Speed Demos Archive - Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean

Released in November 2004, tri-Crescendo and Monolith Software's Baten Kaitos is the story of Kalas and Xelha and their struggle to save the world from a dead god. In the world of Baten Kaitos, everything can be stored as magic playing cards, and so the absurd but fun battle system (involving playing combinations of cards) is the game's main attraction. The other main attraction is the terrible voice acting.

Best time: 10:37 by Scott 'Scottimus432' Collins on 2011-03-23, done in 96 segments.

So this is it, my Baten Kaitos speed run. If you are reading this then you are in for a treat. We have a shitload to talk about, so let's get started. Before Kalas begins his long journey his spirit sidekick needs a name. I go with the always classy 007 because it's quick and cool. After that we awaken in Dr. Larikush's house in Celebrai, nothing but dialogue here. Cut scenes cannot be skipped, and I am constantly jamming on the A button for this entire segment. After Kalas collects his winglet I leave and concentrate on immediate story progression. First, I have to talk to the kid about Meemai. For whatever the reason the kid's dialogue window stalls when he says, "he's way smarter than the drunks around here." I run to the mayor's house and make sure to collect a FIRE BURST LV1 Magnus. This is a must for the boss, who has water attributes. This Magnus is of course for Xelha, whom I will be meeting soon. I leave the house and speak to Xelha, who's dressed all in pink. I speed through the conversation and finally get to save and finish the segment. I thought I handled the opening run perfectly grabbing only the necessary items, with excellent dialogue progression, and near perfect movement. Kalas can grab a DARK FLARE LV1 during this segment, but I skip it because dark flares suck for this entire game, and it really isn't needed for Xelha.

For segment 2 I start in the overworld of Sadal Suud and access my menu options. I change a battle feature and a voice feature. I turn off a battle feature that displays damage results for every attack and actually pauses for the game to do so. The information is extremely helpful to determine enemy attributes, but I can't waste the time. I also disable the voice over feature. I don't want to listen to gibberish for the rest of the game. Many people say they can't stand the voice acting in this game, but I don't find it so bad and in fact, it's rather funny.

I enter Moonguile Forest. Here, we begin the skill of enemy dodging. It is the cause of most of my resets. My first opponent is the bat like creature called a SHAWRA. This one is tough to get around because it doesn't move far and is very fast. Plus, I have virtually no room to run around. I can either run above or below and with practice I manage to get by.

In the next screen, I run by an UNUK and attempt to fake out another Shawra. You have to lead him to you and create enough distance afterwards to make him lose interest and become idle. You have to be quick and run behind him before he re-enters onto his programmed path. I wasted a couple of seconds but managed to do it in my own unique way. It's harder than it looks. I squeak by and get ready to take on my first boss the SABRE DRAGON.

The Sabre Dragon has 230 HP and is weak with water. This is a tough fight because I am so weak and only have two cards to attack with. Basically, there are a few things I am looking for in a boss fight. I want to limit the enemy attacking time, so I need quick attacks and as few as possible. The Sabre Dragon has a three-strike attack or Crimson Hail which is his special four-strike attack with a much longer animation. His attacks aren't random. The undesirable Crimson Hail attacks seems to come after a certain amount of time has passed. It's not the amount of time. It's the amount of damage I have inflicted upon him. This means if I can pay attention to how I damage him, I can save some time and perhaps even skip his Crimson Hail attack altogether. I was never able to do this though because you would have to damage the dragon right up to an exact amount of HP, just before his special attack cut-off point, and then deliver a massive amount of damage on the next wave of attacks. This means that when I fight a boss a lot depends on the amount of damage that I do and maximum damage isn't always best.

Anyway as you can see I perform some good attacks and kick the dragon to the curb. WATER BURST Lv. 1 Magnus is perfect for Xelha to attack with and Kalas has the ICE DAGGER. Usually, I like to see Xelha attack with her Level 1 Finisher DANCE OF LIGHT. Ultimately, it depends on how much damage I average and this run proved best. Plus, DANCE OF LIGHT is time consuming. This was the fastest time that I recorded, and I don't see much room for improvement. The dragon attacks me three times, and I don't think it's possible to only be attacked twice. One thing that I didn't do is get a picture of the Sabre Dragon. I can skip this boss, but I definitely need a picture of the next one.

After I kill the dragon I still have some enemy dodging to do. This game is a pain in the ass because even after you kill a boss you could have the run ruined by some damn Shawra. All through the dialogue I am thinking about how I am going to react to the enemies I am about to face. This dialogue scene introduces Xelha to my spirit, 007. At this time, the game asks me to select from different responses as 007 at certain moments in the game. The idea is to select the choice the best matches with what Kalas is thinking. This is sometimes hard to judge. Apparently, the better you are at matching the correct thought with Kalas's line of thinking the more likely a random spirit attack will appear. Who knows for sure?

After Xelha cremates her bodyguards, I advance to the next screen. I will see the first Shawra either traveling up the narrow path or coming down it. Since it is all the way down I simply run by with no problem and up to the Unuk. I have to get the FIRE BURST Lv. 1 in the chest for the next fight. I easily run around it giving it a wide birth to avoid screwing up and having to fight the sabre dragon again. Please keep in mind that although this looks easy I feel pressure because I don't want to have to waste another fifteen minutes killing the dragon and sitting through that dialogue scene. With the fire burst in my inventory, I begin to head towards my next save point at the red flower. On the way, I perform a cute little trick to allow me to grab a massively important FLAME SWORD. Basically, I just tap the A button to grab it. The last enemy Shawra can't reach me as long as I hug the right wall and make my way to the save flower.

In segment 3 we have another boss battle, this time with THE LORD OF THE SPRING. Coming out of the red save flower, I replace a couple of SHORT SWORDs with a FLAME SWORD and my just acquired level one finisher BLUE STORM. I chose to keep my defense items in my deck because at this point I am still rather weak and don't want to add them back later. For Xelha, I replace three WATER BURST level ones with three FIRE BURST level ones.

I absolutely smoke this beast. The monster has 300 HP and is weak to fire. Before the lord can even attack I hit him for 121 points of damage, over one-third of his life. I connect with back to back two-card straight attacks both with a fire elemental. A two-card straight adds a 13% bonus. A two-card pair adds a 10% bonus. The odds of getting a straight are actually easier, so I am not too sure why the bonus is larger. Anyway, because I took off a third of the serpent's life, I never see his normal attack, and he goes right into his Thundering Falls attacks. My third and fourth attacks all come with cards containing the spirit number 8. Two, pair bonus attacks with another FIRE BURST Lv. 1 landing and a badly needed photo taken by Kalas. Another Thundering Falls lands, and at this point I am wondering how much health the beast has left. I am also concerned over Xelha, who stands a good chance of being killed if I'm unlucky. Xelha hits with another attack. I decided to go for the two fire bursts rather than pair my attack. It's about the same damage either way. A paired FIRE BURST Lv. 1 plus a LIGHT FLARE Lv. 1 deals 48 damage, and a non-pair with two fire bursts is 49. For whatever the reason the Lord of the Spring attacks out of sequence and because of this, I never see the serpent's Dragon Press attack. Luckily, he attacks Kalas because Xelha wouldn't survive another attack. Kalas then uses his BLUE STORM attack while Xelha finishes in style and slaps the beast with GREEN BANANAS for the kill.

It would be almost impossible to improve on this fight while still capturing a photo. I was perfectly satisfied to move on. All that I had to do is mash through some more dialogue and get ready to save. You'll notice that when I save in the overworld my cursor is right where it needs to be on the appropriate save file in order to save time.

Segment 4 is dedicated to grabbing the ESCAPE Magnus located where I fought the Lord of the Spring. Initially, I didn't think that it was worth getting, but now I know that it is a must, and I'll tell you why. There are sections later in the game where there are many forced enemy encounters. The Holoholo Jungle and the Wazn Icelands to name a couple. Later in the game I pick up another ESCAPE Magnus. If I have two it dramatically increases the odds of escaping from forced battles and easily makes up for the time I spend here.

This is not easy and took me 2-3 hours to do. Getting to the Magnus is tricky enough but in order to get back, I have one battle that I need to fight and a lot of things could go wrong. If more than one enemy appears, I have to start over. Every single enemy that I need to get by can cause problems, especially the Shawra closest to the overworld exit. I didn't think I had a chance in the world of getting passed the last Shawra, but somehow I did.

For segment 5, I go back to Celebrai and report to the Mayor and Dr. Larikush. It's simple story progression as I learn about the location of the giant battleship that I must track down. After the mayor's house, I head over to Larikush's place. He gives me four blank quest Magnus. This is how I will carry the dynamite I'm about to get on the table below me. I accept his offer to practice using the quest Magnus and grab a mountain apple just outside. If I return it to him, I receive an ICE DAGGER. This is well worth the 30 seconds or so since I'll have the dagger in my inventory until the game ends.

After cruising through the rest of the dialogue sequence, I grab the dynamite and leave. The last thing I need to do before I save is head down to the church through the blue save flower and level up. Leveling up takes time so it's best to be put off as often as possible but any time I can perform a CLASS CHANGE, I should do it. The first class change lets me attack with three cards instead of two and allow me to hold more in my hand. Before I can pray with the priest in order to level up, I must ask him at least one of the two questions he shows to me. The priest responsible for the star map will also force me into a conversation. After I exit, I go to the item shop in order to purchase a couple of LONG SWORDs as quick as I can.

Okay, segment 6 is the start of my run towards finding Giacomo and beating him up. He's hiding in the city of Pherkad. In order to reach the ancient capital I must first traverse through the Nunki Valley. Everything is pretty self-explanatory. There are two paths to choose through the valley. One path has two forced encounters and the other has one. I choose the path with only one encounter, which means staying on the right side of the valley. I pass an Unuk, climb a ladder, jump a gap with rushing water, and then finally blow up the destructible rocks. I go up another ladder where I reach the forced battle with a set of Unuks. I utilize the ESCAPE Magnus saving myself around 30 seconds or so, the time spent if I had fought a single Unuk. There is nothing sweeter than seeing that ESCAPE Magnus and acquiring it was the right thing to do. If I don't see the ESCAPE Magnus, I start over. Many of my resets are because I don't see this card at the start of my turn. It can only be used at the start of an attacking turn. The odds of seeing it on Kalas's first turn are 4 out of 25, or 16% and the odds of the Magnus appearing in the first position such as in this video, 4%.

Anyway, I escape the battle and advance to the next screen with a waterfall, climb a ladder, and run around two DOOMERS. I make it through the valley in less than 90 seconds. Next up is Pherkad, the ancient capital. My first order of business is sitting through an explanation on how the random spirit cards are generated. By answering Kalas's questions correctly it enhances my chances. After that I am turned loose in Pherkad and immediately obtain a PYXIS constellation Magnus. I head north, stop, and speak to a man holding a DARK FLARE Lv. 2 before moving to the castle gates. I am stopped here by the guards and introduced to Palolo III, Master of Shadows. Rumor has it; he has gotten into the castle, so I need to track him down. I follow him into a house and agree to find a Rainbow Spiders Web for him. This means I have to go back to the Nunki Valley.

Segment 7 is significant because it demonstrates one of my speed running techniques. Before I find the spider's web, I very quickly fight a Doomer in order to pick up a FLAME SWORD. This sword is a burning SHORT SWORD, and although it will burn out and transform back into a plain SHORT SWORD in only an hour it's still worth getting. A FLAME SWORD has an attack of 28 with 17 attributed to fire damage. A SHORT SWORD which comprises most of my deck has an attack of only 4. I think spending 42 seconds was worth it especially considering that my next opponent, a tough opponent, is water based.

I know what you are going to say, "Hey Scott, why didn't you just keep on getting more and more FLAME SWORDS?" The truth is I thought I could. I knew that each monster dropped five or six different items, which is true. The problem is that they aren't dropped randomly, at least not exactly. The first drop is random. After that it has to cycle through every other item before returning to the original drop. This means in order to get another FLAME SWORD I would have to fight about four or five more Doomers. I couldn't justify spending three minutes to pick up another FLAME SWORD, no way. However, some monsters have such kick ass drops that they'll have two or three different items that are worth the time to grab. I did this a couple of times in my run. Ultimately, this game isn't that difficult and the cards the game provides naturally are fine. It doesn't hurt to get the best cards you can, but you won't see them in every battle. In other words, I enter the valley, kill the doomer, get the FLAME SWORD, and save.

With segment 8, we start to see some difficulty landing the perfect boss fight. My opponent is the NUNKIRATULA spider. It's weakest against fire but also darkness and wind. It becomes rather annoying in this game when having to perform time consuming remedial tasks both before and after boss fights in order to get the perfect run. It really tests one's patience. This segment isn't too bad because I face no enemies on my way to fight the spider.

I ready myself by equipping the two LONGS SWORDs I purchased in Celebrai, a SHORT SWORD I removed from earlier, an ICE DAGGER, and the FLAME SWORD I earned from the Doomer. Making my way to the spider is easy, but I have to be prepared for a fight. The spider can easily kill me in this battle. My defense Magnus suck and I am under leveled. The spider has simple but powerful attacks, attacking once or twice with water based ferocity. It also has a defensive move titled HARDENING WAX. The waxy defense allows the spider to block every attack rendering them weak and ineffective. The effects last until the spider attacks again and overrides the effect. I don't like to attack when the creature is in a defensive stance. Instead, I waste a turn and burn a defense Magnus if I don't think I can do real damage.

The spider goes first and casts Hardening Wax. I see my hand and decide to attack with a two-card straight using FLAME SWORDs. I easily absorb the spider's single attack. A requirement for this run was to get at least one random spirit attack, which I did. There are six possible attacks, one for each element, and I got the one that I wanted, HELLFIRE. Fire damage is a 50% bonus on this water spider. After landing damage of 215 HP for that single attack, I knew this could be the run I end up using so I had to focus. Next, I absorb the spider's measly attack of the singular variety. I take a badly needed photo and add two weak attacks with it making sure to burn up my ICE DAGGER to make room for something better. 19 damage from this attack sucks but the spider is visibly weakened. My enemy casts Hardening Wax and from the cards I can see in my hand currently I show two defense Magnus and two SHORT SWORDs. If I attack with those swords, I could very well do zero damage, since they will both be blocked, even with a third attack to follow. I decide to use a turn to eliminate his defensive capabilities and allow him to attack me again. At this point, I have inflicted 293 HP of damage on the monster. I need 350 to kill him. If I had attacked after the spider used Hardening Wax, I would have had a three card straight ending in BLUE STORM and probably gotten the necessary 71 HPs to kill the spider. It was a tough call for me to make but a mistake that cost me 10 seconds. For my last attack, I make a mistake in my card selection. This is a rarity and I was surprised when I saw it. Clearly, the 5 + 6 + 7 straight was in order. I can't remember what was going through my head because it was four months ago, but it doesn't matter anyway because that was the death blow.

I am pleased. Most of my attacks were for nice damage. I challenge anyone to try to beat this guy in 90 seconds as I did. I have seen someone beat this spider in one minute and 13 seconds, but it required two spirit attacks out of three attacking turns. This is not easy to do. I don't know the odds exactly, but I would say on average 1 out of 10-15 attacks shows a random finisher. Best-case scenario, if you had a 10% chance of getting a random spirit attack you'd have a 1% chance of getting them back to back. That could take 20 game hours. This game wears you down in that way. Anyway, the spiders dead and I only have to leave the area to save. I have an easy route to the finish, although the Unuk at the bottom of the area gives me a scare before he turns at the last minute heading the opposite direction. I would not have made it if he hadn't. Safe.

Segment 9 is the start of my run towards Giacomo through The Lord's Mansion. After killing the Nunkiratula Spider and leaving Nunki Valley, I head back to Pherkad. I find Palolo III and he instructs me to enter the mansion through the well. I arrive in the mansion all wet and head north to find a way to the roof.

In this section when enemies have their backs to me, they won't chase me. Because of this I immediately split the first two guards and grab a FROZEN SHIELD. I enter the 2nd of the four doors in this large room to find the level two finisher for Kalas, SHADOW WINGS. I equip this right away along with the DUEL SWORD I picked up from the spider. Both have great attacks and I need them for the three consecutive battles I am about to endure. I also use a medium SHISH KABAB so Kalas can survive the next few battles. I was dying frequently in this section. When I leave the room with the Shadow Wings and go back into the foyer you'll notice the foot soldiers reset their opening position. I can abuse this later to avoid them. For now though I must move left and up to the stairs to obtain THE GUESTROOM KEY to release Xelha. There is a guard at the base of the stairs that can't be avoided.

