Let's Play Gensou Suikoden!; GS1 PART 26

[surskitty]

Prrt, it's amazing how much longer it takes to do things if I have to crop all of the caps in the world.

LAST TIME: Shasarazade, Sonya, and the final star!

I figure you want to see what my Stone Tablet of Promise looks like.







Geeze, that looks like a lot when they're all in one place like that.

In the war room are Mathiu and Liukan!
: "Please speak to Master Mathiu."
[BGM: Theme of the Advancing Army]
: "Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆, Shasarazade has fallen, and the way to the capital is clear. Now is the time to gather our forces and attack Gregminster. Commander, please give me the order to march forward."
: "Let me tell you something, as a doctor. I won't let Mathiu go to battle."
: "But I must. I have my responsibilities. I swore to my sister Odessa..."

: "Let's wait and see what happens."
: "Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆, you have much to do. Why do you hesitate?"
: "Let's wait and see what happens."
: "Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆! If you miss this opportunity, you'll never defeat the Imperial Army! ......... Forgive me. I lost control. But please reconsider, Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆."
: "Let's wait and see what happens."
: "I have said that I am prepared to sacrifice anything to win this war. And that sacrifice includes me." ;~;
: "March to the capital."
: "Thank you, Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆. A force of 20,000 remains in the capital. They will be desperate and dangerous. Please assemble all the Liberation Army troops. We must raise their morale."

Fade out. Pretty much everyone plot relevant is in the war room, with Lepant, ☆☆☆☆☆☆, Mathiu, and Warren up top.
Like so.
: "The troops are assembled, Medical Officer." Take a shot!
: "Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆, let us begin. Warriors of the Liberation Army! The time has come! The end is near for the cruel Imperial regime!"
: "Think of your friends. Think of your families. And fight for them!"
: "The ground quakes with the anger of the people. Their cries echo in the heavens. Now is the time to for this to end." Yes, he really does say 'the time to for'.
White out!
[BGM: Touching Theme]
Suddenly Leknaat is standing in front of ☆☆☆☆☆☆, as she does. Everyone is still in the war room; they just now also have a Leknaat.
: "☆☆☆☆☆☆, the time has come to tell you everything. My sister Windy is looking for vengeance against the entire world. Hungreds of years ago, my ancestors, the Clan of the Gate, were powerful people. But because of their power, they were massacred. Windy and I managed to escape, using the power of the Rune of the Gate. The Rune of the Gate is in fact two runes, the 'front' and 'back' runes, also called the 'entrance' and 'exit' runes. My sister carries the 'front' rune, and I the 'back.' Their powers are connected." So Leknaat has the ass end of the gate rune? No wonder everything she says is fate shit.
: "Then it was Windy who tried to kill you." ... Wait, what?
: "To increase her power, Windy tried to take the 'back' Rune of the Gate from me. That is why I isolated myself on Magician's Island, setting up defenses, and biding my time. Awaiting the appearance of someone like you, ☆☆☆☆☆☆." Also collecting small Harmonian children. But that's not important.
Long pause.
: "Listen, everyone. The 108 Stars of Destiny have come together here. You are all travelers, stars that wander freely under the skies. And you have all assembled in this single spot. Together you will be victorious."
: "Hey, wait a minute, there, sis. You said there were 108 Stars here. But you're mistaken. We're missing one." 8D
: "........."
: "......... Gremio."
: "......... ☆☆☆☆☆☆, I shall show you the power of my Rune of the Gate. Soldiers of the Liberation Army, quiet your minds, and remember your friend."
Fade out.
On a black screen:
: "Open, Gates of Dimensions, unite the 108 Stars to bring us..."
FADE IN TO GREMIO STANDING IN FRONT OF LEKNAAT. 8D 8D 8D
: "Oh, I don't want to die here. There's so much more I must do for Young Master. There's still some laundry left to do... and a new stew. Huh? What the..." GREMIO ♥
Pahn and Cleo walk up to him!
: "Gremio!"
: "Gremio!"
: "Cleo, Pahn..."

: "Y-Young M-Master... I..." He's planning on apologising profusely for dying isn't he.
: "Such is the combined power of the Rune of the Gate and the 108 Stars. But what you have just witnessed is possible only once."
: "The end of our war with the Empire is near. We have lost many lives. For our departed friends, and for the future, we must battle on. We must bring an end to this conflict. Under the banner of the Liberation Army, under our leader Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆..."

: "Victory!"
[BGM: Into a World of Illusion 8D 幻想の世界へ]
: "Victory!"
: "Victory!"
: "Victory!"
: "Victory!"
Fade out!
Fade in to Varkas and Sydonia in front of their bandits!
: "Y'all better fight hard tomorrow! Right, Sydonia?!"
: "Heh."
Fade in!
: [runs in, then bounces] "Fix what you can fix. This is our last chance."
Fade into kobolds!
: "I show kobold power! You all follow Kuromimi Arrrhoooooooooo!" He bounces and they spin around!

