==========================------------------------------------------------====
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ETERNAL SONATA: SPEED RUN CHALLENGE (XBOX 360)
Author: ZxcValor
Contact: mythic(at)hotmail(dot)co(dot)uk
Version: 1.0 - April 2009
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====------------------------------------------------==========================
====--------------
CONTENTS
--------------====
0.1 >> General
====------------
1.1 >> ....................................... Intro
1.2 >> ............................. Challenge Rules
1.3 >> ............................. Notes and Tips:
1) Time-saving ................... << 1.4
2) Treasure Chests ............... << 1.5
3) Photos and Shopping ........... << 1.6
4) Saving and Fleeing ............ << 1.7
5) Equipping and Setting ......... << 1.8
6) Useful Characters ............. << 1.9
0.2 >> Strategy Guide
====-------------------
Chapter 1: Raindrops ........................ << 2.1
Chapter 2: Revolution ....................... << 2.2
Chapter 3: Fantaisie-Impromptu .............. << 2.3
Chapter 4: Grande Valse Brilliante .......... << 2.4
Chapter 5: Nocturne ......................... << 2.5
Chapter 6: Tristesse ........................ << 2.5
Chapter 7: Heroic ........................... << 2.7
Final Chapter: Heaven's Mirror .............. << 2.8
0.3 >> Misc.
====----------
3.1 >> .................................. Save Times
3.2 >> ................................ Boss Summary
3.3 >> .............................. Improved Times
3.4 >> ..................................... Credits
3.5 >> ................................. Legal Stuff
==============================================================================
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0.1 >> GENERAL
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==============================================================================
====------------------------------------------------==========================
1.1 >> INTRO
====------------------------------------------------==========================
Eternal Sonata lends itself very nicely to a speed run challenge. You can skip
all of the lengthy cutscenes and avoid 99% of the regular battles - meaning
this challenge is essentially a series of intense boss fights interrupted by
long sections of running and dodging enemies. It's also nice that the game
offers you so many save points as well as a 'Game Clear' save so that you get
a precise time for your run.
This challenge can be frustrating, but it's up to you how difficult you want
to make it. Very often running through an area with 1-2 Flee battles is easy
and making a clean run through can take forever. If you don't mind losing
10-15 seconds here and there, a lot of the frustrating parts will become a
breeze. In any case, the boss battles are where the most time is to be gained
or lost - even though you will be underleveled throughout the whole game, you
can almost always take out a boss very quickly if you get things right.
====------------------------------------------------==========================
1.2 >> CHALLENGE RULES
====------------------------------------------------==========================
Very simple: start a regular new game (not encore mode) and aim for the
fastest 'Game Clear' save possible. There are no other restrictions - you can
skip all the cutscenes the game allows you to skip, you can save and load as
often as you need, you can leave out any optional dialogue, any optional
battles etc.
My game clear time was: 03:32:08 and I was pretty pleased with this. If you
follow the advice below, you should be able to avoid my mistakes and save
a lot of time, very early on in the game.
I didn't change any XBOX system settings or copy the game to the hard drive.
I played on a PAL version of the game using the following in-game settings:
Battle Camera: Off
Voice: Japanese
I'm pretty sure the Japanese voices are a little faster for the tutorial
fights. I started a new game with English voices and read the timer straight
after the first battle with Polka - 0:43, whereas with Japanese voices: 0.40.
====------------------------------------------------==========================
1.3 >> NOTES AND TIPS
====------------------------------------------------==========================
1) Time-saving << 1.4
===========
- Tap 'A' and 'start' (alternating between the two) to skip cutscenes.
- Tap 'A' at the beginning and end of regular battles to skip the talking.
- Tap 'A' when you're fleeing to skip the talking (at the end).
- Tap 'B' through regular dialogue.
- Tap 'A' and 'B' through dialogue where you receive an item.
- Tap 'A' and 'B' when opening a chest.
- Tap 'B' once at the right time to skip the dialogue from shops.
- If you can, hold the control stick in the right direction as a new area
is loading, and after skipping cutscenes.
2) Treasure Chests << 1.5
===============
Speed is the key, and you will quickly find that most of the boss battles
are fairly easy, and so taking a 20 second detour to pick up a weapon that
you will only use for one boss will usually not pay off. Here is a list of
useful equipment to pick up. If you are using different characters from the
ones I chose, then you may need to pick up different weapons for them -
especially if you are not using Falsetto, March and Viola as your trio from
Chapter 6 until the end of the game. Even the items listed here aren't
going to make a big difference, apart from the Wheel of Will, I can imagine
not getting the other items and still matching the save times. Again, speed
is the key and the necessary visits to the various shops in the game will
provide you with most of what you need.
All you really need to pick up:
-------------------------------
Recovery Gloves from ................. WOODBLOCK GROVES: North
Piercing Shell from ....................... BAROQUE SHIP: Deck
Warhammer Gun from ............. SHARP MOUNTAINS: Eighth Point
Bubbly Hat from ........................ ARIA TEMPLE: Corridor
Wheel of Wheel from ...... NOISE DUNES OF FANTASY: Noise Dunes
3) Photos and Shopping << 1.6
===================
Shopping is obviously an issue and you are going to have to take some
photographs at some point. I sold three sets of photographs in my run, and
when I sold the last set in Forte City I had around 120k. 35k of this was
left over at the end of the game, even though I purchased a lot more
than I needed to. I recommend you only sell two sets of photographs - this
should give you 80-90k which is more than enough to get by.
Set 1: Some combination of 12 photos from Bread Gang and Baby Dragon
- sold in Agogo Village.
Set 2: Some combination of 12 photos from the Maledictor x2 battle
(when you get Viola) and the Killer Knight battle
- sold in Forte City.
I stopped to purchase items a little more often than I needed to, but here
is a listing of all the shopping stops I made and how useful, looking
back, I think each one was. All these are detailed in the strategy guide.
Shopping stops:
==========================------------------------------------------------
Shop 1: Ritardando ..................................... avoid
Shop 2: Agogo Village ............................... optional
Shop 3: Forte City ................................. important
Shop 4: Andante .................................... important
Shop 5: Baroque Ship ............................... important
Shop 6: Baroque City ................................ optional
Shop 7: Ritardando (revisited) ...................... optional
Shop 8: Baroque City (Scorpion's Tail) .............. optional
Shop 9: Baroque City (Illunis) ..................... important
Shop 10: Mt. Rock (merchant) ....................... important
Shop 11: Elegy of the Moon ......................... important
==========================------------------------------------------------
Note: I have been considering a more extreme strategy, where you only sell
one set of photos in Forte City. This involves skipping the Agogo Village
shop altogether. The idea is that you would gain about 01:30 from skipping
the shopping detour, and you might only lose 20-30 seconds on the two
bosses inbetween Agogo Village and Forte City (Ogre Champ and Killer
Knight). However, this will leave you with less money overall, and
also you will have to survive with very limited meds and worse gear for
everyone. It might work out, I haven't tested it, so I can't know for sure.
3) Saving and Fleeing << 1.7
==================
You might want to try clearing some of your Eternal Sonata files for
faster loading - I didn't think to do this and I had 7-8 files on there
right from the beginning. The game would always save over my encore files
so I made sure to copy my main encore file to 1-2 other places whenever
I had to (this is quick - just load and save).
Fleeing is actually quite fast if you make sure to tap 'A' at the beginning
and end of a battle - I would say that 1 quick flee (where the enemy
doesn't take a round) is going to lose you less time than a save.
Saving takes around 7 seconds plus whatever time it takes to get from the
main path to the save point and back. Towards the end of my run I started
saving less often, and picking where I save more carefully.
4) Equipping and Setting << 1.8
=====================
The technique I recommend is leaving all the equipping and setting until
right before each boss. Usually, I would load up my file a few times to
practice getting things in place. If you plan ahead, sometimes you can set
items for more than one boss ahead. I always set 1-2 Angel Trumpets, and
more often than not, these remained for the next boss, since no one died.
For healing I relied on Club Clovers for most of the game, eventually
switching to Snowpuff Cookies and then Honey Cookies towards the end.
It's also important to make good use of the status / buff items the game
offers. Here is a summary of the support items I found most useful:
==========================------------------------------------------------
Item: Effect: Available: Rating:
Poison Whitecap ....... 2% poison ............ Boss 3 ........... 5/5
Hell Mustard .......... burst ................ Boss 6 ........... 5/5
Lion's Mane ........... 10% attack Up ........ Boss 9 ........... 4/5
Very Odd Chocolate .... 10% attack down ...... Boss 10 ........... 2/5
WormWood .............. 3% poison ............ Boss 11 ........... 3/5
Sock Incense .......... 10% defense down ..... Boss 12 ........... 5/5
Scorpion's Tail ....... 4% poison ............ Boss 13 ........... 2/5
==========================------------------------------------------------
5) Useful Characters << 1.9
=================
Viola joins you at level 11, and her regular ranged attack is the key to
getting fast times on all the bosses in Chapters 2,3,5 & 6. I definately
recommend you use her. Even when ranged arrows become ineffective (when
you hit Party Lv. 5 after the Count Waltz battle) her melee is strong
and she builds echoes well.
