Romancing Saga Minstrel Song: A Remembrance

Tiba-tiba nemu file ini, hihihi…

Ini adalah English guide yang pernah saya buat (entah kapan saya buatnya) tentang game favorit saya sepanjang masa: Romancing Saga Minstrel Song, yang dirilis tahun 2005 untuk format PS2. Kadang-kadang saya masih main game ini, baik pakai PS2 ataupun via PCSX di laptop. Sepuluh tahun bersama game ini, saya masih belum benar-benar bosan karena game ini menyajikan sistem open-story. Sistem ini memungkinkan saya memilih quest apa yang ingin saya kerjakan, orang yang mana yang mau saya selamatkan dan ending mana yang saya inginkan, hehehe…  

Yah, walaupun kadang agak frustasi juga sih dengan sistem open-story yang membuat saya susah nemu item-item rare karena isi Treasure Chest-nya serba random -__-“. Frustasi tipe ini hanya comparable sama game online yang isi Chest-nya rata-rata juga random :p

Isi file ini sebenarnya panjang sekali karena mencakup sekitar 50 quest yang terdapat dalam game ini. Tulisan yang di bawah ini adalah penjelasan tentang salah satu quest favorit saya dalam game ini.

saga.wikia.com

Quest: Ailing Emperor: ER 9-13

Special scenes: play as Claudia

This quest can be very tricky because of its time sensitivity. You should build up your level while too many battles will increase your ER and fail this quest. Note that you will encounter MANY fixed battles inside Twinmoon Temple. You definitely need to get back to Melvir with Moonstone in your hand before ER14, so choose your battle carefully and do not let the ER slips off your control.

Ailing Emperor, Part 1: The Keys

Requirement: finish Free the Gecklings, Eule Gives a Hoot and Ancient Text quests.

After you decipher the Ancient Text from Geckling Tribe, you must have known about Twinmoon Temple, the shrine where Moonstone is kept by Amut and Eres. You also must have known that you will need two medallions that will act as the key to open the temple.

Soon after you reach ER9, go to Melvir’s pub and read the post about how the emperor falls ill. Find Sophia, a priest in Temple of Elore, and she will tell you about Moonstone (if you have read about this fatestone in the library, but in case she does not tell you, I told you, it is Moonstone we are heading to). Your next task is to find the two medallions of goddesses as the key to get access to Twinmoon Temple.

Go to Temple of Amut in North Estamir to get Amut’s Medallion and hear the info about the next medallion. From this moment, the quest will not continue unless you finish Eule Gives a Hoot quest, so go find Claudia (if you are not playing as her) and follow her to Mazewood (see Eule Gives a Hoot quest explanation).

After you finish Eule Gives a Hoot quest, go to the heart of Mazewood. Walk pass Eule’s Nest and you shall find the path leading to a huge tree. You will talk to the tree, or rather Cyril, about the second medallion. At the night, climb the tree and you will meet Eres, though if you are not playing as Claudia then your character might not notice it. She will give you Eres’ Medallion.

Ailing Emperor, Part 2: The Jungle

Proficiencies (optional): Covert skills

Since you have the keys, go to the Jungle of Walon Isle. Use the ship to go deep inside the jungle. To reach Twinmoon Temple, enter Cave A and go all the way to reach an exit. Use your Covert in case you want to avoid enemy encounter inside this cave.

Once you reach the exit, you will find yourself in an open area of the Jungle. Make your way ahead until your character realize the presence of Twinmoon Temple. You will also find a chest with complete Jungle Map in this area too. Quicksave before you advance your step to the temple because somebody vicious has been waiting for you.

He is Minion of Saruin. Like our usual encounter with Minion, it is wiser to have at least one of character using Id Break move to cut off his Intellect point. You may also want to restrain yourself from using high leveled moves because this Minion will remember the moves so they will be ineffective in your final battle. In case you are defeated, well, he will take away your medallions and ultimately fail your quest so far.

So, after you beat the Minion, climb the stairs of the temple and check the slots. You will be transported inside.

Note that it is possible for you to go back to the town BEFORE you enter the temple (in case you need to restore your LP after fighting Minion). You will not be able to go out of the temple before you finish the last stage.

Ailing Emperor, Part 3: The Temple

Soon after you enter the temple, you will find yourself standing on transporter with blue shade. Remember this transporter as your entry transporter. You will need to find another transporter with red shade to gain access to the next stage.