The IMPERIAL SOLDIERs have 70 HP. For Kalas to kill them in one turn, I need some luck in what cards I get. I was lucky to play BLUE STORM, SHADOW WINGS, and SHADOW WINGS again, respectively for the three battles. This was more than enough to slaughter my opponent. More difficult was the random determination of how many enemies I'd fight each battle. Up to three enemies can appear for every fight, so I was really lucky facing only one enemy for each confrontation. All three of the fights went as well as humanly possible IMO. After dealing death to the soldier at the base of the stairs, I ascend to the next section. Here, we have two soldiers I must avoid. These soldiers can initially be avoided, and I do so before grabbing a CHAIN MAIL Magnus. Then the soldiers touch me. I can avoid them to get into the north door but coming out is another story. I couldn't see how to avoid them when they approach from opposite sides after I had exited. In the room through the double doors, I procure a WIND BLOW Lv. 1 and take the GUESTROOM KEY. Then a short dialogue commences while I'm behind a couch in the room. Retracing my steps back down the stairs, I use the key to enter the 1st room. I do this to reset the soldier in the foyer area and also get the MINK COAT. I leave the 1st room and duck quickly into the 2nd room to reset the soldier again. After I exit, I wait for the soldier to pass before moving behind him and enter the last of the three skirmishes. I kill this guard while snapping a photo and then go to rescue Xelha. I untie her and get her first class up Magnus the SHRIKE STATUE. I also get a CHRONOS BLOW Lv. 1. I leave the 3rd room and haul ass up the stairs just escaping a fast imperial soldier. At the blue save flower, there are two statues. I flip a switch that allows me to pass and enter the blue flower. Here, I must regain my health and upgrade Xelha for the upcoming boss fight.

Segment 10. Giacomo is a tough opponent with high defense and fully capable of killing one of my fighters if I don't defend properly. If Giacomo defends too often I will always reset. Anything above 75 HPs of damage is fantastic per an attack considering that several times during practice runs my total damage score was a zero after Giacomo defended. Every single one of my attacks was greater than 78 HP of damage except for the last attack which makes no difference because it was the death blow. In fact, a weak final attack makes it that much cooler. A broken attack that still kills can actually save time and be beneficial. I can't emphasize enough that the average attack against Giacomo with normal attacks is around 50 damage.

My requirement for this fight was either one or two spirit attacks mandatory depending on how the fight looked and played out. Well, I got two and the fight went great. The last thing to consider is the attack order. It sucks when I can't finish off an enemy, and I waste time waiting for him to finish his turn before I can finally kill him. If I like a segment I will usually go back and follow the accumulated attack damage throughout the battle and judge how I did. Occasionally, If I have a less than average attack, which should have killed an opponent but didn't, I will choose to reset. Alternatively, even worse, back to back less than average attacks where I know I should have killed my enemy. Even after epic battles I would guilt myself into resetting. The weirdest quality about a speed run in this game is the amount of analyzing it requires after the fact. As long as nothing I do is wasted or pointless I can keep the run. So considering all of this the battle went really well.

To get things started, I strengthen Kalas with some sword adjustments and give Xelha her first CHRONOS BLOW Lv. 1 and WIND BLOW Lv. 1, the strongest two elements in the game. I also give her back the AQUA BURST Lv. 1's. Giacomo has a weakness to light and water 30% and is therefore strong against fire and darkness 30%. From now on, we start to see a pattern in which enemies are weak versus water and light.

For my first attack, I come out strong with three LIGHT FLARE Lv. 1's for 80 damage. I always enjoy it when my attacks are clean and unblocked. This is followed by Giacomo's notorious double attack. If I'm unlucky I can be killed if Giacomo decides to attack the same character over and over. For Kalas and his first attack, I start with a LONG SWORD (7) into a LONG SWORD (6) and finish with the spirit finisher SHINING SERAPH. Finishing with SHADOW WINGS would have earned me a nice three-card straight bonus, but it's an inferior play because I would lose it for later. After Kalas lands 187 damage Xelha does her part with a less than amazing sequence of cards for an impressive 112 damage with the help of DANCE OF LIGHT. At this point, after only three attacks I have taken off more than half of Giacomo's life. 379/750. It's impossible to know this number exactly while fighting, but I am excited that I am doing so well. Then something odd happens. Giacomo attacks only once on his next turn. I can't ever remember this happening, and it caught me off guard. It's probably a good thing because with 106 HP for Xelha, she's an END SLASHER away from death. The turn skip causes me to hesitate a little on Kalas's next turn, but I have two spirit finishers to help out. Even with Giacomo's 30% shielding to the dark element SHADOW WINGS is the better play over BLUE STORM.

SHADOW WINGS = 70 (60) dark = 52 damage --- BLUE STORM = 45 (40) wind = 45 damage.

79 damage from Kalas is not bad. Xelha follows with the nice use of a DARK FLARE Lv. 2 for 85 damage. This is one of the rare instances where you will see me use a dark flare attack because they generally are worthless. After Giacomo's end slasher I know that Kalas is up next. I have been sitting on my BLUE STORM since the beginning of this fight, and it was starting to distract me. Usually, I don't have the luxury of waiting so long to use it. I started the combo with a FLAME SWORD (2). Knowing that my BLUE STORM (7) would make any combo impossible I avoided the SABRE (2), and any combo chances, and instead went with the higher attack of the LONG SWORD (8). Imagine my surprise when I randomly get the beautiful LINGERING TIME and hit for 173. I know I am close to an epic performance, and Giacomo's health is at 716/750. The next attack from Xelha was awesome, all level one attacks with no bonus modifier and with every single attack blocked, and I still deliver enough damage to kill off the bastard at 48 for a total of 764. An attack of 48 was right around the average of a normal attack, and it really demonstrates how lucky I got in this fight. After an intense chase scene I save as soon as possible to preserve such a good performance.

Segment 11, have you learned anything so far? More than you could ever want to know right? Well, I'll take it easy from here on out. For the most part, the endless strategies for luck manipulation have been covered so I can shorten my explanations.

This segment covers the trip to Nashira and the introduction of Gibari. To begin, I come away from the blue flower and purchase two FLAME SWORDs at the shop. This is a must because I am headed into a water world. Kalas and Xelha are still both outlaws but manage to escape Pherkad and land in Nashira. I try to accrue as many items as I can before the next series of fights. I grab a FIRE YELL Lv. 1 out of some barrels before I enter the main plaza of Nashira. In order to advance I need to do two things, talk to the fortune teller and learn about Malpercio and talk to Lyude. I grab the constellation CARINA before I speak with the witch. I pick up two more FLAME SWORDs at the shop, very disappointed to leave the DUEL SWORD behind. I also pick up a SCALE SHIELD, probably a waste of time, but it's hard to ignore such a solid defensive item. Then I talk to Lyude and learn about the empire. I leave him standing there and head toward the bar to meet Anna, Reblys, and Gibari. On the way, I collect a FIRE BURST Lv. 2; finally I am getting an arsenal. Once inside I grab a SMALL SHORTCAKE which can boost both defense and offense 20 points and is a useful tool and worth the time IMO.

Gibari finally joins. It looks like I am headed towards the Lesser Celestial River to find out why it's flooding and preventing me from going to the castle. I save before I leave and level up to replenish my health. I do lose some time backtracking maybe 10-15 seconds but the next segment is too random, so I save myself the grief. Plus I need to add a bunch of cards to my deck and prefer to do that at the beginning of segments.

Segment 12 looks much easier than it really is. There are two forced battles that occur, and I have to escape from both. Before that however I still need to leave Nashira. Before I go, I take the time to equip the four FLAME SWORDs and SCALE SHIELD on Kalas and give Xelha a FIRE YELL Lv. 1, two FIRE BURST Lv. 1s, and a FIRE BURST Lv. 2. I also hook her up with the always handy CHRONOS BLOW Lv.1 and her level two finisher SPARKLE OF LIFE. I make sure to give Xelha the ESCAPE Magnus because she acts first.

Upon arriving in the Lesser Celestial River, I grab a CHAOS EDGE. Very handy for the upcoming fight as this weapon carries a dark attribute. The first forced battle soon follows. I escape immediately. I pick up a STREAM BLADE for Gibari. I pick up another CAMERA 1. The second forced battle begins and is over immediately with the help of the ESCAPE Magnus. You can see that it's pretty clear by now that investing the time to grab the ESCAPE Magnus was well worth it. I have probably already won back half of the time I spent getting it.

It's hard to escape back to back fights. The math... 4 out of 25 to escape on the first turn is 16%. 16% X 16% is .0256. Yup, I have a 2.5% percent chance of escaping back to back battles. This means I should expect to do this at least 100/2.5...or 40 times before I have an opportunity to escape. I think it took me twenty attempts or so. Because of this I limit the amount of things that I do for this segment and put them off until later to make things less difficult.

I finally reach the red save flower and have a save. Get ready for a quick fight.

Segment 13. Remember when I said to get ready for a quick fight in segment 12. Well...the fight wasn't as glamorous as I thought. I made these videos a while ago so I don't recall everything. Although, I know why I kept this video. First of all, I am fighting the THUNDERFISH. He is weak with Fire/Dark 50% and strong against Water/Light 50%. He also has 1000 HPs. Now you would think that I ravage him with my FLAME SWORDs, use a spirit finisher or two, and pummel him with my best attacks. What we instead see is a steady series of better than average attacks using combo bonuses. I have more than a few combos, especially three-card straights towards the end. This steady onslaught gave me a faster time than any other attempt and when you think back to the fight, it's very one-sided. I am attacking him constantly. No finishers mean quick turns; let's not forget how much time is spent doing spirit attacks.

I hit him for maximum damage with Xelha's first attack, 135. Fishman then brings a four-hit attack called the Thundercloud to me. This is perfect because it allows Kalas to defend with a SHORTCAKE and gain 20 ATP. I then land very heavy damage with Kalas. A dark based weapon to start the three card straight and BLUE STORM to finish, being enough to get my heart pumping, 201 damage. For Gibari, who sucks for this fight, I manage trip sixes and make the best use out of a CHUNK OF ICE you are likely to see. 63 damage brings the total to 399. Xelha's up next and does the best she can with fire and light bursts to net 76 damage. The Thunderfish now attacks with a quick and painless three-hit nothing. Kalas hits for 124. Gibari has a nice three card straight for 83 damage to follow. Xelha uses trip threes for 90 damage incorporating a WIND BLOW Lv. 1 and a LIGHT FLARE Lv. 2. The fish attacks quickly. Kalas combo 104 and Gibari combo 106. The final attack comes from Xelha, and it's for 70. This totals 1052 in damage and renders the fish dead meat.

For every attack, I selected the best possible combination and landed maximum damage. I checked carefully and for the cards I was given, I don't think it's possible to perform better than I did. Correct me if I'm wrong. You may have also noticed that the Thunderfish didn't block me one time. I have previously mentioned how important this is. All things considered this was a perfect mix of execution and luck that surpasses any mediocre mix of attacks and spirit finishers. In fact, this might be my purest boss fight in my entire speed run.

After the fight, I still need to save. There is one enemy I need to avoid, and it can be a pain in my ass. The bastard is fast and wrecked a very nice run I had going once before. I easily cruise around him and save.

There's not a whole heck of a lot going on for segment 14 except for some serious leveling up. After my fight with the Thunderfish, I must backtrack to Nashira. I need to grab two class up items in the Lesser Celestial River, the MANA STONE and the HERON STATUE. Both items allow me to hold 30 cards in my deck and 5 in my hand, very helpful. There is only one forced encounter that I have to escape from, and I do so easily since it's at the start of the segment and easy to repeat. Next, I collect the MANA STONE narrowly escaping the reach of the blue frog like enemy. How he doesn't see me I'll never know, and I was surprised to make it passed. The second would-be forced encounter can be avoided if I run around the trigger spot. The other class up item for Xelha can be obtained by using the head of the Thunderfish to dam up the water and leap across the boulders. Now I can exit, and sail back to Nashira where I discover the empire has taken the town hostage.

I am trapped in town and need to speak to Anna to get out. Reaching the bar I find she isn't there, and I have to track her down. She is located by the Nashira Port. Once found she shows me a secret passage beneath the floor of the bar, and I am able to reach the over world and save. I make sure to level up at the church before I go. A good developmental segment indeed.

Segment 15 was tough on me. I have three STRIPERS in my path to start things out in the Cloud Passage and to finish I need to defeat the IRON BEETLE I. In facing the three STRIPERS, I usually fight the first and dodge the other two. In this case, I somehow managed to dodge the first and third but fought the second. Naturally, I escape the fight right away, or I am forced to reset. Reaching the IRON BEETLE wasn't especially difficult, but it did require a lot of luck manipulation and is the reason the fight with the beetle is far from legendary.

The tank has 1500 HP and is weak with both water and light +30%. Xelha opens things up with an attack of 127, which is decent considering I used fire and dark attacks. Then the Iron Beetle counters with the typical attack boost prepping a massive attack to come on the next turn. Every great RPG has a boss who uses this tactic; Final Fantasy II comes to mind. Kalas's turn is next, and it's a four-card straight that gives this battle an impressive look. The damage total is pathetic for such an attack, and it's because I am attacking with fire and dark, 93. Gibari's only saving grace is his preference to water and he out-hits Kalas with his DRAGON UPPERCUT, 114. Xelha uses spirit numbers 8-3-3 and then skips the WATER BURST Lv.1 (8), and the two card pair to use up the SPARKLE OF LIFE finisher. I could see myself taking the time to think about this because with two defensive cards in my hand, and a spirit finisher left over, my next turn will probably suck because that's three cards I can't use on offense to start the attack. I would rather use the finisher and free up some space. Even blocked twice I still hit for 150. The beetle uses his charge attack, the VOLDOCANNON and hurts me bad. I already knew before this battle started that if a character is selected for an attack more than one time, they're dead. This caused me to reset a few times. Kalas goes for 96. Gibari goes for 4. I should have reset here IMO. I lift my spirits with some light and water attacks from Xelha, 136. NITRO BOOST from my opponent. Kalas responds with 38 damage and a photo. Gibari uses GRAPES and burns a card because his hand is crap. Next is a four-card straight for 151 followed by a second VOLDOCANNON attack where I make the mistake of using my SHORT SWORD (3) to defend. I knew I was foregoing the defense two pair bonus and just figured to remove a weak attack card from play. You can see that I needed a (3) to make a four card straight on the next turn, whoops. Instead, an attack of 175 isn't that bad. Gibari chips in with his CRYSTAL SHOT for 124. A 172, Nitro Boost, and 199 with the help of ENERGY WAVE follow. The total damage is 1579 with the final attack occurring when the boss's health was 1380, which was good for the significance of a finishing strike. I then save as soon as possible.

Segment 16 is story progression. I finally reach Sheliak, the Castle Town. The whole place is on fire thanks to the empire. I somehow discover that nancy-boy Lyude is arguing with one of his commanders. My party is starting to realize that Lyude is a good guy, deep down.

Then some dude runs out complaining about the King and how he is in peril. I need to reach the castle, and on the way I take the time to pilfer some items from people's homes. I take a LIGHT FLARE Lv. 2, CLOCK SHIELD, RAY OF TRUTH, CALM HELMET, and VOICE 2. The RAY OF TRUTH is a bad-ass light attack and if every card was a RAY OF TRUTH then I'd beat this game with my eyes tied behind my back. I'm starting to receive cards that I will be using for the rest of the game. I level up everyone to regain health and finally class up Gibari through the use of his SHARK TOOTH item I received from the Iron Beetle I. Moving on.

The castle is under siege for segment 17. I take the elevating platform up to the castle mezzanine where I grab the INFINITY MASK. Once inside the castle I see a DARK SWORD I can use. The Head Knight is blocking my path and when I speak with him, I learn how to use the Diadem Royal Crest Magnus. It's used to revive fallen troops, but I won't be needing it. Before I engage in the first battle, I find a DARK FLARE Lv. 2 among the rubble. Most fights in the castle use Diadem Knights to do the job for me. There is a point system that corresponds to the rank of a fighter that I deploy. For more info check out the section http://www.gamefaqs.com/gamecube/917921-baten-kaitos-eternal-wings-and-the-lost-ocean/faqs/37504. If I select weak fighters they will die, and then I have to fight. If I select strong fighters, they will win, and I can advance without having to fight. There can also be a stalemate where the fight continues indefinitely, and I am allowed to advance. Winning battles has its rewards. I recommend winning as much as you can by using all the fighters you start with.

