Hello. We pick up the story about halfway through the previous update, having quit without saving all the progress made in the back half of it because of an unrecoverable error with a balance scale. I speculated at the time that I might need to find out Lemeza's weight in order to get the balance right, and that the device at the top left of the screen below the last one in the image above might be a weighing scale. Let's see if I can reach it:
Success! In my few previous attempts at this, I attempted to grab the wall after the screen transition, and was never able to do it high enough to reach the platform. By grabbing the wall before the screen changes, I easily make it across. Stepping on the base makes a number appear on the screen above which is presumably Lemeza's weight, but it's in glyphs. What does it say?
Here it is after it stops moving, along with the numbers section of my glyph key. Looks like Lemeza weighs 062 units. Kilograms?
Weight obtained, I head back to the Tower of the Goddess. Time to redo the second half of the previous update!
But better! I scan the stele and break all the blocks like last time, but now I also take out all the enemies in this room. It doesn't get me anything, but I do it.
I climb up the tower to the altar, along the way re-reading all the steles (in particular the one that says to look where Riv points and that sinks into the ground after you read it) and re-opening the chest with the map. In the last screenshot here I've taken out the enemy in the altar room but the doorway hasn't appeared at the upper right like it did last time. I guess it must only appear when you go down the shaft at the left, as I speculated last time?
Nope!
Ah, there we go. I must have passed close enough to this platform last time to trigger the door without actually stepping on it.
As before, when I go up the left side tower a block falls into a corner for no obvious purpose. Last time I tried stopping time to get on top of it.
This time I stop time to get under it, where I find a ROM: Pippols. I also find out that a block dropping on Lemeza costs a small amount of VIT. Better than what I'd been worried about, instant death. Pippols is a 1985 vertical scrolling shooter. Sort of - the play area is divided into five vertical lanes, and horizontal movement is only through openings between lanes.
I head back down and to the right to the room below the scales. This time I scan the stele before going up to find a name for the room and a picture of the scales. I wonder if the image of a balanced scale is meant to show how to balance it? The gems do have shapes, though not ones that I can easily match to what's shown here. Plus, there are seven gems and this only shows six.
I reveal the ladder but don't take it, instead taking out all the enemies and moving to the next screen, where I find what looks like the base of another tower.
The stele has another "golden wings" clue that I have no idea about. I head over and break a block for some flares, then go back left so I can reach the lower part of the screen. As I enter it:
The "you did a thing" sound plays and the wall at the lower right disappears to reveal a ROM. I have no idea what I did to trigger this.
The ROM is Gradius, a 1986 port of the 1985 arcade game. While I'm down there I strike the statue in case she's the one who blocks the golden wings. Doesn't seem to be so. Then I head back up to the upper level and up the ladder.
This tower seems to have an encircling pathway leading up it. Unfortunately, Lemeza only moves in two dimensions (doors between fields notwithstanding), so I have to jump up the walls. It seems there's an A Bao A Qu here, though, which makes it tough.
I take another shot at it but get knocked out of the air by the invisible enemy. I decide to come back once I can see them.
I warp back to town and get Xelpud's info on the tower again, then save and head to the Mausoleum for the second time this update. This time, my target is what Riv is pointing at.
Breaking the pot he's pointing to reveals a circle or sphere of some sort. I've seen similar before in the Spring of the Sky. I haven't found a way to interact with them there (though they did change when I started the waterworks again), and my initial attempts at these get nowhere, so I resort to the old standby:
It takes a while, but it works: the sound plays, the exclamation mark appears, and the circle disappears.
I head for the Spring to see if I can do the same to the ones there, but have no success. Then I save this little bit of progress and head back to the Goddess Tower. As I expected, water is pouring out of the spout at 1/-1 on my map. Say... wasn't there a door where all that water is now? Am I still gonna be able to reach it? Have I screwed up?
Oh well. I've saved now.
There's also water by the altar, as I thought there would be. That's more useful in the short term because it will allow me to climb the left side tower.
The currents, the skeleton, and the A Bao A Qu don't make it easy.
I manage to make it up. Initially I try to go down the right side of the screen so I can weight the dais (in the first of these screenshots), but the way is blocked. The clue on the stele sounds familiar: in the Tower of Ruin there's one that says "The left eye sees Kindness." I'm not sure where these eyes are or what Charity and Kindness have to do with them, though.
