Let's play Star Ocean 3! Part 19

[paranoodle]

Long update again this time! Maria talks a lot in this one and it made more sense to keep it all in the same place instead of breaking it up. Enjoy :)

While we could go down to the entrance of the Sealed Cavern already, there's a time-limited PA we can go grab in Arias, so we're going to go do that first. If we walk down to the cemetery behind the mansion, we'll find Maria paying her respects there.


Fayt: Yeah. And there were many casualties in the previous war, too.
Maria: I'm overwhelmed by the thought of all the people buried here in each one of these graves.
Fayt: That's because in our world, war is just something we experience on a 3D monitor - it doesn't even seem real.
Maria: You're right. I think that not realizing the cost of war in terms of human lives breeds further brutality.
Maria: You must be careful. If you were to unleash your true power, the devastation would be far beyond what we see here.



[If we choose But you have the same strange power, right?]
Fayt: But you have the same strange power, right? Don't say it like I'm some special case.
Maria: Yes, both you and I are the same - we were both guinea pigs. If I could somehow combine my power with that runological weapon, I'm sure we'd be able to even penetrate the shields of a Vendeeni battleship.
Maria: However, I won't be able to harness my power until I figure out what's missing. You could say my power is like a giant battery. It isn't useful until it's connected to something. You, on the other hand, are different.
Fayt: Battery? Connected?
Fayt: Wait a sec... You're saying that our powers are related, aren't you!?
Maria: I suspect they are. I won't know for sure until I can speak with Dr. Leingod, but I think it's highly likely. I actually saw you take out that Vendeeni ship. Now you must know how much energy it takes to destroy a battleship protected by a powerful shield, right?
Maria: You may not want to accept it, but a fact's a fact. If you were to unleash your power without being fully aware of what it can do, it would only lead to sorrow.

Maria: Don't worry. You're not alone. After all, I'm in the same boat as you.

[If we choose No! I'm just a normal human being!]
Fayt: No! I'm just a normal human being! I'm not some sort of weapon!
Maria: A normal human being? That's a good one! Have you already forgotten that you took out a Vendeeni battleship all by yourself? There's no way a mere Earthling could do such a thing.
Fayt: Uhh... That was... That was just an accident. That's right. What else could've it been?
Maria: An accident, you say!? No way! You took out that Vendeeni battleship all by yourself! And in the process, you killed a large number of Vendeeni. You must at least acknowledge that fact. If you don't, I guarantee you will be really sorry someday.
Maria: Listen to me, Fayt. Those with power so terrible that it can harm others must be fully aware of what they are capable of doing. And it doesn't matter whether they wanted such power or not.

Maria: I'm not going to insist that you join us, yet. However... Face the facts. You owe it to us to do so.

[If we choose You may be right, but...]
Fayt: You may be right, but... Something like that won't happen. If my power was something my father created, just like you've said, then shouldn't there be a way to control it somehow?
Maria: Control it... Well, it wouldn't make sense to incorporate a power into a weapon without some means of controlling it, true...
Fayt: Right. So then I should be able to control that power myself. So there's really no problem at all.
Maria: You're quite the optimist, aren't you? Not at all what I expected.
Fayt: I'd rather you'd say I was a 'positive thinker'. But really... it's more like I'm just not worried about it anymore. Besides, what good will it do worrying about things you can't do anything about? Ultimately, whatever will be will be.
Maria: You mean like that saying 'Only the gods know'?
Fayt: Well... I suppose so.

Maria: Only the gods know... I like that saying. But let's do all that we can before we start calling on divine powers.

And with that little detour we head right back to Aquios again! There's no fast travel in this game so I hope you appreciate how many times I'm running across the entire countryside for this LP. It's a lot.

The entrance to the Sealed Cavern is down in the chapel in Castle Aquaria, but we need Nel to open it for us:




Cliff: Whoa...
Maria: ... A secret passage.
Nel: The Sealed Cavern lies ahead. It's an underground passage that will take us to the Shrine of Kaddan. It was built long ago as a way for the royal family to travel to the Shrine, but it hasn't been used for several centuries. It's the fastest way to reach Kaddan, for it passes directly under the lake. We'd have to travel all the way around the lake to reach the Shrine over land. However, the passage has been neglected for ages. Who knows what we'll find inside there now.
Fayt: Let's hurry.
Nel: Yes.

We head down into the Sealed Cavern. It's a pretty short dungeon, because we're going to have two dungeons directly in a row. It's more of a prologue to the shrine of Kaddan than a real dungeon.



This place is pretty quick to go through, there's a handful of puzzles but we reach a (mini-)boss soon enough.