March joins you at level 25, considerably higher than your other
characters at the time, and I used her right until the end of the game.
She has strong 13-hit specials and builds echoes very well. Also you can
pick up the Wheel of Wheel for her with a 10-second detour from the
main path in the Noise Dunes (+127 attack).
Falsetto joins you at level 33, (at the end of Chapter 5 for the Rondo
battle) and she is definitely your strongest character at this point,
and for me - until the end of the game. If you don't use her, you will
be at a great disadvantage.
I chose not to use Allegretto. In theory, if you keep him in for all the
boss fights where I switched him out - you can eventually replace either
Viola or March with him (in your main 3). Also, it probably makes sense
to use him for the Trick or Treat battle (Boss 8), since then he will be
a little stronger for the Death Crow (Boss 9) - I used Jazz instead, but
the Trick or Treat battle was quick and easy anyway.
Frederic and Beat need to gain some exp so that you can handle the bosses
in Chapter 4. For the Dolce fight, they were level 15 & 14 respectively.
If they were lower, it could become very tricky - although I'm not sure
it would be all that bad. In any case, I made sure to switch them in
whenever I could in Chapter 2.
Here is a chart displaying what characters I used for each boss, as well
as their levels:
====------------------------------------------------==========================
Boss: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Chapter: 01 ~~ ~~ ~~ 02 ~~ ~~ 03 ~~ 04 ~~ 05 ~~ 06 07 ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 08
Allegretto 01 .. 03 06 .. 10 .. .. 15 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Beat 01 .. 03 06 11 .. 12 .. .. 14 16 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Polka .. 01 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Frederic .. 01 .. 04 10 12 13 .. .. 15 17 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Viola .. .. .. .. 12 13 14 16 18 .. .. 20 22 26 32 36 39 42 44 46 48
Salsa .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 17 18 21 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Jazz .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 19 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Falsetto .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 18 19 .. .. .. 33 34 37 40 43 45 46 48 50
March .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 25 26 28 33 37 40 42 45 46 48
====------------------------------------------------==========================
==============================================================================
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0.2 >> STRATEGY GUIDE
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==============================================================================
Introduction:
-------------
This isn't a detailed walkthrough, it only contains the information that's
relevant to a speed run, you should be familiar with the game. Since I made
quite a few mistakes in Chapter 1, I actually started a seperate run after
I had completed the challenge, and you can find the improved Chapter 1 save
times in the Misc. section (3.3 >>). If you want to throw yourself in at the
deep end, look there, otherwise I will give some estimates for saves 4,5,6
to account for the major mistake with the Forest Boar fight. Either way, you
will be ahead of my times by save 6.
The boss times provided are only estimates, I timed each boss fight with
the stopwatch on my phone. I started the timer about 10 seconds after the load
screen, which is about 7-8 seconds before the first round begins - and I
stopped the timer 2-3 seconds after the boss was dead.
The positioning of the characters is given in the normal way, (1, 2, 3),
although I know that the position on the right is technically position 1.
Changing positioning didn't really figure into my strategy, except when I
I wanted a specified character to be switched out for a battle (for example
when Viola joins your party).
==========================------------------------------------------------====
CHAPTER 1: RAINDROPS << 2.1
==========================------------------------------------------------====
Skip the opening two cutscenes and run into the tutorial battle. You will be
able to kill this onion in one round with just Polka's basic attack. Run as
fast as you can towards Tenuto, skipping all the cutscenes and avoiding all
battles. Watch out for the mob hidden by the camera as you run left after the
cutscene in North Section. Once you get control of Allegretto run into the
sewers and save. You can try avoiding this save if you like, but dodging the
mice can be a problem and you will want to restart if you get into a battle.
Save 01: RITARDANDO SEWERS: West Side (entrance) Time: 00:01:46
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allegretto should be able to kill the tutorial mouse in one round. AVoid all
other battles here - it will take too long to get to level up before the boss.
I suggest you run into the East Side to pick up the Poison Whitecap from the
chest, it will save you more time on the boss than you will lose here.
After loading your file, quickly equip the Poison Whitecap and head towards
the boss battle.
Save 02: RITARDANDO SEWERS: West Side (before boss) Time: 00:03:12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 1: Bread Gang, Florite Mouse x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 04:15 | Party Used: 1) Allegretto (level 1)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Beat (level 1)
|
Bread Gang HP: 22,920 |
Florite Mouse HP: 1,690 |
Strategy: You should aim to kill both mice in your first round. Beat can kill
one of the mice with Rapid Shooter x2, although not always. Once the mice are
dead, use the Poison Whitecap on the boss, it will do around 500 damage per
round. Needless to say, guard as often as you can. I had Beat use Rapid
Shooter x3 each round and Allegretto using Phantom Wave x5 - if you attack
from the front, Phantom Wave will hit twice per attack. I also took photos
with Beat - this doesn't slow you down much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 03: TENUTO VILLAGE Time: 00:08:15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This part is complicated. What you want to do is level Polka and Frederic to
level 3 as fast as you can before the next save. For my run I defeated the
Forest Boar at level 1, using a 'trick', but this took me more than 8 minutes,
and also I spent hours trying to pull it off. For some reason I was determined
not to get into any optional fights - but this was the wrong choice. I've left
the old strategy in, since the method I used was quite interesting.
This is the only time in the whole game where you want to engage in battles
that are avoidable (apart from a 20 second battle vs. some onions to take Beat
and Allegretto to level 3 before the Baby Dragon).
You need to kill 7 L'Opera Knight to hit level 3 on both Frederic and Polka.
I recommend that on the first screen (Entrance) you ambush the single bird in
front of the Poison Whitecap Chest (approach from the side/back), open the
chest, then try to ambush 3 groupings of 2 birds somewhere in the next two
screens (South and Middle South). That makes 7 birds. In each of these four
battles, you should be able to kill 1 bird before the enemy takes a round -
use Frederic's normal hits finishing with Piu Grave, and Polka's normal hits
finishing with Shade Comet. Try not to take too much damage so that you don't
have to heal before the Forest Boar.
Here are the estimates for the save times. I calculated these working from the
00:08:15 time for save 3, and allowing some room for error. Again, check
section 3.3 >> if you want to really optimise your times at this early stage.
The Save 6 times assume that you didn't stop at the Ritardando shop like me.
Estimates:
----------
Save 04: HEAVEN'S MIRROR FOREST: Middle North - Time: 00:12:33
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 05: RITARDANDO (Beach) - Time: 00:17:13
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 06: AGOGO FOREST: Middle South - Time: 00:19:20
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 06: AGOGO FOREST: Middle South (Skipped Save 05) - Time: 00:19:00
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If the mob just after the save point is standing still in the middle of the
path, keep loading your file until you can get through without delay. Make
sure you equip the Poison Whitecap and whatever meds you have.
Save 04: HEAVEN'S MIRROR FOREST: Middle North Time: 00:09:37
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 2: Forest Boar (Lv. 3 strategy) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:45 | Party Used: 1) Polka (level 3)
Boss Difficulty: 4/5 | 2) Frederic (level 3)
|
Forest Boar HP: 25,250 |
Poison the boss right away and restart if it gets resisted. Have Frederic
attack him from the front or side using normal attacks finishing with Piu
Grave - this should produce 1800-2100 damage per round. Have Polka attack
from behind with normal attacks, finishing with Shade Comet. Use your
healing items whenever you need to but only with Polka, if you are blocking
most of his attacks then you will only need 2-3 healing items for this battle.
If he charges near the end of his turn, this will put you out of position and
cost time - if he does it twice, consider restarting. Don't worry too much if
you find this battle tricky - it pretty much gets easier and easier from here
on out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~ BOSS 2: Forest Boar (Lv. 1 strategy) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 08:10 | Party Used: 1) Polka (level 1)
Boss Difficulty: 5/5 | 2) Frederic (level 1)
|
Forest Boar HP: 25,250 |
Strategy: After Forest Boar's first round, use the Poison Whitecap on him
with whoever. This item often fails, so unfortunately you will have to restart
unless you successfully poison the boss. Run Polka to the bottom of the map,
slightly to the left. Position Frederic above the small rock near the top of
the map. This should all take one turn - and on the Forest Boar's next turn he
will go for Polka. Don't block, let Polka die - you will only be using
Frederic for this fight. Notice each turn the boss is losing 505 hp, which is
2% of his total. This means he will die of the poison in exaclty 50 rounds.
The trick is use the rock to keep him spinning in circles near the bottom of
the map, while skipping your turn whenever you can (with the left analog
stick). Using this method I killed him in just over 8 minutes. Some tips if
you are going to try this.
Although he gets stuck spinning, this is usually for a few rounds before he
finds you again. You will want to face the rock at all times so that you will
be able to block from whichever side he comes. If he does come for you, keep
running to the opposite side of the rock, and once the positioning is good,
run to the bottom on the map again and face up. He will come for you, block
his attacks, then run back into position above the rock. Hopefully he will
get stuck spinning again for quite a few rounds. Use Floral Powders to keep
your health up, you can also run into the light and spam Sacred Signature -
then block the boss' attack and get back into position. You might want to
count the 'poison hits' so you can tell when he's almost dead and move
accordingly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 05: RITARDANDO (Beach) Time: 00:18:37
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here again, I made some mistakes. There are two ways to improve your time.
