Lia's BK tweets archive - 2020-12-02: Zosma Tower

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:18 PM · Dec 02, 2020 Permalink

To Zosma tower!
Not sure I’ll finish it today, but I should at least manage to make my way up to the boss.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:51 PM · Dec 02, 2020 Permalink

To the tower, then, where the guards are arguing that they maybe should have stopped Krumly.

A dark room made of stone blocks, with a green hole in the middle. Title card: “Zosma, Tower of Stones”

Guard 1: “Maybe we should have followed Krumly to the top.”

Guard 2: “Nonsense! Think of what you’re saying. You know very well that this tower is crawling with monsters.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:55 PM · Dec 02, 2020 Permalink

Luckily, we have the Heroic Look to us.

Guard 1: “Huh? What are you doing here? This is a restricted area.”

Guard 2: “You look quite strong, and I see a spark of confidence in your eyes.”

Guard 2: “I’m willing to let you pass if you’ll agree to stop them.”

Kalas: “Of course we’ll go after him. That’s why we came in the first place.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:03 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

MASSIVE TUTORIAL TIME, featuring red text again.
(Which I’m pretty sure isn’t using premultiplied alpha and has slightly dark outlines)
Grab flames, light lamps to enable the puzzles.

Guard: “Very well, then. Allow me to explain how this tower works.”

Guard: “Listen up. One of the most important devices in this tower is the lamp [highlighted in red] beside me.”

Guard: “Unless you light it, not only will you be standing in a dark room, but the tower won’t be functioning fully.”

Quest Magnus UI, focused on a Weak Flame.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:06 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Okay, we can push blocks. Zelda, anyone?

Guard: “Do you see the red block over there? Yes, that red one.”

Guard: “Now try pushing against it. Put all your weight into it. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble moving it.”

Guard: “Unless the lamp is lit, you won’t be able to move the blocks [entire second half in red].”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:11 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

And resetting the lamp resets the room entirely.
Feat: videogame logic lampooning

Guard: “If you extinguish the lamp, the blocks will return to their initial positions [second half in red].”

Guard: “That’s just how this tower works. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know, either.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:17 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

You can climb on blocks, which was obvious enough.
You can push them into holes, which creates a glorious lightshow and moves blocks to let us do more puzzle steps.
STILL NOT DONE TUTORIALING THO

Guard: “If you find something that looks climbable, give it a try.”

Guard: “Okay, I know you’ve been dying to do this... Let’s try dropping the red block into the shiny green hole.”

A growing ring of light on all the blocks.

Guard: “That’s it for the basic lessons. Now let me tell you about the blue and yellow blocks.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:20 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Blue blocks: just push them in.
Yellow blocks: elevators.
CAN I GO YET

Guard: “The blue blocks will always be protruding from the wall, you can only push them in. The yellow [cont]”

Guard: “[cont] blocks, which will be moving up and down, function as elevators.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:21 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Foreshadowiiiiing

Guard: “This tower has five floors and a roof. I suspect Mr. Krumly has reached the roof located above the [cont]”

Guard: “Also below thi—... Oops! Forget I said that.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:26 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

ACTUALLY, MORE TUTORIAL. Sponsored by not even giving a toss anymore.
(They float and will glide in the direction you push them until they slam into something. Swishhhhh BAM indeed)

Guard: “Oops, I almost forgot to tell you. The levitating red blocks are a little different than the ones on the [cont]”

Guard: “You’ll find some on the next floor. Push ‘em and they go swishhhhh BAM. You’ll have to try it [cont]”

Guard: “[cont] yourself to see what I mean. I’m sure you’ll get it right away. Good luck.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:30 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

The rest is a bunch of battles, and a whole lot of this, preferably in the wrong order and causing a couple room resets.
Main difficulty: the perspective making some paths tricky to find.

Kalas standing on a block, in front of a red block.

The red block floating through the air, having been pushed.

Kalas standing in front of what looks like a wall, a blue block on the other side.

Kalas in front of the blue block. There was a passage after all.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:33 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Eventually we get to the fifth floor, where pushing blocks in progressively reveals some... very... friendly... faces.

Kalas standing in an apparently empty room with a whole bunch of blue blocks in the floor.

A section of floor has shifted, revealing a creature.

Another section shifting, revealing a second creature.

Two creatures almost fully visible as more of the floor has shifted away.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:35 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Those two jerks make a tough fight. The red one hits VERY hard and boosts its attack as the fight goes on. But once it goes down, things get easier.

