Tomas Elliot presents: a mildly enjoyable playthrough of a little gem, Ar Tonelico!

Tomas Elliot · November 9, 2015

So, new episode is here, but as you will see pretty soon, it is a special one!

Episode 10 - Interlude

The reason of the title is simple, we will be taking a pause from the main plot in this episode. But let's proceed in order...

Well, you'd have to be REALLY hot to make him blush...

So, we start off with Jack asking Misha why she didn't grow up, to which Misha replies that she did grow, but then something happened that caused her to regress to kid form. I would question if that is even possible, but then again Misha, unlike Aurica, is fully artificial, so who knows?

Em Phyena

Incidentally, remember when I said that the Teru Tribe built a huge gate to keep humans from climbing the tower? Well, here we are: this is Em Phyena, the city of the Teru which stands right in the middle of the way up, and sure enough there is a massive gate. Lyner wants to negotiate with the Teru, but Jack firmly opposes the idea. So firmly, in fact, that even Lyner start wondering if Jack has a history with them...

No shit, Sherlock

... And honestly, where there any doubts?
Anyway, now we could continue with the plot and see what happens in Em Phyena, but we won't. Because you see, Em Phyena has no dive shop, and in order to gain some required power ups (and in order to get some juicy foreshadowing that will give an entire new meaning to the events of Em Phyena), it is imperative that we dive with Misha, in order to see both her second and her third level. Add to this that many sub-quests are now unlocked around the world, and you see that now is the perfect time to take a pause from the plot, and make good use of the "go back to the world map" function Em Phyena's city menu has.

Back in Karulu!

For example, a good start could be paying a visit to the shop in Karulu Village. Their stock has greatly improved, and now they sell Airmetal, a rare material we will need for Grathmelding. Oh, and by going to the "Tower Guardian", which would be the shop where we learned Grathmelding back in Episode 2, you can unlock a talk topic with Aurica.
Once this is out of the way, let's head to Nemo and dive with Misha.

Why yes, I am doing great, Hama. Thanks for asking.

So back we are in Misha's Cosmosphere. Hama welcomes us in her usual way: apparently Mind Guardians are not aware of the flow of time in the real world, so she is excused for not noticing that we have been separated from Misha for a while.

Jack?

Incidentally, remember when we saw Aurica's opinion of Jeck, in her Cosmosphere? Well, this is Misha's opinion of him. Notice that it is completely different. Also notice that he is wearing a traditional Teru costume.

Time to look for Misha

Anyway enough goofing around with the optional cutscenes: we don't even know what the conflict of this level is, so let's just find Misha and...

...

Woah.

Say WHAT?

... Ok ok, wait a minute, allow me to get my thoughts back on track. So, not only do we suddenly find ourselves alone in a hotel room with arguably the hottest chick in the game, it also turns out that she is in fact Misha. More precisely, she is what Misha is supposed to look like, although some (currently unspecified) experiment performed by Tenba has reverted her to kid form in real life. Truly, I now hate Tenba even more.
Jokes aside, Lyner is understandably shocked by this revelation...

YOU ARE NOT HELPING

... And of course Hama doesn't miss the occasion to mock him relentlessly about it. You know what? I shall ask that same question to our readers: do you prefer (and by "prefer" I mean design-wise, not what you are thinking. Perverts) Kid Misha or Adult Misha? Please let me know in the comments.

Damn she's even hotter in the full body view...

Anyway there isn't much conflict to speak of in this level, as it was mostly devoted to the big reveal. We do not get a costume either, because the protagonist of this level was Adult Misha, but in the real world we are still stuck with Kid Misha. However, we do get the Ice Shot Green Magic, which is very very important at this point.
Allow me to explain: remember how we were able to navigate the Singing Hill ruin, back in Episode 8, by flipping switches? Well, those switches were activated by Aurica's Red Magic, the Fire Shot and the Gale Shot. Now that Misha has both the Thunder Shot and the Ice Shot, we can go back to the ruin and activate switches we couldn't flip before, which will grant us access to secret rooms with a plethora of rare items inside. Not only that: as the dungeon is full of monsters, searching for such treasures will cause you to fight a lot. I recommend putting Misha in your Reyvateil spot to do so, because this way you will be gaining a lot of DPs with her (she should be lagging behond on the DP department, considering how much you have been relying on Aurica instead as of late). And you are going to need all the DPs you can get in the next Cosmosphere level.

Welcome to the fanservice level!

So back we go into the Cosmosphere, ready to start a level that, as we will soon find out, will give us more Misha fanservice than we could ask for. It's up to personal likings wether or not this is a good thing. Anyway, Hama informs us that a new location has appeared in this world, so let's head there first thing first...

I did warn you

Geez, that dress leaves me speechless every time. Anyway, remember when Misha, all the way back in Episode 4, mentioned the fact that Tenba stole something from her? Well, the ship this Misha is waiting for is a metaphore for that. This Misha is not the Misha of this stage, she is a superior, omnipresent part of her mind, whose job is to always remind Misha of the great responsibility she has, as the legitimate owner of that... Something Tenba stole.

The amount of DPs I saved up for this is maybe too much, you can do it with less

Anyway, with "that something" gone China Misha is bored, so she asks us to keep her busy by helping her grow a plant. This is why I told you to save up as many DPs with Misha as humanly possible: she will ask you to water the flower multiple times, each time will require 1000 DPs, which in case you are wondering is A LOT. Eventually, the flower will grow into a tree, and when that happens, you will obtain the Red Magic called Flower, which is the single strongest spell you can obtain in Phase 1 (and even in Phase 2 and 3, there are only 3 spells stronger than this one) so yeah, obtaining it now will make a HUGE difference for the way your adventure in this game proceeds. And trust me, don't do some "I shall make it without the broken stuff" run a la Reborn: you are going to NEED Flower in a couple of episodes, so save up DPs and get it now that you have the chance.

This will be a recurring element in Misha's Cosmosphere

So anyway, if China Misha is not the Misha of this level, then who is the one? Well, this one. This little girl is the exact opposite of China Misha: she hates responsibility and wants to have a carefree existance, the metaphore being that, in the story of the level, she is a fairy who wants to become a normal human. So yeah, that is the reason for China Misha to appear in this world: her serious, responsible presence is needed to mantain balance with this childish, irresponsible Misha. Also Aurica shows up in her Skuwat costume for some reason.

Remember this lady?

Oh, and Spica is here too. You do remember Spica, the candy vendor slash black market queen from Episode 5, right? She brags about being the queen of this world, and demands that Lyner obeys her too: just what kind of relationship does she have with Misha?

More fanservice!

So anyway, if Misha in a super sexy chinese dress wasn't enough for you, now we get Misha in a skimpy ninja suit. She attempts to persuade the Misha of this level to just give a middle finger to responsibilities and live her life however the hell she damn pleases, and Lyner has to persuade her otherwise. In a way, she is similar to Demon Aurica but, as we will find out in deeper levels, her nature is MUCH different. And much more benign, at that.

Costume get!

So anyway, we soon clear the level. As a reward, we FINALLY get a costume for Kid Misha (which is the Misha we will have to use for a long while, I'm afraid), along with the Glacial Ball Red Magic, which is essentially the same as Aurica's Flamia, only Ice-based. With this, Misha is effectively on par with Aurica... Except she has Flower and Aurica doesn't. And in a matter of a couple of episodes, this will make a HUGE difference.

Welp, apologies for this digression, but it was absolutely mandatory. We will get back to the main plot with the next episode, which will feature Jack's past, the chief of the Teru Tribe, and the Kitty Bowl!

Tomas Elliot · November 10, 2015

Ok people, this is a very very VERY important post, so please read it very carefully.

So, the fact is that, due to time constraints, I can only post one update per day (tomorrow I will attempt a double update, but I cannot guarantee I'll make it). However, as far as actually playing the game (and taking the screens) goes, I am quite far in the game, and I have in fact almost reached the point where the big choice of Phase 2 is made. I have calculated that it is going to take 3 more updates to get there with this playthrough, so yeah, between the mentioned time constraints and the fact that, these days, there is much less activity in the forum due to various new games being released, I am afraid that, if I get to the choice when I play the game later tonight, I will then have to wait several days without playing at all, if I put up the poll for the choice only after getting there with this playthrough (the days it will take to get there plus the days it would take for the people to comment/vote).

Therefore, I am putting up the poll right now. I am aware that the 3 episodes that are left untill the choice will include quite a few important scenes that would help in the decisions, but I think that, if you have followed this playthrough so far, you already have quite a few elements base your choice on, not to mention the fact that you don't have to vote right away: the vote will remain up for the entirety of the days that are left untill the update with the scene of the decision, and then a little longer after that, so you can take your time to think about it, or vote now and then just change your selection afterwards if something happens that makes you change your mind.

So, allow me to explain in the details how the game's experience will change depending on the outcome of this poll: PLEASE READ WHAT FOLLOWS VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE VOTING.

If we choose "Join the Search Party"

1) Lyner will embark on a mission to retrieve what Tenba stole from Misha, and help her regain her adult form.

2) The Church will carry on its true mission, but it will happen off-screen.

3) Misha will become the canon love interest.

4) The truth about Tenba will be investigated. The door that scared Misha in Episode 4, as well as Misha's inner conflict, will become plot points.

5) Jack and Krusche will become mainstays of the party, but we will lose Radolf for a while and we will NOT be able to recruit Ayatane.

