Let's play Star Ocean 3! Part 22

[paranoodle]

Since we did the totally reasonable thing of stopping right before the dungeon boss on this last update, let's get to that now. With the Ring of Disintegration in hand, we can clear the door to the Marquis's lair.


Maria: Now that's just too big.


Cliff: I can see why they call him the Marquis. Impressive.
Nel: I really hope he'll go along with our proposal...
Albel: It won't be that easy, fool.
Nel: What did you call me!?
Fayt: Huh!? It moved!


Cliff: Whoa! The dragon talks!?
Dragon: ... Another ill-mannered human, I see.
Dragon: Do you believe you are the masters of all creation? Why are you so surprised that other creatures can speak? You act as though you know everything. Ages pass, yet you humans never learn.


Dragon: A maiden of Aquaria? Speak your purpose.
Nel: Yes, Your Excellency. A great threat is menacing these lands. We need Your Excellency's help to stop it.
Dragon: Hmph. I sensed the restlessness outside. What would you have me do?
Nel: We'd like you to bear the runological weapon we developed, so that we can deal with this threat.
Dragon: Imbeciles! You would have me bear on my own back something made by human hands!? Do not insult me, humans. I am great and ancient, and you are nothing. How could you think I would acquiesce to such a foolish request?
Nel: Even so, we cannot leave until you agree!
Dragon: I could not care less!
Cliff: Nel, forget it. Turkeys like this need to be smacked around a bit before they'll listen.
Albel: Now that's a first. We're both of the same opinion.
Maria: I agree that humans are nothing special. But I wonder if you are as great as you say you are. Perhaps you need a lesson in humility.
Fayt: Your Excellency... Is there no way you'll agree to cooperate?
Dragon: None!
Fayt: Oh well. We'll have to force you to listen!
Dragon: You are free to try. Convince me of your worth and I shall listen to all you have to say!
Maria: We'll hold you to your word, Your Excellency!
Dragon: It is a promise I shall not have to keep!



The Marquis is REALLY BIG. He is so big that you will take damage when he steps on or around you, and he essentially doesn't stagger. If he starts stomping around and you're not out of the way, it's really easy to get stunlocked to death because you won't have an easy way back out of the attack. He thankfully doesn't have a ton of HP, but it's easy to run into trouble especially if you're playing an all-melee party.



Surprise! If you thought you had beat him, there's a second fight against him immediately after the first one. That's the more difficult part, not because that second fight is tougher or anything, but because it's easy to not be in great shape after the first one, and you're not given time to heal or anything. We get him pretty okay though.


Maria: You'll keep your word, right?
Dragon: Though it is humiliating to serve your kind, breaking one's word is a despicable act. I have no choice.
Nel: All right then.
Dragon: You may ride on my back, small but powerful humans. I shall bear you wherever you desire.


Dragon: Call me Crosell, little one.
Fayt: Well then, Crosell. Would you start by heading towards Castle Aquaria to the east?
Crosell: As you wish!



Runologists: Yes, Lady Nel.
Fayt: This may be hard for you, but please bear with us.
Crosell: There is no other choice.
Maria: That's right. Besides, the strong must be magnanimous toward the weak.
Crosell: This young lady speaks the truth.


Aquaria XXVII: You have done well.
Airyglyph XIII: To think you were actually able to capture him...
Crosell: No one captured me. I just agreed to help you a bit. Do not misread the situation, foolish king.
Airyglyph XIII: Hmph, it matters not. So, Romeria, who shall ride the Marquis?
Aquaria XXVII: A good question, indeed... I was hoping you would lend us the services of someone from the Dragon Brigade.
Crosell: That is unacceptable. Only those who personally requested my help may ride me.
Aquaria XXVII: Then we must let them decide who will ride.
Airyglyph XIII: It seems we have no choice. Anyway, the Dragon Brigade is short on men. They are already too taxed trying to form a unit bearing runological weapons.
Aquaria XXVII: That settles it, then. Nel, I must ask you and the others to handle this.
Nel: Yes, Your Majesty.

At this point, the runologists need a little bit to get Crosell ready, so we're free to roam around Aquios, but we're not allowed out of the city. This is the time where we can visit Elena for the sidequest from part 21. The requirement for the runologists to finish readying up is to talk to every party member, all of whom are wandering around the castle/city. I constantly forget where Roger and Adray are because I've often done playthroughs where I didn't grab them.

Nel is in her room in the castle:
Nel: What's wrong? Feeling restless? Me, too... But it won't help to rush things. We can only do what we can right now.
Nel: Hopefully, they'll finish modifying the Thunder Arrow before the enemy mounts a full-blown attack. Go directly to the garden behind the audience chamber if anything goes wrong.

