So. It’s taken the entire game, but things are finally heating up. NORTH KOREA THE UNSTOPPABLE is banging at the gates and the Mysterious Plot Person says there’s no time to stop it because an even more important task is at hand. When I try to continue, the game warns me that this is the point of no return. With tensions running high, the obvious thing to do is…

SIDEQUESTS!!!
Yes, it’s that time in every RPG where we put the terrifying imminent threat on hold to mop up all the little things we missed. I’m suddenly reminded of how Last Scenario is the only RPG I can remember off the top of my head that makes an attempt to justify this, and even that was halfhearted.

Fero has a sidequest here; it’s pretty dull so I’ll cover it quickly. This hunter recognizes Fero as Kir’Sshan and says he has to collect four other hunters scattered across the world. The hunters aren’t terribly interesting, though we learn a bit about Fero from their conversations:

Nalian hunter: “The Humans here are hardly dangerous game. Everything else is already dead.”
Fero: “I hope you may stalk proudly elsewhere in the future, then.” […] (“Hunting the Humans here? The bandits… Are they truly fair game for their crimes?”)

Here we learn that Fero actually thinks normal thoughts (and is not a terrible person, though crazy people are apparently still fair game?), he just has a weird obsession with politeness and formality shared by no other fih’jik ever. Really, where did this character trait come from? It sticks out like a sore thumb.

Wadassian hunter: “So, it is time. I am ready. Do you feel ready as well, friend?”
Fero: “Perhaps. For now, I am just the messenger.” […] (“What did he mean when he asked whether I was ‘ready’? Perhaps I should have asked.”)

And this is just hilarious.

After he gathers them, he learns that they are actually Kir’Sshan, and plan to enlist in the army. There’s a nice bit where Fero desperately tries to convince them otherwise, but they are stalwart and start preaching to him about his loyalties. Then out of nowhere the hunter says they had a sixth member who looked just like Fero and disappeared at around the same age, but then he gives Fero his bow and Fero thinks he’s never seen it before so they’re not the same person after all. What was the point of that?

Fero: “You cannot truly be Kir’Sshans. Your manner is far too tolerable for it to be true.”

We still don’t learn what on Earth happened to make him hate Kir’Ssha so much – this is all we get. Come on, this is his personal character development quest, why is it so unrelated to him? A better subject for this quest would be exploring his backstory and examining his loyalties, maybe criticizing him for his blind hatred. Having the quest take place in Kir’Ssha and revolve around him finding his family or something would actually be the best move, though of course that would make it permanently missable and I hate when games do that. I do think Fero is an interesting character and I’m quite disappointed that he fades into this flanderized cardboard dummy after the early sections. I really think there’s a lot of stuff that could have been done with him that was ignored because this isn’t really an ensemble piece.

Moving on…

Yfus has a quest in Fortifel, though for some reason it’s listed under Do’Ssha in the quest list. It turns out the divine councillord is his father. The resulting conversation is actually fairly well-written and I don’t have much to criticize. There’s some surprisingly good and subtle foreshadowing about Zaka being Yfus’ brother, showing that the developer can indeed write properly when he puts in the effort. We also learn Yfus fully switched sides at some point and no longer feels any loyalty to Kir’Ssha, which makes sense but could have been structured a little better; all we have is him being pro-Kir in his introduction then suddenly this.

Crossar: “Mmm, good. When you return… do not be afraid to visit your old man again, yes?”

Oof, that’s painful. Especially if you don’t do this quest at all…

Moke’s quest, however, is quite plotty, and I will be examining it in detail. Moke was given a summons; he has to meet an anonymous individual alone. There’s some debate over whether or not it’s a trap, but Dehl and Qualstio convince him to take the risk. Or rather, Dehl convinces him, Qualstio is just a dick:

Qualstio: “Naaaah, I don’t think so. It does sound like fun though! Maybe it’s, like, a game! […] “I dunno, it says he has to go alone. But he’s not scaaaared or anything, right? Kyeh heh.”

