Rainbow Chara X
Impossible to gauge!
- 129
- Posts
- 9
- Years
- Shiny Hunting in Sinnoh
- Seen Feb 24, 2025
Poor let's plays get pushed back due to my laziness, I swear.
Future Dan Says: This is still true even today.
Chapter #5 - We Are Legion
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We start off this chapter with Soma nearly bleeding to death in front of his girlfriend, but no need to worry. A quick chat with her will fix us right up.
: "Hey, Mina..."
: "What's up?"
: "It's kind of late to ask, but what kind of shrine is the Hakuba Shrine?"
: "Soma, do you know the story of the Amanoiwado shrine?"
: "I think I've heard it before."
: "In the story, Tensho Doijin hides herself in the shrine to calm Susanoo down."
: "Yeah, I remember now."
: "Tensho Doijin is the sun. The act of hiding symbolizes an eclipse. By hiding herself away, she was able to contain Susanoo's anger."
I can't be the only person that feels this is incredibly weird given the setting of the series, right? Like the Shinto gods are myths but Dracula and all of the other crazy creatures we've seen are real.
Still, give them credit for being on-topic with the whole "eclipse" thing.
: "For that reason, eclipses are thought to confine anger and evil intentions."
: "Yes, people have prayed to eclipses for centuries. And the Hakuba Shrine is a shrine for this very purpose."
: "I understand now..."
: "And usually, we only conduct ceremonies for Japan's eclipses, but..."
: "Yes... that's what I was told."
: "And that's when Dracula's castle was sealed inside it..."
Bonus points for actually being plot relevant.
: "That's why I know the things that Mr. Arikado said were..."
: "Yes, I know now that he spoke the truth."
: "I'm sorry I haven't been much help to you."
Sweetie, you just saved Soma from the brink of death just by talking. That's the most amount of help I've ever seen someone give the player, especially if they're the love interest character.
Awww, you two are precious.
: "Yeah, sort of."
: "That weird fella a friend of yours too? Yer more popular then I thought. Don't know much people like that! So, what can I sell you?"
Hammer, you just keep being you.
Hello, primary healing item for the rest of the game.
THIS. This is the thing I was talking about that was so expensive.
This is by far one of the priciest items in the game, and for good reason. The Soul Eater Ring increases the appearance of soul drops and, to my knowledge, actually does work. You know I'm gonna get this bad boy sooner or later.
Anyway, now that we have the Undine soul, let's see what's up here.
An army of Mermen and armor that's worse than what we currently have? No thank you.
... I want to know what the hell that is, but I sort of don't want to get near it.
JESUS!
Name: Man Eater
HP: 666 per "eye" (1,998 total)
EXP: 444
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons
Drops: Rahab's Sword (rare)
Description: "A worm that subsists on skulls."
Soul effect (
): "Shoots a Ripple laser."
Soma's Thoughts: ("That's just plain disgusting.")
The Man-Eater enemy is pretty weird, but not that threatening. It's stupid durable for a regular enemy, but a few swings at this point should be enough to get rid of it. The soul is average at best as it's a slow ring that hits for ice damage.
... Which is also a reference to the Gradius Moai heads, also made by Konami.
For being the rare drop of the Man-Eater enemy, they waste no time giving us a Rahab's Sword without having to grind for it. Personally, it's pretty good... just not at this moment.
Take a look at that background. There's also a dinosaur skeleton somewhere in there and man, for a Gameboy Advance game, this looks great.
Name: Dead Crusader
HP: 180
EXP: 380
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light (okay screw it, calling it Holy is getting on my nerves)
Drops: Estoc (rare), Blocking Mail (rare)
Description: "Skeleton swordsman with strong defense."
Soul effect (
): "Constitution is increased by 16."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Okay, now this guy looks like he's trouble.")
Say hello to one of the most annoying enemies in the game, period.
This is why. Dead Crusaders actually use common sense and block your attacks. They raise their shields at everything you throw at them, no matter what it is, and the only way to hurt them is to goad them into attacking. It is very likely that you're gonna get hit trying to kill them.
The Blocking Mail is a unique piece of armor that occasionally makes you invulnerable to attacks. Tool Assisted guys make it so that it always works, which is absolutely insane.
Name: Triton
HP: 400
EXP: 300
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Fire, Curse
Drops: Trident (rare), Potato Cake (rare)
Description: "Ruler of the water kingdom."
Soul effect (
): "Strength increased by 16."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Triton? As in sea god Triton? This is so freaky.")
Triton is not threatening in the slightest. Sure, he has one of the best monster designs yet with the fish for legs and all, but he only really exists to get in your way with his 400 HP. His soul, on the other hand, is incredible as it's just an instant boost to your attack.
I'd wager it's even better than Headhunter due to it not having any real set-up to make it good.
Name: Fish Head
HP: 280
EXP: 100
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: Nothing
Description: "Dead fish reanimated to protect the sea."
Soul effect (
): "Shoots fireballs."
Soma's Thoughts: ("This enemy seems very familiar...")
Oh my god, it's literally just Bone Pillar with fins! Sure, it's a Bullet soul as opposed to a Guardian soul, but it's not even a good one as you only shoot one fireball. There's even a soul later on in the Underground Reservoir where we get to shoot like three at once.
Oh snap, this is the first time we've run into one of these. Super Potions are the best healing item in the entire series as they restore your health to max no matter how strong you get. They're infinitely more valuable than Mana Prisms to the point where they're sadly members of the Too-Cool-To-Use Club.