If we choose "Pay back the Church"

1) Lyner will repay the Church for the help they provided during Phase 1, and help them carry on their true mission.

2) Misha will recover what Tenba stole from her and regain her adult form, but it will happen off-screen.

3) Aurica will become the canon love interest.

4) The truth about the Church will be investigated. The Trio of Elemia, as well as the existance and meaning of Demon Aurica, will become plot points.

5) Radolf will become a mainstay of the party and we will be able to recruit Ayatane, but we will lose Jack and Krusche for a while.

What will not change

1) We will still be able to complete the cosmospheres of both heroines, acquire all the items, and craft all the Grathmeld recipes.

2) We will still get to the same turn of events at the end of Phase 2, regardless of the path.

3) We will still get

to join us in Phase 3, and we will still be able to unlock all the special features involving them.

4) The True Ending, which we are gunning for, will play out roughly the same, although of course the very last cutscene will be different depending on who is the canon love interest.

Well this is all. I will repost this list when I post the episode that includes the choice (Episode 13) but in the meantime, if you think you already have a pretty good idea of how things are and you want to vote, by all means please go ahead. The earlier we get a decisive majority on this, the better, although as mentioned the poll will remain open untill after Episode 13 is posted.

Odybld · November 10, 2015

Screw the church, screw Radolf, bye Aurica, we won't miss you. Let's go for China Misha!!! Ayatane may be a loss, but, Misha. Misha. Misha!

Also Jack and Krusche. I really like these two especially Jack the Suspicious

Tomas Elliot · November 10, 2015

Don't be so mean to Aurica just because Misha is hot. Pervert.

Anyway, onto the new episode we go! As you will see, Jack is not going to stay suspicious for long, this episode will reveal the truth about his past!

Episode 11 - Of being a Teru

So the digression concerning Misha's Cosmosphere is over, and we now go back to the main plot: as you maybe recall, we were summoned by the chief of the Teru Tribe, with whom we want to negotiate in order to be allowed to climb up to Platina...

Yes, its middle finger is a knife. No, it doesn't make any more sense in context.

But well, the guy doesn't really look like he is willing to negotiate. His name is Flute, and he does not believe Lyner is an Apostle of Elemia. He demands that our hero proves himself by engaging in a painfully pointless sidequest...

You tell him Jack!

... Which is a plot point so painfully overused in this game, that Jack calls Flute out on it. And as Flute replies by calling Jack "Harmonica" (like Misha and that random Teru mook did before), we finally find out about Jack's past: he is indeed a Teru, and his true name is indeed Harmonica. He and Flute used to be best of friends, but they disagreed about the true meaning of being a Teru: are the Teru supposed to strictly enforce the ancient rules of the tower, keeping their distance from the humans and even trying to force limits on them? Or should they be more open to change, progress, and interaction with humans?

One day, Em Phyena was the theatre of a conflict (we will find out more in Phase 2 if we pick Misha's route): Jack tried to use some ancient artifacts he found in the local temple as weapons, but was stopped by Flute, who told him that it was forbidden by the ancient rules to do so. A vicious argument erupted between the two, and while they were busy yelling at each other the city was almost destroyed: disgusted by this, Jack decided to leave Em Phyena, never to return. And truly, he only came back because Lyner and Misha gave him no choice, but he makes it a point to remind Flute that he still has not forgotten what happened that day.

Misha's mission

Furthermore, we find out that Misha's mission, for which she had to leave Platina, was to act as the Star Singer of Em Phyena (more on this later on in this episode). However, she is currently unable to resume said mission because of the fact that Tenba stole something crucial from her.

The mysterious elder, Tastiella

Anyway, the argument between Jack and Flute is settled by the appearance of Tastiella. She is a mysterious woman, whose true nature will be revealed in Phase 2 and 3: for now, all we know is that she is universally regarded as the wisest person alive, which is why even Flute, who is in theory the chief of the Teru Tribe, obeys her without questioning. Oh, and apparently she looked after both Flute and Jack when they were kids, so now they both call her "Granny" ("Obaba-sama" in Japanese), which she doesn't really like.

Sometimes is hard to tell if this guy is brave, earnest or dumb.

Anyway Lyner declares that he has nothing to hide, so he accepts the Ordeal. Personally, my money is on "dumb".

Aurica doesn't seem very enthusiastic about this...

Apparently, an Apostle of Elemia is supposed to have a perfect bond with his Reyvateil partner. And since officially our partner is Aurica (she was appointed as such by Falss, remember?), we are going to have to make our way through a dungeon full of monsters with her, while the rest of the party stays behind. The true ordeal will begin once we get to the last room: I wonder what it will be about?

RPG logic

Wait wait wait. Let me get this straight: in order to prove that I am a bona fide Apostle, I need to beat some random guy who has no Reyvateil support? How does this prove anything? Actually, how is it even fair at all?

So I say, but the ensuing boss battle is insanely annoying, because the guy has a crapload of single-target attacks that inflict Poison. We really miss Krusche and her Cure Tablet here. However, there is a trick: make sure you enhance your armor with a Grathnode Crystal named Curing Amber. Such crystal allows you to regenerate, at the end of each turn, 5 more HPs than you lose to Poison, effectively offsetting the damage. This way, you can concentrate on attacking with Lyner (without wasting turns to use Antidotes), alternating between attacking and healing (Aurica's healing song does not cure status afflictions yet) with Aurica.

WOuld you like a flawless victory guide?

It is imperative that, by this battle, you have mastered the techniques necessary to pull off flawless victories consistently, as this is the first of many battles in which the highest ranking bonus item (which you can only be obtained by pulling a flawless victory) is a unique (and ridiculously powerful) Grathnode Crystal that you cannot obtain in any other way. By the way, by "flawless victory" I don't mean "win without suffering damage", I mean "win while rising your Harmonics meter to the max and stocking up 3 Harmonics counters". I can provide more info on how to achieve this if you want, possibly starting a separated topic with a detailed guide if there is enough popular demand. Just post what you think of this in the comments.

The item finder, Lyra

Once the ordeal is out of the way, we head back to the inn... And we meet this little girl, who seems estatic to see Jack, something that Krusche immediately snarks on. Turns out, Lyra is just a little friend Jack used to look after (much like he did with Misha, he is a kind dude after all). She looks for items for a living. Basically, you give her a Grathnode Crystal, you indicate an area, and she will go there and look for rare items for you (the higer the quality of the Grathnode Crystal you give her, the rarer the item she will bring back). However, in this playthrough I will be telling you where the most important items are, and for 100% completion you can refer to GameFAQs, so you really don't need her.

OF COURSE

This being a JRPG, they couldn't let us go without sidequests, so Tastiella informs us that there is no device capable of getting us up to Platina. Meaning, we'll have to Grathmeld something ourselves. Now, the sidequest to acquire the necessary ingredients for this particular key item (the Circula Teleporter) is the single biggest and most painful waste of time in the entire game, so I am not going to post any screens of it. It merely amounts to "go from point A to point B to acquire item", only they force you to go back and forth over and over and over again a ridiculous amount of times, and with the silliest excuses.

She finally spills the beans

On the plus side, during this sidequest we trigger a special conversation with Misha, where we finally learn about her mission: basically, the Star Singer of Em Phyena is a person who has to sing a specific song, called Chronicle Key, in order to keep the Mother Virus Mir sealed. Chronicle Key is actually akin to Purger: it is a Hymn Crystal whose effects can only be used if it is downloaded into the mind of a Reyvateil, who then has to sing a song. In Misha's case, she was supposed to literally spend her entire life singing that song, without ever pausing for as long as she lived: a special room had been built for her to stay in and sing.

However, Tenba stole the Hymn Crystal, which caused her to stop singing and also reversed her to kid form (we will find out how the two things are related if we choose Misha's path in Phase 2). China Misha, whom we met in Misha's Cosmosphere, is waiting for the Hymn Crystal to be recovered. But why would Tenba do such a thing? Were they aware of the consequences? Basically, we now know that the Mother Virus is resurfacing because of what happened to Misha, but come to think of it, Bourd DID say "When Mir is reawakened" when we last saw him...

This girl sure has a ruthless side...

She also laments not being able to take part in the ordeal, she was SO looking forward to beating Flute up... Well, good thing she is a stable, sane person, I am scared to imagine what would happen if she were to snap and go crazy, for example in her Cosmosph-WHOOPS.

Anyway, enough chit chat: the Circula Teleporter is done, but Tastiella informs us that it is potentially dangerous, and it is one-way. If you manage to use it to go up safely, you then cannot come back down. Lyner's friends declare that they will go with him anyway, which greatly upsets him, as he realizes that they are abandoning their very world just to help him. To cheer him up, Aurica decides to come up with an alternate name for the Circula Teleporter, and Lyner lets her do it...

Her reasoning is "Tastiella reminds me of a cat". No really

... Which, knowing Aurica's erratic thought process, is a VERY bad idea. Well she does have a rather contagious smile (when she does smile that is), so I guess at least she succeeded at the cheering up part?

Regardless, this pointless sidequest of pointlessness is now over, we can finally get back on track, we can finally go save Platina, now that we have the Circula Teleporter...

Oh shut up, Krusche.

Moar climbing ensues

So, we need to climb to an area called the Frozen Eye, before Tastiella can beam us up. As we climb, we notice that the weather is getting worse by the minute: this is because that crucial part of the tower, which Mir detatched and dropped back in Episode 8, was actually needed for climate control. If we choose Aurica's route in Phase 2, we will actually get a mission to restore it.