I clear the room of enemies and go up. It occurs to me looking at it now that I should have checked the little space below where Lemeza is in the first screenshot - it's not accessible from below, so it seems like the kind of place where something might be hidden. No time for that now, though, because when I reach the upper level:
Lemeza is attacked by a hidden enemy! I take it out quickly, but still: a surprise.
I take out the skeleton and read the stele. More talk about Golden Keys! The Chamber of Birth might be the reverse of the Chamber of Extinction? My suspicion at the moment is that the ladder pathway at the upper left of this room leads to the Chamber of Birth, but I won't be able to get there while the Goddess statue blocks the way. According to clues I've seen, if I attain the "model of the flying iron lump" then "the goddesses will leave this land in sorrow", so I guess I need to do that. There was also a clue that said "The flying iron bird. Distressed at its travel, the goddesses depart.", so that's another option. Here's a thought: maybe what I need here is the key fairy? Another clue reads "The large earthen doll, It carries the flying golden key.", and I've been told I need to "fly on golden wings". The key fairy flies, has yellow wings, and carries a yellow key (iron lump?). Maybe that's what all these clues are about? Unfortunately I thought of this while putting the update together, not while I was playing, so I haven't tested this idea out yet.
I take a shot at attacking the statue, in case it's the one blocking the Golden Wings as mentioned in a clue earlier (and/or to hit one of the flying heads that got a bit close), and get lightning for my efforts. I can attack the statue's arm without repercussion, though. Then I head back down. The blockage to the shaft on the right has cleared now, presumably because of the dais I weighted above, allowing me to reach the dais below, which I weight.
I head back up to see if doing that has changed anything, but it doesn't seem to have. When I head back down, though, the chest at the base of the tower has opened to reveal the Eye of Truth:
User's Manual:
Eye of Truth: The truth is behind you...
With the eye in my possession, I can see the A Bao A Qu. I was actually already able to kill these guys, but without being able to see them there was really a lot of luck involved in doing so.
They still seem to just hang out until Lemeza moves in a way they don't like.
Anyways, now that I can see them I'm able to take my time on these screens and clear them of enemies, which gives me no apparent benefit.
I'm also able to check behind this corridor for a hidden platform. I find nothing, which seems like a missed opportunity.
I head up and go right to the big tower. Now that I have the Eye of Truth, I can see the A Bao A Qu that was making this climb all but impossible before. Let's try it again:
Sigh... it's a start.
On my next attempt I make it to the left side of the screen, where I probe for a breakable wall leading to the Room of Gems and Scales. It should be in the second level pillars from the top, but I find nothing. Maybe it only opens from the other side?
After falling back to the room below three more times, I make it to the next level up. These flying gun platforms look... interesting. Let's see how we go!
Yeah, not great. I don't seem to be able to damage them with the katana, and the shots can go over my shield if I'm on the wrong level.
It's a long way down. And back up. Let's try again:
This attempt goes slightly better, reaching the second level.
I feel like I'm making progress. I stop time partway through this GIF, but the guns ignore it.
I get it on the next attempt. What wonders will the next screen hold?
Oh, come on! More of them? This fall takes me all the way back to the base of the tower, too.
It takes me about a minute to get back up for this brief second attempt.
The third time is the charm. I'll have to come back for the chest later.
The upper level offers a blessed respite from guns, though I'm terrified I'll fall back down and have to climb up again. In the middle of the room is the telltale spark of a fairy location (I'll have to try summoning the key fairy from here). The stele seems to be giving directions. There's no way to go left, though!
Striking the wall on the left makes a ping. I cycle through my weapons, but can't find a way to break it from the upper level. A nervous jump across the hole leading back to the base of the tower later, I manage to break the left wall with the keyblade.
Inside there's another statue blocking a path to another Field. I'm not able to find anything to do here at the moment - killing the enemies and striking the statue don't work, and I don't seem to be able to break the blocks at the upper left of the room. I call up my map and confirm my memory that it doesn't show a room here.
