Welcome back! Last time around we found a path to a single room of the Maze in the lower reaches to the Temple of the Sun. It had a timer counting down from 30 seconds that I wasn't brave enough to allow to run out, since I hadn't saved since beating a Guardian. This time I'm heading straight there from the save point.
While I wait for the timer to reach zero, I take out the enemies and probe for breakable walls. I find nothing, though I haven't had time to check the walls lining the ladders. Then:
Yikes! Good thing I didn't try this after the boss.
Or maybe it would have been OK. Instead of a game over screen, I find myself transported back out of the Maze to the Temple. That's no bad thing! Now to head for the top of the pyramid to try out my new Bronze Mirror:
But I get distracted on the way. There's a doorway where there used to be a weird eye thing!
Here are a couple of shots from earlier in the LP, the first showing what used to be where the doorway is now and the second being the clue from the stele next to where the Mirror was. I'd taken the image on the clue to be of the peak of the pyramid, but I now see that it's the mirror (upper left) reflecting the eye (upper right) to show the doorway (lower right). I didn't make that connection while playing though, which will be relevant before the end of the update.
I head through and find myself somewhere new. The symbol above the door is the same on both sides, the glyph for the number three. The Temple of the Sun is the number three area according to the glyphs by its entrances and also the fact that I press 3 on the item screen to warp there. Why is the same number shown on both sides?
Wherever this is, it's got a creepy backdrop. The faces and hands don't look friendly. I take out the enemies and break the pots, but find nothing. I can't seem to interact with the green squares at the top. So I head left, to a room full of bricks. On the left side are a dais floating in the air and what looks like a path to another Field.
I whip the wall in front of me and it makes a noise. Several more strikes later, it breaks to reveal a dead end. The wall above makes the "use something else" sound, though, so I switch to flares and manage to take it out, releasing some flying eyes.
I head back to the right and go down a screen. There's a fair bit going on here: a broken stele, a dais on the bottom level, a chest, and a fairy. There's also a new worm enemy.
I try to take out the worm, but it sinks into the floor and reappears on the upper level, where it starts spewing out... something. Plus the face on the wall starts shooting at me.
It's a bit hard to tell in the GIF, but I manage to take it out.
The broken stele is blank. Let's try the fairy spot:
I get a different colour fairy than I've seen before, with a different star pattern. This one even sticks around after my VIT is back to full. Time to try the dais:
It does not go well. Walls appear, trapping Lemeza, and spikes fall from above. Plus, every time I jump they pop up from below. At least I've still got the fairy.
Eventually my health is back to full and the fairy departs. I'm still stuck! Also, the chest on the left has switched to the open chest sprite, but nothing has come out. Is it empty?
I warp back to the altar in the Temple of the Sun and head back through the invisible doorway (though I stop by the top of the pyramid first, still under the impression that the Mirror is supposed to do something there, which it doesn't so far as I can tell). I return to the room with the bricks.
I try my various weapons and subweapons on the lowest row without success, but am able to make progress in the middle row using the whip.
The bricks at the upper right respond to the knife, breaking to reveal a skeleton. I go to equip the hand scanner to take a look at it, but it gets up and attacks me instead.
The top row of bricks breaks to reveal another Legion-type Room Guard. To mix it up a little I take this one on with the Throwing Knives that I have equipped rather than Shuriken. It's pretty effective.
The middle of the remaining brick sections doesn't respond to any of my armaments, and the upper one draws divine wrath, even when attacked with a ranged weapon. Since I've already established that I can't break the lowest row at the moment, I've done all I can in this room for now. I'm guessing that one of the lower rows will reveal a pushable block when broken, which will allow me to reach the dais, which will clear the upper remaining row of bricks.
I head back to the entrance room and up a ladder. On the left are three faces, which reminds me of a clue:
Stele:These appear to be three women, one of whom is smiling.
I was told to choose three women, who are waiting at the arranged location. I could not. I protect them still. Ye who reads this, please shoot through her for me. She who never stops smiling.
Sure enough, shooting the smiling face opens a path upwards. A floating platform appears from above and I hop on it.