I experimented with a few tactics and came to the conclusion that winning this first fight was important to earn a BUTTERFLY Magnus for Gibari. There is a lot going on in the next room. I skip two rooms; one contains an anklet for Xelha that sucks and the room of fallen knights whom I am choosing to ignore. I considered reviving knights to win more battles and receive more items, but it means I have to physically get into a time-consuming fight with my own fighters, and it takes up too much time. I try to do as little as possible from here on out. In the next fight, I receive a very helpful FIRE AURA 1 and grab a DARK YELL Lv. 1 from a painting. In the next room, I have to deal with a forced encounter. It's always three enemies and I can't escape from them. These guys are tough and have the ability to put me to sleep. I need to get lucky and hope they don't use their lengthy attacks and screw up my run. I do quite well in the fight and try to save time wherever I can by recognizing when an enemy is almost dead and not waste time performing unnecessary attacks. I save with an epic segment coming up.

Segment 18. To start, I go ahead and grab the FLASH ARMOR and SHADOW SUIT, perhaps unnecessarily. I then deal with the last group of enemies and pick up a very valuable AQUA AURA 1 and equip it right away. There are six of these aura cards in total, one for every element, and they can only be acquired in this segment. They are special because on a defensive turn if you select this card it disrupts and ends the enemies attack. They can be used no sooner than the third card in a combo and the previous card must be of the same element as the aura.

Skip the dialogue of the King almost being killed and let's go straight to the IRON BEETLE V battle, perhaps my most monumental accomplishment of luck. This monstrous tank has 1700 HP and is weak to water 40% and light 30%. This opponent is tough to deal with because after a certain amount of damage is bestowed upon him, he uses SELF-REPAIR and restores all 1700 of his hit points. He can only use this once per shuffle, but it makes for a long battle. It's also worth noting that Lyude now joins my group and will be fighting in this battle. Xelha and only Xelha checks up on the king after he is wounded. The battle will always consist of Kalas, Gibari, and Lyude no matter how I arrange my party. Since I can't access Lyude's equipment until after the fight, he uses a lot of stupid cards, oh well.

Ready...duel! I start on a defensive turn and burn off some GRAPES and a CAMERA. First to attack is Lyude. He has some nice combo opportunities with several cards carrying two spirit numbers and equally nice attacking strength. I take my time and start with a solid two pair for 153 damage. Kalas plays for maximum damage and a nice two pair for 234. He lands an ICE DAGGER for good water damage and let's not forget that even a weak attribute such as dark has neutral damage that can still be effective. Afterwards, a beautiful four card straight from Gibari with a water bonus for 238 occurs. The Iron Beetle V doesn't use self-repair, so I know that it should come up immediately following my turn.

Lyude is up next, and his hand is garbage. I use a SHADOW CORNET and burn off his ESCAPE Magnus he brought with him. Yes, I now have two of those, which is awesome. Lyude equals 48 damage and I'm not happy. With Kalas I should have gone to 6, 5, 4, 3 combo, but I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't because looked what popped up, SACRED SPRING. I manage a two pair combo and damage of 349. Gibari's hand is crap, but I suspected I had done enough damage for the SELF-REPAIR to trigger on the next turn, and I was right. It worked perfect; both Lyude and Gibari had super-fast turns.

Lyude now Concertos for 81. Kalas's next attack is magnificent. With a weakness to light the Iron Beetle has to eat a RAY OF TRUTH and another spirit finisher, my favorite SHINING SERAPH for 285. Gibari does well with a finisher and 183. On my next defensive turn, we see how defense auras works. It stops the attack dead in its tracks. Again, Lyude has crap, so I burn two cards for no damage. I see the end of the fight in sight and am amazed when I see Kalas pull another random spirit finisher, and again; it's SACRED SPRING. Even with the two flame swords it's 289 HP of pain. Gibari makes the beetle eat a two pair worth 142. I have plenty of time to plan Lyude's next attack, and it ends up being a two pair with OVERTURE for 180. A completely broken attack from Kalas, 97. Gibari doubles up on the voice attacks for a measly 29. Gibari then takes a beating from the Iron Beetle. I'm glad I healed him with MILK earlier. Finally, a get the photo and do 31 damage at the same time. Then the coolest thing happens; I get another random spirit finisher. This was the first and only time I have ever got four in one fight. More specifically, that's four out of six attacks. To my knowledge, I have never even had three in one fight, ever. It was pretty cool and had me excited to lock in this segment. Oh yeah, DEMONS OF DARKNESS for 199. Then Gibari shuffled, dammit. Gibari gets attacked. Lyude scrambles for 139 and I probably could have ended it there if I chose my cards better. Kalas shuffles, ouch. Now it's Gibari's turn, and if he doesn't kill the beetle, I'll have to endure another long attack and Gibari could possibly die. I won't be feeling so great about keeping the segment if that happens, but it works out and Gibari literally deals damage of 126 and kills the beetle.

The beetle repaired after 1022 of damage. 850 is probably the number, or half of the beetle's life. I finish at 1781 damage. Gibari only needed 45 to kill the boss. I want to save right away, and it sucks having to page through dialogue when I'm all tense and stuff. I hit the church and level up; amazingly, I don't choke and make a bad button press. Save it.

Segment 19 has me going to the Shrine of the Winds to face the LORD OF THE WINDS. I prepare my fighters, adding some new cards to Lyude and Xelha. I leave Gibari out of this fight because the Lord is weak in chronos 80% and strong in wind 80%. Gibari has several wind attacks.

The Lord has 1900 health and can be dispatched fairly quickly but does have some annoying attacks. He has a poison attack, a two card attack SLASHING WINDS, and a four or five-card attack which can put me to sleep. It's just another factor of luck I have to overcome. Xelha starts with a nice two pair passing up on the SOUL FLASH for 145. I am then attacked with POISONOUS POWDER. This move is perfect because it's one hit and very fast. I do lose time taking damage from the poison attack every turn, but a two second attack is better than a twenty second attack any day. I screwed up Lyude's two pair possibility thinking I could make a straight, 152. I don't know what I was thinking with Kalas, skipping the SHADOW WINGS, 138. I guessed wrong with Xelha choosing the DARK FLARE (6) and missed a two pair, 137. Another POISONOUS POWDER lands on an already poisoned character and I burn an escape card, perfect. I take a picture on a broken attack from Lyude of 117. Kalas smacks him around with his darkness attacks, 181. Xelha hits for 169 and I pass on the SOUL FLASH waiting for a better combo. Another POISONOUS POWDER, the third time and very rarely does this happen. A three card set for 143. A three card straight for 119. A three card set for 184. Next we see the Lord's secondary attack, a two card attack which I think can paralyze. I absorb it, no problem. Than that dirty bastard goes out of turn and lands a MIRACULOUS GALE on me. I don't know why enemies do this; it's quite rare. I secure a four-card straight with Lyude for 157, and the boss is in his weakened animation. What battle would be complete without another random spirit finisher? DEMONS OF DARKNESS falls for 340 and is the final death blow. A solid hit to get me to 1982 points of damage. It's nice when my enemy can't heal himself. This boss fight is the perfect demonstration of how my enemy's attacks are just as important as my attacks. He had five attacks that lasted only 35 seconds or so when they could have and usually are 10-20 seconds a piece. What the enemy does is just another part of luck manipulation and turns a mediocre performance by me into a keeper.

I defeat the Wind God. This allows me to see the epic stone drop into the water that clearly resembles a turd dropping into a toilet. Again, this is the kind of humor the game developers have.

To finish we see Lyude being more of a baby as I run around the castle. Finally, I save ready to depart.

Segment 20. I now travel to Anuenue for the first of several visits. I have to see the Queen Corellia to talk about some End Magnus bullshit. This sort of begins the difficulty of deciding which Magnus to go after and which to leave behind since they're scattered everywhere.

When I finally land, I climb the ladder up into the shack. I go to grab the constellation Magnus AURIGA and the Bamboo Grass Creel. The Grass Creel is a major speed enhancer. Then I go down a different ladder to grab Gibari's level three finisher EXPLOSIVE PADDLE, which absolutely sucks. Don't bother getting it, a waste of thirty seconds. It's the only fire attack dedicated to him for the whole game and it conflicts with water.

I finally reach the city during The Thirty Year Festival. There's a lot to do and look at, but I'm off to the shop to buy a MARVELOUS SWORD and two PEACHES. The PEACHES are supposed to turn into THE PEACH BOY after eight hours, and I was really looking forward to that, but apparently that is incorrect and not as my guide suggested. Because I can class up Kalas I go to the church. While I am there I level up everyone else even though there health is fine. I probably didn't need to do this to save time, maybe thirty seconds lost. The extra levels no doubt helps with damage and could shave seconds off in future battles before I reach the next church, but it's immeasurable. That's the problem with this game. One of the concerns of my run is wasting time leveling up, and I happen to agree in this segment it was a waste of time.

Next, I run into Savyna before heading into the School of Magic. In the school zone I need a few things to advance the story. At the castle steps I must go left through a door, take the leftmost door, and listen to a woman tell a story of a whale. I also need to go right when I can see the castle steps, into the side door, and then into the first door I see to listen to a teacher talk about The Taintclouds. Now I can advance. Along the way, I grab a SWEETHEART PICTURE, BLACK SCEPTER, and a MAGICAL PIGGY BANK.

Now I am in Corellia's Palace. I speak to her and she goes on and on until Geldoblame comes in. My party accuses Geldoblame of being a traitor, and he denies it. The queen knows something is up but sends me away. I leave the throne room and go into her bedroom to collect a MATTRESS, HAIR DRYER, and capture the Magnus essence of the CELESTIAL SEED not once but twice. Once for the Celestial Tree coming very soon and later when I travel through the inter-dimensional portal to recover my lost party members. Its hours away but saves me some time. Without knowing what to do next I leave the castle when suddenly a stranger suggests I investigate a haunted library. Okay I will, after I save.

Segment 21 is the scary Library of Magic. To start out, I fight for another RAY OF TRUTH. I make the fight only one attack. The rest of this level henceforth up to the next red save flower is very linear. It may seem complicated but there is only one path. I need keys to remove the seals, which are the blue orbs guarding doorways.

From the start, I grab the first key flashing on top of the bookshelves, The Geography Key. Once inside that room I find The Philosophy Section Key and Lyude's level three finisher SFORZANDO. I also snag the Geography Book, one of four books I need for later. I get the KITE SHIELD and WAVE BLADE. I then pick up the History Key that fell from the red bookshelf. A ZEIT ROBE is obtained before entering the History Section. Once inside I find a DELUXE BONBON, History Book, and TAURAS constellation. I forget what treasure I left behind, but I remember not needing it. I go back upstairs and put the Geography Book back on its designated shelf and also grab a DELUXE SHORTCAKE. The deluxe items permanently increase stats. Then I put the History Book away. In the Philosophy Section, I find a SCARLETT SHELL class up for Gibari and the DELUXE COOKIES. I need to rearrange the red bookcases to allow me to locate the Philosophy Book and MAGNUM CORNET. The final room nets me the RUBY EARRINGS for Lyude, the Literature Book, and a SILVER SWORD. Putting the final two books back onto the shelves unlocks the next door to FOLON. Before I save at the red flower in sight, I get Xelha's class up, the FALCON STATUE and save.

Segment 22 is when we start to see the effects of real combos because Kalas can now string five cards together. A full house quickly becomes the standard of attack as five-card straights are a little difficult for me at this point. This segment is the boss fight with Giacomo's right-hand man, FOLON. Folon has a good amount of health sitting at 2300 and is weak to water 30% and light 50%. For this fight, I chose Kalas (naturally), Lyude, because of his light finishers, solid attacks, and straight opportunities, and Xelha because of her overall light and water attacks not forgetting her light finishers, all three of them. Gibari, even though he is a water guy just isn't good enough yet. Before the fight, I equip Kalas with several more cards due to his class up. I give him the three deluxe items to boost his stats. I also change his weapon for the first time and Lyude's as well. Xelha's initial attack lets you know what kind of damage to expect to see against Folon. Her two AQUA BURST Lv. 1s and SPARKLE OF LIFE net 202 damage, which is average. Lyude hits next, and I don't see any great straight or pairing chances, so I make sure to use up his LIGHT YELL Lv. 1 and finisher CONCERTO so they don't clog up my hand. It was a nice attack for 229 damage. For Kalas, I see (2)s and (3)s everywhere so I know I'm going with a full house and ending with ENERGY WAVE, 320. When Folon attacks Kalas it looks like I was just using up SHORT SWORDs to get rid of them. I don't know why I didn't discard my BANANAS. I shouldn't have been too concerned with Folon's attacks, specifically his CHAOTIC FLAMES, but I guess I was. Xelha strikes next and finishes with SOUL FLASH to help compensate the weak fire bursts, 264. A standard two pair for Lyude, 161. Kalas's next attack is pretty lame, but I do get a picture, 126. Kalas is attacked again. This is always good because I can try to set him up for a nice offensive attack by discarding properly. Again, I don't throw away the bananas, and it's a big mistake. It shows that I am fearful of the kind of damage Folon can do, and I probably don't even need to use a healing item for the rest of the game. I use the strongest attacks I can manage with Xelha, 148. Not so hot shooting from Lyude with weak dark attacks and pointless photo, 97. For Kalas, if I was making better decisions, I could easily have gotten a four card straight on his turn. What I got instead was a nice random spirit finisher. I miss the full house bonus but still do 542 damage. Xelha again uses her strongest attacks making sure not to use opposing elements, 190. Lyude then deals the death blow amazingly with a single card and 33 damage. Remember, the battle doesn't just stop when I go over my enemies HP total. My character does his full attack even if a small amount of damage is necessary. It just so happens that one KRONE HORN was enough to do the job. If it doesn't stop Folon, I am definitely going to reset with the attack of Folon coming next. It would have been just too embarrassing to keep, plus the rest of the battle except for my SHINING SERAPH was not that incredible. It was, however, consistent and Folon used short attacks. He did not set me on fire either, which is a time saver. I was at 2279 hit points of damage before Lyude's final attack. The 33 damage added makes 2312. I love killing bosses so close to their health totals. In the first fight against Giacomo, I managed to land on 750 exactly, killing him. I couldn't justify keeping the run unfortunately.

Savyna again appears to save me from Folon, even though I just clobbered him, and I save just outside of the library.

In segment 23, I do two things. I equip the second ESCAPE Magnus that my new party member Lyude started with and get the LANDMARK STONE. Now I am able to navigate the HOLOHOLO JUNGLE. The stone doesn't need to be equipped.

There is a lot going on in segment 24. This is a segment that could be repeated for weeks to reduce the time to complete it. There are at least five forced encounters, a couple of probable encounters, and the enemies aren't the type that just roll over and die. Even with my two ESCAPE Magnus, or magni, it's still hard to get through this area quick. There are also two potential areas to harvest an item or two that requires enemy attention.

The HOLOHOLO JUNGLE is a maze, and it's hard to see. The path is actually very narrow and enemies frequently clog the way. On the first screen, I easily run around the blue dinosaur, ACHERON, but then get stopped at a forced encounter with a MIRABILIS on the next screen. I typically require that I escape from this first battle, or I'll reset. If I don't, the fight must go well. I only do okay so the rest of the run better be great. There are so many enemies to engage that I know I can't escape from all of them. I then encounter another ACHERON which I have to escape from. They are too time-consuming to defeat, and I was just in a fight. Immediately after, I climb down a ladder to grab the SILVER EARRINGS and then go down-screen avoiding yet another ACHERON.

In the newest screen, there is another forced encounter with a MIRABILIS, even though you can't see him. I will have to pass by this enemy twice so it's a good idea to kill him early rather than try to escape two times. Again, I use all three of my characters to defeat it, but I keep my attacks short and sweet. Just further south in a chest I pick up an ICE CRYSTAL BUCKLE. This is easily the most influential Magnus in the game IMO. It raises my attack from 0 to 45 and essentially doubles my power; a must get.

I have to go back up and run by the ACHERON again who wasn't cooperating. I was being extra patient because if I couldn't escape than my segment was over. I finally make my move, fail, and then get lucky. It's worth noting I can proceed over to the right before going up the ladder for five or six items, but it's not really worth it because it means a forced encounter and the items suck. The best get is another questionable finisher for Gibari, a chronos finisher that conflicts with his wind set.

On the next screen, I face another forced encounter with a MIRABILIS. It's only one. One thing that is critical in this segment is how important it is to be lucky with enemy numbers. I would hate to face two of these creatures and have to kill them. I probably would be forced to reset. This is the third time I have been lucky in that regard.

The next battle sealed the deal and made this run a keeper. I have a forced encounter with an UNDEAD SWORDSMAN, and the battle goes perfect. Kalas crushes him demonstrating the power of my new buckle, and I get the super sweet SILVER SWORD.

I sort of botch the last fight with the MIRABILIS. At least, I'm smart enough to avoid using Lyude's finisher to save some time. I navigate the last tricky maze elements and make it through to save.