Adray is in Clair's room in the castle:
Adray: I just experienced my first ride in a flying vessel. It was fairly enjoyable. Now I think I understand why Glyphians admire the Dragon Brigade so much.

Mirage is in the room Cliff and Fayt shared in the castle:
Mirage: The Diplo's Marietta and I will transmit the coordinate trace and data. The Diplo will be within range to transport us up in as little as 4 minutes and 30 seconds. But i'll most likely be in about 5 minutes. We only need that much more time. Don't do anything rash.
Mirage: The Diplo may look like a diplomatic flagship, but she's made from 100% military hardware. That means she has speed, firepower, and defenses rivaling a corsair. So, shaking off a Vendeeni ship is by no means impossible. If we can get within the region controlled by the Federation, they won't be able to pursue us any further.

Cliff is just walking around in one of the castle hallways:
Cliff: Relax. I'll keep you safe. Even a battleship wouldn't have it easy against me.

Albel is standing in the main street of Aquios, somewhat close to another NPC:
Albel: Hmph. These people keep casting reproachful glances my way. If they have something to say to me, they should just come over and say it! The people of this city are nothing but useless garbage!

... And if we talk to said NPC:
Earnest Youth: Umm... That man over there keeps glaring at me, and it's quite frightening. Have I done something wrong? He's not going to suddenly attack me, is he? I sure hope he won't.

Roger is hanging out in the Aquios grocer:
Roger: I'm not directly tied to this feud or anything, but ya can count on me to stand with you till the end. Anyway, this is a cause worth fightin' for!

And Maria is in the castle chapel:
Maria: Oh, Fayt. Saying your final prayers? Well, I can kinda relate. I mean, if the gods could guarantee that our strategy would succeed, even I'd become a believer in an instant.

Once we've talked to everyone, we can go back to the castle garden, where everyone is ready to go.


Maria: All right. Keep in mind that there may be a Vendeeni ship lurking nearby. Put us into low orbit.
Marietta: That will increase atmospheric friction. Are you sure?
Maria: Our enemy will have the same problem. Stay on your guard.
Marietta: Roger!

Maria nods at Fayt and they both start walking off.

A quick note: this next section is all a pre-rendered cutscene, and it does NOT have any captioning in-game. As such, these transcripts might not be 100% accurate (including who the speaker is) because I had to try to caption by ear and I am very bad at that, and several lines specifically gave me trouble so, mea culpa if anything seems off.



Marietta: Captain! Three Vendeeni ships are closing in!
Maria: Prepare for battle. We'll provide backup down here.
Marietta: Backup? With what?
Maria: There's no time to explain. Just hang in there, we'll cover you from here.
Marietta: Roger!


Maria: Crosell, head towards that huge object over there.
Crosell: Yes, little one.



Maria: Okay, fire when you get within range.
Nel: Got it.


Maria: Don't give up! Keep firing.
Nel: I know, I'm trying!


Cliff: Argh, come on and blow up already!
Fayt: Don't worry, it must be working, just keep it up!


Fayt: What was that!? That wasn't the-
Maria: No, it wasn't the diplo. I think they've pulled it off!
Fayt: Yes! We've got a chance now!
Nel: What's this? There!
Crosell: They're retreating.


Marietta: Captain! We're history unless we do something fast!
Maria: Make a run for it. We're coming to help!
Cliff: Man, this is bad!
Fayt: Crosell, hurry!
Crosell: I AM hurrying!
Maria: Diplo!




The pre-rendered cutscene stops here and we return to regular cutscenes.


Cliff: What was that?
Marietta: Captain.
Maria: Marietta! Are you okay!?
Marietta: Yes, thankfully... Did you see that?
Maria: What was it? Do we have a computer analysis?
Marietta: Hold on a second... Here it is. What!?
Maria: What's wrong?
Marietta: I don't believe it! The computer says that narrow beam of light was packing an energy magnitude of 3.2!
Cliff: Did she say magnitude 3.2!?
Fayt: That can't be... Even the creation cannons on the latest Federation battleships can only emit an energy magnitude of 2, tops!
Cliff: So what the hell was it?
Maria: Marietta, can you determine the light beam's origin?
Marietta: No. All I can tell is it's somwhere extremely far away. Even the Diplo's sensors couldn't detect the source.
Marietta: Oh!!! Hold on a second.
Marietta: Captain, our sensors have picked up multiple instances of the same type of energy reaction! They're all heading in the same direction! One of them is exceeding magnitude 4!
Maria: Magnitude 4!? Where are they headed!?
Marietta: Earth!!!


