I took a couple detours here.
One was more or less necessary, one was
not. Let's begin with the one that was not.
For all the years I've had this game,
and the handful of times I've tried my hand at this game, I do
believe this is the first time I've tried to go back out the
northeast exit of Potos after the battle with the Mantis Ant and the
cutscene where the hero gets banished. I will admit, though, I could
be wrong about that. My brother and I did get this game not long
after it came out, which will be 25 years next summer. I'm sure I've
forgotten a few things about what I've done in the games I've played
in those years.
Anyway, I took the northeast exit back
towards the beginning of the game. Really nothing too new or
exciting there, which comes as no surprise, I guess. Fought the
Rabites along the way and didn't take any damage in the course of the
round trip. Got up to level three and a little extra gold, which
will come in handy in a bit.
Since I did everything I could in Potos
last time, I just went on my way. Talking to the guy at the
southeast exit will get us locked out of the village, but that's OK.
We need to get on with the game anyway.
It's a relatively short trip to the
Water Palace, but there's a couple things that happen along the way.
One of those is the first chance to use the Cannon Travel Service.
It's better to just walk it for now, because we'll be needing the XP
and gold anyway. Plus, if we do, we won't get to meet a major NPC in
the game, a guy called Major Dyluck. He's taking a unit of soldiers
into the woods to take care of a witch, and it's going to be a mess
the hero and his friends will be cleaning up soon enough.
There's also a sign that says something
about beware of goblins that will be important in a bit, but we'll
get to that soon enough as well.
Another thing along the way is a place
called Neko's. He's this game's version of Niccolo, from Legend of
Mana and a few others. There are no quests specifically for him, in
part because of the limitations of the system we're playing on here.
He does, however, show up in a lot of places to at least give us a
chance to save and buy things where they couldn't work in regular
inns and shops. Thing is, there are places where the more common
items are available for about half the price, on average. The good
news is that he's got the first wrist or hand armor in the game.
Worth having for what's coming up, even if it's a bit overpriced.
Once we get to the Water Palace, we see
that the hero's running around with his sword pulled even though
there are no monsters around. It's a little bit of unintentional
foreshadowing, but like I said above, I'm pretty sure it has more to
do with system limitations than writing. Jema's waiting for us
outside the place to tell us to head on in with him and meet this
Luka he was talking about before. There are a few switched ladders
we need to activate to get to her, and along the way, there's also a
wading pool sort of thing. This will be important later, too, but as
I said, we'll get to that in due time.
On the upper level, we finally see a
rather young looking person who's actually Luka. She is indeed 200
years old, even if she doesn't look it. Jema even has to tell the
hero to mind his manners as a result.
The discussion starts out with Luka and
Jema talking about how something called the Empire is looking to
revive the Mana Fortress and needs looking out for. They say there
are clues in a place called the Kingdom of Pandora, and for now, it's
up to Jema to check it out. We'll be passing through there ourselves
in a bit, but on our way to other places.
In the meantime, the story becomes a
little confused, and I'm not sure if it's writing or translation
that's at fault. There have been little quirks that confuse if it's
fate for the hero to be the hero or if he was just the first person
to happen along when the sword needed somebody to recharge it to
fight the evil Empire this time around.
After Jema leaves, Luka has the hero
climb an altar with a nut or a seed or something on it. She says to
hold the sword up to it, and when he does, there's a bright light and
a loud noise. Luka explans that the thing up there is a Mana Seed,
and the hero just bound its power to his sword and sealed it from
evil. This is important because some creepers have been casing the
joint, and they seem like they're after the same thing. This'll all
come back to mean something later on.
Luka explains that there are seven more
altars and seeds that we'll need to find and seal to get the power we
need to fully charge the Mana Sword and beat the Empire. She says
the first place we should look is in a place called Gaia's Navel.
There are dwarves who live there and can help with weapons and
reforge them as well. This bit makes me wonder if it's screwy
translation that confuses the story, because there are repeated words
and phrases that make me think whoever was in charge of translating
this game for the North American market was trying to be a little too
direct in their work.
To get to Gaia's Navel, we'll have to
go through Pandora, which is south from the Water Palace. We'll get
to that next time, though, since we've got a chance to save, and this
is as good a place as any to stop for now. So, see you then, folks.
Until next time, stay safe, have
fun, keep gaming, and DFTBA!
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