Radiant Historia, Part 5
It's that time again! Last time on "Let's Play Radiant Historia!" with Lady Nighteyes, we beat up a guy who needed his figurative language privileges revoked and got a bunch of exposition. In this installment, we'll finally get to see one of the game's many bad ends, start some sidequests, and do some minor time traveling.
Maybe not QUITE as stylish as Lippti and Teo's way of teleporting in, but who cares.
Stocke: (Infiltrating enemy territory... I think it's safe to assume that this is an important mission.)
Did you not get that from the way that Heiss SAID "This is an important mission"?
Stocke: (Depending on how things go, it may lead to an end to the war...)
It's way too early in the story for that to be likely, dude.
Stocke: (......)
Stocke: (No... That's too much to think about right now. First, I need to meet with the agent at Lazvil Hills. Heiss said he'd be under the bridge...)
Y'know, Stocke, you don't have to give a full plot breakdown just in case the player forgot what happened. It's right there under the "Story" tab on the menu.
Stocke: (...I should go and find Raynie and Marco. Where could they have gone?)
Well, Raynie is pretty obviously right there, but we'll ignore her for now.
Trying to head back towards the castle nets you this. So, alas, we can't thank Sonja for the help last time. Instead, I wander around and talk to everyone.
Stocke: What's the problem?
I smell sidequest!
Little girl: Thanks, mister! My dad's in the house past here. I'm counting on you!
By "the house past here," they actually mean the open door up the stairs.
Botanist: Indeed I am, but... I'm sorry my children bothered you.
I like to imagine that they've been badgering every single person they've seen about this for the past week.
Stocke: Oh, I don't mind. Besides, if I don't know what "helping" entails, I don't know if I can help you. What can I do?
Botanist: Well... As you know, the desertification of this continent is a serious problem. The trees and plants are dying out one by one.
Stocke: I see.
Botanist: But plants have a lot of potential. There are plants that will grow, even in the desert. What I want to know is how to grow conuts. I already have some conut seeds, but I can't get them to sprout...
Stocke: So you want me to find out how to make them grow? Where should I start looking?
Botanist: Conuts are grown in Cornet Village. I hear they sell them in Granorg, but I can't just go off to Granorg during the war...
Well, isn't that convenient. We can.
Stocke: All right. If I ever go there, I'll ask around.
Botanist: Thank you very much! I'll repay you for your effort, of course!
c:
Anyway, let's move on.
Sorry, Raynie. Still ignoring you.
If you talked to this little girl earlier, she was quite understandably pissed that her brother wanted her to be Protea for their game. This is definitely a step up.
Girl: Princess Eruca is the princess of Granorg. All I know about her is that she's really beautiful!
That's not what I would have picked as her defining trait, but okay.
Girl: But there's something missing in order to play Princess Eruca...
A crown, shorter hair, significant knowledge of the plot, and an evil stepmother?
Girl: Could you do me a favor?
Anna: Listen, here's what I need... I heard that Princess Eruca's ring is a very popular piece in Granorg. If I'm going to be Princess Eruca, I think I should have her ring, too! If you ever go to Granorg, I'd like a little souvenir gift!
Like any RPG protagonist worth their salt, Stocke will go to ridiculous lengths to help anyone with anything.
Anna: Ooh, you're so nice! Thank you! I heard you can buy that style of ring from stores in Granorg. I'll be waiting for you!
Why is it that EVERYONE seems to know we're going to Granorg on a TOP SECRET mission? ...Marco, you told everyone, didn't you.
Oh, and by the way:
...You do know he's kind of dead, right?
Grrr.
Now that I've got those two sidequests started, I guess I better pick up my other party members.
Raynie: Were you talking with Heiss?
Stocke: It wasn't important.
Raynie: Oh... Hey, Marco's still in the shop. I think he's got a lot of preparations to make.
Uh. Raynie, that's a bar, not a shop. ..."Preparations" indeed.
Stocke: What about you?
Raynie: I've been waiting here for you! If I was in the shop too, you'd never find us!
Wait, is Marco even old enough to drink? Like, anywhere?
Stocke: I see. Sorry for the trouble.
Not pictured due to lack of alternate portraits: Raynie blushing furiously and trying to avoid eye contact.
Marco is the moment killer. It's him.