One: skip going into the shop after you load at the beach - you don't really
need any meds for the next boss. This could save you about 50 seconds.
Two: avoid the save at the beach and head straight for the forest. You might
not want to do this if you took a long time to get a nice run on the Forest
Boar. Potentially another 20 seconds saved.
===============================================
SHOP: Angel Trumpet x 11
Peach Cookie x 11
===============================================
After the tutorial battle, Beat and Allegretto were both 10 exp from level 3,
so I ran into one battle with 2 onions on the way to the save point. I
ambushed them and killed them before their round. Equipped the Saber after
loading my file as well as an Angel Trumpet and some Peach Cookies. You should
have at least 2 Floral Powders left over from the Forest Boar battle, or you
may have got some more from the battles vs. the onions. The Baby Dragon isn't
hard but you will need a little healing.
Save 06: AGOGO FOREST: Middle South Time: 00:21:17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 3: Baby Dragon, Florite Mouse x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 04:10 | Party Used: 1) Allegretto (level 3)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Beat (level 3)
|
Baby Dragon HP: 40,740 |
Florite Mouse HP: 1,690 |
Strategy: Again, try to kill the mice in your first round. Keep the dragon in
the light and try to keep pulling off Sun Slash with 16+ echoes. I didn't
use Rapid Shooter with Beat, just spammed normal attack to build up the echo
meter, and occasionally used a Peach Cookie on Allegretto. The boss' attacks
should be quite easy to block. I also took some more photos with Beat here.
This boss seems quite easy after the frustrating Forest Boar, it should take
you around the same time to kill as Bread Gang: a little over four minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 07: AGOGO FOREST: Middle North Time: 00:26:02
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here I just ran through the areas as fast as I could. I didn't pick anything
up. Dodging the enemies is quite easy so no need to save until you get to
Agogo Village. In the battle against Fugue, skip your turn and die as fast as
possible.
Save 08: AGOGO VILLAGE Time: 00:29:13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to sell my photos, shop, equip and then save again at the same
place. This way you can practice buying and equipping what you need fast.
You don't need all those Angel Trumpets and Floral Powders - I used around
10 of the Angel Trumpets and only 6 of the Floral Powders for the whole run.
You don't need the Glowing Tails either.
If you want to try and skip this shopping stop - do so at your own risk!
You will be weaker for the next two bosses and you will have less money
overall. It makes sense to save outside in Agogo Forest if you are going
for this option - since after the cutscenes you start very close to the Ogre
Champ battle.
===============================================
SHOP: Angel Trumpet x 99
Floral Powder x 99
Glowing Tail x 11
Poison Whitecap x 31
Breast Guard x 2
Cork Baton x 1
Serpentine Lock x 1
Hunting Coat x 1
===============================================
Save 09: AGOGO VILLAGE (after shopping) Time: 00:30:33
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 4: Ogre Champ, L'Opera Knight x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:30 | Party Used: 1) Allegretto (level 6)
Boss Difficulty: 1/5 | 2) Beat (level 6)
| 3) Frederic (level 4)
Ogre Champ HP: 45,530 |
L'Opera Knight HP: 1,690 |
Strategy: this should be a quick and easy fight. Defeat the birds first, then
poison the boss if you can. It won't help much but should save you a few
seconds overall. Try and keep the boss in the light for Sun Slash. For Beat's
turn I used Rapid Shooter x2, for Allegretto normal attacks and Sun Slash to
finish, and for Frederic normal attacks and Piu Grave to finish. I didn't
take any photos here.
Congratulations, Chapter 1 complete!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================================================
CHAPTER 2: REVOLUTION << 2.2
==============================================================================
Unfortunately, you cannot save here without running back into town, but I
chose not to do this. Run towards the bridge with the three goats and speak
with them. Run and collect the three pieces of paper as fast as you can and
return to the goats. While talking to the goats and picking up the paper spam
A and B together to skip the dialogue and select the options. Very annoyingly,
once you get to East Lake there is a goat and a dragon blocking the path to
the save point. I decided to take my losses and run straight into the goat
battle, then flee after goats' rounds. After than I managed to sneak around
the dragon and save. You can keep retrying to get a clean run through here,
but it's up to you.
Save 10: CHORUS PLAINS: East Lake Time: 00:37:58
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I swapped the positions of Frederic and Allegretto here so that viola would
replace Allegretto. I wanted to get as much exp as possible on Frederic and
Beat before the Dolce fight. Viola joins you at level 11, which is nice.
I didn't count this battle against the Maledictors as a boss fight, it's very
easy and quick. Make sure both of them use spells instead of melee so that
they are long-range from Viola. Kill them both with Viola's regular attack,
one round from a decent range should do it. Skip Frederic's turn, take some
photos with Beat if you like (I took 5) - anyway Viola should kill both and
this fight should take around 60 seconds. I picked up the Club Clover inside
Viola's house, although I didn't need to, the next boss is fairly easy. I
didn't save outside, there are no battles on the way to Fort Fermata.
Save 11: FORT FERMATA: Central Road - South Time: 00:40:53
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No need to pick up any items here, you have everything you need to kill the
next boss fast. Know your route through this area well - it is possible to
avoid all the mice and also the Maledictors in the room. First of all I ran to
the West Side save point and saved.
Save 12: FORT FERMATA: West Side Time: 00:42:27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After flipping the switch near this save point, I ran to the save in the Over
Central Road area. You could try doing the whole run in one go, but again,
it's frustrating restarting time after time, so I chose to save twice here.
Save 13: FORT FERMATA: Over Central Road Time: 00:43:48
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Careful dodging the Maledictors in the room again. Saved before the boss,
loaded my file, equipped a Poison Whitecap, healed my characters with some
Floral Powders and approached the battle.
Save 14: FORT FERMATA: Central Road - North Time: 00:45:56
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 5: Killer Knight, Maledictor x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:20 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 12)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Frederic (level 10)
| 3) Beat (level 11)
Killer Knight HP: 102,100 |
Maledictor HP: 8,470 |
Strategy: The only tricky part is getting nice positioning for Viola's arrows.
First round I took out one Maledictor with 2 arrows and the other with Rapid
Shooter x2 and Frederic's normal attack finishing with Piu Grave. Next round
I poisoned the boss, ran Beat and Frederic far to one side and Viola far to
the other. The poison damage will help a little, 2000 per round. I took a few
more photos with Beat and then skipped the rest of his rounds. Viola spammed
normal attacks for 2-3k damage depending on range, Frederic used normal
attacks finishing with Piu Grave. As long as you block all of Killer Knight's
attacks, you shouldn't need to use healing items.
Note: these are the last photos I took on this run. After selling all my
photos in Forte, I had around 120k, which lasted me until the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 15: HANON HILLS: South Section Time: 00:50:18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run ahead until you get to the forced battle where to have to save the
merchant. You don't need to heal or equip anything now. This battle is a
little annoying but still you should be able to win in around 1 minute. I
killed one dragon with 2 rounds of Frederic attacking and finishing with Piu
Grave, another with arrows from Viola after I had pulled her back, and then I
killed the goat with Viola's third turn. The goat ended up having 2 turns but
the dragons died before taking theirs, so it was ok. I didn't buy anything
from the merchant, just saved straight after the battle.
Save 16: HANON HILLS: Midway Time: 00:52:48
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here I didn't pick anything up, just ran towards Forte as fast as I could.
You can quick flee and run by the dragon standing on the bridge. Avoid all the
goats, run into Forte and save.
Save 17: FORTE CITY Time: 00:54:11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to try and do everything at once here and then save again at the
same spot before heading out to Glissando Cliffs. This is what I did: ran into
the Inn to skip the cutscene - ran out and went to the shop - spammed A and B
through the conversation with the man outside the shop - sold all my photos -
bought all the items I needed - set my items from the menu - equipped my three
characters - went to speak with the woman in the tavern and then the old man
outside - then finally saved again. This took around two minutes. The items I
set were: Angel Trumpet x 1, Floral Powder x2, Club Clover x2,
Hell Mustard x2, and Poison Whitecap x2. This should cover you for the next
two bosses. You could also buy some gear for Allegretto, but I didn't do this,
since I had him and Frederic skipping all their turns vs. the next boss.
Strictly speaking, you don't need the Oak Barrel either.
===============================================
SHOP: Club Clover x 21
Hell Mustard x 21
Oak Barrel x 1
Rapid Fire x 1
Wolf's Fang x 1
Tailored Clothes x 1
Coachman's Coat x 1
Pair Jacket x 1
===============================================
Save 18: FORTE CITY (after shopping) Time: 00:56:09
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The climb down through Glissando Cliffs is quite long. There are two annoying
bats on the way to the first save point. After several retries, I managed to
get through without any battles, although I did have to wait a little for one
of the bats to move.
Save 19: GLISSANDO CLIFFS: Area 2 Time: 00:58:51
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More of the same climbing. Know your route well. This time there is one bat
that just wont move. I had to run into it and flee after the three bats had
their rounds. Skip the cutscene at the bottom, once back at the top run to the
inn for another cutscene, then go outside and save at the same place.
