Let's Play Septerra Core: Part 2 - The Bizarro World
We join our heroine back in the Junktown. Before we head out to take care of business, let's take a look at the basic mechanics of the game.
This is our inventory of usable items. Bread heals 50 HP, root heals 250 HP, the rune stone restores core, you get the idea.
Here is the character attributes sheet.
Look at all the stats! But don't fap yet, because they really serve no purpose, since there is no way to customize your character. All the points from level up are automatically distributed, Diablo 3 style. The only customization, if you can even call it that, is to buy the best equipment available.
Maya is a jack of all trades character. She excels at nothing, terrible at nothing. Everything is average and at the middle. I love how her appearance also demonstrates this trait. She is probably created in the Skyrim character creator with the gender slider set to the middle.
: Don't let that affect you, Maya. We, the Codexians, are all trannies at heart. Now, let's carry on to see Azziz.
: Agreed. Follow me.
We leave the town via the southeast entrance.
Then we head west into the Badlands.
We encounter our first enemy.
The dog's bite does 2-4 damage each time. We blow him away with 5 rifleshots.
: Hey, I thought we were going to school to see your teacher? What the hell are we doing here, in the middle of nowhere shooting dogs?
: We are on right track. His temple is to the west.
: Why do I get the impression that he is some raving lunatic? I mean come on! He is out there alone in his temple, separated from the city and the rest of the inhabitants of this World Shell by a passage, that is occupied by packs of vicious wild dogs. Then he wants you guys to go visit him for school? He is insane. You are insane also for putting up with this shit.
: Enough, let's go.
What kind of person Azziz is, I guess we will find out soon enough.
We proceed to speak with Azziz.
: He's not here?
: He's probably the only normal person here. And me of course.
: Hahaha... Soon you will understand, my child.
: Well, let us start without him. Are you familiar with the legends of Marduk?
: Yes, he was the great hero who defeated Gemma with the help of the Seven Winds!
: You get ahead of yourself, child. You know the final scene, without the benefit of the first act. Marduk is but one of the principal characters of the ancient stories. Together, they all rule the use of Spells. As you know, a great energy and power emanates from the central Core of Septerra, harnessed from the rotation of the World Shells themselves. This very power is used by the Core to regulate the rotations of the Shells, creating an eternal equilibrium. The excess energy is radiated out of the Core into the world. We use this energy, called Core Power, to run our machinery and cast spells. To cast spells, one must use ancient relics called Fate cards to draw Core power. Each card is its own spell, but... they can be combined to create varied effects. Up to three cards can be combined; each played by a different user, each adding its own power. If any more than three are aligned, then the power is lost. Fate Cards are ruled by the demigods of our world, called Fates: The First is Marduk, Son of the Creator, and Fate of War, who defeated Gemma in the battle of the Seven Winds, banishing him to the Pits of Janaak. The Second, Kyra the Angel, Fate of the Heart, who helped Marduk with her light, and became his queen. The Third, Dogo the Trickster, Fate of Cunning, who used his illusions to ensnare Gemma. And finally, Gemma himself, Lord of the Dark, and Fate of Demons, who ruled Septerra in mockery of the Creator, soiling the Father's great with the blood of his children. Each of the Fates can be combined with any other, and once you find them, you can use the cards as many times as you wish, as long as you have enough Core Energy. You must practice this technique to learn the ways of magic. That is all for today's lesson.
: So these are the cards? I can care less about these. I'm much more intrigued by the card you just used.
: You mean this card?
: Precisely. I want it. Give it to me old man.
: My child. For this, you shall have to speak to my most outstanding apprentice - Black Cat. But remember, in order to gain great power, one must sacrifice greatly. In other words, pay a price not everyone can "afford." She is a delicate creature, so remember to bring nice stuffies, preferably as expensive as possible. Otherwise, you risk getting your ass kicked by the 18/00 strength of her boyfriend.
: Thank you for the advice... I will make sure I bring my Belt of Hill Giant Strength if that ever comes to pass.
: Do the ancient heroes still exist?
: Their power does, and it helps watch over and protect the world.
: Sometimes I feel as if my mother is watching over me.
: Pray she watches over us all, my child.
: Hey Maya, I didn't know your mom is Saint Mary.
: Who is Saint Mary?
: Nevermind...
With all that being said, we received this!
The first Fate Card of our game. Although Fate Cards are the most damaging form of attack you can have in the later stages of the game, they completely suck at this point. Not going to bother with cards for a while.
On our way back to our house, we shoot some more dogs and then this happens!
We go to Downtown Oasis.
As we enter Uncle's house...
We see Tori, who was not present at teh Lesson.
: Um... I had other plans...
: Uncle's going to kill you...
: Oh wtf, Maya? If he had gone to see Azziz, he would definitely be devoured by those bloodthirsty dogs. How can anyone have a defenseless child, alone by himself, go through a dangerous killing field like the Badlands, for... uhhh... school?
: What's with the butthurt, CL? Did you forget that kids are immortal? Little Lamplight says hello!
:
: Not if you cover for me!! (He runs away.)
We must report this atrocity to Uncle at once!
CLICK!
: Tori wasn't in class today...
: What?
: He asked me to cover for him.
: Not only that, he conjured up the spirit of Todd Howard to torment yours truly.
: The level 50 Chaotic Evil Dovahkiin? That is not good at all.
: You better find him, Maya.
: Do you think he's in trouble?
: Let's hope not. Check the water pumping station, he usually hangs out there...
: No objection from me. Let's go.
We carefully study the scene, paying special attention to anything unusual.
Looks safe enough...
And right as we enter...
: But, what if Uncle finds out?