I think this segment went very well. Some fights could have been improved or avoided gaining some time, and I wish I didn't dance around right after I got the buckle, but the end went well. For every fight, I faced the minimum amount of enemies, which is key and rare to see. Five out of five battles that went to the end were against one enemy only. I probably could have escaped more, but I was well compensated. I did get another SMALL SHORTCAKE and SILVER SWORD for my efforts. All in all, I think six minutes was a great time which could have been reduced to five and a half. Thank god I had two ESCAPEs. This level is the final proof that getting the ESCAPE Magnus in the beginning is mandatory.

In the interest of saving some time I'll try to make segment 25 short. I finally reach the village of OPU. My first visit is the shop where I buy a LIGHT YELL Lv. 1. I made it a point for this run to obtain as many light attacks as possible, whatever the strength, for longer combos later in the game. Next, I run into this girl Mayfee. She is a keeper, or something like that. I then talk to her grandmother. Speaking with Mayfee again I realize I need to go back to Anuenue and get some Komomai Cookies. While I'm in Anuenue, I hit up the shop for a DARK SWORD and a very handy LIGHT FLARE Lv. 2. This game would be a lot shorter if every store had light flares in them. I find the fat dude that makes the cookies and give him the essence of the Celestial Seed. I get the cookies and head back. Mayfee is pleased and takes off running. I pick up FLASH EXPLOSION, finisher for Kalas, and the constellation Magnus LUPUS. Down the ladder bridge, speaking with a resident, I obtain the constellation PERSEUS. Then, I indulge in a much-needed church visit. Kalas goes up three levels; Xelha goes up three levels, and Lyude one. Xelha and Lyude both class up. All poisoning is cured. I skip Gibari because I won't be using him until after I reach the next church. My party is starting to take shape and gain strength, but I am falling behind in my card development. I can barely keep enough cards to have full and active decks. Afterwards, I go into Savyna's house, and she joins my party. I skip getting the ICE KNUCKLES because I will not be investing any time into her development. She's tough, but her items are scarce and expensive. I leave OPU and move towards the Celestial Tree, a most unpleasant segment where I fight back to back bosses is coming soon.

Segment 26 was only one fight and less than magical. I finally made it to the Celestial Tree. This part of the game is sort of tedious, and I am getting tired of this continent. At the base of the tree, I grab yet another constellation Magnus, CRATER. The path up to the tree has several forks. If I choose the left fork, I can acquire Savyna's class up Magnus, the WILD CHERRY BUD. I always hate to pass up on bud, but I skip this because I will not be pursuing Savyna as a character and don't want to waste the minute to grab it. I will only be using her for one or two fights after my next church visit anyway. Many people believe that Savyna might be the superior character to develop rather than Lyude. I disagree. My thoughts have been laid out at the Speed Demos Archive website, and you can learn more there. My ultimate conclusion about Savyna is that she doesn't have enough Magnus available to her throughout the game compared to Lyude. She is the trophy character and therefore, game designers make her equipment a challenge to acquire. All things being equal between her and Lyude, I save time not switching my characters too often and by not training an additional character while wasting Lyude's development. Up, up, up I go until I reach the monster that’s holding Mayfee. That battle doesn't go that great so nothing special to report. I could have shaved off some time here for sure. It is also possible to have the enemy drop a FLAMETONGUE, which is a bad-ass fire sword for Kalas, but I didn't get it. After the not so hot battle, I climb up to save at the red flower. This segment didn't look great, but it was annoying having to deal with that lobster near my save flower. I decided that the fight went well enough to keep so I could just move on.

Segment 27 was a pain in the ass and long. It consists of two boss battles back to back, the TREE GAURDIAN and SAVYNA. From the red save flower, I first notice an editing mistake. When you do 96 segments with over 10 hours of footage, this can happen. Holding on to this many videos for so long was taxing on my hard drive. I do the standard menu navigating and escape a forced battle with a lobster. At the top of the tree, I start the battles. Gibari is sitting this fight out because he is water based. My enemy can paralyze me and can heal himself, which he did in other attempts on several occasions. The tentacles can heal and do so for 500 HP. At first, I was resetting every time I was paralyzed or the guardian healed himself, but I quickly learned that was just about every battle. I start things off with a beautiful unblocked full house for 537 damage! I should have gone 2,3,4 with Xelha instead of 2,4,3 but either way I would have had to finish with SPARKLE OF LIFE, 225. The tentacle attacks next and paralyzes Kalas. Usually, I will reset if this happens, but sometimes Kalas will snap out of it before his upcoming turn. I do maximum damage with Lyude, 117. Another time-saving factor is this, the central orb can attack up to five times. It is so hard for everything to go right that you have to take some of the bad with the good. Kalas is skipped and Xelha hits for a measly 95. This is about the time the tree heals itself and probably would have had I done more damage. On Lyude's next turn, I use the enhanced dark elements to deliver 264 damage. After a four hit combo from the central orb Kalas is back to hit for 490. The tree is weak in darkness 20% so this attack does very well. A combo from Xelha 74 and Lyude 93. Kalas does his best for 325. Xelha proves her worth for a nice four card straight with fire for 383. Finally, 232 from Lyude seals the deal. Total damage done 2835. All things considered, it was not a bad performance. After all of that I accuse Savyna of being a traitor and try to jump her bones. She has no weaknesses and has 3300 health. Kalas opens with a strong hand showing three finishers and pulls off a full house for 486. Xelha burns off five cards hoping for something better later, 130. Savyna then attacks and attacks fast, but I still block all attacks and use my SMALL SHORTCAKE. Savyna can attack up to six times so only being attacked twice is exceptional. I do the right thing with Lyude and not use opposing elements, 137. Kalas has lots of options, none that are amazing, but he uses a finisher at least, 235. Xelha, three-card straight, 164. Another two-hit defense and another SMALL SHORTCAKE. Lyude is practically card-blocked but manages 212. I hesitate with Kalas but it worked out for 259. Xelha drowns Savyna or 188. Kalas gets hit six times, but this allows me to set up him up next turn. Lyude is forced to heal. Kalas spanks Savyna for 635, one of my most damaging combos to date and a segment saver. Xelha plays it smart, and I'm starting to sense the end is near and feel the pressure, 176. Savyna uses her EMERGENCY CAPSULE to heal 330. Lyude pulls a full house from his ass, very lucky 358. Kalas finds two pairs, 257. A very attractive full house from Xelha, 233. Lyude then is forced to heal again to use up cards. Kalas has an opportunity for a five card straight but blows it, an easy 6,5,4,3,and 2. I was pissed when I overlooked it but was miraculously bailed out by the spirit finisher LINGERING TIME. I would have started over if Savyna didn't die on this attack knowing I fudged a nice combo. I got lucky, 501. As it turns out, I did 3641 damage anyway and 160 would have been enough to kill her. Segment over after save. This was a tough one that I now feel I did quite well on. The Savyna fight went decent considering there are no elemental bonuses, and I made a lot of combinations. I spent more time on this segment than the 2nd Giacomo trio battle.

Segment 28 is mostly dialogue. When I first return to Anuenue, I visit the shop to buy another LIGHT FLARE Lv. 2. I also do another series of leveling up at the church. I always feel like this is a waste of time but Kalas needs his health replenished and so while I am there I heal everyone who will be fighting soon. It works but does consume valuable time.

When I visit the queen, she passes out. My party then rests in a room to plan their next move. After a conversation or two I find the queen in her chamber. The decision is made to move towards MIRA. On the ship, I have to talk to everyone to advance the story. I fall under attack to Giacomo. Then, I have to talk to everyone again. Lastly, before I save I meet THE GREAT MIZUTI, who is going to help me leave this tainted place.

Segment 29 has me traveling in a portal to another dimension. To get out, I need to follow Mizuti while shooting down enemies using my ship in a mini-game. Waves of enemies come at me, and if I kill all of them a Magnus will appear for me to collect. If I don't kill an entire round of enemies, then I have to fight them in battle. There are 12 waves of enemies, and I get every Magnus except the last one which is useless to me because it's a SECRET RECIPE 4.

After the mini-game, I face the boss GNOSIS. He is immune to dark 100% and all other elements 50%. For this reason, I stick with Savyna because she has a lot of "natural" Magnus. The same is true for Lyude and Kalas. The fight goes very well. Gnosis has 3600 HP, and I end up chewing on him for 3716. The battle was like a training simulation. He has the technique DARK FORCE, which paralyzes me and was giving me problems. For this fight, he never used it and did the minimum three-hit combo for every round. He didn't block me once! I couldn't believe it. Even considering his elemental strengths, I smashed his face in. Next up is MIRA.

Segment 30 is short and sweet. After reaching the continent of MIRA, I touch down in PARNASSE. It's basically candy land, and the first sign that the game developers were smoking weed when they made this game. After some dialogue with the residents, I visit the shop to purchase a couple of things, the MOONLIGHT CREEL and some BACON. The creel is useful later because it has a 100% immunity to paralysis. After the shop, I hit the church to class up Kalas, which is always worth it. I also level up everyone else I need to, which uses up the clock but is helpful. After the church, I find Kalas's sister, or half sister, or something. She gives me an errand to run in exchange for information. While I'm doing this, I find some FRESH BEEF, and CHRONOS ARMOR. I complete my errand for TRILL and she informs me about a shining Magnus in a garden nearby. I had better get to it.

For segment 31, I investigate MIRA, more specifically DETOURNE, THE MYSTICAL GARDEN. From the first screen, I hop to the right and speak with the gardener who reveals to me the identity of The Golden Hero, triggering him to appear. I speak with the Hero to acquire JET BOOTS, which make me run really fast, but only in the maze. I keep speaking with him until he gives me the WHITE SWORD, which does nothing. I only do this, so I can advance to his next gift, the RED NECKLACE. This allows me to run through the flames up ahead and saves me some time in the maze.

There are three blobs in the maze section, and I need to kill all of them. The battles contain 1-3 enemies. I would have accepted battles of one, one, and two enemies to continue, but I got lucky with only one enemy in each battle. The odds of that are roughly 3.5%.

In the first battle Kalas goes off. He has a few open slots in his deck, but it hardly matters as you can see. Savyna finishes the job. I take the stairs at the middle-top which leads me to the second blob. I make some interesting choices with Kalas by fudging up a straight and then skipping a spirit finisher, but I get the kill anyway. I backtrack and find the third blob, defeating him in the same fashion. We then hear the chime that indicates the golden treasure has appeared at the lower left.

Next, I proceed through the stairs in the middle of the maze into a room with a set of scales. I make the blue pan heavier, and it flips the entire level upside down. It's hard to explain without going into too much detail. Now by taking the bottom stairs it leads me to the golden treasure which is the essence of the GOLDEN PICK AXE. Thank god I have this, so I can finish this horrible level. It may look simple, but it took some time to figure out the right path and get past the blobs. I then take the top stairs again. Notice the chain and key. I break the chain so that when I flip the level again, it will drop down, and I can grab the key. Now I save because it's the only time I can save before I fight the next boss and I'm not chancing it.

I am finally done with one-third of my commentary with segment 32. I'm still in the garden. I flip the level using the scales, break the three barriers with my pickaxe, and use my key to leave the area. Time to face MAGNUS GIGANTICUS. He has 4000 HP and is weak to nothing. He is strong against all of my elements 50%. This boss is very similar to the one I just faced because they both have such hefty elemental immunities. That's why I like Savyna for both battles. Kalas opens with a standard three pair, 580. It's nice to be playing with a full deck using the cards I added at the beginning of this segment. Savyna helps out with a four-of-a-kind, 243. Now, the boss attacks with the wimpiest attack in the entire game. He basically bitch slaps Savyna for one hit and 100 damage. Magnus Giganticus can paralyze me and has other lengthy attacks so when I saw this I was thrilled. I work some magic with Lyude for a perfect attack totaling 417. Kalas has lots of options, as usual, but goes for the three pair and damage of 500. A nice straight from Savyna, 355. My enemy attacks. I get a photo with Lyude, 119. Kalas repeats with another three pair, 449. Savyna has many ways to make her straight, 297. Lyude is given a headache but deals 320 damage. Another three pair from Kalas, 433. Another Savyna straight, 274. My enemy sneezes on me. Then Lyude manages only a four card straight of 252 but kills the bastard anyway. Lyude needed only 13 HPs of damage, so I'm glad my enemy's previous attack was short. After some talking, I pick up the SHADOW MAGNUS and then leave the area, where I save, happy to be done with this segment.

I'm going to make segment 33 simple. After killing MAGNUS GIGANTICUS, I go back to PARNASSE. I find out that Lady Melodia has been kidnapped, and I'm a suspect. I am detained in a house made of candy until I discover I can eat my way out. It's pretty stupid, but effective. My next stop is REVERENCE, THE PICTURE BOOK VILLAGE. On the way there I have to pit stop at the garden in order to grab some MIRAGE WEED. I reach the village and begin performing my usual tasks. I level up at the church boosting Gibari seven levels and classing him up one. I also buy a LIGHT FLARE Lv. 3 at the shop, a very good purchase. Afterwards, I speak with some random villager and give him the MIRAGE WEED essence. The resulting series of events opens a passage to a fortune telling witch that guides me to NEKTON, THE SHRINE OF SPIRITS.

Segment 34 is just me fighting a single battle in order to earn a BRILLIANT HORN for Lyude. This Magnus really packs a punch, and I think it was worth it.

Segment 35 is just me fighting a single battle in order to earn a LIGHT FLARE Lv. 3 for Xelha. Light attacks are a must get.

Segment 36 covers my trip through NEKTON. It goes fast, and I do some fancy dodging. I pick up a WIND GOD BLADE, CORONA BOREALIS constellation, and the level five finisher for Kalas, WATER BLADE. I save at the red flower and get ready for yet another boss fight. This one doesn't take very long.

For segment 37, I organize my characters. I won't be using Savyna anymore so I took her best items off. I made sure to bring Gibari into the battle because the next boss is very weak with wind. I also equipped the MOONLIGHT CREEL and EMERALD EARRINGS to protect against paralysis. I then save. I may come under fire for having too many segments, but I don't think it's that terrible. It doesn't take long to save and what I've done for the last four segments isn't easy to combine into one or even two. I would only be saving a few seconds.

Segment 38 is a perfect segment. It's the boss fight with SIKRI. It gets started after some intense dialogue with GIACOMO, AYME, and FOLON. I am trying to rescue Lady Melodia from them, and I get interrupted by the spirit of Nekton, SIKRI.

SIKRI, is another worm creature that has 3000 HP, is weak to darkness 80%, wind 50%, and is strong against light and chronos. I don't know why the health total of SIKRI is so low and why the bosses are getting easier, but this battle was a cinch. Sikri can paralyze me and has a DRAIN attack that sucks the life out of me. None of this matters though as you are about to see.

Because this fight was so close to a save point, I have a great start. Kalas has a wicked attack of 1170. This was my first attack over 1000. We are starting to see a shift into the mid game where my characters have finally filled in. When Lyude's hand pops up, I start to get excited. It looks like there's a straight in there somewhere, right? Across the board I go just hoping for a (5), which I do get, and then strike for 346. Sikri attacks me with HOLY SYMBOL. I don't remember what this does, but it doesn't amount to much. Gibari performs a nice full house, 455. Kalas brings a set-pair for 535. Lyude follows with an impressive full house dealing 528 damage. So much for Sikri and his weakness to darkness because I just killed him. That's right, five hits and dead. He only attacked me once, and it took less than two minutes to finish him off. After the dust had settled, I remembered that I was pissed because I didn't get a picture with Lyude's last attack. It occurred to me that it wasn't the perfect fight. I was thrilled though when I realized that the total damage dealt was 3034 HP. If I had taken that picture, Lyude would not have killed the beast, and I would have waited for another enemy attack. As it stands, I ripped Sikri a new one.

After the fight, I realize I lost the SHADOW MAGNUS. I think there's a traitor in my midst. It's the equivalent of losing a child. I save my game feeling very foolish.

Next up for segment 39 is BALANCOIRE, BOROUGH OF ILLUSION. I head into the village, talk to all the right people, see Lady Melodia arrive, and then head up to Duke Calbren's Manor. Once I am in the Duke's main hall I am reunited with Mizuti. It will be nice to have her back and finally in my party, so I can strip off all of her Magnus. Mizuti can potentially hold a Magnus with a spirit number of (9). It is a voice card. Usually cards that are picked up will have two different variations of spirit numbers, so if you don't get the number you want, like a (9), you reset and try again. After the conversation with Mizuti, Giacomo appears and then teleports away. He is after an end Magnus, and I must follow him. Downstairs I go, and after Mizuti joins my party officially I climb down into COCCOLITH, LABYRINTH OF MIRRORS. This area is confusing as you can see. There are three levels, and each offers some different spin on reflections to make life tricky. The first two levels go quickly, and I find the red save flower as fast as I can on the third. Not a bad segment.