Save 20: FORTE CITY (before boss) Time: 01:01:52
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 6: Tuba ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 01:30 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 13)
Boss Difficulty: 1/5 | 2) Frederic (level 12)
| 3) Allegretto (level 10)
Tuba HP: 132,530 |
Strategy: Very quick fight that should give you no trouble. First round I ran
Viola far to the right, used a Hell Mustard on her (gives Burst) and pressed
skip turn so that her next round would come faster. Poisoned the boss with
Allegretto, although this will only help a tiny amount in such a quick fight,
and ran him and Frederic far to the left. I skipped all their turns and kept
shooting with Viola's normal attack, hitting for 5-7k and doing 30k+ per
round. Might take a few retires to get a nice start, but once things are in
position this is a very quick fight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 21: FORTE CASTLE: Dungeon Time: 01:04:03
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salsa joins you and she is level 17! In Andantino's Secret Passage avoiding
battles is tricky, you need a lot of luck to make a clean run. I managed to
get to the first save point without any battles.
Save 22: ANDANTINO'S SECRET PASSAGE: North Section 2 Time: 01:05:09
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although it's a short run from here to the next save point, its hard to get
a clean run through. After a few retries I made it and saved again.
Save 23: ANDANTINO'S SECRET PASSAGE: Cavern - South Time: 01:05:47
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A long run here and although it is possible to avoid everything, I was happy
to get through with one flee battle (where the enemies didn't get a turn) and
one small delay waiting for a bat to move so I could get by. There is no need
to save near the end, or even once you're outside - it's an easy run to Fort
Fermata. I foolishly saved in the Central Road - North area, but there is
another save point inside, just before you go out onto the bridge. This meant
that I had to go through the dialogue with Jazz and the others every time I
wanted to try the boss, and I wasn't about to lose more time by saving again.
Anyway, the fight is similar to the first and again quite easy, so it was
alright in the end. After this save, I switched Beat in for Allegretto, I
wanted to get exp on Frederic and Beat for the Dolce fight, and Salsa was
already high enough.
Save 24: FORT FERMATA: Central Road - North Time: 01:08:30
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 7: Tuba (rematch) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:00 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 14)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Frederic (level 13)
| 3) Beat (level 12)
Tuba (rematch) HP: 178,410 |
Strategy: A little bit harder than the previous battle vs. Tuba. Took me around
2 minutes to beat him, and my poison failed, but that didn't matter. First
round I ran Viola to the bottom right faced her up and skipped her turn. After
Tuba's round I ran Frederic and Beat to the top left and faced them down. Once
Tuba was close up to them, I used a Hell Mustard with Viola and unleashed the
arrows (it only lasts a few turns). I skipped all of Beat and Frederic's
rounds, the only thing I did with them was use an Angel Trumpet after Frederic
went down. Keep spamming the arrows with Viola and he will go down fast.
If, unlike me, you saved in the right place, you could take more tries and get
a slightly faster time.
Congratulations, Chapter 2 is done!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================================================
CHAPTER 3: FANTAISIE-IMPROMPTU << 2.3
==============================================================================
Save 25: ADAGIO SWAMP: West Side Time: 01:12:37
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Running through Adagio Swamp is horrible! It's the worst zone in the game. Not
only is it difficult or impossible to dodge some of the battles, but sometimes
even if you flee, you can't get by. In the end I had to settle for getting
through with 6 or so flees and 2 full battles (vs. those scorpions). Switched
out Alegretto for Falsetto after loading and kept trying to get a good run
through. Considering how tricky this area was, it seemed I got to Cantabile
Inn surprising fast. Didn't save at the end of Adagio Swamp, just saved
outside the inn, before heading to Woodblock Groves.
Save 26: CANTABILE INN Time: 01:17:08
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided to skip the save point halfway through Woodblock Groves since the
battles were so easy to dodge here. It's faster to jump down off the third
ledge once you get to South Center. You can't dodge the big onion, but you can
flee and run past. Also, I decided to pick up the Recovery Gloves here, takes
about 30 seconds extra time but they should be useful for the rest of the
game. If I were doing this challenge again, I would probably leave this detour
out - the gloves aren't going to help you kill anything faster. Having said
that, they are very convenient to have and skipping them only makes sense if
you're going for an 'extreme' run.
Save 27: WOODBLOCK GROVES: Waterfall Time: 01:20:32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equipped 3 Hell Mustards and headed into the boss fight. I didn't equip the
Recovery Gloves and still hadn't equipped the Lace Veil. I would have to take
them off anyway for the boss after this one so that I could use them in the
Dolce fight - and for this boss I didn't think they would help.
~~~~~~~ BOSS 8: Trick or Treat, Mushroom Up x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:30 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 16)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Falsetto (level 18)
| 3) Jazz (level 19)
Trick or Treat HP: 225,730 |
Mushroom Up HP: 20,480 |
Strategy: Falsetto was first to move and defeated one of the mushrooms in one
round - make sure she builds up 16 echoes then uses Snow Claw right at the
end. I pulled Viola back to the right wall and used a Hell Mustard on her.
Jazz defeated the 2nd mushroom after it took its round to attack him. I used
a Hell Mustard on Falsetto and Jazz as well, although Jazz only got one round
of attacks onto the boss before it was dead. Viola was shooting from afar
again, for 4-5k per hit. Didn't poison this boss, although he's not immune or
anything, I poisoned him in one of the practice fights. Try to stay in the
light for Snow Claw and Heat Blade. Quite a fast win if you get a good start.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 28: ANDANTE Time: 01:23:46
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I ran down to the shop, got the items I needed, equipped, set items, went to
get the dialogue with the little girl then ran into Lento Cemetry and saved.
===============================================
SHOP: Lion's Mane x 11
Big Paper Fan x 11
Shadow Tail x 11
Monkey Bow x 1
Power Stroke x 1
Silk Dress x 1
Tiger Armor x 1
===============================================
Save 29: LENTO CEMETRY: Main Road Time: 01:26:11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I decided I wanted to save only once in the middle of all the running and then
once before the boss. You can get a clean run through all of this area but
it's just a matter of luck sometimes. I collected the extra flame from the
bottom right room, then top right room, then top left room, then saved at the
same spot again once I had 2 red and 2 blue flames. I got through this with 2
flee battles only, which was ok.
Save 30: LENTO CEMETRY: Main Road (before green flame) Time: 01:31:25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next I headed for the green flame, and on the way back picked up only one red
and one blue flame from where I had placed them. Also on the way back I had
one flee battle and one delay waiting for an enemy to move. I saved before
the boss, about 8 minutes after the first save at Lento Cemetry.
Save 31: LENTO CEMETRY: Entrance to Spring Time: 01:34:14
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 9: Death Crow, Light Antique x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:00 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 18)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Falsetto (level 19)
| 3) Alegretto (level 15)
Death Crow HP: 252,380 |
Light Antique HP: 14,880 |
Strategy: This boss is significantly harder than the previous few bosses.
First few tries I kept dying, and even once I had the blocking worked out, I
couldn't seem to kill him fast at all - it's hard to fix him in good range of
Viola, also hard to connect the hits with Falsetto sometimes. In the end,
after many retries, I managed to beat him in just under 3 minutes. First round
Falsetto killed one light Antique with normal hits finishing with Snow Claw.
The other came and attacked Viola, I had her melee attack her whole round,
then Alegretto finished it with normal attacks and Sun Slash. I then poisoned
the boss with Falsetto, pulled Viola back and popped a Lion's Mane on her.
Falsetto used normal attack finishing with either Snow Claw or Willow strike,
Viola popped a Hell Mustard and spammed arrows for 6-10k, and I skipped all
of Alegretto's rounds apart from occasional Floral Powders and Club Clovers.
Was lucky to not get any revives of the Light Antiques, and got lucky with
a few nice rounds of arrows not getting blocked. So after I was just about to
call it quits and carry on with my save where I killed him in 4 minutes, I
managed to do it in less than 3! Overall, a lot of luck involved - you can
beat him it's just a matter of how fast.
Congratulations, Chapter 3 is complete!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================================================
CHAPTER 4: GRANDE VALSE BRILLIANTE << 2.4
==============================================================================
Save 32: BAROQUE SHIP: West Hallway Time: 01:38:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran onto the deck, did some shopping, then went right for the cutscene. Picked
up the Piercing Shell afterwards, then switched Polka out for Salsa and
equipped everyone. Salsa and Frederic both got Recovery gloves, Beat got his
Piercing Shell. Frederic and Beat got new weapons and everyone got new armour.
Went for the next cutscene then saved on the deck. I practiced all this a few
times to get it fast.
===============================================
SHOP: Hoolurge Gun x 1
Buffalo Horn x 1
Leather Jacket x 1
Sparkling Clothes x 2
Very Odd Chocolate x 3
===============================================
Save 33: PIRATE SHIP DOLCE: Deck Time: 01:38:57
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the fight against the two pirates I had Salsa damage one, Frederic damage
the other, and Beat killed both with Rapid Shooter x2. Both pirates took their
rounds, but I don't think you can avoid this. On the way to the next save, I
only had one flee battle, and I think it's unavoidable. Know your route well.
