Let's play Star Ocean 3! Part 6

Alright, time to run around some ruins to try to find Niklas.



The Ruins of Coffir are fairly straightforward, since they're our first real dungeon. Most of the enemies are pretty easy, though the mushrooms can get you surprisingly easily if you don't pay attention, since their attacks deal MP damage and we have fairly little of that. The thieves and noblemen are pretty trivial though, and both will flee from combat if you wait long enough. We've got a bunch of chests to open, but past that there's no fancy mechanics in here, just a couple numbers painted on the walls here and there that we'll use in a minute.

Once we reach the northern-most part of the map we'll find a large (and mostly intact) building. If we circle around it to the back, we run into some of the elves who used to block the road in the forest:


Norton's Underling: A little boy?

He stops to tap his forehead thoughtfully.

Norton's Underling: Oh, you mean Niklas. Yeah, he cam 'round here, blabberin' 'bout getting somethin' back, and wantin' to see Lord Norton.
Fayt: Then what did he do?
Norton's Underling: Being the kind-hearted fellas we are, we gave the stupid kid what he wanted. I bet Lord Norton's reeducatin' the undisciplined lil' brat right now.
Fayt: What!?
Norton's Underling: It's the kid's own fault. Nothing good can come from messin' with Lord Norton. Don't worry - he'll learn it's better to join us than fight us!
Norton's Underling: It's a shame - the apple don't fall far from the tree. Idiocy must run in the family.
Fayt: You rotten little...!
Norton's Underling: Woah there, didn't I just say ya can't pass through here? Wanna see that brat, you got to beat us, first!
Fayt: You punks! What gives you the right!?
Norton's Underling: Looks like we got another village idiot in need of some education!

And with that we've got a mini-boss battle against the three underlings. They're basically the same as the basic thief enemies in the ruins, but with a little more HP. They'll still escape if we damage them and wait long enough, but it's fairly quick and easy to beat them up as long as we don't get greedy.



With them gone and piled up, we can enter Norton's hideout proper. There's a couple skeleton enemies in here but it's fairly small. The hallway splits into two, with one path ending in a locked door, so we visit the other and find what looks to be his base of operations:



There's a bunch of technology in here, but the only thing we can interact with is one of the consoles:



[If we choose to read the instructions]
Screen: Welcome to the Password Entry Screen! I'm your guide, Boss Norton, so you'd better be thankful! I mean it! You enter the password here, but remember, you only get three chances! If you make three mistakes, then you're through! I'll kick you outta here! So you better be ready! But hey, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give you a little hint! The secret numbers are located somewhere in these ruins! Just type those in! Even an idiot like you should be able to do that. So come on, enter the password!

If you remember the "2" painted on the wall a couple screenshots above, that's one of the "secret" numbers. There's two others you can find on other walls in the ruin, and if you read them in order of when you're expected to find them (one is near the entrance, one is around the middle, and one is on the wall next to the door to the hideout) you get "256" which is our password. Entering it unlocks the door at the other end of the fork in the hallway.



Fayt: That's what I want to ask you! You should never have run off like that!
Niklas: The music box parts... I wanted to get them back. I... I could not ask you to do this for us.
Fayt: But that's crazy!
Niklas: It is dangerous here! You... must leave, quickly! He'll... get you.
Fayt: Niklas? Hang in there, Niklas!
Niklas: Must leave...
Fayt: This is bad... I better hurry...
Fayt: Think... think... Oh yeah!!!
Fayt: I could short the batter in my communicator, or- Wait. I might be stuck here if I lose my communicator.
Niklas: Meena...
Fayt: What am I thinking? There's no time! Hold on, Niklas, I'll get you out!



Niklas: @#*$&#%... *$&^#%A$*A... &#.
Fayt: Huh!?
Niklas: ... *@$*@^%*&$^#@.


Fayt: No time for regrets, now. We better get out of here!
Fayt: Let's go.



???: No funny moves if you wanna stay alive. Play nice and I'll let you live a little longer.
Fayt: That was a phase gun. So you must be Norton.


