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Boss time. Let's rock and roll.
vs. Gojuin
Aah!
It's him... the host from the audition!
Caeda, y'damn traitor. Just had to switch sides, huh...? I'll show you what happens to turncoats!
Eek...
Careful... This one's different from the other enemies we've fought! Keep your guard up!
Chrom!? Haha... Gwahahahahaha! I found it... Not only Caeda, but I even got a vessel for Chrom himself!
Rrgh...!
???: Itsuki! You okay!?
Wait, that's-
Sorry for the holdup. The hero's here and ready to rock!
Music: End of Chapter Boss
Well, that's certain a bo-
NO! No no no, you hit the spunky teenagers, not... Ugh, okay, whatever.
At least someone here knows how to make an entrance. (seriously go watch the boss video)
It certainly looks that way.
Gwahahahahaha!
The hell...?
Perfect! Even more Mirages! All you little sheepies're comin' with me!
You talk pretty big for a guy in a can. I got a better idea - I'm gonna knock that Mirage out of you!
So we'll talk about Gojuin in just a second, but first he comes with a pair of Caspars. You'd think that maybe they've been improved a bit for being with the boss, but they still go down to a single Zio session.
Touma's a little more interesting. Again, we'll go into detail with him later, but the short version is Fire and Lances. We've already seen Skewer with Tsubasa, but Fire Strike is the physical equivalent of Agi.
Anyway, it's time to talk about some actual Fire Emblem mechanics. It may be hard to believe, but that huge chunk of metal Gojuin is using is actually considered a sword (and if that wasn't obvious from looks, the game classifies him as a Myrmidon-type enemy, see the little symbol right above his name). In Fire Emblem, there's a concept called the weapon triangle - Axes beat Lances, Lances beat Swords, and Swords beat Axes - and Atlus has very faithfully recreated that in this game. As far as I'm aware, any enemy type that uses an actual weapon is always weak to its corresponding weapon triangle disadvantage, so even though we don't technically know anything about Gojuin here, we know he uses a sword, so...
Bingo. And of course, once we hit a weakness we start going crazy with sessions, so that makes the fight go by even faster.
As far as Gojuin himself, he's mostly content to throw out Cleaves at the party. Both Touma and Tsubasa can take 3 or 4 hits before they bite it (since they use lances, which resist swords), but Itsuki needs to be a little more careful. If you're feeling saucy, you can always toss out a Rakukaja to be a little safer.
And I got something special planned for idiots that get it wrong! Gwahaha... we're goin' completely unscripted, folks!
Somewhere around the 1/2 - 1/3 health mark, Gojuin busts out this little gem.
Gojuin disappears, and spawns three slimes in his place. Hit the wrong one, and you get hit with a fairly powerful counterattack. But you all are smart boys and girls, and I doubt I need to explain how to tell which one is the right one.
Just kill the blob that has the dark energy in it, and you'll drag Gojuin back on stage.
That said, note that the other slimes don't go away just because you kill the right one. They're not much of a threat (and they'll disappear when you kill Gojuin), but you should still be aware of them in case you're low on health.
And on that note, let's put this big boy to bed.
A neat little touch is that the game does a pause and instant replay on whatever attack causes the killing blow. You even get a couple different angles on it.
Nothing too special with Tsubasa or Itsuki here. Since level ups really aren't that important, I'll be skipping them except after bosses or other notable encounters.
Touma is a little more interesting. He is our Cavalier, a generally well-balanced but unexceptional physical unit. The bulk of his skills are in Fire and Lances, and he skews heavily toward physicals over magic. While he's serviceable on defense (honestly, he's probably our hardiest character right now), Touma's gimmick is all about offense and hitting the enemy as hard as possible with a fire stick. Not mentioned here is the fact that he's weak to skills that target cavalry (like Horseslayer), but those are pretty rare out in the wild, and it's probably the easiest special weakness to manage.
And to round things out, we pick up Tarukaja and Poison Skewer.
Meeting Cain
You made good use of your momentum in that battle, Touma. But your movement was hardly what I'd call efficient...
Yeah, I know, I know. But come on - in situations like this, it's all about the showmanship, know what I mean?
That should be the case... but I have never seen a human possessed by a Mirage change so drastically...
And, uh, Cain, you're lookin' at Itsuki and Tsubasa.
Ah, Itsuki Aoi and Tsubasa Oribe then. Touma speaks very highly of you. He says you are interesting friends.
Uh, interesting...?
quote:
Cain, like Caeda, is more famous for the trend he started than anything he actually does or says. In fact, I don't think he even gets a single line in the entirety of FE1 (and maybe FE3?) - all of his characterization comes from Shadow Dragon and New Mystery. That aside, Cain is progenitor of the "Red Knight" archetype, half of a pair of cavaliers that you typically get on the first map, and focusing heavily on strength and speed at the expense of accuracy. We'll be seeing his counterpart (the "Green Knight" Abel) much later, but for now it's sufficient to say that Cain is honestly kind of a non-character and Atlus had carte blanche to do whatever with him.
Idolasphere?
It's this place. The world we're in right now. Look, I was seriously worried about you.
I'm sorry I didn't listen to you... but I couldn't just leave Tsubasa on her own.
Yeah, I know. I kinda figured that's what you were thinking. That's why I told you to get out. Just running off, to do something stupid and dangerous, without pausing for a second... That was a close one.
More importantly, Touma... why didn't you ever tell us you were involved in something this dangerous...?
Come on, man. This is basic stuff! A hero never reveals their identity-especially to their closest friends.
Touma...
Sorry 'bout that, Itsuki.
No, you don't have to apologize... I guess I understand where you're coming from.
What's this Mirage Master thing you keep talking about?
Cain and others like him are called Mirages, and Mirage Masters are the ones who fight alongside them.
I see...
...Kind of expected you to freak out more, to be honest. You're over here acting like this is no big deal.
Am I...?
Heh... You're pretty strong, Itsuki.
Well, if we're gonna hang around and chat, I for one would rather not do it in an Idolasphere. Let's roll.
We're given control again, but let's chat with Touma one more time before we head out.
Sorry for the bad break, Tsubasa...
I was so scared... But Itsuki came for me...
And he saved you, huh? Oh well. I guess Itsuki's always going to be Tsubasa's hero!
W-Wait! M-My hero!? What's that supposed to mean!?
Come on, Touma. It's YOU who wants to become a superhero, right?
Geez, you really don't get it, do you?
...? What did I say?
Ah... No. Y-You don't have to worry about it.
You were correct there, it seems. But for some reason, it gives me this sensation of curious nostalgia...
Oh Itsuki, you dense motherfucker. Strap in folks, because they've got a bit with Itsuki and by god they're sticking to it.
Anyway, next time it's the end of the prologue. See you then!