This game is beautiful. Let's Play Odin Sphere

Text and Recipes collected during this chapter.

It's time to finish Cornelius's book.
Sorry about the wait, life's been kind of hectic lately.





And we're back in Titania.
Let's see if this guy's got any information about the dragon.

“Look, you should flee the country... The government is about to collapse.”

“The king is now sacrificing innocent civilians to the dragon in the sewers.”

“Even noblemen and political dissidents are being fed to that thing.”

Oh, no... not the noblemen...

There's also a sorcerer walking around.



And like most sorcerers in this game, he's an ass.

(These backstreets seem more dangerous with all these suspicious-looking sorcerers...)

Burn them all!
All sorcerers in Titania must die!

In case you're wondering, the sorcerers are actual enemies for this area, and they are without a doubt the most annoying enemies in the game.

So let's get to it... I guess.

Cornelius is walking along the streets when he spots something.



“That's my father and Urzur!”


Music:


Why are you having your conversation out in the streets?

“Repent for the sacrificed.”

“You were too stubborn to hand over the Book of Transformation.”

“I had no choice but to call my dragon servant...”

So this is all your fault then.

“Please return the Book...”
“I can't let it happen again.”

“King Gallon's suffering was nothing compared to this.”

Compared to what? What's your point?
I seriously don't understand what he's referring to here.

“Stop, please...”

“The blood won't go away...”
“Blood from my poor father...”

“I shall call King Gallon back to this land from the Netherworld.”

You shall what?

“And then what?”
“You will make him king?”

Yes. He'll make a giant corpsemonster the new king.
That's clearly a good plan.

“As the Prophecies state, he will be the great force that causes the world's end.”

...That's not any better.

“He shall call himself the Beast of Armageddon, and he will rule the world.”

How can he rule the world if he's supposed to end it?
You make no sense.



Where the hell did you get the ring?

“Urzur... So you were behind this...”
Music:


Cornelius walks up to Urzur and the King.

“Well, well, Prince Cornelius...”

“I was surprised to see you returned from the Netherworld.”

“But to see you survive an encounter with the great Wagner is truly surprising.”

“You started all this...”

“Now, if only King Gallon is as fortunate as his grandson...”



Seriously, what is wrong with you?

“Now I finally understand...”

“I see why King Gallon gave me this sword...”

“When I met him...”
“I know he asked me, “Please, let me rest.””

“Gallon does not wish to repeat his past atrocities.”

“Fate brought me to him...”
“To crush your evil schemes!”

“Nonsense!”
“The king awaits his subjects.”

“No one can stop us.”

Urzur teleports away.

Hello dad.

“Forgive me.”
“I was deceived...”

“We have no time to waste.”

“The princess of Valentine came looking for you and was captured by the dragon.”

Cornelius immediately starts to run away.

“The dragon is in the sewers.”




Music for this area:


Welcome to the worst area in the game, where most enemies have an annoying gimmick that makes them infuriating.



These goblins are the easiest enemy in the area, wich makes sense, as they're being reused from the forest. There are also red goblins that have slightly more hp and take longer to kill. But they're basically the same enemy.



The blue sorcerers aren't actually that bad compared to others. They mostly just send out fireballs or swords. They can do a whole bunch of other spells, just like another enemy, but they don't really use them that much.
They can also teleport, but odds are you'll be able to kill them before they have the chance to move away.



This floating eye-thing can be annoying as hell. These tend to shoot out homing yellow laser beams that runs a high risk of making you dizzy. They also tend to show up in groups. Not to mention the fact that any sorcerer in the stage will try to summon more eyes as soon as they can.



These things are called Oozes. They also have a really annoying gimmick. Like slimes in other rpgs, normal weapons will usually not hurt them. Instead, you're forced to use napalm or cyclone to kill them. Wasting a napalm on just one of these things can be quite anger-inducing.
Oh, and sorcerers will summon these too.



The mid-bosses for this area are the hardest ones in the game. They hit really hard and love to jump up and land on you. This attack will most likely kill you in one/two hits.
And to make things worse, the eyes love to show up and make you dizzy. This will allow the knight to crush you without you being able to move. Sorcerers may also show up to make this a lot harder.



And then there's this one.
I hate this enemy so frickin much.

Here's a summary of what this sorcerer can do: Throw fire at you, send homing swords after you, summon an ooze, summon an eye, summon iceflakes that can freeze you, summon fireballs that can set you on fire, make a part of the ground toxic, turn you into a frog and create a healing circle that heals other enemies.
Not to mention the worst thing about this enemy. They can teleport, and unlike the blue one, they will move away after getting hit once. Once.
That doesn't mean one combo or anything. No, you can only hit them once before they teleport to another place farther away.