Segment 40 includes the boss fight with PHANTASM. All the guides I read say that Phantasm has 3000 HP, is weak against dark 80%, and wind 50%. It should be no problem for my fighters to deal massive amounts of damage and is why I choose Gibari, Kalas, and Lyude. After some posturing with Giacomo, Phantasm appears. Kalas starts things out with a nice full house, 482. You can begin to see my cards getting a little better and my options opening up. Lyude attacks next and foregoes a straight opportunity for another full house, 245. Now it's Phantasm's turn, and he has some decent attacks. Both LIGHTNING and EYES OF TERROR take up a large chunk of time. A four card straight for Gibari nets him 405. I goofed with Kalas a bit but still manage 426. Phantasm is about half dead already. Oh, snap...the pure power of Lyude hammers out 797 with a sexy five card straight with darkness figured in. Gibari drowns his opponent with 327. Kalas goes next, and I have a tough call. I should have used the BANANAS and made a straight. I didn't, but my attack was interrupted by Phantasm anyway. He played a defense aura card and broke my attack. I did this battle several times and in nearly every instance this happened at least once. I had to live with it even though it stopped my random spirit finisher, 420. That huge attack of Lyude kept me in this segment. Lyude now pulls out another standard full house with DIMINUENDO finisher, 428. I wisely limit Gibari to only a two card straight because his hand sucked and Phantasm is almost dead, 241. Kalas goes for 338. Lyude had an awesome attack going similar to his 797. It was a full house with dark attacks, but it was interrupted by Phantasm. I was very pissed off and was praying that it was the death blow. It was, lucky me, 294. For whatever the reason all the guides I saw said Phantasm's health was 3000. Well, they must have been copying each other because I dealt out 4403. All I can say for sure is that his HP is over 4000, which makes sense with the pace of the game. After the fight, I take my Shadow Magnus essence and join it with Phantasm's essence. This creates a complete End Magnus which is promptly stolen by Giacomo. The next scene is back at the Manor where my party gripes and discusses their options. We see some really sentimental dialogue as the game is now half way over. I finally escape this lost dimension and head over to ALFARD EMPIRE. Switch discs now.

There isn't too much to say about segment 41. I touch down in ALFARD. I run into the town and watch a few cut scenes and participate in story development. I pick up some cool items like a VIKING HELMET and buy a LIGHT YELL Lv. 1. I eventually make it to Lyude's house where I am confronted by his brother and sister. Even though troops surround the house I manage to escape. I have to run back to the blue save flower and that requires some clever enemy avoidance, which in one instance is very difficult. Reaching the flower, I level up my characters and prepare for the fight on the Goldoba.

Segment 42 is simply the segment that puts me on the Goldoba. It involves only one battle, but it's a tough one to get right. I go up against three IMPERIAL WALKERS. It's easy for me to repeat this fight, so I eventually get what I want. Kalas manages a kill in one attack. I elect to perform only a two pair with Lyude and finish the job with Gibari. Kalas finishes the battle in style with his choice of either DEMONS OF DARKNESS or WATER BLADE. Now I'm able to save on the battleship. The fight against the Giacomo trio is fast approaching, and I'm very curious to see how well I do.

Segment 43 is just me grabbing some more items to prepare for my next fight. Some of the items I grab include a GRACE SHIELD, ROBE OF FIRELIGHT, CETAKA'S SWORD, and VIKING HELMET. I probably could have passed on the GRACE SHIELD. Again, I wasn't sure how tough the end was going to be, so I thought I'd spend a few seconds here and there to make sure I had the goods. After the item collection, I save it up. It's worth mentioning at this point that if I am unable to defeat the trio of goons, there is no way to get off this ship, and I'll have to start a few saves back. Even worse, I don't know that the fight will go well at all and may end my speed run. I have hope.

Segment 44 was awesome. I finally could remove all of Mizuti's Magnus and disperse them accordingly. I give Xelha almost everything and made her a master of light attacks. I give Gibari the meat attacks and the two VIKING HELMETS. The helmets suited Gibari well and were very effective for the entire game. He needed some Magnus with more than one spirit number to help out. The goal is to separate the Magnus evenly to each player. I thought about who would receive what for practically hours knowing that they'd have it for the rest of the game. I was trying to balance the elements to each player while giving the best chances for straight opportunities. It always seemed that I had just enough Magnus to make things work throughout the whole game. I choose the party of Kalas, Xelha, and Gibari for the battle against the trio. The trio is weak to light and water so it's a no-brainer who to fight with. I have had some criticism for having too many segments and for some being this short. I was thrilled to keep this segment under a minute which contains my biggest Magnus dump from Mizuti. It may have only lasted sixty seconds, but this segment took hours to accomplish. Save.

Segment 45 is a classic. Expecting a hard fight against realistically tough opponents, I dominate them. After passing up the IMPERIAL WALKER, I reach a domed area where the battle commences. Here is the breakdown copy and paste style:

Giacomo - HP: 3800 - Weak: Water (+50%) Light (+30%)

Ayme - HP: 2400 - Weak: Chrono (+50%) Light, Fire (+30%)

Folon - HP: 2700 - Weak: Light (+50%) Water (+30%)

The biggest problem is deciding who to attack first. There are two schools of thought that involve every RPG every made. Should I attack the weakest enemy and get him out of the way or go after the toughest enemy to secure the battle early? I'll get damaged substantially if I remove the weakest enemy first, but will face fewer attacks and recover somewhat easier later on. If I go after the strongest enemy, I limit the amount of damage I take early but suffer many peppering attacks throughout the whole battle. Either way it ends up being the same, pretty much. In this battle, Folon is a real threat. Ayme is a weak player but uses up a lot of time with her attacks, and Giacomo is both. Giacomo has two attacks that total about 400 damage but its split against two of my players. I decide to go against Folon first. Ayme's bullshit combos allow me to prepare my next attack by discarding lame Magnus. She can attack up to seven times in total so an attack of five isn't that bad. All I am looking for on my first attack is a big straight from Kalas. I didn't get it and was pissed. Usually, I'll reset, but I stuck with this one, 512. Next up is Xelha, just pause and look at the beautiful hand she is holding. I think Mizuti's cards are going to help as the options are improving. She throws down a five card straight for 664. Gibari chips in with a five card straight with photo and finisher for 538. I know Folon is almost dead, and I am just waiting for Kalas's next turn after Ayme plays. I torch Folon's ass for 1006 with a six card straight. I am liking what I see. I next decide to go after Giacomo because he's a bitch. Xelha hits him with a full house of all light attacks for 507. I get extremely lucky with Gibari's next attack and pull a straight out of my ass for 510. Kalas fights hard after Ayme's combo and delivers a six card straight for 848. I end up healing with Xelha because it's my only play, lame. Gibari helps out with some real damage using a full house to great effect, 540. With Kalas up next I can sense Giacomo's imminent death, and I'm getting anxious about finishing this fight on good terms. I easily see the straight and deal out 733, but Giacomo still stands. I wisely start my next straight on (2) which is psychologically tough to do, for major damage from Xelha, 667. This battle is all but over. All that remains is Ayme. Gibari goes first and craps out, 122. EXPLOSIVE PADDLE sucks. Kalas's last turn before the shuffle isn't horrible, 350. Same with Xelha, 370. Gibari doesn't do anything on his turn either. Arg! I want to get this over with! After two deck shuffles, Gibari goes for 313. Kalas gets attacked and then fights back, 622. Three of a kind from Xelha, 188. A miss from Gibari. You sort of have to expect this running out of good Magnus but come on! Xelha is attacked next and luckily stops the assault with her FIRE AURA Lv. 1, if not she'd probably die. Kalas finally pieces together a nice combo with his fresh deck and finishes the job, 854. I am glad that's over but one problem remains. I need to make sure I get passed that douche bag IMPERIAL WALKER roaming around the save point. I have to wait for him, but I time it right and successfully save feeling really good.

Segment 46 is mainly story development and gets me in good position to make the next segment easier. After driving a tank of the Goldoba and crash landing it into the desert sand, I now find myself in the village of AZHA. This is when Savyna spills the beans, and reports that she is "Lady Death." Before I'm off to go find Geldoblame, who soon will have all five End Magnus's, I procure some items. I hit the shop to grab a DEATH PENDULUM, WHITE SCEPTER, AQUA BURST Lv. 4, and an APPLE. I still thought I needed healing items, but really I didn't. Everything else is an awesome pick-up. You'll notice that I sold JILL'S JEWELRY BOX. This may have been a mistake because it turns into an "escape" type Magnus that would have come in handy later. The only problem is that it takes about five hours for it to transform, and I just got it. I could have used it for the final battles in Cor Hydrae for sure. I then hit the caves of Azha for some more stories and to grab a constellation Magnus LEPUS. I go as far up in the caves as I can until I reach an area where I am turned away at the entrance. When I leave, I see more Savyna history. Having returned to the main part of the village and feeling completely sorry for myself, I meander into another cave and run into a mechanic. He shows me around and is going to get that door open for me. After speaking with him, I find the constellation Magnus SERPENS and chronos finisher for Kalas, DREAM BLADE. I go into the next area through the door and capture some LAVA Magnus essence. This is so after 30 minutes it cools into a hot rock, and I can get the PLATINUM BUCKLE. I also get a SHADOW THRUSTER for Kalas. I'm beginning to find some much-cooler and much-needed weapons. I eventually reach a lava flow and have to return to the mechanic for help. He explains I need to get some special ice from the lava caves. Because the ice is guarded by enemies, I choose to backtrack just a little in order to save in an advantageous location. Believe me fighting enemies after 13 minutes of dialogue is not something you want to do repeatedly. This time when I leveled up, I really needed it after the fight with Giacomo and the gang.

Segment 47 is a snap. All I need to do is get to the red save flower outside of where Geldoblame is hiding. I first need to acquire some FLAME ICE to harden the lava flows. I engage the enemy in front of the ice and escape quickly. I grab the ice and run around the same enemy. I revisit the mechanic, get two portions of SPARKLING SNOW, and head back to the lava flows. Once through, I have to be really careful of the enemies here as they are hard to avoid. I also grab the GOLD EARRINGS and Gibari's class up, CATFISH WHISKERS. I then save. I am a little anxious to do the next segment because I had an amazing idea that I haven't yet tested. Geldoblame always uses a spell called FORFEIT YOUR LIFE on his first attack, which completely kills my character. Other than that he is pretty easy. My plan was to use a defense aura and nullify his attack before he could kill me. It should be pretty easy to do, and if it works I will dominate the fight. I haven't tried it yet, but you will soon see that it works rather well. I learned another cool fact in this fight as well, stay tuned.

Segment 48 is the battle with GELDOBLAME. I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. This is sort of the beginning of the beginning of the end of the game. Finally, a real boss to kill off from the story. Geldoblame is no slouch, but I have an easy way to kill him. Geldoblame has 5500 health is weak to light 80%, water 20%, and wind 30%. Kalas, Xelha, and Gibari seem like the obvious choices. To make this fight easier I need to stop Geldoblame's first attack, FORFEIT YOUR LIFE. All I need to do is use a defense aura to stop it. As you can see that's exactly what I did. After that I have a huge open target that offers no real threats. Not only does Geldoblame use forfeit your life on his first turn, but he always attacks whoever is holding a SACRED WINE Magnus. He usually goes after the character that holds the best healing item. This made things much easier for me. Let the fight begin. What an ugly pile Geldoblame is, right? Kalas opens with 588 on a three pair combo. Then Xelha follows suit with some real damage on a three pair, 718, showing Kalas how it's done. Now here comes Geldoblame's attack. The defense aura can be no sooner than the third card and the card previous has to be the same color or element. It was perfect. First, the SMALL SHORTCAKE attack boost and then a fire based defensive item followed by the aura. Worked like a charm. I was so happy and even happier when Gibari turned a junk hand into a nice full house with an effective use of EXPLOSIVE PADDLE, 565. For Kalas's next turn, you can see how I just couldn't put anything together until HELLFIRE appeared. I had some elements cancel each other out, but as Kalas would say, "Who cares!" 592. Xelha's turn again and with the help of a POWER HELMET, she rattles out a five card straight for 653. Damn I am kicking Geldoblame's ass. Gibari went next and sadly had to use a SLAPJACK. Geldoblame heals himself for a whopping 110 and then goes after Kalas allowing me to set Kalas up. Xelha is up and again, lands a three pair of beautiful chronos attacks and finishes with SPARKLE OF LIFE, very pretty, 610. I practically shit in my pants for Kalas's attack. I knew it was going to be good, and I almost screwed it up getting confused on the (4), but it worked out. I had two powerful light attacks and water finisher for my biggest attack to date of 1758. This was literally the largest number I had ever produced in the game by far and made me realize that I could go through these bosses in just a few attacks if I was lucky enough. Geldoblame did get one more attack off that I stopped short with my AQUA AURA Lv. 1. Gibari goes next and delivers a less than amazing attack of 384, which is all that I needed. What a flawless fight. This was the most memorable of all my boss fights except for the final two, which were both epic as well. A lot will happen in the upcoming scenes that are definitely worth watching, with character voices activated if possible. Most noticeably I lose Kalas for a while, and the rest of my party is separated. Thus begins my journey to get everyone together again and go up against DARK KALAS which some feel is the toughest boss in the game. Xelha has now taken command of Kalas's spirit and must escape the fortress she's in. To get out, she has to visit all the prison cells. Along the way, she acquires a FIRE BURST Lv. 4. She eventually makes her way clear with the help of some friends who fly her back to Anuenue.

Segment 49 starts my quest to get my party back. There are four members I must rescue other than Kalas and a boss fight for each one. That means I face four different bosses, right? I can rescue my party in any order I choose by going to their specific location. It makes sense to get the strongest character back first but there is one other thing. The four bosses get progressively difficult. It doesn't matter which location you go to in the beginning you will always fight the bosses in the same order. From a speed running point of view, it's helpful to do the toughest stages first, and then fight an easy boss to make the segment easier. Unfortunately, Savyna's quest in Anuenue is by far the most inconvenient, but I have no use for her as a fighter, and save her for last. You'll see what I mean. Anyway, I decide to get Gibari's dumb ass. I have got to head back to Diadem and get some CLOUD essence. Each of the four boss fights is in the INTERDIMENSIONAL PORTAL that requires a specific Magnus essence to unlock. There is a riddle for each one and in Gibari's case, the answer is CLOUD essence. Of course, I know this ahead of time. It's difficult to get though, and I have to travel a lot to get back to the Wind Shrine where the battle takes place. This was probably a good level to get out of the way. Once Xelha is in a different dimension you get to see how this works. There is a riddle and after I unlock the door to see the appropriate party member imprisoned, I must fight the boss. To start, it's one against one. It is also quite easy. NAIAD is the first boss. He only has 1400 HP and is weak to light 50% and water 30%. He is a fire based enemy, you can tell by his red color, so naturally water hurts him. My goal is to finish quick and also get a picture because the photos net a lot of money. Xelha has the first attack, and it's a good one comprised of mainly light attacks for 823. For Xelha's second attack, a full house does the trick for 698 and ends the battle. That was pretty simple, right? Well yes, but it took a long time to get perfect. Save.

Segment 50 is short. All that I have to do is go get Lyude. He is located in the Village of Azha, more specifically in the lava caves. It's really easy to get to him, but I need to stop at a church along the way. Gibari has a class up I should turn in. I make the trek over to the caves and save at the red flower right before the second inter dimensional battle.

This is segment 51 and the fight against THALASSA. He has 2300 HP and is weakest to light 50% and fire 30%. He is the spitting image of the last boss I fought but is water based and colored blue. Since I rescued Gibari in the last engagement I am now fighting with two players. This time I need the essence of lava to unlock the gate. I have to be careful and select the newest lava essence because I still have one that is trying to cool down. THALASSA is the second of the four inter-dimensional bosses and offers no challenge because the fight takes place right next to a save flower.

I was pretty lucky in this fight because several times I backed into a nice combo. Xelha's first attack is a three pair with light attacks a plenty and an excellent time to use DANCING FLAMES for 924. Thalassa's attack is very weak and doesn't affect me at all. Gibari mimics Xelha for 593. Another three pair for Xelha with photo included for 716. I defend nicely with my AQUA AURA Lv. 1 and then finish strong with a Gibari full house, 617. I narrowly miss a victory after my attack of 716, which brought the damage total to 2233. It was still a good fight, why can't they all be this easy?

After the fight, I sneak into the caves of Azha and use my hot rock to get the PLATINUM BUCKLE. I also pick up another CETAKA'S SWORD. It was worth the trip IMO. I actually had to go to the church before getting the buckle because I needed to burn more time and allow the lava essence to cool into the hot rock. It takes thirty minutes to transform and I had it dialed into the second.