Nobody reacts to anything he says in this scene, by the way. He is totally extraneous and exists only to provide the government-mandated allotment of witty quips.

Tezkhra: (“Why does this one continue to bother me so? Perhaps aiding him will remind me…”)

Also, Tez is here to bash you over the head with this in case it wasn’t already blindingly obvious that Moke has something to do with his death.

Quastio: “Plus, it’s not like you can’t defend yourself. You got this whole ‘magic’ thing covered!”
Tezkhra: (“Magic… why was that important? Hmmm… too many possibilities to consider for now.”)

oh my nonexistent god that is the most hamhanded foreshadowing ever why won’t he shut up whyyyy

So Moke attends his clandestine meeting. This whole sequence is really weird, and is basically just teasing for something in the sequel. This guy (girl? That’d be an interesting twist) is part of some kind of super special shra spellcaster group and wants Moke to join them.

Moke: “B-but I am not creating energies… I am just focusing and projecting what I already have.”

WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN.

Shra: “You give liveliness to the tangible. All of our kind are capable of similar feats. However… You are different. Your mastery is in a higher plane from that of regular Shra. None can hope to compare to your potential. […] We are no mere Shra. Myself, my brothers, and you… we all carry an enhanced affinity.”

So apparently Moke is a freak exception, not proof that the shra were misjudged, and the Fortians were right all along about shra being losers. Congrats on affirming racism, game! And we continue to have our only representatives of the oppressed underclass be unrepresentative sues.

Shra: “[A] test is prepared. Only the truly affine can complete it.”
Moke: “A test?! N-n-n-no, no no! I do not wish to fight! P-please reconsider!”

Bahaha, RPG logic. It’s an actual test, though: Moke has to run around the world and find items representative of the noxious element. He’ll actually give you a hint when you enter an area, so it’s a bit easier than finding the hunters – granted, the items can be a little abstract, so the hint is usually necessary. The items are a bottle of rotten but fertile soil (thus representing life from death, though it’s from Nal and everyone says nothing can grow there so kinda mixed messages), the herbicide that Wadassian farmer was using back in chapter 1, a poisonous plant that displays warning colors, and, uh…

Moke: “Hmm? What is this? A folded note? Hastily scribbled, and in Human language… Oh dear me. Such vitriol! Such anger! I pity the intended recipient of these words.”

Oh no, he found Dragon Quill! Hide!

When he returns, he passes the test.

Shra: “So, you do understand. Elementalcraft need not be magical, despite what Fortians say.”

Yes, this is clearly an important value to them. You can tell by how they’re the best magicians ever and constantly talk about how that makes them better than the unwashed rabble.

What I take from this is that the ultimate message is shra are magically inept, but that’s okay because it’s wrong to judge people by their abilities. The Fortians and the society at large place a high value on magical ability – coincidentally something they’re good at – so of course they see shra as worthless. The problem isn’t that shra are denied education and benefits, it’s that people don’t value the talents they have. People just need to accept that we’re all special and have different capabilities and then we’ll all get along.

That is a good message in theory, but it breaks down if you try to apply it to the specific issue this is supposed to be addressing. In the real world, underclasses are not inherently dumber or weaker than the ruling group, the problem is they’re never given an opportunity to nurture their talents. Giving them a head pat about how they’re too stupid to do the important things but we recognize that’s not an indicator of their human worth might be a step up but it’s not a solution. The world does not run on some kind of Brave New World caste system where certain groups have inherent strengths and weaknesses. For the most part, everyone does have the same capabilities, it’s just some people have to develop them in a different way or are prohibited from using them. Those people need opportunities to thrive, not pigeonholing. (As a matter of fact, this kind of rhetoric actually plays into the narrative the ruling class often uses to lock the status quo in place – see, we denied them education and then they couldn’t understand the smarty things we were doing, clearly they are just inherently suited for other things and we shouldn’t bother giving them education at all!) As a power fantasy it works, but as social commentary it’s useless. Crippling your oppressed race just to make your hero special is really tasteless.

