Bravely Second Session 17: Forget-Yew-Not

Channel:

Radical Eddie

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Published on May 26, 2023 2:15:00 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6spYkQ7YSYk

Game:

Bravely Second: End Layer (2015)

Duration: 3:08:34

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So. Back to the task at hand, there's some kind of sinister monster over at ol' Lontano Villa.

An investigation turns up... another Ba'al! But this one was somehow completely undetected by the Moon. Before we can figure out why, it's probably more important to deal with the threat in front of us.

Ba'al i; Turtle Dove is... I'm pretty sure we fought one before, right? Well, as a reminder, the main gimmick is that it will make your party members fall in love with each other. If, say, Yew is in love with Magnolia, then anything Magnolia does, Yew will copy. It essentially forces the afflicted character to be a mime. Well, either way, it's not long for this world.

So, obviously, the Ba'al situation is a big crisis. How did it get here without the Moon noticing? Better yet, what even are they? After resting, our old friend Altair offers an explanation: they're created from the lingering regrets of his lost love, Vega. Somehow, they've been weaponized against Luxendarc, and he thinks Anne has something to do with it. To prove his point, we see Anne at the Norende Ravine talking about using the sealed Great Chasm to summon Ba'als and even her master directly to Luxendarc.

But first, let's go to Vampire Castle. We don't have to do a sidequest to get in there this game, and it seems to have undergone some... changes. We also see Alternis' helm. Uh-oh. Before we get far, Yoko appears to tell us that Vampire Castle is also known as the "Hall of Truth" (since when???) and she wants to tell a story. We'll have to climb the stairs, though, and we're not allowed to cheat our way up by turning encounters off. See? There's a reason they made the feature diegetic!

Floor by floor, Yoko appears to tell us the story of an "ambitious man," Yew's father: Griede Geneolgia He appeared at a shrine and roused her from slumber to take the treasure surrounding her. However, she also carried the seeds of the Great Plague within her body, and soon became sick. The leaders of the Orthodoxy were split on whether to quarantine her or to let her go to Gathelatio. If quarantined, Griede wouldn't be able to bring all those treasures with him, so he convinced the leaders to let her travel to receive medical care.

But the journey was slow going, thanks to all that treasure weighing them down, and they had to make several stops along the way. By the third port, they were starting to get word of a plague spreading through the first port. Shortly thereafter, before returning to Eternia, Griede poisoned every sailor in the fleet, leaving himself the sole survivor, with just enough treasure to secure great standing within the Orthodoxy.

But this is the same Great Plague that brought about Braev's rise to power, and with it, the Crystalguard lost its power. Griede, in an attempt to curry favor with the Duchy and maintain power, decided to disband the Crystalguard, which turned into a bloody conflict with the other noble houses that ended the life of Jerome Balestra, father of Janne.

All this blood on Griede's hands, the legacy Yew carries.

But then, suddenly, a familiar voice! Why, it's none other than... Ringabel!? Yes, he's been conspicuously absent all this time, except... not really. Ever since Geyser Grotto, every time we've seen Alternis with a ribbon on his arm, that was Ringabel. He's part of an organization called the Planeswardens now, and he says that Yoko's not telling the whole truth. He came here to slay her, and presumably it didn't go well. But at least he has us now!

At the top, it's time for the battle. Ringabel's still hurt, so he plays backup for us, which means he's going to throw out special attacks every few turns. Which is great! They don't grant stat boosts, but they prolong our own special stat boosts. Yoko likes to throw out 4th-tier -aja spells and invoke sins, but pffft, that's easy.

In defeat, Yoko reveals the rest of the story: she was sealed to contain the Great Plague, and Foundar Geneolgia promised that his bloodline would find a cure. Griede thought he was the descendant to do it, but after realizing he just spread it, the only thing he could think to do was sink Yoko. Now, it's Yew's turn to write his chapter of the story.

The Yokai is the final job in the game. Stat-wise, it's an all-rounder class with 3 key points: 1) You have to defeat demons around the world to gain its abilities; 2) Its specialty Echo is a 25% chance to re-cast a spell at no cost (and it can trigger repeatedly); 3) it grants Awakening, a support skill required to reach Job Level 11. There are some powerful abilities locked behind Level 11, so it's well worth it to put Awakening on everyone.

Next time, a boss hunt.

Don't forget, you can watch me play live at https://twitch.tv/Radical_Eddie

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