Norton: Ah, it's so nice to hear genuine Terran being spoken, eh? Seems like ages.
Fayt: Why are you here? You're not from this planet, are you?
Norton: I'm from Rezerb, boy. We're not part of the Federation.
Fayt: Rezerb... I've heard of that world.
Fayt: Right - that planet filled with joy-seekers that keeps rejecting Federation membership. So what are you doing here? This is an underdeveloped planet, you know!
Norton: Not much to tell... I... was involved in this er... unfortunate accident. Guess it was a bit much even for Rezerb. So I was sentenced to spend the rest of my days in exile on a deserted planet.
Norton: But... The escort ship they were transporting me on had engine trouble and ended up crash landing here.
Norton: Can ya believe it? All I had to do was mess with their engine codes.
Norton: Those stupid pilots ended up frying their engines!
Norton: Ohhh, man! All I was trying to do was create a distraction so I could make my escape. But... we ended up crashing, and this planet's become my prison.
Fayt: And the others, Norton!
Norton: Huhhh?

Norton shoots a couple crates behind Fayt again.

Norton: That's 'Lord Norton' to you!
Fayt: There must've been others. What happened to the other peope on the escort ship?
Norton: Oh, those guys? They're dead, the poor fools. They were trying to send out a distress signal and a bolt of lightning smote 'em where they stood. Bam! Heh heh.
Norton: That crash part was unfortunate. But no use crying over spilt milk... I've been devoting myself to making this planet my kingdom. Ya get my drift?
Fayt: So that's why you've been raiding Whipple!?
Norton: Yeah, something like that. You're a smart kid. That's why I've been raiding the village, and that's why you gotta die. Sorry!
Norton: You'll be happy to know I'm gonna make the most of those parts I stripped from yer escape pod.
Fayt: Grr!



???: Might never have found you if it weren't for those explosions.
Norton: What do you want? You're not one of them Federation guys, are ya?
???: Who, me? A Federation soldier? Ha, yeah, that's a good one!
Norton: Well then, who are ya?

??? points to himself.


Norton: A K-Klausian!?
Cliff: Sorry, no time to explain. I'm kinda in a hurry.
Cliff: Just lemme have Fayt, that Earthling boy over there, and I'll be on my way. I don't plan on butting into whatever ya got going on over here.
Fayt: How do you know my name!?
Cliff: Let's not sweat the details. Suffice it to say, you're my man.
Norton: Hold it right there, or I'll blast ya!!!
Cliff: Huh? You talking to me?
Norton: You think ya can fool me? There's no way a Klausian would come here! You're probably some sorta spy. It's so obvious! Har har har!
Cliff: Look, since I'm such a nice guy, I'm gonna fill you in on a little secret. That gun you have there has no effect on us Klausians.
Cliff: You didn't know that?
Norton: Shut yer piehole!


Cliff: All right. I'm done lecturing - Time to teach you a lesson!

And with that cutscene done, we start the fight against Norton, with Cliff helping us out! He does a lot of the heavy lifting in this fight and if we time things well we can keep Norton functionally stun-locked. As long as we don't do anything stupid it's a pretty easy fight.


Fayt: (I've heard the physical abilities of Klausians far outstrip those of Earthlings, but man. And he said Quark? Wasn't that an anti-Federation group?)
Cliff: Looks like I over did it. Shoulda held back a little bit. This is about the only thing that still works. The rest is ruined. ... Here.

Cliff throws Fayt something.

Fayt: Is this... a communicator?
Cliff: Can't live without one! I can't figure out why you wouldn't have one with you.
Fayt: Ahh... Umm... Thanks for getting me out of that mess. You saved my life.
Cliff: Whoa there. Don't go thanking me yet. Ya see, I've come to abduct you.
Fayt: What!?
Cliff: Now don't get all worked up... I'm not going to hurt anybody. It's just my boss wants to meet you. That's why I came all the way out here to find you.
Fayt: Boss... you mean Quark's boss?
Cliff: That's right, our leader wants to see you.
Cliff: But you've sure made it a tough job. First, I went to Hyda and ran into that mess, thanks to you. Then, I get here and find you poking your nose into matters better left alone...
Fayt: You make it sound like it was my fault Hyda got attacked, geez.
Cliff: ...
Cliff: Just kidding, don't sweat it. At any rate, I got you now. And I did rescue you, so no complaining.
Cliff: And besides, you wanna see your old man, don't you? He's been captured by the Vendeeni.
Fayt: Dad? But why!?
Cliff: Hey, don't ask me. All I know is your old man was abducted from the Evacuation Facility on Hyda.