Because you interrupted her while she was trying to be tsundere?
Raynie: ...It's nothing!
Oh, Marco, you so clueless.
Marco: Okay... Say, Stocke, are we going to be going to Granorg right away?
Raynie: If you want to get some equipment, you should do it now. Once we leave Alistel, we won't be able to go shopping for a while.
The screen helpfully pans right to the weapon shop, then back.
Translation: Screw that, we can get better stuff pretty soon anyway in the other timeline.
Off we go.
The place is about the same as last time, though the enemies are a little harder.
However, back-attacking them continues to work just as well.
I suspect Stocke is copying some of his skills off other party members.
It doesn't take long for us to hit another cutscene.
Raynie: Yeah. Man, where is he?
Stocke: We might be on the wrong side of the bridge. Look.
The camera pans across the river.
Raynie: Yeah, that side looks more likely. I don't think many people would pass by over there.
Stocke: Yeah... Let's head south. We should be able to cross the river there.
Note the little jelly-monster barely visible at the bottom of the screen that mugged me as soon as I took this screenshot.
One of these monsters was carrying a sword, for some reason.
I could have just exploited the fact that this guy is easy to avoid, but where's the fun in that?
Continuing north triggers another cutscene before you even leave the screen.
Raynie: I hope so. I'll be annoyed if it was the other side after all. But no worries. If someone shows up over there, we can see them from here.
Marco turns around to look everywhere.
Marco: I don't see anyone yet...
Raynie: Maybe we're too early?
Stocke: No. We're late, in fact... Oh well. Let's wait.
One black screen later...
Marco: It's been three hours. He's awfully late.
Raynie: Hey, Stocke! Why don't we go to Alma Mine instead of waiting around here for the agent?
Marco: W-wait a second... Wouldn't that be a bad idea? Granted, Heiss said that the agent would be coming from the Alma Mine... but what if we accidentally missed each other?
Raynie: Geez, you're such a pill. And what if the agent's in hot water at Alma Mine? Then we're really in trouble! If we go to him, maybe we could help out.
Stocke: (The question is, what's our priority right now?)
Stocke: (I have to think about this one carefully...)
That line right there always tells you that the choice you're about to make can potentially lead to a bad end. Luckily, if it's in the main plot, it also means there's a node there, so you can make the wrong decision with no consequences whatsoever.
Well, I mean, after three hours, there's not much hope of him arriving here anyway, right? This seems like the more sensible option.
Stocke: It's possible he's run into trouble. We should head to Alma Mine.
Raynie: Exactly.
Marco: Hmm... It is rather worrying... All right, I'll go along with whatever you say, Stocke.
Raynie: Then come on, let's go. The sooner the better!
Marco: Alma Mine... is burning?
Raynie: How is such a fierce battle being waged here? What's going on, Marco?
Marco: I-I don't know. We can hardly meet the agent in the middle of all this! What should we do, Stocke!?
Stocke: Let's join the Alistel army and break through here.
Raynie! C'mon, guys!
...That could have gone better.
Yay!
And now it's time for "Lippti and Teo explain why that was a bad idea!"
Teo: Despite Granorg's loss at Alma Mine, they seem to have become even stronger as a military with Queen Protea as the center.
Lippti: How Queen Protea was able to accomplish this, and what you can do at Granorg... these things are yet to be revealed in the shadows of your choices.
Seriously, how DID she manage that? I can't see many people rallying around her if they were even remotely familiar with her personality.
Getting a bad ending drops you back at the beginning of the chapter. I just use the Start button to skip past any cutscenes, then head for the nearest save point.
Let's try that again.
The scene continues identically to last time, so I just skip it.
Stocke: This is the location he specified. Even if we do run into him at Alma Mine, he might not accept us as fellow agents. Remember, we left behind anything that might blow our covers.
Raynie: Yeah... well, if you say so. New plan! Keep waiting!
Marco: *sigh* You only ever listen to Stocke.
Raynie: So? Or are you suddenly against this, Marc?
And then the grumbling about Raynie's blatant favoritism for stoic prettyboys is interrupted by...
wait wut
Teo: Even if you continue to wait here, the one you're waiting for will never come.
Stocke: ...I see. Then there's no need to stay here.
Lippti: The route your contact intended to take has been closed off by powers that should not be here. But you can help that person arrive.