Just throw yourselves at me. Make my job easier.
Name: Nightmare
HP: 260
EXP: 280
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: Lance (rare)
Description: "A demon that takes residence in one's dreams."
Soul effect (
): "Summons nightmares to use as weapons."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Man, that just looks so cool. I need to get a Nightmare horse of my own.")
Nightmares are rad. They come in two variations: Armed with a knight and riderless. That said, though, they're pretty annoying to hit due to them constantly moving.
Their soul is shooting a mini-Nightmare that pierces through enemies. It could come in handy fighting guys that are weak to Dark. (the few of them that do exist)
Name: Flesh Golem
HP: 2000
EXP: 400
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons
Drops: Rotten Milk (common), Spoiled Meat (common)
Description:"A man-like figure built from the body parts of corpses. Animated by magic."
Soul effect (
): "Enjoys eating the oddest things."
Soma's Thoughts: (*gagging noises*)
The Flesh Golem is, by all accounts, one of the most durable regular enemies in the game that don't have a real gimmick to them. They're no different than Golems before them, wind up punch and all, but damn it if I don't want to spend my entire life trying to kill just one.
Their soul allows you to eat unhealthy food (Spoiled Milk, Rotten Meat, etc.) and heal as much health as High Potions and Melons. Honestly one of the most effective healing methods if you can get it. It doesn't work in reverse and make "good" healing items hurt you, so it's pretty great.
This is a bit of a timing puzzle. You have to push the boat and immediately get on top of it as it falls down the ramp.
Fortunately I got the timing down, but it went a bit too fast for me to screencap what happened.
Name: Slime
HP: 200
EXP: 200
Strength: Weapons, Ice
Weakness: Fire
Drops: Nothing
Description: "A creature whose body is made up of a gelatinous substance."
Soul effect (
): "Hurls slimeballs at enemies."
Soma's Thoughts: ("I'm starting to really hate things that bounce around.")
I hate these things. Slimes poison you and resist your attacks well enough that you might get hit in return. At least in Dawn they have relatively low HP, but damn.
Name: Arc Demon
HP: 500
EXP: 400
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: High Mind Up (common)
Description: "Uses the power of darkness to wreak havoc upon the world."
Soul effect (
): "Restores MP as damage is inflicted on him."
Soma's Thoughts: ("This guy looks metal. If I didn't have magic powers, I'd definitely be screwed.")
Arc Demon is a tougher version of the regular Devil enemy and has the frills to prove it. He can fire out a giant spiked fireball and smack you with his claws, but as long as you're moving he won't be much trouble.
His soul is pretty neat in that it regenerates more MP the more you get damaged.
Ah yes, these books. See, they're supposed to be hints towards the souls you need to collect to get the best ending. They come in three colors (Red, Blue, Yellow) and have little descriptions matching the monsters you need to go find.
Collecting the books themselves are not necessary if you already know what said monsters are, though.
Oh, and I just had to show this off because Triton has some mad tunes. This forces his trident to chase after you, but that's about it.
Money is no issue in this game unless you're going for the Soul Eater Ring, I swear.
You're letting this happen, aren't you?
Hello, semi-permanent Enchant soul spot. (I swear if Undine and Skula weren't required, I'd have Triton on all of the time)
Name: Giant Worm
HP: 100
EXP: 80
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Fire
Drops: Cream Puff (rare)
Description: "Transformed into a giant insect by exposure to the castle's magic."
Soul effect (
): "When motionless, HP are gradually restored."
Soma's Thoughts: ("There's so many gross things in this castle, I swear.")
The Giant Worm is an absolute joke. Despite its size, it goes down with a simple poke. The soul, on the other hand, is incredible. It allows you to regenerate health as long as you stay still, which could be a godsend if you have a good camping spot.
The Rune Ring! Combine this with the Arc Demon soul and it could be pretty busted. It's also a vastly inferior version of the ultimate accessory in the game, so there's a small spoiler for you.
Break the wall here and you get another new weapon. It's not as strong as Balmung but it's a bit better.
Overhead, fast swing speed, not that much weaker... the poor Balmung didn't even get some time in the spotlight.
Oh, and another Super Potion just in case you needed it. Nobody should ever need to use a Super Potion, though.
Here's a way back to the Castle Corridor just in case you were curious.
A Killer Fish ripe forthe eating soul farming. I find it hilarious that it got this far out of the water only for Soma to come along and barbecue it.
Big Golem makes a reappearance but is old news by now.
Name: Cagnazzo
HP: 180
EXP: 220
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons
Drops: Uncurse Potion (common), Onikiri (rare)
Description: "Picky, underworld fiend."
Soul effect (
): "Punches enemies."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Whoa, hello! That was a bit too close for comfort.")
Cagnazzo is a pretty cool enemy. He has a neat design (that's shared with two other enemies) and a hilarious Soul that I just have to show off - but at the same time he ziplines towards your location. The trident curses you if he hits you with it, so watch out for that.
Name: Ukoback
HP: 80
EXP: 180
Strength: Fire, Dark
Weakness: Water, Light, Stone
Drops: Nothing
Description: "One of Hell's cauldron demons with a blazing red hot body."
Soul effect (
): "Sets fires."
Soma's Thoughts: ("I can't tell if I'm supposed to be intimidated or not.")
Man, to think I called the other monsters "background enemies". The only purpose for this little guy's existence is to place fires that can easily extinguished from a poke from any weapon. It may be a unique enemy, but it's kinda meh.