Segment 52 was all preparations. After successfully rescuing Lyude, I am now going after Mizuti in Balancoire. While leaving The Golden City, I visit the shop to pick up another LIGHT YELL Lv. 1 and I also buy two uncooked rice. I thought I might need to make a powerful healing Magnus and got them just in case. I fly back to MIRA. I revisit the garden to get the necessary MIRAGE WEED to unlock the next dimensional gate. I save in the town.

Segment 53 is the fight with the third toughest guardian, DESPINA. He's not so tough and is weak to light 50% and wind 30%. He is infused with chronos and is therefore, green. He stands strong at 3700 HP. I made quick work of this battle and turned in a good time. I just had to go through the motions because with three characters now in my party this should be a snap. Xelha gets things started with another three pair for 775, a common combo. I sure do like the amount of light attacks Xelha has, and I'm glad I am overloading her with them. My opponent follows with a decent attack. Gibari responds with a six card straight for 1094, absolutely gorgeous. Lyude does his best with a full house, 331. A nice mini-combo from Xelha with some wind damage for 644. My opponent attacks Lyude again but can't even make a dent. Gibari attacks with a three pair and the always cool DRAGON UPPERCUT, 605. On my last attack, I somehow resist the urge to waste time with extra attacks and stick to only a two pair with Lyude, 259. I was lucky to kill Despina here, and I got the picture of him to boot. When an attack of 259 is the death blow then you know things are working. I grab Mizuti and quickly save, not too shabby.

Segment 54 was a lot of fun for me. Finally, I could make good on all the constellation Magnus I have collected. You see, for every constellation I pick up; I am rewarded with a different Magnus in return. All I have to do is visit the church and talk to the priest in command of the star map. You can exchange Magnus one at a time but in the interest of saving time I wanted to have twenty before I went to speak with him. There are 50 constellation Magnus total and after the 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, and 50th constellation you bring in, you are rewarded with an additional Magnus. Twenty is the magic number because when you turn them in you will receive a GOLDEN ANKLET for Xelha, which is resistant to paralysis 90%. It is a critical weapon against Dark Kalas and some of the other foes I encounter later. Enemies are smart enough to attack characters consistently with status effects if they don't possess the right equipment to defend. If all three members of my party aren't able to defend paralysis, I'm in trouble. Not only that, but collecting the additional twenty two Magnus after turning in my constellations does offer some very nice cards to my deck. I added an AQUA BURST Lv. 2, FIRE BURST Lv. 2, VOICE 3, BOMB, BRILLIANT HORN, GLADIUS, VOICE 5, LIGHT FLARE Lv. 4, DARK FLARE Lv. 4, and A GOOD FORTUNE to name a few. All of these will make nice additions, and I can't wait to add them in order to take out the final inter-dimensional boss. I saved some time bringing exactly 20 as well because it prevents me from having to view the star map again only to fill one or two more constellations. I had to do this a couple of times because I wanted to get a spirit number of (9) for my VOICE 5. There are two possible spirit number combinations for most cards and the higher-level cards usually carry a (9). I kept retrying until I got the (9) that I wanted. I use this technique as often as possible with CAMERA 3s, for example. Anyway, I save since I am right on a flower and prepare to get Savyna.

Segment 55 covers my journey to the red save flower on the Celestial Tree back in Anuenue. I immediately make adjustments to my deck. I fly back to Anuenue and climb the Celestial Tree. I find the red save flower and make a save. This next segment isn't any fun.

Segment 56 is the battle against GALATEA. First, I have to get by an annoying forced enemy encounter. I wish I could have done this segment earlier and faced off against the first boss NAIAD; it would have been much easier. Galatea has a lot of life, 5600 and is weak to light 50% and chronos 30%. This makes him the wind elemental and light blue. Galatea is really just a tank, and I need to chip him down to size. In order to unlock the door, I need the essence of a CELESTIAL SEED. I already have one that I acquired from the royal chambers a few in-game hours ago. I use the seed to great effect.

I start off with Xelha and attack with a set-pair for 754 and get a picture worth some serious cash. Galatea then attacks and actually does some real damage but nothing fatal. Gibari utilizes a three-pair combo hampered by his wind attribute for 650. Lyude earns a little respect with a full house, 645. You may have noticed that I passed on SPARKLE OF LIFE on Xelha's first turn. On her next attack, I use it in a six card straight for 1110, not bad for a girl. I am attacked again and have some options but use the FIRE AURA Lv. 1 to stop Galatea in his tracks. Gibari is very card-blocked and performs a weak full house, 344. Lyude gets off a nice full house with finisher but a lot is blocked for 328. Xelha's next attack is a three-pair using light and chronos attacks along with SOUL FLASH, 761. Galatea goes next and demonstrates why he can be a pain in the ass. I almost forgot that he can paralyze me. He paralyzes Gibari, which actually does me a favor. My opponent is weak in the knees and Lyude hits with scraps for 239. Hopefully, Xelha can deliver the death blow, so I can avoid another attack. Amazingly, I find the right play using all of my time to score a six card straight with finisher. Some of my elements do conflict but this should be enough damage to declare victory, 1196. Damn...Xelha is on fire.

Total damage was 6027. For this battle, Xelha did 3821 HP of damage, was responsible for 3394, or 61% of the damage against Galatea, and averaged 955 per attack. Eat your heart out pink power ranger.

Segment 57. Finally, I have my entire party back, and I'm ready to move forward. Where should I go? Luckily, I am already where I need to be, in Anuenue. I stop by the shop to purchase a LIGHT FLARE Lv. 2 and MARVELOUS SWORD. I then make my way to Queen Corellia. Nobody knows where to go next until Mizuti mentions THE ICE LANDS. Off we go.

Segment 58 was the most annoying part of the game. The trek through THE ICE CLIFFS OF GOMEISA was extremely difficult and designed to be slow. Here is a list of the problems: 1. It was a long segment that started a distance away from a save point, which wore me down over time. 2. The wind slows you down considerably. 3. The wind changes direction. 4. The glowing orbs that need to be touched to unlock the path are all found at dead-end paths that require backtracking increasing enemy encounter rates. 5. Enemies are fast and tough. 6. This segment is long, over ten minutes. 7. It's hard to see. For all of these reasons the Ice Lands were a pain in the neck.

Immediately, after landing I obtain a constellation Magnus LEO. I walk a few steps north and trigger a mysterious voice claiming that I am an intruder. In the next screen, we see a white ball of mist that I must touch to remove a barrier blocking access to the nearest city. There are four of these seals total. As long as the wind blows in the correct direction the first enemy can be avoided fairly easily. The second seal can be found at the end of a cliff above the first seal. Two enemies appear to block the path this time. It is only possible to avoid them if the wind blows you toward the seal, which makes you run really fast, and blows you away from the seal, passed both enemies. You have to be very lucky for this to happen, and if it doesn't you have to fight. I couldn't escape the fight but the battle made me invulnerable to detection, so I could quickly run past the second enemy. This eventually led me to the third screen where I ended up fighting an ARACHNID which I promptly took out in one attack. Traveling north is the third seal, which is easy enough to get. I waited for a good amount of time before I ran past the spider. If I didn't get passed, I would have reset for sure. I eventually grab the last seal from the far right and then travel northwest after the cut scene. The wind blew me to the location of the essence of SPARKLING SNOW. I need this in order to advance, and I do not want to come back here. I have to hurry though because the sparkling snow will revert back to normal snow in twenty minutes. I get quite lucky on the last section avoiding the FLOOMERs and put this level to rest. This definitely tested my patience. There's room to improve on the time here, but this was my best effort. Two enemy encounters weren't bad, facing a single enemy both times was even better.

At the end of this level Xelha cast a spell that creates a bridge to the castle. It also clears the air revealing the beautiful scenery. This takes me right into the city of CURSA, and KAFFALJIDHMA, CASTLE OF ICE. In the castle, I speak with BARNETTE to learn that Xelha is in fact, royalty. The scene then cuts to Xelha's room where I learn that I need to go to THE LAKE OF THE DRAGON.

Segment 59 is where I make my leap into the later stages of the game. I must undergo some preparation because the first version of Malpercio is right around the corner. Before I visit THE LAKE OF THE DRAGON, I scavenge the area for what I think are necessary Magnus. I gather a LARGE SHORTCAKE, EEL, GREEN TEA, and a PHOENIX HELM. I need to do two things to be allowed to continue to the next section. I have to visit the dragon room, which I do first, and then walk into the heart of the city CURSA, the city I'm currently in. That's it. I then go ahead and save because the next section is sort of technical.

I can't believe I am finally at segment 60. Next time I will just do an audio commentary and leave out the exciting details. Segment 60 sends me to THE LAKE OF THE DRAGON to pick up the OCEAN MIRROR. There is actually no dragon, and it's a very short level. There is no fighting only a mini-game of sorts that involves Xelha. It is rather fun but from a speed running standpoint, it can take some time to get right. I was happy with the results.

I run directly up from the save flower, talk to Barnette, and get transported to the lake, which is actually a cave. The mini-game immediately starts and this is how it works. I have to choose from the face down cards the one that matches my opponents. If I make a mistake, I take damage, and every time I select a match my opponent takes damage. Choosing from seven cards to make a match may seem difficult but luckily there is also a CHANCE card that I can select. This card allows me to choose between only two cards giving me a 50/50 chance of getting it right. There is also a CAMERA to take a photo.

I get the first two cards wrong, as you might expect, but come through on the third. The next round I select the camera followed by the correct card. The third round reveals a chance card, and I guess correctly. The fourth round is the same thing, another chance card and I guess correct again. I was shocked. After that I am allowed to proceed. Pretty easy, huh? It didn't take me too long. I go back to the castle and save with my newly acquired OCEAN MIRROR. I also pick up a LIGHT FLARE Lv. 4 in Xelha's room. Nice.

In segment 61, I depart from Cursa and in order to leave via the dragon; I need to appease him by making some sculptures out of the SPARKLING SNOW. I go to the sculptor, but he's busy, so I ask his kid if he can do it. He agrees, and I need to meet him in the chamber where I spoke to Barnette earlier this segment. Meanwhile, I collect some items, most notably a CLOUDY EMBLEM and a DARK FLARE Lv. 4. After I give the kid the sparkling snow essence, I have to determine the proper weapon that's assigned to each statue using the descriptions given. Once accomplished I need to visit the inn and stay the night. I visit the shop at the same time and buy a WIND BLOW Lv. 3 before I rest. The next day I return to the statues which are finished much to the delight of the dragon. This allows me to fly to Anuenue after boarding the dragon that is now parked on the cliff edge in Cursa. In Anuenue, I speak to Corellia and learn that I need to pay a visit to the Empire. More specifically I need to get Kalas back.

Segment 62 is all about The Imperial Fortress. It is a maze but rest assured that I optimized my path as much as possible. At the gate, I make sure to get the powerful WAVE CUTTER and LIGHT FLARE Lv. 4. Once inside there are a lot of items to grab, and I have to be somewhat selective with what I pick up. I first move all the way to the left and get the FIRE BURST Lv. 4 before I go up the elevator. I then move all the way to the left to get a DELUXE CREAM PUFF and go up again. All the way to the left I find the ELEVATOR KEY. After I get the key I move all the way to the right and outside through the hole in the wall to grab a couple more Magnus that aren't critically important. I take the elevator down and move all the way to the right into the bathrooms. Here, I fill up four Quest Magnus with some STAGNANT WATER, which I will need for later. I open the third stall to get the PRISON CELL KEY. Now I move back up and then all the way to the right to the treasure room. I find a BLOOD SWORD, ASURA TUBA, and DRAGONFLY Magnus. I then head down another elevator and interact with an electric barrier which triggers the ability to operate the charging station one floor above me. I use the four waters I collected earlier to turn the device on and remove the barrier. Before I go down to the barrier, I proceed all the way to the left to trigger a cut scene, pick up a GOLDEN BUGLE, FULL HELM, and AQUA BURST Lv. 4, and save.

This is the short but critical segment 63. This is when I dump all the garbage out of my decks and try to put together the cards that are going to crush bosses. I also position my decks to suit the defense auras that I will be attempting to use more frequently. It's all about the boss fight coming up soon with DARK KALAS. Anyone who has fought him understands how time consuming he can be. The auras will help out a lot. But first, FADROH.

Segment 64 showcases FADROH, Melodia's bitch. 7000 HP, weakness to light 30%, wind 80%. Fadroh is not so difficult, as long as he doesn't cast ORB OF MAGICAL OFFENSE too early. This gives him an attack boost allowing him to attack for over 1000 HPs.

Xelha starts out with the goods, a six card straight for 1004. Gibari does well to earn a three-pair and 740 damage. Lyude uses a dark full house for 444. On defense, I manage to use one of my defense auras, which rapidly turns the battle in my favor, if it wasn't already. It's almost as if my opponent never even had a turn because he misses his big attack. Xelha plays some sweet cards equaling a five card straight, 882. Gibari passes up on a straight opportunity to land a surefire three-pair for 826. An unblocked five card straight from Lyude, 795. Fadroh finally casts his Orb spell, but after I've landed 4691 HP of pain. Xelha goes for 745. Gibari goes for a set-pair, and a wicked wind attributed SPIRALING GALE attack, 1357. Lyude lands the final blow with an unblocked full house for 576. Fadroh never had a chance. 7369 was the total damage, thank you Gibari. I move forward to the next save and prepare myself for the other D.K.

Segment 65 encapsulates everything I have been working so hard towards in developing my characters, and I think it paid off. This segment took me a while to do and was the cause of much grief. I am not exaggerating even slightly when I say that I played for eight consecutive hours in order to get this segment. It was torturous because in the morning I rolled out of bed, fired up my GameCube, and had a perfect run against Dark Kalas on my first attempt. I was ecstatic. The only problem was my computer was still warming up and was hampering my Pinnacle recording studio which over the course of the battle dropped 64,000 frames. I didn't even have a second of recorded footage, but I did have the save file staring me in the face as a reminder of the failure. I had to redo it and after about thirty legitimate attempts, I got it almost as fast as my first attempt. Anyway...DARK KALAS, 9000 HP, weak to light 80% and chronos 40%.

The weakness to light is super nice because Xelha is loaded with light attacks. All of my characters have anti-paralysis equipment for this fight because Dark Kalas always sniffs out who is unprotected. Once my character is paralyzed, I can't defend anything. Dark Kalas will use a double attack paralyzing me and then use his FANGS OF DARKNESS attack that restores his life at the expense of mine. His Fangs attack is sort of random, but he usually doesn't use it early very often. Ideally, I want to save my defense auras for the second attack, the Fangs of Darkness attack, in order to stop Dark Kalas from regenerating. However, it's a guessing game. I had to get quite lucky on the defensive side of things and still manage to do the right things on offense to avoid looking stupid. Please enjoy this battle because a lot of pain went into it.

After the cheesy dialogue, the battle begins. Xelha lands a mediocre attack early on, a three-pair for 732. Dark Kalas's turn is next, and I elect to use the FIRE AURA Lv. 1 early because I don't want to hold it in my hand for a long time. Lyude is a tad indecisive with a two pair, 340. Gibari does his best with a three-pair, 389. The first few attacks were marginal at best. Xelha's up next and hits hard with a six card straight, 1613. That 80% weakness to light really helps this battle. Lyude goes out of turn and settles for a four card straight, 413. Gibari gets all the right cards and a six card straight, 900. Dark Kalas finally plays and we can see what he is capable of. He does some damage and wastes a lot of time. Xelha has the goods and another six card straight, 1010. Lyude again lands an average attack of 313. A three pair from Gibari, 488. Dark Kalas goes next and while Xelha is getting her ass pounded I am thinking about what her next attack is going to be. Dark Kalas attacks again while Lyude throws away a ton of junk from his hand. A perfect six card straight from Xelha, 1551, gets Dark Kalas weak in the knees. It's perfect timing because Lyude has potential for a great attack bringing the Brilliant Horns into play, 853. Gibari then manages an awkward three pair and lands the death blow on Dark Kalas right before his next turn, 597. Hell yeah, battle over. The worst part about this segment though is having to spam through about ten minutes of dialogue after the battle before I can save. It sucks. Total damage 9199 and it took less than six minutes.

Major dialogue ensues. normal Kalas is back, and I'm off to DUHR.

Segment 66 is simply me reinserting Kalas back into the flow of things. I make changes to everyone's equipment and level up at the church. I then take a ride on the dragon where I make my way to the underside of the Taintclouds and to the LABYRINTH OF DUHR. Save.