Well, that's generous of yours.

Along the way, we have the necessary battles to unlock the talk topic about Misha's magical girl costume, and she says this. Make of it what you will.

Of course we are!

And at long last, here we are: our job in the lower world is over, now all that is left to do is to go up and kick some cybernetic, bugged ass! Next stop, Platina!

And we better hurry, because apparently Tastiella doesn't have much time left to live...

Ok people, with this episode 11 is over: in next episode we will have the final battle of Phase 1! Considering that Phase 3 is much shorter than the other two and mostly consists of optional stuff, this means that we are almost at the halfway point of the game...

Before you go, please remember to vote in the poll that is currently up if you haven't already: here is a reminder of what will change depending on what you choose.

If we choose "Join the Search Party"

1) Lyner will embark on a mission to retrieve what Tenba stole from Misha, and help her regain her adult form.

2) The Church will carry on its true mission, but it will happen off-screen.

3) Misha will become the canon love interest.

4) The truth about Tenba will be investigated. The door that scared Misha in Episode 4, as well as Misha's inner conflict, will become plot points.

5) Jack and Krusche will become mainstays of the party, but we will lose Radolf for a while and we will NOT be able to recruit Ayatane.

If we choose "Pay back the Church"

1) Lyner will repay the Church for the help they provided during Phase 1, and help them carry on their true mission.

2) Misha will recover what Tenba stole from her and regain her adult form, but it will happen off-screen.

3) Aurica will become the canon love interest.

4) The truth about the Church will be investigated. The Trio of Elemia, as well as the existance and meaning of Demon Aurica, will become plot points.

5) Radolf will become a mainstay of the party and we will be able to recruit Ayatane, but we will lose Jack and Krusche for a while.

What will not change

1) We will still be able to complete the cosmospheres of both heroines, acquire all the items, and craft all the Grathmeld recipes.

2) We will still get to the same turn of events at the end of Phase 2, regardless of the path.

3) We will still get

to join us in Phase 3, and we will still be able to unlock all the special features involving them.

4) The True Ending, which we are gunning for, will play out roughly the same, although of course the very last cutscene will be different depending on who is the canon love interest.

Red_Chaos · November 11, 2015

im a sucker for people with smiles i think we should pay the church D:

Tomas Elliot · November 11, 2015

Thank you for your votes and your opinions everyone, please stick with this playthrough to the end and keep the votes coming! Today, we are going to clear Phase 1 of the game...

Episode 12 - Platina

Tadaima!

Welcome to Platina, where it all began! It took a while, but we are finally here: now all we need to do is to use the Hymn Crystal Purger to defeat the Viruses. However, before jumping into that, we should probably report to Leard...

And Lyner still can't remember her

... Which Lyner doesn't seem very eager to do. Turns out, the first spark of the conflict between him and his father, with lead to the events we saw in that flashback in Episode 3, took place over 10 years ago, when Misha was still in Platina. And she can't believe that the two still haven't made up: men are so childish, she exclaims.

Time to improve our equipment

Before proceeding with the plot, the first thing you should do upon gaining access to Platina's town menu is to go to the shop. They some very good equipment here, including the Glamisole, which is the best equipment for Reyvateils you can obtain at this point in the game. They also sell good Grathnode crystals for enhancing, and there is another counter upstairs that sells useful items and even some Grathmeld recipes. And there is also a talk topic with Misha over there. So yeah, a stop at this shop is more or less mandatory, make sure to sell everything you don't need, include all of your old equipment, to make enough money to buy everything.

Why yes, I am glad to see you too, dad

We are now ready to report to Leard... And these are the very first words he says, upon seeing his own son who is returning from a life-threatening mission. I love you too, dad.

Why is everyone so obsessed with Misha's body?

He is also shocked to see Misha again, and questions her appearance. However, she is not afraid of talking back to him, and the two butt heads. And Lyner has some harsh words for his father as well, before the two finally get back to business: now that we have the Hymn Crystal Purger, we need to download it into a Reyvateil of our choosing, which will allow her to craft a song that will neutralize the Viruses' powers, making it possible to defeat them in battle.

She kinda has a point, tho

As we leave Leard's command center to go prepare for downloading the crystal, Aurica's erratic thought process strikes again. Misha adds that Lyner and Leard really are alike, which greatly embarrasses our hero.

Anyway now you better listen to me, as I am going to explain something very important. In order to download a crystal into a Reyvateil's cosmosphere, we need to know her Hymn Code, which is essentially the address of her personal server in the tower of Ar Tonelico (if you recall, the mind of each Reyvateil is constantly interfaced with a server hosted within the tower). In order for her Mind Guardian to give you the address, you need to reach at least level 4 in her Cosmosphere and, as you'd recall, we are currently at level 3 with both girs. What we are going to do now is to dive into the fourth level of BOTH girls, acquiring both the Hymn Codes. There are several reasons for doing so, some of which I will explain right now, while a couple ones will have to wait for later.

Isn't that girl too young to be Misha's mom?

So let's dive into Misha first. This level deals with her Peter Pan complex: basically, she is scared of growing up because she doesn't want to resume her mission (and given that, as we found out last episode, said mission involves being locked up in a room doing nothing but singing, how can we blame her?), and also because she is afraid that Lyner won't like her. We also get to meet Misha's memory of her mother, but something doesn't add up: as you should recall, Misha is 100% artificial, so she has no biological parents, and we learned that she was raised by people who trained her specifically to prepare for her mission... So who is this lady? Why is she so young? And why does she ask Lyner out?

For once she just does what we ask her, without any snarky remarks

Anyway we clear the level and we get the Hymn Code. In case you are wondering, it is in Hymnos language, the language used for the programming of Reyvateils. It is also badly butchered as far as spelling goes, the localization team really made a mess romanizing the words here (what with "Misha" becoming "Misya")...

Hey, that girl looks familiar...

Now it's Aurica's turn. The level deals with her fear of being too weak as a Reyvateil, lacking the talent other girls display. This is played out in the Cosmosphere as a school drama, in which Aurica is a high school student who is constantly overshadowed by the best student in her class... Who is played by the same girl who played as Misha's mom a moment ago. AND SHE ASKS LYNER OUT AGAIN. Seriously, what's up with that?

Nice job breaking it, NISA...

Anyway we clear the level and we get... Ok wait, this requires some explanation. This scene right here, with Don Leon telling us Aurica's code, was supposed to be a MASSIVE and EXTREMELY SHOCKING reveal, but the localization team screwed it up big time. You see how the first word of the code is "MULE"? Well, that is an alternate romanization of "MIR". YES, THAT MIR. The address of Aurica's private server has the name of the big bad in it.
The name of the server.
The mysterious power.
Demon Aurica.
What in the world is going on with this girl? We will find out in Phase 2 is we choose her route.

For now however, let's improve our Reyvateils a bit, in preparations for the battles to come: firstly, both Cosmosphere levels we just completed net us a new costume (a school uniform for Aurica and a pijama for Misha), which you might want to equip. They are both weaker than the previous ones in terms of firepower and MP bonuses, but they both speed up the charging time of the songs which, as we will see, can make a HUGE difference against the upcoming boss.
Secondly, having dived to the fourth level with both girls, we now unlock a new feature: Install. Basically, Installing is the same as Enhancing, only you use Grathnode crystals to improve a girl's songs, rather than equipment. Each girl has an Installer Port on her body, which is a device which allows her to take a crystal within her body and absorb its properties...

Subtlety: the return

... WHICH LEADS TO AN ENDLESS STREAM OF INNUENDOS. Also because, you guessed it, IT'S THEIR FIRST DAMN TIME. Heck if we choose Aurica's route in Phase 2, we will get a scene with her and Lyner related to Install, that lasts for some 5 minutes, and whose dialogue is NOTHING BUT INNUENDO AFTER INNUENDO. And by the way when you Install with Misha it is not any better, also because her Installer Port is between her boobs (Aurica's is on her back, between her collarbones).
Innuendos aside, Install is a very important feature, so do give it a shot. You will not regret it.

This is NOT the big choice to which the poll refers

So anyway, it is now time to choose the Reyvateil that will download the crystal. This is NOT the big choice that determines the path we end in (and in fact, it has no bearing on the plot whatsoever), it only affects the upcoming boss battle. And for this reason, we are going to choose Aurica.
Allow me to explain: the upcoming boss battle is divided in two distinct fights. For the first fight you will be joined by the Reyvateil you chose to download the crystal, while for the second you will be joined by the one you did not choose. And the second is MUCH harder than the first, to the point that you will NEED Flower (and thus Misha) to win. Therefore, we are going to choose Aurica to join us in the first fight, so that we have Misha in the second.

Shurelia-sama! I'm back!

So having downloaded the crystal into Aurica, we hurry to the Altar of Apostles, the area of the tower from where the Viruses are pouring out. Shurelia and Ayatane are on the scene, and they were about to be overwhelmed, so Lyner get to do a big damn heroic entrance to save the day.
It is now that he learns Ayatane is alive, however he provides a rather nebulous explanation as to how he survived. Not that it matters right now, because the boss battle is waiting for us!