This room had a Giant Worm inside of it, and it was generous enough to give me its rare drop. Although how a giant worm even got a Cream Puff is something I'll never understand or want to know.
Ukoback shows his relevance by adding to my soul collection.
Another Mana Prism to add to the millions we already have.
HOLY SHIT I ACTUALLY GOT IT ON SCREEN!
Name: Sky Fish
HP: 100
EXP: 3000
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Nothing
Drops: Nothing
Description: "A creature that moves at high speed. Invisible to catch with the naked eye."
Soul effect (
): "While praying, both Luck and Strength increases for a moment."
Soma's Thoughts: ("What even was that? It went by too fast.")
The Sky Fish is another secret enemy. That "invisible to catch with the naked eye" thing isn't a bluff either - most people don't even know the thing exists without consulting a bestiary. The only way to even kill it is to use Chronomage's soul - the time stopping soul.
Problem is, if you don't time it perfectly, you'll miss the Sky Fish altogether and have to reset the room.
The worst part about it is that Sky Fish comes at different speeds, which could seriously screw with your Chronomage Soul timing. Chronomage also takes up 90 MP per use, so it's very costly to hunt.
For someone doing a 100% Souls run, Sky Fish is the cruelest enemy in the game as it still takes multiple tries to get the soul. It can seriously go burn in hell.
... I managed to get the rare drop for Big Golem somehow. Oh well, more money.
If I'm not mistaken, the Milican's Sword can petrify enemies, but it's come in at a time where most weapons are gradually getting crazier and crazier. How unfortunate.
Sweet! Now I can show it off.
Look at that.
It even goes "ora ora ora ora!" like in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure! It's great. Soma would be an absolutely broken Stand user with all the souls he has.
Here's another place to get Mandragora's soul just in case.
Name: Poison Worm
HP: 100
EXP: 120
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Fire
Drops: Anti-venom (common)
Description: "A large insect that spits poison."
Soul effect (
): "Immunity to poison."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Okay, I thought the other worm monster looked gross but this is just ridiculous.")
Poison Worm is just a purple recolor of Giant Worm that can poison you. Yawn.
[SFX: Yoko's sharp gasp of pain]
Oh damn, the plot snuck up on me.
... Graham, you could have just left the knife in there instead of...
[He teleports away]
Well, I guess that's just how scared of Soma he is. Even without the ultimate weapon we can still total his dumb ass.
What would have happened if we weren't conveniently around for this? Yoko would have died. Jesus.
: "Graham, that bastard! What has he done?!"
: "He has... absorbed this castle's power... and he's gotten much stronger. Oww... ahh... my plan has...failed..."
: "Save your strength! There's no need to speak!"
Good advice. I've nearly died because of how careless I've gotten lately. Now... just see what Soma says in the next shot.
I love this delivery. They didn't even space it between two dialouge boxes, so it's like Soma's yelling... but immediately he just figures out that she's okay.
Like come on, he's already a cheeseball.
[Arikado walks in from the right]
: "Don't just stand there mumbling! Yoko's in a bad shape!"
: "GO! I will see to her wounds."
: "I can't just leave her like this! She's my friend!"
Soma, you make friends very easily. That's kind of worrying.
: "Do not worry about her. I believe there are other things you need to do."
: "Graham went to the throne. What's there? What are you hiding from me?!"
^ Reasonable questions
: "I cannot say. You must go there yourself and if you don't... you will lose Mina... and Yoko as well! Their fate is in your hands..."
^ Told right off
"I feel as if I'm being manipulated. I don't like it, but I'll do as you say. But if we ever escape from this castle alive, I want to know everything."
: "Fair enough, now be on your way."
This man better give us an answer when we get to the throne.
[Current audio in-game: The Arena]
Going to the left of the Yoko-gets-shanked-scene takes you here. But I'd rather not touch this place yet. Let's go down instead.
Name: Gargoyle
HP: 70
EXP: 240
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Light
Drops: Nothing
Description: "A grotesque monster with the wings of a bat."
Soul effect (
): "Immunity to petrification."
Soma's Thoughts: ("This guy rubs me the wrong way for some reason.")
Gargoyles are just upgraded Gremlins. Immunity to petrification would be nice against yellow Medusa Heads, but that's literally all it's good for.
The music doesn't change, but you can tell this place is going to be... a bit of a departure from the rest of the Underground Reservoir.
Hey, look at that.
Name: Werejaguar
HP: 380
EXP: 260
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons, Poison, Curse
Drops: Mach Punch (rare)
Description: "Works on his straight punch so he can defeat Weretiger."
Soul effect (
): "Packs an extremely powerful straight punch."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Werejaguar? Now they're getting creative.")
Another were- enemy, and honestly kind of a cool one. They can trap you in a multi-hit combo before smashing Soma's face in, and they move pretty fast. The soul requires no explanation and will be shown off in a gif with the other two "punching" souls.
--
Name: Biphron
HP: 380
EXP: 280
Strength: Fire
Weakness: Weapons, Poison, Curse
Drops: Nothing
Description: "Spirit creature whose glow illuminates dark graveyards."
Soul effect (
): "Shoots out a series of exploding fireballs."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Kinda spooky. Maybe he's the gravekeeper of this place.")
