Let’s Blog: Ar Tonelico III – #2: That Old Time Religion

This entry covers the cutscene immediately after leaving Cielo Valley and the short Blue Heaven Road area afterwards, as well as half the cutscene at the end of that area.

Spoilers, as usual.

So when we left off, Aoto, Tatsumi and Saki were in front of a tepee in a forest, at their first save point. I didn’t attempt to rest at the save point, though. Doing so results in a scene.

Aoto belatedly expresses his surprise at the Clusternia military having turned into cakes earlier, as well as Saki having stripped naked. (Nearly, anyway. She’s back to normal now.) Saki then recovers consciousness. She seems to have suffered a lapse of memory again, and apologizes. He assures her he doesn’t mind, but has something to ask her: “Hey, back when we first met… were you in disguise or something?” Aoto explains that she looked kind of like a female knight, but Saki doesn’t know what he is talking about.

Embarrassed, Aoto remarks “Yeah, when I think about it, there’s no way that person I saw could have been Saki…” He then asks her about Kiraha, but she’s forgotten all about him as well. Tatsumi enters the conversation, suggesting that the shock might have made her lose her memory.

Aoto asks Saki about her ‘prayer’ earlier that caused her clothes to dissolve. Saki responds by calling him a pervert and slapping him. She immediately apologizes, telling him “It’s just because you said such an embarrassing thing…” Aoto deduces that she has no memory of this either, and Tatsumi asks if she remembers anything at all. Saki says, “Well… I remember taking care of all the kids…”

Tatsumi wonders if this was her job, and where it took place. “Ougai,” replies Saki. Aoto and Tatsumi doesn’t know where or what that is, and neither does Saki. Tatsumi suggests that a Reyvateil doctor in Tokoshie Canopy whom he knows might have an idea, though, or else be able to help Saki with her memory. The three of them decide to head there, but Tatsumi has another question for Saki…

“Are you a special Reyvateil or something? I’ve never heard of Reyvateils being able to turn people into cakes.”

Saki doesn’t remember, of course. But she does know that since a long time ago, whenever she’s prayed with all her spirit, God has helped her. Aoto is skeptical about such a god existing, but Saki insists that it’s true and she has “the power of miracles.” Tatsumi notes that there’s no denying what happened earlier was a miracle, though it might not have come from God.

After the three of them finish their chat, we see a scene in which a sword-bearing woman talks to the muscular female, Mute, whom Aoto defeated earlier. She is displeased that Mute was defeated by a single human, and instructs her to quickly bring Saki under her protection and return her to her home. The words they use suggest they don’t see themselves as having any nefarious intent.

She advises Mute not to kill anyone this time, since it causes trouble.

Back to Aoto and company; it’s time to do some adventuring. But first, if you rest again, Saki will have a nighttime chat with Aoto. She doesn’t want to talk to Aoto about anything in particular, just says she’s scared of being alone, and before long defaults to apologizing for causing him trouble. You know, Saki, that’s getting pretty old.

Aoto cheers her up by inviting her to come talk to him any time she wants, paving the way for talk topics. After which she apologizes for causing him trouble again.

In this area you see some nice scenery and fight your first real battles against the  pitifully weak Poms. The item and EXP system work the same way as previous Ar Tonelico games, with battle ranks and 4 grades of item drops. The way the music cuts out abruptly for a second after the victory screen was scary and made me think my PS3 froze, though.

Midway through the area, there’s a cutscene where the earth shakes and they see an airship flying towards the Great Fang. Tatsumi says, “It looks like they intend to search this place simultaneously. It’s a good thing we got away from the village quickly.” Aoto remarks they’ll probably never be able to return to Cielo Valley, and Tatsumi asks if he’s sad. Aoto denies it, saying it’s just that his boss will worry about him.

When you reach the end of the area, there’s a cutscene where Aoto complains about being tired from all the walking. Saki asks, apparently in seriousness, whether she ought to carry him on her back. Tatsumi suggests resting in the house up ahead, instead. Aoto wonders whether Tatsumi knows the owner of this house, and he replies “Well enough to rest here a little, anyway.”

Inside, Aoto calls his boss on his cellphone, who chews him out for skipping out on work. He asks whether there’s Clusternia military in the village, but the boss hadn’t seen any. Assuring the boss he’s okay, he hangs up. Overhearing, Saki apologizes again for involving him in this, but he assures her it’s okay too.

Tatsumi wonders what the Clusternia military is up to. Aoto suggests they might have already withdrawn, but Tatsumi thinks it’s too quick for that, and suggests they stay on guard as they continue on to Tokoshie Canopy. Aoto begins to ask who the owner of this house is, but just then said owner shows up.

He is an old man who says he is an ascetic, whose religion has existed in the Great Fang for a long time. By living in harmony with the rugged land, he believes he can achieve happiness and enlightenment. Tatsumi explains that the man is a pilgrim from the shrine he used to be a part of; there, Tatsumi was an apprentice to a monk by the name of Gengai.

Saki, as usual, is worried about causing trouble, but the man assures her the sight of a pretty girl like her is reward enough, which causes her to become flustered.

The scene skips to Aoto sleeping as Saki and Tatsumi converse. Saki is bothered that the two of them have been fighting to protect her, when she can’t do anything for them. Tatsumi says that Aoto definitely doesn’t think of her as a burden, though he doesn’t know whether it’s because he’s softhearted or living on the edge like this excites him. Saki comments that the two of them are good friends.

Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking…

I’m going to stop here since the nicovideo did and I’m getting tired, even though it’s in the middle of an uninterruptible scene in the game. Let’s see how this pace goes.

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