A childhood dream fulfilled.Well, I was a little cocky last night. Not only am I not at the winning stage yet, I'm a bit flummoxed about how to get there. First, let's deal with the stuff I got right.
On the elemental planes, I got a series of red messages. I already had the yellow messages. The interleaves were very complicated: I had to put the messages in a particular order, then take differing numbers of letters from each one before it all came together. The yellow messages finally spelled out:
Very interesting, but as I covered yesterday, I can't seem to find the circus in session. Let's look at the red messages:
Once again, JVC has a gift for the obvious. Obviously I needed to have figured out most of this to even get to the messages in the first place. Nonetheless, it does tell me something about what happens after I save Kalohn. I'm sure the "lake geometrics" refers to a dungeon near Middlegate that won't open for anyone save the "chosen one."
All right. Let's talk about Dawn's Mist Bog. This evening, I explored it from top to bottom, slaying legions of creatures and resurrecting my party members as they (frequently) died. I defeated some Lucky Dogs and rolled in Lucky Charms to get a permanent luck increase. I rescued two NPCs named Holy Moley (I'm immune to this by now) and Slick Pick. I defeated a party of 200 greedy snitches.
At last, I assaulted Dawn herself, along with two enchantresses. She fell a little easier than I expected: her minions were much tougher than her.
Nice outfit, though.
The Orb turned out to be hidden behind a secret door. Approaching its chamber, I was met by a party of four Orb Guardians. The battle with them was apparently in an anti-magic zone, because none of my spells (including healing) would work. But they fell fairly quickly to my weapons.
At last, the Orb was in my clutches! I took it from its pedestal and put it in my pack. Now, armed with this and the Talons, I can travel back in time, save Kalohn, and win the game! I triumphantly made my way to the exit, and:
What the hell? Why would the Orb want to do that? Well, it doesn't matter, because I found that Dawn has a secret portal to Murray's Resort Isle. Clearly, I'm supposed to take that. I make my way over to it, only to get the same message as above. Okay...I'll just use my "Town Portal" spell. Nope, that failed. How about "Lloyd's Beacon"? Failed. "Surface"? Also failed.
I wandered around Dawn's for an hour, trying to find an alternate exit, but I can't find anything. The only way it let me out was to drop the Orb. When I then went back in to try again (thinking maybe it was a game bug), I realized that snatching the Orb meant sacrificing my todilor, capitor, fluxor, and radicon, so now I have to go get those from their castles again. Aaargh!
Well, at least Murray was happy with me:
Now I'm scouring my notes to see what I was missing. Maybe I was supposed to pick up another clue somewhere. The only dungeons I haven't explored fully are the basement of the Luxus Palace Royale and the dragon caves. I guess I'd better go through them and see if there was an object or message that I needed.
If this turns out to be something stupid, I'm going to be very angry. No spoilers! I need to figure this out myself. (If you want to leave a message for posterity in ROT-13, feel free.)
On the elemental planes, I got a series of red messages. I already had the yellow messages. The interleaves were very complicated: I had to put the messages in a particular order, then take differing numbers of letters from each one before it all came together. The yellow messages finally spelled out:
If personal statistics you'd like to enhance, with circus games you should take a chance. Win dumb prizes, but don't feel bad. You can offer these toys to an old man who can be had. His hut is in the wilderness dwarfed by a tree. For the toy, he gives you a tip for free. Drink from the inner limits pool. Though once it was acid, now it is cool. With thirst now thoroughly sated, go back to the circus and play games to raise those statistics which you truly hated.
Very interesting, but as I covered yesterday, I can't seem to find the circus in session. Let's look at the red messages:
To right ancient wrongs, the solution is very long. The Triple Crown must first be done, with Arena, Monster Bowl, and Colosseum to be won. Next, the party must split individually so that each may fulfill their personal destiny. Request an audience with the Queen so the Chosen One can be seen. Travel through time with Talons and Orb. Save the dead king from destruction and get the password. Then visit the lake geometrics to find the passage to that which you must hurriedly fix. JVC.