Save 34: PIRATE SHIP DOLCE: Basement Level 3 Time: 01:40:30
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I didn't pick anything up, the Mercy Breath was too far off I decided. Ran all
the way to the Back Hallway with only one flee battle. Not bad going: less
than 4 minutes from the first save on Baroque Ship to the save before the
Dolce fight.
Save 35: PIRATE SHIP DOLCE: Back Hallway Time: 01:41:41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 10: Captain Dolce, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant ~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 04:00 | Party Used: 1) Salsa (level 17)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Beat (level 14)
| 3) Frederic (level 15)
Captain Dolce HP: 141,080 |
First Lieutenant HP: 23,520 |
Second Lieutenant HP: 28,220 |
Strategy: Really not that hard once you get used to blocking Dolce's attacks.
Once again, the hard part is getting a decent time on this fight. The items I
set were Angel Trumpet x2, Club Clover x3, 1 Very Odd Chocolate and 1 Hell
Mustard. First round Dolce attacked Frederic, after I had Salsa use the odd
chocolate on Dolce and quickly use Shadow Silhouette. Both the pirates went
for Beat, which was good. Make sure you block all their attacks! Next I did
some area damage to the 2 pirates with Piu Grave and a Grand Slam with a lot
of echoes (since Salsa was hitting both). One of the pirates revived the
other, but soon after than they were both dead from a second Grand Slam and a
Rapid Shooter from Beat. Was lucky since Dolce used Dead Man's Tale a lot,
which is easy to block and takes most of her turn. Once the pirates were dead
I popped the Hell Mustard on Beat, got 32 echoes from the other two and
unleashed a Rapid Shooter hitting for around 9k x4. Carried on with Salsa
doing normal attacks finishing with whatever, Frederic just hitting to build
echoes, and Beat using Rapid Shooter x2. When Salsa got killed, used an Angel
Trumpet and Club Clover and just carried on the attacks. First few times I
beat her it took me around 5 minutes, later I cut 30 seconds off this time.
Later still, I won in around 4 minutes but with Frederic dead, and finally I
managed to win in just under 4 minutes with everyone alive!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 36: BAROQUE CASTLE: Side Garden Time: 01:46:38
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran up to get the cutscene with Prince Crescendo, then I went to pick up some
items from the shop and then out to Sharp Mountains. I considered skipping
the shop here but in the end decided I needed Mercy Breath and Ebony Shaft for
the next boss. Got through to the cabin with 3 flee battles, which is the
minimum I think. Picked up the Warhammer Gun from the chest, ran a bit further
and saved at Wah Lava Cave.
===============================================
SHOP: Ebony Shaft x 1
Mercy Breath x 1
Wormwood x 1
===============================================
Save 37: WAH LAVA CAVE: North Entrance Time: 01:49:47
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This first run is pretty simple, got through with one flee battle. Hadn't
switched out Polka yet, or equipped anything - left that for the save before
the boss.
Save 38: WAH LAVA CAVE: North Side Time: 01:50:47
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This next run is horrible because there are 2 Fire Antiques right when you
start, that are hard to dodge and usually you can't flee until after their
round. Also, further along the path there is a dragon that won't let you by
9 times out of 10, even after fleeing. Kept loading until there was a gap in
the Fire Antiques and until I managed to get by the dragon without having to
kill him. Got to the next save point with 4 quick flees (by quick I mean, my
round came first), and was happy with this. I happened to get an ambush on
the Fire Antiques just before the save, which was lucky.
Save 39: WAH LAVA CAVE: Middle Time: 01:52:39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I chose to head south and hop down the ledges rather than dodging the Fire
Antiques - after that you just have to get through an area with 2 of them
floating around, which I did without getting into a battle. Ran down the long
path along the ledges and saved.
Save 40: WAH LAVA CAVE: South Entrance Time: 01:54:19
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Switched Polka out for Frederic, equipped weapons for all three characters and
set items. I set 2 Hell Mustards and 1 Wormwood, along with the usual Angel
Trumpets and Club Clovers.
~~~~~~~ BOSS 11: Fugue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:45 | Party Used: 1) Frederic (level 17)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Beat (level 16)
| 3) Salsa (level 18)
Fugue HP: 219,460 |
Strategy: Similar to the Dolce fight, but easier since there are no henchmen.
Poisoning helps a lot, even in a quick fight - the Wormwood takes 3% HP per
round (as opposed to 2% for the Poison Whitecap). Poisoned Fugue with Salsa,
ran Beat into the shade, popped a Hell Mustard and a quick Rapid Shooter.
I had Salsa attack and finish with Grand Slam, Frederic stay on normal hits,
and Beat Rapid Shooter x2. Try and keep Salsa and Frederic on either side of
Fugue, and Beat shooting from the back or side if possible so he doesn't get
blocked.
Congratulations, Chapter 4 is done!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================================================
CHAPTER 5: NOCTURNE << 2.5
==============================================================================
Save 41: RITARDANDO: Secret Hideout Time: 01:58:01
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran outside and went to do some shopping. After leaving the shop I headed for
the church to get the cutscene, then afterwards ran Allegretto to the beach
for another cutscene. Once I was in control of the main party, I quickly
equipped everything I needed and ran into the catacombs. March joins you at
level 25, so of course you want to use her. I decided to use Salsa, March and
Viola. I switched out the Mercy Breath for Torquatus on Salsa so that she
would have shining body. I took off the Recovery Gloves from Frederic and put
them on March, along with the Brisingamen from the last boss. There are 4
battles inside which you cannot avoid, but they can be dealt with quickly.
Pull back Viola and shoot arrows and focus the other 2 on the same enemy.
After these 4 battles you can save.
===============================================
SHOP: Leather Guard x 2
Diamond Clover x 11
Snowpuff Cookie x 11
Sock Incense x 11
Wormwood x 1
===============================================
Save 42: MANDOLIN CHURCH GROTTO: South Section Time: 02:03:09
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This run is quite easy - I got through with 1 quick flee. After loading my
file I set items and healed my party with a clover. Now that you have 30 slots
you can set a lot of helpful items for each boss. Apart from Angel Trumpets
and a few Snowpuff Cookies, I set 1 Hell Mustard, 1 Lion's Mane, 1 Sock
Incense and 1 Wormwood.
Save 43: MANDOLIN CHURCH GROTTO: North Section Time: 02:04:29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 12: Root Lurker ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:15 | Party Used: 1) Salsa (level 21)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) March (level 25)
| 3) Viola (level 20)
Root Lurker HP: 315,790 |
Strategy: First round I used both a Sock Incense and Wormwood on the boss.
Salsa and March surrounded him, both in the light from Salsa's shining body.
I pulled Viola back to the right, and quickly popped both a Lion's Mane and
Hell Mustard. The range for the arrows wasn't ideal but I wasn't about to try
and move the boss - she was still hitting for 6-8k per arrow. Salsa and March
built echoes which I saved for Super Nova. I got 2 harmony chains in this
battle and Full-Moon Bind was nice since it didn't get resisted and made the
boss miss a lot of his round. With the 10% defence down and the 3% per round
poison, you should have the no problem getting a quick time on this boss. The
only thing that really slows you down is if he teleports to Viola, putting
everyone out of position. He won't always do this however, so just take a few
tries to get a nice time on this guy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After skipping the cutscenes, I ran down to the main street and saved.
Save 44: BAROQUE CITY: Main Street Time: 02:07:50
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A lot of running involved here. After the dialogue with the priest and with
the merchant, carry on into the forest to pick up the spell book. You can open
the chest to get the spell book without fighting the Anathema - it's just that
after opening it, you will get into a battle, but you can flee straight away.
Approach the chest carefully from below and tap A as you get to the corner.
I didn't get any other battles here, so with one quick flee and one small
delay to get around one of the Flamea, I was back in town. I stopped at the
shop on the way back to the castle to pick up some Scorpion's Tails, then went
for the dialogue with the magic researcher. Since you already have the spell
book, you will receive the Aria Temple Key in the same cutscene. Then I ran
back out to the forest and finally saved.
===============================================
SHOP: Scoprion's Tail x 11
===============================================
Save 45: CELESTA FOREST: West Side Time: 02:14:04
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For this next part I chose not to save until right before the Rondo fight.
Avoiding the battles in the forest is quite easy and once inside the temple
there are no fights to avoid at all. Inside Aria temple, I took a right turn
at the first intersection, at the top of the stairs I picked up the Bubbly
Hat, the carried on running along the route, with only one flee battle (slow
flee, after the enemy's turn) in a corridor where 2 snakes were guarding a
chest. Still, I got to the save at the top very quickly. After loading my
file, switched the positions of Viola and Salsa so that Falsetto would replace
Salsa, equipped the Bubbly Hat and Crimson Brooch on Viola, set items, healed
with a clover, and entered the battle vs. Rondo.
