch from
the hidden door into the Control Room. The room it leads to is a really
cramped library. Go right, around the outer edge of the room first, and poke
around in the resulting dead end to find a "?" and a Lottery Ticket.
Back around the edge of the room, and down the left side. A treasure chest
sits complacently next to a table and chair at the very bottom of your screen.
Pop it open and walk off with the Thera Root inside.
Follow the skinny aisle between the books, so that you end up close to the
middle of the room. In the bottom-right corner of the nook at its end, some
genius scribbled the Password on the floor.
What the Password is, only Yuri knows. Go back to the Control Room and input
the Password at the same spot where you flipped the switch. This'll make
another section of wall slide open, giving you another 5 steps of space and
a door.
This time just go straight down from the revolving "door" to reach the new
part. Inside, the revealed room is another extremely cramped library. Take
the upper aisle first, then hook around the near-immediate switchback to
reach a treasure chest, in what pretty well amounts to the room's upper-left
corner. Nobody else is using the Hit Area Expander inside it, so go ahead and
take it.
Retrace your path 7 steps, and around the impeding book case to the room's
upper-right corner. Hunt around a little and a "?" should obligingly appear.
Flick the switch and, surprise surprise, the walls move.
The bookshelves lining the bottom of the room shifted themselves a body-width,
uncovering a secret staircase going down. Be reckless and see what's down
there.
All the fun stuff in this new room, one which looks a lot like a normal,
cluttered basement, is on the right side. There's a treasure chest in the
upper right corner, with a Toggle Switch inside. You'll need that in a sec,
so take it along.
Go down two steps and make a hard left. Digging through the boxes in that area
should uncover a Seal of Talent (the one that increases DCP).
Just a little further down from that should be a slightly more visible treasure
chest, this one with a Strongoid, an item which forces Joachim to change
into "Invisible".
That does it for useful stuff down here, so let's head on back to the Control
Room. Attach the Toggle Switch to the cylindrical thingy-bopper adorning the
console at the back of the room and watch it start spinning.
How it worked I have no idea, but now the grandfather clock will take you up
another floor.
The rattling ride will drop you off in a billiard parlor (did they have juke
boxes in the 'teens?). Unfortunately, you can't play a quick game of pool
while you're there, so just snag the Talisman of Mercy hidden in the second
vase from the left and leave.
Next on the list of Useful Things is the save point one room to the right. I'm
pretty sure you'll want to use it by now, especially since you've got a Boss
Fight coming in about 30 seconds. Fortunately, this one doesn't use any status
effects, for once. You'll want to pile up on the defensive accessories,
though.
Finish your business and go one room back. Get half way in, and an event will
start. If you hadn't already noticed, except for the large number of beasties,
there isn't a single soul in the building. That includes the old fogey you're
hunting for, Roger Bacon.
Giving up, the Crew starts heading for the door, when there's a sudden, huge
shadow looming behind.
-----BOSS FIGHT: AJITOPUS
An uncomplicated sort of Boss, Ajitopus simply aims to smash you into a gooey
pile of mush with attacks that can do up to 70HP in damage. It wouldn't hurt
to designate one memeber of your party as Healer, and use everybody else to
attack.
Of course, Combos are Good. 3-Man, 4-Man, whatever works; smack this guy
harder than he hits you.
Defeat him, and your biggest prize is Lucia's tarot card, Justice.
Thinking they're finally done with things, the Crew yet again attempts to
leave, when somebody hears this funny whistle-whine...
The back wall of the room explodes inwards, Nicholai doing what is probably
the world's first *fly*-by shooting.
The Crew, of course, survives. But they're hacking and coughing in the stone
dust for a while. Yuri recovers first, and Nicholai proposes a deal; Roger's
life for the Emigre Tome.
Players of SH1 will recognize that name instantly. It's one of three mystic
spellbooks Yuri came across in his prior adventures, this one the Book of
Resurrection.
When one's opponent is on a floating ship with enough firepower to rip open a
two-foot thick stone wall, it kinda negates any negotiational leverage you
might have had. Yuri accepts the terms.
Cut-scene over, the World Map opens up, giving you no choice but to go to
Florence. Select the city, and yet another FMV starts up.
Yuri sums up his knowledge of the Emigre Tome and the two other spellbooks
associated with it in a short clip. He continues on to explain where he and
Roger then hid them after that adventure was over. Well, where he hid the
Emigre Tome, at least; in Wales, under the Nemeton Monastery.
That's where we get to go next.
Talk to Carla before you leave her house. From here on out to the end of the
game, she'll heal your party for free.
Don't bother with getting stuff in Florence right now, there's a whole bunch of
new and nifty things you can get at Roger's "house" in---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
...but you might first like to re-visit the S.G.'s Italian HQ. Y'see, there's
this wolf that's moved into the room so recently ...erm... redecorated, by
Nicholai.
You can just ride the grandfather clock all the way up to the 3rd floor this
time, so it'll be a lot quicker trip. Stop by at the save point on that
floor and equip Blanca with a Pocket Watch.
Henri himself seems like the reasonable sort, but it seems he's gotten it in
his head that he needs to defeat you to regain his proper form. His physical
attack is decent, but by far the most irksome trick he uses is Reverse Ring.
Having a Pocket Watch on will keep your Ring going clockwise, but the magic
spell Thorn that Henri uses is unavoidable. Have either a Crest with cure, or
a lot of Thera Seeds handy.
Once you've got Henri's pawprint in your little book, it's time to set sail
for Wales.
Head on towards the door into Roger's funky, funky home and you might notice
something that wasn't there last time you were here. Some sort of strange red
pillar is sitting between the 3rd and 4th staple-thingies tacking the house
to the ground.
Go check it out, and Joachim decides he loves it. Conveniently ignoring the
fact that theft of government property is a felony, he picks it up and walks
off with it. Don't forget to actually equip him with his shiny new Red
Mailbox on the menu!
Anyways, on into the "house", where you'll find some more things that weren't
there your first time through. For one, there's a new treasure chest near
where the save point is at the back of the first floor. Raid it for the Rope
Ladder, which will help immensely in getting to the Underground.
Take 4 steps to the right of there, and you should see what really looks like
a vending machine suspended from the wall with chains. It's the Continental
ZERO, ver.2!! Check it out, pop some quarters in and buy some nifty stuff.
It's inventory isn't quite so high-end as it was in SH1, but you can still get
weapon upgrades and the armor upgrade "Face Guard". Critters in the
Underground don't use any preventable status problems, so just make sure you
have a stock of Thera Seeds handy.
*BARGAIN HUNTER'S TIP*: Buy one less Face Guard than you need. You'll get a
free one at the entrance to the Underground.
Everything you need (or simply can afford at the moment) acquired, make tracks
for the huge crevace to the north of the "house". Look over the edge of it,
and a "?" should pop up, asking do you want to drop the rope ladder?
Well, jumping down would be a lot faster but the landing's a bitch, so yes, I
think you want to lower the ladder.
Down the ladder and into the cave in the cliff we go, the insides of that cave
rapidly becoming very un-cave-like.
First things first, grab the Face Guard out of the obvious treasure chest to
the left and definitely use the save point to your right. It's going to be a
long, long ways to the next one.
Now, the Nemeton Underground is a puzzle-dungeon. Fortunately, they start you
out with an easy one. Walk into the next room and go until the block you're
standing on moves. It floats you across the yawning chasm that comprises most
of the floor, stopping when it reaches an island of blocks.
There's only one way you can go, one that doesn't take too long in leading you
to another moving block. Take a right when the block drops you off, go 10
steps and ride yet another moving block.
You'll be riding a whole bunch of them in this dungeon, so get used to the
idea.
Anyways. This latest block will stop when it hits the far wall of the room.
You can go either left or right. Since there's absolutely nothing to your
left, going that way would be rather silly, now wouldn't it. Snatch the Mana
Seed out of the chest on the right and re-ride the block you were just on.
...not that you have much of a choice in the matter. The blocks are annoyingly
configured. You can't just cross them, you must ride it wherever it goes
whenever you happen to reach its middle. That's going to get really annoying in
a sec.
Ride the block back, and cross the three stationary ones. The next one is
rideable, but where you want to go is across it. However, it takes off before
you can clear it. Very irksome. When it stops, get off then on again, then
continue on your left-ward way when it stops.
Of course, you only go another 7 steps before you're riding yet another block.
This one dumps you off on a corner island with a choice of two more blocks to
ride. The one to the left drops you off at the door you came in through. The
one to the right drops you off by the door you have yet to go through.
Don't forget to get the Talisman of Luck in the treasure chest off to your
right on your way by.
Step on the red block and it'll take you down a level. Again, you're in a room
full of floating block islands, though this one is more colorful.
You've been left on what's little more than a ledge with two blue blocks, one
fairly dull and the other pretty glittery. At the very end of the ledge, a
funky, large, triangle crystal is stuck to the wall. The glittery block is the
one that'll take you to the next island, but you've gotta touch the crystal
triangle on the wall. That'll shift the glittery block from blue to yellow.
Step on the glittery now-yellow block and it'll take you to the island in the
middle of the room. Now, there are a handful of glittery blocks attached to
this island, but they will only move if they are attached to a dull block of
the opposite color. At the moment, only one pair matches that description.
Hop on it to waft over to a ledge with a treasure chest on it. Nab the Hit
Area Expander inside, bop the crystal triangle-switch and float on back to the
island in the middle.
Again, there is only one pair of opposite-color blocks available to ride, so
take it and go over to another ledge on the other side of the room. This time
the treasure chest has a Thera Seed in it.
There's no switch on the wall over there, so thank goodness a ridable block is
right there waiting. Hitch a ride back to the center island again. Go
straight from there to the block to your right. Yes, it's the same one that
you took to get to that other ledge, but this time it'll take you in a
different direction, trust me.
The next island is a skinny one, and again, only one of the two dull/glittery
block pairs is workable. Ride it to a dinky island in the corner, hit the
switch and ride back.
On the skinny island, the ridable block pairs should have changed, a newly-
turned-blue block your ticket to the red-block elevator going down.
B3F throws something different at you; glassy bridges that shift direction when
you touch the crystal circle buttons stuck to the wall.
For the moment, don't touch anything, just follow the path currently available.
At the T-section, go right all the way to the wall and touch the switch. That
should make the blue-glass bridges change, opening up a new way to the north.
Head that way, picking up the Seal of the Body in the treasure chest to your
left, until you can take a left onto a purple glass bridge.
The little ledge it ends at has a purply button on it. Press said button and
now the purple bridge leads down.
It seems kinda silly, but from here you go around until you're back at the
blue-ish switch you pressed at the start. Hit it again to put the blue glass
bridges back where the were at the beginning.
To make things even sillier, now you've gotta go all the way back to the
purply button on the far side of the room again and hit it not once, but
*TWICE*. Y'see, touching a switch moves a bridge 90 degrees, and there's one
purply bridge that can swing through a 270 degree arc. Pressing that switch
twice shifted one so that it now points directly at a really bippy little
ledge on the left side of the room. There's room for a treasure chest on it,
but not much else.
Grab the lotto ticket out of it, then retrace your steps back to the purply
button. Touch it another two times, and the purple bridges should now be
arranged to take you to the red block elevator in the far left side of the
room.
On to B4F. There's a save point right at the elevator, a welcome sight by this
time, I'd bet. Use it, heal up, and get ready to tackle one of the more
confusing floors in this dungeon.
No funky colors or glitter to the moving blocks this time, they just go when
you step on them, so hitch a ride on the only one available to you.
It'll float you to another island most of the way across the room. Step off
that block, do a u-turn, and step onto the block directly above it. This one
will take you down to the bottom of 3 levels.
You haven't much of anywhere to go, except to the pillar that has a crystally
diamond button on it. The color for B4F is orange, apparently. Bop the switch
and ride the block back up to the top.
Go left-ish from there, along the wall of the room. It won't be long before
another ridable blue block appears. This one also takes you down.
The floor of the room is a mix of blocks and chunks of flagstone. It's the
flagstone bits you want to tread at the moment, since there is a pile of orange
blocks, well, blocking (>.< sorry) the way you want to go.
Following the flagstones will lead you in an a fat arc back to the far left
corner of the room, and another orange diamond switch on the wall. Touch it to
make those pesky blocking orange blocks sink into the floor.
Go back the way you came, through the gap opened up when the blocks sunk, and
carefully around the corner.
I say "carefully" because if you make it a tight turn, you're going to find
yourself accidentally stepping on a moveable block that doesn't take you much
of anywhere yet. Note that it's there, but keep going on the ground floor for
the moment.
That trail will take you all the way to the back right corner of the room,
where a treasure chest is hiding. Open it up and walk back to that blue block
you just passed with a brand new Leonard's Bear in hand.
The block will take you back up to the middle level. The camera should have
pulled back a ways, so from where you're standing there should be a pair of
blue blocks visible; one kinda to your left, another sorta to your right. I'm
going to make landmarks out of them, so remember the names. The one to the
left is now the Left-ish Block, and the one to your right I hereby dub the
Right-ish Block.
Firstly, grace the Right-ish Block with your presence, and ride it up half a
level to a ledge. Nab the ---Phenex Crest--- out of the treasure chest on
said ledge, and take the Right-ish Block back down.
Next, you are *not* going to the Left-ish Block. Follow the flagstones up and
to the left, going around the big stone pillar in the middle of your screen.
The camera will make a sudden shift again, and you should be looking down on a
blue block.
Take it down a level, and follow the flagstones to the back left corner of the
room. If you think you're having flashes of deja-vu, you're wrong. You really
have been here before. And the diamond orange switch back there in the corner
will raise the orange blocks that had so rudely gotten in your way earlier.
Return to the block you just rode down and take it up again. Now, you're
*still* not going to the Left-ish Block. Instead, go north, towards the far
wall of the room and another diamond orange button. Tap it and turn around.
Walk past the Left-ish Block. Near the bottom of your screen should be an
orange stepping stone connecting the floor you're on with a flagstone ledge.
At the end of that ledge is a treasure chest containing a Joachim-specific
item, a Getitup!.
Now you can go and ride the Left-ish Block. All the way at the top, hitch a
ride on the blue block and on out the door. Whew! Finally done with that
room.
Enter the next one and an event promptly starts up. Besides that, there isn't
anything else interesting to see, so be on your way to the next one.
This new room isn't all that impressive, either. All that's in it is one
screwed up staircase, and three lights in the floor at the base of it. Step
on the BLUE LIGHT, then the GREEN LIGHT, then the BLUE LIGHT again to fix the
staircase.
On to the next room. Now you've got two screwed up staircases to deal with,
and a yellow light added to the mix on the floor. For the staircase right in
front of you, the magic order is: YELLOW --> GREEN --> GREEN
Don't go up them just yet, take a step to your left for another go-round. This
time, tromp on the BLUE LIGHT THREE TIMES, the YELLOW LIGHT TWICE, and the
RED LIGHT TWICE.
At the top of those steps is a chest. Yay! Inside that chest is the ---Crest
Berith---. Even better! Snag it and make your way to the next room.
And a doozy of a big room it is. ...is that the Mazymell Bros. off in the
far corner?! How the hell'd they get in here? You can ask them and see, but
first you're going to want to duck over into the right corner nearest you.
In pops the Spirit of the Ring. ...and he pops right back out again when Yuri
starts asking about his wife.
Anyways. Go talk to the Bros. and hear their story about getting in there.
They don't have anything new and different from the Continental Zero back in
Roger's house, but if you couldn't get everything there, now's the time to
grab the last of it.
Also, if you don't have 4 Leonard's Bears, now's the time to get them. You
will need them.
That accomplished, use the save point and head on up to the last puzzle in this
dungeon. Finally!
So where the hell is the floor?!?!
It's invisible. Oh, thrill.
Step on the yellow blocks at the end of the ledge, and a white path will blink
into existance, temporarily illuminating what little floor there is. Be
carefull and take your time. You can fall off the edges of this floor, and it
will land you in the big, open room you just came out of. You don't lose any
HP or anything, it's just a pain in the butt to come back up the stairs and
start from the beginning again.
On a good note, those sections of invisible floor that you do successfully
cross are lit up permanently, so you're not totally back at Square 1 should
you fall off.