(Ironically, this reasoning does actually work for disabilities on some levels, especially mental ones, but as we’ve established the game is not very good at portraying those so I’m glad it didn’t try to discuss the subject.)

It’s possible I’m supposed to be thinking this and the greater shra really are just crazy elitists who don’t know what they’re talking about. Someone raised a similar possibility in the comments with Skint’s speech in “The Encounter”, and my response is the same: if that’s the case, it’s horribly executed. We are given no alternative or conflicting opinions and there are zero other authorities on the subject. This is our only source of information, and the last time the shra debate is ever brought up. Just by the rules of narrative structure, we are given no reason to disbelieve them and every reason to take them at their word. The sequel could definitely end up going the route of loljk you weren’t supposed to believe any of that, but that would simply be horrible writing.

Anyway, the shra wants him to join their order of magic elitists. He says no, he has obligations to the guild. The response:

Shra: “You must return with us at once. We must appeal to the Power Above while we can.”
Moke: Then you shall have to find someone else! I am not the one you desire. I am not him!”
Shra: “You are the one, but now is perhaps not the time. Fortunately, that time is coming. […] You shall easily outlive your peers, as well as everyone else… then, we shall take you.”

So in the span of three lines they go from requiring immediate action to being able to wait a lifetime to do whatever they need to do. Universe hopping, whee!

They give him a robe upgrade. It’s identical to his old one so that no new sprites have to be made for him, which he lampshades. This amuses me. The shra then disappears in a puff of smoke and Moke reunites with the others. He suddenly has a breakdown over the noxious element being terrible and how he’s horrible and gross. Once again Dehl and Qualstio appear to have two separate conversations with him, though Qualstio is actually supportive this time. It’s passably written but a bit clichéd and melodramatic (“Why did I have to be cursed? With this horrid body, with this poison? Why me?”), and I suppose it is a fitting conclusion for his arc. Once again, though, it’s very sudden and compressed because the issue has barely came up at all before this.

Oh, you know what would be neat here? Dehl can’t bring himself to say anything but the driest, most meaningless platitudes because of how much he hates Moke and specifically the poison he brought to the mainland. Moke isn’t fooled by this, and it’s Qualstio who steps in and gives him the actual pep talk he needs. That develops everyone’s character, gives Qualstio a reason for being here while also making him less of an insufferable dick, and gives more hints about Dehl’s situation as a bonus.

Tezkhra: (“That chemical he exudes is not typical of other ‘Shra’. It is something entirely different. His size, and stride, and malfunctioning eyesight… other factors to consider. What does this mean, though? I know it must be important, yet, my mind stalls.”)

And Tez continues to vomit the world’s worst narration at us while the other characters completely ignore his creepy stalking. It would be better to have him participate in the conversation directly so we could draw our own conclusions – although, is that even necessary? The connection between Moke and a putrid corruption-bringer isn’t hard to make in the first place; throwing these incredibly obvious hints at the player is just insulting. Misleading, too, since Moke isn’t even the actual killer, just vaguely related to him.

I also mindread enemies from earlier areas, which I don’t believe is something I’ve ever actually done before. It’s nice to see there was effort put into things that most players would never see. The ones for the wracked do a good job of portraying a disturbing, broken mind, but I still don’t want to murder them. I do notice that a lot of these are way more tongue-in-cheek than the others, so I suspect they were added late as jokey easter eggs or something. Your guess is as good as mine for what’s up with the boneswirl.

Overall, pretty disappointing sidequests. None of them were as involved as, say, Kidra’s, and didn’t provide much in the way of story rewards either. A lot of them feel pretty token. There should have been more effort put into these, or most of them should have been cut and the character development they contained should have been integrated into the main plot. Even if these were valid character development segments, a true ensemble piece should push all its character building into optional side areas.

(Lani doesn’t get one, which makes me sad. Her The Drop story is great though so it’s all good.)

So with that, all loose ends are tied up. Tomorrow, the beginning of the end.

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