It carries me through the next screen.
To a room filled with chests and daises. There's gotta be some sort of trick going on here, right? I'm quickly knocked back down the hole I came up through, but I think I'll be putting off weighting anything here until I've at least read the stele up top.
On my return I head left and find the altar.
Before I can reach it though, I have to deal with these guys. They're got armoured shells and can't be struck when they curl up and bounce around. They're vulnerable when walking, though.
Reaching the altar is a bit of a task with these spikes.
Apparently I'm in the Temple of Moonlight, the feminine counterpart to the masculine Temple of the Sun.
I carry on through the spikes only to realise I can't get anywhere at the end of the path. So I head back through and to the right again.
I quickly take a hit and get thrown to the upper level of the room below. Say, why is there a platform up here, anyway?
Aha!
In the newly-uncovered room I find a stele warning I must risk my life if I want power. I do want power, but I'm feeling risk-averse at the moment.
I can't seem to get anywhere at the upper left, so I head back to the upper right and kill off the last enemy in the room. Nothing happens. There's still a holy block and a big red button (bottom right) in this room, but I'm leaving them alone for now. I'll try them later.
I wind up going all the way back down to the lowest room I've seen so far, where I can see that the chest that previously opened to reveal nothing when I weighted the dais is now showing as closed again. Is there some alternative way to open it that will get me an item? I ride the platform up to one screen above the entrance and go right.
I pass by an image of the moon that reminds me of the sun image in the Temple of the Sun. It appears to be situated in the point of an inverted pyramid.
I land on a screen with another one of those damned worms and a couple of steles. The broken one is blank, but the intact stele has an intriguing message. Do I need to strike the tip of the pyramid?
Throwing Knives prove pretty useful against the worm, and I move to the next screen. There's a Birth Lock here.
As I enter the room the swirling blue and red things split apart and fly about. I manage to avoid them as I reach the Lock, which opens a passage to the right.
The stele sounds pretty serious.
As I head right I learn that the blue and red things, whatever they are, don't harm Lemeza.
But he can harm them.
I'm not surprised that this wall is breakable, though I am I bit caught out by all the enemies appearing.
It takes a little while, but I clear them all out, then move to the next screen, where I'm able to take out the last enemy as well. Nothing obvious changes on either screen when they're cleared. Ahead is a gap in the floor that presumably leads to Anubis, god of death. That's a little intimidating.
I head in a anyway, and the screen starts pulsating. My VIT starts to drop, which is a worry with how little I have, and I warp out. This is definitely the chamber of Anubis:
User's Manual:The manual also lists an item that nullifies the VIT drain. I wonder if it's in the chest down the bottom of the room? I reckon if I came here with full health I could make it to the dais at the bottom, which might open the chest.
ANUBIS: A monster with the power of death. Just being in its presence is fatal.
Xelpud has a clue about the pyramids, and I save my game.
I run through my options for warping. I've activated the altar in the Temple of Moonlight, but none of the 0-9 keys will warp me to it. I believe the reason for this is that the Temple is the reverse Field of the other temple. They're both the same stage, in a sense. That's what all the front and back talk on the steles is about - paired Fields like the two temples. There's actually a reference to this in the manual, in the ROM combinations list:
User's Manual:So once I find those two ROMs, I'll be able to warp to the Temple of Moonlight.
Arctic Adventure + Comic Bakery: The Grail will warp you to Rear Fields.
I've still got it in mind that I can do something with the mirror at the peak of the pyramid in the Temple of the Sun (because I misread a clue last time), so I set off for it. Along the way, I notice something has changed.
There's a whole lot of squiggly things in this room. Naturally, I try to kill them (without success).
I don't seem to be able to do anything with the squiggles (I probably need the Woman Statue, as depicted in this clue), so I resume my trip to the top.
It's a bit hard to tell what I'm doing in this GIF, but whipping the sun icon makes the "you're hitting this with the wrong weapon" sound, so I equip the flares and stand under it to try them out. It works, destroying the sun and leaving a hole. Let's check it out:
I jump up into the hole and am transported to the Temple of Moonlight. I guess that's what this clue was talking about.