Finall boss battle

So, this big scary thing is ELMA-DS, Mir's strongest virus. Fun fact: another source (won't tell you which source because that would be a big spoiler) reveals that Mir designed this thing herself, because she find it to be cute. In battle, all it does is to spam a technique names "System Break", which lowers ALL stats of ALL party members by one stage (the concept of "stage" is the same as in Pokemon). I mean ok, it is a very powerful technique, but what's the point of just spamming that if you don't attack to capitalize? Just use your front row to stall for time while Aurica charges up a Dragonferno and be done with it. Well actually, given that ELMA-DS is very bulky and that it constantly lowers your stats (including the offensive ones), it will take MANY hits to bring it down but eh, you will do it eventually. It does have an offensive move but it is single-target and rather weak, so if you have enhanced you will survive it even with stats lowered. Then, just heal the hit character using Krusche's Cure Tablet.

Nowhere to run... Or not?

So, you hammer ELMA-DS into submission: thanks to Purger, it cannot flee or become immune to your attack, so it doesn't have anywhere to run... Or does it? With a surprise move, ELMA-DS invades Aurica's Cosmosphere, hiding inside her and reducing her in a comatose state. We bring her back to the command center, but there is nothing we can do at this point: ELMA-DS is deep within Aurica's mind...

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD KRUSCHE

... Which causes Krusche to come up with a solution. However, Shurelia has a better one: she is going to use a special device to bring the entire party into Aurica's Cosmosphere, and once there, we will hunt down ELMA-DS... So yeah, with a party consisting of Lyner, Jack, Krusche and Misha (Radolf is benched as usual) we venture into the Cosmosphere...

Final boss battle 2: Electric Boogaloo

And we soon find what we are looking for, initiating a boss battle. Now this, this is one hell of a battle: remember System Break? Yeah, ELMA-DS spams that now, too. Except now it has 3 minions that are ridiculously fast (meaning they get a lot of actions each turn), and they will relentlessly attack you while your Def is down.
The best strategy here is to enhance Krusche with a focus on speed: her speed is naturally very high, so if you boost it to dramatic levels, she will get an amount of actions each turn capable of rivaling the minions. This way, she will be able to repeatedly use her Cure Tablet to heal your characters as they are hit (the minions only get single-target attacks). It is a risky strategy (the minions often get back-to-back actions, so if they gang up on Krusche you will be in troubles), but it does allow you to fight without needing Misha. Meaning, Misha will be free to just focus on charging up Flower: be warned, it takes FOREVER (although the pijama costume considerably speeds it up, compared to the magical girl costume, and it is possible to Grathmeld, before this battle, an accessory for Reyvateils that further speeds up charging time), but once you have charged it to the maximum level, it will easily wipe out all 3 minions in one shot. At which point, even if ELMA-DS survives, it will be back to the first fight with it, meaning that you will have no problems taking it home.

We saved the world and all we got for it was a crystal!

And if you pull a flawless victory (I explained what this means in the previous episode), you will get a Virus Code, which is one of the best crystals for enhancing a Reyvateil's equipment.

Well, congratulation, a hero is you! It was a long, dangerous journey, but we did save the world in the end!
With this, Phase 1 is complete: in the next episode we will start Phase 2, and reach the point where we must make the big choice! Please keep the votes coming!

Tomas Elliot · November 11, 2015

Night-time update! It is short but boy, is it important... The crucial choice of the game is upon us!

Episode 13 - Lyner's Decision

Last time we saw our heroes, they had succesfully defeated ELMA-DS, vessel in this world of the Mother Virus Mir, solving the crisis that was threatening Platina and saving Shurelia's life.

Somehow, it feels less of a compliment coming from you

Leard actually praises them for it. He even manages to feel somewhat sincere in his praising. Guess he's not that bad of a guy after all, right?

Phase 2 begins!

Anyway, the party disbands to go enjoy some well-deserved rest, and with that, Phase 1 is over. On we go to Phase 2!

Chillin' with Aurica

So we start things off with Aurica. Apparently, Misha is discussing something important with Shurelia, and the two don't want to be interrupted. To kill time, Aurica asks us to give her a tour of the city...

To clarify

... Which gives us the occasion to clarify that misunderstanding from when we went to the Singing Hill. One less thing to worry about I guess.

Let's go shopping!

Incidentally, when you show her around the shop do stop at both counters, upstairs and downstairs. They have new Grathmeld recipes, also each time you talk to a shop assistant you will trigger a special cutscene in which you will be given a bonus item. In particular, the lady at the upper counter will give you a Dragon Heart, which is a very important item for Grathmelding. Why we need the heart of a dragon, you ask?

Logic strikes back

Why, to make a screw of course! Isn't that obvious?

Exposition time!

Anyway, once our tour is over we go back to the command center, where Shurelia gives us some more exposition on the situation. So, the only thing that can prevent the incident with Mir from happening again is Misha's song, Chronicle Key. The fact that she stopped singing it is the reason why Mir resurfaced to begin with. However, the Hymn Crystal that allowed Misha to sing that song was stolen by Tenba, so now we need to form a search party to go retrieve it. Lyner is selected as a candidate for joining the party... But he isn't sure about it, as he also promised to pay back the Church for how they helped him in Phase 1, and he doesn't want to go back on his promise.

Shurelia gives Lyner some time to think about it, but he cannot reach a decision on his own, so he decides to ask his friends for advice. Here is what each of them tells him:

Misha doesn't even consider the possibility that Lyner might NOT join the party, and speaks as if the decision was already made. Lyner calls her out on it... And she apologizes, realizing that she hurt his feelings. But she lets it slip that she did so because she is just that desperate to have Lyner by her side: she doesn't think she can face what is waiting for her on her own. And knowing the nature of her mission, can you blame her?

On the other hand, Radolf tries to guilt trip him into not joining the search party, and to pay back the Church instead. He reminds Lyner that Falss, who did so much for him in Phase 1, really wanted to see him again.

Krusche hasn't decided yet. She says she will just let the answer come to her when Shurelia formally asks her, and she suggests that Lyner should do the same, instead of stressing so much over it.

Jack has no doubts: for him, joining the search party is nothing but a continuation of his lifelong mission of ensuring Misha's happiness. And he knows for a fact that, if Lyner is not with her, Misha will never be truly happy, so he flat-out tells Lyner that, if he doesn't join, he will never forgive him.

And then there is Aurica. Aurica desperately wants to be with Lyner, as she feels she can only tap into her true potential when she is with him (in other words, she is madly in love with him). However, insecure as she is, she just assumes Lyner would never choose her over Misha. This is where we realize just how big of an inferiority complex she has towards Misha: regardless of the path, we will see in her Cosmosphere just how far this will escalate.

Having asked all of his party members, Lyner goes back: it is time for the 3 unsure people, Ayatane, Krusche and himself, to state what they have decided!

Ayatane's decision

Ayatane decides not to join the search party. His reason being that hsi sworn mission is to protect Shurelia, so if he ever ventured outside Platina for too long, he would worry about her so much he wouldn't be able to focus on the search. Geez pal, don't make it so blatant that you are obsessed with her, she's 700 years old, you know.

Krusche's decision

Krusche joins the search party, as she is confident that her skills will come in handy.

And Lyner...

It's up to you people! he poll is still up, and will remain up for at least 9 more hours: post your comments, cast your votes, let me know which path you want to choose and why!

What will it be?

Odybld · November 12, 2015

So, I was initially all for Misha, since I really like Jack and Krusche, I'm much fonder of Misha than of Aurica, and I wanted to see what had forced her to revert to a child than to see how the Bishop thing would play out. Also China Misha Not recruiting Ayatane would be a loss, but well.

Then, the Mir - Aurica connection, made it much closer. I feel it's a choice between the few best characters in the game and the single most interestig plot thread in the game. But, since completing both of their Cosmospheres is a thing, I think I'll cave in and still stand for Misha.

I'm reaaaaally not fond of Aurica thus far. Again, the Mir connection is the most interesting bit, but it feels... kinda like backtracking to go meet the Bishop.

Tomas Elliot · November 12, 2015

Aurica's path has the juicy reveals (although most of those can still be obtained via Cosmosphere) and more battles, while Misha's path is deeper and more psychological as far as character development goes. Poor Aurica is held back by the lack of backstory: I mean, Misha has a long history with Lyner (which he has forgotten and needs to rediscover), while Aurica... Well, she kinda sorta showed up one day. Of course for the casual follower of a playthrough like this one, Misha would be more endearing.

Personally I have played and enjoyed both paths, so I am happy either way (being stuck with Radolf in Aurica's path is pure suffering but hey, we do get Ayatane to make up for that), so yeah, I will just wait and see the result of the vote. I just hope that there can be a decisive majority by tomorrow morning...

Tomas Elliot · November 12, 2015

Very well ladies and gentlemen: I am closing the poll and, as you can see, the winner is Misha by two votes. Thank you everyone for your contribution, I shall now dive right back in the game, proceed into Misha's path, and gather as many pics as possible for new episodes to be posted in the near future! Look forward to it!

Tomas Elliot · November 12, 2015

It's late and I am tired... But if I don't post at least an update per day, it will take forever to finish this game, which is rather long. So here goes:

Episode 14 - Search Party Hard!

So, we left Lyner in the middle of his crucial decision: hoin the search party, or pay back the church?

Well ain't democracy nifty

As per popular demand, Lyner joins the search party, which means he is now going to investigate the secrets of Tenba with Jack, Krusche and Misha, in the attempt to retrieve the latter's "important thing" that was stolen by Tenba.