There aren't any major tricky bits to this puzzle, so all I can do is say
"tread carefully" and don't forget the Mana Extract in the treasure chest on
the ledge in the far right corner.
The red block on the far side will take you up one last time, and drop you off
in a little chamber with a save point directly to your left. You'll want to
use that.
Also, put Leonard's Bears on all 4 of your party members. And just in case it
might work, put LV1 Paralyze on the ring of one of your main attackers.
That done, step into the next room, and a--
-----BOSS FIGHT: GRAIL GAZER
This giant, floating jelly-fish comes out with a pair of starfish pets in tow;
Gazer Bits. Kill those little things, and kill them fast. Not only do they
combo with Grail Gazer, they also use an instant death effect that works with
disparing consistancy.
Bury the Bits and Grail Gazer himself isn't anything a few well-done combos
won't take care of. Finish him off, and the ---Crest Ose--- is yours.
Once you've put the giant jelly-fish in the ground too, an event promptly
starts up. The first time he's touched the Emigre Tome since what happened
at the end of SH1, Yuri's opinion of the book, and those who've used it before,
takes a sudden, heart-wrenching about-face. It *is* the book which can bring
back the dead, after all.
But at the moment, it's the book the Crew needs to get Roger back. With it in
hand, the World Map opens up, automatically adding the destination---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
Cannes is full of goodies. Unfortunately, none of them are on the first
screen. Use the save point off to the side if you want to, and go on down the
steps to the right.
You should almost bump into a guy who's pacing circles in the middle of the
street, there. Talk to him, and you discover he's an aspiring film director,
and he's quite interested in the Film you recieved from the straw worker back
in Florence. You can give it to him, OR you can wait a couple minutes and talk
to another person in the lower half of the town.
Before hunting down that second person, you might want to check out the flower
planters to the left of the lady on the far side of that street, Cannes-Born
Clare. Some considerate soul secreted a Seal of the Heart there just for you.
Go over one screen, and you're perched at the top of what I call the Double-
Back stairs (mostly 'cuz they double back on themselves). Before taking the
plunge, peek around the lamp post for the Lottery Ticket hidden there.
On to the lower level of the town. At the base of the Double-Back stairs,
there's a dry water spout against the wall. Lucia's third Aroma Therapy oil,
Grass Oil, is in the bottom of it.
Step over a screen and into the most active part of Cannes. Just about
anything worth getting or doing is done in this half of the town.
Top of the list is talking to the well-dressed gentleman standing right next
to the first building of the row. His name is Big-Mouthed Croft, and he's in
charge of the Treasure Hunt game. It's a neat little mini-game that basically
involves following a clue to find useful hidden treasures. At the moment, he
will give you the first of five clues. Check
From there, go a little to your left. A little kid should be pacing circles in
the street, much like the aspiring actor back in the upper level of Cannes.
The kid, however, isn't an aspiring director, he's an aspiring critic. You can
give the film you have to either of them, at this point in the chase, it
doesn't really matter which.
The last thing you can do before ducking into the cafe next to Croft is talk
to the lady standing at the end of the row of buildings. Cannes-born
Maribelle is Lottery Member #13, and her Red Square item is the ---Crest
Marchosias---. **WARNING** She uses a Petit Ring! Get out your bifocals.
Next, lets move the plot along a little bit, shall we? Head on into the cafe.
Talk to the fat guy in the far corner, buy him a drink, and he'll give you
the Stud Card Mr. Samurai. He also makes the ...interesting... suggestion
that Yuri pose for one. ^.^
But the guy you really want to speak with is the weaving drunk in the other
corner. He's Nelson. Intimidate him a smidge and he'll not only give you his
dinghy, but also a set of keys, so that you can sneak into island prison where
Roger is being held.
So now you just need to get to the boat. Leave the cafe, go a screen to your
left, and the first sight that will greet you is the Mazymell car. You've got
a Stud Card to burn, and Gerrard has armor upgrades for you. Buy away.
*BARGAIN HUNTER'S TIP*: Get one less Western Belt than you need. There's a
free one in a treasure chest at the end of the docks.
Those docks are located just a bit to the left of the Mazymells, and the chest
sits in a really obvious spot right next to a little boat tied to the end.
Raid it's contents and check out that little boat. It's time to start rowing
for---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
You tie up the boat in a little underground cave, a door to your left and a
save point to your right. Equipping a Pocket Watch or three might not be a
bad idea, since the Alligator Bugs in here will try to hit you with Up Ring.
Otherwise, there isn't much in the way of status ailments you'll have to
worry about right away.
Equipped to your satisfaction, head towards the door. 3 steps shy of it, some
brazen wolf streaks past and lifts the keys Nelson gave you and slips away
through a crevace in the wall. It should go without saying that the crevace is
entirely too small for any non-child human to fit through. It should also go
without saying that, minus the keys, the Crew can't get into the prison (seeing
as they have no proficient lock-picker, and to do something illegal and get
arrested would defeat the point of having a way back out).
The hole, however, is big enough for a wolf to fit through, since, well, one
just did. So Blanca gets volunteered for the job.
Your controlable party will then shrink to just Blanca. This will be a pretty
short, painless outing (this time), so you needn't go through too much trouble
equipping him.
Squeeze through the hole in the wall, and you pop out in a small forest glade.
Only two paths are available to you, one to the left, one to the right. You
want to go left first.
The wolf sitting next to the save point is not the one who stole the keys. He
is Merchant Wolf Marche, and his wares pretty much resemble what the Bros. had
in Cannes.
Further to the left looks like a simple dead end, but diligent search in the
underbrush back there will yield a fat prize; the ---Crest Camio---.
Back up a little ways, and take the right trail. Again, there's a wolf sitting
in the path, but you only have to go near him to trigger an event. This is the
one who stole the keys, and he's got a very strong opinion on strangers coming
to the island.
Too bad he himself isn't as strong. Not a Wolf Bout fight, this puppy is easy
to take down. He runs off, tail firmly tucked between his legs, leaving both
keys and threats to tell the Alpha of his pack. I'm sure you're really scared
(sheyah riiight).
Anyways, the keys were the only thing of any real concern, and them in, er,
paw, you automatically return to Yuri and the Crew continues on its way.
At first, you haven't much of a choice in ways to go. The first corridor takes
you to a wooden door, on the other side of which is a small room with only one
other exit. Empty the treasure chest in the corner of it's Lottery Ticket
contents before continuing on.
The next corridor again does not present you with much in the way of variety.
It's forward progress is halted by a metal bar door. Going in the door to the
left results in an event that promptly boots you right back out again. So all
that's left is the door to the right.
That one opens into a cell block. There's only one door out, straight to the
right. Unfortunately, it's got a combination lock on it. It's only a three
digit combination, but that's still a whole lot of possibilities. Sitting
there trying randomly (heck, even trying in a patterned fashion) will take
forever and a day, so go talk to the inmates (more accurately, their cell
doors) and see if they can give you any clues.
Or you could just do things the easy way, and just read the next sentence. The
combination is **8-6-4**.
**NOTE: You have to examine the locked door and realize it's a combination
before any of the inmates will give you clues.
Regardless of whether you decide to figure out the combination the easy way or
the hard way, you're going to want to visit the first cell in the middle
hallway. The inmate's name is Thompson, and he's a panty-thief. He apparently
really regrets his crimes, and has chosen to atone by bringing a little bit of
happiness to whomever passes by.
Or frustration. It depends on whether or not you succeed on the first try or
not.
Yep. Thompson the Panty Thief is Lottery Member #12, and he'll give you the
ring item LV2 Slow, should you manage to hit the red sliver on his ring. Be
warned, the bar stops quite a bit farther along than where you think you
stopped it.
Moving on. Through the once-locked door, down and around the stairs, deeper
into the bowels of this prison.
Halfway down that staircase, stop. The room beyond is a Point of No Return of
sorts, and you will probably want to take this opportunity to unequip useful
Crests and Accessories; for example, a Crest with Cure, the Paralysis or
Slow ring items, and any accessories you happen to be fond of putting on your
lead character.
Once you enter the next room, an event will begin. Blanca smells something not
to his liking, but the rest of the Crew moves on obliviously. Lucia also then
notices something not quite right, but in her typical absent-minded way, she
can't recall what exactly it is until *after* everybody's keeled over and well
on their way to unconsciousness.
What happened, basically, was Veronica. She'd liberally laced the room with a
paralization perfume, and Lucia couldn't ID it before most of the Crew had
inhaled too much.
The only one to get out in time is Blanca. Unfortunately, there's nothing he
can do immediately, except get the hell out of Dodge.
You, however, have more pressing issues on your plate. Like picking who gets
to be Veronica's new favorite toy. Yes, she has...erm, inclinations to match
her outfit, and her arguement with Lucia has put her in the mood for some
stress relief.
No, not *that* kind of stress relief, just the usual stick-'em-on-a-rack-'n-
pull-'til-they-scream sort of stress relief. And you get to pick the lucky
victim. The list of panicked thoughts goes in this order:
Yuri
Karin
Gepetto
Joachim
Lucia
Choose whoever you wish to give a weapon upgrade to.
(For the budget conscious, both Karin's and Joachim's next weapons are
available free near the next dungeon, so you might want to choose someone else)
Fans of SH1 will recognize the ensuing situation: your poor chara straped to a
whacky looking machine by a nutcase all too eager to turn up the juice.
So, do exactly what was recommeded to be done in SH1-- choose all the TOP
answers. That'll keep you from getting fried, and put a weapon upgrade into a
treasure chest as a consolation prize for later.
Should you decide on other answers, there will be a Third Key in that chest.
Either way, you're still left dangling on the rack and wishing Blanca would
hurry up!
At the moment, the Wolf in Question has just made it back to the underground
mooring of your dinghy, all the way back at the beginning of this dungeon.
Obviously, he's the only member left in your party. This time, you'll want to
equip him for a much longer solo trip.
While you're doing so, might I suggest you put a Silver Bracelet on? A
ring item, like Paralysis or Slow, could be useful as well. You will
appreciate them later.
Slip through the hole, talk to Merchant Wolf Marche should you think your
supply of Thera and Mana seeds in need of a suppliment, and take off down the
path going right.
At exactly the same point you got stopped on your first trip this way, you get
stopped again. It seems that wussy wolf you dealt with earlier made good on
his threats to whine to his boss.
This drags you into a Wolf Bout with the Alpha of Ste. Marguerite; Phillipe.
His arsenal will include Evil Bone and a Mental Break laced physical attack
that packs a whollop even if the status ailment doesn't stick.
Having a Silver Bracelet on will make sure that the MP-draining effect
doesn't get a foothold, but there isn't much you can do about the other two
attacks besides hope you've got enough in the way of Thera Seeds.
Phillipe is fast, too. Slapping a Gale on yourself might help even the odds
in the turns department.
Tough it out until Phillipe caves, and you get an unexpected bonus. Now *you*
are the Alpha of Ste. Marguerite. Whoop-de-thrill.
What that means in more concrete terms is that now Phillipe's pack will now
help you out however they can. At the moment, that consists of giving you
directions on how to get into the prison again, which is easy. Just take the
right fork where the path branches off again.
Use the save point next to Marche. Trust me. The really hard part starts one
screen over, and you'll likely want to reset should you screw up.
Once you've got everything in order, suck in a deep breath and dive on down
the path.
The screen shifts, and you're back in the prison, although in a section you
haven't been to before. Fate has been merciful, so you are not expected to
take on alone random encounters like the one you faced with the whole Crew.
Instead, we're going to try something New and Different: stealth!
Blanca gets to try out his Solid Snake impression in this small part of the
game, where we play Dodge the Guards.
You're starting at the end of a long, straight hallway, so move carefully
forward until you reach an intersection. At that point, a small cut scene will
start, giving you the technical basics. The little navi thing in the upper
left part of your screen is your friend. Use it.
Even if you do trip up and get spotted, the guards aren't so difficult that
you're in immediate danger of getting killed. But, should you manage to make
it aa~~~llll the way to the end (this is LONG, folks) without getting made
once, there's a Zodiac Bracelet in it for you.
This first intersection is a cakewalk, as there is only one guard and half
the time he's got his back to you. Wait until the little red arrow is facing
away and dash right across.
Follow the hallway up and round the corner. 12 steps later, there's another
intersection, this time with two guards talking. Again, a short cut scene will
trigger, giving you the technical basics about getting across a debris-covered
floor without calling attention to yourself. This one should be even more
of a cakewalk than the first intersection.
So again go along the hall, turn the corner and go down until you reach yet
another intersection. Now they're trying to get complex on you.
It's a 4-way intersection, and the way you want to go is to the right, not
straight across.
There is not one, but two guards keeping an eye out here, and they're not
moving at the same pace.
And, just to put the icing on the cake, they're going to tempt you with a
treasure chest in between the two of them.
First; IGNORE the treasure chest. You'll be coming back through here later on
with the whole Crew in tow, so you can get it then.
Second; WAIT. There are no prizes for speediness. There is a point in their
rotation where both guards face away for a good bit of time. It's plenty to
get around the corner and through the door without getting caught.
On to the next hallway.
A very straight hallway. One with no intersections, and a guard coming *right*
at you.
Now Blanca gets to show off just how talented a wolf he is. A cut scene will
interject again, explaining the technical stuff about getting Blanca to stand
up and hide behind the columns projecting into the corridor.
The second the guard turns his back to you, dash forward until the screen
shifts, having you look at Blanca through the red bars of a (probably familiar
looking) metal door.
You're going to want to hide on the LEFT side of the column situated on the
RIGHT side of the red-bar door. As soon as the guard passes, drop and duck
around the column so that you're now hiding on the OTHER SIDE of the SAME
column.
It's going to take a sec for the guard to pass again, so be patient. The
instant he's past, hide on the NEAR SIDE of the NEXT column.
Wait until he's got his back turned to you again, and make a mad dash for the
door at the far end of the hall.
The next corridor is a little wider, but there's still a guard headed directly
your way. Slip into the (thankfully empty) guard room just to your right.
While in there, might as well grab the keys to the cells the Crew is being kept
in. Unfortunately, the keys are hidden in a totally random one of several
possible places in the room. You have a certain number of tries (I think 5)
in which to find them, or the guard will walk in on you. Good luck!
Once you've got the keys, go out the door and head to the right. Nevermind
the stairways, you can't use either one just yet. Keep going right until you
get to another door.
You're clear for about 14 steps, when you hit yet another intersection. You
want to go up, so wait for the guard to walk right past you, then high-tail it
for the staircase at the end.
Wind down the stairs, and you're confronted with yet MORE guards and a choice
of two ways to go, right or left. The room is a square, so either way will get
you to where you want to go in the same number of turns, it's just much easier
to go to the right, IMHO.
You have 3 guards to worry about, all of whom are moving in random patterns.
If you decide to go to the LEFT, immediately around the corner is a patch of
debris, so WALK around the corner. Go until the corridor forces you to go
right, and then take the first turn up, to the door.
Should you choose to go RIGHT, the first two turns are safe, just be careful
the guards don't get you in a pinch. Follow the hallway until it forces you
to turn left, then WALK. There is debris all over the floor directly after
that turn. Again, the way out is up.
In the next room, there are only two guards. However, they are staring right
at the door you want to be going through. What you have to do is let them
notice you *deliberately*. Run straight ahead and up to the red-bar gate that
separates them from you. Since they can't get at you through the gate, they'll
immediately head around the sides, assuming that you'll be good and sit right
there where they can catch you.
Don't be nearly so polite. Instead, scamper back and around the right side of
the room like you're tail's afire. No matter which side you choose to go
around, there will be one guard coming at you, so choose a random column on
the long side and hide on the near side of it until the oblivious guard wanders
past. Once he's gone, full speed to the exit.
Once you're through, FREEZE. Do not go barrelling into this next room, or
you'll regret it. Take a second to switch the Silver Gray Bracelet out for
a Shell Bracelet on your accessories list, and double check your store of Thera
Seeds, you're getting ready for a--
-----BOSS FIGHT: OSCAR
Take six steps into the room, and you find out quickly it isn't unoccupied.