I climb up the ladder and into the inverted pyramid. It's quite Symphony of the Night, really.
I can't reach the stele, so I climb the ladder to the next screen. There are some more of those red and blue things, and what looks like the skull of a goat in the background. Let's take out those pesky red and blue things, maybe that'll open the chest:
Ah. I'm dead.
Reviewing the footage, I didn't even hit anything with the whip before the lightning came. So what's going on? Well, remember this clue:
Stele:I used a weapon inside the woman. This is the female pyramid, and the image I said looked like a goat skull is no such thing. It's a depiction of a female reproductive system: ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina. That's not something you see in a video game every day. I think the squiggles in the equivalent room in the Temple of the Sun are probably sperm, which is a bit unusual, too.
If there is a man, there is also a woman. You must not use weapons inside the woman.
And that's it for today.
Maps:
Temple of Moonlight:
Clues:
Village:
"The Algol with the blue body and the many eyes. Legend has it he is weak to the Serpent Staff."
Guidance Gate:
"Eight souls rest in this land. The souls are those of the Guardians that protect these lands. When the Ankhs holding the souls shatter from a shining red light, the souls will awaken. The Ankh in this land is beyond the path of Angels, and ""There is a path where the angels face each other" I found an invisible floor!" "Offer three sacrifices to the heavens." "The sad tale of the giants. Their history is recorded therein." "In the temple of the Sun, a new trap fills a hole and conceals a trigger." ""Twin Guards" "Silent and alone" "Deliver a stone on high""   |
Spring of the Sky:
"The water that operates the tower. It flows here and is converted to energy." "Walk down the infinite corridor. Beyond it lies everything."  |
Mausoleum of Giants:
"So these ruins are those from a race of giants... I was just about to decipher their legend too..." "We are the second race born of the Great Mother. We were born to return her to the skies. This is the sad story of our race. Nine brothers led our race: Zeb, Bud, Migera, Led, Fut, Abt, Zi, Riv, and Sakit." "In order to hold up the Earth, Zeb stopped moving, and the remaining brothers split into two factions and fought amongst themselves." "Abt, Zi, Riv, and Sakit wanted the Mother to remain here on Earth."  "The eldest, Zeb, could not move, as he had to hold up the Earth." "We could not grant the Great Mother's wish. I am the only one to remain, and here I go to my long, final rest. Abt" "Zi started praying to the Earth on a moonlight night." "On a day when the sun was bright, Led fell in battle. A large hole torn in his chest, he went into his long, final rest." "Bud went into a long, final rest on a night when the sky was full of stars." "To launch the tower, water was indispensible. Migera carried a lake to this land and expired in the effort." "Grieving for his elder brothers, Riv dug a tunnel from the lake to the tower to bring water to it. He collapsed in the effort and went into a long rest." "The youngest, Sakit, followed his own path. He locked Led's body, left power in his hand, and went into a long rest." "1 Sword, 2 Bodies, 3 Wishes, 4 Disasters. 5 Stars, 6 Moons, 7 Lights, 8 Paths. 9 Cups, and 0 which is Life." |
Endless Corridor:
 |
Temple of the Sun:
"
"Challenge the cavern of the inferno. It will be a long road. He who follows it should be prepared to die."
"If there is a man, there is also a woman.
"Summon the power of the twins. The twins are two and yet one. The twins are very much alike."
"Sahete's understanding/clarity
was born from The Mother"
Inferno Cavern:
"Strange, these ruins are strange. This shouldn't be a dead end..." "Discover where the truth of this land lies." "This is the Inferno Cavern. A place that was once a source of power." "If you can't find something important where it should be, check the back." "The imprisoned twins. The man that runs faster than anyone will free them." "What is here is not everything. This is the critical location. Take another path and return to this land again."  |
The Maze:
"Release the twins."
Chamber of Extinction:
"If thou cannot go left, go right." "A joyful soul is milky hued, an eloquent soul is black, an honest soul is purple, a happy soul is green, a pure soul is white, a passionate soul is red, and a kind soul is blue. Souls have colors." "The Guardians lurk in the front. Places without them are the rear. This is the law of the ruins. Only the Infinite Corridor is an exception." "Spriggan, the giant statue. Show hostility and he will awaken. Fight him more and he will return to sleep."  |
Temple of Moonlight:
"This is the Temple of Moonlight. The lovely, female temple."