There's going to be plenty of these throughout this episode

An exposition scene ensues: Misha can only sing the song that keeps the Mother Virus Mir sealed, Chronicle Key, thanks to the Hymn Crystal of the same name. The Hymn Crystal is what Tenba stole, meaning that is what we are now trying to retrieve. So basically our mission is to go to the lower world and retrieve a Hymn Crystal: ain't that an original plot point.

To help us in our quest, Shurelia says that she is going to activate a warp panel in the middle of the tower. You know, I probably am in no position to say this, but have you done so in the first phase, we could have avoided that atrociously idiotic Circula Teleporter/Kitty Bowl quest. I am just saying.

Risks? bitch please...

Before we go, let's enhance our equipments a bit. Remember the Glamisole I told you to buy? It's got four enhance slots. Meaning we can enhance it with the Virus Code we got from pulling a flawless victory against ELMA-DS. And well, just look at those stat gains, do I really need to explain how awesome this thing is?

Such power comes with a cost however: the HP, Grathnode Resistance, and Harmonics stats of Misha are severely reduced, which means lowering her hit points, increasing the MP cost of her spells while reducing their effectiveness, and making it harder to fill the Harmonics Gauge, making it almost impossible to pull flawless victories.

All these problems can be easily solved, however: as far as the HP stat goes, that only comes into play if the character is hit by an attack, and if you are allowing your Reyvateil to be hit by attacks you should stop playing this game and be deeply ashamed of yourself. As for the Harmonics Gauge, that is easily solved: remember when I told you to hunt for Grathmeld Recipes in the various shops of Platina? If you did, you should have obtained the recipe for the "Flashy Ring" item, an accessory for Reyvateils which greatly boosts the Harmonics Gauge, thus offsetting this drawback. As for the Grathnode Resistance, just bear with slightly less efficient songs for a while, we will find a solution in the next episode, and in this particular episode there are no boss battles and very few wild encounters...

On the road again

Anyway, time to say goodbye to Shurelia and be on our way: first thing first, we will be stopping in Em Phyena, to ask Tastiella for advice.

Kid Lyner is kinda cute

And as we are beamed up (or should I say "down", considering that we are going downwards?), Lyner suddenly has a flashback! Is he starting to remember Misha?

Patience is key

Incidentally, the mere fact that we picked this path for the story gives us enough talk topics to unlock access to the next level in Misha's Cosmosphere. Protip: DO NOT DIVE NOW. Starting with level 5, Misha's Cosmosphere deals with the problems, the fears and the insecurities of Adult Misha, and it nets you costumes for Adult Misha. But we are still stuck with Kid Misha, so we are not going to dive untill we revert her to adult form.

She teased being about to die earlier, but she looks fine now

Where was I? Oh yes, Tastiella. Jack and Flute still call her "Granny", much to her annoyance. She tells us about a place named the Crescent Chronicle, and orders us to meet her there. She will give us some more precious exposition there.

This girl is seriously scary

On the way we have the necessary battles to unlock the talk topic concerning the pijama costume, and she says this, with the cutest smile on her face. Coming from a girl who didn't hesitate to kill a man in cold blood, I don't really find this joke to be funny.

Foreshadowing...

In this screen there is all of Misha's personality: she is cheerfully bragging about a mission she secretly hates, simply because she knows that's the right thing to do. Just think of how hard it must be for her to keep this facade up.

More exposition

Anyway we get to the Crescent Chronicle, and we get some more exposition, of which I have posted the most relevant line (which happened to be on top of a black screen because I screwed up the timing of the screenshot, sorry about that). Basically, we learn that, an unspecified number of years ago, Mir waged war on humanity, and led an army of Reyvateils in battle. The resulting civil war was so brutal, 70% of the living beings in the entire world lost their life (this is retconned in Ar Tonelico 2, which reduces it to "70% of the living beings on the Wing of Horus" but hey, bottom line is, this Mir person caused a genocide).

Wait if you are a ghost, what with the little dragon on your shoulder?

To stop Mir and put an end to the war, Tastiella sacrificed her life in order to create the Crescent Chronicle, a device that keeps Mir sealed within the Binary Field, which would be the tower's cyberspace. The Tastiella we interact with today is but a ghost, a projection created by the Crescent Chronicle itself.

However, Mir's power is slowly but steadily damaging the Crescent Chronicle, weakening the seal: to counter this, it is necessary to sing the song Chronicle Key over and over and over again, thus keeping Mir sealed. Back in the times when the Crescent Chronicle was created, the pureblood Beta Reyvateil named Lune was put in charge of that: Misha is a clone of that one Reyvateil (her full name, as you'd recall, is Misha Arsellec Lune) that was created specifically to carry on this mission. Of course, she had no knowledge of the song at birth, that is why a Hymn Crystal had been made beforehand, specifically in preparation for the day when Misha would need to learn the song in order to take on the mission. However, just like downloading a Hymn Crystal gives you knowledge of a song, removing it strips you of that knowledge (and also turns you into a kid, apparently): having had her crystal stolen by Tenba, Misha needs to get it back so that her mission can resume.

Krusche to the rescue

So basically we are on a quest to retrieve a plot device that will force our chosen love interest to spend the rest of her life locked up in a room, singing without pause. Somehow, my enthusiasm for this has been drastically reduced.

Anyway, since Lyner is not a guy we should expect clever questions from, it falls upon Krusche to point out the obvious: Chronicle Key is a Hymn Crystal whose effects are only manifested if it is downloaded by Misha, who then has to sing at the Crescent Chronicle. Why the hell would Tenba steal such a thing? Come to think of it, Bourd did say "when Mir is reawakened", but... Even assuming that is goal is to prevent Misha from singing so that Mir can break free, why would he do that? What was he hoping to gain from freeing a genocidal psycho whose declared goal is to wage war on mankind? To find an answer to these questions, we need to go to Firefly Alley...

You didn't actually think this would be so easy, did you?

... But surprise surprise, there is a storm going on right below the continent, and Firefly Alley was caught in the middle of it. Meaning no airships, and the pipeline is out of discussion too (it is so narrow that the wind would blow you right off it). Come to think of it, this was actually foreshadowed with the whole "Mir dropped a component needed for climate control" thing, so I cannot complain too much about it.

You are in no position to lecture me, sister

So we head to the usual inn to try and come up with a plan, and we find two thugs who are harrassing Claire. To defend her, Lyner jumps in the fray, but he goes overboard and punches them out. Misha is disgusted by this, and lectures him about it. I repeat: Misha, THE GIRL WHO MURDERED A MAN IN COLD BLOOD WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST HESITATION DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE WAS COMPLETELY DEFENSELESS, is disgusted by A MERE FISTFIGHT, and lectures Lyner about it.

Gee, you're welcome Claire

Oh, and Claire lectures him too. You know, the lady he intended to protect from two thugs.

So after this great display of gratitude is over, Misha says Lyner looks stressed out (gee, I wonder why?), and suggests the two of them go to the park, to relax a bit.

Brokeness in chainsaw form

Before we go however, let's do some Grathmelding. I want to go on record and declare that Misha's path is by far the easier one, and this is why: this weapon we can create for Krusche has 4 enhance slots, meaning we can boost it with the Shadow Stijl we got from the battle with Flute. If is a crystal that not only boosts Atk and Spe to ridiculous levels, it also bestows on the wielder an extra action per turn. With proper set-up, it is possible to get Krusche to have five actions per turn at this point, which is absolutely ridiculous and makes every battle in which enemies lack AoE attacks (read: most of them) a complete joke, courtesy of her Cure Tablet spell.

Relax time

So to the park we go, and Misha tells Lyner she thinks he is pushing himself too hard. It was probably the stress that pushed him to go berserk on those thugs earlier (oh yeah? And what caused you to murder a defenseless man in cold blood, pray tell?), so she offers to spend a day shopping and having fun together, in order to relax.

Is it just ship tease, or...

And thus much relaxing ensues. Incidentally, among the places you can visit while relaxing there is also the Church, and you get to talk to Bishop Falss there. WHICH MAKES THE WHOLE POINT OF THE CHOICE MOOT.

But yeah, let's not stress over the details: after spending some quality time with Misha, back at the park we are: she apologizes, because in truth this whole idea was an excuse to goof around a bit. And while this might sound like a silly, childish form of ship tease right now, it will be much, much , MUCH harsher in hindsight, once we revert her to adult form.

For now however, the episode is over: please don't miss the next one, which will feature character development, the interior of the tower, and a return to Firefly Alley!

Odybld · November 13, 2015

Well, Mr Lyner, are you sure you picked the right girl? Doesn't she look like she's a tiny bit off the deep end? No? She's great? Well, that's what one would expect to hear from a brave knight such as you, Mr Lyner.

Have fun, have fun, what could possible go wrong?

Zetaark · November 13, 2015

I suppose we will find out when Adult Misha comes into play perhaps? Not sure, but still interested.

Keep it up friend.

Tomas Elliot · November 14, 2015

Much apologies for the delay, but between Se7en's beta being completed and IRL stuff I wasn't able to make a double update today. Maybe tomorrow? We'll see. For now, new episode!

Episode 15 - Crystals, stairs, and locked doors

So, we have spent a fun, relaxing day with Misha. Fun time is now over however, and we gotta get back to our mission.