Save 46: ARIA TEMPLE: Gallery of Light Time: 02:17:49
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 13: Rondo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:10 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 22)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) March (level 26)
| 3) Falsetto (level 33)
Rondo HP: 467,980 |
Strategy: For this battle I set the same items as the previous boss: 1 Hell
Mustard, 1 Lion's Mane, 1 Sock Incense and this time 1 Scorpion's Tail. The
Scorpion's Tail takes 4% hp per round, which is great, on Rondo it took
almost 19k per round! I started by poisoning her and defence down with
Falsetto. Then March popped a Hell Mustard on Falsetto and quickly pulled off
a Super Nova. Viola ran far to the left and popped a Lion's Mane just before
the end of her round. March and Falsetto spammed normal attacks, and I tried
to save the special attacks for 24+ echoes. Again Super Nova to Full-Moon Bind
harmony chain helped to slow down Rondo's attacks. Even though my entire first
round of arrows missed, I still got my best time on this run - the second
volley of arrows was hitting for 17-20k each. Falsetto's normal attacks
finishing with Snow Claw were producing around 60k damage per round. After
killing her in around 2.30 a few times, in the end I cut about 20 seconds off
my time.
Well done, Chapter 5 complete!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================================================
CHAPTER 6: TRISTESSE << 2.6
==============================================================================
Save 47: BAROQUE CITY: Main Street Time: 02:20:56
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After loading my save, I stopped at the shop to pick up an Illunis for March.
I equipped the Illunis, equipped the Death's Hand on Falsetto and changed
Falsetto's dark skill from Willow Strike to Howling Thunder. This is the first
time I changed anyone's skills so far. Next I went to the castle for the three
cutscenes.
===============================================
SHOP: Illunis x 1
===============================================
In running from Crescendo to Serenade's room I took the top
corridor, seems a little faster. After getting the warp key, I headed for the
warp room. Make sure you don't go straight for the porter, you have to go
through the dialogue first. There are 3 statues blocking the porters in
Coda Ruins, but this first one you can quick flee and squeeze by. You should
be able to avoid all other battles. I picked my saves here carefully.
Save 48: TO CODA RUINS: False Pride Island Time: 02:24:11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the two battles with the statues that you have to kill, I took out one
with Falsetto and March and the other by pulling Viola back and firing 2-3
arrows. The enemies didn't get to take their round. If the Dark Antiques are
in a bad position, you can load until you get a clean run through. Make sure
you know your route, especially where you need to drop down from the ledges.
Save 49: TO CODA RUINS: Jealousy Island Time: 02:27:03
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After this save came the second statue battle, but after that it's pretty easy
to get a clean run through. I ran all the way through to the end of Coda
Ruins, got the cutscene at the Cello Tree, went through Cowbell Heights and
finally saved at the merchant in Mt. Rock.
Save 50: MT. ROCK: Entrance Time: 02:30:40
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I went through the dialogue with the merchant, did some shopping, then made
the long run to the next save point. You can avoid all battles here but I
settled for one flee battle (after 1 enemy took their turn). The dialogue with
the merchant and later with Jazz makes it frustrating to try this too many
times.
===============================================
SHOP: Artemis's Bow x 1
Jiao Zhu x 1
Obscure Jacket x 2
Heart Clover x 21
Honey Cookie x 21
===============================================
Save 51: MT. ROCK: Near the Summit Time: 02:34:06
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After loading my file, I took off the recovery gloves from Salsa, equipped a
new weapon and armour for Viola and fully equipped Falsetto (Jiao Zhu, Obscure
Jacket, Recovery Gloves and Heart Pendant). I set the usual items for the
boss, switching out the old cookies for some Honey Cookies. The only items you
really need are a Scorpion's Tail and a Sock Incense, I also took a Lion's
Mane for Viola. As usually I only had 2 Angel Trumpets set.
~~~~~~~ BOSS 14: Count Waltz, Calamity Wilhm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:30 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 34)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Viola (level 26)
| 3) March (level 28)
Count Waltz HP: 589,590 |
Calamity Wilhm HP: 77,230 |
Strategy: Not an easy fight, needs quite a bit of practice to get things
going. You want to take out the dragon as fast as possible and yet if your
poison fails after that you are in bad shape - for a few of my runs I tried
carrying 2 Scorpion's Tail but very often they both got resisted. Ideally, you
want Falsetto and Viola to take out the dragon with normal hits finishing
with Snow Claw and Bone Crumble, and then for March to be near Count Waltz
and to get 24 echoes for Super Nova to Full-Moon Bind. I only managed this
once or twice and not on the run I saved. Anyway, poison the boss, also
defence down and full-out attack. His attacks are strong, March is pretty
weak and goes down quickly, but once you get Full-Moon bind to stick on him,
it becomes a lot easier. Again, I had Viola shooting from range, although
aiming was tricky, and the distance wasn't ideal. Annoyingly, after the boss
there is no save point until the tower in Elegy of the Moon, so you should get
ready to shop on the way, before you save.
Congratulations, Chapter 6 is done!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================================================
CHAPTER 7: HEROIC << 2.7
==============================================================================
Note: this is the last time I went shopping. Your Clovers and Cookies from
the Mt. Rock merchant should last you until the end - in fact, you really
don't need many of them. In the Double Reed Tower, the bosses are mostly easy
and you get fully healed after each one. At this stage all you need is the
right gear for your main 3, and also some Sock Incense, Hell Mustard & Lion's
Manes to give you the edge vs. the 7 bosses coming up.
===============================================
SHOP: Lugh Lamhfhada x 1
Celestial Gloves x 1
Fragment x 1
Transeo x 2
===============================================
Save 52: ELEGY OF THE MOON Time: 02:39:25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You don't need to speak to the spirit at the Xylophone Tower before you speak
to the elder to get permission - so run straight to the Noise Dunes. Once
inside the Xylophone Tower, there are some unavoidable battles as you climb up
the stairs. For this first segment, I only had one slow flee. If you manage
to counter-attack you can flee faster, but that's a matter of luck. I didn't
pick up anything here.
Save 53: XYLOPHONE TOWER: First Floor - Landing Time: 02:43:26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two unavoidable battles on the stairs. Otherwise a clean run to the next save.
Save 54: XYLOPHONE TOWER: Second Floor - Landing Time: 02:46:21
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here I got a little lucky and managed to counter-attack right away in one of
the battles. Make sure you get the song right and that you play it fast.
I didn't pick anything up - although if you're using different characters you
should check what weapons are available for them here and in the Double Reed
Tower.
Save 55: XYLOPHONE TOWER: Third Floor Time: 02:49:17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After loading, equipped Lugh Lamhfhada and Transeo on Viola, took off her
Crimson Brooch and gave it to Falsetto, also gave Falsetto Celestial Gloves
and Transeo - then scrolled to March, gave her Fragment and switched her dark
skill to Midnight Cloud. Set some more Angel Trumpets and Honey Cookies as
well as 2 Sock Incense and 2 Lion's Mane. Then scrolled left and down to heal
everyone with a Heart Clover.
~~~~~~~ BOSS 15: Ogre King, Wicked Shrub ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:55 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 37)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Viola (level 32)
| 3) March (level 33)
Ogre King HP: 571,110 |
Wicked Shrub HP: 590,770 |
Strategy: First of all - unlike all the bosses before this, having Viola shoot
arrows didn't really work for me. If you try to get a good distance for the
arrows, it's hard to avoid hitting the Ogre King and you want to go for the
Wicked Shrub first. If you go for the Ogre King, each round he pulls back a
little, and this slows down your damage from Falsetto and March a lot. Also,
Party Lv. 5 takes your tactical time down to 0, and by the time you take aim
you are going to get less shots overall.
In the end I gave up on Viola and switched the Crimson Brooch over to
Falsetto. I used Viola for the 2 Sock Incense and also some Honey Cookies when
needed and then brought her in to melee once the Wicked Shrub was down. Also,
poisoning doesn't seem to work here - I must have got resisted 30+ times
before I stopped trying (at first I took 2 x Scorpion's Tail for this fight).
At least all of the attacks from these guys are quite easy to block. Try
to position Falsetto and Salsa on one side of the Wicked Shrub while the Ogre
should be on the other side - so you can block all his attacks as well.
Once you get the damage going, these bosses go down fast. No need to save
echoes really - your Special attacks will give you a decent amount in
themselves, so if you are on 8 or 16 you may as well use them. Save for 32
echoes when the timing is right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 56: ELEGY OF THE MOON (after Xylophone Tower) Time: 02:54:51
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the way towards the final dungeon, make sure you pick up the Wheel of Will
for March - it's in a chest in the sand slightly to the left of the main path.
Hopefully you have all the meds you need, I still had plenty of Heart Clovers
and Honey Cookies, not to mention 94 unused Flower Powders.
Save 57: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 1st Time: 02:56:41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is it - only 6 boss fights and a lot of running between here and the end!
You have a lot of choice as to the order of the next 4 bosses. You can tackle
the west or east tower first, and in each one you can decide which of the two
bosses to handle first - it's no faster one way or the other. The order I
chose was: Hidden One -> Herculean Boar -> White Jewel -> Unrest.