Teo: I sense the Chronicle's power here... it emanates from another holder of a Chronicle.
Stocke: What do you mean? There are other Chronicles?
Teo: That's right... Yours isn't the only one. The other one is called the Black Chronicle.
Stocke: The Black Chronicle... And someone other than me is wielding it?
NOOO.
Teo: Indeed. And it is this other wielder who is corrupting history.
Stocke: It's being corrupted?
Lippti: This other wielder moves through time as you do. His actions are also causing you harm.
Stocke: But why?
Lippti: That... we do not know.
Stocke: There are things even the guides of Historia don't know?
Lippti: We are not omniscient. There is no knowing for what purpose the Black Chronicle's holder employs it.
Stocke: ...Very well. Let's get back on track. We have no idea where to go because the agent we were meant to meet won't arrive. This is due to the other holder's interference, isn't it?
Teo: That's right. His passage is being blocked by the other wielder. It's another means of disrupting this history...
Stocke: What should I do about it? Go back to the past?
Teo: I... suppose? Well, that's not precisely it.
Lippti: To be more specific, you must return to the other past. Sometimes, even returning to your own past may not reveal the root of the problem. When this happens, explore the other history to find the cause.
Teo: The different histories are based in a common origin. There will always be commonalities. That's why each timeline affects the other. This holds true for the agent you wish to meet. His being held over in the other history is indirectly causing a delay in yours.
"People think of time as a strict progression from cause to effect, but in fact, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff."
Stocke: So if I can get in touch with the agent in the other timeline... Then I'll be able to meet him in this one?
Lippti: That is correct.
Teo: Try searching for an occurrence like that in the other history. When you find it, help the agent to get going again.
Stocke: All right, I'll try.
Lippti: From now on, you will encounter many such instances... the present and the past... two different timelines. By going back and forth between them, you will realign history toward its intended direction.
Stocke: This will get... complicated.
And, the "Understatement of the Century" award goes to...
Teo: Don't worry! I'm sure you can manage.
Lippti: Well then, until next time...
As the twins explained, this is currently a dead end. There's nothing I can do here until stuff gets fixed in the other timeline.
Next time, we'll be heading back to the first decision point to see what happens when we make the other choice. Hopefully, we'll find a way to deal with this little snag. Nighteyes out.
Maybe not QUITE as stylish as Lippti and Teo's way of teleporting in, but who cares.
Stocke: (Infiltrating enemy territory... I think it's safe to assume that this is an important mission.)
Did you not get that from the way that Heiss SAID "This is an important mission"?
Stocke: (Depending on how things go, it may lead to an end to the war...)
It's way too early in the story for that to be likely, dude.
Stocke: (......)
Stocke: (No... That's too much to think about right now. First, I need to meet with the agent at Lazvil Hills. Heiss said he'd be under the bridge...)
Y'know, Stocke, you don't have to give a full plot breakdown just in case the player forgot what happened. It's right there under the "Story" tab on the menu.
Stocke: (...I should go and find Raynie and Marco. Where could they have gone?)
Well, Raynie is pretty obviously right there, but we'll ignore her for now.
Trying to head back towards the castle nets you this. So, alas, we can't thank Sonja for the help last time. Instead, I wander around and talk to everyone.
Stocke: What's the problem?
I smell sidequest!
Little girl: Thanks, mister! My dad's in the house past here. I'm counting on you!
By "the house past here," they actually mean the open door up the stairs.
Botanist: Indeed I am, but... I'm sorry my children bothered you.
I like to imagine that they've been badgering every single person they've seen about this for the past week.
Stocke: Oh, I don't mind. Besides, if I don't know what "helping" entails, I don't know if I can help you. What can I do?
Botanist: Well... As you know, the desertification of this continent is a serious problem. The trees and plants are dying out one by one.
Stocke: I see.
Botanist: But plants have a lot of potential. There are plants that will grow, even in the desert. What I want to know is how to grow conuts. I already have some conut seeds, but I can't get them to sprout...
Stocke: So you want me to find out how to make them grow? Where should I start looking?
Botanist: Conuts are grown in Cornet Village. I hear they sell them in Granorg, but I can't just go off to Granorg during the war...
Well, isn't that convenient. We can.
Stocke: All right. If I ever go there, I'll ask around.