The point of these sorcerers (including the blue one), is to hit the swords they summon so that the swords go back and hit the enemy. This will stun them, and you'll be able to attack a bit longer.
Unfortunately, some of these sorcerers prefer to summon things and throw fire, making them a giant pain in the ass to fight.



Oh, and the mandragora in this place is the only one that attacks you.
Of course...


Music for shop.stages in this area:


This is to prevent you from being turned into a frog, but it's not really worth it. The frog spell lights up the ground below you, and you usually have a few seconds to move away, so avoiding it is rather easy.
If you do get hit by the spell, you will most likely die, as being a frog is practically useless.

On with the story.

Cornelius has caught up with Urzur in the sewers.


Music:


“But this is the end.”

Goddammit, Ingway.

“You're pitiful, Cornelius.”

This is not the time for this.



“You thought you could kill me for interfering with your plans...”

“But, too bad, sorcerer...”

“I will have you keep your promise.”

“Now hand over my share...”

“And give me the mystic power of the Titanian Royal Family.”

The one that turned Gallon into an insane monster...
Why do you want it?



“You don't deserve the power.”

“Stay back, unless you wish to become like him.”

“Do not forget that I possess the ring of Titrel.”

“Hmph.”

“Take a closer look.”
“Where could the real one be?”

“What!?”

“You filthy scoundrel!”
“You will regret this...”

I approve of anything that upsets the insane sorcerer.



“Velvet, she...”
“She was given to the dragon.”

Yes. So let's stop this bickering and go help her already.

“So there you have it...”
“She's your twin, isn't she?”

“My loyal servant...”
“Belial the dragon lies ahead with an offering placed before him.”

“You scheming devil...”

“I cannot speak for others...”

“But if you defy me, I may simply kill the girl right here.”

“If you give me the ring, I will let you go.”

What makes you think he even has it?



Ingway does a gesture, making Cornelius glow for a second.

“Hm?”

“Cornelius, I have healed you.”
“Go rescue Velvet.”

Cornelius jumps over Urzur and continues further into the sewer.

“Heading for the dragon?”

“Don't go anywhere, Urzur.”



“So, I see you refuse to give me the ring...”

The screen turns dark.

We rejoin Cornelius as he discovers Velvet and the dragon.



“I'm just in time...”

Belial turns to meet Cornelius.


Music:


“Stay away, puny one.”

“Those who approach...
will meet my fangs!”

“Urzur has commanded me...”

“Why is a noble dragon serving that foul sorcerer?”

“He controls my heart with magic.”
“I cannot disobey him.”

“If you have the power, then save my tormented soul.”

“I cannot bear it anymore...”
“Hiding in this stinking sewer and attacking innocent humans...”

Sorcerers are assholes and dragons are awesome.



Belial's a bit harder to beat with Cornelius, but he goes down eventually.



Ha, your plan is failing.
Wait, where's Ingway?



“Wake up, Belial...”

Belial manages to rise.

“You don't have time to die.”

I hate you.



“Your words mean nothing...”
“My heart has been pierced, and your spell broken.”

“You impudent beast...”

“Indeed... I have been freed just before I die.”

“Sorcerer, your time is up. Our contract has ended.”

“W-Wait...”

Where's your magic teleporting skills now..?





Yes!

The screen turns red.

We rejoin Cornelius and his father in the castle.


Music:


“The sorcerer has gone to join his dragon in the Netherworld.”

Belial was not “his dragon”.

“Titania has been saved.”

“Cornelius...”

“I have no right to be king.”
“I will relinquish my crown and name you the King.”

Well, that's sudden.

Cornelius shakes his head.

“The citizens won't allow it.”
“They wouldn't serve a Pooka.”

“This is not the time to be weak, Father.”

“You must take responsibility for your actions and the chaos you have caused.”



“Extend your heart to the people, and show them that you can be just and kind.”

“This is your son's last wish.”
“Please... Be a good king.”

Cornelius starts to leave.



“To live with other Pooka.”

You can still visit you know.
No need to be so dramatic.

“...”

“I have to put aside my feelings for her...”

The following scene has a video

Click here to watch it.

We cut to Cornelius and Velvet in the forest.



“I should have told you when we met in the forest...”

“I will love you forever.”

“Yes, it's me, Cornelius.”
“My heart has not changed.”

“That is all I have to tell you.”

Cornelius starts to walk away.

“My brother, Ingway... He transformed you into a Pooka.”

That he did.
Which reminds me...where is Ingway?

“I will forgive him if you wish it.”

“Don't confuse pity for love.”
“I am no match for you now.”

“It will tear my heart apart, but I will leave your side and let you find another.”

Stop being stubborn and actually listen to her.

“'Tis not pity!”

Velvet walks closer to Cornelius.