It's an easy fight, about the same level of effort as the rest of the dungeon, which is to say not a lot.

But right after, we get to step through that door and enter the shrine of Kaddan! This is by far the longest dungeon on disc 1, and it's really easy to get lost on account of how similar all the corridors look. We start with a couple of mini-bosses really early on, starting just past the entrance:




They're not necessarily super difficult, but they're really inconvenient because they don't really stagger, and their main attack is a charge that takes them halfway across the screen. Most of the fights against them involve a lot of running back and forth.

A little further past that first hallway with them, we find some soldiers.


Aquarian Soldier: Lady Nel... Forgive me... I couldn't stop them from entering the shrine...
Nel: It would appear so. But don't fear. We'll protect the Sacred Orb, no matter what.
Aquarian Soldier: Thank... the... gods...
Nel: They'll pay for this!
Fayt: Nel, let's hurry!
Nel: Right... Better brace yourselves. Only members of the royal family or messengers of the gods have been allowed in here until now. I've also heard that countless traps have been set to prevent looting.
Cliff: It'd sure make things easier if those traps would take care of them for us.
Maria: Don't get your hopes up. They'll most likely be carrying powerful scanners.
Cliff: You're probably right.
Fayt: In any case, let's hurry!

A couple more mini-boss fights and a minor earthquake later, we have a beefier version of them to fight.



I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about the inside of Kaddan, because there's a lot and it's not super interesting in screenshots, but I do want to mention something about this little bastard above. In order to fight him, you need to first defeat two of the crystal statues from earlier, and find a workshop where Fayt can craft the Saint's Medallion. Without it, the boss takes no damage from any source. If that happens, your only choice is to flee the fight before it kills you. It's a real little bastard to figure out without a guide if you happen to miss the entrance to the workshop.

But at any rate, once defeated we get access to the second part of the shrine. I'd roughly describe the shrine as having 3 major "puzzles" to cut it up. The crystal cerberus from just now, a 1v1 gauntlet midway, and a weird gem about 2/3 of the way through the dungeon. Right before it we can find an engraving that tells us not to touch the gem, but it's required to get past the next room.


Fayt: It stopped... What caused that tremor? The gem started spinning.

Touching the gem is what activates the next puzzle, which you can see in blurry, blurry action as I try not to get crushed to death by giant evil cubes. If they so much as graze you, you get sent back to the beginning of the room, and they only move a little slower than you. There's two rooms in a row of this and I hate those cubes so much, their movement is mostly random so it's really easy to get stuck between two of them.



But if we survive the cubes (somehow) we're allowed into the last part of Kaddan, finally.


Maria: So that means the Vendeeni are there, too.
Nel: Most likely.
Maria: Everyone ready?

This cutscene auto-plays as soon as we approach the door to the sanctum, but thankfully we're given a chance to save before we step through for the boss fight proper.



Vendeen Soldier: I think it is. How lucky for us - and we thought we were taking a detour to check out this OPA. We got us two birds with one stone.
Nel: Get your hands off our most sacred treasure!!!
Vendeen Soldier: That is not an option. Did you really think we'd abandon an OPA of this power so easily? The OPA and the boy are ours!
Cliff: Not gonna happen!
Maria: You got a little too greedy. Let's get 'em!

The fight against the soldiers isn't too hard, but like the cockatrice we have to be careful because they can cause petrification with certain attacks. Outside that though they're not too too bad.


Maria: As we thought, its power clearly exceeds anything that should be on this planet.
Cliff: So it really is an OPA...
Maria: That's the only possible conclusion.
Cliff: No wonder it's a holy relic.
Nel: I'm just relieved that it's safe. This will save Her Majesty considerable grief.
Fayt: Let's get back to Aquios and let the queen know that the Sacred Orb is safe.
Nel: Right. Let's go.

This is the part of every playthrough that makes me scream because we're not teleported out, we have to walk all the way back out of Kaddan (thankfully with no more enemies left), and THE EVIL CUBE PUZZLE IS STILL ACTIVE. Despite that, we make it out, somehow.


Cliff: Huh?
Nel: Thanks to you, the Sacred Orb is safe.
Fayt: There's no need to thank us.
Fayt: It's really our fault to begin with. They never would have known about the Sacred Orb if we hadn't come here!
Nel: You're wrong. They came here of their own accord. No fault lies with you.
Fayt: Nel...
Nel: I gathered from what you were saying before that there are many worlds like our own.
Maria: That's right.
Nel: And the Sacred Orb... is an exceedingly rare object... An OPA, you said - correct?
Maria: Correct. At least, there's no record of anything like the Sacred Orb in the Federation's database.
Nel: That means, most likely, someone would have come here seeking its power sooner or later. It just so happens that time is now. You have nothing to apologize for.
Fayt: Nel...
Maria: ...
Cliff: All right, time to go.
Fayt: Oh, yeah. Let's get back to Aquios.
Fayt: Right.

