Let’s Blog: Ar Tonelico III – #17: Prison Break

This entry covers the escape from the Tokoshie Old Tunnel dungeon and the cutscene immediately afterwards.

Spoilers, as usual.

The end of the previous video marked the end of the cutscenes. You’re now free to explore a confusing area with lots of chests and ladders, fairly tough enemies, and a longer encounter bar than any previous dungeon. Not to mention you’re short a vanguard.

Eventually, your party will stop for another cutscene. Aoto wonders how much further they’ll have to walk to escape outside. Yurishica tells him not to give up yet; We can’t have been confined for more than a day.” Aoto replies that she’s quite the survivor, and Yurishica replies she doesn’t hold back as a woman; “Unless I’m capable of escaping a fortress or two, no one will want me for a bride.”

Tatsumi speaks up: “Hey, I’ve been thinking… aren’t you two awfully friendly for people who have just met?” Aoto struggles to come up with an excuse, while Yurishica replies, “Oh, you’re just shy. Young people are like this lately, you know?”  Aoto enthusiastically agrees. Tatsumi accepts this, then wonders where Finnel and the doctor might be. Without thinking, Aoto remarks that Finnel’s not a problem, raising Tatsumi’s suspicions again. Yurishika suggests they move on, returning control to the player,

After heading a short distance further, Aoto will hear a voice. He runs up to a door to hear Gengai on the other side. Tatsumi wonders what he is doing here, and Aoto says before worrying about that, they’ve got to break down the door. This task falls to Yurishica and her demolition expertise once again.

Gengai asks what’s happened to Saki, and Aoto replies that she was captured, blaming himself for being unable to protect her. Gengai tells him not to think that, reminding Aoto that it was the same when Saki was accompanying him on Fallen Heaven Road. Aoto asks him if the discussions at the Great Fang Alliance headquarters came to anything, and Gengai replies that they decided not to take action; the mayor of Tokoshie did not want to aggravate Clusternia further.

The scene switches to a flashback of the proceedings, where Gengai is arguing that now is the time for the Alliance to take a stand. However, the mayor of Tokoshie tells him not to be foolish; they will simply be crushed, and have made enough useless sacrifices as it is. Gengai asks him if he truly intends to surrender without a fight. He says that they can’t continue to lick Clusternia’s boots, or humans will no longer be able to survive amongst the assassinations, cleansing and kidnappings.

Gengai repeats that now is the time to strike, before their numbers are reduced any more by further cleansing. The mayor of Tokoshie asks Gengai if he has bellowed to his satisfaction. He says that while Gengai is an excellent rabble-rouser, he has no right to speak at this table, as his town- Fallen Heaven Peak- has been destroyed, and its remaining citizens are fugitives. He proceeds to eject Gengai from the Great Fang Alliance.

Back in Tokoshie Tunnel, Aoto says angrily, “So the Great Fang Alliance doesn’t care about what happened to Fallen Heaven Peak?!” Gengai replies, “Those who did not call it home will not understand the pain of those who did. They thought me baring my fangs at Clusternia put them at risk, so they confined me here. The Alliance no longer wants conflict with Clusternia.”

Gengai then asks who Yurishica is. Yurishica introduces herself, and said she met Aoto just a little while ago. Gengai comments that Yurishica was the name of a fire god from an ancient legend, and Aoto recalls that something very similar was said about Salapator. He wonders if it’s a coincidence… Gengai introduces himself, saying that he’s the leader of some sort of resistance, though he no longer knows what it amounts to.

Tatsumi begins saying that now that introductions are over, they should hurry onward, but realizes that his voice has begun sounding strange again. Aoto asks Tatsumi what’s wrong. Gengai interrupts forcefully that Tatsumi’s looking a little pale, and he should get some rest while Gengai watches over him. He tells Aoto to go on ahead; they’ll meet up with him later. Aoto begins objecting that this isn’t a safe place to rest, but Gengai will have none of it.

Control returns to the player, with Tatsumi leaving the party. The exit to Tokoshie Canopy is only a short distance away and I didn’t get into any fights, but one would have likely been painful.

Once above ground in Tokoshie Canopy, Yurishica tells Aoto that this is farewell, since it’ll be inconvenient if she waits until Tatsumi and the others catch up. But first, she wants to tell him something about Finnel. She says, “Even though Finnel seems strong, she’s actually very weak. It’s my duty to heal her wounds…” Yurishica explains that when Soma takes control, Finnel often finds herself left in dangerous situations, like the time Aoto met her.

She says that when that happens, it’s her duty to return her to a safe place. Aoto remarks that she’s really a personality with Finnel’s well-being at heart. Yurishica says, “Finnel has been clumsy for a long time… and Clusternia has treated her cruelly because of that… so please, don’t leave her alone.”

After some chatter over how Yurishica is like Finnel’s best friend despite being a personality of hers, Yurishica asks Aoto what he thinks of Finnel. Aoto awkwardly replies that she’s a dolt, a troublemaker, and her habit of getting angry all the time is annoying… but he can tell she’s just trying to cope with a heavy burden. “She should let herself rely on someone else once in a while,” he says. Yurishica decides she can leave Finnel in his hands.

She has one final request. “There was a crystal forcibly installed inside the personality of Finnel’s called Soma,” Yurishica says. “While nobody else knows of her true nature, I want you to take it out. If you do that… I think I will be able to heal her heart.” Aoto wonders how he’s supposed to take out a crystal, and Yurishica says the next time Soma appears, he should just pull it out of her Install Point. Aoto remarks that it sounds pretty simple, and Yurishica replies it isn’t… but he should be all right.

She gives him the necessary incantation, but says he’ll have to find out where the install point is from Finnel. “Do not be daunted,” she says. “If you search every corner of her heart, you will definitely find the crystal. I leave it to you, Aoto.” With that, she transforms back into Finnel. Finnel is disoriented, and frightened that someone might have seen her transform, but Aoto reassures her no one did.

Gengai and Tatsumi arrive, and Tatsumi remarks that he found Finnel after all. Aoto makes up the excuse that he met her during his escape. Tatsumi asks where Yurishica went, and Aoto says she ran off in a hurry, but anyway he’s glad that the two of them are all right. Gengai comments, “I’m surprised that place was so poorly guarded.”

Tatsumi asks if Aoto never met up with Hikari. Aoto replies he didn’t, and wonders if the doctor was never captured in the first place. Gengai suggests that they visit his clinic, in the event he’s returned to Tokoshie.

Control returns to the player. If you rest at the inn, you’ll see a conversation between Tatsumi and Finnel, where Tatsumi asks Finnel what she thinks of his new skill and what he should call it. (I got the new skill in item synthesis earlier by fusing a V-Board with the magazine Gengai gave Tatsumi.) The default name is D-Ray, while Finnel suggests Crash Rail.

And with that, I’ve covered the entire PV for once! It was three minutes shorter than usual, though.

Tags: ar tonelico, ar tonelico 3, gust, jrpg