Biphron (or rather, Bifrons) is another Ars Goetian demon - I could readily describe him in demonology as a sort of alchemist that also deals with gravekeeping, hence why he's hanging around this place. His soul makes the already-unimpressive Werewolf soul look like complete garbage, as it's not only stronger but shoots flame pillars that go across the entire screen. It's fantastic.
Name: Flame Demon
HP: 500
EXP: 400
Strength: Fire, Dark
Weakness: Ice, Light
Drops: Laevatain (rare)
Description: "A fiend born from hellfire."
Soul effect (
): "Burns enemies to a crisp with its ultra-hot flames."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Why is it so warm all of a sud-- oh, it's this guy.")
Flame Demon is pretty much a red recolor of the regular Devil enemy, but his importance is far greater. See, he's one of the required souls for the best ending. Yeah, this is something I wish they didn't do because it's forced grinding, but still.
The soul itself is nice due to it being a triple fireball attack.
[The background music stops, and is replaced by... THIS]
... Well, that's... disturbing. What's going on in here?
Oh hey, a new mon-- wait. We can't even hurt it.
Yes folks, the cemetery has zombies running around in the background but they don't do anything. It's pretty creepy how they're just... there, along with the "music" that's playing.
There's money here along with some Werejaguars, but that's all we can do on this side. I sort of want to know why 2000$ was lying on a pillar in the middle of a haunted cemetery.
All of the zombies seem to be going through the boss door... I don't have a good feeling about this.
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT
WHAT AM I LOOKING AT
Name: Legion
HP: 5000
EXP: 12000
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: N/A
Description: "He is many, he is one."
Soul effect (
): "Fires an array of lasers."
Soma's Thoughts: ("HOW DOES THIS THING EXIST?!")
Legion is honestly one of the freakiest monsters in the game aside from the final bosses. It's a giant ball of corpses, and it's been a part of the series ever since Symphony of the Night (called Granfaloon there). Not only that, it's one of the sturdiest enemies in the game, bar none.
The core has 5000 HP, but so do the 4 segments surrounding it. Not only that, to get his soul, you have to destroy the segments and expose the core. Way easier said than done.
... Also, I can't be the only person who sees the fetus outline in how Legion is shaped, right?
Legion's primary method of attack in this form is to drop zombies from his body. Unlike the ones from before, these ones can actually be destroyed. Legion also slowly tries to go to where you are, which can be really annoying if you're trying to break off a segment of his.
Once you've done enough damage, the segments will break off to reveal... a cage with something red inside of it. When you free a bit of the core, it'll start attacking you with lasers.
... Imagine the therapy Soma would need to get over this: "I fought a giant fetus-shaped corpse ball that shot lasers at me."
When the core is completely exposed, it will either shoot lasers at you or bounce around the room like it were an exercise ball.
Still a lot less tedious than the rest of the fight.
Finally, when you -- oh my god that background -- ahem, defeat Legion with all of his segments destroyed, he'll give you his soul. If you don't, you lose out on it forever.
... Yeah, don't come into this fight without taking precautions.
This is what Legion's soul looks like. It's impressive-looking, but it does dark damage unfortunately. Not only that, I feel there's a far better laser soul coming up soon that's less expensive (Legion's is 66 MP per use) and quicker on top of that.
... I guess I could show this off too.
Pretty nasty, all things considered. It's a shame that there's even better souls later on - I'd keep this on for the rest of the game if I could.
Ah, yes. This will allow us to ignore Chronomage's time-stopping abilities and kick his fluffy ass.
Galamoth was originally a character that debuted in a cutesy Super Deformed Castlevania spinoff called Kid Dracula. In that game, he was Dracula's draconic time lord rival.
However, people know him better as the most grueling, pain-in-the-dick bonus boss in Symphony of the Night with 12,000 HP and ridiculously powerful lightning attacks. He looks the part, too.
.
The Gold Ring allows us to get more money from enemies, which is really good for getting the Soul Eater Ring.
Name: Alura Une
HP: 800
EXP: 400
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Fire
Drops: Melon (common)
Description: "An Une raised on warm blood."
Soul effect (
): "Restores health."
Soma's Thoughts: ("More cute monsters girls... wait, isn't that the same grass monster from back in the Chapel?")
I take back what I said about Persephone. Alura Une (Alraune?) is the cutest enemy in the game. (Well, in Dawn of Sorrow, at least...)
She's resilient and can summon vines to hit us, but the worst thing about her is that she can hide in her flower bud to take no damage. All in all, not that intimidating. Her soul, on the other hand, lets us regenerate health at the cost of a lot of MP... which could still be very useful as it's a straight out healing ability.
1 out of 3 required souls obtained!
Back in the Arena, let's -- oh my god that was too close for comfort.
Name: Beam Skeleton
HP: 400
EXP: 320
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: Nothing
Description: "Skeleton wizard whose powers come from the hole drilled into his head."
Soul effect (
): "Fires a deadly beam."
Soma's Thoughts: ("I can feel the heat coming off of this burning my clothes.")
Ah yes, the Beam Skeleton. My favorite enemy in the game and my favorite Bullet soul. This little guy actually made an appearance in Symphony as the Nova Skeleton, whose spritework made him... well, look like he was having way too much fun shooting lasers.
Name: Skull Millione (Scarmiglione)
HP: 250
EXP: 300
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons, Curse
Drops: Kunitsuna (rare), Poison Fist (rare)
Description: "Hell spawn with poisoned claws."
Soul effect (
): "Weakens its enemies with its poison claws."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Hey, it's the brother of that other guy. He doesn't look too friendly...")