Fade in to the war room with just Mathiu and ☆☆☆☆☆☆ there, no music.

Before heading off to plot, I'm going to check to see who says interesting junk in my castle!
: "I'm sorry. Master Mathiu told me to pretend that everything is normal."
Gremio still says, "Oh, Young Master. What happened?" and lurks next to ☆☆☆☆☆☆'s door.
There are ninjas on the roof!
: "Oh, Master ☆☆☆☆☆☆. I... nothing..."
: "Friends... I suppose they're all right."
: "Someday, Yuber and I must finish our business." 'We had a one-night stand once, and Yuber [i]left in the morning.[/i]'
: "My journey will not end until I capture HER." 'Capture', huh. I bet the Howling Voice Guild takes people alive [i]all the time[/i].
: "......... Oh, excuse me. I'm practicing my disappearing technique. ........."
Apparently if you leave your party in the baths for a while, they slowly turn red.
What is Gremio doing. Oh, if you take Milich in with you to the baths, he goes on the men's side unless your party is all-male, in which case he goes to the women's side. I guess he's shy?

Talking to Mathiu...
[BGM: Into a World of Illusion]
: "Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆, this will be our final battle. Your orders..."
IKU ZO!
: "All right. Let's go!"
: "Yes, sir."

[BGM: Gate]
Cut to Kanaan, Yuber, a bunch of soldiers, and a bunch of monsters.
: "Sir Yuber, the Liberation Army is here."

: "Liberation Army? Heh heh heh heh heh, Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Against our 100,000 troops, you can hardly call them an army."
Switch to the other side of the field. Kirkis walks down. ☆☆☆☆☆☆, Mathiu, Viktor, Kasumi, and Leknaat are there.
: "Master ☆☆☆☆☆☆, we have spotted the enemy. Th-they n-number about 100,000."

: "100,000? Impossible. How could that be..." There was an army who had a dog and Yuber was his name-r! Y U B E R! Y U B E R! Y U B E R and Yuber was his name-r!
: "Most of the 100,000 must be monsters that my sister Windy conjured up. I will return the monsters from whence they came." Leknaat, who talks like that?
She steps forward.
: "Rune of the Gate, return those monsters to the nether worlds!"
Scene change to about half of them vanishing in pops!
: "Sir Yuber! The monsters are... vanishing."
: "What? It must be Lady Windy's sister. Don't worry, she will never be able to defeat Lady Windy's sorcery."
Scene change.
: "It's no good. I don't have enough power... to defeat my sister."
Hey, it's a better choice than using Punishment to solve problems.
: "The Soul Eater..."
: "You musn't. You must never use that rune." But it's my friend!
: "Inheritor of the Rune of the Gate, I will lend you power." [walks up] "Oh Dragon Rune, lend your inhuman power, the power that tears the sky apart, to this person." Gods you're pretentious.
Scene change to all of the monsters vanishing.
: "Sir Yuber..."
: "Don't be afraid. Even without the monsters, we're still at an advantage. Forward, march!"
The soldiers march forward!

[BGM: Collision!]
The Last Battle!
It is 20000 to 18710!
: "You scum! How dare you defy me! I'll kill you all!"
: "No way. Woof." ... Kuromimi, I love you sometimes.
Pardon the Kuromimi; it was him or Mathiu.
: "Congratulations! We won!"
: "Damn! This is the end."

[BGM: Gate]
: "Tsk. This is it. The end of this country. Ah, well. I won't miss it much."
And he walks off.

: "Ha ha ha. Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆, I was just in time."
: "My name is Hanzo, leader of the ninjas of Rokkaku. We hid out in the fields until this moment arrived."
: "Chief Hanzo! You survived!"
: "Yes, but we had to keep it a secret. I'm sorry."
: "Oh, no..."
: "You have come far, Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆. We of the Warriors' Village have come to give you a hand. It has been a wonderful war. It's been a long time since we enjoyed such a big one. Our father, Clift the Crusader..."
: "Hey ☆☆☆☆☆☆, we don't have time to hear the old man's stories. Let's charge into Gregminster!" ♥ Viktor

[BGM: Echoes of the Changing Past. That's a remix of the Gregminster bgm to be slow and have lots of wind noises.]