He came in like a wreckin' ball

So Jack comes in, and has big news: one of the security doors of the tower is malfunctioning. We can use that to enter the core of the tower and, from there, use the security stairs to climb down, untill we reach the pipeline to get to Firefly Alley. Wait: wasn't the fact that we COULDN'T use the pipeline a thing at some point?

The Teru have a point here

So into the tower we go, and we find that Jack is not the one who heard the rumor. Apparently, LOTS of people want to get to Firefly Alley, and they are determined to exploit the passahe within the tower to do so. The Teru warriors stop them however, because honestly, who knows the damage that could be done to the tower by so many people wandering around in its core. A brawl nearly erupts, but Lyner stops everyone from fighting. Notice that the words he uses are pretty similar to Claire's last episode: this is the beginning of his own character development.

What is this, you ask?

I'll tell you exactly what this is: it's a massive pain in the ass. This is the core of the tower, a HUGE maze with a ridiculously high encounter rate and a confusing layout. I cannot stress enough just how long it will take to cross this: my suggestion is to fight enemies only untill you get to level 50: afterwards, drop a Peeka (an item that you should be able to Grathmeld right now, which empties the encounter meter thus effectively acting as a permanent Repel) and just focus on exploring. Because believe me when I say, you WANT to explore every single corner of this area, every single turn, every single dead end. Because the items to be found around here are just godly.

Power up for Radolf?

For example, we find this ridiculously powerful spear for Radolf. Now, you might remember that this is Misha's path, in which Radolf is not in the party. Did I mention this area is only accessible in Misha's path?

Lampshade hanging!

We also find a potion to reduce the speed of enemies, with Misha commenting on how silly it is that, in videogames, Speed and Accuracy are two different things.

Misha is officially a game breaker now

Oh and remember when I said that, of the 3 downsides of the Virus Code, one would be solved in this episode? Welp, here we go: meet Brave Note, a Grathnode Crystal that gives a massive bonus to your Grathnode Resistance, thus offsetting the Virus Code's drawback of dropping the same stat, and once again making your spells optimal in terms of MP consumption and famage output.

Lyner, too

Oh, and we can also find Blessed Power, a crystal that gives Lyner's sword a ridiculous boost. All in this area that is exclusive to Misha's path. Remember when I said that Misha's path is easy? I wasn't joking.

Halfway point chat

So, by now we are halfway through this maze (and after this pause the encounter meter is RESET. You might want to drop another Peeka), and we decide to take a break. In the ensuing conversation, Jack comments that Misha is supposed to be perfect: now I don't know you, but given how this girl is FORCING herself to APPEAR to be perfect, and secretly hates her mission, I don't think telling her this kind of stuff is a good idea. That's almost a Lyner-level thing to say, in fact.

Last of her kind?

However, Misha doesn't get upset, and instead she gives us some exposition, during which she says an almost true thing about herself. She also drop a hint that Shurelia might not be a Third Gen nor a Beta, but rather a third type.

To that I would agree, but cut the guy some slack...

It is possible to press the matter further via talk topic, but the conversation somehow becomes about how Lyner is an idiot.

Isn't she starting to get a bit too clingy?

So, we get to the pipeline at long last (I spared you screens of the second part of the march in the core area, but trust me, that was LONG). Since the wind is blowing strongly and crossing the pipeline might be dangerous (not to mention, Misha is scared of heights), Lyner suggests that Misha stays behind and waits for the others there, but she doesn't take it well.

Ain't that Spica helpful

So it is now time to come up with a plan. Jack has a complete map of all of Tenba's plants and facilities, which he got from Spica. Come to think of it, Spica is quite curvy herself, I wonder if Jack tried to hit on her too?

We meet again, door

So we quickly figure out which area is the one we should investigate, but there is a problem: this door is in the way. You remember this door, right? Back in episode 4, merely coming close to it nearly shattered Misha's mind. And things don't seem to have improved since then.

Krusche figures it out

So back to the inn we go. Analyzing the map, Krusche realizes that the mysterious door is built right on top of a major duct for symphonic energy (the energy generated and absorbed by Reyvateils). Which, unless they are keeping diving machines in there, makes no sense: they are probably channeling a frequency that is harmful to Reyvateils through that door, in order to keep Reyvateils away. Meaning that, whatever is in the mysterious room, it is something they don't want Reyvateils to see.

Idiocy is contagious

Despite Krusche having JUST explained all that, and despite Misha throwing a tantrum because Lyner suggested to leave her behind moments earlier, Lyner chalks it up as Misha being tired after the long journey, and suggests that they check out the room by themselves while she is asleep. Now I of course am not surprised by this, I mean it's Lyner we are talking about. What shocks me is that the other AGREE WITH HIM. But unfortunately for them, a much bigger, more dangerous, more unpredictable obstacle is waiting for them...

Incredible, uh?

A LOCKED DOOR. They were honestly expecting Tenba to leave the door to their secret facility open.
Not only that: Krusche states that the lock is probably reinforced with symphonic power, which is something she could have bothered to explain before we wasted the time to come all the way from the town, without a Reyvateil to provide support in battle.

Sure, what could possibly go wrong?

But don't worry! Krusche has a plan to solve the situation! You know how everything in this floating island is powered by Tenba's nuclear (here censored as "nukular") plant, INCLUDING THE ENGINES THAT KEEP THE ISLAND AFLOAT? Well, if we shut that down, no more energy, meaning that it will then be possible to open this door, and even a Reyvateil will be able to walk in safely.
Sounds like a good plan, what could possibly go wrong? Aside, oh I don't know, THE WHOLE ISLAND FALLING?
The funny part is that Jack and Lyner do point that out. And Krusche answers, I kid you not, "oh don't worry, for the first ten minutes the island will fall slowly". Well, looks like we are really going to do it after all.

Ok, this is enough out of character for her, I am starting to worry.

The power plant is heavily guarded, so we are going to need Reyvateil support. Back we go to pick Misha up, and she is mad. Not because the plan we came up with is idiotic, but because we left her behind again. And well, these outbursts of jealousy are NOT played for comedy: they are autentic out-of-character mokents for Misha, played completely straight.

What is going on with our Reyvateil? Why is her personality suddenly getting twisted? Will our heroes go through with their incredibly idiotic plan? Find out in the next episode, which will feature an unscheduled dive, a rather stupid guard, and an unexpected reunion!

Tomas Elliot · November 15, 2015

As promised, today is double update day!

Episode 16 - Run Away Misha

So, as we walk outside the inn to begin the episode, we find good news.

Neat, it surely comes at the right time

The storm is over, and airships can fly again. This is NOT a deus ex machina, by the way: it is just the result of the actions of Aurica, Radolf and Ayatane, who went on a mission to restore the climate control system and stop the storm. We would have joined them in said mission had we chosen Aurica's path.

Anyway, remember when I said that we wouldn't dive untill after restoring Misha to her adult form? Yeah, scratch that: I just remembered that, upon restoring her, some events will unfold that will be given a completely different meaning if we dive into Misha's level 6 immediately after seeing them. But now we are at level 4, so better get level 5 out of the way before proceeding.

Is it ok for a Mind Guardian to reveal this kind of details?

So as we enter the cosmosphere, we are welcomed with a bonus scene where Hama tells us that Misha tends to speak in her sleep, and gives us a sample of what she usually says. Hey I didn't write these dialogues, don't look at me like that. I am just reporting the facts.

What in the world is Leard doing here?

So, the issue of this level involves the past relationship between Misha and Leard, and actually gives us a juicy bit of backstory. As usual, the Cosmosphere shows us stuff in metaphores, so the issue is depicted as Leard being Misha's drunk, abusive father. You will notice that Misha's sister appears, despite no siblings being mentioned at any point in Misha's backstory (heck she was artificially created, and she mentioned being the only Beta Reyvateil left in this world). You will also notice that the sister is played by the same NPC who played Aurica's schoolmate and Misha's mom in previous dives...

Is this becoming a running gag?

... AND SHE ASKS LYNER OUT AGAIN. Seriously, what's up with that?

Jack surely plays a big role in this Cosmosphere

So, the level is totally whacky, and involves a drinking competition. If we leave that aside for a moment, however, there is an optional scene in which Jack takes a moment to have a sit with Lyner and explain what's going on. I like how, the deeper we get, the more often it happens that Jack is given the task to explain Misha's hidden feelings to Lyner: it really drives home the point that, when she was a little girl who had just arrived in Em Phyena, Jack was a very important presence for her, so much so in fact that she assigned him a major role in her Cosmosphere, the second biggest role after the Mind Guardian.

Anyway, Jack explains that Misha was deeply traumatized by something that had happened to her in Platina: remember when I said that Misha, having been artificially created, was trained since the day of her birth specifically to prepare her for her mission? Well, get this: the one who trained her was no other than Leard, Lyner's father. Who apparently was very strict and verbally abusive towards her, something Lyner and Misha bonded over (Lyner would try to cheer Misha up whenever she cried as a result of Leard's actions). Not that Lyner remember any of that!

Keep count of the bunnies!

Oh, and another of those bunny thingies shows up. I said this before, but keep track of these.

Costume get!

So we clear the level and get a costume for Adult Misha, which we of course cannot use at this point. We also get the Red Magic named Stubborn Father, which is... Rather bad, actually: using it once does unlock a talk topic with Misha, so my suggestion is to use it JUST once, unlock and watch the talk topic, and then just forget about it and use Flower instead.

A gift of love!