"If thou wantest power, risk thy life."
"Trim the Pyramid."
"Beyond here lies the chamber of Anubis, the god of death."
To-Do:
Anywhere:
-Clear each screen of enemies at least once
-Complete the software use and software combinations lists in the manual
Village:
-Kill the blue Algol at -5/1, probably with the Serpent Staff.
-Get to hidden door at 4/2
Guidance Gate:
-Open treasure chests at -2/-2, 2/-1
-Get past barrier at 0/-2
-Climb upper ladder at 0/-2
-Get rid of holy rock at 1/-2
-Climb narrow shaft at 4/-1
-Put weights on daises at -1/-2, 0/-2 (upper)
-Reach and press floor switch at -2/-2
-Go through invisible doorway at -2/-2
-Do something at 2/-4
-Use Hand Scanner with Glyph Reader on:
--Steles: -1/-2, 4/-1
--Skeletons: 4/-1
-Get the Jewel in the mouth of the face on 0/-3
-Get the Jewel in the star at 0/-4
-Do something with the angels at 1/-3
-Find the Ankh
--"Beyond the path of Angels"
-Awaken the Guardian
Spring of the Sky:
-Get the statue in the room at 0/1 to say or do something
-Reach the two circular objects in 2/0
-Defeat Bahamut
-Break wall at 1/-2
Mausoleum of Giants:
-Decipher the legend of the giants
-Do something at the upper left of 2/-2
-Go through invisible doorway at 2/-2
-Do something with holy wall at 1/-1
Endless Corridor:
-Explore the Endless Corridor
--Find a way into the rooms below the top floor
Temple of the Sun:
-Scan steles: 1/-2 (several)
--Do something at gap in top row of steles at 1/-2
-Solve all the puzzles
-Do something with the wall that goes "ping" at the upper left of 3/-3
-Do something with the statue at 4/-2
-
-
-Do something with squiggles at 3/-3
--Bring the Woman Statue
Inferno Cavern:
-Become impervious to lava
-Scan skeletons: -2/0 (x2), -1/0 (x2), 0/0 (x2)
-Unlock and take the path to another Field at -2/1
-Reach the two rooms at the top left of the map
-Find that which is not here, which is at another here
--Check the back
-Do something in the broken wall space at -1/-3
The Maze:
-Release the twins
-Buy Dragon Bone (200 coins)
-Figure out the layout
-
-Go through the Twins' Gates
--Acquire the Twins' Souls
Chamber of Extinction:
-Open chest at 5/-2
-Get into lower part of 5/-3
--Enter from 6/-3 somehow?
--Unlock Birth Lock at 5/-3
--Push block (?) onto block space at 5/-3
-Step on footswitch at end of lower corridor at 6/-3
-Read stele at 7/-3
-Get past barrier at 7/-3
-Break the wall at the upper left of 7/-3
-Find path upwards to new Field at 7/-3
-Reach the rooms at the upper right of the map
Temple of Moonlight:
-Weight daises: -1/0, 0/3 (several), 1/-1
-Break all the bricks in -1/0
-Head through door at -1/0 to other Field
-Open chest at 0/-1
--Try the dais again
-Open chests at 0/3, 1/-1, 1/2
-Read stele at 0/2, 0/3, 1/3
-Open holy rock at -1/2
--"Risk thy life"
--Push the button
-Nullify Anubis' death attack
-Try to trim the pyramid
-Do something with the reproductive system image at 1/2
Birth Locks:
-Chamber of Extinction 5/-3
Life Locks:
-Village -4/1
-Endless Corridor -1/0
Death Locks:
-Temple of the Sun 0/-4
Fairy Locations:
-Spring of the Sky 3/1
-Chamber of Extinction 8/-3
-Temple of the Moon 0/-1
ROMs:
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Glyph Key:
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Next Time:
Part 18: Feather
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