“You shall regret it.”

Velvet bends down to hug Cornelius.



“Prince Cornelius...”

Cornelius tries to hug her back, but his arms are a bit small.

“Please... Look...”
“My arms... They are too small to even hold you.”

“No...”
“You've never held me so strongly.”

“I no longer have a palace.”
“I don't even have a home.”

“If I can be with you, I have no need for shelter.”

Cornelius turns away.

“...”

Velvet hugs him again.


Music:


“My love shall not change.”

“The hopelessness and despair I felt have been replaced with joy and love...”

“I have faith... In time, I will return to my human body.”

“I have lost nothing.”



The screen fades out.

End of Book.




We start the next book around the time that Cornelius is being held prisoner by Odin.
And this time it's not a new character, but someone we've briefly seen before.

Freaking sorcerers.

Bonus Art

Text and Recipes collected during this chapter.

I loved this scene. The only scene I liked more was Oswald's story ending scene. I need a tissue.

Me, I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I can't call it my favorite because of Gwendolyn and Oswald, but I love it almost as much.

I delurked because of this LP, though it wasn't the first I wrote....Anyway, Alice you are just simply awesome! You made me replay it 3 times already..(I have the PS2 ver.)....I just...simply love you!

TITANIA

you are not alone my friend I've felt like that too...just let it out... there there...

The mid-bosses in Titania, man. They were fucking kangaroos, always jumping >______>
And still this is not the worst, I remember that another character has a chapter in Titania where the final boss is very hard too.

WIZARDS

FUCKING WIZARDS

Also the dragons are my favorite characters; I have so many feelings about dragons and these guys have MAXIMUM TRAGEDY (man who doesn't in this game).

It's kinda funny that Gwen and Cornelius have their final and starting bosses flipped. Odette I guess just stopped fighting because of an interruption and Belial was probably all tuckered out from eating half a whole army and then upchucking those gross armor hairballs all over the other half.

BELIAL!!! At least he got what he wanted. ;_;

Aw! Something is probably going to come along and ruin this later, but this is a really sweet note to end his story on.

Actually, frogs aren't totally useless. You can attack the slime things, either by jumping on 'em or licking 'em, and take off most of their health. I always took the frog potions and ran around licking everything in sight.

Also Velvet and Cornelius are adorable together.

Yeah, being frogged got to be kind of a blessing in Titania for me because, nonsensically, it made it easier to hurt oozes and wizards.

Frogs in this setting are surprisingly badass.

I'll just say one thing....It wasn't as good as you put it...I've tried that and I always, died...even in the 1 star stages...figure what happened to me in the 5 stars ones xD
I don't recomend it to anyone!

I didn't say it'd work for everyone! I was not very good at Cornelius's combat style, so that was also a factor.

I just did that boss. This is what I have to say:

So apparently being a frog is not useless if you know how to use the controls. I don't, so I find being a frog basically useless. But that's just my opinion.

Oh, and welcome to the lp, Blue Licious. Thank you for delurking. :)

Let's start the new book.












Music:




Mercedes starts to walk away.



The Queen comes flying in.

“Mother...”

“Wherever are you off to, with my precious bow?”

“Frog hunting.”

“Yes, I see...”
“'Tis necessary to exterminate those pests that eat the little fairies.”

Wait, what? Frogs eat fairies?
I suppose small ones could be mistaken for dragonflies or something.

“But you should leave that task to the soldiers, dear.”

“I just want to improve my skills with the bow, so I can join you on the battlefield.”



“I cannot take you along when we battle the Demon Lord.”

“No! Why not!?”

“Mercedes... You are young.”

“You need to learn this.”

“You mustn't be eager to go to war without even knowing why we are fighting.”

“So... Why are we fighting?”

You want to fight and you don't even know why...?

Another person shows up.



“Melvin...”

Melvin is a really strange name for a fairy.

“Phozons are magic elements generated by nature.”
“They are rare outside the forest.”

Not if you kill things.

“Since we have collected them from around the world, we are gifted with prosperity.”

“The Demon Lord has declared war on us so that he may obtain our treasure.”

“Is that what he wants?”

“Our greatest treasure, the Cauldron, will give him enormous power.”



“Haha, Mercedes...”
“I shall entrust you with my precious bow.”

“It will be your responsibility to protect the country while I am away.”

“Yes, Mother, I understand...”

“So...”
“I'll be off hunting now.”

Mercedes flies away.



“'Tis a problem.”
“She has no idea of her position and what is expected of her.”

“Melvin, you are her cousin.”

“She treats you as a brother.”

“Please, help her become a good queen.”

“...”

Melvin bows.

“As you wish.”
“I shall make it my duty to assist Princess Mercedes in any way possible.”