I leave (shooting some flares ineffectually at the bricks on the way out) and try going right. I find another blocked path to a different Field. The stele has a message from the second children of the Mother. I think that would be the giants, who built this tower, the Spring of the Sky, and I guess probably some of the rest of the ruins too.
I don't find anything else I can do in this room, and it seems to be the far end of the Goddess Tower, so I warp back to Xelpud and save. I was really hoping I'd resolve whatever needed doing up there so I wouldn't have to climb the tower again, but oh well. Having explored as much of the stage as I can reach and then saved, it's time to take on the gem puzzle again. My plan this time is to go for the same distribution of gems as I attempted last time, but to do it correctly this time. That should let me know for sure if the left scale has some weight already on it (presumably in the form of the little red jewel), and hopefully whether I need to balance Lemeza as well.
Putting Lemeza on the right side tips the scale, and it reverts when he gets off, which seems to suggest that the left side has a weight, and it's less than what Lemeza weighs (62).
I put the milky jewel on the right side, which again tips the scale, meaning the little red gem on the left weighs less than 20 units.
Adding the black jewel to the right isn't enough for that side to outweigh Lemeza on the left. The milky (20) and black (44) jewels total 64, and Lemeza weighs 62, so the little red gem must be at least 3.
I add the rest of the gems, but none of the states the scales go through allow me to narrow down the weight of the red jewel any closer than I have already. It seems be be somewhere between 3 and 19 inclusive. In the final image here, the left side holds 63 + 81 + 70 + RJ (RJ being the weight of the red jewel), and the right 20 + 44 + 50 + 62 + 100. So 214 + RJ < 214 + Lemeza (62). Which I knew already.
To balance the scales I need to put half the weight available on each side. The jewels alone total 428, which would require 214 on each side, but that doesn't seem to do it. With Lemeza, it comes up to 490, so 245 a side. With the red jewel, it's 490 + RJ. I don't have any non-integer weights, so I need the total to be divisible by two, which means RJ must be an even number between 4 and 18 inclusive. I also need to be able to divide the jewels in such a way as to total the numbers required, which I guess is just trial and error. Let's look at some possibilities:
RJ = 4: 494/2 = 247 per side.
4 + 62 + 81 + 100 = 20 + 44 + 50 + 63 + 70 = 247
This puts two of the big jewels on the left and five on the right, so it seems unlikely. In the order they appear, I'd have to push the jewels right, right, right, right, right, left, left, and put Lemeza on the left.
RJ = 6: 496/2 = 248 per side
I don't think I can combine the numbers to total 248. To get a number ending in eight I can combine the red jewel with Lemeza for 68, but that requires me to get 180 from a combination of 20, 50, 70 and 100. Can't be done.
RJ = 8: 498/2 = 249
I don't think this works, either.
RJ = 10: 500/2 = 250
10 + 20 + 50 + 70 + 100 = 44 + 62 + 63 + 81 = 250
LRLRLRL, Lemeza on the right.
RJ = 12: 502/2 = 251
12 + 44 + 62 + 63 + 70 = 20 + 50 + 81 + 100 = 251
RLRLLRR, Lemeza on left.
RJ = 14: 504/2 = 252
14 + 44 + 50 + 63 + 81 = 20 + 62 + 70 + 100 = 252
RLLLRLR, Lemeza right.
RJ = 16: 506/2 = 253
16 + 44 + 50 + 62 + 81 = 20 + 63 + 70 + 100 = 253
RLLRRLR, Lemeza left.
RJ = 18: 508/2 = 254
I'm not finding anything for this.
These are probably not the only possible combinations, though. For example, in my RJ = 12 scenario, I have 70 on one side and 50 + 20 on the other. These could be swapped without changing the totals. If the game is only looking at the maths, it doesn't matter, but if there's a single correct answer programmed in, I might have to keep trying combinations to find it.
Just in case I take a shot at breaking the small red jewel, but it doesn't seem to be possible. So I quit. Next time I'll give this another go.
