Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

Srijita wrote:Furthermore, when Rune does heal Chaz, he succeeds in restoring all his HP, all his TP, and even his full complement of skills in one go – something that even Raja cannot do.

Thoughts, anyone?

Good point. Lutz had healing abilities in PSII as well, so I guess Rune is channeling him there. I suppose not using those abilities more often could be connected to keeping the Lutz identity secret. Or perhaps there's something about that room that increases his powers.

Great resonses, everyone! I really enjoyed reading all of your thoughts.^^ And oh yes -- hahaha -- indeed; if my juvenile site name is any indication, I am a Rune fan-girl. *Squee!*

Okay, I'm going to throw in two cents now:

Rune vs. Chaz: My verdict is...drumroll... Rune! Dum dum dum!!!

I do think Rune could defeat Chaz at any point in the game. Srijita, my response is the exact same - Rune can heal! I wonder, though, why he can heal Chaz before Chaz meets Elysedon, but not during the game? Maybe healing magic is a trait that Rune doesn't feel confident about *winks at Srijita*. While Chaz learns Megid, it isn't something that he earns on his own, unlike Rune learning Legeon -- it was given to him by Le Roof and co. -- but only because of Rune's decision to choose Chaz to take Elysedon. Heck, if Rune wanted to, he could have chosen himself to take Elsyedon, ehe! I stand by my statement that it is all because of Rune that Chaz was able to develop to the potential he became. But, I digress. Hypothetically though, I think Rune could waste Chaz, and easily, but like I said, I am a biased Rune fangirl so my opinion is probably useless here.

Rika vs. Alys: This one is a toughie. Upon first encountering Rika in the game, however, Alys is by far the stronger woman. Later on, of course, Rika learns techniques and skills that possibly make her stronger than Alys; she learns "deban", "saner", "gires", "sar", "gisar", "doubleslash", etc. However, I do wonder just how strong Alys could have become, had she not passed away in the game.

Chaz vs. Wren: Definitely agreeing with Lucas here. Since Wren can re-energize fully with "recover", and since he can use "barrier", I think Chaz is no match for Wren. There was a time in the game when I fought Dark Force (after getting the aero-prisim in the soldier's temple) that all my party members died except for Wren. I actually got pretty far fighting Dark Force with just Wren.

Rune vs. Chaz: Obviously Rune

Rune would own Chaz sure chaz has some nice attacks and a few uique skills but at the end of the Day. Rune is the magic master and his attacks hurt bigtime. Nuff said!

There was a time in the game when I fought Dark Force (after getting the aero-prisim in the soldier's temple) that all my party members died except for Wren. I actually got pretty far fighting Dark Force with just Wren.

That reminds me of a story. One time I was fighting the boss of one of the Rykros towers and he wiped out my party except for Wren. After the fight, I had Wren, with just a few HP, no healing items, no escapipe or telepipes, and no Recover uses left. Through some miracle, I managed to walk all the way back out of the tower, soloing everything along the way with just Wren and his gun. I thought it was going to be a game over for sure, but Wren managed to pull me through it.

[face=Times New Roman]

Rune_Walsh wrote:Rune can heal! I wonder, though, why he can heal Chaz before Chaz meets Elysedon, but not during the game?

That Rune has some healing ability is also strongly implied in the storyline. Alys, who evidently knows him of old, asks for him after being struck by the Black Energy Wave.

At her bedside in Krup, he explains: “The Black Wave is not a product of Zio alone. It contains an even more evil power which I can't cure.”

The implication is that he might have been able to help if Zio alone had inflicted the damage.

I suspect that his lack of player-executable healing techniques (beyond REVER and AROWS) is intended to balance the gameplay. However, it is jolly difficult to find a consistent explanation for it story-wise (my remarks about a lack of confidence notwithstanding ). I’m fascinated by Thoul’s suggestion that he might be channelling Lutz, who provides fully-restorative healing for Rolf and company in PS2.

Rune also indicates, in his closing lines, that he is still lacking in training and experience and needs to improve himself further. Presumably honing his healing skills would be part of that. I’ll have to think this over some more...

I stand by my statement that it is all because of Rune that Chaz was able to develop to the potential he became.

Oh, I agree 100%; Chaz only realises his full potential because Rune recognises it, supports him, and guides him. Ultimately, however, based on gameplay alone, he ends up phenomenally strong. Megid can do ~400 HP damage in one go. As you say, he only acquires the technique because Rune chooses him to wield Elsydeon. Nevertheless, once he has it, it can cause even more damage than Rune’s Legeon at the same level. He also benefits from having the balanced stats and skills of most archetypal heroes, while Rune focuses predominantly on mental ability and magic.