I've got a feeling he's not very happy about that.



So, we'll be playing as Mercedes for the duration of this book.
As a fairy, she has one major difference from the other characters.



She can fly infinitely. Which is awesome.
She can also jump, but it tends to be really floaty and kind of annoying.



Another major difference is her weapon.
Mercedes uses a crossbow, which is a long-range weapon.
It pretty much works like a machine gun.
She happens to be on the ground in this picture, but you can fire the crossbow while flying.

You may also have noticed that Mercedes doesn't have any POW-bar.
Instead, she has an ammo-bar for her crossbow. Running out of ammo will not make Mercedes dizzy, it will just make her unable to shoot.



In order to continue, you have to reload the weapon.
To do this, Mercedes has to stand on the ground, and it will take a few seconds.

We also get a text about the history of Ringford, that I recommend you check out in the text section further down.

And that's pretty much it for the controls.

We join Elfaria and Melvin on the battlefield.


Music:


“Our soldiers have been pushed back, and some have deserted from the frontline!”

“Our guardian dragon is having trouble dealing with Odin's Witch.”

I still don't understand that name.

“We have no choice but to retreat.”
“Your Highness, please issue the command.”



The screen moves to show a group of fairies being defeated by Odin's Psypher.

“What an enormous Psypher...”

Odin walks up to Elfaria.



As you can see, Melvin moved behind the Queen as soon as Odin came closer.
Coward...

“Last time, you were unusually shrewd and managed to steal the Cauldron away from me.”

“Demon Lord Odin...”

“You are beautiful as ever.”

“And yet, I regret...”
“That I will have to break your perfect neck like stepping on a lily.”

“I will not give you the Cauldron.”

“You will have to take it by force.”

Melvin's just going to stand there and be useless, isn't he.

“Say what you will.”
“Your attempts at deception have no effect on me.”

Odin takes out his Psypher.

“Observe this blue orb.”
“Behold the might of the wicked eye, Balor.”



Odin, your ridiculous obsession with power is showing again.

“Go mourn the death of the Fairy race.”

“...”

The screen fades.

The next scene has a video

Click here to watch it.

We return to the the Fairies castle as Mercedes arrives. Only to be stopped by a couple of fairies.



Mercedes moves further in, only to discover the now injured queen.


Music:


:((

Mercedes falls to her knees.

“Mother...”

“Shh... Now listen carefully to what I have to tell you.”

“'Tis very important...”

“Mercedes...”

“You must not look down;
raise your head high, and survey the path ahead.”



I really recommend that you watch the video of this scene.

“If you respect my words, you will need to choose the path of royalty over revenge...”
“Be a Queen...”

“'Tis difficult to place such a burden on one so young...”

“But I know you can do it...”
“Mother believes in you...”

“Mother...!”

“'Tis my time to go, Mercedes.”

“O dearest earth, take me...”
“I go back to whence I came.”

“And to the beloved heavens, I will give you my name.”



“This awful winter shall disappear with me...”

Note: In norse mythology, Fimbulvetr is the terrible winter that occurs just before Ragnarok. (The end of the world.)

Elfaria's body turns into specks of light.







End of Prelude.




The first scene occurs while Cornelius is with the Valkyries.
The rest of the prelude occurs right after the fight between the Fairies and the Valkyries.
Cornelius just ran into Velvet on the battlefield, and managed to take the ring from Valentine.

Bonus Art

Chosen, presumably, because it sounds very close to "elven."

Text and Recipes collected during this chapter.

I cried so badly at Mercedes prelude. Even if I didn't know the Queen well, it was so sad. Also, I imidiately knew Melvin was bad news.

Fun fact: Mercedes in japanese is voiced by Mamiko Noto, a seyuu very famous for her moe characters (ex. Kotomi from Clannad)

Why must you be such a jerk, Odin?

It's not like you're not the all powerful, horrible father, ruler of the Valkyries anyway.

Late, but man I love this dragon's design. Gorgeous and freaky-looking at the same time.

I wonder how old Mercedes actually is? I doubt fairies age the same way as humans, and I don't think they ever say.

...and I just realized there are only four characters (two player characters) that even mention both parents. Why are all the royalty single parents?

I had thought my PS2 library was full enough. I have been proven wrong, I want this game badly.
Great LP so far! Oswald and Gwedolynn push all my want buttons, but the good writing seems to be universal (with punkass characters intentionally being that way).
Gotta say, the A++ parenting of Odin seems to be all over this ruling as well. Poor Elfaria, getting killed just because she wouldn't give him the doomsday pot.

And yet Odin still doesn't even make the top three worst fathers list for this game. At least Elfaria seems to have been a decent parent... until, y'know, Odin killed her.

WAY TO GO, ODIN.