We're not teleported out at this point either, so we get to redo all of the Sealed Cavern in reverse, too. At least that one has a shortcut we can unlock. Once we're truly back out, we go find the queen in the throne room.


Aquaria XXVII: Thank you for your hard work, all of you.
Nel: We couldn't have done it without their help.


Maria: And now that we have defeated them at Kaddan, they have even more reason to attack this country.
Aquaria XXVII: It would appear that the only option remaining is to work together to drive off the Vendeeni.
Maria: Yes, agreed.
Cliff: But how will we do it? The only weapon that might help isn't completed yet, and it doesn't have the range. What's the point of an attack that can't hit its target?
Fayt: That's a good question... Even if we hurry up and finish the weapon, there's no way to make it achieve the range we need.
Aquaria XXVII: We shall request cooperation from Airyglyph.
Magistrate Lasselle: I beg your pardon? Y-Your Majesty!
Aquaria XXVII: If you had the means to carry the weapon into the sky, range would no longer be an issue, correct? Airyglyph has this ability. ... All we need to do is borrow it.
Nel: A means for carrying... The air dragons!
Aquaria XXVII: Correct.
Magistrate Lasselle: Yes, but will they cooperate? Even if they approve our request, how are we to be sure that they will not betray us?
Fayt: He has a good point.
Aquaria XXVII: We do not believe this will happen. The Vendeeni attack also dealt a great deal of damage to their country. Of this, we are sure. They cannot afford to worry about taking our lands now. Furthermore, it was the warmonger Vox who kept pushing for conflict in his country, and he is now in his grave. The King of Airyglyph will understand. This is not the time to fight amongst ourselves.
Nel: Your Majesty...


Aquaria XXVII: I shall prepare a personal letter and send a messenger immediately. Can I count on your help?
Nel: Your Majesty.
Cliff: I'll go, too.
Cliff: Don't you think he'll trust me more? I don't think a person from Aquaria could explain the whole picture, anyway.
Nel: That may be so, but... You realize this is dangerous?
Cliff: Yeah, so? A little danger doesn't worry me.
Aquaria XXVII: Very well. You shall accompany her.
Cliff: Leave it to us.
Aquaria XXVII: Elena, you are to hurry and prepare the Thunder Arrow.
Elena: Yes, Your Majesty. Right away.
Maria: Mirage, can you help her get the weapon ready?
Mirage: Roger.
Aquaria XXVII: We are counting on all of you.
Fayt: Your Majesty, what should I do?
Aquaria XXVII: The two of you should wait until she returns. I shall have a task for you then.
Fayt: Yes, Your Majesty.
Maria: Fayt...
Fayt: Huh?
Maria: Could we talk outside?
Fayt: Um, sure. Okay.


Maria: It's so peaceful.
Fayt: Mmm-hmm...
Maria: So... Don't you have something you want to ask me about?
Fayt: Huh?
Maria: If not, that's fine.


Maria: Yes?
Fayt: ... When did you become aware of your power?
Maria: Why do you ask?
Fayt: Well, I mean, I'm curious. I found out because everyone told me, so I was wondering how you figured it out.
Maria: All right. I'll tell you.




We fade into a flashback.


Maria: But... Daddy, why do you have to stay?
Richard: I've got a job to do here, Maria.
Jessie: Listen to your father. It's hard enough for him already. Come along with me. And don't worry about Daddy, he'll take care of those Aldians and then meet up with us on Arakh.


Richard: I promise!
Maria: You really promise? Really and truly?
Richard: I do.


Richard: Jessie, take good care of her.
Jessie: I will, dear.



We're controlling a tiny Maria! We have no menu available in this state, but thankfully we're allowed to save because this flashback section is pretty long.

Like with the segment early on in the Helre ship, we have to talk to everyone to progress. Most of them talk about the state of the war with the Aldian Empire. Their fleet is bigger, and they're attacking remote stations like the one we're currently leaving from.

Jessie: Maria, let's go back to Federation Station #5, where Mama used to work, a long time ago. We'll be okay. I'm sure your father will chase the bad guys away and come back to us real soon.
Jessie: Maria, do you remember Federation Station #5? I guess you probably don't. You were still just a baby, after all.