Map:
Tower of the Goddess:
Clues:
Village:
"Have you found all the ROMS? Something good will happen if you do." "The traps and tricks in the ruins are said to have been set by the Four Sages. They wait for you to come." "The twin ruins are two and yet one. They look a lot alike but are really different. You'll have to figure out the difference." "That tower moves by the power of water. Is it converted to hydrogen maybe? That's what the spring's for." |
"Eight souls rest in this land. The souls are those of the Guardians that protect these lands." "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""   |
"Ye who has life. There is still time. Turn back. The confusion continues." "11 children guard Tiamat's chamber. The Grail is powerless therein." "You have done well in making it this far, wise one. Break through the final confusion." "This is the Confusion Gate. The path will open to the wise." "Is the one reading this tablet wise or a fool? I pray it is one that has wisdom."  |
"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 indispensable. 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." |
"Only thy own strength can get thee through this frozen land." "Art thou the chosen one or not? Proceed ahead. We wait for thee beyond." "The rogue that releases many lights. He who does not hold the silver shine is doomed."  |
"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"  |
"This is the Temple of Moonlight. The lovely, female temple." "Changing water to power, the Tower flies up into the sky." "The sound of the flute is given to the pregnant woman."  |
"The water that operates the tower. It flows here and is converted to energy."  |
"This is a forbidden land that no one may enter. The place concealed beyond here hides a secret. Fly on golden wings."
"
"The model of the flying iron lump is a symbol of the desire for the skies. Attain it and the goddesses will leave this land in sorrow."
"This is the Tower of the Goddess. A place to grant the wish of the Mother."
"The mischievous Rusali. Yaksi, who beguiles men. Dakini, dancing enticingly. Only one of them has a pure heart."
"Ye who desires power, prove thy wisdom. Show thy ability to balance the souls and the power will be thine."
"Strike the one who blocks the Golden Wings."
"The right eye sees Charity."
"Challenge the Chamber of Birth. Take the Golden Key. Proceed to where we were born."
"To the left is the secret of life, to the right is the power of destruction." (at 2/5)
"Ye who leaves this land, take this to heart. We can not grant the Mother's wish. Which child of the Mother art thou? We, her second children, wish that you can grant her desire."
Inferno Cavern:
"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." "What is here is not everything. This is the critical location. Take another path and return to this land again."  |
"The kind, mischievous fairy. The kind, lonely fairy. Her mischief is innocent. Innocent mischief will do thee no harm." "The large earthen doll, It carries the flying golden key." "The flying iron bird. Distressed at its travel, the goddesses depart." "That which moves too fast to see. Even stopping time cannot stop its movement." "The people who created Nu Wa, those who imitate the power of the Great Mother. The power to create life. The power to create us. That wish goes unfulfilled." "The left eye sees Kindness."  |
"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." "There is a riddle Hidden between two murals. Concealed within the large one, it is summoned by the small. Challenge the riddle with golden key in hand."  |
"Cast a spell on the spirits that have the elixir. The Elixir gives shape to souls." "The word of the black Onyx is "Eloquence." The word of the purple Amethyst is "Honesty." Gems have words attributed to them. Gather these words from the spider's web that connects the whole world." "The King of Hell, Beelzebub. He guards the eight souls in front of the Mother."  |
"The priests lived in the ruins and guarded them. As they started to die, four of them turned themselves into stone, gained eternal life, and became Sages." "The power to stop time. Time flows only for thee. That which travels too fast to be seen will also become visible." "This was once a prosperous place. Many secret treasures are hidden within."  |