Cliff: Not a chance. Do you think a Vendeeni weapon could do what we just saw? Or an Aldian weapon for that matter?
Fayt: ... True. It's highly unlikely that either has an energy source exceeding the magnitude of creation energy.
Maria: But if it's some new weapon, we're in big trouble. I'm not even sure the Earth's planetary defense shield could block it.
Fayt: Let's get back to the castle. We're wasting time here.
Maria: You're right. Marietta... Give me a damage report on the Diplo.
Marietta: The gravitic warp engine's been damaged. ... Repairs should take about six hours.
Maria: Do it in four. I have a bad feeling about this...
Marietta: Roger. We'll try our best.
Maria: I'm counting on you.
Marietta: Understood.



Fayt bows.

Fayt: I am very sorry for causing all this trouble.
Aquaria XXVII: On the contrary. We have learned that there are entire civilizations out there beyond our world. And we have learned this is not the time for foolish struggles between our countries.
Airyglyph XIII: Precisely. In order to avoid bringing the final prophecy of Apris to fruition in its worst form, we must not wage war.
Aquaria XXVII: Indeed.

At this point, the cutscene diverges a little bit, but I'm not entirely sure based on what (either some flags or affection values), and there's three different versions, one for each of the optional Elicooran characters.

[If you get Nel's variant]

Fayt: Okay, everyone, we're off. Again, I'm sorry for all the trouble.
Maria: I'm glad we got a chance to know each other, even though our time together was brief.
Nel: I'm glad, too. I'm glad Apris granted me the opportunity to meet you all. I wish you could stay.
Maria: Unfortunately, that's not an option. As you have your world, we have ours as well.
Nel: I thought you might say something of the kind... I pray for your success in rescuing your father.
Fayt: Thanks.

[If you get Roger's variant]

Fayt: Okay, everyone, we're off. Again, I'm sorry for all the trouble.
Maria: I'm glad we got a chance to know each other, even though our time together was brief.
Roger: Me too. Are you sure I can't go with you?
Maria: Unfortunately, that's not an option. As you have your world, we have ours as well.
Roger: Well, yeah...
Fayt: Thanks for everything.
Roger: Aww, you're making me blush! ... I hope you rescue your dad okay!
Fayt: Yeah, thanks.

[If you get Albel's variant]

Fayt: Huh? Where's Albel?
Woltar: He went back home. Said something like, 'The danger's past, so there's no need for me to stay here'.
Maria: He didn't even say good-bye... He'll never change.
Woltar: Ah, don't say that.
Fayt: I wanted to at least say good-bye.
Airyglyph XIII: We will tell him for you.
Fayt: Thank you very much.
Airyglyph XIII: No, it is we who should thank you.

[All variants merge here]

Maria gets a transmission on her communicator.

Maria: It's me.
Marietta: The repairs are complete, ma'am.
Maria: Already? That was fast.
Marietta: We did our best.
Maria: Thanks. I owe you one. Be ready to receive four via transportation in one minute.
Marietta: Roger.




Everyone warps away.



Maria: Good work, everyone.
Lieber: I'm so happy you made it back safely. I've been worried sick... I haven't been able to sleep a wink!
Maria: No time for chitchat. Any progress analyzing that energy?
Lieber: Uhh... yeah. It appears that blast of energy came from neither Federation, Aldian, nor Vendeeni forces.
Maria: How do you know that?
Lieber: We don't have much information right now, but according to intercepted communications, all three groups are currently under attack by another entity.
Cliff: From where?
Lieber: Don't know yet. There are limits to the communications we can intercept at this distance. Marietta is continuing to analyze the data.
Maria: I don't know if they're friend or foe, but they sure did a number on those Vendeeni. Let's take advantage of the situation. And keep gathering that data for analysis.
Lieber: Leave it to me!
Maria: I'm going to the bridge.

We can wander around the Diplo a little bit but there isn't anything super fancy to see so we follow Maria.


Maria: Let's proceed as planned to point S317. All hands standby!
Marietta: Right!
Fayt: W-wait a sec... 'Secure Dr. Leingod'? So you know where my father is?
Maria: That's right. He's being held in a cave on a planet located at point S317.
Maria: It's been cleverly disguised, but it'sa secret Vendeeni base, no doubt.
Fayt: A secret base!? How do you know about it then?
Maria: Don't underestimate Quark's information network. We'll be entering gravitic warp at once. Go sit over there.
Fayt: Oh, okay.
Maria: Set a course to point S317 via gravitic warp. Break out of orbit with one-quarter thrust.
Mirage: Okay. Breaking out of orbit with one-quarter thrust.





\o/

That's it for disc 1! We're officially halfway(-ish) through the game!

Next time: DISC 2 BABY. Also we're finally in space again after 14 updates on the same space rock.