Toggle Background Color
Now for an auspiciously numbered update.
Part 13: Maritime Melodies
Last time, we got our very own (well, Captain Frog's) pirate ship. Let's drive it!
Not aimlessly of course, but to where the captain said that pirate lady and her gang would be. But as we approach these rocks...
VIDEO: A Voice On the Wind
Keroro and Tamama enjoy a little banter at Dororo's expense,
while something catches Giroro's ear.
Do you hear that? It sounds like a woman singing...
Notable, as the captain's ship has exactly zero women on it.
Captain Frog rushes to the group in a panic.
Shiver me timbers! That be a mermaid's singin'... a siren!
Gero... a siren? What's that?
Sirens are mermaids known for their beautiful songs.
So that's a mermaid singing? It certainly sounds lovely.
It's probably not a good idea to listen to it, though. Their songs charm sailors into shipwrecking themselves to death.
Gero! We're gonna DIE?! AAAGH! Why'd you wait to tell me the worst part!
It's more fun that way! 
And the ship starts shaking violently.
Blast, the wheel's stuck! And I even swore I wouldn't die at sea! AAARRGH!
Are ye back with us, Sergeant? I thought we'd be sleepin' with the fishes...
Gero... where are we?
Looks like we've washed up in a cave somewhere.
What happened to the ship and the captain's crew?
As far as I can tell, we're the only survivors.
I have found no sign of the ship, or anyone else.
Don't ye worry. Seafarin' men are no pushovers. They must be waitin' around somewhere.
As for us, let's be findin' our way out o' this cave!
There's no way backwards out of the Sea Cave, and this situation's a little less temporary than when we dealt with Port Cordelia's sewers.
The enemies aren't too different, though we do meet some new types. Sidled up with that Sea Snake are a pair of Brine Skeletons.
Here's Captain Frog's Bind Shot in action. It does damage, and enemies can't move freely inside the net. Anything that inflicts Not Moving on the monsters is cool in my book.
Just right of our starting point is a healing save circle, and that happy little guy there will sell us items and ingredients. We could grind here indefinitely but that would be boring!
And we'd have to deal with all these Sea Fairies. Bleh. Later iterations of these guys can cast some nasty magic.
Inside this treasure chest... is a Rusty Axe.
Inside THIS treasure chest... is a Rusty Spear. It's collector trash, only good for the right maniac, or a certain sidequest.
By looking at the map on the lower screen, it's easy to tell that this isn't a dead end.
The secret passage reveals a chest containing Deluxe Curry Spice.
The GM Type C (S) Guardian gives a mediocre boost to HP, defense, and speed, but like the other GM Type C, has no skills. The difference between the two is cosmetic--the (S) one's for space, while the other's for ground deployment.
I found a Piledriver! But what it's called doesn't matter. What it does...
Is give us our first optional support in the form of a Namco reference! We can now summon the Dig Dug guy to do a Pump Attack. He grotesquely inflates a Pooka and pops it in the enemy's face for about 200 damage, 1982-style.
I triggered a new Kururu-Keroro victory skit along the way.
VIDEO: What a Card!
That's about it for the Sea Cave, so here's the Keparrow we got:
Giga Battery
Strength Tonic
Paralysis Heal
Miracle Orb
The Sea Cave exits into a pleasant little cove.
But it's best to save before wandering, as the game takes control just to the left of the cave opening.
VIDEO: Let's Get Kraken
That be a...
Unaware of visitors, she hums a little tune.
A mermaid! She's sooo cute! And she looks just like Momocchi!
Tamama runs off like he's gonna hug Mickey at Disneyland.
Wait a minute, Tamama! If that's a singing mermaid, then she might be...
A siren!? GYAAAHH!
Hi, pretty mermaid!
At least Tamama is quick to acknowledge that she only looks like his bazillionaire best friend Momoka Nishizawa. Then again, the twelve-year-old heir of the Nishizawa Peach Group doesn't have a tail.
Momoka is voiced by Haruna Ikezawa. She also voiced the mermaid Caimie from One Piece, Athena Asamiya from The King of Fighters series, and Elise Lutus's doll Tipo from Tales of Xillia.
EEK! What are non-mermaids doing here!? AAAHH!
GYAAAHH!
AAAHH!
GYAAAHH!
AAAHH!
GYAAAHH!
AAAHH!
Argh! Would you two shut up and settle down already?!
AAAHH! Somebody help!
Urgh... what is it now?!
Please help us! The mermaid shrine...! Monsters are attacking the shrine!
Oh look! It's our old pals, Hermit Armor and Generic Monster Sprite!
These bozos are crawling all over the place, while the mermaids run away and cower in fear.
AAAHH!
I told you to settle down!
But... but... there's a... there's a... AAAHH!
Good lord, that eyeball has teeth! 
Another monster...
It seems the pirates are controlling them for their own purposes.
Now even monsters have come to attack us! The mermaid race will be wiped out!
I'll save you, pretty mermaid!
Silly Tamama, you're sitting in reserve! 