Veronica's "pet" Oscar is making sure no one gets through.
The two-headed mutt uses both physical and magical attacks effectively, doing
more than 30HP of damage each round. Plus, he's trying to poison you.
Hopefully, you managed to get that Shell Bracelet on in time.
Don't bother putting Gale or Shield or any other stats-raising spells on, he'll
just immediately counter with "Restore", which will negate all of them.
He's also got scads more HP than any Wolf Bout you've encountered up to this
point. Whittling him down to zero is going to take some time. Keep an eye on
your SP and get crackin'.
Defeat him, and you get Lucia's Tarot Card "Temperance" for a prize.
As soon as you've got Oscar cowed, check the floor and the chain winding around
on it. Find the point where the chain is bolted to the floor and press the O
button. You should pick up another of Lucia's Tarot Cards, this time the
"Wheel of Fortune". There won't be any "?" to tip you off as to exactly where
it is, so be thorogh.
Congratulations. You've now gotten the first prize in Big Mouthed Croft's
Treasure Hunt game.
Before going through the double doors at the far side of the room, head up the
short flight of stairs to the right and around the edge of the room to reach a
treasure chest almost right above the door you came in. Inside is a Strike
Area Expander.
That taken care of, go through the doors and down the stairs to reach your
eagerly waiting companions. A short little event starts up so that the
programmers can avoid having to depict Blanca manipulating keys, and your party
returns to it's normal configuration.
Once more, Congratulations. You're now done with the second phase of this
dungeon. But guess what. You've *still* got to get Roger out, so you're not
done in here yet.
::SIGH::
Use the save point that's glowing peacefully off to your right, get up,
stretch, grab a snack from the kitchen, and get ready to tackle Phase Three.
First off, check out the room you're in. There's a treasure chest next to the
left end of the cell block. Inside is the weapon upgrade for whoever it was
who endured Veronica's tender affections. Hidden among the boxes to the left
of that is the ring item Magic Defense Down LV2.
That clears this room of interesting things, so retrace Blanca's steps through
the room Oscar was in and on to the next one. Head around the room's RIGHT
side. At the first corner, you should run into the Spirit of the Ring! The
poor guy's got not only a wife, but a daughter and a morgage to worry about, so
I guess we should start taking him a little more seriously.
Additional attack acquired, time to move on. Breeze through this room and go
on up the stairs.
Five steps down the hall at the top, you get interrupted by a voice from the
cell next to you. The guy's name is Nimble-Fingered Locke, and he helped
design this prison. That, apparently, was his crime, and hence he's been
stuck in here.
As a chance to thumb his nose at the creeps who imprisoned him, Locke offers to
jury-rig the special key needed to open the cell Roger is probably being held
in. You just have to go round up the three supplies: a slim rod, a flexible
wire, and some glue.
Unfortunately, he can't really tell you where to find them. Drat. Well, since
you probably can't open Roger's cell without that key, you don't have much
choice in the matter.
So we'll keep an eye out for those three things while we turn this place inside
out looking for nifty treasure.
The first of those is in a chest all the way at the bottom of this hallway.
Make the trip down there to grab the tent in it before going through the door
to the left.
That puts you back in the hallway which has the staircase going both up and
down. There's nothing stopping you from exploring them this time, either.
Head down first.
Raid the treasure chest at their base for a Daphne's Fruit, then move on to the
next room; Veronica's "play room". Examine the right side of the Wacky Machine
for a Seal of Strength and hussle on through.
The next room is, naturally, the room where Veronica managed to capture almost
all of you. Now you have a better chance to see what's inside of it.
Most obvious is the round, green thing lying in the middle of the floor. The
instant Joachim sees it, he waxes all poetic on it and adds it to his growing
collection of weapons.
Like the room where Blanca fought Oscar, there are two raised ledges running
along the edges of the room. Up the near stairs and to the end, where someone
tried, and failed miserably, to hide a treasure chest. One might say it's in
plain sight, even. Take the Pure Root inside it and try your luck with the
ledge going around the other side of the room.
Hidden, this time with marginally more success, is a "?", under which is a
Lottery Ticket.
Get that, and that does it for this room. Go back out *the way you came*, back
through Veronica's play room and up the stairs, all the way to the top this
time.
There isn't much up there, except for Nicholai' study. The results of Blanca's
stealth operation are in the chest to the left. According to the Official
Navigation Guide, getting caught zero times nets you a Zodiac Bracelet. 1-3
times is a Strike Area Expander, 4-6 times is a Pure Extract and 7 or more
times is a Thera Extract.
Then poke around Nicholai' desk, where sits a fountain pen quite conspicuously.
That'd serve quite nicely as the "slim rod" part of the Jury-Rigged Key.
Since Nick didn't leave us any other interesting/useful junk in here, I'd say
we can leave this room forever and all time. Back down the stairs and on to
the left.
the next hallway should be somewhat familiar. You've been here twice now.
Without that guard getting in the way, you can now unlock the red bar door.
Duck through that and make an immediate left into the room that a cut scene
used to boot you out of.
This is the Storage Room. Remember this place. After you've cleared the
Castle of Mirrors, the entrance to the Castle of Pale Leaves will appear here.
At the moment, sort through the junk on the left side of the room to uncover
some glue. Jury-Rigged Key, part #2, check.
Back out and through the red bar door, and on to the left.
Straight across the intersection to the treasure chest you were so cruelly
taunted with way back when Blanca first began his infiltration career. The
contents were worth the wait, too. You get the ---Crest Bifrons---.
Seeing as you are still short a flexable bit of wire, you can't take the hall
going up to Roger's cell just yet, so go all the way back down to the nook
Blanca squeezed in through and see if the wolves outside can be of any
assistance.
In fact, you're hardly into the woods before Friendly Bolf (the same wolf who
ratted on you to Phillipe, btw) bounds up to you and gushes on about the newest
piece of trash he's found tossed out in the woods; a piece of wire. I'm sure
you'll gladly take it off his, uhm, paws.
That does it for the Jury-Rigged Key pieces, but before heading back to
Locke's cell, you might want to stop by Merchant Wolf Marche again and use
your newly acquired Cash to purchase some Water Mirrors from him, accessories
that prevent Petrification. You'll be wanting those shortly.
Take your newly acquired stuff and scamper all the way to Locke's cell, which
involves going right as far as you can go and then up a few paces. He whips up
the key for you in a jiff, and gives Karin another Nibelung chapter just to
be nice.
Now, the only thing standing between you and freeing Roger is an unlockable
door.
So go left as far as you can go, and then go up. There should be a save point
right before the specially locked door. Using it is high on my list of
suggestions, since you'll be facing off with not only a boss fight, but three
forced encounters right before it, too, and no chance to heal or re-equip in
between.
Equip the Water Mirrors you acquired from Marche, and have the other two
accessory slots filled with physical defense boosters. Also be sure you've got
more than one chara with a cure Crest, you're gonna need 'em.
Decked out and ready to party, step on through that door. A fairly lengthy
FMV starts right up, but the gist of it is, you've finally tracked down Roger,
but Lenny isn't going to let him go without several fights.
You've got to go through three scraps in a row with three Iron Claw Admirals
apiece. Fortunately for you, they often arrange themselves in patterns that
can be neatly wiped out in one shot by an appropriate magic spell.
Decimate the last of the Iron Claws, and Lenny steps in to deal with things
personally.
-----BOSS FIGHT: GODHAND
Lenny's monster form, this guy hits, and hits HARD. It's not unusual for one
of his six-hit strikes to drop a chara by 80HP. And if you don't have a Mirror
Bracelet or the Zodiac Bracelet on, there's a good chance he's going to Petrify
you too.
Needless to say, he's not the easiest boss in the world.
Rage and Gale help immensely, as does dedicating one chara to healing and using
the other three to combo.
Godhand also has tons of HP, so this is one is going to take a loooooong time
to win. Don't forget to keep a careful eye on SP levels.
No crests for winning, but put together a 31+ Hit combo and you can expect a
Chain Vest for your troubles.
Once you do manage to exhaust his store of HP, Lenny reels backwards, tipping
out the hole he'd created earlier with a pitiful little whine of "...lost
again."
Roger finally rescued (no, you can't name him this time, either), he goes on a
little rant about you handing over the Emigre Tome, but there's nothing you can
do about it at the moment. Instead, let's get the heck away from this island.
I don't know about you, but I've been here plenty long enough.
The FMVs end, bringing up the World Map. At this moment, the only place open
is Cannes. Use this opportunity to save first, should you like to do so.
In Cannes, you find yourself in the cafe, which is a good thing. You're going
to want a nice drink to sip on while Roger spiels on about what he knows of
Sapientes Gladio. He winds up his monologue with a request to go to back to
his home in Wales.
However, control is given back to you, and there's no pressing need to go
directly to Wales. Now is a lovely opportunity to 1) talk to Big-Mouthed Croft
and get your next Treasure Hunt clue (I mean, he's right outside where you are
and all) and 2) visit Grand Gama in Southampton and get Joachim's next Muscle
Art, DeathTron Hammer.
Talk to the in Southampton to start up the training match, but before you
go in, you might want to have a Voodoo Doll on, as well as accessories heavy
on the defensive element. Many Thera Seeds, or a Crest with Cure and the
confidence that you can reliably hit a critical are also must-haves.
Y'see, Grand Gama will come at you with his version of the Hammer for the first
two rounds, doing around 70HP damage. On the third round, he'll unloose with
a Third Key which, if you're lucky, will only do 200HP damage and leave you
with about 10HP or so left.
After the third round, he won't use Keys any more, but he will use the Hammer
pretty consistently. Cure like mad with the Seeds and a powerful Cure, and
hope you can outlast him.
Finish up any other odd errands that might strike you, and wander on to Wales.
Inside Roger's "house", he'll ask you to flip a switch that's located behind
the latticework on the right side of the bottom floor. Just keep following
that nook until you reach the back. A "?" should show up.
Press O and a really sketchy looking gadget will bloom out of the middle of the
floor. Ride that into the basement, and go left to find out what S.G. had
been hounding Roger for; an airship.
Roger then finally mentions the ringleader of the Lenny/Veronica/Nicholai
circus--- RASPUTIN. And he is currently in---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
---sharing a rather interesting morning-after talk with Veronica. One that
is being carefully, but not too successfully, eaves-dropped upon by a snooping
girl in a blue coat.
Taking it on herself to expose Rasputin for the traitor he is, our new (and at
the moment, only) chara decides to track down the servant, Ivan, pump him for
information, then return to her room to plot.
So open up the menu and see what kind of chara she is. Note that she brings
with her 4 new Crests ---Andrealphus, Dantalion, Balam and Botis---.
Nothing insists that you go find this Ivan person immediately, leaving you
quite free to explore a very large palace.
The door to the north is locked, and you can't very well go barging in on
Rasputin demanding answers, so it's down we go.
All the way down. Two of the other three sets of doors have guards blocking
your way, and the third set leads only to an empty room.
The door to the south opens into a very similar corridor. The only room worth
entering is the second one. On its far side lies a treasure chest containing
a Seal of Life.
This next door going south opens into a very grand Entrance Hall. Too bad the
guards won't let you go down the massive marble stairs. Going left is the only
option remaining. Oh, check the near left corner of the balcony. A treasure
chest is rather well concealed there. Grab the LV2 Attack Down out of it, then
make your way through the double doors.
A mirror image of the two halls you just went through on the right side of the
Palace (the East Halls), this new hall is named, aptly, the West Hall. The
patroling guard is named Krile. Pest him and he'll give you the Stud Card
Mr. Swan.
The first room to the right is your own. To the right of the bed is a chest
with a Mana Root.
The second room to the right is the personal chamber Crown Prince Alexei, and
his mother is along with him. But at the moment, there's absolutely nothing
interesting going on with them, so you can ignore that room.
In the third (and final) room to the right, you finally locate Ivan. He's
hanging out in the bottom left part of the room. Talk to him, then return to
your own room.
Choose to sleep to set the next several events in motion. You get whisked off
to Edgar's shop, on the far side of town. The old clock-maker putzes about
his desk making both camera and mechanical egg (see Anastasia's chara data for
info on how Snapshot and Album work).
As she decides to go out, she bumps into this tall, heavily built Japanese man
coming in...
Katou. What his business in Petrograd is, who knows. However, his business in
the Clock shop is simply to have his pocket watch repaired. You leave without
prying.
Anyways, time to set off on Patrol (aka: killing time).
First, nab the blatantly obvious treasure chest near the top of your screen,
then use the save point.
Follow the broad street to your left, going straight through the T-section for
the moment. It eventually leads you to the Great Square.
Go forward until the camera angle switches, so that you're not looking down
any more, then go as far to the back-left as you can. It's hard to see in
the shadows and snow, but there's a treasure chest back there with a Hit Area
Expander ripe for the picking.
Over to the right. The ever-present Mazymell Bros. have set up shop in the
bottom right corner of the Square, but at the moment you have nowhere near
the funds to purchase anything.
Wind you way around clockwise, ignoring the huge building on the left side (the
Palace), until you've gotten to the furthest back left corner you can reach.
Again, there's a really well hidden treasure chest back there, this time with
the ---Crest Furcas--- in it.
On your way back, check around the right pillar by the obelisque in the center
of the Square. Theoretically, there is a Seal of Knowledge there.
That cleans out the Square, so back towards Edgar's, hooking a right at the
intersection.
You don't go 6 steps before a short cut-scene interrupts you; Rasputin making
his regal way in a direction that in no way leads to a Church.
Keep going until the street makes a sharp turn up, and yet another cut-scene
will start; Rasputin down a slim set of stairs right before the bridge leading
out of town.
Don't go dashing over there just yet. Raid the treasure chest in the corner
the street makes, gaining a LV2 Defense Down, then go dashing over there.
Sneak down the steps, and yet another event starts up. It seems you've
stumbled into a conversation that you really weren't meant to hear. Plus, they
noticed you're there, which makes the situation even stickier.
They're kind enough to give you a head start in the running thing, but you only
get up to the alleyway you used previously before they catch up with you.
Or, more precisely, their little "pet" does.
But, fortunately, the laws of Heroism are firmly in place in this game, and the
Hero, namely Yuri, shows up in the nick of time.
---MINI BOSS FIGHT: Pendulam
This isn't too hard a fight. Just combo up and whale away. But don't forget
to have Anastasia use Snapshot on the critter. It'll give you her first Album
spell; Aqualize.
Once the smoke clears, you find yourself back in Edgar's shop, with yet
another FMV starting up. This one is quite the long one, in which black magic
is discussed, names are revealed (Anastasia, princess of Russia), names are
dropped (Rasputin), and bad ideas are shared all around.
In the end, Anastasia winds up taking temporary control of the Crew in the hope
that she can get them into the Palace and close enough to Rasputin to discover
what he's up to.
So off to the Palace we must go. Snag the Lottery Ticket that's hidden behind
Edgar's counter and head out onto the streets. Using the save point might be
a good idea, but it's not totally necessary at the moment.
Aim for the Great Square, going straight through the intersection. Stop by the
stooped-over old man standing on the street; Old Boris. He'll give Karin a
chapter of Nibelung.
You also now have plenty of Cash to warrant a visit to the Mazymell Bros, who
have weapons upgrades for you.
**BARGAIN HUNTER'S TIP** Don't buy Karin's upgrade. You can find it for free
in the palace.
Enter the building on the left side of the Great Square, and, contrary to your
undoubted expectation to see the grand Entrance Hall, you are instead whisked
off in another cut scene to a crude brick room with two familiar people inside.
Nicholai and Katou. And the Emigre Tome? The two are cutting a dark deal that
speaks of revolt and betrayal, Katou showing that a little over a year of time
has indeed made him a much different man than he was in SH1.
That deal is one that will have repercussions throughout the game. However, it
will be some time before we see any of them.
In the mean time, we will have to content ourselves with exploring a little
more of the large palace called Hermitage.
Let's do the lower floor first, so head through the huge double doors which are
between the marble staircases. The short hallway beyond leads only to the
left and more double doors, which, in turn, lead to a hallway much like the
ones you explored in your last pass through here. In fact, this is the Lower
West Hallway, and a direct copy of the hallway directly above it.