Botanist: Thank you very much! I'll repay you for your effort, of course!
c:
Anyway, let's move on.
Sorry, Raynie. Still ignoring you.
If you talked to this little girl earlier, she was quite understandably pissed that her brother wanted her to be Protea for their game. This is definitely a step up.
Girl: Princess Eruca is the princess of Granorg. All I know about her is that she's really beautiful!
That's not what I would have picked as her defining trait, but okay.
Girl: But there's something missing in order to play Princess Eruca...
A crown, shorter hair, significant knowledge of the plot, and an evil stepmother?
Girl: Could you do me a favor?
Anna: Listen, here's what I need... I heard that Princess Eruca's ring is a very popular piece in Granorg. If I'm going to be Princess Eruca, I think I should have her ring, too! If you ever go to Granorg, I'd like a little souvenir gift!
Like any RPG protagonist worth their salt, Stocke will go to ridiculous lengths to help anyone with anything.
Anna: Ooh, you're so nice! Thank you! I heard you can buy that style of ring from stores in Granorg. I'll be waiting for you!
Why is it that EVERYONE seems to know we're going to Granorg on a TOP SECRET mission? ...Marco, you told everyone, didn't you.
Oh, and by the way:
...You do know he's kind of dead, right?
Grrr.
Now that I've got those two sidequests started, I guess I better pick up my other party members.
Raynie: Were you talking with Heiss?
Stocke: It wasn't important.
Raynie: Oh... Hey, Marco's still in the shop. I think he's got a lot of preparations to make.
Uh. Raynie, that's a bar, not a shop. ..."Preparations" indeed.
Stocke: What about you?
Raynie: I've been waiting here for you! If I was in the shop too, you'd never find us!
Wait, is Marco even old enough to drink? Like, anywhere?
Stocke: I see. Sorry for the trouble.
Not pictured due to lack of alternate portraits: Raynie blushing furiously and trying to avoid eye contact.
Marco is the moment killer. It's him.
Because you interrupted her while she was trying to be tsundere?
Raynie: ...It's nothing!
Oh, Marco, you so clueless.
Marco: Okay... Say, Stocke, are we going to be going to Granorg right away?
Raynie: If you want to get some equipment, you should do it now. Once we leave Alistel, we won't be able to go shopping for a while.
The screen helpfully pans right to the weapon shop, then back.
Translation: Screw that, we can get better stuff pretty soon anyway in the other timeline.
Off we go.
The place is about the same as last time, though the enemies are a little harder.
However, back-attacking them continues to work just as well.
I suspect Stocke is copying some of his skills off other party members.
It doesn't take long for us to hit another cutscene.
Raynie: Yeah. Man, where is he?
Stocke: We might be on the wrong side of the bridge. Look.
The camera pans across the river.
Raynie: Yeah, that side looks more likely. I don't think many people would pass by over there.
Stocke: Yeah... Let's head south. We should be able to cross the river there.
Note the little jelly-monster barely visible at the bottom of the screen that mugged me as soon as I took this screenshot.
One of these monsters was carrying a sword, for some reason.
I could have just exploited the fact that this guy is easy to avoid, but where's the fun in that?
Continuing north triggers another cutscene before you even leave the screen.
Raynie: I hope so. I'll be annoyed if it was the other side after all. But no worries. If someone shows up over there, we can see them from here.
Marco turns around to look everywhere.
Marco: I don't see anyone yet...
Raynie: Maybe we're too early?
Stocke: No. We're late, in fact... Oh well. Let's wait.
One black screen later...
Marco: It's been three hours. He's awfully late.
Raynie: Hey, Stocke! Why don't we go to Alma Mine instead of waiting around here for the agent?
Marco: W-wait a second... Wouldn't that be a bad idea? Granted, Heiss said that the agent would be coming from the Alma Mine... but what if we accidentally missed each other?
Raynie: Geez, you're such a pill. And what if the agent's in hot water at Alma Mine? Then we're really in trouble! If we go to him, maybe we could help out.
Stocke: (The question is, what's our priority right now?)
Stocke: (I have to think about this one carefully...)
That line right there always tells you that the choice you're about to make can potentially lead to a bad end. Luckily, if it's in the main plot, it also means there's a node there, so you can make the wrong decision with no consequences whatsoever.
