Lia's BK tweets archive - 2023-01-21: Inner Tarazed

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:25 PM · Jan 21, 2023 Permalink

OH COME ON BKO YOU CAN’T PULL ANOTHER PLOT TWIST LIKE *THAT*
(I’m finishing Tarazed. Thread soon.)

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:01 PM · Jan 21, 2023 Permalink

Please read the above tweet three times for actual effect because WHAT

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:40 PM · Jan 21, 2023 Permalink

Oooooookay that was a lot. Anyway let’s talk about the dungeon.
The first room has TWO save flowers to stress that this place is Important, and an escalator we can’t take because Sagi cannot fly, obviously.

Sagi standing in a mechanical, gilded room. There are two save flowers and two doors heading up. There’s also a staircase and a door to the right but Lia’s gonna need an hour of going in circles to notice that one.

Sagi, standing in front of an escalator: “It’s a one-way trip, heading down. It’s going too fast to try to just run up it.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:45 PM · Jan 21, 2023 Permalink

The other door leads to a room with something that looks worryingly like an elevator - maybe this time the fortress floorplan is reasonable, though.
And a random research document abandoned on the floor. Seems like the start of a mixing recipe, but as a riddle?

Inspection text: “Research on the synthesis of the [blue text] Celestial Tree [end blue text] was initiated under orders from Lord Baelheit.”

Inspection text: “Results show that combining the [blue text] celestial fell-branch [end blue text] recovered by forces in Anuenue…”

Inspection text: “With the petals of the [blue text] celestial flower [end blue text] succeeded in heightening the sample’s spiritual energy.”

Sagi: “For now, we’ll just remember what we’ve read so far. For now, let’s hurry onward!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:48 PM · Jan 21, 2023 Permalink

Great. The place has several sections (“blocks”) and a weird lateral elevator to connect them. The separate textbox for which blocks are accessible definitely doesn’t mean there are several groups. What is it with the Empire and making sure people get lost in the office?

Sagi: “It looks like this system controls some part of the fortress.”

Textbox: “Blocks accessible from this floor are as follows:”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:50 PM · Jan 21, 2023 Permalink

Mostly it’s a zillion elevators you cannot take because they’re going the wrong way, identical corridors, lots of the same enemies, and electrical fields stopping you from going too far.
Aaaaand speaking of the enemies, let’s get this out of the way…

Sagi standing by a wall of pink lightning. Inspection text: “Your progress is impeded by the powerful electromagnetic lock on this door.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:56 PM · Jan 21, 2023 Permalink

Because this, in a game that doesn’t have a single darker-skinned, let alone Black, NPC, is at best a bit tasteless and at worst plain old racist.
The animations have some really funny squash and stretch but it kinda just makes it worse, see above.
Do better, gamedevs. Moving on.

Field Guide entry for the Dance King, a conical robot enemy with black skin, an afro, and “clothes” in green and gold tones with red highlights.

Field Guide notes for the Dance King: “The machina kind of dance and its stunning afro. The vicious Ring Around the Rosy offers a glimpse at the dark heart lurking behind its cheery dance. The quickest way to rectify its twisted heart is to zap it senseless.”

Combat screen, showing the Dance King squishing itself down to defend. Its eyes have gone cartoonishly wide.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:59 PM · Jan 21, 2023 Permalink

We find a room with a soldier kind enough to let us read more mixing research even as he’s charging, how kind.
Also kind: the game letting us re-read the other reports each time we find one.

Inspection text: “Some documents have been set atop this neatly polished desk.”

Inspection text: “The energy levels of the aforementioned sample have stabilized, just as hypothesized.”

Inspection text: “Moving forward, we will now attempt to apply a stimulus by adding a [blue text] Lightning Dagroot [end blue text].”

Sagi: “Magna mixing the Celestial Tree… Do you want to go think back over the report we just read?”
Dialog options: “Let’s think back” and “No need for that”.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:02 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

The other side of the room yields a cryptic recipe step, and BED FACTS! We are not done with those after all

Inspection text: “Coolant is critical to any magna mixing process, especially one involving this many elements.”

Inspection text: “It seems safest to add some form of coolant at the middle of this procedure.”

Inspection text: “The high-quality fabrics used in this bed must make for a comfortable night’s sleep.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:05 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

After much going in circles because my sense of observation has room for improvement (put a pin in that) and block B is all dead ends, I finally find an escalator going up in block A. Sagi goes ZOOOOM really quickly when you touch it, that seems extremely unsafe

Inspection text: “This machina sign reads 1F, Up.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:09 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

After many more identical corridors and enemies and escalators, we reach a room with Hassaleh on a big screen. Giant lasers targeting, I bet, which is concerning.
Luckily someone dropped their super-high-level access card right there by the locked door…

Sagi standing in front of a giant screen showing Hassaleh. Soldiers and a defense drone are nearby.