Skull Millione is a serious mistranslation of the name Scarmiglione, a demon taken from Dante's Divine Comedy. (Cagnazzo and another one we're gonna meet soon are also based off of Divine Comedy demons)
He doesn't have a cool trident like his brothers, so he instead rushes at you with his claws. Not that difficult to dodge, honestly, but the poison from when he does hit you is annoying enough. His soul summons poison claws in front of Soma, but it's not very good.
Another rare item drop. How do I have the luck to keep getting these things?
I had to retreat back to the Castle Corridor because... uh, look at my health. I couldn't even follow my own advice of not getting hit by Skull Millione's claws, so that egg's on me.
Name: Gladiator
HP: 600
EXP: 1000
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: Nothing
Description: "Though he's dead, this warrior still seeks out battles."
Soul effect (
): "Throws wheels at enemies."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Man, these guys won't stop even when they're just bones.")
Gladiators are an interesting enemy - they go back and forth through the same area and shoot fire arrows at you. Their sprite is huge for a regular enemy, so getting hit by them is very likely. Their soul on the other hand is just... silly.
Instead of shooting fire arrows or summoning a platoon of enemies... you throw a damn wheel. Not only that, the wheel does a fair amount of damage. How do the guys at Konami do it?
Name: Weretiger
HP: 400
EXP: 320
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons, Poison, Curse
Drops: Whip Knuckle (rare)
Description: "Works on his uppercut so he can defeat Werejaguar."
Soul effect (
): "Packs an extremely powerful uppercut."
Soma's Thoughts: ("Hey, this is the guy Werejaguar wanted to fight. I'd pay big bucks to see a match between them.")
They're the same enemy in many respects, only Weretiger has an uppercut instead. That's all I got, ladies and gentlemen.
No, seriously, that's all I got for this episode. See you next time, guys.
Future Dan Says: This is still true even today.
Chapter #5 - We Are Legion
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Spoiler:
We start off this chapter with Soma nearly bleeding to death in front of his girlfriend, but no need to worry. A quick chat with her will fix us right up.
I can't be the only person that feels this is incredibly weird given the setting of the series, right? Like the Shinto gods are myths but Dracula and all of the other crazy creatures we've seen are real.
Still, give them credit for being on-topic with the whole "eclipse" thing.
Bonus points for actually being plot relevant.
Sweetie, you just saved Soma from the brink of death just by talking. That's the most amount of help I've ever seen someone give the player, especially if they're the love interest character.
Awww, you two are precious.
Hammer, you just keep being you.
Hello, primary healing item for the rest of the game.
This is by far one of the priciest items in the game, and for good reason. The Soul Eater Ring increases the appearance of soul drops and, to my knowledge, actually does work. You know I'm gonna get this bad boy sooner or later.
Anyway, now that we have the Undine soul, let's see what's up here.
An army of Mermen and armor that's worse than what we currently have? No thank you.
... I want to know what the hell that is, but I sort of don't want to get near it.
JESUS!
Name: Man Eater
HP: 666 per "eye" (1,998 total)
EXP: 444
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons
Drops: Rahab's Sword (rare)
Description: "A worm that subsists on skulls."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("That's just plain disgusting.")
The Man-Eater enemy is pretty weird, but not that threatening. It's stupid durable for a regular enemy, but a few swings at this point should be enough to get rid of it. The soul is average at best as it's a slow ring that hits for ice damage.
... Which is also a reference to the Gradius Moai heads, also made by Konami.
For being the rare drop of the Man-Eater enemy, they waste no time giving us a Rahab's Sword without having to grind for it. Personally, it's pretty good... just not at this moment.
Take a look at that background. There's also a dinosaur skeleton somewhere in there and man, for a Gameboy Advance game, this looks great.
Name: Dead Crusader
HP: 180
EXP: 380
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light (okay screw it, calling it Holy is getting on my nerves)
Drops: Estoc (rare), Blocking Mail (rare)
Description: "Skeleton swordsman with strong defense."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Okay, now this guy looks like he's trouble.")
Say hello to one of the most annoying enemies in the game, period.
This is why. Dead Crusaders actually use common sense and block your attacks. They raise their shields at everything you throw at them, no matter what it is, and the only way to hurt them is to goad them into attacking. It is very likely that you're gonna get hit trying to kill them.
The Blocking Mail is a unique piece of armor that occasionally makes you invulnerable to attacks. Tool Assisted guys make it so that it always works, which is absolutely insane.
Name: Triton
HP: 400
EXP: 300
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Fire, Curse
Drops: Trident (rare), Potato Cake (rare)
Description: "Ruler of the water kingdom."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Triton? As in sea god Triton? This is so freaky.")
Triton is not threatening in the slightest. Sure, he has one of the best monster designs yet with the fish for legs and all, but he only really exists to get in your way with his 400 HP. His soul, on the other hand, is incredible as it's just an instant boost to your attack.
I'd wager it's even better than Headhunter due to it not having any real set-up to make it good.
Name: Fish Head
HP: 280
EXP: 100
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: Nothing
Description: "Dead fish reanimated to protect the sea."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("This enemy seems very familiar...")
Oh my god, it's literally just Bone Pillar with fins! Sure, it's a Bullet soul as opposed to a Guardian soul, but it's not even a good one as you only shoot one fireball. There's even a soul later on in the Underground Reservoir where we get to shoot like three at once.