Well, I mean, after three hours, there's not much hope of him arriving here anyway, right? This seems like the more sensible option.
Stocke: It's possible he's run into trouble. We should head to Alma Mine.
Raynie: Exactly.
Marco: Hmm... It is rather worrying... All right, I'll go along with whatever you say, Stocke.
Raynie: Then come on, let's go. The sooner the better!
Marco: Alma Mine... is burning?
Raynie: How is such a fierce battle being waged here? What's going on, Marco?
Marco: I-I don't know. We can hardly meet the agent in the middle of all this! What should we do, Stocke!?
Stocke: Let's join the Alistel army and break through here.
Raynie! C'mon, guys!
...That could have gone better.
Yay!
And now it's time for "Lippti and Teo explain why that was a bad idea!"
Teo: Despite Granorg's loss at Alma Mine, they seem to have become even stronger as a military with Queen Protea as the center.
Lippti: How Queen Protea was able to accomplish this, and what you can do at Granorg... these things are yet to be revealed in the shadows of your choices.
Seriously, how DID she manage that? I can't see many people rallying around her if they were even remotely familiar with her personality.
Getting a bad ending drops you back at the beginning of the chapter. I just use the Start button to skip past any cutscenes, then head for the nearest save point.
Let's try that again.
The scene continues identically to last time, so I just skip it.
Stocke: This is the location he specified. Even if we do run into him at Alma Mine, he might not accept us as fellow agents. Remember, we left behind anything that might blow our covers.
Raynie: Yeah... well, if you say so. New plan! Keep waiting!
Marco: *sigh* You only ever listen to Stocke.
Raynie: So? Or are you suddenly against this, Marc?
And then the grumbling about Raynie's blatant favoritism for stoic prettyboys is interrupted by...
wait wut
Teo: Even if you continue to wait here, the one you're waiting for will never come.
Stocke: ...I see. Then there's no need to stay here.
Lippti: The route your contact intended to take has been closed off by powers that should not be here. But you can help that person arrive.
Teo: I sense the Chronicle's power here... it emanates from another holder of a Chronicle.
Stocke: What do you mean? There are other Chronicles?
Teo: That's right... Yours isn't the only one. The other one is called the Black Chronicle.
Stocke: The Black Chronicle... And someone other than me is wielding it?
NOOO.
Teo: Indeed. And it is this other wielder who is corrupting history.
Stocke: It's being corrupted?
Lippti: This other wielder moves through time as you do. His actions are also causing you harm.
Stocke: But why?
Lippti: That... we do not know.
Stocke: There are things even the guides of Historia don't know?
Lippti: We are not omniscient. There is no knowing for what purpose the Black Chronicle's holder employs it.
Stocke: ...Very well. Let's get back on track. We have no idea where to go because the agent we were meant to meet won't arrive. This is due to the other holder's interference, isn't it?
Teo: That's right. His passage is being blocked by the other wielder. It's another means of disrupting this history...
Stocke: What should I do about it? Go back to the past?
Teo: I... suppose? Well, that's not precisely it.
Lippti: To be more specific, you must return to the other past. Sometimes, even returning to your own past may not reveal the root of the problem. When this happens, explore the other history to find the cause.
Teo: The different histories are based in a common origin. There will always be commonalities. That's why each timeline affects the other. This holds true for the agent you wish to meet. His being held over in the other history is indirectly causing a delay in yours.
"People think of time as a strict progression from cause to effect, but in fact, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff."
Stocke: So if I can get in touch with the agent in the other timeline... Then I'll be able to meet him in this one?
Lippti: That is correct.
Teo: Try searching for an occurrence like that in the other history. When you find it, help the agent to get going again.
Stocke: All right, I'll try.
Lippti: From now on, you will encounter many such instances... the present and the past... two different timelines. By going back and forth between them, you will realign history toward its intended direction.
Stocke: This will get... complicated.
And, the "Understatement of the Century" award goes to...
Teo: Don't worry! I'm sure you can manage.
Lippti: Well then, until next time...
As the twins explained, this is currently a dead end. There's nothing I can do here until stuff gets fixed in the other timeline.
Next time, we'll be heading back to the first decision point to see what happens when we make the other choice. Hopefully, we'll find a way to deal with this little snag. Nighteyes out.