However, the Lottery Ticket in the second potted plant, and Karin's weapon
upgrade stashed in the treasure chest hidden poorly in the third room to the
right are originals to this floor.
Get those, and move the exploration to the main floor. First, stop by
Anastasia's room in the West Hall (double doors to the left of the Entrance
Hall, 1st door on the left). There should now be a teddy bear sitting on her
bench in the back right corner of the room. Poke around underneath it to find
the Empress card for Lucia's Tarot deck.
A few East Hall (double doors to the right of the entrance hall) guards have
gone off duty, so there are a few more rooms you can enter there. For example,
the 2nd room has been opened for cleaning. Talk to the maid near the right
side of the room to meet Lottery Member #11. *WARNING*: Reverse Ring!
Unfortunately, there isn't much else left in the way of excuses for
procrastinating any longer, so we might as well bite the bullet and go pay our
respects to the Czarina.
Go through the door to the north of you, then take an immediate left and go
through the doors there. The next hallway should be empty of pretty much
everything except a pair of white double doors. These lead to the Throne Room,
where the Czarina awaits.
As you expected, she is *not* happy. Not very happy at all. And she doesn't
like the looks of the Crew either (well, they are some rather sketchy charas).
After giving Anastasia a sharp scolding (in front of everybody, no less), she's
about to turn the whole Crew out on their ears when a rescue is mounted from a
most unexpected source: Rasputin.
He convinces the Czarina to let them stay as "entertainment" for Anastasia.
Entertainment for himself, as well, though he doesn't say this out loud. Once
the Czarina retires, there is much sizing up going on between Rasputin and
Yuri, but nothing happens just yet. As he leaves, Rasputin creates a standing
"invitation" to visit him in the Lion Wing of the Palace.
That encounter still leaving a bad taste in your mouth, go back to Anastasia's
room to regroup.
You're hardly in there before another FMV begins, this time Anastasia delving
into a short history on how Rasputin came to be at the Palace and how the
situation deteriorated from there.
Yuri just gets done showing off his Nice Guy side when this weird pink mist
starts wafting into the room, followed shortly by a weaving, hallucinating
Czarina. Even more disturbing, she soon starts talking with Rasputin's voice.
He didn't like the idea of a boring ball, so instead he had Veronica whip up a
smoke that'd stone everyone in the Palace. Oh, and he's "watching over" Crown
Prince Alexei, too.
Choose you're party, folks, and get ready to storm---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Anastasia once again takes the lead in this foray, but everyone else is up to
you. The creatures Veronica's conjured up lean heavily to the magic end of the
spectrum, only the Pendurams bringing out a ring ailment; reverse ring. Put on
Pocket Watches, should you feel the need, and use the save point.
I guess they just that minute crawled in through the window, but both the
Mazymells are right there next to you, with exactly the same stuff they had
outside. Buy stuff or ignore them, it's your call.
Anyways, let's get a look at what Veronica's funky pink mist has done to the
Palace. A konked out guard blocks the upper door out of the West Hall, and
you've already cleaned out the other rooms here, so go to the Entrance Hall.
Another fallen guard blocks the double doors leading to the East Hall, leaving
you with only one path to take.
Through the huge double doors between the staircases, then on to the Lower
West Hall. Again, you've already emptied these rooms of anything interesting,
so proceed on to the northern door and a new part of the Palace.
One that looks quite a bit like the Entrance Hall, except the staircases aren't
curving. A comatose guard conveniently blocks the door directly to your right,
but don't go up the stairs just yet. Duck between them and to the closet
behind doors entirely too ornate to lead to just a closet.
Shoved into the back left corner of that closet is a treasure chest. Even
better, inside that treasure chest is the ---Crest Eligos---. Considering it
has been left to gather dust in the back of a closet, I'd say no one else is
using it, so feel free to add it to your collection.
Now head on up the steps, and over to the left-side balcony. Follow it to the
end for a really obvious treasure chest, this one containing a Bell Bracelet.
At the end of the right-side balcony is your way forward.
In fact, it opens into a hallway you left not all that long ago; the one that
leads to the Throne Room.
Stride through those white double doors again, and peek into the room behind
the throne (either set of doors will do). Check the back side of the bed, and
a "?" should appear, along with a Circlet.
Back out of the Throne Room and onwards to the right, then immediately down
into the East Hall. Use the save point that's there and heal up. Through the
door just below you waits a---
-----BOSS FIGHT: VIKTOR
...and his pet Penduram, which is, at the moment, nothing more than a nuisance.
Have Anastasia snapshot Viktor and use your other three charas in combo to
put it out of our misery straight off.
Viktor himself is hardly more than a nuisance. He's got a decent chunk of HP,
but his physical attack leaves much to be desired. About the only thing you
have to be careful of is the fire spell he unleashes, which could do around
100HP of damage.
Convince Viktor that he's better off being elsewhere at the moment, and he
takes your advice in such a hurry that he leaves both the ---Crest Halphas---
and his keys behind. The Crest has obvious immediate uses. Snitch the keys
just to be contrary.
Use the save point again, and head north, as nothing new and interesting has
appeared in the other rooms on this hall.
The next hall is barren except for one interesting thing in the second room.
There's a chest to the left of the bed in there, where some forgetful person
left a Pirate's Earring. I'm sure you have more use for it than they.
Anyways, put Viktor's keys to good use on the north door, and head all the way
to the solar at the far end.
Rasputin is waiting, and he has quite the show in store, with the Crew as his
players. He starts off with the typical Villain's Schpeil, which, while a
done-to-death idea, is still a very well laid-out plan.
Yuri tries to nip it in the bud by taking out Rasputin right there and then,
but some sort of barrier keeps his strikes well shy of their target.
Rasputin, on the other hand, merely reaches out and tweaks the curse, and Yuri
keels over like a felled ox.
Karin, Joachim and Blanca make brave attempts, but they meet with less success
than Yuri had.
Rasputin, of course, is amused to no end. To further entertain himself and
make life that much more difficult for the Crew, he mesmerizes Anastasia long
enough to make it look like she's about to kill Alexei right when her mother
comes stumbling in.
That rather thoroghly axes any plans for a long stay in Petrograd. The Crew
high-tails it out of there, guards hot on their heels.
Making a temporary pit-stop in at Edgar's, they pick up Roger, who has a lot
of new info to share.
It's obvious they've got to get out of Russia for the moment. Conveniently,
Roger has just located a person who could shed a whole lot more light on
Sapientes Gladio, Rasputin, and whatever it was that put that bloody annoying
barrier on him. Said person is, luckily, not in Russia.
However, don't go bidding Petrograd a hasty, but temporary, farewell so fast.
Turn your steps towards the bridge where Anastasia eavesdropped, and duck into
that short alleyway where Yuri and the Crew saved her from the Penduram.
Two rather interesting, uhm, personages, have appeared back there, one of which
looks like a dog in a white body sock, with a fishbowl on it's head. Go a
little closer, and you realize the puppy's got green fur. The guy next to it
isn't an icon of normality either.
In fact, the pair politely introduce themselves as and R-3, envoys from Planet
Suzuran (Planet Lily of the Valley? yeeeesh), sent here to scout Earth for an
invasion in the near future, and would you mind matching your wolf against
R-3?
You might want to put on a White Feather Bracelet before this one, because R-3
does use Panic, which causes your SP to drop by 3 every round, and he uses it
*constantly*. He'll break it up with an occasional Nova, but that doesn't do
much in the way of damage. None of his attacks do, actually. Keep calm and
avoid the Panic, and R-3 shouldn't be too hard to put down.
He should be the 6th stamp in your booklet, so pay a visit to Earnest in Mon
Martre before making your way to---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Your immediate welcome is not the warmest, but Thomas--er, Lawrence...whatever,
interjects on your behalf and the guns get put down. Both Lucia and Roger
seem to know the guy, so I guess he's safely on the list of "allies." Both
Lawrence and Roger explain things in a little more detail, and inform you that
the man who knows everything about Sapientes Gladio, Jovis, is waiting to
meet them.
Of course, you don't have to go see him immediately. There a couple things
you can get first. I doubt you're surprised any more, but the Mazymell Bros.
are waiting for you as well, just inside the Valley. Gerard has armor upgrades
for you, as well.
**TIP**: Buy one less Blue Cape than you need. There's one deeper in the
Valley.
Also, a treasure chest sits in plain view and nobody else seems in a hurry to
grab it, so claim it's contents, the ---Crest Marax---, as yours.
Try to go through the stone arch at the edge of the open valley, and you get
called to a halt by a blonde, veiled lady. She names herself Sara, a servant
of King Solomon (nevermind he's been dead for about 3000 years). She is the
ring-master for SH2's version of Pit Fights: Sara's Challenge.
The second half of the Solomon's Quest minigame-slash-sidequest, completing
all of Sara's Challenges (and there are a LOT) will also get you Gepetto's
Ultimate Armor at the end. At the moment, however, only the 5 Beginner's
Trials are available. You've got time, so try a couple of them, or not, it's
up to you.
Anyways, moving on to the inside of the caves.
Peek into the first room on your right. At the back of it is a treasure chest.
Who cares if this is somebody else's chest in somebody else's home. You found
it fair and square, so take the Seal of Aura inside and get out.
Up the stairs to the right, next. Poke around the bottom of the single stone
pillar supporting the crude balcony's roof to find Treasure Hunt Item #2, the
---Crest Seere---.
Back down inside, and on to the second door on the right. On the well-dressed
inhabitant's table is a Lottery Ticket.
Approach Lawrence, and head through the steel door bearing the Sapientes Gladio
logo on it. It doesn't immediately open into the chapel, there's still a short
stretch of tunnel.
Another tunnel branches off to the right of that one about 5 steps in, and
leads to Jovis's personal rooms, which are just as well furnished as any other
room in the cave-town. The chest in the right corner has your last Blue Cape.
All the freebies acquired, move on to the rather nice little chapel in the
back of the cavern and meet this Jovis person.
An FMV starts up, and you find out that the old, blind priest knows a whole lot
more about Yuri and the events of SH1 than you'd think.
Fortunately, he holds no grudges for Yuri's involvment in the downfall of his
friend Albert Simon, even going so far as to volunteer all of the information
about Sapientes Gladio and Rasputin that you need.
Turns out the barrier around Rasputin is created by the FM bonded to him;
Asmodeus, a demon god at the top of Hell's food chain. The only way to combat
them is with one of the other two demons right up there on the same pedistal
as Asmodeus, namely Amon.
Jovis agrees to help you recover Amon, who is still buried somewhere in Yuri's
soul, but he can only send 2 people in; Yuri, of course, and Karin.
You have a moment to equip these two before everything starts up, so be sure
to put Pocket Watches on, and the pedometer. Don't forget to update Karin's
spell list! She'll be your only spellcaster.
Go all the way back out to the save point and save, the next opportunity won't
come for a while. When you're all ready, go back to the chapel, and through
the door in the upper right corner.
Walk around the RIGHT side of the circular room beyond, not the left. Why?
Because you'll meet the Spirit of the Ring if you do! Apologies are exchanged
all around, and for once the "ceremony" of sorts is carried out (mostly)
seriously.
Talk to Jovis to get the ball rolling, his spell sending the both of you
spiralling down into Yuri's Graveyard.
Neither door to the FMs' courts will open, your only choice is the wooden door
to the north; the Door to Indecision.
Jeanne awaits you on the other side with a pep talk, but not much else.
The door that will open for you now is the Door to Destruction. Step across
its threshold to reach the---
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You find yourself in a fairly well appointed hall that's quite a bit of a
contrast from the sparse Graveyard. You'll also quickly notice that there is
no exit back to the Graveyard. You are stuck here until you've cleared it.
Since there's no other direction to be going then, forward it is. Seeing as
it's Yuri's soul you're wandering through, there isn't going to be much in the
way of physical treasure you can plunder and take on back to Reality.
So, with no potted plants to overturn nor corners to check, you can simply
follow where the hall leads. Getting lost is no danger here.
Do note the floor-to-ceiling mirror right before the first set of double doors,
you'll need to remember where it is later on.
On to the next part of the Hall, which is as uncomplicated as the first. Go
until there's an arch connecting the two halls, which are layered like two
spoons stuck together, and then turn up towards the double doors.
The space beyond those is a little different. For one, it's not a hall but
instead is a cozy little study. On the right wall is another of those huge
floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
Examine it, and Yuri makes the astute (especially for Yuri) observation that
this is, after all, the inside of his soul. There aren't going to be any
*normal* mirrors in here.
Right on the heels of that statement, you get yanked into a fight with...
yourselves? Well, your Evil Mirror Twins, anyways. Fortunately, they have
exactly the same number of HP that you do, and they hit nowhere near as hard
as you do.
Clean them up, and the mirror warps you right through to the other side. As
Jovis will shortly inform you, the mirrors function as gateways between Reality
and the Other Side, though each only goes one way.
If you need your HP/MP healed, talk to Jovis, but otherwise, you can go out the
blue double doors.
Those don't take you too far. The hall comes to an abrupt halt, a treasure
chest decorating it's end. Inside is a Third Key, the only real treasure in
this whole dungeon.
Retrace your steps through the study and out the door in the bottom right
corner.
Down and to the left through the arch to the outer layer of the Spooned Halls,
then go as though you're trying to get back to the entrance.
This is the Other Side, so of course there won't be an exit all the way at the
end. There will be another treasure chest, though. One which holds the Mirror
Key.
Grab that and go back up one hallway. Just before you go into the door leading
to the Spooned Hallways, use the mirror there to get back to the Real Side.
Continue your journey to the study from there.
Once you've arrived, don't touch the mirror, thinking to have Jovis heal you.
You'll just get sucked through to the other side again and have to make a big
circle to get back here. Instead, just go straight through the blue double
doors.
The hallway beyond is a near copy of the one on the Mirror Side. It just
doesn't end in a blank wall, but a save point and a set of really ornate doors.
I don't think I have to tell you twice about using the save point, though while
you're at it, change out the Pocket Watches for accessories which boost
physical defense.
Moving on. Step on the glowing crest on the floor in the grand room on the
other side of the doors to start the FMV.
Amon makes his appearance in grand style, reflecting himself over Yuri in the
huge mirror before striding straight through it and starting up quite the
chest-beating display.
---BOSS FIGHT: AMON
For all that this is *Amon* we're talking about here, he's dangerously close
to a pushover. He'll use any one of his 3 magic skills, plus a decent physical
attack. One round can see him doing over 60HP damage, but not much more.
Use Karin to heal when necessary and pound through Amon's distressingly low
HP count as quick as you can.
Defeating Amon doesn't end things right away. Instead, Yuri insists on
stepping through the mirror and into... a forest?
A figure familiar to fans of SH1 sits on a bench at the edge of a wooded cliff,
simply enjoying the peace. Yuri and Albert didn't part on bad terms in SH1,
and that pseudo-friendship continues here, the two men sharing a heart-to-heart
that does much for restoring some of Yuri's lost confidence.
From there, things make a sharp change in direction best described by the one
word "Meanwhile...."
In Petrograd, Rasputin holds an audience with Nicholai. They talk of alliances
made and plans for the coming war, including this one ship called "Lucitania"
that's going to be making a trip from America sometime soon...
Back in Goreme, Yuri and Karin try desperately to enjoy the beautiful sunset,
while things depressing and things philosophical weigh on their minds. The
moment is interrupted by Anastasia, who tells them to hurry to Jovis.
Not in the best of health after sending Yuri and Karin to the Hall of Mirrors,
Jovis tries his best to tell the Crew the last of what they need to know, the
biggest part being a third demon equal to Amon and Asmodeus in power; Astarot.
Like Amon is bonded to Yuri, and Asmodeus is bonded to Rasputin, so Astaroth has
bonded to a human host. The question is who.
The story jumps back to Petrograd, the Czar returning "triumphantly" from his
trip to the front. He is *not* a happy camper about what happened to Anastasia
and he's not really buying the explanation the Czarina attempts. He does,
however, agree to have the Ball begin on schedule.
A Ball which the Crew is going to have problems getting into.