Clearing the fifth level of the Reyvateil we chose as our canon love interest also causes her to make something for Lyner, as a gift. In Misha's case, it's the Decorated Hakama, an item that is atrociously broke. Why, you ask?

Uber Lyner

Well, for starters, it greatly improves Lyner's elemental resistances, all the while ADDING AN EXTRA HIT TO LYNER'S NORMAL ATTACK FOR EVERY ELEMENT. Basically this means that, if Lyner deals 100 points of damage with his normal attack, he will then deal 25 more as fire damage, then 25 more as Ice damage, then 25 more as lightning damage, and THEN 25 more as wind damage. Give or take elemental resistances of the opponent, of course.
Oh, and one of the Grathmeld recipes you should have obtained back in Platina is the Ardel Jewel, which we can now create, having found the ingredients in the tower's core.

Basically, the game is over here and now

IT FURTHER BOOSTS LYNER'S ELEMENTAL RESISTANCES. In theory the catch is that, as an accessory, this thing has no enhance slots, so you don't get any fancy Grathnode Crystal to use with it, resulting in a stat drop. But honestly, who cares? The numerical value you see next to each Resist is a percentage. Meaning, if your Fire Resistance is 20, you take 20% less damage from fire-based attacks. With this set up, ALL of Lyner's resistances are 100 and yes, that means he is now completely immune to magic. Oh, and the final boss of the game? That would be someone who exclusively uses magic. Did I mention that Misha's path is ridiculously easy?

Tenba's nuclear reactor

So back to our mission we go. After much battling against painfully underwhelming mooks, we get to the control room for Tenba's reactor. And here, the single most idiotic sub-quests of this game ensues. Seriously, I love this game, I really do, but the sheer amount of idiocy in the events that are about to transpire truly puts my love to the test.
Get this: a specific item, the Power Cylinder, is needed to cut the power. Now, this being the single most vital structure in Tenba's possession (what with it keeping AN ENTIRE ISLAND AFLOAT, meaning that, if something happens to it, HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WILL FALL TO THEIR DEATH), you'd expect it to be heavily guarded, right? Sure enough, it is guarded...

I really cannot come up with a witty comment on this

... By ONE SINGLE GUARD, who immediately tells us where the Power Cylinder is. Except that, it turns out, it isn't in this building, and in fact it isn't even in FIrefly Alley: IT IS IN TENBA'S DESTROYED LAB. Yes, the one that was hit by that piece that fell from the tower, which we visited before. Now, you might remember that such installation is in the NORTHERN part of the Wing of Horus, and that Firefly Alley floats below the SOUTHERN part of the same continent. Even if we take an airship to Nemo we still have to walk there, then walk back and take another airship, meaning that, in realistic terms, we will be gone for at least two days. TWO DAYS DURING WHICH THIS GUARD WILL NOT CALL FOR REINFORCEMENTS, WILL NOT REQUEST TIGHTER SECURITY MEASURES, AND WILL NOT EVEN FIX THE DOORS WE BLASTED OPEN TO GET HERE. Where do I even begin to comment on this?

Will this guy ever get a clue?

So, back at we Inn we are, and Lyner, being Lyner, states that the upcoming mission is too dangerous, and that Misha should stay behind...

Eh...

... With predictable results. After ranting on how she just wants to be with Lyner and how stupid he is for not understanding this simple fact, Misha decides to go retrieve the Power Cylinder on her own... Of course, Lyner fails to talk her out of it, and of course she manages to get on an airship that departs the moment she hops aboard, leaving the party to wait for the next airship, and the not exactly exciting perspective of having to improvise a rescue mission, in a dungeon full of monsters, without Reyvateil support...

It's a small world

Except Aurica shows up. Looks like we will have Reyvateil support after all. Painfully underleveled Reyvateil support but hey, better than nothing right?

Foreshadowing ensues!

Aurica explains what she is doing here: apparently, after completing the mission to restore the climate control system, nobody needed her at the Church, so she wandered off on her own. And then she drops a juicy bit of foreshadowing: apparently she has been found to be defective, the cybernetic part of her mind (I.E. the part that interfaces with the tower, handling the Cosmosphere etc) appears to have a bug, whose nature has still not been clarified.
A bug in Aurica's mind.
The mysterious power she can tap into.
The word "Mir" in her Hymn Code.
Demon Aurica.
Hey, you guys were the ones who voted against taking that path!

Anyway, the next airship arrives, so we need to hurry and get on it: Misha could be in danger, so let's hurry to Nemo!

Oh look, we are in Nemo again!

Calm your horses, Jack. I understand you are worried for Misha, but we have business in Nemo first. But that is a story for another episode.

Tomas Elliot · November 15, 2015

Here is the second update for today!

Episode 17 - Tenba's Secret

So as we stated to conclude the previous episode, we have business in Nemo. Let's get to it right away.

Where's everyone?

So we want to report to the Church about the situation with Aurica (after all, one of their Reyvateils wandered off on her own and appears to be malfunctioning, it is a serious matter). However, Falss is not there, nor are Radolf and Ayatane. Strange...

Next thing in the to-do list isto dive with Aurica. Yes I know that spending some quality time to deepen our bond with a girl, while our love interest is missing, seems a horrible thing to do, but look at it in these terms: if you have fought all of your fights up to this point (without fleeing or dropping Peekas), your entire party should be between level 50 and 55. Aurica, having been out of the party for the entirety of Phase 2 up to this point, is still at the level she was when Phase 1 ended (meaning, not more than 42). It is a MASSIVE gap, so we will need to power her up quite a bit to make up for it.

Dive into whackiness!

This Cosmosphere level has got to be the whackiest in the entire game, as Aurica takes a page out of MIsha's book to appear in two forms. We therefore get Kid Aurica...

... AND PRESENT DAY AURICA IN A DON LEON COSTUME. Her bangs kinda look like the tusks of a walrus...

She actually refers to Claire as "onee-chan" in jap

Remember how I said that, since Jack had an important role in Misha's childhood, now he gets to play an important role in the deepest layers of Misha's Cosmosphere? Well, it is the same thing for Claire and Aurica. And Claire explains to us that this level is about the true nature of Don Leon: it is actually a stuffed animal, given by Claire to Aurica as a gift. As shy as she was, Aurica wasn't able to make any new friends after being separated from Claire, so she became so attached to her present, that it became her Mind Guardian.

Costume get!

And thus we clear the level and get this costume as a reward. It is important for many reasons: it gives a nice boost to Aurica's stats, it increases dramatically her singing speed, and it comes with some nifty new spells we learn in this same level...

AND IT IS A TEDDY BEAR COSTUME, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

Anyway, as you may have guessed from the battle screen, we have indeed reached the Hexagonal Plate, and the search for Misha can begin. As we are exploring the area, the lights suddenly go out, startling everybody...

Ship tease?

And as the lights come back on, Krusche is clinging to Jack. Wait, they aren't planning to actually pair her up with him, right? Leaving aside the fact that he is a womanizing son of a gun (albeit a redimed one, courtesy of how selflessly he took care of Misha), there is also the fact that she is, like, 15.

What, you thought I made that up?
Also, THEY SEEMS

Jack's new armor

Bad grammar aside, see that treasure chest behind Krusche in the screen above? There is a Grathmeld recipe for a very powerful armor, which we give to Jack Now the guy is not only tanky and capable of hitting hard, he is also decently fast.

Even Aurica is smarter than Lyner

So Misha is nowhere to be found, and thus our heroes decide to take a break. Having a chance to talk, Lyner tells Aurica what is happening with Misha, and in a very sweet and selfless moment, Aurica swallows her obvious feelings for Lyner to tell him what he should do to be happy with Misha. I just want my beloved to be happy much?

What a reunion...

She would like to say more, but she suddenly collapses... And at this point who should appear, if not Radolf and Ayatane? Apparently, they were looking for Aurica and they ran into Misha, just like we were looking for Misha and ran into Aurica...

Good to see Ayatane again

An exchange of Reyvateils takes place, as well as some more exposition: while we were busy looking for Misha's song, Ayatane & co went on a mission to fix the climate control system. With that out of the way, they are now focusing on heralding the return of the Trio of Elemia, which is the Church's true mission. Apparently, Aurica is crucial in accomplishing this goal, but she seems to be malfunctioning, which has caused some unexpected trouble. After thanking us for finding her, they leave to return to their mission.

He apologizes to her, too

Lyner and Misha make up, and the group is back together. Time to get back to our ridiculously idiotic mission!

There isn't much to explain, actually

So we make our way all the way back to the nuclear reactor in Firefly Alley, completely unopposed (I ranted about this in the previous episode, no need to repeat myself), at which point Krusche explains her brilliant plan: "when I switch the reactor off, run like hell". Basically, since the reactor keeps the island afloat, the moment she turns it off the island will start falling, meaning that Tenba's technicians will try their best to get it back on. The idea is to get as far as possible before they can do just that.

Shut up and run!

Sure enough, we make it back to the door and, with the power cut, the energy field that was jamming Misha's mind is gone. Our heroes should probably worry about more pressing matters at this point. Like I don't know, the fact that the whole island is essentially in a free fall right now.