Oh snap, this is the first time we've run into one of these. Super Potions are the best healing item in the entire series as they restore your health to max no matter how strong you get. They're infinitely more valuable than Mana Prisms to the point where they're sadly members of the Too-Cool-To-Use Club.
Just throw yourselves at me. Make my job easier.
Name: Nightmare
HP: 260
EXP: 280
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: Lance (rare)
Description: "A demon that takes residence in one's dreams."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Man, that just looks so cool. I need to get a Nightmare horse of my own.")
Nightmares are rad. They come in two variations: Armed with a knight and riderless. That said, though, they're pretty annoying to hit due to them constantly moving.
Their soul is shooting a mini-Nightmare that pierces through enemies. It could come in handy fighting guys that are weak to Dark. (the few of them that do exist)
Name: Flesh Golem
HP: 2000
EXP: 400
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons
Drops: Rotten Milk (common), Spoiled Meat (common)
Description:"A man-like figure built from the body parts of corpses. Animated by magic."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: (*gagging noises*)
The Flesh Golem is, by all accounts, one of the most durable regular enemies in the game that don't have a real gimmick to them. They're no different than Golems before them, wind up punch and all, but damn it if I don't want to spend my entire life trying to kill just one.
Their soul allows you to eat unhealthy food (Spoiled Milk, Rotten Meat, etc.) and heal as much health as High Potions and Melons. Honestly one of the most effective healing methods if you can get it. It doesn't work in reverse and make "good" healing items hurt you, so it's pretty great.
This is a bit of a timing puzzle. You have to push the boat and immediately get on top of it as it falls down the ramp.
Fortunately I got the timing down, but it went a bit too fast for me to screencap what happened.
Name: Slime
HP: 200
EXP: 200
Strength: Weapons, Ice
Weakness: Fire
Drops: Nothing
Description: "A creature whose body is made up of a gelatinous substance."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("I'm starting to really hate things that bounce around.")
I hate these things. Slimes poison you and resist your attacks well enough that you might get hit in return. At least in Dawn they have relatively low HP, but damn.
Name: Arc Demon
HP: 500
EXP: 400
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: High Mind Up (common)
Description: "Uses the power of darkness to wreak havoc upon the world."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("This guy looks metal. If I didn't have magic powers, I'd definitely be screwed.")
Arc Demon is a tougher version of the regular Devil enemy and has the frills to prove it. He can fire out a giant spiked fireball and smack you with his claws, but as long as you're moving he won't be much trouble.
His soul is pretty neat in that it regenerates more MP the more you get damaged.
Ah yes, these books. See, they're supposed to be hints towards the souls you need to collect to get the best ending. They come in three colors (Red, Blue, Yellow) and have little descriptions matching the monsters you need to go find.
Collecting the books themselves are not necessary if you already know what said monsters are, though.
Oh, and I just had to show this off because Triton has some mad tunes. This forces his trident to chase after you, but that's about it.
Money is no issue in this game unless you're going for the Soul Eater Ring, I swear.
You're letting this happen, aren't you?
Hello, semi-permanent Enchant soul spot. (I swear if Undine and Skula weren't required, I'd have Triton on all of the time)
Name: Giant Worm
HP: 100
EXP: 80
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Fire
Drops: Cream Puff (rare)
Description: "Transformed into a giant insect by exposure to the castle's magic."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("There's so many gross things in this castle, I swear.")
The Giant Worm is an absolute joke. Despite its size, it goes down with a simple poke. The soul, on the other hand, is incredible. It allows you to regenerate health as long as you stay still, which could be a godsend if you have a good camping spot.
The Rune Ring! Combine this with the Arc Demon soul and it could be pretty busted. It's also a vastly inferior version of the ultimate accessory in the game, so there's a small spoiler for you.
Break the wall here and you get another new weapon. It's not as strong as Balmung but it's a bit better.
Overhead, fast swing speed, not that much weaker... the poor Balmung didn't even get some time in the spotlight.
Oh, and another Super Potion just in case you needed it. Nobody should ever need to use a Super Potion, though.
Here's a way back to the Castle Corridor just in case you were curious.
A Killer Fish ripe for
Big Golem makes a reappearance but is old news by now.
Name: Cagnazzo
HP: 180
EXP: 220
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons
Drops: Uncurse Potion (common), Onikiri (rare)
Description: "Picky, underworld fiend."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Whoa, hello! That was a bit too close for comfort.")
Cagnazzo is a pretty cool enemy. He has a neat design (that's shared with two other enemies) and a hilarious Soul that I just have to show off - but at the same time he ziplines towards your location. The trident curses you if he hits you with it, so watch out for that.
Name: Ukoback
HP: 80
EXP: 180
Strength: Fire, Dark
Weakness: Water, Light, Stone
Drops: Nothing
Description: "One of Hell's cauldron demons with a blazing red hot body."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("I can't tell if I'm supposed to be intimidated or not.")
Man, to think I called the other monsters "background enemies". The only purpose for this little guy's existence is to place fires that can easily extinguished from a poke from any weapon. It may be a unique enemy, but it's kinda meh.
This room had a Giant Worm inside of it, and it was generous enough to give me its rare drop. Although how a giant worm even got a Cream Puff is something I'll never understand or want to know.
Ukoback shows his relevance by adding to my soul collection.
Another Mana Prism to add to the millions we already have.
HOLY SHIT I ACTUALLY GOT IT ON SCREEN!