You've suddenly arrived at the gates to the Great Square, and the palace side
is crawling with troops. The servant Ivan shows up in a nice coincidence, and
directs you to the far side of town, where Anastasia first spied on Viktor and
Rasputin. There's a secret entrance to the palace from there.
So get going. Right after you make the last turn to the bridge, Yuri keels
over, Jeanne clammoring for his attention. Her point, in a nutshell, is that
GradeMAX Fusion Monsters are now available, you just need to get ahold of Soul
Drops to wake them.
If you want, you can turn on your heel right now, leave Petrograd and get the
two freebie Soul Drops in Goreme (talk to Lawrence back in the chapel) and in
Dom Remy (very back of the chapel).
You may be tempted to deal with Meyer's Wolf Bout on your way through Dom Remy
now, but I highly suggest you wait. With Blanca at only LV20 or so, and with
his current equipment, you'll just get pasted in the first round. Try again
after you've been through the Halls of the Dead.
Anyways, on to that spot where Anastasia crashed Rasputin's meeting with
Viktor. Start down the stairs, and a nobleman will step forward, introduce
himself, and open up the way to the---
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From where you're standing, take two steps to the left and use the save point.
In almost exactly the same spot, maybe just a little above, is a skeleton.
Search him for another Nibelung chapter.
Go four steps to your right and you're confronted with a closed gate. Karin
makes the brilliant observation that the gate, and the lever next to the gate
have the same Cyrillic letter on them. In a happy coincidence, that lever just
happens to be the one that opens that gate.
I should think you now have an idea how the rest of this dungeon is going to
proceed. Unfortunately, not all the levers are right next to the gates they
open.
Follow the tunnel forward, and search the skeleton right before you make a
sharp turn leftish-upish. It'll yield a Thera Root (the guy'd actually *used*
it, maybe he wouldn't have died...)
Turn into the first hall going up, the other two directions lead nowhere but
to closed gates right now.
Up one screen then hook a left at the next T-section. Strip the skeleton
sitting in the corner made when that new corridor makes a sharp turn to get the
Lottery Ticket it holds.
Follow that side corridor to its end and flip the switch there, then return to
the main hallway and go up. It opens up into what looks a lot like a sewer,
open water flowing in neatly kept stone banks.
Make a right and go through the gate you should have just opened. You'll hit
another intersection shortly, this one giving you the choices of up-ish or
down-ish. First, go down-ish.
It's a pretty short tunnel. At the end is a lever that is theoretically
moveable. Test that theory, and the lever does actually move in a quite
satisfactory manner.
Back up to the intersection. Choose "up-ish" this time. Turn around the
corner and keep going straight until you very literally smack into the wall.
Well, you would really smack into the wall if the Spirit of the Ring didn't
show up and stop you, kind Soul that he is. Talk to him for a short while and
he even agrees to do an impression of his wife next time, so you can see what
she's like.
Anyways, go down from there. It's another short hall, but with no switch. What
it does have is very cleverly hidden treasure chest way down in the very bottom
left corner. Inside is the ---Crest Leraje---. Confiscate that, make a 180
degree turn and go back the way you came.
Round the corner and most of the way down the straight side, and you might
notice a metal-bar door decorating the stone wall. If you look really hard,
you might see the wolf in there. ...er, well, what was once a wolf, and is
now the wolf-zombie Necros.
Make sure Blanca has a Rosewood Bracelet on before starting this one, as Necros
is really persistent with a Paralysis-laced attack. Negate that nasty little
side-effect and Necros really isn't all that hard a hitter. However, he does
move fast. Putting on Arc Gale is a definite recommendation.
**TIP**: You may have noticed that I said "Arc Gale" there. Why "Arc" Gale
when there's only one of Blanca? Shouldn't regular Gale be just as good, and
half the MP to boot? Actually, no. Gale is noticably weaker than Arc Gale.
For all that they theoretically raise your speed by the same amount, point
Gale at a character, then point Arc Gale at them, and watch the turn bar at
the top of your screen change. You should be getting considerably more turns
for Arc Gale than for plain ol' Gale.
Convince Necros that dying is a Good Thing, and move on. Go left at the
intersection, back the way you came, and go up at the next intersection. Pull
out your magnifying glass and give the ground a close once over when the hall
makes a sharp turn to the left. Back there is Lucia's Tarot Card, the
Magician.
Pick that up and move over one screen. Before too long, the hall will make
another right-angle turn down. Again, give the corner the once-over, take
the Leonard's Bear there, and continue on your way.
The hall comes to an end in a small, cramped little mausoleum. You might want
to use the save point glowing serenely below you, and I'm sure you'll want to
do a little nosey-poking between the bottom-most crypt and the wall. Somebody
dropped the ---Crest Andromalius--- down there.
Next, examine the upper-left-most crypt. Read the poor, dead Russian
nobleman's dying words, then take the hall leading up out of the mausoleum.
Hook a right at the T-section and you're pulled up short by a really quick
dead-end. But it's got a lever there, so it makes the trip worth it. Pull the
lever, then go back down straight through the mausoleum.
Keep going a little ways until you can make a left turn. Go over a screen
and raid the treasure chest sitting against the wall on the back-right. It
gives up a LV2 Seal.
From there, the hall makes a sharp turn down. Slide down along the wall, a
couple steps along, you should trip over a "?" and it's Talisman of Luck.
At the next crossroads, go left-down-ish. Over a screen, around the corner
and on further down. Shortly, you'll notice another metal bar gate much like
the one Necros was behind. This one has a Strongoid for you.
Follow the twists and turns of the hall until you come to another T-section,
one which you will go straight through. Far back against the wall is a not-too
well hidden treasure chest. Take the useless armor out of it (you've probably
already bought all the ones you need), it still has re-sell value.
Flip the switch where the hall dead-ends, go back one intersection and turn
right.
After the hall makes a turn up, count out about 10 steps, then start watching
the wall (or watching your Navi for a red dot) to find the switch. Hit it as
you go by.
At the next intersection, go right-down-ish. It's yet another short hallway,
one with a switch at the end. The *last* switch. Flip it, turn around, and
go straight up through the intersection.
Go until the hall hits a T-section. Turn down. Shortly, a save point will
come into view. Use it, should you feel the urge. From there, make the first
turn down you find.
Rob the skeleton of the necklace it had previously robbed from someone else,
and retrace your steps past the save point, all the way up to the mausoleum
again.
In there, take a look at the middle crypt, and choose to give back the locket.
Up out of the mausoleum, and make a left at the T-section. That hall will
lead you to a staircase, which will in turn dump you out in the single closet
you managed to find in the Palace.
Talk to the noble there, then head out the bottom of the screen to kick the
plot on its way.
The Ball has begun, all the major players present; Rasputin, Nicholai, Veronica
and Katou. ...and Viktor. Rasputin gives him a nod from across the room.
Procuring a knife from somewhere, Viktor moves in on the zoning-out Czar, only
to be interrupted by Yuri in the best instant to make a very big scene.
Anastasia compounds Rasputin's problems by walking calmly into the stunned
Throne Room. Her presence forces him to say nicey-nice words that have to
stick in his craw. The present she gifts her royal father with, a photo album,
then *really* compounds his problems.
Guards come running in, and Nicholai goes slipping out. Veronica is still
loyal enough to create enough of a smoke-screen for Rasputin to bug out.
There's a short lived reunion between daughter and dad before the whole Palace
starts shaking; Rasputin is obviously taking some exception to his recent
treatment.
The Palace shifts to red alert, and lucky you gets to go deal with the
commotion. conveniently, guards block off the ways you aren't supposed to go.
Leave the Throne Room and go right, then down the stairs and through the
door one level lower than the one you just came in.
Surprise, surprise, the Mazymell Bros are there, as is a save point. Avail
yourself of both their services.
Leave this hall by going all the way to the end, and ducking down when you
spot the strip of carpet.
That opens up into the snow-covered garden. Go along the path for 15 steps and
a cut scene will interrupt you, eventually dumping a truckload of enemies on
you. Be careful with these guys, they're FAST.
Clean them up and move on. Poke through the snow near the dry fountain in
the center of the garden, where some unattentive noble dropped a Talisman of
Mercy.
Somewhat easier to find is the treasure chest, placed right where stone walk
meets Palace wall on the left side of the garden. Inside is the ---Crest
Ipos---.
That warming comfortably in your pocket, return to the spiral staircase that
rises up the center-back wall of the garden. Somewhere on you way up it, you
will most certainly want to put Leonard's Bears on all four of your battle
members, as the coming boss has the most uncanny and *annoying* ability to
figure out and concentrate on the one character you may choose to equip with
something else.
Two steps before you reach the very top of the staircase, you will also very
much want to heal everybody, because, for the first time, there is no handy-
dandy save point up there.
So by this point, you've probably guessed that topping that staircase will
shove you directly into a---
BOSS FIGHT: NIGHT QUEEN
Like Lenny, Veronica also has a monster form, and where he was the physical
basher, she is the mage. Veronica uses spells of any affinity, and she almost
always manages to catch more than one of your charas in the effect. Plus,
they'll always to do at least 3-digit damage. Fu~~~n. All I can say is, have
*plenty* of healing handy.
But first things first, get rid of the two critters she's dragged into this
fight with her. Then combo away. Night Queen has a considerable chunk of HP
as well, so you're definitely going to want to watch the SP levels of Anastasia
or Karin or whichever of the other frail-minded charas you have in the battle.
Do manage to knock her HP down to zero, and you get Night Oil and the ---Crest
Haagenti--- for your troubles.
Of course, this isn't the end of things. Not quite. Here begins one of the
cooler FMVs in the game.
Not seeming to mind his lover dropping dead at his feet, Rasputin pulls the
ages old looking-like-he's-leaping-to-his-death-but-is-really-jumping-to-his-
ship maneuver, thinking that he's getting away scot-free. Unfortunately for
him, Yuri chooses this moment to inform him that Amon is back in a very
impressive display. The two end up duking it out on the bridge of Rasputin's
airship.
The end result is both the ship and Rasputin's vaunted Barrier, get shattered.
Heck, I think his sanity took more than a little bit of a beating, too. Not
liking Amon upstaging him in the least, Rasputin calls on the deal he'd made
with Asmodeus at the price of his soul, summoning forth the giant, living
castle---
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Which is precisely where we *don't* want to be going just yet. Idar Flamme is
thrice as difficult as any dungeon you've crawled through so far, and there's
quite a bit of preparation you should do before going in there.
Finish up the informal war-council in Anastasia's room, and make one last round
of the Palace. Go north out of the West Hall, down the stairs, right on the
first floor and out into the Gardens again. In fact, go all the way on up to
the rooftop where you trounced the Night Queen. Take a close look at the one
corner (bottom left, I think), and you should uncover a Silver Angel fragment.
Collect all five and you'll get Anastasia's Ultimate Weapon.
From there, go back into the Palace and up past the Throne Room, over into the
hall just above the East Hall. The third door on the right is the only room
you have yet to explore in the Palace; Rasputin's. To the left of his bed you
will find some Tissues (we will not think to hard on that...), and on the
right side you will find the item "Purple Bondage". You'll want to take that
and a spare Stud Card to Pierre.
Go down out of Rasputin's room and through the East Hall. If you chose to get
the Straw Millionaire Item from Izicci the Wannabe Director, duck into the
last room on your right and talk to Zubyoz for the next item.
Out into the Entrance Hall and down to the save point there, which you might
want to consider using, because you probably haven't saved since right before
your fight with Night Queen.
You will also very much like to talk to the fat businessman standing near
there, as he can give you weapons *and* armor upgrades that, for once, the
Bros don't have.
*TIP*: Don't buy Lucia's upgrade. You can get that fairly early within Idar
Flamme.
Leave the Palace through the front door and a lengthy event starts up, in which
we learn how big a personality transformation Rasputin has undergone, and some
of the details in the twisted and thorny relationship between him and Nicholai.
Where that relationship is going from here is, obviously, straight down hill.
Once the scene returns to the Crew, standing patiently outside of the Palace,
go straight down into the snowdrifts at the very bottom left corner of the
Great Square. For some strange reason, there is a very big fish sticking
tailfin first out of the snow there.
Joachim reminisces on some memorable tuna-fights he had an undefined amount of
time ago and walks off with the frozen version he just found, much to the
surprise of Anastasia.
If you got the next Straw Millionaire item from little Critic-Wannabe Fabio,
then your next stop is the guy standing between the Bros. and the street
leading out of the Square.
Your last stop in Petrograd is Edgar's clock shop. Talk to him and you'll get
the Anastasia-specific item Panorama Lens, which lets you Snapshot all the
enemies in one go.
Edgar will also insist on you staying for dinner and the rest of the night,
which segues into another short FMV. Nicholai comes to Karin in a dream (?!)
and declares that he's in love with her (?!?!). Karin chooses to stay by
Yuri, slamming the door in Nicholai' face very thoroghly.
And you can close the door on Petrograd, at least for a little while. A dot
for Idar Flamme will appear on your map, but you still don't want to go there
just yet. There's a short checklist of things you can get done right quick,
before heading there.
Firstly-> get your next Treasure Hunt clue from Croft in Cannes if you haven't
already.
Secondly-> Stop by the Junk Kingdom near the Old Cathedral, in Paris. The
shop owner will sell you the Gepetto-specific item "Silver Seat" for 10,000
Cash.
Thirdly-> While you're in Paris, take a walk down the Champs Elysees. The
gentleman standing by the perpetually closed restaurant, Genardine, is very
interested in the perogies you got in Petrograd. (It doesn't matter whether
you got them from Zubyoz or Chagal). He'll give you a Talking Doll.
Fourthly-> One last stop in Paris, back to Gepetto's Old Apartment. The
landlady isn't happy that you're not keeping up with rent, but if you play the
lotto, she'll let you off for this month. Yes, she's Lotto Member #10. Get
quick on your trigger finger, her ring is FAST.
Lastly-> Go back to Dom Remy and take care of Meyer and his cronies in the
eighth Wolf Bout. Put on a Shell Bracelet and make absolute sure you have
the crest with Arc Gale, because you're going to need it.
It's a three-on-one fight, and you start out surrounded. Use items to heal,
since that will bring you back up on the turn bar faster, and slap an Arc Gale
on yourself as soon as possible. Do watch your SP levels, as you will need to
use at least one Pure Leaf during this fight.
Take out Maltiger first, he's the weakest link in their chain, then Mathieu.
Those two out of the way, Meyer himself isn't all that hard to drop. He'll
even cough up one of Lucia's Tarot Cards, the Fool, when you win.
Alright, *now* you can go to Idar Flamme. Equip your party of choice to deal
with critters who will dish out Panic and Mental Break, as well as an unhealthy
amount of physical damage.
Also, stock up very high on Thera and Mana items. Idar Flamme does not fight
you with complexity, it hauls you into a war of attrition. It *SPRAWLS* with
corridors that go on forever and a day before hitting another.
Well, sooner started, sooner done. Step into the living castle and get this
show on the road.
Where the corridor first splits, hang left and pop open the red treasure chest
sitting in just outside the intersection on your way by. It'll give you a
Mana Root.
Hike a good long ways to the next fork in the corridor and go right-downish.
Follow the loo~~~~ng looping path to the bottom of the upside-down parabola,
where a treasure chest just happens to be sitting innocently. Raid the contents
of it, a weapon-upgrade for Lucia, as you pass.
Keep trecking along and the corridor you're following will eventually feed into
another. You'll want to turn down, take the 20 steps or so required to get
to the next interesection, and make a right.
Again, you're going for quite some time before something interrupts the
monotony of the hallway; a treasure chest. Yay! Swipe the LV2 Paralysis out
of it and keep going.
Before too long you reach another split in the corridor. First go left for a
little ways, then go right when the corridor splits again.
Proceed one screen, and your path will be decorated by another red chest, this
one with a Bat's Gold. Nab that and continue on your merry way to the next
intersection, where you'll make a right.
For a change, it's only a short distance before you come across yet another
intersection. Go down, then follow that up with a quick right at the next
split in the corridor.
That particular branch actually comes to a rather quick halt, but, in
recompense, it offers you not one, but *three* treasure chests to plunder.
Your haul should include a Cosmic Bracelet, a Faerie's Sigh and a Strike Area
Expander.
