Welcome back to another entry in Scrapbook! As always, all characters are property of their respective companies.
Journeys of Wheeling Gamer (August 6, 2017)
Perfect night for a late night Semilocke! So let us begin with the Valkyrie Profile series!
Time for an optional battle. This should be easy…
And it is. The enemies are no match for my team's overpowered equipment. Even more so when Avalanche of the Joutun is in effect… And with it, all enemies are frozen… Well, except for the leader…
The only problem for me now is a vampire flying over to attack… He can cross over obstacles, and that's about it… Oh, and he can inflict Silence, but I can easily heal that… The vampire is quickly surrounded, and he goes down without a fight.
After that, I move on to the other monsters. They go down even easier… I almost feel a little sad… Poor things didn't even get to attack…
However, back to business. And a lot of cutscenes…
It seems that Phiona, sister of the fallen Nicholas, wants the party to be his pallbearers.
There's an interesting take on how the people of Wylfred's time view death. Phoina considers her brother's inclusion as Einherjar honorable, and thus his death is also honorable. And yet, when Wylfred asks her if she shed tears of joy at his death, she rebukes him. They both grieve as she mentions she is sad that she cannot fight alongside him any longer.
It's really interesting the contradictions of that, because death is joyful in the game due to what it brings to those who pass on. And yet, it's still considered sad for those left behind… It's also interesting, because from a typical perspective, Phoina seems uncaring, especially about anything other than fighting (connecting Nicholas's death and her own sorrow to fighting rather than anything else).
It's also interesting, because the idea of honor in death is presented during the other two games, but is eventually lost. This game has its own version, but it will be seen in due time…
Anyway, Phiona continues with the party to the cathedral. But there, more confrontation awaits.
It seems that Nicholas's parents and older brother are consumed in their grief. Nicholas's parents are Augeste and Reinhilde. They're both powerful warriors on the C route of the game, but they sure don't look powerful now…
And Phoina decides she's had enough of what's happening… She says that the others are dishonoring Nicholas with what they are doing, and that he deserves better. The others agree with the latter but not with the former, explaining that they can't help their emotions.
However, she still storms away.
I still really feel like Phoina is uncaring here, saying her family's dishonoring her deceased brother with their natural grief… However, maybe she is grieving in her own way. Some people grieve with anger…
And Valmur has to head to the royal court. And we are to be his escort. Hopefully there's no fighting, yet…
However, we meet someone there. Someone named Fuaxnel. He becomes more important during the A route, but for now, he's just here to pay his respects.
He seems to close to Valmur, and states that the other houses may use Nicholas's death as a political gain. Obviously, Valmur is upset.
Considering who Fauxnel is revealed to be on the A route, it's hard to say whether anything he does is truthful… I suppose we'll find out in due time…
Speaking of upset, Wylfred and Valmur take the time to bond over their shared grief. Even though Wylfred is more aggressive, they really do share some ways of handling it…
Yet they cannot grieve for long. Because monsters strike.
Luckily, I head back to beat them. There's not that much to say about this battle, other than the monsters are still easy. The toughest thing is the high Sin requirement, as well as keep the monsters alive enough to fulfill it. The easiest way is with Ratatoskr's Scandal, and I use it to weaken the enemies enough for quick kills. In the end, I end up getting the best rewards possible, which is what I was hoping for.
After all that, I am given a tour of the family home. Valmur and the others discuss what is to be done about the war, while Phiona relates what is going on thus far.
At the end, it is decided that the house will not go to war.
Of course, this drives Phiona further apart from Valmur.
She points out the senselessness of not allowing a military house to go to war, and accuses his brother of hiding behind Nicholas's name when he points out his passing.
Of course, she storms away again. And I have to go find her. It's worth noting that other than a few minor differences, the scenes in this chapter are exactly the same as the ones in the C route. I can't tell if it's lazy writing, or things making sense because the same characters are featured again. However, in the A route, things are noticeably different, because the family does not make an appearance there.
Nevertheless, we find Phiona about to fight, and I have to join in.
That will be for next time, though.