Name: Sky Fish
HP: 100
EXP: 3000
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Nothing
Drops: Nothing
Description: "A creature that moves at high speed. Invisible to catch with the naked eye."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("What even was that? It went by too fast.")
The Sky Fish is another secret enemy. That "invisible to catch with the naked eye" thing isn't a bluff either - most people don't even know the thing exists without consulting a bestiary. The only way to even kill it is to use Chronomage's soul - the time stopping soul.
Problem is, if you don't time it perfectly, you'll miss the Sky Fish altogether and have to reset the room.
The worst part about it is that Sky Fish comes at different speeds, which could seriously screw with your Chronomage Soul timing. Chronomage also takes up 90 MP per use, so it's very costly to hunt.
For someone doing a 100% Souls run, Sky Fish is the cruelest enemy in the game as it still takes multiple tries to get the soul. It can seriously go burn in hell.
... I managed to get the rare drop for Big Golem somehow. Oh well, more money.
If I'm not mistaken, the Milican's Sword can petrify enemies, but it's come in at a time where most weapons are gradually getting crazier and crazier. How unfortunate.
Sweet! Now I can show it off.
Look at that.
It even goes "ora ora ora ora!" like in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure! It's great. Soma would be an absolutely broken Stand user with all the souls he has.
Here's another place to get Mandragora's soul just in case.
Name: Poison Worm
HP: 100
EXP: 120
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Fire
Drops: Anti-venom (common)
Description: "A large insect that spits poison."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Okay, I thought the other worm monster looked gross but this is just ridiculous.")
Poison Worm is just a purple recolor of Giant Worm that can poison you. Yawn.
[SFX: Yoko's sharp gasp of pain]
Oh damn, the plot snuck up on me.
... Graham, you could have just left the knife in there instead of...
[He teleports away]
Well, I guess that's just how scared of Soma he is. Even without the ultimate weapon we can still total his dumb ass.
What would have happened if we weren't conveniently around for this? Yoko would have died. Jesus.
Good advice. I've nearly died because of how careless I've gotten lately. Now... just see what Soma says in the next shot.
I love this delivery. They didn't even space it between two dialouge boxes, so it's like Soma's yelling... but immediately he just figures out that she's okay.
Like come on, he's already a cheeseball.
[Arikado walks in from the right]
Soma, you make friends very easily. That's kind of worrying.
^ Reasonable questions
^ Told right off
"I feel as if I'm being manipulated. I don't like it, but I'll do as you say. But if we ever escape from this castle alive, I want to know everything."
This man better give us an answer when we get to the throne.
[Current audio in-game: The Arena]
Going to the left of the Yoko-gets-shanked-scene takes you here. But I'd rather not touch this place yet. Let's go down instead.
Name: Gargoyle
HP: 70
EXP: 240
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Light
Drops: Nothing
Description: "A grotesque monster with the wings of a bat."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("This guy rubs me the wrong way for some reason.")
Gargoyles are just upgraded Gremlins. Immunity to petrification would be nice against yellow Medusa Heads, but that's literally all it's good for.
The music doesn't change, but you can tell this place is going to be... a bit of a departure from the rest of the Underground Reservoir.
Hey, look at that.
Name: Werejaguar
HP: 380
EXP: 260
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons, Poison, Curse
Drops: Mach Punch (rare)
Description: "Works on his straight punch so he can defeat Weretiger."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Werejaguar? Now they're getting creative.")
Another were- enemy, and honestly kind of a cool one. They can trap you in a multi-hit combo before smashing Soma's face in, and they move pretty fast. The soul requires no explanation and will be shown off in a gif with the other two "punching" souls.
--
Name: Biphron
HP: 380
EXP: 280
Strength: Fire
Weakness: Weapons, Poison, Curse
Drops: Nothing
Description: "Spirit creature whose glow illuminates dark graveyards."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Kinda spooky. Maybe he's the gravekeeper of this place.")
Biphron (or rather, Bifrons) is another Ars Goetian demon - I could readily describe him in demonology as a sort of alchemist that also deals with gravekeeping, hence why he's hanging around this place. His soul makes the already-unimpressive Werewolf soul look like complete garbage, as it's not only stronger but shoots flame pillars that go across the entire screen. It's fantastic.
Name: Flame Demon
HP: 500
EXP: 400
Strength: Fire, Dark
Weakness: Ice, Light
Drops: Laevatain (rare)
Description: "A fiend born from hellfire."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Why is it so warm all of a sud-- oh, it's this guy.")
Flame Demon is pretty much a red recolor of the regular Devil enemy, but his importance is far greater. See, he's one of the required souls for the best ending. Yeah, this is something I wish they didn't do because it's forced grinding, but still.
The soul itself is nice due to it being a triple fireball attack.
[The background music stops, and is replaced by... THIS]
... Well, that's... disturbing. What's going on in here?
Oh hey, a new mon-- wait. We can't even hurt it.
Yes folks, the cemetery has zombies running around in the background but they don't do anything. It's pretty creepy how they're just... there, along with the "music" that's playing.
There's money here along with some Werejaguars, but that's all we can do on this side. I sort of want to know why 2000$ was lying on a pillar in the middle of a haunted cemetery.
All of the zombies seem to be going through the boss door... I don't have a good feeling about this.
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT
WHAT AM I LOOKING AT
Name: Legion
HP: 5000
EXP: 12000
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: N/A
Description: "He is many, he is one."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("HOW DOES THIS THING EXIST?!")