Once we've talked to everyone, a cutscene starts.





Captain: I see... Connect me to Headquarters.
Male Operator: Yes, sir... Going to screen.
Commander: What is it, Captain?


Captain: ... Yes, sir.

As with before, we need to talk to everyone again before we can process. People are mostly worried about the safety of the ship and whether we're going to make it out of this or not.

Jessie: Oh no! Why!? How could this happen?
Jessie: No matter what happens, Mama's gonna keep you safe. Don't worry, Maria.


Jessie: Are we being attacked!?
Jessie: They must've overtaken us...



They run over to the escape pods.


Official Announcement: One minute to warp engine core collapse.
Jessie: No, if I don't say this now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.
Jessie: Your father and I are not your real parents.
Maria: Huh? What are you talking about?
Jessie: We love you with all our hearts, just as i f you were our own child. But, your real parents are still out there somewhere.
Maria: Mommy, I don't understand. What are you-
Jessie: You don't need to understand right now. You'll know the truth someday.
Official Announcement: 30 seconds to warp engine core collapse.
Jessie: You're very important! You must not give up. You must survive! You have the power within yourself...
Official Announcement: 15 seconds to warp engine core collapse.






Fayt: (Finding out her parents weren't her own at the age of twelve? That must have been tough.)
Maria: There's more.



Computer: Unidentified ship approaching the pod.
Maria: Huh? What kind of ship?
Computer: Origin unknown. Transponder signal not detected.
Maria: ...

Maria collapses in her chair.


Cliff: This her?
Mirage: Yes.
Mirage: She's quite weak... but she'll survive.
Cliff: She's an Earthling.
Mirage: So it seems.
Mirage: Based on our analysis of the escape pod data, it seems she's a victim of the battle against Aldian at Federation Station #17 the other day.
Cliff: She's so young. Poor thing. The Federation and Aldian destroyed themselves in a foolish struggle for power. It's always the common folk who end up suffering.
Mirage: ... That's why you created this group, isn't it?
Cliff: Nah, nothing so lofty. I just can't stand taking orders from people I don't like.
Mirage: Come on, there's more to it than that. You can tell me.
Cliff: Ah, shaddup.
Mirage: Hee hee...



Mirage: Does it hurt anywhere?


Cliff: This is the sick bay of the spaceship Diplo. We recovered your escape pod when it drifted near our course.
Mirage: We're traders. We just finished a deal and were on our way home when we found you.
Maria: You saved me?
Cliff: ... Yeah. You could say that.
Maria: ...
Mirage: What's wrong? Are you in pain?
Maria: ... I'm hungry.
Cliff: Ha ha ha, is that all? Hey, Mirage. Let's get this girl something to eat!
Mirage: Coming right up.


Maria: That's right. I was taken to the Klausian home world. I no longer had any place to go home to, so I joined their organization.
Fayt: You mean Quark.
Maria: That's right. They told me it was a trading corporation at first, but it was actually an anti-Federation organization. But that doesn't mean that it was involved in guerrilla warfare or in acts of destruction. We would assist planets affiliated with the Federation or unaffiliated planets that were being pressured to join. In other words, our primary role was to act as an intermediary.
Fayt: And how did you become the leader? I can't picture you-know-who stepping aside so easily.
Maria: Well... there was an incident. And it just so happens, that incident is also the answer to your question.
Maria: It was four years after I joined Quark...



Cliff looks over at Maria.


Mirage: That's right.
Cliff: So that's what she's been up to. I knew she was studying computers, but...
Marietta: The Federation hasn't detected her yet, but I'm worried about what will happen when they do. I stopped her once before, but she just won't give up.
Mirage: Thanks for telling us, Marietta. We'll take care of it.
Marietta: Understood. Thanks. Oh, and-
Cliff: Yeah? What is it? Another problem?
Marietta: Not really... Just don't be too angry with her. I'm sure she has her reasons. She wouldn't do something like that without thinking it through.
Cliff: That's all? Don't worry about it. We won't be too hard on her.
Mirage: Thank you, Marietta. You may go now.
Mirage: What should we do? Should we call Maria over here for a little talk?
Cliff: Nah, it's okay.
Mirage: Let it slide then?
Cliff: Yup. Just like Marietta said, Maria wouldn't do it if she didn't have a reason. No sense in stopping her.
Cliff: Besides, I'd like to find out what she is trying so hard to uncover.
Mirage: Oh, I see what you're up to now.
Cliff: Well, yeah. Keep an eye on her, but don't let her know we know, you know?
Mirage: Roger.
Marietta: Captain.