This girl really needs a hug

The power comes back on, but it is too late: we made it past the door and into Tenba's secret lab... And Misha starts freaking out once again. She is terrified at the idea that, when she regains her song, Lyner will stop liking her, and her mission will get in the way of their relationship. While I find it kind of unhealthy that she is relying so much on him as an emotional crutch (and we will see just how unhealthy it is next time we dive), I can hardly blame her, considering her backstory: not counting Jack who is a Teru, Lyner might very well be the only human who ever saw her as Misha and not as the Star Singer, and valued her feelings more than her mission...

Good boy

And for the second time in the entire game, Lyner understands and does the right thng, hugging her. This finally manages to calm her down, and the group resume their exploration...

But they soon find what they are looking for: the innermost lab. And the sight waiting for them inside horrifies them: giant tubes full of a mysterious liquid, attached to what appears to be a diving machine. Inside one of the tubes, a Hymn Crystal is floating in the liquid. Computer monitors displaying the parameters of various Reyvateils are everywhere. Similar contraptions can be seen in the nearby room as well as in the corridor.

"Could this be a lab where they experiment on Reyvateils? Could they be trying to find a way to forcefully enhance Reyvateils with crystals?" wonders Misha aloud.

Tomas Elliot · November 16, 2015

Nobody tried to guess ;-;
Welp, let's proceed.

Episode 18 - NSFW

Well there wasn't much guessing to do actually, if you think carefully about it, the only villain who would have a reason to be here at this point is...

Death is cheap, apparently

... Bourd. Yes I did say he was dead, and sure enough, the game dropped A LOT of hints that it was, indeed, the case. All red herrings: Bourd is a villain who apparently died, but whose body was never found, so the Disney clause pretty much assured that he would show up again eventually.
And so we find out his true goal: he is trying to create an army of Reyvateils, but not normal Reyvateils: the next generation of Reyvateils! Stronger, more durable, with more powerful songs, and devoid of all emotions so that nothing can interfere with their connection with the tower. He also plans to bring Mir back.
Wait, am I the only one who sees a problem here? We know for a fact that Mir nearly massacred all humans with an army of Reyvateils. And now you, a human, want to bring Mir back and give her an army of BETTER Reyvateils? How well do you expect that to turn out?

Needless to say, our heroes are horrified by such revelations and this, paired with the sheer shock of seeing that Bourd is still alive (just imagine what is going on through Misha's mind right now, considering the breakdown she had when she thought she had murdered him), causes a great deal of tension in the air. And the tension accumulates and accumulates and accumulates, untill it finally explodes into...

So much for climax

... An underwhelming battle with some random mooks? You know, I understand that Bourd must be kept for the big boss fight later on, but still, this kinda feel anti-climatic...

He is twice the size of everyone in Tenba, good luck arresting him...

So Ayano (the president of Tenba, for those with bad memory) shows up. She declares that she did not know about Bourd's machinations, accuses him of treason and has him arrested. However, he simply overpowers the guards and flees, not before dropping the big pipebomb: apparently, he has an accomplice who has already a plan in motion to revive Mir!

Ayano is on our side!

Bourd leaves, but our heroes don't give chase, and for a good reason: if he is really going to resurrect Mir, there is nothing they can do to stop him with Misha in her current condition. So retrieving her song is the absolute priority now. Ayano apologizes for Bourd actions and, to clear Tenba's name, offers to help with all of her resources. And her first order of action is to return Misha's her song.

This girl is obsessed...

The crystal is retrieved and the machine is booted up, but Misha hesitates, and once again asks Lyner if they will be able to be together even after she returns to normal, and pleads to him not to leave her. She is seriously stressing over this, if you have paid attention to her development she has gone from a dependable action girl to a clingy, paranoid emotional wreck... And we will soon find out why, in this very episode as a matter of fact.

The Chronicle Key is back!

So after much convincing the process is finally started. The machine works pretty much like a Dive System, so Lyner finds himself in Misha's Cosmosphere... And as Hama cheerfully announces, the ship has arrived at the pier, meaning that Misha got her song back!

Costume get!

Meaning, we get China Misha as a costume to use in battles! Geez, that dress is even more gorgeous in full body view...

So, when the process ends, Misha is back to her adult form in the real world too (at long last, may I add). With a slight blush on her face, she asks Lyner if he is disappointed... Which, of course, is her way to once again seek support, she needs to be reassured that yes, he does like her and he does not intend to leave her.
So of course Lyner says this:

Which causes Krusche to say some very true things about him:

So anyway, Misha is finally back in her true form, and she has regained her ability to sing Chronicle Key. It is now time to resume our mission! Once again, Ayano offers all of her support, and even gives Lyner a little something as a gift.

Why, thank you Ayano!

Well, I appreciate the thought, but I can Grathmeld MUCH superior stuff by this point.

A crusade is starting?

So, as we leave Tenba's lab, we suddenly get a cutscene of... Falss proclaiming a crusade and sounding like the second coming of Hitler? What in the world is this all about?

Fun with Spica

Anyway, we are back in Firefly Alley. Before hopping on the first airship, let's stop at Spica's shop to get a funny scene between her and Misha.
After this little moment of comedy is over, it's time to go to Nemo!

Jack is never wrong on this kind of stuff

And as soon as we get to the city, Jack immediately catches the smell of big troubles in the air.
And indeed he is not wrong, but before investigating the matter, it is time to dive with Misha. For a while now I have been beating you over the head with how strange Misha's behaviour was, and how unhealthy her relationship with Lyner was becoming. Now, it's time to go to the bottom of that very issue.

WARNING: what follows is possibly the single most controversial moment of this game, which is why I am putting it in a spoiler. If delicate (and most certainly controversial) matters involving the sexual sphere are a trigger for you, please do not open this spoiler. There are no explicit materials of course (I would never break the rules to that extent) but still, I thought it best to warn you.

The infamous level 6...

Indeed, this world is strange. And dangerous. And definitely NSFW, as well not to an extent to break any rules of this forum (I hope). Because you see, in this level Lyner is not going to deal with silly jokes, whacky antics, or out-of-control magic.
In this level, Lyner is going to deal with rape.

You thought I was kidding?

In the most literal way possible.

Now, the first time I saw this scene, I was greatly offended. Not by the scene itself, but rather by the fact that the moral guardians would censor the word "nuclear", and give Ar Tonelico 3 a M rating because of a scene in which a guy tells a girl that she can power up by stripping to her underwear, while this game, in which a girl RAPES a boy, got away with a T rating. I saw in this the classic double standard: "if a girl rapes a boy well, it's not really rape, because all males are sex-addicted perverts who can think about nothing but sex, so chances are he wanted to bang her anyway". Allow me to go on record and say that I find this double standard to be absolutely disgusting, specially when coming from the same Jeanne D'Arc wannabes who are so ready to scream "sexism!" and to demand "equality" (demonizing the other side has nothing to do with equality). Rape is rape. It is a crime, and that is the only thing there is to say about it.

However, after playing the game again, I started giving it some deeper thought. We all know, by this point, that the Cosmosphere presents the feelings of a Reyvateil via metaphores. And I think we can all agree that rape has nothing to do with love (if you would do such a horrible thing to another human being, you most certainly DON'T love them). So what is the Cosmosphere trying to tell us with this scene? Well, the most obvious answer would be: what Misha feels for Lyner is NOT love.

Once again, it is up to Jack to explain the situation: when Misha was a kid who still lived in Platina, she was terrified at the idea of going to Em Pyena to start her mission. And can you blame her for that? A little kid was essentially told "your destiny is to spend your entire life locked in a room, singing the same song over and over again without ever pausing": how could that kid possibly NOT be terrified?
Of course Lyner, who at the time was a kid even younger than Misha, didn't understand anything of this, so he did what kids do: he tried to cheer his friend up. And to do so, he made a promise: that he would beat all the bad guys up so that Misha wouldn't have to sing her song anymore.
Problem is, Misha took that childish promise to heart: Jack reveals that, during her time with the Teru tribe, Misha would repeat Lyner's words constantly, like some sort of mantra. Those words were her emotional crutch, the only thing that kept her going. And then she was reunited with Lyner... Only to find out that he had forgotten everything: her, the promise, everything. This shattered and twisted her emotions to a point, that she turned into the obsessive, paranoid psycho whose true colors are revealed in this level of the Cosmosphere. Hers is not love, it is an obsession. An unhealthy, dangerous obsession.

Now, to clear a Cosmosphere level, one must resolve the issue that the level represents. In this case, Lyner must find a way to remove such unhealthy feelings that exist within Misha, and finally help her open her heart to the true love that, at this point, is blossoming between the two. However, doing so completely destroys the sixth level, that was born from the ugly feelings that are now being purged, and this is visually represented by the Misha of this level becoming an empty shell. This causes what is called a Paradox Loop: the issue is solved, but the Misha of this level is not capable of making the decision to advance to the next one. This is a very dangerous situation, which can cause the diver to be trapped in the Cosmosphere forever (effectively killing him, as his physical body would never wake up and thus die of starvation): thankfully, Shinobi Misha shows up and helps solve the situation, effectively saving Lyner's life (a stark contrast to when she antagonized him back in the third level, more on this next time we dive).
So yeah, it was a very controversial level, but it did help understand the full extent of the dynamic between Lyner and Misha, didn't it?

Welp, we safely made it out of the infamous level 6. It was a seriously dangerous dive, but hey, we did get a new costume, a boost to Misha's stats, and a bundle of new powerful spells for our troubles...

... And God knows if we are going to need those.

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Tomas Elliot presents: a mildly enjoyable playthrough of a little gem, Ar Tonelico!

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