Two lion or dog statue-puppets, one in blue and one in red, looking ominous.

Combat turn result screen. About 1600 incoming damage is reduced to 1321 by defense and further to 1032 by a combo. OUCH.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:39 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

On the roof, Krumly gets a case of the monologue. Because we’re the heroes, we of course listen to it while telling him he’s wrong, instead of leveraging some of that god-like firepower to prevent problems.

Krumly: “You’re the ones I saw at Kamroh’s place. Humph. I had a feeling you’d come.”

Krumly: “Only simpletons would dare defy Malpercio.”

Kalas: “...What do you want with the Sword of the Heavens?”

Krumly: “I’m joining up with Malpercio. This sword will be my offering to him.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:41 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Again though: he’s not a madman. He’s rational, and his argument is not bad!
It’s just relying on one very, very flawed assumption: that survival under Malpercio is possible.

Krumly: “Now that we Children of the Earth have lost our powers, [cont]”

Krumly: “[cont] there is no way we would be able to defeat and seal the resurrected Malpercio, as our ancestors did a [cont]”

Krumly: “Given the circumstances, siding with the evil god in order to survive is a far wiser plan.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:44 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Continuing the theme of villainy being caused by pain and resentment.
(Which does not make it less harmful. Also, someone tell this guy about the whole fascism thing Alfard’s got going)

Krumly: “We’ll finally be freed from this filthy prison beneath the Taintclouds”.

Krumly: “I’ve always longed to climb up to the Sky and live a free life.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:45 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

And hey, the Calbren owe them one, right? RIGHT?

Krumly: “I heard Malpercio was awakened by the daughter of the Calbren family.”

Krumly: “We once helped the Calbrens’ ancestor take the Earth Sphere from these lands.”

Krumly: “Their heir will no doubt welcome us, should we present her with the Sword of the Heavens.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:49 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Mizuti’s writing is just consistently delightful.
Krumly’s response sounds more like “AH, Mizuti!” in the voice over, afraid and annoyed both.

Great Mizuti: “Big mistake, Krumly! Hand over the Sword!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:51 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Okay maybe he does end up sounding a bit like a cultist after the magical lanterns go out.

Krumly: “Hark, Malpercio! Divine being, awakened from a thousand years of slumber!”

Krumly: “Save us, the Children of the Earth, from beneath the Taintclouds, lead us to our destiny! Ohh!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:53 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Unfortunately, this particular god answers prayers, it seems.

Krumly: “Ohh! Look at the sky! It’s the divine light!”

Mélodia: “Why, there you are, Kalas. I was starting to wonder where you had flown to.”

Mélodia: “How very convenient. I’ll dispose of you later.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:55 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Offering is made and answered with a round of Godly Lasers.
WHO’D HAVE THUNK

Krumly: “O heir of Calbren, I present you with the Sword of the Heavens...”

Malpercio up in the air, charging up pink lasers.

Mélodia: “How foolish of you, to even think of haggling with a god.”

Mélodia: “Malpercio will have no dealings with bugs like you.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:59 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Promise of mass murder is made, magical MacGuffin is used, mass murder will start elsewhere.
Mélodia’s just gone full-on nihilistic by now.

Mélodia: “It’s time to repay you, for your ancestors’ deeds of a thousand years ago.”

Kalas holding up the now-glowing Sword of the Heavens in front of Malpercio.

Mélodia: “The sword that slew the gods a thousand years ago has not lost its power.”

Mélodia: “Fair enough. I’ll take care of you later. Let us first eliminate the others.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:01 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

The baddies take off to go murder villagers, we get the Sword as a battle Magnus, RESCUE MISSION TIME.

Krumly: “The village... they’re headed for Algorab Village!”

Xelha: “We have to stop them! Everyone to the village!”

Textbox: “You’ve obtained a Magnus: Sword of the Heavens”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:03 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Sidenote: I found it very confusing on first playthrough that you get those key items as battle Magnus.
I assumed you’d need them in your deck and they’d be necessary for some battles: the Mirror against Kalas, the Sword against Malpercio.
But no. They’re just good items.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:04 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

This whole mess has caused the clouds to open up enough to reveal Duhr on the World Map.
It’s also made the port usable and we’ll find our dragon friend there once we wrap up some minor chores in Algorab.

The world map, with a title over “Duhr, the Earth Nation”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:05 AM · Dec 03, 2020 Permalink

Next time: more drama, and our first round of trying to take on Malpercio before he murders all the villagers!