Cliff: What is it?
Mirage: There's an incoming audio distress signal. It's coming from the direction we're heading, about 12 minutes away.
Cliff: Pretty close. Route it to the speakers.

Static plays.

Cliff: ...
Cliff: Ship registry?
Maria: Verifying data... Can't tell at this stage.
Cliff: (An unknown ship. I've got a bad feeling about this. Still, I shouldn't jump to conclusions.)
Cliff: Aah, what the heck. Let's check it out. Proceed at max warp. Position us 50,000 kilometers from the signal location.
Mirage: 50,000 kilometers?
Cliff: Just in case. I wanna assess the situation first.
Mirage: Roger.
Mirage: Conventional space. Target location reached. ... No sign of any ships.
Cliff: No sign? That's weird. I wonder what's up.


Cliff: What the-!? Full power to lateral engines! Emergency evasion!


Marietta: Evasion... successful.
Cliff: We probably would've been hit if that first shot had come from a phase cannon.
Marietta: Enemy confirmed. Going to screen.


Cliff: A battleship!?
Maria: Data analysis complete. It's the Invisible, a Federation battleship.
Cliff: The Invisible? Great! Their newest model.
Cliff: Damn, this is bad. They mean business. We won't be able to outrun them.
Marietta: We've been hit by two quantum torpedoes! Shields down to 83% power. 100 seconds until creation cannon fires again!
Cliff: Activate emergency evasion program! Ready quantum torpedoes! Fire phase cannons!

Every time the colors invert, the screen pulses.


Mirage: I'm on it! Readying quantum torpedoes... Firing phases cannons!
Marietta: Quantum torpedoes and phase cannon scored a hit on the enemy's shields! But their ship appears undamaged! Their shields absorbed our attack!


Mirage: Only an advanced ship could do that. They're carrying the best shields.
Cliff: This is no time to be impressed, ladies.
Marietta: Here comes their third salvo! Eight quantum torpedoes incoming!
Cliff: Damn, they're giving us all they got!



Mirage: Maria! What's wrong!?
Cliff: What? What is it!?
Maria: ... Aah...


Maria: Mommy... Mommy...!
Cliff: Oh man, what a time to be having a childhood flashback!
Marietta: Captain! Shield's down to 67% power! They can't protect us from their creation cannons! 25 seconds to impact!
Cliff: Switch programs! Set a course to evade their creation cannons. Don't worry about the other weapons. Warp us outta here the instant we evade their shot.
Mirage: Program switch complete. Course computed. Preparing to warp immediately after we evade their creation cannons!
Mirage: No good! We can't avoid them!
Marietta: The engine room's been hit! Warp engines down! Evasive action's impossible on backup engines!
Cliff: Damn. So this is how it ends. Sorry, guys. We're sitting ducks now.
Mirage: Cliff, you're giving up?
Cliff: Hey, I don't want to, but I don't see any way out of this.



Cliff: What's gotten into you?


Mirage: But-
Maria: Now!
Cliff: What the hell! Mirage, fire!
Mirage: Uh... Roger!




Cliff: How in the hell...





Maria: I still haven't been able to reproduce the power that took down the Invisible... Anyway, after that incident, everyone wanted me to become the leader of Quark.
Fayt: (How can one human - a girl like this - possess that much power? And... I have the same power?)
Maria: What's wrong? Are you surprised?
Fayt: Well, of course. And you're saying that I have the same power, too?
Maria: That's right. I have proof.
Fayt: What proof?
Maria: I investigated the research facility where my mother worked when I was born... to find out more about my own birth. I found what I was looking for, and something else: a report of a terrifying experiment.
Fayt: Research facility?
Maria: The lab where my mother worked at the time was a symbological genetics research facility, inside district 16 of Moonbase...
Fayt: But wait, that's-
Maria: That's right. The Leingod Research Facility. My mother worked for you father as one of the lab assistants there. I was a test subject at that lab, scheduled for disposal - I still don't know why. She rescued me.
Fayt: That can't be...
Maria: I analyzed every last bit of information in that database and learned the basic outline of the research. That's how I learned there was another subject who underwent symbological genetic modification, just like me - you.
Fayt: But why? That kind of experiment is forbidden...
Maria: That I could not tell you. That's why I want to rescue your father, to ask him directly.


Fayt: I understand. Let's rescue my father... We'll ask him... together.
Maria: All right...
Soldier: Ah, there you are.


Soldier: Everone else waits in the audience chamber. Please hurry.

And now that we've seen all of Maria's backstory, Nel and Cliff get back with perfect timing.

Next time: we find out how that meeting with Airyglyph went.