For the record, Twinmoon Temple is actually a set of very big puzzle. You need to kill certain ‘key-monsters’ to get certain floor lifts up and leads you to a room. There are several rooms on every stage, in which you may find trials from the goddesses or the transporter. There are up to seven stages inside the temple with Moonstone on the last stage. Here is the explanation of the stages:

• Twinmoon Temple, B1. Key-monsters: Spirit. There is one trial room with Beast’s Bangle as the reward. Transporter room is located on north side of the stage.
• Twinmoon Temple, B2. Key-monsters: Insect. There are two trial rooms with Ring of Protection and Stamina Drink as the reward. Transporter room is located on east side of the stage.
•  Twinmoon Temple, B3. Key-monsters: Reptile. There are two trial rooms with Beast’s Greaves and Guardian Ring as the reward. Transporter room is located on west side of the stage.
• Twinmoon Temple, B4. Key-monsters: Undead. There are two trial rooms with Beast’s Helm and Alacrity Pill as the reward. Transporter room is located on north side of the stage.
• Twinmoon Temple, B5. No monster. There are two square floors that act as elevators to B6 (blue floor) and B7 (red floor).
• Twinmoon Temple, B6. No monster. There is one trial room with Beast’s Mail as the reward. There are one square floor that act as elevator to B5.
• Twinmoon Temple, B7. No monster. There is one square floor that acts as elevator to B5. Twinmoon Temple’s Inner Sanctum is located on north side of the stage. Moonstone is inside the Inner Sanctum.

The enemy inside B6’s trial room is very strong, especially if you are here because of the quest. If you decide to clear this trial room, keep in mind that you still have to beat the guardian of Fatestone to get the Moonstone afterwards. You will not be able to go back to B6’s trial room after you get the Fatestone, unless you start off from B1 again.

Inside the Inner Sanctum, you will meet Zodiac, the guardian of Moonstone. It has two heads and wields ability to cast both fire and water elemental magic. It is wise to protect yourself with protective spells like Self Immolation since Zodiac also excels at physical attack (note that Self Immolation also protects the caster from fire and water magic). Utilizing weapon’s defense mode is also a good idea, since Zodiac moves at least twice per turn.

After you defeat Zodiac, go ahead and get the Moonstone. Like other fatestones, Moonstone will replenish your LP after all the battles you’ve been through. You will be transported back to the Jungle once you exit Inner Sanctum. Use your remaining Covert skills to run pass the roaming monsters inside Jungle Cave A and sail back to Melvir.

Now that you have the Moonstone, go back to Sophia. She will guide you to the emperor and use the Moonstone to banish the evil. After you heal the emperor, you will gain an audience with nobles of Melvir. You will be prompted to choose a reward for your hardwork: money (10.000G) / armor (A’la Melvirana) / weapon (Espada Ropera, the strongest foil in this game).

End of Ailing Emperor quest.

Note: 

• Talk to Sophia soon after this quest ends. She will tell you about Emerald of Evil, and this will ensure your fixed encounter with Ewei in Isle of Evil. You will not be able to get the Emerald without Sophia’s guide. 
• Should you want to explore this dungeon again after you get the Moonstone, you can use your unlocked lifts without killing key-monsters all over again.  
• If you’re playing as Claudia, choose no reward to get extra scene. 
• It is possible for you to get Amut’s Medallion before ER9, but it is impossible to get Eres’ Medallion without finishing Eule Gives a Hoot quest. In case you have passed ER11 without activating the quest, you may get both medallions and even the Moonstone without encountering Minion at all. 
• Both A'la Melvirana and Espada Ropera are very rare items you can only find from high-leveled Treasure Map, aside from this quest. To the record, I find that Espada Ropera remains the better choice of a reward since Field Plate (the toughest buyable armor in the game) is still a better substitute to A'la Melvirana. With specific tempering, the attack power of Espada Ropera can reach 50+, comparable to other outstanding weapons such as Demonbrand, Kjar Arbalest (final form of Kjar Bow) and other rarer weapons.

 

Perasaan saya setelah baca guide saya sendiri adalah… ‘pingin main lagi’ hahaha XD

Terus terang saya belum selesai mengeksplor specific tempering untuk Espada Ropera, dan biasanya attack powernya berhenti di angka 51. Masih ada banyak sekali kemungkinan yang bisa dicoba untuk menaikkan hingga lebih dari 51 :p

Jadi, hmm… baiklah, main dulu deh… :D