"Proceed from the correct path." "Endlessness and dimensions. With her great power, Tiamat bent the laws of both." "A land guarded by 8 souls." "The Sages will only show the path to the chosen one. At its end lies a great soul." "We were born of this earth. We were the seventh to be born. And we forgot our Mother..." "Through a ceremony passed down through the ages, the four Sages attained undying bodies."  |
To-Do:
Anywhere:
-Find Shorn Kosugi -Figure out what the blue crosses do -Find the Four Sages and talk to them --Get the flute -Clear each screen of enemies at least once -Complete the software use and software combinations lists in the manual -Figure out what the key fairy does -Get all the ROMs --Have something good happen -Push the wall on a moonlit night -Use the golden key on the small mural --Solve the riddle in the large mural |
-Return to hidden door at 4/2 with all the ROMs |
-Get the Jewel in the star at 0/-4 -Do something with the angels at 1/-3 |
-Open chest -4/1 (x3) -Enter door -4/1 (upside down) -Get past barrier at -5/3 -Push block to obstruct light at -5/3 -Summon Key Fairy at -6/3 and look for something to unlock -Reach the left side of Shu's blood shower head at -3/2 |
-Decipher the legend of the giants
-
--
--
-Do something with holy wall at 1/-1
-
Graveyard of the Giants:
-Get something from chest at 1/-3 -Break the wall at 2/-1 -Scan stele: 2/-1 (x2) -Weight dais: 2/-1 -Open barrier: 2/-1 -Do something with fake spikes at -1/-2 |
-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 |
-Open chest at 0/-1 --Try the dais again -Open chest at 1/2 -Do something with the reproductive system image at 1/2 --Go to sleep inside the woman ---Get into the chamber at the lower right of 1/3 and drop from there to 1/2 -Get the statue in the room at 2/2 to say or do something --Go to it after getting the flute |
-Get the statue in the room at 0/1 to say or do something --Go to it after getting the flute -Reach the two circular objects in 2/0 -Break wall at 1/-2 |
-Read stele:
-Kill all enemies:
-Enter door: 1/-1 (behind water)
-Break wall:
-Weight dais:
-Open chest:
-
--
-
-
-
--
--
--
-Talk to statue at 0/1 after getting flute
-
--
-
-Scan lowest level of -1/3
-Take path to other field at -1/4, 1/5, 3/5
--Clear goddess statues
---Try the key fairy
----Summon it at 2/5
-Destroy flying guns at 2/3, 2/4
-Clear holy block at 1/2
--Balance the scales
---
---Lemeza weighs 62 units
---Small red jewel weighs an even number between 4 and 18
Inferno Cavern:
-Reach the two rooms at the top left of the map |
-Defeat the invisible enemy (probably at -4/1) --Get the medicine of life -Do something with the blue cross at -3/2 -Reach the fairies at -3/3 |
-Weight dais: 6/0 -Summon Palenque probably at 6/0 --Get the golden key |
-Solve block puzzle at 3/-2 --Find way to push leftmost block to the right ---Break pinging wall above block -Defeat Baphomet at 3/-1 -Break pinging wall at 2/-3 |
-Look at the 24K map -Go up to another Field from 0/0 (or come down from another Field into 0/0) |
-Reveal and climb the missing ladder at 1/-1 |
-Do something past falling pillar at 0/4 -Remove eye blocks: -2/1, -1/3, 0/4 -Open chest: -2/4, room reached from Twin Labyrinths -Get Crystal Skull at -3/4 --Try the Lamp of Time -Weight dais: -3/4 -Do something at the platform at -1/2 -Do something at the box platform at -3/0 -Defeat Beelzebub at -1/1 --Open the core of La Mulana |
Death Locks:
-Temple of the Sun 0/-4
-Shrine of the Mother -2/4
Fairy Locations:
-Confusion Gate -6/3
-Temple of Moonlight 0/-1
-Spring of the Sky 3/1
-Tower of the Goddess 2/5
-Chamber of Extinction 8/-3
-Endless Corridor 0/-2
ROMs:
-Athletic Land -Circus Charlie -Comic Bakery -Contra -Diviner Sensation -F1 Spirit -F1 Spirit 3D Special -Firebird -Game Collection 1 -Game Collection 2 -Game Collection 3 -Game Collection 4 -Game Master -Game Master 2 -Glyph Reader -Gradius -Hyper Olympic 2 -Hyper Olympic 3 -Hyper Rally -Hyper Sports 1 -Hyper Sports 2 -Knightmare -Konami Baseball -Konami Boxing -Konami Golf -Konami Pinball -Konami Ping-pong -Konami Tennis -Magical Tree -Mahjong Dojo -Mahjong Wizard -Metal Gear -Metal Gear 2 -Pennant Race -Pennant Race 2 -Pippols -PR3 -Q-bert -Quarth -Road Fighter -Ruins RAM 8K -Ruins RAM 16K -Salamander -Seal of El Giza -Shin Synthesizer -Sky Jaguar -Super Cobra -Video Hustler -Yie Ar Kung Fu -Yie Ar Kung Fu 2  |
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Next Time:
Part 34: Elephants
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