Legion is honestly one of the freakiest monsters in the game aside from the final bosses. It's a giant ball of corpses, and it's been a part of the series ever since Symphony of the Night (called Granfaloon there). Not only that, it's one of the sturdiest enemies in the game, bar none.
The core has 5000 HP, but so do the 4 segments surrounding it. Not only that, to get his soul, you have to destroy the segments and expose the core. Way easier said than done.
... Also, I can't be the only person who sees the fetus outline in how Legion is shaped, right?
Legion's primary method of attack in this form is to drop zombies from his body. Unlike the ones from before, these ones can actually be destroyed. Legion also slowly tries to go to where you are, which can be really annoying if you're trying to break off a segment of his.
Once you've done enough damage, the segments will break off to reveal... a cage with something red inside of it. When you free a bit of the core, it'll start attacking you with lasers.
... Imagine the therapy Soma would need to get over this: "I fought a giant fetus-shaped corpse ball that shot lasers at me."
When the core is completely exposed, it will either shoot lasers at you or bounce around the room like it were an exercise ball.
Still a lot less tedious than the rest of the fight.
Finally, when you -- oh my god that background -- ahem, defeat Legion with all of his segments destroyed, he'll give you his soul. If you don't, you lose out on it forever.
... Yeah, don't come into this fight without taking precautions.
This is what Legion's soul looks like. It's impressive-looking, but it does dark damage unfortunately. Not only that, I feel there's a far better laser soul coming up soon that's less expensive (Legion's is 66 MP per use) and quicker on top of that.
... I guess I could show this off too.
Pretty nasty, all things considered. It's a shame that there's even better souls later on - I'd keep this on for the rest of the game if I could.
Ah, yes. This will allow us to ignore Chronomage's time-stopping abilities and kick his fluffy ass.
Galamoth was originally a character that debuted in a cutesy Super Deformed Castlevania spinoff called Kid Dracula. In that game, he was Dracula's draconic time lord rival.
However, people know him better as the most grueling, pain-in-the-dick bonus boss in Symphony of the Night with 12,000 HP and ridiculously powerful lightning attacks. He looks the part, too.
.
The Gold Ring allows us to get more money from enemies, which is really good for getting the Soul Eater Ring.
Name: Alura Une
HP: 800
EXP: 400
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Fire
Drops: Melon (common)
Description: "An Une raised on warm blood."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("More cute monsters girls... wait, isn't that the same grass monster from back in the Chapel?")
I take back what I said about Persephone. Alura Une (Alraune?) is the cutest enemy in the game. (Well, in Dawn of Sorrow, at least...)
She's resilient and can summon vines to hit us, but the worst thing about her is that she can hide in her flower bud to take no damage. All in all, not that intimidating. Her soul, on the other hand, lets us regenerate health at the cost of a lot of MP... which could still be very useful as it's a straight out healing ability.
1 out of 3 required souls obtained!
Back in the Arena, let's -- oh my god that was too close for comfort.
Name: Beam Skeleton
HP: 400
EXP: 320
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: Nothing
Description: "Skeleton wizard whose powers come from the hole drilled into his head."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("I can feel the heat coming off of this burning my clothes.")
Ah yes, the Beam Skeleton. My favorite enemy in the game and my favorite Bullet soul. This little guy actually made an appearance in Symphony as the Nova Skeleton, whose spritework made him... well, look like he was having way too much fun shooting lasers.
Name: Skull Millione (Scarmiglione)
HP: 250
EXP: 300
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons, Curse
Drops: Kunitsuna (rare), Poison Fist (rare)
Description: "Hell spawn with poisoned claws."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Hey, it's the brother of that other guy. He doesn't look too friendly...")
Skull Millione is a serious mistranslation of the name Scarmiglione, a demon taken from Dante's Divine Comedy. (Cagnazzo and another one we're gonna meet soon are also based off of Divine Comedy demons)
He doesn't have a cool trident like his brothers, so he instead rushes at you with his claws. Not that difficult to dodge, honestly, but the poison from when he does hit you is annoying enough. His soul summons poison claws in front of Soma, but it's not very good.
Another rare item drop. How do I have the luck to keep getting these things?
I had to retreat back to the Castle Corridor because... uh, look at my health. I couldn't even follow my own advice of not getting hit by Skull Millione's claws, so that egg's on me.
Name: Gladiator
HP: 600
EXP: 1000
Strength: Dark
Weakness: Light
Drops: Nothing
Description: "Though he's dead, this warrior still seeks out battles."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Man, these guys won't stop even when they're just bones.")
Gladiators are an interesting enemy - they go back and forth through the same area and shoot fire arrows at you. Their sprite is huge for a regular enemy, so getting hit by them is very likely. Their soul on the other hand is just... silly.
Instead of shooting fire arrows or summoning a platoon of enemies... you throw a damn wheel. Not only that, the wheel does a fair amount of damage. How do the guys at Konami do it?
Name: Weretiger
HP: 400
EXP: 320
Strength: Nothing
Weakness: Weapons, Poison, Curse
Drops: Whip Knuckle (rare)
Description: "Works on his uppercut so he can defeat Werejaguar."
Soul effect (
Soma's Thoughts: ("Hey, this is the guy Werejaguar wanted to fight. I'd pay big bucks to see a match between them.")
They're the same enemy in many respects, only Weretiger has an uppercut instead. That's all I got, ladies and gentlemen.
No, seriously, that's all I got for this episode. See you next time, guys.