Our adventures in the kingdom in the sky continue...and they don't end all that well.
The caves in the mountains in Zeal Kingdom lead to Zeal Palace.
Unlike Enhasa and Kajar, there are no books to open, so you don't have to worry about looking for a secret area somewhere.
By talking to the people here, you'll find out that Queen Zeal has been using the power of Lavos to power the kingdom and keep it airborne. We finally find out what is powering the kingdom, and it's not the best thing or the best idea. You'll also find out that the undersea Ocean Palace, which is currently under construction, will be the future home of the Mammon Machine, which is being used to draw out Lavos' power and convert it to magical energy.
As you talk to the people in the floating continent, you'll also find out about two places you won't be able to access at all: the blue pyramid on the island to the east (which is similar to the one in Medina Village in 1000 A.D.) and the white-and-gold domed building to the southwest known as the Sun Keep, which houses the Sun Stone. You'll also find out about a prophet who has suddenly shown up and has warned the queen about things that will happen in the near future...and has also been pretty accurate about his predictions.
There will be a woman with a sapling in a jar somewhere in the palace. If you talk to her, she will tell you that the sapling was given to her by Melchior, and that Zeal has told her to burn it. She will then ask you what she should do, and you have a choice of burning it or secretly planting it. Tell her to secretly plant it, and she will go against Zeal's wishes and plant it. You only have one chance to make the right choice, so don't blow it.
You'll also learn some more things: that the queen has two children, Schala and Janus, and that Schala's pendant has magical powers. Keep that latter thing in mind for later.
The Nu walking back and forth will ask you to scratch his back if you talk to him. If you say yes, you'll scratch his back and you'll be able to learn the Nu's secret scratch-point. If you go back to Enhasa and talk to the Nu near the bookcase, you can get him to cough up a Magic Tab.
There are three areas at the north end you can enter, and you'll need to talk to the Nu at the west doorway to get him to move out of the way. The west door leads to the Mammon Machine, which is being used to draw out Lavos' power and use it to power the kingdom and all of magic. The center doorway leads to the queen's throne room, which is sealed by a door just like the ones that you have seen in 2300 AD. The eastern doorway leads to the royalty's private chambers. The left room is empty, but the right one contains both Janus and Schala - the queen's son and daughter, with the former being the boy we saw earlier) - and advances the plot.
When you meet Janus and Schala, you'll find out that sinister things are going on. For one, the queen's demeanor has changed for the worse ever since she discovered Lavos as a power source. Unfortunately, Schala will be summoned to the Ocean Palace by the queen. You can talk to Janus, but you won't get anything out of it.
If you try to leave Zeal Palace at this point, the doorway will be blocked by a human and two Nus, so you'll have to do what must be done to advance the storyline at this point.
Head to the central doorway and follow Schala to the door leading to the throne room. You'll see Schala use her pendant to open the door, which then closes behind her. If you use Marle's pendant on it, it will not open. In order to fix this, head back to the Mammon Machine in the west doorway, go up to the Mammon Machine and press A to place Marle's pendant in the machine briefly and power it up. From here on out, you can not only open the sealed doors in 2300 A.D., you can also open the sealed treasure boxes in 600 A.D. and 1000 A.D. as well. From here, head back to the throne room and open the door. The door will open successfully.
When you enter the throne room, you'll catch up with Schala, but you'll also meet Dalton, the Prophet and Queen Zeal. As it turns out, Queen Zeal is not a nice person, and having been warned of your arrival by the prophet, considers Crono and company to be pests. Dalton will then summon Golem to get rid of you.
At the start of the battle, hit Golem with magic immediately so that Golem does not hit you with Iron Orb - which cuts one target's HP by half - and energy balls that will more than likely kill who they hit. This will weaken Golem considerably and cause him to attack the party with weaker attacks. Heal after that. Fire is the best magic to use for this battle, as the fire ring attack that the Golem will use will not be very strong.
Whatever you do, do not attack Golem with physical attacks (unless it is on counter-attack from the Rage Band). This will cause Golem to go back to using Iron Orb and the energy balls of death, so don't do it.
This is one battle other than Spekkio that you can lose and not get a game over from, but if you beat Golem, Golem will hit the party with a burp attack before dying.
Regardless of whether you win or lose this battle, your party will be caught in a magical trap by Queen Zeal and placed in a magical holding cell. You'll be freed by Schala and Janus, and Schala will tell you to head to the Mountain of Woe and free Melchior. The Prophet will then show up, and you'll be forced back to 65,000,000 B.C. before Schala seals the Gate shut on both sides.
From here, Crono and company will figure out what to do. Even if you haven't been there at all, the game will basically tell you to head to the Keeper's Dome in 2300 A.D. (The game expects you to head through Sewer Access and enter the Keeper's Dome early in the game.) If you head back to The End of Time, the old man there will also tell you to head to The Keeper's Dome.
On the way back through the Mystic Mountains to The End of Time, you'll notice that there are fewer monsters due to the impending ice age. At this point, the game is making it easier to get around in 65,000,000 B.C.
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