Make a 180 and go up through the next two intersections. Round the bend and...
waitaminute... is that the Mazymell Bros. car there? By this point, you
shouldn't be surprised. They have Chain Belts, but nothing else much new.
Up is the way out, but we're not quite going that way yet. There's one more
treasure chest to get. Go left through that great convergence of corridors
until, finally, you reach another small branching.
Take the right path, and then straight on through the next intersection you
come across. At the third fork, go leftish-upish.
The dead end offers you another small cache of treasure, though only 2 chests
this time, instead of three. You still get a Silver Gray Bracelet and a Mana
Root, though.
Go back one intersection, and hook a right.
The next crossroads is the major artery that runs straight from the entrance
all the way up to the exit, so you're going to want to go up here, until you
spot the Mazymells and the save point again.
Unless you feel the need to use said save point, you can actually just keep on
going up and up until you pass into the next section, which is much different,
and thankfully, much shorter than the one you just cleared.
First off, go to the right until you can't any more, then go up. There should
be a red treasure chest just kinda sitting there in plain sight. Since no one
else seems to want it, go ahead and take the Third Key.
From there, turn around and go back one intersection and up, to where there's a
funky looking industrial sized fan, and a glowing purplish pad next to it. Poke
the pad to shut down the fan, and thence open a door...er...valve.
So go back one turn and up through that newly opened valve, then take the next
right.
Again, go as far to the right as you can, then down. Swipe your hand over the
switch-pad, make an about face, go up and get the newly revealed treasure
chest. Well, not the chest itself, but the Will Power inside it.
Shift into reverse and pedal back a few steps, turn left at the intersection.
Bop the switch, back one more intersection, and up.
Right at the next T-section, which leads you to yet another switch. You know
the drill.
Spin around, go straight through the T-section and the newly opened valve. Not
15 steps later, you're at another T-section. Go down to the next crossroads,
and go right. Yes, right. No, there's no hall there, but there is a treasure
chest. One with a Hit Area Expander in it even.
Once you've got that, proceed on down and hook a left to, surprise, a switch!
Who would've thought there was one of those in here. Poke it, turn around and
take the first hall going up that you can find.
Pass a hall going right, up to yet another T-section. First go left, hit the
switch, then go all the way over to the right and get the next switch.
Back down to that hall going right you'd passed before, get the White Feather
Bracelet out of the chest there and go back up to the save point.
Use that save point to heal up and shift your equipment to deal with heavy
magical attacks, and the occasional assault by Paralysis.
As you move on to the next part of the dungeon, just behind the right panel
of the valve/door is a treasure chest you can't see on screen. It's there,
trust me. And in it is a Pure Root.
That in pocket, continue up into a---
-----BOSS FIGHT: MOTHER FILARIA
Actually, you have to go through four of these overgrown earthworms, in two
pairs of two. Fortunately, any single one doesn't have too terribly many HP.
Unfortunately, their combo attack can *hurt* to the tune of 200HP. Plus, they
can cure each other.
Choose one of the pair and squash it first, then go after the second. Xerox
that pattern for the next set of two.
Deal with all four of them and you now have 1) more fishing bait than you'll
ever need in one lifetime and 2) given the whole castle a case of cardiac
arrest. But not much else has happened.
Swing around the left side of the stopped heart, then along the left edge of
the room to reach a treasure chest. Empty the Seal of Agility out of it and
go back to skirt the right edge of the room. Around the 4th rib from the
door should pop up a "?", and with it a Voodoo Doll.
Grab those two things and head on through the door, into a hallway that has
a save point, but not much else.
You will definitely be wanting to use that save point, as well as making some
major changes to equipment. I highly suggest you equip/have handy the
following: Willpowers or a deep supply of Pure Roots, somebody with Arc Gale,
somebody with Arc Rage, and preferably somebody with Arc Barrier.
Save, and step through the last door and confront what used to be Rasputin.
-----BOSS FIGHT: ASMODEUS
Use those three spells I suggested immediately, and make sure every member of
your party keeps their HP over 200. Asmodeus can and will unleash a spell
that can do that much in one heavy thwak.
His other worrysome attack is SP Down, which does precisely that; it shaves off
upwards of 20SP and more off a chara. This isn't a percentage thing, it's a
straight number. That means basically everyone except Yuri and Joachim will
go from perfectly fine to berserk in one hit.
However, if you keep Arc Gale on, Asmodeus won't have that many chances to do
that to you. He's not the fastest of bosses. Fuse Yuri with Amon, since Amon
hits harder than Yuri does, and is mildly faster. Just be careful because his
SP will drop by 5 every round.
Finally, combos and more combos. That's the most reliable way to part Asmodeus
from his HP in large chunks.
Smack him all the way down to zero, and you'll get one of Lucia's Tarot Cards,
the World, for your troubles.
Manage to do that with a 28+ Hit combo attack and you'll get a Zodiac Bracelet,
too.
But no matter how you do it, in the end you'll learn quite a bit more about
the curse on Yuri, like the disturbing things that it'll do, and the even more
disturbing fact that there's very likely *no cure*.
At the moment, however, there isn't much time to be thinking about that. When
Rasputin died, the whole of Idar Flamme starts going with him, though Roger's
airship gets you out in plenty of time.
A few seconds later, Yuri and Jeanne do have time to start thinking about it,
the two sharing a very frank talk about the very bleak turn Yuri's life has
just taken. Choose either answer to Jeanne's question, I don't think it really
matters at this point. Though the top answer seems to get the better response
from her.
But the curse isn't top of the Priority List. There is one last member of the
failing Sapientes Gladio left to be dealt with. He awaits you on the top floor
of the---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
You might not want to go dashing off to the Tower right away. It's your last
stop in Europe for quite some time, so if there's anything you've left undone
(all three available Soul Drops, Wakuraba if you want to, leftover Wolf Bouts,
etc...), now's the time to do it.
Once you're satisfied that everything you can do is done, on to the Tower. The
critters inside stick to ring ailments, so Pocket Watches on your battle
members should be enough in the way of preventative measures.
Nicholai has already sent the "party invites", I believe, so let's not keep him
waiting long.
Inside, the first floor of the Tower is pretty much as it was when you first
visited here way back in the beginning of the game, except the door off to your
left is unsealed.
Going that way leads you outside again in short order. You should see two
treasure chests, the nearer of which holds the ---Crest Belial--- and the other
having a Strike Area Expander.
Nothing more there, go back inside and wind up the staircase to the right. Slip
straight through the second floor, there's nothing new there.
The glowing crest that had been on the third floor is no longer there, but that
doesn't mean it's as empty as the second floor was. Go back and to the left
to meet the Spirit of the Ring for the last time in Europe. He'll wow you with
quite an impression of his wife, and Yuri can't quite talk him out of
continuing the trend with an impression of his daughter next time. ::sigh::
Anyways, you've got business on the top floor, so move along. You'll run into
a sealed door pretty quick, leaving you little choice but to head into the
back end of the floor.
It's a cell block, kinda like the setup down on the second floor, except with
actual bars, and for some strange reason, a large set of scales in the middle.
Get the scales to balance, and the door will open.
There's already a golden weight on the right side. What you must do is figure
out which combination of four weights, quaintly named for crimes, will equal
the gold weight, which itself is equal to 3 Arsons.
You can read the plaque on the left side of that cell to get a cryptic
description of the weight of each crime and attempt to figure it out for
yourself (it really isn't too hard), or you can cheat and read the next line.
One Arson and one Murder will equal the gold weight.
Proceed on to the 5th floor. There are a handful of iron cages sitting around
the floor, and it's going to be your job to get them to move up and down
across the next two floors so that you can make it all the way up. The first
lever is on the wall on the left side of the floor, right next to the stairs
going up. Shift that one to the "up" position, then go up yourself.
The walkways up here form 4 spokes, the uppermost of which you can't use just
yet. The spoke going off to the left first and confiscate a Pure Extract from
the treasure chest sitting there. Swing around the column in the middle of the
room and cross the right spoke for the stairs up to the seventh floor.
Going up the stairs, you'll see a treasure chest on the landing, until the
screen shifts and you lose it. Check next to the thick black pole in the iron
latticework you're looking through to find it, and the Seal of the Soul inside.
Right before you enter seventh floor proper, there's a switch on the wall.
Shift that to the "down" spot. Yes, I know that looks counterproductive, but
it'll all work out in the end. As soon as that cage has moved, get yourself
back down the stairs you just climbed up.
As it turns out, there's now a cage completing the upper spoke, so you can get
over there to that lever. Fix that one in the bottom slot too.
Revisit the fifth floor, and you might notice the cages on the upper side of
the room have changed a bit. In fact, the only one there has somewhere
acquired a treasure chest. Swipe the ---Crest Paimon--- out of it and get
yourself back up to the seventh floor.
Put the lever back in the up slot, swing by the treasure chest on the upper
spoke and nab the Hit Area Expander out of it, then cross to the other side
and finish your trip up to the eighth floor.
Go through the big wooden double doors and over to the save point. Heal up,
shift out the Pocket Watches for your favorite defensive items, and make sure
you've got Arc Gale, Arc Rage and Arc Barrier handy.
**TIP**: Even if he's not in your battle party, equip some of the leftover,
useful crests and equipment on Blanca. He'll be doing some solo work at the
start of Disc 2.
Save and head through the gold-inlaid double doors to your appointment with
Nicholai, and the demon behind him---
BOSS FIGHT: Astaroth
Like Asmodeus, Astaroth is a quick bugger and he has magic and physical attacks
that do 150-200HP damage. However, he does *not* have Asmodeus' SP drainer,
and that makes him much, much easier.
Fuse Yuri with Amon, slap on the three Arcs and combo the creep into oblivion.
Beat him, and you get Galahad's Sword for Karin.
But that doesn't close the doors to Pandora's Box, nor staunch the flood of
Malice into the world.
The one who does that is Katou, who snuck in at some point. He also takes
custody of the comatose Nicholai as, in accordance with the pact the two made
over the Emigre Tome a short time ago, an heir to the Russian Throne.
And at the moment, though he tries, there isn't anything Yuri can do about it.
END DISC 1
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WALK-THROUGH: JAPAN
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Three months pass. The brutality level of WWI escalates, helped who knows how
much by all the Malice Nicholai unleashed.
The Crew ends up borrowing Roger and his airship to tail Katou, though they
end up taking the Scenic Route to Japan. I guess, it being only 1915 and all,
that they didn't know better than to let someone under 16 drive...er, fly.
Anyways, the story picks up in the---
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
---where Yuri lies, bravely battling with a nearly lethal case of sea-sickness.
-_-;
So for the moment, nobody's going much of anywhere. Well, nobody except
Blanca. Smart puppy that he is, he figures somebody's got to go to find help.
So outfit him with any of the stuff you've got left over (since you can't
access what's on the rest of your party right now), and raid the treasure chest
sitting so arrogantly to your right. You'll want to put that armor upgrade on
right away.
Talk to the rest of the Crew if you want to, though they don't say much
interesting, then go out the steel door to the left of Anastasia.
It's night in Yokohama, your surroundings mostly quiet. For now, anyway. You
are limited to skirting down-right along the edge of the building. Go far
enough and a cut scene will trigger.
Things are not as quiet as you'd have thought. A young samurai is running
along the train tracks, trying to fend off a large posse of gunmen.
A battle opens up, and you find yourself in charge of the samurai. You'll
find out pretty quick that he has *zero* MP, but thankfully the three soldiers
don't do quite so much damage that you have to worry about healing directly
afterwards.
Unfortunately, you're not done after just three. An option pops up for Blanca
to join in the fun after the first bout. You're going to end up helping the
guy in the end, so might as well dive in sooner rather than later.
You're put through a total of three fights against sets of three soldiers
before getting a breather. Now, there are a couple items floating around, but
right now the area is charged with random encounters exactly like the three
you just finished off. None of the items are immediately useful, and you'll be
able to comb the area minus the random-encounter bit shortly, so let's do it
then, shall we?
In the meantime, there's plot to advance. Go right a couple steps to force the
screen to shift, then go down on the right side of the stack of boxes. It
shouldn't be long before you see the glow of a save point. Using it might be
a nice idea.
Straight to the right of the save point is one treasure chest that does have
something immediately helpful in it; a weapon upgrade for Blanca. Put that on
and go down along the right side of the smaller stack of lumber, way over on
the very right edge of your screen.
The screen will shift again, triggering another cut scene. Another posse of
those soldiers has an old man and a little girl surrounded. I doubt they
intend on escorting the two to safety.
Your samurai companion doubts as much too, dashing off to the rescue. Faithful
canine companion that you are, you follow. It's just another fight with a
trio of the feebs, so it's no biggie. Clean 'em up and sit through some more
FMV.
The old man and his daughter are properly appreciative of your assistance, but
they don't understand wolf-ese worth a darn (Snowball...?).
You pick up the Blanca-specific item "Tortoise-shell Comb" automatically. Then
things make a sharp shift over to an apparently recovered Yuri.
Well, recovered enough to fake it, anyways. Take this opportunity to finally
equip Karin with the Galahad Sword you swiped from Astaroth, and try to leave.
That's when somebody finally notices that Blanca isn't there. Off we go to
hunt for him! (And some nifty other stuff, too.)
It's daytime now, no more random battles to get in the way of a leisurely scan
of the entire Warehouse District.
Get off that ledge you start on as soon as you can, and go far enough left to
shift the screen to the train tracks. Follow the tracks up to the stopped
car and slide up it's left side. Way in the back should be a treasure chest
some poor soul utterly failed at hiding. Divest it of the ---Crest Naberius---
inside and go back down.
Over as far left as the screen will go you'll notice that side of the District
has a concrete ledge just like the right side. Tromp up the first set of steps
you see. They should lead you right to a set of steel doors.
Pop 'em open and wander on inside. As soon as you're in, go straight up. A "?"
should pop up along the back wall. A Seal of Agility is just lying on the
floor, apparently. I guess no one else is using it, so that makes it yours.
Go left until the screen bumps over one, and you'll notice a guy in a white
tank and green pants half-hidden in a nook along the back wall. You've just
found Kensuke the Smuggler. Hey, this is an international dock, like there
aren't going to be a couple like him around.
Anyways, REMEMBER THIS GUY. He gets lots of neato stuff. If you scroll all
the way down his list to the very bottom, you may even find the ---Crest
Cimeies---, and this funky thing called a "Racoon Friend". You'll want both,
the Crest for obvious reasons, the Racoon for Pierre. It's a fluffy stuffed
animal. Pierre seems like the type that'd go for fluffy stuffed animals, don't
you think?
He's also got weapon and armor upgrades for everybody (except Karin and
Joachim, of course).
Outfit everyone to your liking and move just a little bit more to your left.
Back against the boxes is another chest containing a Mana Root. Those are
always useful, so swipe it and go back outside.
Slide down the ledge a ways until you've got another door you can go into.
Let's take a peek inside, shall we?
Someone left a Lottery Ticket on the back-right end of the first table you see,
and all the way on the left side is a treasure chest with a Hit Area Expander
inside. Plus, there's this weird red log just kinda lying there. Check it out
and see if Joachim likes it.
He does. It's his new favorite weapon, the Red Pillar. Yay! Swipe it and
poke around in the boxes behind it. Somewhere in there is the Small Jug.
The next guy we're looking for is Lottery Member #9. He's a bit hard to pin
down since he's wandering around along the tracks, but you can usually spot
him just a little south of the lady in the pink dress, standing by the stairs
out of the room you just went into. Calls himself "Murai". Manage to track him
down and you can win a Big Jug off of him with quick thumbs and a bit of luck.
Once you've got that dangling from your belt in good old drunk-samurai style,
stagger on out of the Warehouse District and on to the---
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You're barely there before Anastasia spots Snowba--, er, Blanca. The little
girl rescued the previous night also spots him at about the same moment, and
trots ahead of her young samurai bodyguard in her anxiousness to pet him.
As she goes to cross the street, a Model-T screeches to a halt beside her. One
of the soldier guys you saw plenty of recently hops out and nabs her, while
another one keeps both Yuri and the samurai busy dancing with a Tommy gun.