So here I am in THE LABYRINTH OF DUHR for segment 67. This game is long. From the start, I move right in order to acquire the essence of STAGNANT WATER. This will allow me to procure an item from a dehydrated alien later. I make a 180-degree turn and follow the path straight into a WHITE ASH Magnus for Gibari. I turn around again, and this time take the path on my right side narrowly avoiding two MAD CANCERITEs and snag the SUN COIN. I search for a corpse to find the constellation Magnus PEGASUS and fight a forced battle with a BAUGANUM. As a result, I earn a BLOOD SWORD. Further down the road I get an AIR SLASH for Kalas. I use the stagnant water to give a Cancerite something to drink and in return, he gives me the chronos finisher BELLS OF FATE. I dodge the final MAFREEGA, run across the pink smoke, leave the area, and save in the new overworld.

I've arrived at Gemma village and segment 68. This is mostly dialogue with a few items thrown into the mix. This is Mizuti's hometown and even though I don't use her at all I still have to acknowledge her presence. I first talk to someone in a barn/tavern that has some key information for me and a BROKEN EARTH SPHERE. I am quite certain it is one of the items needed to defeat Malpercio. I speak to the person again and am given the constellation Magnus BOOTES. Afterwards, I go speak with Mizuti's parents before I am finally allowed to talk to the GREAT KAMROH. He tells me that I need three artifacts to defeat Melodia's evil and that one of the artifacts is located in the GARDEN OF DEATH. He gives me the key, and I'm on my way.

Segment 69 and CAPELLA, THE GARDEN OF DEATH goes pretty fast. I trek northward through the mud until I get the FLASHY EARRINGS that are sitting on a log. I keep moving north until I come across a shrine of some kind not affected by the grime. I grab some defensive items that I'll probably never need and enter the cabin. The sword is gone, what now? I am transported out of the garden and then save.

Segment 70 is the brief introduction to ALGORAB VILLAGE. I am looking for the mayor. I stop by the shop and purchase every element of YELL Lv. 1. They may prove useful for the final stages of the game. I quickly discover that the mayor is trying to offer the SWORD OF HEAVENS to a God at the ZOSMA TOWER. Not good, let's investigate. I get the AIRES constellation Magnus and move out.

Segment 71 and the ZOSMA TOWER. There isn't much to the tower; it's not like the Legend of Zelda or anything but to do it quickly requires some skill. On the first floor, I get five essences of WEAK FLAME. On each floor, I have to ignite a lamp that activates the square blocks so I can clear the level. The first floor is simple and sort of a tutorial. I push the blocks around until I am taken to the second floor. Speed counts to be in sync with elevators, so I don't have to wait around. The second floor is a little more complicated, and I use the same techniques to reach the third floor. The fourth floor is a thinker but solvable in time. Once the path is open I go out of my way to use the red save flower. I need to edit my decks for the difficult boss fight ahead. I will be fighting two enemies at once so I need to be dialed in.

In Segment 72, I spend a minute getting a FIRE BURST Lv. 5. It's so pretty.

In segment 73, I do some deck editing. The beauty of the cards is coming out.

Segment 74 is the boss fight against AGYO and UNGYO. Both have 7000 HP and are weak against either fire or water 80%. These guys are actually quite tough. The red one is the offense, and the blue one is the defense. If I get hit, I get hit hard. I can withstand only a couple of attacks. Luckily, some attacks are puny, sort of like a status anomaly. I just have to cross my fingers.

I have to do a back and forth in order to get down to their level, which is a real pain after the tenth time or so. On a side note, these guys make me want to watch the film The Never-ending Story. I decide to kill the red one first, AGYO since he is the real threat. As you can see Xelha's arsenal of cards is very much improved. Aside from any conflicting elements, I should be able to do some considerable damage. A three pair for 591 is okay. Ungyo attacks Gibari and as you can see I need to defend as much as possible. Kalas is up next and look at the sexy cards he now has. The last few levels have really added some nice flavor. I manage a five card straight for 1033. It's good to have Kalas back and from here on out he is my powerhouse. Even Gibari is sexified with his brand-new deck pulling off a five card straight for 1478. I am now attacked by the red dog's A-UN PENTAGRAM. It's a single attack but hits really hard. At least I don't have to waste time on his longer combo. Xelha has a few options but a six card straight is great, 981. The blue dog attacks Kalas now and allows me to get rid of some dead weight while bringing Kalas one hit away from death. I thought Kalas's six card straight for 1229 would have been enough to kill the red dog but no. Not even Gibari can do it with a 1036 three pair. Gibari now uses his WATER AURA Lv. 1 in defense. Xelha misses a six card straight opportunity for a five card but still kills AGYO, 815. I face another A-UN PENTAGRAM but this time it doesn't do anything. Kalas fires out a three pair for 814. Gibari uses a variety of Magnus in a five card straight, 1171. Kalas is then attacked and brought to the brink of death. Xelha brings a set-pair, 951. Kalas finishes with his DREAM BLADE for 959. Gibari chokes the chicken but at least gets a picture, 537. Xelha uses DANCING FLAMES, 463. Kalas uses FLASH EXPLOSION, 899. Gibari lands a three pair for 902 and UNGYO is still standing! Xelha has a four card garbage attack but actually delivers the death blow, 329. With the battle finally over I proceed to the roof of the tower and confront my adversaries. I manage to ward of my attackers and am rewarded with the SWORD OF THE HEAVENS. Save.

Segment 75 involves a much needed level up, getting ready for the battle with Malpercio.

Segment 76 is the first battle with MALPERCIO. He has 10,000 HP and is weak to light 80%, chronos 30%, and water 20%. Malpercio seems weak, but his defensive Magnus really take the bite out of my attack. He protects himself well with the elements.

The fight takes place in the village of Algorab after Mizuti unmasks and unleashes her rage. Xelha gets things rolling with a three-pair for 1036 damage. Kalas stops after a straight with only four, 697. After Malpercio's attack, Gibari lays down a full house for 554. Xelha makes a beautiful six card straight, 1443. Kalas uses a set pair, 624. Gibari finds a three-pair, 802 after another standard Malpercio attack. Xelha, a six card straight, 807. Kalas goofs around and manages a 988. Gibari mans up for 998. A five card straight from Xelha with chronos attacks, 787. Kalas almost lands a random spirit finisher but Malpercio blocks it using a defense aura to end my turn, 548. I almost killed him, and it's too bad I have to sit through another attack especially considering he is capable of killing Xelha. I use a defense aura of my own to even the score. With a six card straight and perfect cards Gibari is sure to end this fight, and does, 1330. The only difficulty in this battle was finding one I could be happy with. Malpercio's defense is so good that he makes me look bad even when I am easily winning. Total damage was 10614, pretty standard. The rest of the segment sees Malpercio fly away to fight another day. I regroup in the chambers of the Great Kamroh and plot what to do next. How about getting the hell out of these taintclouds?!

For segment 77 Kalas and company need to make it to Anuenue. Before riding the dragon back I again visit the shop in Algorab Village and purchase an entire set of yelling attacks. I pretty much do it for the light attacks but having the others is nice. After landing in Anuenue and speaking with the King, the Queen, and the Duke, I realize that I am too weak to fly into Cor Hydrae as is. I can't get past their shielding. When I leave the meeting Catranne shows me a letter from Dr. Larikush of Sadal Suud. I need to go back and talk to the doctor for a bit. Besides, what else do I have to do? Oh yeah, save the world. Kalas debates whether or not to visit Larikush with his spirit. He is worried what the doctor might say about his complicated past. On the way out I visit the shop yet again for a MARVELOUS SWORD, BLACK SCEPTER, LIGHT FLARE Lv. 2, and a DARK SWORD. I follow that with a quick level up at the church.

In segment 78, I take the opportunity to purchase a WAVE BLADE, LIGHT YELL Lv. 1, and a DARK YELL Lv. 1 before leaving. I take the quickest possible route all the way back to Sadal Suud to talk to the doctor who helped me so long ago. In a nutshell, I learn that I was artificially created in a lab by a man named Georg. Georg left an item for me in a cabin in the CELESTIAL ALPS. Let's check it out.

I use segment 79 to grab some hard-hitting Magnus that has re-spawned in the shops throughout the land. I feel that it is time well spent. It doesn't take me very long to cover all the territory as you will see. I first move to Diadem because I am after the RAY OF TRUTH, MOSQUITO, and STREAM BLADE. Then, I move to WAZN for a powerhouse WAVE CUTTER, WIND BLOW Lv. 3, and some BEEF. Next, I'm off to MIRA for an AQUA BURST Lv. 3 and piece of BACON. In Balancoire, I get a MAYFLY and spend the rest of my cash on a CHRONOS BLOW Lv. 3. I save right next to my dragon because once I depart for the Celestial Alps I begin fighting right away. The next segment took me some time to accomplish.

Segment 80 was a pain. During the course of my trip through the Alps I am blocked by a creature known as a RULUG. They aren't much to look at but are quite tough. I can fight as many as three in one battle so the key is getting lucky and fighting against only one for all three battles. This will be difficult because this level isn't exactly short or right next door to a save. My other problem is how good at attacking I have to be to kill a Rulug in one attack. In the first fight, Xelha pummels the lone Rulug with a six card straight finishing with WHISPERING WIND for 1479. This equals death. One cool thing about these battles in the Alps is getting the premium Magnus as a prize. You'll notice that I pick up an AQUA TRUTH for Kalas, which is baller. I see a chest along the path which contains a CANIS MINOR constellation, so I grab it. For the second fight, I draw two Rulugs. It sucks, but I have to fight them. Throughout this game, there are a few instances where I fight three battles consecutively, and it's always hard to draw a single opponent for each one. I think all the way back to the Lord's mansion where I rescued Xelha as the most prominent example. Xelha has only a three pair for 930 damage, which isn't enough. Kalas takes over and on the same enemy performs a quick two pair attack to finish the job. After I am poisoned by the Rulug, Gibari manages a three-pair for around 1000 HP. Xelha finishes in style. This time I win some STRAW, which I can pretty much just wipe my ass with. The final fight nets me an AQUA BURST Lv. 5, which will definitely come in handy.

I finally reach the cabin but don't go in yet. The most precious item in the game is next to the cabin, and I need to get it, the AZURE SAND. It's Kalas's final class up. I have been waiting for the whole game to get this because it means I can now do nine hit combos. It also means that I can perform Final Straight Falls, which are nine hit straights from 9-1, or Final Straight Sunrises, which are from 1-9. It's a 255% damage bonus and a 306% bonus respectively. It is a game changer.

So seeing as the very next fight in the cabin is the longest in the game I need to think for a second. Should I class up with Kalas before fighting against Giacomo, Ayme, and Folon? It'll take about five minutes to get to a blue flower, level up, and come back. What do you think? I honestly never even attempted to fight the trio without classing up because there's no comparison. A six hit straight with Kalas usually goes for around 800 to 1500 HPs of damage. A nine hit combo is more around 2000 to 4000. It also allows me some latitude as far as handling subpar Magnus. One or two weak Magnus in a nine hit combo isn't going to hinder me too much but it sure is noticeable in a six card attack. Naturally, stronger attacks from me mean fewer turns for my opponent, and I'd figure the difference is at least ten extra attacks from my enemy for not upgrading Kalas, assuming I could even survive. I think the choice is clear.

Segment 81 has me excited because I am about to rip into my enemy with nine hit combos, which almost make the game too easy, but a lot of fun. Backtracking through the alps is time consuming unfortunately. Along the way, I find an AIR SLASH to make things worthwhile. So once I reach the church, I do a few things I am not too proud of and would change if I ever did this again, which I won't. It made sense to me to level up characters whenever possible. I would skip the level ups if the characters were idle until the next church visit. It may be smarter to skip the one and two level ups altogether. The stat boost does help out but how much is anyone's guess for the time lost. A ten second loss of time in a speed run isn't critical. I also visit the star map priest to obtain the rest of the Magnus from my constellations. Watching these videos one after another it is easy to see how much Magnus I was going out of my way to retrieve. For the most part, I scored but this was a mistake. I lost a minute and received some useless Magnus. It is so hard in this game to judge what is necessary to get. I reasoned that it's about increasing overall odds with nice equipment and Magnus and when you see the fight coming up you can see why. I did get a CHARRED FISH and a CAMERA 3, however. I then head back to the alps to prepare for the big boss fight.

My hard work pays off in segment 82. I wanted to be well equipped for this next fight, and I most certainly will be. I give everyone the best possible stuff and remove essentially all defense Magnus except for my defense auras. It's time to deal some death.

Segment 83 is the bread and butter of this speed run, and it went well. At almost twenty eight minutes in length it represents about 5% of the total time in this run. To start the fight, Ayme attacks Gibari, who defends with an EEL and LARGE SHORTCAKE greatly increasing his attack strength. Xelha lands a perfect straight on Giacomo, 1428. Now it's Kalas's turn, and I have been waiting a long time to do this. Getting a straight with nine cards isn't so easy. I had to balance out the spirit numbers to increase my chances. I gave Kalas as many (9)s as I could. I always try for at least one or two major straights from here on out, but as I said it's not guaranteed. I don't care about conflicting elements in the least and am not afraid to use a healing item or camera to make the straight happen. Kalas makes a Final Straight Sunrise ending in a VOICE 5 and asks, "Who wants to die?" Giacomo does apparently because of Kalas's 3498 HP attack. See what I mean? That is half of Giacomo's life in one attack, so sexy. Giacomo's turn is next, and he does his double attack. When he is attacking Kalas I make sure to remove the Magnus finishers that I don't need unless they possess a (9) or a (1). I am trying extremely hard to set up a major straight. Gibari is up next and holy shit, I didn't know he had it in him. See what I mean about that strength boost in the beginning? Another perfect attack, 1802. After Folon's turn and with Giacomo near death it's up to Xelha. I have to improvise a bit with her and almost screw up by taking too long to select an attack. Somehow, I manage a set pair for 1145 and Giacomo is down. Ayme goes next, and I shut her out with a defense aura. Kalas plays next and makes the best percentage play starting a six card straight with a (2), 1886. Gibari throws out a mix of cards but with power, 1077. I admittedly make some bad choices while Kalas is getting attacked. Xelha is up and running out of decent Magnus to select. She does a good job with a full house, 878. On Kalas next turn, I am all over the place. Once I see that my straight isn't happening I panic. I probably could have made a set-set combo, but I'll make up for it soon, 970. I completely gamble with Gibari cutting my attack short after only a four hit combo and thinking it's enough to kill Ayme in her weakened state. If I'm wrong, and she lives I doubt if I can live with that mistake. I get really lucky though and drop her like a bad habit, 606. After Folon's next attack, I am a little worried. Gibari is poisoned and one hit away from death. I have had problems with dying, so I was concerned. A five card straight is as good as I can do with Xelha, 694. Kalas goes and completes a Straight Fall, 1740. I could have made a sunrise and starting at (9) was gutsy. Gibari is my new hero completing a six card straight finding a (1) on the last possible card, 1659. If Folon attacks Gibari, he dies, and I start over. The death isn't such a big deal, but I want the massive amount of experience from this fight. It's at least five levels. He instead attacks Xelha, who stops him with her FIRE AURA Lv. 1. Xelha's next attack is a good example of why I spent so much time grabbing those LIGHT YELLs. It really keeps her doing damage, 1365. As I am attacking Folon with garbage, I was stunned when my attack was stopped short by a defense Magnus, DAMMIT!!! YES!!! It was enough, 396. What an epic performance. By the way, I have to fight them twice. I am a little more nervous this go around because I wasn't able to save between fights. Xelha starts with a three-pair, 683. Ayme raises her defense, which saves me some time. Kalas uses a full spectrum of cards to make his Straight Fall, 1647. Giacomo attacks twice and again, Gibari gets a major attack boost before he attacks for 1562. Gibari gets pounded by both Folon and Ayme, and it has me worried enough to start thinking about a healing Magnus. Xelha brings the light, 1449. I stumble a bit with Kalas but do well to manage a four-pair, 906. Giacomo gets an extra turn because I couldn't kill him and look what happens. He looks to heal, but heals Ayme. It's a very strange sort of glitch but lucky for me. Gibari's combo is halted but it's enough to kill Giacomo, 825. That was a big step and gives me confidence. I'm a bit shaky with Xelha, 1259. I ravage Ayme with Kalas and a clutch Straight Sunrise, 3818. She is now on her ass and that catches me up quick. So much for her ROUGH EM' UP DRINK. Gibari continues to impress, 1176. Xelha is attacked, uses her defense aura, and plays a smart attack, 1305. Kalas manages something, 1348. Gibari tries hard, 628. Xelha, 861. Kalas passes on a random spirit attack and finishes the job, 1318. Finally, I am done. I had no idea that I would carve through these guys so fast and not even a house fire would prevent me from saving.