Inspection text: “A small metal plate bearing the Empire’s crest lies on the floor here.”

Sagi: “This is the insignia of the elite-class imperial guard. It’s even fancier than the Dark Service’s.”

Inspection text: “This giant door has been locked shut.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:12 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

I wish the game trusted the player to figure some stuff out, sometimes. It so often over-explains one-off puzzle mechanics, it’s weird (considering how clearly the plot marks this as NOT FOR CHILDREN)

Guillo: “Wait, Sagi. There’s something on that display.”

Inspection text: “Anti-Continental Weapons System ahead. Access restricted to officer-class soldiers.”

Milly: “Say, might it open if you used that imperial creat we picked up before?”

Guillo: “That might prove useful in getting access to other areas of the fortress as well.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:16 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

The door leads to a room of weird blocks also with over-explained. Red blocks are walls, blue blocks are ground level, crystal blue blocks can only be traversed with the dash active. Not too challenging.

Guillo: “What is this place? Something’s not right.”

Sagi: “Something… someone is calling me. We have to go this way.”

Milly, looking as Sagi has deployed his wings and broken some blocks: “They burst!”

Sagi: “If I spread my wings of the heart and sprint as fast as possible… I can make it. I’m sure of it.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:23 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

If you fail i.e. stop outside of a blue block, you get sucked into the floor and sent back to the entrance. It’s nice to see the dash used for something this directly, I guess

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:28 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Beyond the room is an afterling in a box, poor thing. Guess that’s our answer for what’s powering Tarazed, surprise!

Milly: “It’s one of Malpercio’s afterlings!”

Sagi: “I get it. It wasn’t calling me. It was calling you, Lia.”

Sagi: “Can you do anything, Lia?”
Dialog choice: “I’ll try” versus “There’s no need”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:29 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

If we answer “No need” we get somewhat flat dialog and control returned. Wrong answer, then.

Guillo: “Maybe he’s saying it’s beyond our help now.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:31 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

If we help, magic lights happen, the creature disappears, and… the room collapses. Woops?

Sagi and the afterling, both glowing in brilliant white.

Milly, looking at an empty chamber: “Did you… free it?”

Sagi: “It didn’t hurt like when the other afterlings were defeated… so I think so.”

The blocks making up the floor and the afterling containment tube fall into the open sky.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:41 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Woops indeed

Operator: “Signals suggest a high energy reading in the A Block afterling isolation chamber, followed by the […]”

Captain: “Report to A Block immediately and investigate the cause! Move out!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:43 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Sagi quips - too rare! Plus the blocks room has collapsed as well, and the screen is now crashed. Excellent.

Sagi: “Well, we’ve improved the ventilation in here. Let’s move on.”

The blocks room, now just a bridge of neutral blocks above the void.

Inspection text: “The monitor is displaying snow now. It appears to have ceased to function.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:46 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

After going back the other way, exploring block B in vain, re-checking all of block A for an escalator between blocks somehow, I eventually notice that the very first room actually has stairs to the right.
They lead to a control room where the insignia we got lets us do things

Sagi standing to the right of the room with the two save flowers.

Inspection text: “The monitor here displays a string of complicated jargon.”

Guillo, labeled “~~” for some reason: “Sagi, would that imperial crest we picked up before allow you access?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:49 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Specifically, we get to reverse all the escalators, which makes the main block and block B navigable!
The room also has a Does Not Open From This Side door. Hmmm.

Sagi: “It looks like we can use this to reverse the escalators’ direction. What do you think, Lia?”
Dialog choice: “Let’s reverse them” versus “Leave it alone”

Inspection text: “This iron door has been locked fast. It appears to be impossible to open from here.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:53 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

The main block’s main feature is a giant window in the center, showing us Baelheit leaving through the back. That’s our goal, then, though somehow we’re again stopped by a number of soldiers which is a mere tenth of the totals we’ve slaughtered over time. Videogames!

A large room packed with soldiers and drones. Baelheit is leaving through the door at the top left.

Sagi: “But we can’t just force our way past that many guards.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:54 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Oh oh oh I know we could set their power sources free and cause a whole lot of rooms to collapse!

Guillo: “If we created a distraction, we might be able to divert their attention elsewhere.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:59 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

It turns out floor 4 also has its own control room. This one activates an “emergency elevator” back to the other control room - in case, say, some funny kid reversed all the elevators and made it impossible to go downstairs.

Sagi: “An emergency elevator, huh? It looks like it’s inactive right now, Lia.”
Dialog choice: “Start it up” vs “Leave it alone”.

Sagi: “It looks like we can get to a different floor with this elevator. What should we do, Lia?”
Dialog choice: “1F control room”versus “Don’t move”.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:31 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

We can look through the big window and check on how many soldiers we’ve messed with. So far it’s not that many, but there are other blocks to go ruin

Sagi: “Baelheit should be just ahead. Should we take a closer look at the hall?”
Dialog choice: “Let’s take a look” versus “Not right now”.