Cliff: I don't know about the girl. I've had my hands full just trying to track down your escape pod.
Fayt: ... How do you know all this? What else do you know?
Cliff: Not much else... sorry. Oh yeah, I do know what yer old man, Dr. Leingod, was researching.
Fayt: You mean symbological genetics? My dad's an authority in that field, so it's no surprise you've heard of him.
Cliff: Right, symbological genetics. And 19 years ago... Ah, never mind. That doesn't matter right now.
Fayt: Uh...
Cliff: C'mon! Ya don't have any other way off this planet, do ya? Look, I'm sure things will clear up if you just come with me. Besides, you'll be able to see yer old man again.
Fayt: But according to you, my Father's been captured by Vendeen. So how could I possibly see him?
Cliff: Simple! Quark'll go rescue your old man, too.
Fayt: Why would an anti-Federation group want to help my father?
Cliff: Well... tell ya what, it's kinda complicated. Let's not get into that right now.
Cliff: So, are you coming or not?
Fayt: Okay... I'll go with you.
Fayt: But could we stop by Whipple first? I want to make sure the boy gets back there safely.
Cliff: Sure, whatever. But I still think you shouldn't have gotten involved...

We take Niklas with us, but before heading directly to Whipple we stop by Norton's lair again to replicate some music box parts and to uh, "solve" the Norton problem.



Fayt: You're wrong, things aren't back to normal. Niklas's and Meena's parents are gone forever.

Fayt glares and walks away, and Cliff scratches his head awkwardly.

With Norton's hideout exploded, we can head to Whipple one last time to drop Niklas off before we leave this planet.


Cliff: Don't keep me waiting too long, kid!
Fayt: Got it.



Fayt: Don't worry, he's just asleep. He wouldn't leave you alone, Meena.
Meena: Really?
Fayt: Really!


Fayt: (Time for me to go. Goodbye.)

The music box quietly starts playing.

We can wander around the village a little before leaving, and most of the villagers apologize for distrusting us and thank us for helping rid them of Norton, other than a handful of youths who are unhappy about getting back to menial work. The chief specifically gives us a nifty little accessory as thanks, which we can equip in combat to lower the HP cost of skills.

Once we're done here (not that there's a lot to do), we can meet up with Cliff at the village exit.


Fayt: Yeah.
Cliff: Alright. Now, you remember that cliff near your escape pod? Our way out lies beyond there. Let's go!
Fayt: Okay.

There isn't anything left to do in either Whipple, the ruins, or at our pod, so we head straight for the cliff.

Next time: we meet up with Cliff's crewmate and finally get off Whipple.

Let's play Star Ocean 3! Part 7

It's all cutscenes this time because we've got some STORY to catch up on!



Cliff: My ship's not so big, but it's packing a gravitic warp engine. ... It's quite the speed demon.
Fayt: Hey, Cliff...
Cliff: Yeah?
Fayt: There's something I've been meaning to ask you...
Cliff: What's that?
Fayt: Why does Quark's leader want to meet with me? I'm just a college student from Earth!
Cliff: Oh... um... 'no comment'? Heh.

[pause]

Cliff: That's... that's not doing it for you, is it?
Fayt: No, it's not.
Cliff: Let's see, well... I guess the biggest reason would be... Our leader wants to chat with you?
Fayt: Nice try, but that's avoiding the question. Why's your leader want to meet with me?
Cliff: Hey, how should I know? I just do what I'm told. There's probably something our leader wants to talk to you about.
Fayt: And that 'something' is...?
Cliff: Well- You'll just have to come with me and find out for yourself. Sorry, kid, but I don't know much more than that.




We get a pan over Whipple, and it zooms into Niklas and Meena's house specifically.




And we're off! Finally done with Vanguard III, and we can get back to our main quest of saving Sophia and Fayt's parents :D


Cliff: The rendezvous point is Beta-747-372-406. You got that, Mirage?


Mirage: Engaging conventional engines... Gravitic warp core, normal.

We then immediately fade into a flashback from a couple minutes ago. I have no idea why things are in this order, it took me ages the first time to realize it went present-past-present in the middle of this cutscene for no discernable reason.



Mirage: Yes. I knew right away. Nice to meet you, Fayt. I'm Mirage Koas.
Fayt: N-nice to meet you, too.
Fayt: (She's beautiful...)

The flashback ends here and we get back to Fayt zoning out in the present.

Cliff: Fayt, you okay?
Cliff: Oh, and listen, don't fall for her- She may look pretty but she's a Klausian. Any funny ideas, and yer liable to meet a swift, yet painful, death.
Fayt: Hey, w-wait a sec! Who said I was falling for anyone?
Cliff: Relax! I was just warning ya.

Fayt: I... was wondering. Just how long will it take till we get to your leader?
Cliff: Oh, we'll be there soon. It's about three hours to the rendezvous point. Mirage, I'm gonna go take a shower. I'm leaving you in charge.

Mirage nods, then looks back to her screen.