I've reached Segment 84 and its decision time. It's time for the side quests. Each character has one, and they're all optional. I literally could skip them all and head right for Cor Hydrae, the last level, if I really wanted to. The game gives a character's final class up and their "skull" equipment during their specific quest. The Celestial Alps was Kalas's side quest. The problem is these quests take time. Each one takes 10 minutes and longer, so I shouldn't do to many. Basically, I choose whether to do Xelha's, Gibari's, or both, or none. I feel like two would be too much time wasted, and that I am tough enough with only one more side quest under my belt. Remember, another class up is another character that can do nine hit combos. I have to stop and think if I even have enough Magnus to accommodate this. If I don't do either side quest, then Kalas will essentially be the only real threat, and I will absorb a few more attacks for every battle in Cor Hydrae making it difficult to survive. I think one feels right, and since Xelha's quest is really short and in town it makes the decision easy. At first, I thought I could just run into Xelha's side quest, grab the items I need, skip the boss, and fly to Cor Hydrae, but you can't. Corellia won't let you leave a quest unfinished so once you start it, you have to finish it. Xelha's level is located in the principal's book in the school of magic, and I need the essence of the ADVENTURE NOVEL to get inside. The essence is located in the school. If I was more clever, I would have grabbed the novel essence that is also in Algorab Village, if I'm not mistaken. Now I can go inside ILLUSORY, FORTRESS OF THE BOOK, a fun level.

Can you see the doors? Only one door leads to the next area. Luckily, it's not random or I'd still be stuck in this level instead of writing this commentary. HAHAHHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHHA! I have the option to choose the incorrect door and fight a battle and receive some kick ass Magnus. Level 5 stuff. I don't though because I want to make this quest short. After entry into the correct door, I take an APPLE PIE and AQUA TRUTH off of the bridge. Then I witness a cut scene before going into the next area with more doors. At the second bridge, I get a BLOODY VORTEX and LINNET STATUE. At the final bridge, I get the SKULL ANKLET. Save at the red flower.

It's Segment 85 and time for some boss fighting. KULCABARAN is a total dikweed. He has 10000 HP and is weak to wind 80%. He should be a cinch, but he has an annoying habit of breaking up Kalas's long combos with his defensive auras. Let's get this over with, I have some Gods to violate. Xelha starts with a three-pair of all light attacks, 859. Kalas attacks ferociously with what might be the highest attack of the game thus far. It's a nine hit Sunrise combo that lands for 5834. Holy shitake. Afterwards, Xelha gets whipped a bit. I don't know why exactly, but I stop after a two pair with Gibari for 625. Then we see a perfect straight from Xelha and Bells of Fate finisher, 1270. Kalas goes next and is defended well, 351. This boss was impossible to finish without being interrupted at least once, usually more. Unfortunately, this allows my opponent an extra attack and sucks back 1301 of health. This spell was hard to avoid. Gibari goes and he's stopped as well, 619. Xelha puts out some random stuff for 682. Kalas kills KULCABARAN easily 1291. The ending wasn't so hot but anytime this boss 's back is against the wall he defends well. To do it over again I think I just spam Kalas. With the battle over I go back to the only save point before heading into Cor Hydrae. It's important to save because the entrance into Cor Hydrae isn't very easy. The final stage will begin soon. Get ready for some powerhouse attacks with Xelha, who is now able to do nine hitters.

To start segment 86 you can hear the music of Cor Hydrae before I load the save. That means I just died. If this game didn't have a quick load feature, there is no way anyone could speed run it. I'm serious. This game got another 300 hours out of me from this speed run, and it's only because of the save feature. I can also load a game at any point if I fail a segment. Could you imagine if I had to get off the couch to reset and then wait for the title screen to load, God help me. This segment is fast. I make the decision to go back and get the SKULL BUCKLE for Kalas. All the Gods have some kind of status anomaly with their attack; some meaningless but others like paralysis and freeze will lead to death. I have to protect myself. I grab some armor as well just in case things go bad. I grab some questionable Magnus that waste time before grabbing the EFREETI SABER. I have a bunch of unnecessary grabs in this run. I never officially added them all up, but I figure a few minutes lost seems reasonably accurate. For my final grab I get the VOID PHANTOM for Kalas. Save.

Segment 87 sort of confuses me. I am not sure why I would get another WATER BLADE finisher, but I did. I have to wonder if I was just getting antsy, which is easy to do in an eleven hour speed run. Perhaps I was hoping for a better drop, didn't get it, and was like forget it. Who knows? I leave the Alps and save back in Anuenue.

Segment 88 is ten minutes of dialogue and the culmination of all my efforts against evil. I use the five End Magnus from each continent held by an officer of the region in order to break the shell around Cor Hydrae Castle and gain entry. For the final minute, I grab a FIRE BURST Lv. 6 and CHRONOS BLOW Lv. 6. That's right, level six, which has a guaranteed spirit number of (9) on the face of the card. I then evade the flying henchmen and save in the core of hell itself.

Segment 89 gets a lot done in a short amount of time. I add my best Magnus. I equip my two skull buckles and an anti-paralysis weapon for Gibari. I then level up my stats and Class up Xelha. I can't wait to try this chick out.

Segment 90 pits my party against the Sibling God CHE. Finally, I have reached the point of no return and must press on to finish this game. Five more bosses stand in my way before I fight Malpercio. They are the sibling gods. Each one represents one of the elements, except for darkness. None of them are weak versus light attacks. All have a 100% weakness to their opposing element making battles move quickly.

Che, like all the gods has 14000 HP. He is a chronos warrior and is weak against wind attacks. With Kalas's and Gibari's wind attacks I should have no problem decimating him. Not to mention the path to reach him is the easiest of the five directions. Each boss has a separate path and with it, a unique theme. Che is the easiest all around.

With the up-tempo music and dazzling scenery, I am pumped up for a fight. Xelha now can perform nine hit combos, and it should be a blast. Both Kalas and Xelha have the "skull" equipment which means they are immune to all status anomalies but suffer from the headache condition. This moves the spirit numbers in a circular pattern making selection more difficult but certainly more fun. Getting both Kalas and Xelha to do nine hit combos can be tough, and I have to remind myself to blink once in a while. Conflicting elements are okay from this point on to perform nine hit combos because the bonus far outweighs the negatives. It is also acceptable to use healing items for the same reason as you will see me use in this fight. I reset several times for these fights. You want to get Straight Falls and Sunrises, but it's not so easy. Xelha starts out with an eight card straight with several conflicting elements for 1288. I could have reset here, but I want to wait for Kalas. He attacks with a Final Straight Sunrise and wind carnage for 5936. My opponent hasn't attacked and is already half dead. Che now performs his only attack, SPARK OF TIME. It can paralyze me, but I'm protected against that. Gibari chips in with a three pair and 1052. Xelha performs a four pair, 1270. I need a nine hitter from Kalas to be the final attack before Che attacks again, and I get it. Kalas delivers another Sunrise using gorgeous and colorful attacks and finishes with CHAOTIC ILLULSION, 4848. Total damage 14,394...in five hits. I need to return to the central hub where I see a column of light appear, indicating the defeat of CHE. I pick up a WIND BLOW Lv. 6 along the way. I feel like I need to level up and restore my life to make things easier for me down the road. Then I save.

For segment 91, I take the upper-right path and go after AR, the fire god. His path is the second easiest of the five. From the save flower I move towards him as quickly as possible to get things moving.

AR has 14000 HP and a weakness to water 100%. He has a special attack ending in FIREBIRD, but you never see it here. Xelha gets things started with a decent six hit combo for 1827. We still haven't seen a nine hitter from her yet. Kalas delivers an eight hit combo for 3106. AR attacks Xelha but is stopped after three hits from a defensive aura. I manage a three pair from Gibari, 1086. Xelha gets her first Sunrise, 3987. Xelha can hang with Kalas any day. On the next attack, Kalas performs a Sunrise death blow for 4295 bringing the total damage to 14301. It was a slow start but a strong finish. This boss was a little harder than the previous because of the challenge of conflicting elements. On the return trip, I obtain a VOICE 6. I level up at the church before I save. It might have been ill-advised to level up since I took little damage. It's hard to gauge the benefits of increased stats.

In segment 92, I take the lower left path. This path has transporters everywhere. It's easy avoiding the enemies, but it takes a while. The sibling god BO is up next. Bo, 14000 HP, weak to fire 100%. Xelha starts out with a crappy six hit combo for 565. It's been a long time since I have seen this video, and I hope something better comes along real quick. Kalas hits big with a nine hitter, 5290. Gibari helps out, 1345. Xelha makes up for her previous attack executing a nine hit combo drawing a (9) on the final card for 4490. Kalas then pulls off a clutch Straight Fall finding a (5) at the last moment and getting the necessary 3330 to finish the job. I put Bo on his ass. Back to the front.

The next god in segment 93 is LE. In order to get to him, I take the bottom right path and navigate a system of elevators snagging a CHRONOS BLOW Lv. 6 and AQUA BURST Lv. 6 along the way. Once reached, we see the familiar cut scene, and the boss battle begin.

14000 HP and weak against chronos is Le. This battle goes just like the others. I perform five or six attacks and absorb only one. Xelha starts out and with the help of many chronos attacks, including a level six attack and a straight sunrise, I devastate my opponent for 6053. Unfortunately, Kalas only performs a six hit combo for 2269. That's good, but not amazing. I absorb a simple attack from Le followed by a three pair from Gibari, 1111. Xelha has a broken attack of 805. Kalas makes a Sunrise for 3924. It was an easy victory. I level up and save. Only one more god to go, but unfortunately, it's the toughest one.

Segment 94 sucks royally. The god is directly north but to get to him means traversing through some forced battles. The enemies are unavoidable. If I run straight up and escape each time I will usually have to fight three times. The enemies aggressively pursue me. It's very annoying before I fight a boss to have to do this, so I was thrilled to only be attacked twice on the way.

HE is the boss's name, and he is weak with dark magic. That's right, darkness. This should be my easiest fight to date due to the level of dark attacks I possess. It also means that Xelha will be almost worthless because of the amount of light attacks she has. Keep in mind, even though He is 100% strong to light magic, each light flare attack does possess some neutral damage that factors in. After running from two consecutive forced battles perfectly, I really need a good start to this boss fight. Luckily, I get it with Kalas who attacks first this time, for some reason. A perfect Sunrise with all the dark attacks I could muster for an astounding 7422 HP of damage. My best attack of the game so far, wow. Follow this with some cheese ball attacks from He and I'm really happy. He actually puts Gibari to sleep, which probably works in my favor. A random mix of attacks from Xelha only does 730. I need a big attack from Kalas next, and I almost get the kill shot coming from another Sunrise, 5083. That brings the HP total to 13235. I could definitely use Gibari but oh well. He uses SEAL OF HEALTH and restores 2100 HP. Dammit. Gibari gets a six card straight for 1490. Xelha gets the death blow with 1163.

Now for the return trip if I can't escape from the forced battles, it's either fight or flight. On Xelha's turn, I make sure to use as many Magnus up as required to get the escape to appear. I get pretty lucky in the first fight and am able to kill both enemies with only one attack. This is just as quick as passing around back to Xelha and escaping with the added benefit of removing them from the screen after the battle. The next battle runs a little long and after a kill I just decide to run away. This was a tough segment to have to encounter four battles and fight a boss. The escape Magnus, JACK IN THE BOX would have been really nice to have here. I'm happy with how things went considering all the elements. Save. Now it's time for Malpercio. Two segments and two battles to go.

Segment 95 is, in fact, the first form of Malpercio. Here, we witness the final surprises in the storyline. This battle isn't exceedingly difficult but Malpercio has a fine defense. Malpercio has 16000 HP and is weak to light 50% and wind 20%. His defensive cards have a very high elemental capacity, sometimes completely negating my attacks. I start things out with a near-perfect Sunrise from Xelha, 4618. A couple more of these and I'm done. This game is easy as pie if your patient enough. I completely screw up Kalas's attack because of the bad hand but still manage a respectable 1833. I then defend a basic attack followed by a nice straight from Gibari, 1596. I hesitate a bit with Xelha but get the job done. I must have been pretty nervous by this point running that cursor around like a madman. The practice of fighting against the gods has paid off and made life easy, 4194. Xelha is becoming my strongest player. I need a big hit from Kalas to finish this before Malpercio starts using SOUL DRAIN to regain life. There is nothing quite like seeing all the proper numbers in my hand to start things out. I am looking for the nine of course and in this case, I lead out with it. A series of common attacks but I end a Straight Fall with ENERGY WAVE, and the battle ends with an attack of 3901. Skipping Malpercio's healing cycle was very lucky and time saving. This was a perfect fight. I need to save so badly. After what appears to be the end, I realize that I have to keep going for one more fight. Save at the steps. One more fucking segment to go.

This is it, the final segment, segment 96. If you have read everything up to this point than I hold you with a tremendous amount of respect. This has been one hell of a ride, and I was eager to put this speed run to bed. The final boss awaits at the top of Cor Hydrae, Malpercio, in his final, enlarged form. Malpercio has 20000 hit points and is weak against light attacks 80%. No amount of HP is going to save him from the beat down I am about to give him. I will end this battle in the most perfect fashion imaginable. It really left no doubt in my mind about keeping this segment, and I was praying that I captured it without issues. I start out with Xelha and the typical Sunrise beginning, but my elements totally conflict and I only do 1949 damage. I am going to have to do better. Kalas goes next and I get another Sunrise, this time for some significant damage, 4758. Now I am on defense and under attack. Luckily, he attacks Kalas and lets me set up my next Sunrise possibility while letting me use my LARGE SHORTCAKE for a forty point attack boost. Gibari contributes a six card straight for 1616. I do a good job with Xelha starting at an (8) and use my light yells for an eight hit combo of 3368. Half of Malpercio's life is now gone, and I need to turn up the intensity to finish this. Unfortunately, a (3) never comes for Kalas, so I settle for a four pair and 1949, yet again. A long attack now comes from Malpercio, but I survive. I need to kill him before he attacks again. Gibari loves his six card straights, 1607. When Xelha's turn appears, I see spirit numbers everywhere and right away know that a Sunrise is coming. Happy days, 3382 is the result. I almost chunked in my pants after the next attack. Kalas needs a big one, (don't we all), and the Sunrise did come, (as did I), but the coolest thing was the finishing move ;). My favorite finisher, SHINING SERAPH appears, and it's the most appropriate considering Malpercio's weakness to light. It's on the tail of a nine hit combo string and ends up being the death blow to Malpercio. It's very rare and leads to major damage, 4356. It could not have been scripted better. The total damage to Malpercio was 22985, a decisive victory. So you might think that is the end, right? Not exactly. There is still one more battle to go. It essentially is impossible to lose the battle because my opponent's attacks are so very weak, but time is still a factor. I have to wait for over 15 minutes of dialogue to get into the fight.

Please enjoy the final chapter in this story. I'll spare you the details of what the ending is about. It will explain why this game has the words "lost ocean" in the title, that's for sure. So after a time, GELDOBLAME resurfaces from death. He is sort of entwined with the earth. As I said this fight is only a formality, but I need to lock in this segment and make sure it recorded ok. I have weeks of editing I need to do and I don't want to have to keep repeating a half hour's segment over and over. There isn't much information about GELDOBLAME'S statistics. I have seen roughly 15,000 as his HP. I am about to rip him a new ass hole. I was so nervous that I would get crap attacks. I really wanted to be able to keep this segment after the cool fight versus Malpercio. This battle consists of only Xelha and Kalas. It helps out to have Xelha's final class up for this fight. I just wanted to play smart, make no mistakes, and do decent damage to at least feel good about the segment. Xelha starts, and with no (2) in sight I have to start my straight with a (7). It goes quickly for 1831. I am then attacked by a pitiful mess. See what I mean? There is no danger here at all. Amazingly, defending only three attacks, I use both SHORTCAKES and boost my attack. That got me excited. Now I just need some cards from Kalas. I don't get them! Only 1432. This is what I didn't want to happen. This fight could take a while if I keep doing this crap. Luckily, Xelha finds an awesome and true Sunrise. With two level six magic attacks and her strongest finisher, WHEEL OF LIGHT, I unload her most impressive attack both visually and physically of 7292. I then defend both Geldoblame's attacks again. Yawn. There was almost too much going on for Kalas's attack. It's easy to select the wrong cards and use up a number when they are dancing all over the screen. I make it work though and bring the pain. I do a good job of staying focused with all the flashy colors on screen. This really is a beautiful game. However, the result is an attack of 4957 and the true end of this game. It was a good turnaround for me in the fight. My total damage was 15512 lending credence that Geldoblame does have 15000 HP. I cut that close. Afterwards, I am pumped. I jam on the button to get this moving so the credits can roll. The game ends with a shot of Kalas's buckle and the words THE END.