We caught a glimpse of the Giant Squidge earlier, when the mysterious lady pirate was making her getaway back in Port Cordelia. Now we face her writhing steed.
This is a really good time to learn tells. When Giant Squidge widens his eye and crams his back tentacles into the ground...
...He's about to do a series of tentacle spike attacks, which really hurt.
I summon Dig Dug in revenge.
It takes a few seconds to inflate that Pooka to death for a single damaging hit, so this support's more fun that practical.
Another one of Giant Squidge's nasty tricks is this ink-shrouded teleport, usually to the opposite side of the screen.
He won't always start attacking upon reappearing.
Here's a tell for his worst attack if he does. The front tentacles arch up...
First hit,
second hit,
and finish off with a tentacle tantrum for small but stacking damage. Usually if someone gets caught by the first hit, they're gonna eat them all.
The tentacle tanty is really bad if you're at low health.
Except if you're not Dororo, and therefore have more HP and defense. Then it's just annoying.
Something tells me Dororo's not ready for Hard mode until he unlocks all his badass stuff later in the game. His death count for this fight is ridiculous.
Tentacle tanty hurts from the back, too.
With all the damage Giant Squidge dishes out, Kururu's Heal All is really handy in this fight. And while the ink-teleport is a pain, Dororo's Heaven and Earth arte drops him right in the monster's face.
Despite getting a faceful of sand like a dozen times, Dororo finishes off the boss.
Two minutes for a fight is forever in Tales time.
After one last roar from the kraken-wannabe, the danger music fades, and our enemies slide off-screen.
Are you okay, pretty mermaid?
Tha... thank you for saving me. My name is Momoel. We have little to offer here, but... I'd like to show my gratitude. Won't you accompany me to my personal quarters?
One fadeout later!
Arr... a mermaid's blessin' be real handy. I'm breathin' in the briny deep!
It's hard to tell otherwise, but the indoor area of Mermaid Cove is underwater. The captain's line above is the only clue-in we get as to the current environment. No seaweed waving in the current, no little schools of fish in the background. The mermaids don't even have swimming sprites. It's very RPG Maker in here.
We only grant our blessing upon a chosen few. You saved our lives, after all. At any rate, I am sorry I mistook you for members of that lady pirate's crew. It isn't much of an apology, but please take this.
Got the Star Barrette! Momoel was added to the support list!
If we hadn't gotten Dig Dug in the cave, Momoel would be our third support character.
I'm glad we cleared up that little misunderstanding.
We've come under attack from those pirates quite often recently. I've been singing to keep their ship away from us, but in the commotion during today's raid, they stole our sacred treasure. It has been handed down through generations of merfolk, but they've finally taken our legendary gun.
Momoel just said the secret word.
A legendary gun!
Does the pirate woman you speak of happen to have a bracelet like this?
Oh, yes, yes! She wears one exactly like it!
So we stumbled 'pon a Legendary Armament and that thrice-cursed woman.
Anyhow, you look just like the Momocchi I know. Plus you got a tail, just like me!
Goodness! We do match, don't we? Tails ♪ tails ♪ together never fails! ♪
She is indeed very much like our Momoka. It seems Tamama's befriended her already.
Tails... tails... teh...
Only Keroro goes walleyed from Momoel's unintentional siren song.
You okay there, Sergeant? Your soul's about to make a getaway!
...Huh? Tha... that was a close one! I thought I saw the Gundam model factory for a second there!
Good thing it wasn't the pearly gates.
By the way, how did you and those pirates manage to reach this place? Only mermaids should be able to enter the cove.
Those scurvy dogs likely be gettin' in through the same cave we drifted into.
So outsiders can come and go as they please? This could mean the end of our peaceful days...
Momocchi...
Private Tamama, we're going to work together and help Momoel as a platoon!
Awright, Sarge! We're gonna save the mermaids!
Would you really? Oh, please do!
With that decided, let's return to the cave and bash those buccaneers!
Well, we got dumped in the sea (again) and lost our ship, but we're one step closer to the next Legendary Armament. I'd call that progress.
Artes/Skills learned this update:
Keroro
Light Heal: Restores an ally's HP by 50%, edging out Kururu's single-target heal spell... for now.
Tamama
Curse Wall: Lowers an enemy's defense. The opposite of Kururu's Bless Wall.
Giroro
Spirit: Giroro's second Character Skill. When not attacking, his HP slowly regenerates.
Blast Rain: Giroro fires a shitload of missiles that pummel the enemy from above with sweet explosive fire damage.
Kururu
Analysis: Kururu's second Character Skill. Increases the effect of the Magnifying Glass item, making it reveal more details when Kururu uses one on an enemy.
Saint Resurrection: Raises a downed ally with most of their HP. This is the strongest resurrect spell, and he gets it at level 21, but it costs 4 CC and takes a while to go off. Revival Orbs of every type beat the resurrect spells every time.
Dororo
Endurance: Dororo's second Character Skill. Increases resistance to bad status effects.
Whirlwind: A wind-elemental flipkick attack.
Next time, we pulverize some pirate plebes!
What I should've done to the boss. Them tentacles is gooood eatin'.