The car goes tearing off, with Blanca in hot persuit. The rest of the Crew
opts to drag the young samurai, who got hurt somewhere along the line, back
to a residence of the elderly gentleman who had been with the girl.
Through the rest of the cut scene Anastasia falls head-over-heels in squealing
love with the samurai (who's named Kurando, and doesn't notice a thing), Yuri
insists on helping find the kidnapped girl, and Kurando, becomes a member of
the Crew.
Since Blanca trotted back in the middle of one of Yuri's arguements, you also
know where that Model-T parked, so the next step in your journey isn't a
mystery.
But what say we frisk the Streets for some handy stuff, first. On the top of
the list is the house/dojo-place you're in. Duck around the pillar the old
gentleman is sitting near. Back in that nook is a thoroghly hidden treasure
chest. In it is Soul Drop #4. You'll need that, I think.
The house/dojo-place itself is located on the very far right side of the
Streets, so going any further to the right is pointless. On to the left. You
might want to use the save point that's near there. Or you might not. Your
call.
Keep going to the first corner. Going up will take you off the Streets inside
20 steps or thereabouts, so going straight across is probably the better plan.
Yes. That is a real treasure chest just kinda sitting in plain sight on the
far side of the intersection. It's even got the ---Crest Amdusias--- in it.
I shouldn't have to tell you to get that one.
One screen further to the left, and you'll find your own personal stalkers,
the Mazymell Bros. Their selection looks much like what Kensuke the Smuggler
had, plus an upgrade for Kurando.
To the right of the Bros, you should see a slim black awning hung at an angle
between the building and the ground. Step under it and poke around a bit. The
Stud Card "Mr. Doctor" is hiding there, somewhere. Pocket it and continue on
to your left.
There's one more intersection, much like the one before it. In the middle of
the street there should be a lady in a blue dress, Yuuko. Bug her 3 times and
she'll give you the Shining Oil, just to make you go away.
Follow the street lamps up the intersecting street, and behind the second-to-
last one you'll meet the Spirit of the Ring! ...who gives you the usual
shpiel all in baby talk. ^.^;; Thankfully, Yuri convinces him not to continue
the trend with an impression of his dead grandmother.
Kurando would probably appreciate the extra attack, so stick your new one on
him and keep going up that sidewalk. Somewhere very close to the edge of the
screen should be a wooden latticework square against the building. That's the
Japanese idea of a door, and a close inspection of it should net you the Sun
Tarot Card.
That's a wrap on New and Interesting Stuff in Yokohama, so keep going all the
way up and out of the Streets.
On your World Map, a new destination should automatically pop up, the---
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You start things on the docks, with a really weird camera angle to contend
with. Up the gangplank isn't the first place you want to go. Instead, slide
off to the left of it, where you might notice a stack of boxes. Go *behind*
those boxes, to another stack that's under a shed of some sort. Poke your
nose in there, and out pops the Spirit of the Ring! Didn't we just see him?
And, he's looking to Yuri for marriage advice? ::blink:: Well, at least Yuri
seemed to acquit himself well.
Next stop is under the gangplank. Somebody thought they were hiding a treasure
chest under there, to keep the ---Crest Vapula--- safe. Disabuse them of that
notion and go on up the plank with Crest in hand.
You'll want to speak to the sailor standing right there. He's got quite a bit
to say on the state of Japanese modernity, plus a Nibelung chapter to give to
Karin.
There isn't much else to see on this top deck, so over to the right and down
a set of stairs.
Unfortunately, your arrival on board hasn't gone unnoticed (like you tried to
be sneaky in the first place). A guy wearing thicker armor than a mideval
knight, Lt.Col. Terada, is arguing with the Admiral of the ship over not
getting his taxi....er, the Mikasa moving on time. Fortunately, the Admiral
has no plans of getting his sailors involved, so those guys are safe to talk
to.
However, first you have to find your way through the complex, yet uncomplicated
dungeon on this ship. How can something be complex, but uncomplicated? Stick
with me for a couple minutes here, and you'll find out.
The first thing that happens is Yuri and Kurando decide to split into two
parties, Kurando taking the upper deck, Yuri the lower. You've got an even
eight members now, so put whoever you want wherever you want. You might also
want to make sure each party has a good healer, and several people with
Rosewood Bracelets on.
By default, you start out with Kurando's party. Hit the save point just this
side of the staircase you went down, and head to the back of the room. Open up
the blatantly obvious treasure chest sitting there to get Security Key #1.
You'll need that momentarily.
Just off to your left is a closed door, with two pedestals right next to it,
both with funky Japanese letters on them. Now I could go into details about
which one is "ee" and which one is "ro", but that would get confusing, so
I'll just tell you which slot to stick the key in.
At this moment, it's the second slot (ro). You might notice that this is not
the letter that corresponds to the one on the door right next to you (ee),
which also happens to be the first slot you can put the key in. It is very
tempting to do just that, but trust me. First, you need to get Security Key
#2.
Hit the square button (check the bottom right corner of your screen) and shift
over to Yuri's party, one floor below.
He starts out, not in a room, but at the base of plain old stairs. Take the
7 steps needed to reach the closest intersection and go up. Cross over to the
starboard side (or is it port?) of the ship and hook a right. If Kurando
remembered to put the key in the correct slot, the door there (marked "ro")
should be open.
It'll lead you into a room much like the one Kurando is standing in, above.
There's also another blatantly obvious treasure chest in it, too. Predictably,
it contains Security Key #2.
The door Yuri just came in through has a setup just like the one Kurando is
facing. Put Key #2 in slot #1 (ee), so that the door in front of Kurando will
open up.
Shift things up to Kurando, *TAKE THE KEY OUT*, and go through the newly opened
door. Key #1 in hand, walk through a mirror image of the halls Yuri just went
through.
Go down at the first opportunity, cross over to the port side (or is it
starboard?) of the ship, and hook a right. It's a dead end, but if you look
around the bottom of the pipes hard enough, you should spot Lucia's Tarot Card,
the Lovers.
Do an about face and go straight. You should go through another open door
marked with the "ee" symbol, and shortly after that you'll want to go up. That
hall will dead-end with a locked door, a key pedestal (marked with the Japanese
letter for "ha") right next to it. Stick Key#1 in it, and change back over to
Yuri.
Obviously, Yuri's going to have to switch the slots Key#2 is in before he can
go anywhere. Do that and go straight all the way across the ship until you
dead end in front of a treasure chest.
Open it, and put yet another key on your keyring. This one, however, is a
Cabin Key, not a Security Key.
Retrace your steps most of the way back, taking the second turn down. Across
to the other side of the ship, and make a left. 5 steps later, there should
be a door in the wall. One which the Cabin Key, we hope, will open.
The interior of the cabin is pretty posh, complete with a Lottery Ticket just
lying on the coffee table in front of the green couch. I don't think anyone
will notice if it's missing, do you?
Next to the couch is a *really* out-of-place looking pedestal, with a lever on
top. Fiddle with it to open a door somewhere else.
Now, there's a uniform jacket hanging on the wall right next to the china
cabinet there. I bet Big-Mouthed Croft would be really annoyed if you were
to find the Death 2 hidden in its pockets. Annoying Big-Mouthed Croft is fun,
though. Swipe it.
Just to have a little icing on the cake, the sailor in the cabin will heal you
if you talk to him twice.
Leave Yuri loitering around the outside of the cabin, and go take a look in on
what Kurando's been doing.
Apparently, not much. Go down, left and on through the door Yuri opened for
you. That'll dump you into a room that's a mirror image of the one on the
other side of the ship.
Ignore the two fancy-looking wooden doors on the left side of that room, they
don't take you anywhere yet. Instead, make a bee-line for the back left part
of the room, where there's another of those little pedestals with a lever.
Return Yuri's favor by unlocking a door for him, then go over to your right to
raid the treasure chest that's there. In it is the ---Crest Vine---. Yay!
Give Kurando some time to ooh and aah over the Crest, and go drop in on Yuri.
Head back up and right to the room with the pedestals and lock Yuri in there
again by switching which slot his Key is in.
Kurando's probably put the Crest away by now, so get him to hike the length of
the ship back to his room with the two key-slot pedestals, picking up Key #1
along the way. Put it in the second slot (ro), so Yuri can get out and about.
Have Yuri take Key #2 with him when he leaves. Go through the door, down and
left past the Cabin. Take the next turn up that you can. That hall should
shortly dead end, this time with a setup of two key-pedestals. Pop Key #2 in
slot #2 and switch back to Kurando before he gets impatient.
Before he can go anywhere, you've got to have Key #1 in slot #1. Once it's
there, you get to go all the way straight across the ship. At the end of the
hall isn't a dead end, but a staircase going down.
Duck on down there to find yet another familiar-looking room. The only major
difference with this one is there's a staircase smack in the middle of it.
Take Kurando down there and switch back to Yuri.
He doesn't have far to go to reach the same place, just go down and to the left
and you should be right there. Head on down the stairs to start up a cut
scene.
The only way to open the huge door is for both Yuri and Kurando to hit the
two buttons at exactly the same time. Thank goodness, you don't have to do
this manually (has nightmare flashback of breaking into Shinra in FF7...).
Beyond the door is a hall with nothing much except a save point. You will want
to use that. Shuffle your party as much as you see fit, since Yuri's party
ended up on top by default. You'll also want to beef up on the defensive
accessories and have somebody with Arc Shield because the next thing you've got
to deal with is a---
BOSS FIGHT: LT.COL. TERADA
...and his four lackeys, which aren't much except cannon fodder. Wipe the lot
of 'em out with a well placed spell or two, then concentrate on Terada himself.
He's GodHand all over again, no magic but lots of hitting power. Without a
Shield up, he can do at least 150HP damage.
But otherwise, he's not anything special. Play Kick the Can with his tin butt
long enough and he'll go away.
The girl is, thankfully, unharmed and mostly untraumatized. Everybody finally
sits down and formally introduces themselves. It turns out that the girl's
name is Yoshiko Kawashima.
...Yoshiko Kawashima?!? Didn't a lady by that name get killed in SH1? That'd
make Naniwa Kawashima, the old gentleman, the mysterious "father" Lt. Col.
Kawashima had kept relying on and was eventually betrayed by.
My, my. It's a small world after all.
And getting smaller. Like prison-cell small. Y'see Mikasa's Admiral finally
stepped in and has all of you tossed in the Brig.
Since the whole Crew-in-a-Prison-Cell bit was done already back on Ste.
Margueritte, the designers don't feel it necessary to do that again. Instead,
the scene shifts to a pretty posh office Somewhere and we finally get to meet
another Master Villain.
This one's a pudgy, balding Japanese officer by the name of Ishimura. ..I liked
Nicholai better.
But Katou is there, along with this freaky looking midgit on a floating pillow.
Ishimura orders them both around, ending up giving the floating midgit, named
Garan, the job of dealing with Mr. Kawashima and the Crew.
From there, things follow Katou, detailing a little bit about his pet
experiment and it's connection to this lady Katou's named "Ouka", who's just
waking up on her first---
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The room is decorated with a mix of mad-scientist-meets-abandoned-warehouse
decor. Katou's disembodied voice echos from somewhere, telling you that your
mission is to escape.
So escape we shall. But first, a note.
Don't worry about treasure chests or looking for hidden items. You'll come
back through this place with the whole Crew a little later in the game. Plus,
Ouka is only a very temporary character. Whatever you find would be useless
for her anyways.
That means you don't have to bother looking through this room much at all. Just
go over and use the save point (you will want to, trust me), and open up the
steel door slightly to the right of it.
Your first obstacle is a fight with a guy dressed much like you, named Hien.
Now, if you've opened up the menu and looked at what Ouka has to offer, besides
an impressive level of 50, there ain't much. Fortunately, Hien is in the same
boat.
He's faster than you, so every now and again he'll go twice in a row, but you
have healing items and he doesn't. Neither of you have "magic" except for
a hand grenade attack (which does just about as much as a regular attack), so
just go at it with fists and feet flying until he gives up. Win, and he agrees
to be your subordinate.
However, he's not going to help you at all in the next portion of your
"training"; a time trial. Not only do you have to move quickly, at random
points arget boards will come out either the walls, floor or ceiling and you
have to hit the control-pad button that corresponds to the mark on them. But
you don't want to be shooting any that have an image of Katou on them.
Stay calm and deal with the one or two boards that appear while making your
way straight ahead.
Move into the next room and things get a little more complex. You've got to
shoot through 30 boards before you can move on, all appearing randomly. Be
careful about the Katou-boards!
Cross the room and pass through the door on the far side, and you're in another
hallway. Again, boards will randomly jump out at you, but not with too much
of a surprise factor. Twist through the bends of the hall, and take the
short, stubby hall to your right once you reach an intersection.
More of the same in the next hallway, though you'll want to go up at the
T-section.
Lather, rinse, repeat in the next hall, just zooming straight across.
Now you've got to deal with the 30 boards to shoot again, though this time
all of them will slowly move towards you. If you let one get far enough
forward, you'll get stuck with time penalties.
Clear that, and the room's exit is to your left.
Hang with me here, folks, you're almost there. Shoot straight all the way
across the next hall. Four steps past that door is one last board to bust, and
you're done! ...with the timed part, anyway.
Time-wise, Katou considered 5:02 "more than adequate", while 6:00+ was "poor".
Unfortunately four you, Katou is a stingy bastard, so you don't get anything.
...at least, I think you don't.
This could be, of course, because you're still not *completely* finished with
training. You've still got to beat one more guy dressed like you, a hunched
over Quasimodo-type named Raiden who's waiting for you one turn down from where
you finished the trial.
Raiden is much slower than Hien was, so you've got an even exchange of turns
going on. He also doesn't hit much harder than Hien did. Pound away and heal
as necessary. Clean his clock and he also agrees to be your subordinate.
However, you're STILL not done. Now all three of you have to team up and beat
on one last machine. I suspect you received Defense Down 4s for beating both
Raiden and Hien, so put those on whomever you like and go down through the
door to start things.
BOSS FIGHT: MINAZUKI
He doesn't have any magic. You don't have any magic. This one is a straight-
up fist-fest. Combos are the best way of dropping the robot's HP by healthy
(for you, anyway) chunks, and with those Def. Down 4s on, you should be doing
more and more damage each round. You'll win after a while.
Unfortunately, Minazuki is as much of a miser as Katou was, so you don't get
anything.
Anyways, back to the Crew. They're finally getting out of the brig after three
days, thanks to efforts by Mr. Kawashima and some diplomatic passes the Czar
had whipped up before you left. Sometimes it's not *what* you know, but *who*
you know, y'know? ^.^
The World Map wants you to go back to the Yokohama Streets, but listening to a
piece of paper is not always a good idea. Let's go poke around other places
and see if nifty stuff has popped up yet.
First off, check back with Kensuke the Smuggler in the Warehouse District and
see if he's got the ---Crests Bune--- for you yet.
Next on the list is re-exploring the Warship. Go on board and duck down one
deck, then run all the way across the top hallway. Just before you'd take the
staircase to the second deck, turn south into a little dead end. Back there
is a wooden toy that's passing itself off as a wolf.
Now, there's nothing behind the door Kiborin is guarding, and you can't go
through it even when you win, but pick a fight with the wooden wolf anyway.
Oh, before you do, be sure to put either a Zodiac Bracelet or Mirror Bracelet
on first. With that on, breaking the little toy is child's play.
His paw-print is #9 in your little book, but seeing as you can't get back to
Mon Martre at the moment, you're just going to have to wait.
From there go up, over, down, left and into the room that's there. If you're
in the right place, it should be the room that had the fancy wooden doors I
told you to ignore before. Well, they're open now.
Take either one, they both go to the same place; the Admiral's cabin. There
aren't any hard feelings apparently. Admiral Kaneda will even offer to give
you a neat prize, should you be able to pass his Item Quiz.
Try your hand at that before you finally go back to the Streets. You start out
at the far end from the house/dojo-place, so you have to trudge all the way
across the whole place first.
On your way, you'll want to take a closer look at the people milling about the
intersection right after you pass the Mazymells. In case you hadn't noticed,
there's one extra guy standing still near the corner, to the north of a parked
cart.