Once again, JVC has a gift for the obvious. Obviously I needed to have figured out most of this to even get to the messages in the first place. Nonetheless, it does tell me something about what happens after I save Kalohn. I'm sure the "lake geometrics" refers to a dungeon near Middlegate that won't open for anyone save the "chosen one."
All right. Let's talk about Dawn's Mist Bog. This evening, I explored it from top to bottom, slaying legions of creatures and resurrecting my party members as they (frequently) died. I defeated some Lucky Dogs and rolled in Lucky Charms to get a permanent luck increase. I rescued two NPCs named Holy Moley (I'm immune to this by now) and Slick Pick. I defeated a party of 200 greedy snitches.
At last, I assaulted Dawn herself, along with two enchantresses. She fell a little easier than I expected: her minions were much tougher than her.
Nice outfit, though.The Orb turned out to be hidden behind a secret door. Approaching its chamber, I was met by a party of four Orb Guardians. The battle with them was apparently in an anti-magic zone, because none of my spells (including healing) would work. But they fell fairly quickly to my weapons.
At last, the Orb was in my clutches! I took it from its pedestal and put it in my pack. Now, armed with this and the Talons, I can travel back in time, save Kalohn, and win the game! I triumphantly made my way to the exit, and:
What the hell? Why would the Orb want to do that? Well, it doesn't matter, because I found that Dawn has a secret portal to Murray's Resort Isle. Clearly, I'm supposed to take that. I make my way over to it, only to get the same message as above. Okay...I'll just use my "Town Portal" spell. Nope, that failed. How about "Lloyd's Beacon"? Failed. "Surface"? Also failed.
I wandered around Dawn's for an hour, trying to find an alternate exit, but I can't find anything. The only way it let me out was to drop the Orb. When I then went back in to try again (thinking maybe it was a game bug), I realized that snatching the Orb meant sacrificing my todilor, capitor, fluxor, and radicon, so now I have to go get those from their castles again. Aaargh!
Well, at least Murray was happy with me:
Now I'm scouring my notes to see what I was missing. Maybe I was supposed to pick up another clue somewhere. The only dungeons I haven't explored fully are the basement of the Luxus Palace Royale and the dragon caves. I guess I'd better go through them and see if there was an object or message that I needed.
If this turns out to be something stupid, I'm going to be very angry. No spoilers! I need to figure this out myself. (If you want to leave a message for posterity in ROT-13, feel free.)
Prepare to be angry. It turns out to be something stupid :)
ReplyDeleteI played, and won, this game 20 years ago, but I must admit I remember nothing about the Orb and the capifluxi thingies.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what are the best weapons you have now? Anything better than +50?
The best weapon I have is a Voltage Bow +25. The best melee weapon is a Broad Sword +23. Does that seem low?
ReplyDeleteIt is *exceptionally* stupid. You should not be ashamed of looking at spoilers for this one.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading your outrage next post.
I'm wondering there is a written message for this "how get out the orb" solution somewhere in the game?
ReplyDeleteTo echo another poster, I solved this game over 2 decades ago. And while I don't remember specifics, your orb problem does spark some memory. I don't remember the solution. But I remember spending some time with it. And I think when I figured it out, it was indeed stupid.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, glad you are back. Onward to Pool of Radiance!
I didn't quite figure it out, but I did find a way to exploit a game feature to get out of the cavern with the Orb: I just gave it to an NPC and kicked the NPC out of my party. He later showed up at the Middlegate Inn with the orb still in his possession.
ReplyDeleteIt feels like cheating a bit, but I couldn't figure out anything else. I'm itching to read a walkthrough so I can see the real solution, but I'm very close to winning, so I'll just wait until it's all over.
You Found the Real solution yourself! As far as i know this is the only way to retrieve the orb. Congrats on that one.
ReplyDeleteTaking advantage of a game "bug" that makes no sense in the context of the fiction *was* the intended solution.
ReplyDeleteReally? That was it? This whole time, I've been thinking that by doing it that way, I missed an important cut scene or something. Stupid, I agree--how did the NPC get out if my characters couldn't? But I'm embarrassed it took me so long to figure that out. I had plenty of experience dismissing NPCs, after all.
ReplyDelete