: "Here we are, ☆☆☆☆☆☆, back in Gregminster. And under very different circumstances from the time we escaped. Now all we have to do is take Emperor Barbarosa's head. Let's do it, ☆☆☆☆☆☆!"
: "☆☆☆☆☆☆, I mean Commander, take me with you. I want to avenge Odessa's death with my own hands."
After much deliberation (by which I mean I asked #tcod for input, having settled on Tengaar, Sonya, and Cleo as potential party members), my party will be Flik / Viktor / Sonya / ☆☆☆☆☆☆ / Gremio / Cleo!
: "Please watch yourself, Commander ☆☆☆☆☆☆. Although the Imperial Army is defeated, the Emperor himself is a very powerful man... cough... cough!"
: "Master Mathiu! Don't strain yourself any further. You shouldn't be outside."
: "☆☆☆☆☆☆, please fulfill... my sister Odessa's... dream."
They walk off.

About half of the buildings are locked, including Teo's and Milich's houses but not Sonya's. Milich's roses are dead. The fountain has run dry.
RANDOM DUDE: "I wouldn't shop here if I were you. You'll get cheated."
SHOPKEEP: "Shut up! If you're getting in the way of my business, get out!"
Oh, huh, Gremio's equipment when he dies is lost forever. Also, the armor shop no longer sells wing boots.
I'm going to run around outside Gregminster for a bit to level people up.

Oh, and sticking Clive, Meg, and Krin in my party briefly.
TO LENANKAMP:
I walk into the first house on the left, and...
MAN: "Meg! You wildcat! Leaving home without permission!"
WOMAN: "Well, well, it's Meg. And you're all right, I see. Say, who is this?"
MAN: [bounce] "Wh-who is it!? Meg! It's not your husband, is it?"
: "Who? You mean ☆☆☆☆☆☆? He's just a friend. He's Leader of the Liberation Army."
MAN: "Friend? What!? Did you say leader of the Liberation Army!?"
WOMAN: "So you're finally back, Meg."
: "Oh no, I plan to see a lot more of the world and learn all there is to know."
WOMAN: "Meg, it's no use talking to you."
MAN: "Good luck, Meg."
: "OK!"
To the house way up top! ... I could've sworn there was a thing with Krin. Ah well.
RANDOM MAN IN LENANKAMP: "Keep it up! The Liberation Army is nearly victorious! Odessa will be avenged."
Aah, there's the thing with Krin.
MAN IN INN: "Damn, my money. Hey, you!"
: "Uh-oh! See ya, then."
And Krin bolts.
MAN: "You! I knew you were tight with that thief!"
I SAD NOW.

Oh, hey, ☆☆☆☆☆☆'s magic is high enough to cast Judgement three times. Fuck yes.

To Rockland!
RANDOM MAN: "Rockland has always been full of rocks. That's why it's called Rockland."
THERE'S THAT GUY. "What are you looking at? Something on my face? If you find me handsome I agree with you."
"Homeless Woman's Last Words"
GRAVESTONE: "'Clive, forgive me for not dying at your hands'"
: "... It's a trick. You're trying to deceive me again, woman. I swore I would find you, and I'll never give up until I do. So I can kill you with my own hands." Howling Voice Guild romance ♥

Setting party to Humphrey / Fliktor / ☆☆☆☆☆☆ / Cleo / Gremio for now! I realise that's not what I said I'd do, but I need to head back after putting a windspun armour on Humphrey anyway and the first one I can get is right inside Gregminster Palace.
Hi, Ain Gide!
: "How have you been, ☆☆☆☆☆☆?"
: "You're... I remember now. You're the one who let us go when we were disguised at the Fortress of Kwaba..."
: "Yes, and I believe your name was Schtolteheim Reinbach III." Cough.
: "What do you want? Please let us pass."
: "I can't. I am an Imperial General."
: "The Imperial Army is virtually finished! Please let us through. I owe you one, and would hate to harm you."
: "Even if the Imperial Army is defeated, I cannot betray Emperor Barbarosa. If I, Ain Gide, betray him, who will he have left? Master ☆☆☆☆☆☆, if you insist on going any farther, you will have to do so over my dead body!" That can be arranged.
BOSS FIGHT!
In theory you shouldn't throw all of your big guns at him, but I always head back to the castle after fighting him so it doesn't really matter. ... Also I forgot to put a flowing rune on Gremio, gj.


No music.
: "Emperor Barbarosa... I shall go ahead." And then he collapses.
: "No, this is wrong."
Pause.
: "Yes, he was wrong. But just as some things can be right and useless at the same time, can't something be wrong ... and priceless?" Surprisingly deep.
The party walks around his corpse into the palace's courtyard.

Despite everything, there are still cows.

STATS:

- STARS RECRUITED: IDK MY BFF GREMIO 8D
- Game Overs: 1 total
- BOCCHAAA~~~N: Gremio: 75.5 + 2 = 77.5, Pahn: 8, Cleo: 15, other: 4, total: 104.5
- TALENTED MILITARY SURGEON: Mathiu: 2, everyone else: 4 + 1, 7 total
- Bathrooms: 0

NEXT TIME: This is the final battle!