I didn't pick anything up here, although if you are using different
characters you may want to. Avoiding battles here is straightforward apart
from a few cases where the camera blocks you view. I saved before and after
every boss, and made sure I got clean runs inbetween. After getting the Wheel
of Wheel, my gear was ready for the rest of the game. This is how my party
looked before the first boss here, and I didn't change anything for the rest
of the game:
+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+
Falsetto (Level 40) Viola (Level 36) March (Level 37)
Tyr's Left Arm Lugh Lamhfhada Wheel of Will
Transeo Transeo Fragment
Crimson Brooch Eye of Horus Recovery Gloves
Recovery Gloves Bubbly Hat Heart Pendant
Snow Claw White Dagger Super Nova
Howling Thunder Bone Crumble Midnight Cloud
Phoenix Rising White Dagger Full-Moon Bind
Willow Strike Bone Crumble Aurora Curtain
ATK: 309 MAG: 137 ATK: 303 MAG: 98 ATK: 264 MAG: 151
DEF: 245 SPD: 181 DEF: 215 SPD: 154 DEF: 230 SPD: 142
HP - 14451 HP - 12363 HP - 11959
+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+
Save 58: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 7th (before Hidden One) Time: 02:59:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 59: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 7th (after Hidden One) Time: 03:02:41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 60: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 7th (before Herculean Boar) Time: 03:04:59
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 61: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 7th (after Herculean Boar) Time: 03:08:28
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 62: DOUBLE REED TOWER - East 7th (before White Jewel) Time: 03:12:23
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 63: DOUBLE REED TOWER - East 7th (after White Jewel) Time: 03:15:39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 64: DOUBLE REED TOWER - East 7th (before Unrest) Time: 03:17:57
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 65: DOUBLE REED TOWER - East 7th (after Unrest) Time: 03:21:56
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 16: Hidden One ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:20 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 40)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Viola (level 36)
| 3) March (level 37)
Hidden One HP: 742,910 |
Strategy: Before this boss, I equipped everyone with the gear shown above, set
their skills and set some items: Sock Incense x3 Hell Mustard x3
Lion's Mane x2 - I still had a few angel trumpets and cookies in there from
before. Gave up shooting with Viola for good, and gave up trying to poison
these bosses. First round Falsetto used Sock Incense on the boss and turned
to March to Hell Mustard her. After that I surrounded him and had everyone
melee - Viola was on normal hits or skip turn depending on echoes, March was
finishing with whatever special attack, sometimes getting a harmony chain, and
Falsetto was getting a harmony chain almost every round - the Tyr's Left Arm
helps a lot. His attacks aren't much of a problem most of the time. You get a
Tyr's Right Arm from this boss, but I chose not to use this.
~~~~~~~ BOSS 17: Herculean Boar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:15 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 43)
Boss Difficulty: 1/5 | 2) Viola (level 39)
| 3) March (level 40)
Herculean Boar HP: 911,310 |
Strategy: Very similar to the previous boss. Although he has more HP, overall
you should be able to take him down a little quicker. Defence down on the
boss, burst on March and go all out. The only thing that will slow you down
is if he charges off to the side near the end of his round, putting everyone
out of position.
~~~~~~~ BOSS 18: White Jewel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:15 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 45)
Boss Difficulty: 1/5 | 2) Viola (level 42)
| 3) March (level 42)
White Jewel HP: 902,280 |
Strategy: Again, very easy and the strategy is identical to before. In fact,
all of these battles are similar in that all you need to do is surround the
boss and pull off harmony chains. Falsetto is your strongest damage dealer,
you should be able to get up to 24-32 echoes on each of her rounds. If you set
your items from before like I did, you can just load up and run into the
battle right away - making it easy to repeat the boss to try and save a few
seconds.
~~~~~~~ BOSS 19: Unrest, Fire Antique x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:35 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 46)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Viola (level 44)
| 3) March (level 45)
Unrest HP: 764,250 |
Fire Antique HP: 57,580 |
Strategy: After loading my file before this boss, I set items until the end
of the game: Sock Incense x3, Hell Mustard x3, and Lion's Manes if you have
space - they are not that important. Conveniently, both Fire Antiques seemed
to gather around Falsetto every time, and were always both dead after her
first round - Snow Claw to Willow Strike. The unrest can be tricky to hit, and
he keeps moving around meaning that you will have to move with him, making
sure that your hits connect with each new position.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 66: DOUBLE REED TOWER - Hourglass Road Time: 03:24:32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~ BOSS 20: Ruined Body ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:50 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 48)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Viola (level 46)
| 3) March (level 46)
Ruined Body HP: 1,178,780 |
Strategy: This guy takes a little longer to defeat but the same approach will
work - surround him and lay on the damage. Again I used one Sock Incense and
one Hell Mustard on March, but I did this with Viola's first round - at the
start Falsetto ran in to start the damage off and get her in position. Not
much else to be said here, if you get a good run, he should go down in less
than 3 minutes. When you see that his HP is getting low (when his stance
changes) don't be tempted to go for a quick kill - stick to the system you've
been using, in terms of saving echoes etc, because you still need to deal a
lot of damage before he goes down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 67: DOUBLE REED TOWER - Core Time: 03:28:42
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================================================
FINAL CHAPTER: HEAVEN'S MIRROR << 2.8
==============================================================================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 21: Frederic Francois Chopin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:10 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 50)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Viola (level 48)
| 3) March (level 48)
Frederic HP: 1,493,120 |
Strategy: Frederic began by going for Viola which was good. In Falsetto's
first round, as usual, I had her use a Sock Incense on Frederic, and then a
Hell Mustard on March. I also popped 2 Lion's Manes on the other 2 characters
with Viola's turn. As before, go all out and go for harmony chains. Orzel
Bialy can hurt you, Applaudissement Sonique can hurt you and the animation
takes a long time. Blocking is important, especially since you don't want
to be knocked down and lose the first part of your round. If you manage to
get some counter-attacks, this will save some time. Viola got killed
eventually but this was alright - a few rounds later the boss was dead.
Ideally you want to get March pulling off Midnight Cloud at the end of
Falsetto's harmony chain - this happened twice in the run I saved.
After you win the fight, tap A to save as soon as possible.
This is your Game Clear save - challenge complete!
Congratulations!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Save 68: GAME CLEAR Time: 03:32:08
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Game Clear Time ................................. 03:32:08
Total Boss Time ................................. 01:05:25
Average Boss Time .................................. 03:07
No. of Saves .......................................... 68
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================================================
+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+
0.3 >> MISC.
+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+`=`+
==============================================================================
====------------------------------------------------==========================
3.1 >> SAVE TIMES
====------------------------------------------------==========================
~ CHAPTER 1: RAINDROPS ~
========================
Save 01: RITARDANDO SEWERS: West Side (entrance) Time: 00:01:46
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 02: RITARDANDO SEWERS: West Side (before boss) Time: 00:03:12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 03: TENUTO VILLAGE Time: 00:08:15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 04: HEAVEN'S MIRROR FOREST: Middle North Time: 00:09:37
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 05: RITARDANDO (Beach) Time: 00:18:37
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 06: AGOGO FOREST: Middle South Time: 00:21:17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 07: AGOGO FOREST: Middle North Time: 00:26:02
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 08: AGOGO VILLAGE Time: 00:29:13
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 09: AGOGO VILLAGE (after shopping) Time: 00:30:33
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ CHAPTER 2: REVOLUTION ~
=========================
Save 10: CHORUS PLAINS: East Lake Time: 00:37:58
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 11: FORT FERMATA: Central Road - South Time: 00:40:53
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 12: FORT FERMATA: West Side Time: 00:42:27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 13: FORT FERMATA: Over Central Road Time: 00:43:48
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 14: FORT FERMATA: Central Road - North Time: 00:45:56
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 15: HANON HILLS: South Section Time: 00:50:18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 16: HANON HILLS: Midway Time: 00:52:48
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 17: FORTE CITY Time: 00:54:11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 18: FORTE CITY (after shopping) Time: 00:56:09
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 19: GLISSANDO CLIFFS: Area 2 Time: 00:58:51
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 20: FORTE CITY (before boss) Time: 01:01:52
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 21: FORTE CASTLE: Dungeon Time: 01:04:03
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 22: ANDANTINO'S SECRET PASSAGE: North Section 2 Time: 01:05:09
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 23: ANDANTINO'S SECRET PASSAGE: Cavern - South Time: 01:05:47
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 24: FORT FERMATA: Central Road - North Time: 01:08:30
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ CHAPTER 3: FANTAISIE-IMPROMPTU ~
==================================
Save 25: ADAGIO SWAMP: West Side Time: 01:12:37
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 26: CANTABILE INN Time: 01:17:08
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 27: WOODBLOCK GROVES: Waterfall Time: 01:20:32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 28: ANDANTE Time: 01:23:46
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 29: LENTO CEMETRY: Main Road Time: 01:26:11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 30: LENTO CEMETRY: Main Road (before green flame) Time: 01:31:25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 31: LENTO CEMETRY: Entrance to Spring Time: 01:34:14
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ CHAPTER 4: GRANDE VALSE BRILLIANTE ~
======================================
Save 32: BAROQUE SHIP: West Hallway Time: 01:38:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 33: PIRATE SHIP DOLCE: Deck Time: 01:38:57
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 34: PIRATE SHIP DOLCE: Basement Level 3 Time: 01:40:30
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 35: PIRATE SHIP DOLCE: Back Hallway Time: 01:41:41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 36: BAROQUE CASTLE: Side Garden Time: 01:46:38
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 37: WAH LAVA CAVE: North Entrance Time: 01:49:47
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 38: WAH LAVA CAVE: North Side Time: 01:50:47