Mirage: Oh Cliff... It looks like you can forget that shower.
Cliff: Huh? What is it?
Mirage: I've just detected a gravitic space anomaly up ahead. I'm bringing us out of gravitic space to avoid it.
Cliff: You serious? You think it's hostile?


Mirage: Hold on.
Mirage: Connection confirmed... Okay, the link's open.
Cliff: Uhhh... This is the Eagle, a Klausian ship. We don't want any trouble with ya...
Mirage: You're wasting your time.
Mirage: The enemy ships are already prepared to attack.

Cliff shakes his head.

Cliff: Seems they know who we've got onboard. Escape's our only hope. It'll be tough without using gravitic warp, but we've got no choice... Reverse course! Conventional engines, full power!
Mirage: Roger.
Cliff: Full power to rear shields! And lemme see a chart for this region!
Cliff: Alright, course 116, mark 267! Activate auto-evasion program! Fasten crew safety harnesses!
Mirage: Roger.
Mirage: ... Course entry complete. Speed, maximum... Program activated.
Fayt: !?
Cliff: Hey, feeling lucky, kid?

The screen starts shaking a WHOLE lot for the next few minutes.


Mirage: Nearing objective point.
Cliff: All right, as soon as we're there, go into gravitic warp.
Mirage: Cliff, gravitic warp is currently nonfunctional...
Cliff: I got a hunch it'll function the moment we reach the objective point. Get us on a straight line between the ships and that planet, then pop us up starside - we'll open up the distance that way.
Mirage: Very well... but we won't be able to designate our warp destination.
Cliff: Well, we're toat if we stay here, Mirage! Anyhow, space is big, right? Our odds ain't that bad!
Fayt: You got a hunch?
Mirage: Roger.


Cliff: Four, huh? This is gonna be close. Either we enter gravitic warp first or we get pummeled. Now's the time to pray, gentlemen!
Mirage: Unfortunately, it looks like we might lose the race. Here comes the first round now, and we're seven seconds from objective point.
Cliff: Aaah, who cares if we take a few rounds? Warp our butts outta here!
Mirage: Warp engine damaged, but... still functioning.
Cliff: You bet it is! Activate gravitic warp!



Mirage: We've thrown off the Vendeeni ships.
Cliff: Phew... That was close.
Mirage: Yes, but now we're pretty far from the rendezvous point.
Cliff: Well, it can't be helped. Besides, it won't hurt to make her wait a little longer. Let's take our time.

Mirage nods.

Fayt: Wow, your hunch really paid off.
Cliff: Finally, some respect!
Fayt: Yeah, a healthy respect for your recklessness.
Cliff: What is that supposed to mean? A little more honesty would be nice- like 'Heey, that Cliff sure is something,' or 'You're a genius, Cliff!'
Mirage: Sorry to interrupt while you're having so much fun...
Cliff: What is it, Mirage?
Mirage: The gravitic warp core is overheating. We should reduce speed immediately. The engine will scram if we don't.
Cliff: Whaaat!?
Cliff: Didn't I specifically request that ya tell me these things sooner? Get back to conventional space, pronto!
Mirage: Roger.

The ship slows down and returns to conventional space.

Mirage: Bad news.
Cliff: Now what?
Mirage: Both the conventional and gravitic warp engines have scrammed. The backup engine isn't functioning, either. I'd say we have a problem.
Cliff: Damn it!

Cliff punches his armrest.

Cliff: Where're we now?
Mirage: We're currently within Elicoor II's gravitational field.
Cliff: If all our energy sources are shot, then we can't communicate either... Well, I'm sure she'll figure out something happened to us after we don't show up when we're supposed to.
Mirage: One would hope so.
Cliff: Well, Mirage, come up with something.
Mirage: I'll see what I can do.
Fayt: What CAN we do? Aren't all the engines scrammed!?
Cliff: For starters, we gotta land before we crash. Then, we wait to be rescued.
Fayt: Great plan.
Cliff: Look, my mission is to bring you to our leader. Until then, I'll watch out for you - trust me! You're safe as... as a turtle in its shell!
Fayt: A turtle dropping out of orbit...
Cliff: Huh? Did you say something?
Fayt: Nothing.
Mirage: We'll be entering into Elicoor II's atmosphere in another 30 seconds. Get ready for a bumpy ride, you two.
Mirage: And... keep wagging those tongues and you'll bite them off. I wouldn't want either of you to die of blood loss.
Fayt: Roger.
Cliff: Yes, ma'am!

The screen finally stops shaking.