Story-wise, however, I’d concur; Rune has the weight of four generations of Lutz behind him, is some years older and more experienced, and should be the more powerful of the two. Besides which, he has an extra weapon that the poor kid can't tolerate: teasing.

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Rune_Walsh wrote:There was a time in the game when I fought Dark Force (after getting the aero-prisim in the soldier's temple) that all my party members died except for Wren. I actually got pretty far fighting Dark Force with just Wren.

Whew!

There is only one circumstance in which I could imagine this happening, and that is if 3/4 party members were hit by Mindblast and fell asleep for a prolonged period. If Rune goes down, there is no one to cast AROWS and revive the party. Generally speaking they wake up on their own after a couple of rounds, but if you're unlucky it sometimes lasts longer, and one could run into trouble. Is that what happened?

Thoul wrote:That reminds me of a story. One time I was fighting the boss of one of the Rykros towers and he wiped out my party except for Wren. After the fight, I had Wren, with just a few HP, no healing items, no escapipe or telepipes, and no Recover uses left. Through some miracle, I managed to walk all the way back out of the tower, soloing everything along the way with just Wren and his gun. I thought it was going to be a game over for sure, but Wren managed to pull me through it.

I’m both fascinated and somewhat nonplussed by your stories here, because my experience is so vastly different. Lassic is tough and puts the Protectors through their paces, but after that, none of the remaining bosses seems to give me much of a run for my money. This includes the Rykros tower guardians and the Profound Darkness. I’ve seldom had to use REVER or any form of DEW, even in the final battle, because Raja is so darn good at what he does. I was actually quite disappointed that the endgame wasn’t more of a challenge.

Besides the Hunters’ Guild missions and the Weapons Plant, I don’t bother to level up at all, because indiscriminate monster-fighting bores me silly. I’m also willing to wager that every single person on this site has more general gaming experience than I do Someone please tell me, what could be causing the difference?

Just different play styles. In that particular game, I was vastly unprepared for the battle. I think I relied too much on techniques and didn't make sure I had enough items. I didn't even realize I didn't have an escapipe or telepipe under after the battle and I needed one.

Thoul wrote:Just different play styles. In that particular game, I was vastly unprepared for the battle. I think I relied too much on techniques and didn't make sure I had enough items. I didn't even realize I didn't have an escapipe or telepipe under after the battle and I needed one.

[face=Times New Roman]Actually, that makes a lot of sense. My strategy is generally quite cautious and defensive, because I can't stand losing anyone on the team, even for a single round. In other words, I'm a wimp [/face]

I must have missed Thoul's point about Rune channeling Lutz in order to heal. That is an excellent point; did the previous Lutz's have healing ability? Pardon my forgetfullness here, I just can't remember at the moment! Still, that is a good possibility.

Also, that is a good point about Chaz and Megid. For some reason I was thinking Legeon was along the same lines as powerful as Megid, but you are right - it inflicts some more damage. One thing that Chaz does have on Rune is his use with weaponry. Rune lacks in that department, whereas Chaz becomes pretty skilled with swords (so much in fact, that he impresses the "dying boy" with some sweet moves, hehe.)

Ah, my story fighting Dark Force: well, I think it was just a case of bad luck, but I killed him the second time around with my party. I ended up not having Rika use "sar" and the party just got wipped out with his mindblast or whatever deadly move it was. Since Wren has a ton of HP, he is just over 300 at that point in the game. I was able to use "recover" and attack Dark Force with just "Flare", causing some damage. Alas, I probably would have beat him with just Wren if I have some repair-kits on hand.

Thouls' interesting story reminded me of another one - when I was fighting either Lassic again (La Shiec), all of my party members ended up dying except for Rika. I ended up actually finishing him off with just Rika alone, surprisingly. After the battle during the "talk" bit, I was especially taken aback when Wren told Rika she did a good job, to which she thanked him. Does this happen anyway in the game? I don't know. Still, it shocked me!

[face=Times New Roman]

Rune_Walsh wrote:After the battle during the "talk" bit, I was especially taken aback when Wren told Rika she did a good job, to which she thanked him. Does this happen anyway in the game? I don't know.

Yes. You'll recall that as Lassic is melting into extinction, he taunts the party about how they'll never get their hands on the Eclipse Torch. Rika springs up and retrieves it from him, thereby saving the day. This is a fixed scene, which happens regardless of who is left standing at the end of the battle. I assume it would happen even if Rika went down during the battle. Hence Wren's words of praise are very much in order

Still, it shocked me!

It was obviously doubly appropriate in your case, if Rika was the only one left to deal the final blow to Lassic [/face]