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 39: WAH LAVA CAVE: Middle Time: 01:52:39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 40: WAH LAVA CAVE: South Entrance Time: 01:54:19
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ CHAPTER 5: NOCTURNE ~
=======================
Save 41: RITARDANDO: Secret Hideout Time: 01:58:01
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 42: MANDOLIN CHURCH GROTTO: South Section Time: 02:03:09
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 43: MANDOLIN CHURCH GROTTO: North Section Time: 02:04:29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 44: BAROQUE CITY: Main Street Time: 02:07:50
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 45: CELESTA FOREST: West Side Time: 02:14:04
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 46: ARIA TEMPLE: Gallery of Light Time: 02:17:49
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ CHAPTER 6: TRISTESSE ~
========================
Save 47: BAROQUE CITY: Main Street Time: 02:20:56
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 48: TO CODA RUINS: False Pride Island Time: 02:24:11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 49: TO CODA RUINS: Jealousy Island Time: 02:27:03
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 50: MT. ROCK: Entrance Time: 02:30:40
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 51: MT. ROCK: Near the Summit Time: 02:34:06
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ CHAPTER 7: HEROIC ~
=====================
Save 52: ELEGY OF THE MOON Time: 02:39:25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 53: XYLOPHONE TOWER: First Floor - Landing Time: 02:43:26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 54: XYLOPHONE TOWER: Second Floor - Landing Time: 02:46:21
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 55: XYLOPHONE TOWER: Third Floor Time: 02:49:17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 56: ELEGY OF THE MOON (after Xylophone Tower) Time: 02:54:51
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 57: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 1st Time: 02:56:41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 58: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 7th (before Hidden One) Time: 02:59:00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 59: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 7th (after Hidden One) Time: 03:02:41
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 60: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 7th (before Herculean Boar) Time: 03:04:59
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 61: DOUBLE REED TOWER - West 7th (after Herculean Boar) Time: 03:08:28
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 62: DOUBLE REED TOWER - East 7th (before White Jewel) Time: 03:12:23
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 63: DOUBLE REED TOWER - East 7th (after White Jewel) Time: 03:15:39
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 64: DOUBLE REED TOWER - East 7th (before Unrest) Time: 03:17:57
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 65: DOUBLE REED TOWER - East 7th (after Unrest) Time: 03:21:56
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 66: DOUBLE REED TOWER - Hourglass Road Time: 03:24:32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 67: DOUBLE REED TOWER - Core Time: 03:28:42
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ FINAL CHAPTER: HEAVEN'S MIRROR ~
==================================
Save 68: GAME CLEAR Time: 03:32:08
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
====------------------------------------------------==========================
3.3 >> IMPROVED TIMES
====------------------------------------------------==========================
~ CHAPTER 1: RAINDROPS ~ (Improved Times)
===========================================
Note: this is the beginning of a future run - which I may or may not have
the time to complete. For the moment I am still considering whether to
skip the Agogo Village shopping detour.
Save 01: RITARDANDO SEWERS Time: 00:01:41 (- 00:05)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 02: RITARDANDO SEWERS Time: 00:03:06 (- 00:06)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 03: TENUTO VILLAGE Time: 00:07:46 (- 00:29)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 04: HEAVEN'S MIRROR FOREST Time 00:11:54 (+ 02:17)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 05: RITARDANDO (Beach) Skipped
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 06: AGOGO FOREST: Middle South Time: 00:17:50 (- 03:27)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Save 07: AGOGO FOREST: Middle North Time: 00:22:22 (- 03.40)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
====------------------------------------------------==========================
3.2 >> BOSS SUMMARY
====------------------------------------------------==========================
~ CHAPTER 1: RAINDROPS ~
========================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 1: Bread Gang, Florite Mouse x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 04:15 | Party Used: 1) Allegretto (level 1)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Beat (level 1)
|
Bread Gang HP: 22,920 |
Florite Mouse HP: 1,690 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 2: Forest Boar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 08:10 | Party Used: 1) Polka (level 1)
Boss Difficulty: 5/5 | 2) Frederic (level 1)
|
Forest Boar HP: 25,250 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 3: Baby Dragon, Florite Mouse x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 04:10 | Party Used: 1) Allegretto (level 3)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Beat (level 3)
|
Baby Dragon HP: 40,740 |
Florite Mouse HP: 1,690 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 4: Ogre Champ, L'Opera Knight x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:30 | Party Used: 1) Allegretto (level 6)
Boss Difficulty: 1/5 | 2) Beat (level 6)
| 3) Frederic (level 4)
Ogre Champ HP: 45,530 |
L'Opera Knight HP: 1,690 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ CHAPTER 2: REVOLUTION ~
=========================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 5: Killer Knight, Maledictor x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:20 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 12)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Frederic (level 10)
| 3) Beat (level 11)
Killer Knight HP: 102,100 |
Maledictor HP: 8,470 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 6: Tuba ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 01:30 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 13)
Boss Difficulty: 1/5 | 2) Frederic (level 12)
| 3) Allegretto (level 10)
Tuba HP: 132,530 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 7: Tuba (rematch) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:00 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 14)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Frederic (level 13)
| 3) Beat (level 12)
Tuba (rematch) HP: 178,410 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ CHAPTER 3: FANTAISIE-IMPROMPTU ~
==================================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 8: Trick or Treat, Mushroom Up x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:30 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 16)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Falsetto (level 18)
| 3) Jazz (level 19)
Trick or Treat HP: 225,730 |
Mushroom Up HP: 20,480 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 9: Death Crow, Light Antique x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:00 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 18)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Falsetto (level 19)
| 3) Alegretto (level 15)
Death Crow HP: 252,380 |
Light Antique HP: 14,880 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ CHAPTER 4: GRANDE VALSE BRILLIANTE ~
======================================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 10: Captain Dolce, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant ~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 04:00 | Party Used: 1) Salsa (level 17)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Beat (level 14)
| 3) Frederic (level 15)
Captain Dolce HP: 141,080 |
First Lieutenant HP: 23,520 |
Second Lieutenant HP: 28,220 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 11: Fugue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:45 | Party Used: 1) Frederic (level 17)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Beat (level 16)
| 3) Salsa (level 18)
Fugue HP: 219,460 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ CHAPTER 5: NOCTURNE ~
=======================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 12: Root Lurker ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:15 | Party Used: 1) Salsa (level 21)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) March (level 25)
| 3) Viola (level 20)
Root Lurker HP: 315,790 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 13: Rondo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:10 | Party Used: 1) Viola (level 22)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) March (level 26)
| 3) Falsetto (level 33)
Rondo HP: 467,980 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ CHAPTER 6: TRISTESSE ~
========================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 14: Count Waltz, Calamity Wilhm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:30 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 34)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Viola (level 26)
| 3) March (level 28)
Count Waltz HP: 589,590 |
Calamity Wilhm HP: 77,230 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ CHAPTER 7: HEROIC ~
=====================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 15: Ogre King, Wicked Shrub ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:55 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 37)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Viola (level 32)
| 3) March (level 33)
Ogre King HP: 571,110 |
Wicked Shrub HP: 590,770 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 16: Hidden One ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:20 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 40)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Viola (level 36)
| 3) March (level 37)
Hidden One HP: 742,910 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 17: Herculean Boar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:15 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 43)
Boss Difficulty: 1/5 | 2) Viola (level 39)
| 3) March (level 40)
Herculean Boar HP: 911,310 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 18: White Jewel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:15 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 45)
Boss Difficulty: 1/5 | 2) Viola (level 42)
| 3) March (level 42)
White Jewel HP: 902,280 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 19: Unrest, Fire Antique x2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:35 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 46)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Viola (level 44)
| 3) March (level 45)
Unrest HP: 764,250 |
Fire Antique HP: 57,580 |
~~~~~~~ BOSS 20: Ruined Body ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 02:50 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 48)
Boss Difficulty: 2/5 | 2) Viola (level 46)
| 3) March (level 46)
Ruined Body HP: 1,178,780 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ FINAL CHAPTER: HEAVEN'S MIRROR ~
==================================
~~~~~~~ BOSS 21: Frederic Francois Chopin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time Estimate: 03:10 | Party Used: 1) Falsetto (level 50)
Boss Difficulty: 3/5 | 2) Viola (level 48)
| 3) March (level 48)
Frederic HP: 1,493,120 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
====------------------------------------------------==========================
3.4 >> CREDITS
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Thanks to Namco Bandai and Tri-Crescendo for making a brilliant game.
Thanks to DomZ Ninja for his walkthrough - I used it a lot throughout this
challenge.
Thanks for reading, good luck and have fun!
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3.5 >> LEGAL STUFF
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This document copyright (c) 2009 ZxcValor.
Eternal Sonata copyright (c) 2007 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
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