It's Croft! He's followed you here from Cannes. He's not giving up on trying
to stump you yet, so get your next clue.
Since you're so close, might as well stop in on Mr. Kawashima. A cut scene
will start up, Naniwa inviting the whole Crew along on a visit to the---
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Kurando and the Kawashimas arrive some minutes earlier than you, who come
puttering lazily in, without a care in the world. It only takes a few seconds
for Karin to realize something isn't right.
Scroll your screen left a few paces, and you'll see why. There's a tree, and
on the right side of it is perfectly normal graveyard. On the left is a hazy
gray shadow world with a stone bridge leading off into the mist. Normal? I
think not.
::Sigh:: I guess this means we've got to go and take care of the whatever-it-
is that's causing the mess, too. Well, sooner started, sooner fun. ^.^
Use the save point conveniently located right there, and go desecrate the first
grave on the right to find a Magic Defense Down 3. Nothing like starting off
on the right foot, eh?
Anyways. On to the weird and wonderful stone bridge. It's totally straight,
leading you to a stone circle with a large yin-yang symbol imprinted on it.
Now before you go stepping into that circle, you might want to take a moment
to organize. In about 30 seconds, you're going to *really* appreciate having
somebody with Arc Gale and Arc Sheild, 'cuz guess what... you're only 10 steps
into the dungeon, but there's already a---
BOSS FIGHT: TSUKUYOMI
First Kurando's comatose, then he wigs out and *fuses*?! Into a girl, no
less...
Well, this girl moves fast, and she smacks to the tune of 200HP damage if you
don't have shields up. Her magic attacks are rarer, but just as painful.
Keep your HP high and combo.
Batter Kurando back into his senses and he gains Fusion abilities just like
Yuri's in compensation for the beating he just took. You get the ---Crest
Valak--- in compensation for the beating you just dealt out. Fair trade. ^.^
However, that doesn't clear up this funky world you're stuck in, so onward!
...to the Mazymells?! Cripes! Those two take this stalker thing a bit too
far. They don't even have anything new.
Well, since they're there, you might as well stock up on Theras or Manas that
you're short on, and you'll definitely want to use the save point that's off
to your right.
The next part of this wacked out place is through the red "torii" (the gate-
thingies). Before long, you're on another of those circular stone landings,
with the yin-yang imprinted on it.
From here, you can go one of two ways; left or right. Take a closer look, and
you'll notice there's a blue star overtop the left tunnel, and a red star over
the right tunnel. Just like a traffic light, blue means "go" and red means
"stop". So I guess we're going left, then.
Oh, should you try to run the red ...star, you don't get a traffic ticket, but
what you do get is warped back to the spot where you beat Tsukuyomi.
Anyways, leftwards. Again, it's not too far to the next landing, though this
one has a treasure chest sitting next to a bibbed Buddha statue.
The buddha's a wiseacre, should you talk to him, so he's not about to go
dispensing divine punishment for walking off with the Pure Root out of that
chest. Nab it, check the stars, and head left.
Wind your way up the precarious stone path and you'll eventually get to yet
another of those round landings, though this one is obviously the end of the
road. The only thing that's there is a chest with a Talisman inside. This'll
turn the very first red star you came across to blue.
So back down we go, past the Wisen-buddha, and down one more. Just walk over
to the star. The world will flash, and the star will turn blue.
That path will take you another short way to another stone landing with another
treasure chest, but minus the sniggering buddha. Palm the Strike Area
Expander inside, since no one is looking.
Now, believe it or not, both of the two paths branching off from here will take
you to the exact same spot. The left way will just take it's good old time
getting you there. So break the pattern we've gotten into and go right first.
15 steps later, you're at another landing with two smart-mouthed buddhas and
no treasure chest (drat!). The pattern resumes, since left is the way you need
to go. Right will just wind you all the way back around to where you just
came from.
A thankfully short space later, you're at another dead end, with another chest
sitting serenely in the middle of the circle. Grab the talisman out of there,
retrace your steps down thrice, over to the left path, and up to the second
red star. Change it to blue and continue on your way.
Somewhere along the path, there's a save point crammed into a small space
between two torii. Take a break there and shuffle through your stuff. Switch
out the Arc Shield you have for an Arc Barrier, and make sure you've got plenty
of Mana items handy, you're about to get into a---
BOSS FIGHT: GARAN
You know what, I think that little midget is supposed to be female. ::shudder::
At least, the voice in the Japanese version seems like it should be female.
Dunno about the American side.
Anyways, Garan uses exclusively magic, so you're going to want that Arc Barrier
up quick. Otherwise s/he could nail multiple people for close to 200 HP
damage.
The other really annoying thing the little creep does is drain all your MP in
one shot, so if you're really stuck on the idea of using spells you'll want
some Mana Seeds and Roots handy.
Add a little patience to the mix, and the rest of the fight shouldn't be a
problem.
Punt the mini-runt into the stratosphere and it'll drop the ---Crest
Glasyalabolas--- for you. His/her little world also vanishes, depositing the
whole Crew in a very mundane graveyard. Both Kawashimas are okay, much to
Kurando's relief.
The grave they happen to be visiting is a nice one for Yoshiko Kawashima,
Naniwa's true daughter. Yuri the Yutz finally puts it together that this
Yoshiko is the Lt. Col. he met in Shanghai.
While the Crew and the Kawashimas share quiet thoughts about the past, the
scene shifts over to what Yoshiko's former right-hand man Katou has been up
to.
More to the point, what he's had done to Nicholai, with the help of one Prof.
Hojo (Todo?). It ain't pretty.
Katou sits back and watches the latest attempt at wrenching Astaroth out of
Nicholai, which kinda sorta works. But the end result winds up escaping...
Somewhere else, somebody reminisces about a visit one army officer paid to an
old gentleman over 20 years prior, Ben Hyuga meeting Naniwa Kawashima for the
last time before he takes his wife and 3 year old son over to China.
However, for the present, both Joachim and Anastasia sit in the Kawashima
estate of Mukyoan, bored out of their minds. To kill time, the pair decide to
hunt down Yuri and Karin, who went to---
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under construction detour---------
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V
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SIDE-QUESTS
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.:WAKURABA- THE CASTLE OF PALE LEAVES:. Karin's Side-quest
The earliest of all the side-quests in SH2, you can enter Wakuraba as soon as
you've cleared the Hall of Mirrors for the first time. All you have to do is
go back to the prison on the island of Ste. Margueritte at any point between
then and beating the game.
However, you can't *finish* Wakuraba until you're able to move freely between
Europe and Asia, well into Disc 2.
To start, stop by Ste. Marguerite. You'll immediately be accosted by Nimble-
Fingered Locke, the guy who helped you make the Jury-Rigged key that got Roger
out the first time you were there. He will tell you about mysterious wailings
and the rumors of ghosts beneath the store room floor.
So head on to the store room (go until you finally have a choice of paths to
take, then go left). Karin will insist on investigating, so Yuri and Joachim
clear out the floor and uncover a trap door.
Since this is Karin's side-quest, she'll take the lead. 4 steps in, you're
stopped by the Professor, a kindly and informative ghost. He tells you how
the dungeon works, plus quite a bit of it's history, should you go back and
ask.
Basically, Wakuraba is a gathering place for lost souls. To get through this
old castle, you have to find all the souls stuck here, and do whatever task
they set you. This will allow them to pass on in peace, and get rid of the
force sealing the doors to the lower levels.
There are, I think, 4 levels in total. There are no random encounters here,
nor hidden items, so I'll simply tell you who's on which floor and what they
want you to do.
1st Floor: Serge the Sailor. He wants you to take an old engagement ring to
a lady named "Irene" in Le Havre. Well, Le Havre isn't all that
hard to find, and Irene is the old lady who's usually puttering
around near the Black Gull (only this time, she's standing still
waiting for you). Talk to her, give her the ring, and return to
the castle. Talk to Serge again, lie through your teeth and watch
him fade happily away.
Darcy, Who Didn't Quite Make It. (you have to talk to him through
the bars.) Oh, the poor sap. To die in the middle of taking a
dump... ignominious, to say the least. Hand over a tissue so the
guy can finally get some relief.
2nd Floor: Crybaby Kazuna. Take the mask she gives you and hand it over to
the well-dressed gentleman standing right outside the door to the
Junk Kingdom item shop near the Old Cathedral. Once you've got
that done, talk to her again to send her on her way.
The Clueless Sailor. He wants you to find something for him; his
name. The only clue he has for you is an old pocket watch, with
an engraving on the back too faded to read. Show that watch to
one of the old fogeys in the Foreigner's Graveyard, who turns out
to be an old friend of his.
Depressed Rudovic. Lottery Member #3, he never got to do the
lotto while he was alive. His Red Square item is a Mind's Eye, and
you only have 3 tries to get it before he disappears. Good luck!
.:TIFFAUGE:. Yuri's Side-quest
This is where you find Neo-Amon. Finish up everything in Japan, then pay a
visit to Florence. There should be a stout guy in a suit standing somewhere
along the back wall of the city. Talk to him, and he'll tell you about the
castle.
.:ZURICH:. Not really a Side-quest
Zurich isn't really a side-quest. It's more of an optional FMV, with a neat
prize. Once you can get back to Europe from Japan, it's automatically added
to your list of destinations.
Pay the place a visit, and Yuri will tell Karin a bit about the death of his
lover, Alice. At the end, he'll give her Anne's Cross, the royally cool Karin-
specific item that protects her from everything but the common cold.
.:NEAM RUINS - AGAIN:. Anastasia's Side-quest
.:SCHWARTZWALD FOREST:. Lucia's Side-quest
.:THE DOLL HOUSE:. Gepetto's Side-quest
.:KURAMA'S DOG SHRINE:. Kurando's Side-quest
.:THE MAN FESTIVAL:. Joachim's Side-quest
Learn everything the Grand Gama has to teach you, and then bug him one more
time. He lays before Joachim the option of attempting for the ultimate
greatness a wrestler could ever hope to achieve, and it awaits him on the 100th
floor of the Ring Tower!
*******************************************************************************
MINI GAMES
*******************************************************************************
.:LOTTERY:.
Aah. Only two games in the Shadow Hearts series, and already the Lottery is a
tradition. ^.^
There are 16 members to find, and here's where they are, and what they have:
MEMBER LOCATION RED SQUARE ITEM RING
#16, True Lotto Member Faukes Le Havre Crest Batin Normal
#15, Gossipy Moleen Southampton LV1 Slow Normal
#14, Antisocial Anthony Abandoned Mines Third Key BLIND
#13, Cannes-Born Maribelle Cannes Crest Marchosias PETIT
#12, Thompson the Panty-Thief Ste. Margueritte LV2 Slow Normal
#11, Volunteer Natalia Petrograd Prism Wrist REVERSE
#10, Landlady Clemense Old Apartment Crest Alloces FAST
#9 , Manual Laborer Murai Warehouse District Huge Jug Normal
#8 , Warrant Officer Watanabe Warship Mikasa LV3 Def. Down Normal
#7 ,
#6 ,
#5 ,
#4 ,
#3 , Depressed Ludovic Wakuraba Mind's Eye
#2 , Yoshiko Kawashima Mukyoan
#1 , The Silver Bat Rose Bondage
**NOTE**: Once you reach Lotto Member #3, you have to have met and (I think,
don't quote me on this) gotten the Red Square Item from all the higher number
members before the next member will appear.
.:LUCKY CHEST:.
Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do to help you on this little game. It's
a version of the game everyone knows (Memory) so the rules are easy. There
are no patterns to what's going to be in which box, so about all I can do for
you is give you a list of the prizes.
LEVEL PRIZES
100 Cash Mr. Chef; Thera Leaf (x2); Mana Leaf, Pure Leaf
300 Cash Soul Drop; Thera Seed (x2); Mana Seed (x2), Pure Seed (x2)
500 Cash Crest Decarabia; Thera Root (x2); Mana Root (x2); Pure Root (x2);
Tent; Talisman of Luck.
1000 Cash ***You can do this level ONLY if you have SH1 save data***
Mr. Meiyuan; Thera Root (x2), Mana Root (x2), Pure Extract, Tent,
Talisman of Mercy, Daphne's Fruit
.:TREASURE HUNT:.
When you first arrive in Cannes, talk to Big-Mouthed Croft, and he'll propose
a game where you look for treasure he's hidden. You get only one clue, but
they're pretty obvious clues. Or you can just read the list below and find
them all the easy way. ^.^ In numerical order:
Location Treasure
Ste. Margueritte Tarot Card, the Wheel of Fortune
At the base of the chain tying
Oscar.
Goreme Valley Crest Seere
Inside the cave, balcony/alcove
where Karin and Yuri have a cut
scene. Check the base of the
single stone pillar.
Battleship Mikasa Death 2
There's only one room in the ship
that has a hanging uniform. Check
it for the treasure.
Forest of the Wind Blood Pendant?
Once you can go through the forest
without getting yanked into an FMV,
take the one path branching right
until the screen shifts, then turn
around and come right back. Don't
take any steps, just press the O
button right after the screen
shifts back.
Mukyouan
Examine the stone statue sitting
next to the little pond.
.:THE STRAW MILLIONAIRE:.
This game is based off of an old Japanese folk-tale where a poor boy starts out
with a single piece of straw and trades his way up all the way to his own
estate. You get to play the part of the poor boy, starting off with a single
straw. If you're lucky (or you read the cheat I'll write below), you'll end
up with Lucia's Ultimate Weapon, Nemesis, by the end of the game.
You'll start in: SOUTHAMPTON
Imorahimovich
||
FLORENCE
Massimo
||
CANNES
Fabio OR Icizzi
|| ||
PETROGRAD OR HERMITAGE
Chagal Zubyoz
\\ //
CHAMPS ELYSEES
Genardine
||
INUGAMI VILLAGE
||
SOUTHAMPTON
||
OLD CATHEDRAL
Malkovich
**NOTE: Do everything right, and Margaret will give you Lucia's Ultimate
Weapon. However, there are loads of people out there wanting you to give them
stuff, and should you happen to trip up, that doesn't mean you're S.O.L. with
Lucia's weapon. The Junk Shop there should sell it to you later on, for
something like 50,000 Cash.
Another interesting note is that Margaret is *not* the only person you can
talk to on that very last step on the chain. I'm pretty sure you can also
give the Secret Documents to Imorahimovich in Southampton for a boatload of
Cash. Just how much Cash, I don't know, but should it be more than 50,000....
.:QUIZ SHOW!:.
Just to be sure you notice all the nifty little details the programmers and
graphics designers have added to this game, they have created three quizes
which will discover how closely you have (or haven't) been looking.
Each quiz will ask you 10 questions. And you'll have precisely 10 seconds in
which to answer (as a loud, prominent ticker at the top of the screen will
inform you).
However, there is a total of far more than 10 questions for each quiz. Each
time you start the quiz, you'll get random questions, in a random order. Heck,
even the answers are all randomly assigned to one of the 4 controler buttons.
So you have to *pay attention* each time you do one.
Of course, they aren't expecting you to go through all this for nothing. There
are lovely, considerably useful prizes for completing them.
Oh, and NO, I'm not going to try to translate all the questions and write the
answers here. There's no charge for playing the quizes, so you can do them
over and over. Figure them out on your own. They aren't all *that* hard.
All three quizes are located in Japan, and become available at various points
through the game. In no particular order---
MONSTER QUIZ - Yokohama Streets
Questions about persnickity details on the critters you've been bashing
since the beginning of the game. If you're stumped, check out the Library
of every one you've come across.
PRIZE: Steel Black (Anastasia's second-most-powerful weapon)
ITEM QUIZ - Warship Mikasa (available after clearing the Warship once)
Which of the following four things appears in the graphic for a "Seal
of Strength"?
...and other such really detail-minded things. Go through your item list,
select an item and hit the triangle button if you're clueless.
PRIZE: Crest Folas
STUD CARD QUIZ - Nihon-Bashi
-.-;; Yes. There's a whole quiz revolving around the 9 (or 10) cards you
gave to Pierre. Read through the short bios for each card and check what,
if anything, they're holding.
PRIZE: Silver Angel