Sagi: “Right. And those are members of the imperial guard. They’re all elites.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:33 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

To the side is another lateral elevator with more steps to the Celestial Tree recipe. This darn thing is going to require all the dagroots, isn’t it? Meaning I’ll need to fetch them again, twice? Joy.

Textbox: “Next, we’ll attempt to add a [blue text] Fire Dagroot [end blue text].”

Textbox: “followed by an [blue text] Ice Dagroot [end blue text].”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:34 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Called it, there are two more blocks. But for now, it’s B block time.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:37 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Which includes this room. “Covered” is a bit of a stretch here. Thanks game, do put an annoying 5-step recipe inside the annoying 8-step recipe, that’ll be FUN

Inspection text: “The large table at the center of the room is covered in what appear to be some official documents.”

Textbox: “One final ingredient… Something is definitely still lacking.”

Textbox: “Yes, that multicolored light. That must be the key.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:39 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Also, BED FACTS

Inspection text: “Bunk beds form a long line here. Doesn’t all the shining gold around them keep people up at night?”

Inspection text: “It seems like you would bang your head when you woke up in one of these tiny bunk beds.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:41 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Eventually we get to another Anti-Continental Weapons System access…

Sagi standing in front of a large screen showing Diadem.

Textbox: “Anti-Continental Weapons System ahead. Access restricted to officer-class soldiers.”

Sagi: “We all know what’s waiting for us back there… Milly, Guillo, Lia, let’s go!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:43 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

… with another dash blocks room. Though this one is not traversable in one go, you need to reach a dead end and make the room shift to a second pattern.
How do wingless Imperials traverse this anyway? Are they immune to the “heart crushing” it causes?

The room layout showing the exit, blocked by a wall of red blocks.

The room shifting layouts and now blocking off the entrance.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:45 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Rinse, repeat, hopefully we’re not flying over Duhr and accidentally dropping blocks onto someone’s head

Sagi: “Lia, can we set this afterling free?”
Dialog choice: “Let’s set it free” vs “There’s no need”.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:48 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

They’re really slow on the uptake, aren’t they? How about sending soldiers to… defend the blocks I haven’t collapsed yet? Oh well

Operator: “Another energy spike detected in the B Block afterling isolation chamber!”

Captain: “We may have intruders. Report to security at B Block under a heightened alert!”

Soldiers running off through a large door.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:51 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

PLEASE STOP OVEREXPLAINING EVERYTHING, it’s fine, I promise!
Neat touch: the blocks room collapses slowly enough that you can run through it as it does, but the navmesh is set from the start so you obviously can’t fall off.

Sagi: “I never though just releasing the afterling would do something like this…”

Guillo: “We’ve caused enough trouble here to bring most of the fortress’s soldiers running.”

Sagi: “Right. It’s possible there may be fewer soldiers in the room leading to Baelheit now.”

Sagi traversing the collapsing blocks room on a narrow bridge.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:53 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

C block! Nothing new to see here except a Tarazed “holograph” (not hologram?)

Sagi standing outside the lateral elevator in C block.

Inspection text: “A holograph of Tarazed is projected here.”

Sagi standing in front of a screen showing Sadal Suud.

Milly, at the entrance of a blocks room: “Here we go again.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:55 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Three (literally) down, one to go?

Sagi: “OK! If we combine our hearts’ powers…”

Sagi glowing white and the afterling glowing black.

Sagi: “Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be fine now. All right, let’s go, everyone!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:57 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Still one step behind us! Good dialog, tho

Operator: “This time it’s C Block! It appears to be undergoing collapse as well.”

Captain: “We cannot allow any further embarrassments before Lord Baelheit!”

Captain: “Move out to C Block and stop those intruders! I don’t care if you have to kill them!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:59 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Bless Guillo’s snark and bless Sagi’s “I know writers who use subtext and they’re all cowards”

Guillo: “They just don’t build floating continents like they used to. So much for the power of machina.”

Sagi: “Even through promachination, this is how unstable a man-made world can be.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:01 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

C block actually also has a bathroom (god can you imagine finding the toilet in such a labyrinthine workplace), which of course has more Celestial Tree mixing reports

Inspection text: “A single leaf of paper has been dropped on the bathroom floor here.”

Sagi: “What the heck sort of document would get left in a place like this?”

Textbox: “Damn. It was a mistake to add that before the [blue text] Ice Dagroot [end blue text].”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:05 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

With, of course, a silly amount of flavor text

Inspection text: “This appears to be the lavatory. Machina sanitize and deodorize the facilities, leaving them odorless.”

Inspection text: “A plaque here reads “Machina Flush Toilet.””