: It's not my problem... Hey, who's that?
: Maya! You're screwing up my deal!
: I can't believe you're the smuggler, Tori!
: Hey, a guy's gotta make a buck...
Suddenly, three swordsmen from Wind City, the capitol of the 3rd World Shell, attempt to arrest our heroine, as Tori slips away.
: Wait...
: What's there to fear? They only have swords. This looks like a triple kill to me.
And is it? Here we have our first mini boss fight. The two guards on the sides, they do one damage with each attack. On the other hand, Maya's weakest attack does 5 and they have around 20-25 HP. They don't post much threat to our heroine.
Except when...
They cast heal. Still doesn't make the fight any harder. It just prolongs the fight. We focusfire on the guy in the right.
It seems like our strategy was a mistake. The guard sergeant packs quite a punch. After taking out the one of his henchmen, we think it's time to put the leader himself to sleep.
Maya took some damage, but she managed to eliminate the sergeant. She turns to her last opponent. He drops in no time.
LOOK AT THA LOOT!
Unfortunately, we didn't get headshots.
Now we have to go back to Uncle... again...
Looks like we'll be welcomed with open arms.
: If you see them, let us know.
: Stand guard, don't let those two crooks get away.
A speech check! Well, actually not...
: Yeah, we have to stop you, report you to the Mayor, and have you arrested!
: [SPEECH SUCCESS] Mayor treats you like junk! Grubb made you, not Mayor...
: Yeah, she's got a point...
: He is a jerk isn't he?
: He's a slave driver! He treats us like robots!
: I'm sorry miss, we can no longer talk to you in an official capacity, we're on strike!
: Yeah, we're on strike!
Let's see what Uncle has to say.
: It's Tori. He is selling weapons he finds in the junkpiles.
: He went to hide out in Outlaw Canyon. You must find him, and set things straight.
: But, Outlaw Canyon lies past the Pumping station! I've never gone that far...
: WAIT! Wait one second! YOU! Fat guy. How in the fuck do you, a :patriot: , know so much? How the hell do you know Tori's whereabouts? And how in the hell do you know he loves to hang out in the pumping station in the first place? I think you are taking us for a fool, doppelganger. I think you are up to some shady things of your own! You expect me to believe that a KID like Tori, can go through cutthroats and monsters just like that? YOU EXPECT ME TO~~
:
What's the matter, CL?
:
: Perhaps Grubb can help you...
: Yeah, I guess...
As we leave, we turn around and see what has transpired between Mayor and the Workbots.
: We can't talk to you unless you're an official union representative!
: We want better pay!
: I DON'T PAY YOU AT ALL YOU IDIOTS!!
: AAAAAHHHHHH!!!
Off we go to see how Grubb can help us on our quest toward insanity.
: [RoboBarkOfGreet]
: Hey there, Runner. Nice to see you too.
Let's talk to Grubb about Tori.
CLICK!
: Tori's in trouble. He's been selling weapons from the Junkpiles.
: Sounds like his style...
: Yeah, well he's run away to Outlaw Canyon, because some soldiers from World Shell 3 are after him. Uncle sent me to find him before they do.
: Outlaw Canyon, huh? Wow, that's past the pumping station.
: Uncle thought you could help me get past it.
: I've got to finish the repairs to thi-
: Mayor is involved...
: [ROBOANGER!]
: Runner, heel! He gets upset when you talk about Mayor, Maya.
: Can you help me?
: Hmm... anything that goes against Mayor is cool by me. Count me in.
: Runner can help us out.
Now we have a full party. Yeepee!
Grubb is a caster character that becomes a complete powerhouse in the late game. Excellent speed allows him to have the initiative most of the time. If I remember correctly, he is the second quickest character in the game. Being a mechanic, he can also use Repair to do massive damage on robots, one of the best abilities. At this time though, he is just better than nothing.
First thing you've noticed is probably his HP. Runner is a tank, having high HP and strong damage. He's the opposite of Grubb. Casters are the most dominant characters in late game, while Runner is mostly useful early on, he just can't hang with the others near the end, even Maya. Another big disadvantage he has is the abysmal speed, meaning that when facing agile enemies, for instance bounty hunters and Chosen assassins, who have a high dodge skill, you lose significantly more when he misses. Add the low core power to the equation, he becomes a dead weight.
We pick this up before we leave.
Okay.
With Grubb in our party, we can utilize him to extract salvageable items from junk piles like this one in the town.
CLICK!
: Wow, somebody threw out some cool stuff.
: I salvaged some usable stuff.
Open the inventory.
We equip this engine on Maya's gun.
Before we head out to the pumping station, we make one final stop at the local bakery shop.
Invest some of our fortune on bread.
HHR this is for you.
After we stock up on bread, we head to the pumping station.
We found something lying around.
Our resident mechanic, Grubb, knows what to do here.
CLICK!
: Looks like it may control that fan. Let's see if it opens.
: If we had something to generate some power, we could short it out.
: How about your power generator?
: Perhaps if we had something to connect it to the panel.
Grubb connects the power generator to the control panel using the wire conduits we just picked up. As the panel detonates, the giant fan ceases to spin, allowing our heroes to pass.
: So we need a goddamn engineer to get a goddamn wire and a goddamn power generator, then have our goddamn engineer do all this goddamn work, finally opening the goddamn way, while Tori can get past all of this goddamn damnation by himself. You can't be serious! I mean... uhhh... nevermind... Let's find Tori and see what he's up to now.
We get out of the pumping station. Walking on the twin pipelines, eventually we reach the Desert Pipes.
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Time: We explore the isolated town of Galdon and confront Tori in the Outlaw Canyon.