Fascinated Girl: A star, fallen from the sky?
Panicked Man: Nonsense! It looks nothing like a falling star!
Fascinated Girl: Well, what is it, then?
Panicked Man: How am I supposed to know!?


Cliff: Not to mention we're outta power and the helm is outta whack. You should be happy to be alive.
Fayt: *sigh* ... I guess this is no time to be worrying about the UP3. What do we do now?

We're allowed to move around in the cockpit at this point, but the exit door is locked and all we have available is talking to our new "friends".

Cliff: All right, calm down. Panicking won't change a thing.
Fayt: How can I 'calm down'? We just crashed our spaceship into the middle of a city on an underdeveloped planet! This is more than just a simple violation of the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact! Oh, man.
Cliff: You know what? You worry too much.
Fayt: And you don't worry enough!
Cliff: Yeah, you're probably right.

Fayt: Mirage, what kind of planet is Elicoor II?
Mirage: The second planet in the Elicoor System has an axial tilt of 32.6 degrees, and is 0.8 AUs from its parent star. The gravity is 0.9G. Other than the fact that its atmosphere is mostly comprised of noble gases such as neon, instead of nitrogen, it has an atmospheric composition which closely resembles that of Earth. According to my data, the technology level on this planet is near that of Medieval Earth, or around the 17th century. Although the planet is registered in the Galactic Atlas as an underdeveloped planet, it appears to be in a constant state of conflict, so there are no figures for the total population of sentient beings.
Fayt: So we're stuck on an underdeveloped planet...

Fayt: Do we at least have the information for our current location?
Mirage: Well, sentient life forms do live in this area. We don't have any detailed information, like government, but this is a pretty large city. External air temperature is minus five degrees Celsius. Both falling and deposited snow have been detected.
Fayt: A city...
Mirage: *nods* We also know that there are two major continents on this planet. There's the one we're on now, and another one to the east. The continent to the east appears to have a slightly higher civilization level.
Fayt: I see...

Fayt: Did you figure anything else out?
Mirage: This ship's database contains no other information.
Fayt: I see...



Old Soldier: One of Aquaria's new weapons?

He taps the hull of the ship with his halberd.


Cliff: Not much we can do with the Eagle scrapped like this. Fighting our way out isn't really an option... Well, at least we're still in one piece!
Mirage: For now, maybe...
Cliff: Oh well - let's just step outside and see what happens.
Fayt: Hold on just a second!
Fayt: Even minimal contact with the inhabitants of an underdeveloped planet will get us in trouble - besides, we've no idea what they'll do to us once we're out there!
Cliff: You got any better ideas? I hate to point this out, but I think we've already made contact, rather forcefully, anyway.
Fayt: Well, still...


Cliff: C'mon! Trust me! Didn't we make it here safely? I tell you, my hunches are always right!
Mirage: How about that time when we almost crashed into that asteroid because of a... hunch?
Cliff: Aw, but that was ONE time!
Fayt: One time!
Cliff: At any rate, I don't think we have any other choice.
Fayt: What do you think they'll do?
Cliff: Well, we'll probably be taken prisoner.
Fayt: You say it like you don't even care...
Cliff: Yeah, but only you and I will go out.
Fayt: Huh? What about Mirage?
Cliff: We'll have Mirage wait until later to make an escape.
Cliff: Mirage, stay until nightfall, then leave under the cover of darkness.
Mirage: Right. That shouldn't be a problem.
Fayt: But Mirage... All alone?
Cliff: You're forgetting she's a Klausian. She'll be fine - I pity the soldier that tries to take her in.
Mirage: Want me to come rescue you?
Cliff: Nah, no need. There'll probably be too many of 'em, anyway. We'll think of something... You scout around and find a way to contact the Diplo. Don't put yourself in danger trying to hook up with us. They should be able to home in on our position as long as we make contact. They can come get us then.
Mirage: Roger.
Cliff: All right, time to go.
Mirage: Fayt... Be careful.
Fayt: Thanks. You too, Mirage.
Mirage: Cliff...
Cliff: I said it'll be okay. ... I'm counting on you.
Mirage: Okay... Be careful.



Snooty Soldier: There's people in there!
Fayt: Uhh, umm... We...
Soldier: Get 'em!!!
Fayt: W-wait, please!
Cliff: Give it up, kid. Nothing we can do about it.
Fayt: Give up!?
Cliff: Look behind you.
Fayt: Huh?



It's been all cutscenes for this part but let's end on that terrifying face so we can start the Elicoor section of the game proper in the next part :)

Next time: more cutscenes, some politics, we get a new party member.