Sagi: “They really put the power of machina to work everywhere, didn’t they?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:07 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

And I do mean silly

Inspection text: “The soap dispenser at this sink uses a proximity detector to release its contents into waiting hands.”

Sagi: “Wow, this is really clean. It’s a world apart from the one at Dark Service HQ.”

Milly: “We don’t have time for you to stand around being impressed about toilets!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:08 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

D block! BED FACTS!

Sagi standing outside the lateral elevator in D block.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:11 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

And a confirmed full bingo on the dagroots, this will be miserable.
I wonder if it’s accidental that this could make a point about how recreating a thing artificially still needs the natural original for materials!

Textbox: “Basic magna mixing theory suggests that adding a [blue text] Dark Dagroot [end blue text]”

Textbox: “and a [blue text] Holy Dagroot [end blue text] to the mix too close together in timing could be dangerous.”

Textbox: “We’ll attempt to put as much space as possible between the timings in which these two are added.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:12 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Rinse, repeat

Sagi standing in front of a large screen showing Anuénué.

Guillo, at the entrance of a blocks room: “This again? Hmm. Sagi, what do you think?”

Sagi: “We keep going, of course! We have to.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:14 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

I wonder where they all go

Milly: “It… really was set free, wasn’t it?”

Sagi: “Yes, this feeling… I know it was safely released. All right, let’s go, everyone!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:15 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

RIP incompetent fascist army

Captain: “It seems that D Block has also fallen…”

Captain: “Attention all units! Tarazed is being placed under a heightened alert in all blocks!”

Captain: “You all! We’re fine here—report to D Block at once and eliminate those intruders!!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:19 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

We can go to the big window again and get some more overexplaining. As for what else we need to do, Sagi, how about HITTING A SAVE POINT because I do not trust old games to always have one before a bossfight

Guillo: “The security here has gotten rather thin. It looks like the commotion we caused paid off.”

Guillo: “Do you suppose we could break through all right at this point?”

Sagi: “All right! Let’s go, right here, right now! Ready, Lia?”
Dialog choice: “You know it!” vs “Hold on a minute!”

Sagi: “What?! Baelheit is just ahead! What else could we possibly need to do?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:21 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

After doing that, Sagi pulls out his sword, BREAKS THE ENTIRE WINDOW, and jumps down. We only get to fight one soldier group we’ve seen ten times by now, pretty trivial. Why’s this captain surprised, you’ve been chasing intruders for two hours by now

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:24 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

There lies the final report, which confirms the ingredient list to all five dagroots plus a fell-branch plus a celestial flower plus a rainbow, which matches the 8-step unknown we have left in the menu.
That’s future Sagi’s problem

Inspection text: “Some sort of document lies here, where Baelheit was standing.”

Textbox: “Official report to Lord Baelheit—We’ve succeeded in synthesizing the [blue text] Celestial Tree [end blue text] through magna […]”

Textbox: “Below, I include a final list of the ingredients used in this process.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:26 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

This is interesting because “overconfidence” isn’t a trait I’d associate with Sagi to begin with, nor is he exactly an expert at Imperial computers despite knowing a bit more than the others

Inspection text: “This machina is covered in a broad variety of switches.”

Sagi: “Even I don’t feel confident enough to mess with something this complex. Let’s leave it alone and […]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:28 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

We do get an extra savepoint before the boss, along with a final pep talk

Inspection text: “No locks hold this door closed. If pushed, it would likely open with ease.”

Sagi: “Yes, I can feel him… Guillo, Milly, Lia, here we go!!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:29 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

And that will be next thread, because A LOT happened behind that door, turns out

The party running through the open door.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:54 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

EXPERIMENTS ADDENDUM:
We can’t leave the room and go back. This is actually after the Baelheit fight, but the dialog doesn’t update.

Sagi: “This is the same crestwall that was in the emperor’s residence. It’s an electromagnetic gate.”

Sagi: “It looks like we won’t be able to leave unless we get rid of this thing.”

Guillo: “Leave? Baelheit is just ahead!”

Sagi: “You’re right. We should worry about pressing on now, not how we’ll get back.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:55 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

The door from the other side. Also the window extends over two floors and we can crash / jump in from either of them.

Inspection text: “This heavy door has been shut tight. It shows no sign of opening.”

Sagi: “It’s no use. It doesn’t look like there’s anything we can do to open this door.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:57 AM · Jan 22, 2023 Permalink

Finally, if we fail 5 or 6 times in a blocks room, as @ChaoticBlades said we get extra dash time thanks to The Power Of Friendship. The boost expires once you leave the room though!

Sagi: “Grr… I can’t seem to control my wings properly.”

Milly: “I’m sure you’ll be able to keep your wings out longer than usual that way.”

Guillo: “She’s right. We’ve come this far. Let’s use all the combined power we can muster.”