The Mana Tower
-1st Zone
Gleamdrop: Hidden by a pot
Gleamwell: ——–
As you approach the Mana Tower you see that it has changed completely. As you enter, the elemental will explain to you that the force engulfing the tower is ripping it’s fabric apart, and is bringing monster into the world.
You’ll then receive an explanation from your character that you use A to attack and can perform up to a 3 hit combo. Take out the nearby Rabites and open the chest in this first room to receive a Gumdrop. Break the small jars in the room in case any have any items, and then move on to the next room.
Here you’ll be confronted by some Chobin Hoods. Pause for another explanation. This time you’re reminded that Moti taught you to deflect arrows with your sword by holding down the A button. Give the skill a try, and combine it with your previous knowledge to take out the archers.
The next room will prompt another tutorial, this time about the Fury bar. When you strike an enemy or are hit, the bar will fill up. When full, use SELECT to release the power. This will make your attacks faster, and holding A will unleash powerful attacks.
But that’s not all. Now some Slimes will appear, and your elemental will step up to the challenge. They’ll explain that to summon them, you must hold and release the B button, and they will blast everyone with magic that’s nearby. Alternatively you can touch them and receive their support power (see notes on [MAGIC] for more details on these powers). Personally, I don’t use magic much, but I suggest practicing the skill so you have all your options open to you and are well versed in them, so press down B until you hear the sound effect for summon complete, run up to the slimes, and release next to them, then leg it while they do the dirty work for you.
Moving on to the fourth room here sees our character startled at the lack of stairs. Cue another tutorial. Your elemental will explain that due to changes in the fabric of space, stairs are no longer here (trekkies rejoice!). The spirit will feel the Mana Goddess’ power coming from nearby, where you will see a glowing spot on the floor. This is the Gleampool, and you’ll need to find the Gleamdrop to amplify its power and transport you to the next level.
Fight off slimes and break pots until you find, in one pot just below the Gleamwell, the Gleamdrop. Your elemental will explain this is a crystalized form of the Mana Tree’s power, and will amplify the light of the Gleamwell enough to let us proceed. Use th A button to pick it up and carry it to the Gleamwell. Press A once you hear a sparkly sound effect to move on to the next floor. But remember, while carrying the Gleamdrop you CANNOT attack and are rather susceptible to getting slaughtered, so get all your bottom prodding out of the way first.
-2nd Zone
Gleamdrop: Hidden by a pot
Gleamwell: ——–
Your instruction isn’t over yet. Now you learn about using your items by pressing the Y button. Since you have some Gumdrops, this will be the item in question, which restores 30HP if you have received any damage. Once you have more, you can switch between them using the L button. You can see which is equipped in the top left hand corner of your screen. You’ll also learn about selecting Multiplayer from the menu screen when you’re in the town if you want to invite a friend to play.
That done with, let’s get back to business. You’re now going to receive a rather swift lesson in recoil. There are barrels lying about the place just before you enter each room and your enemies appear (which now include some nice zombies, by the by). If you hit these with your third combo hit, they’ll jump up in the air same way enemies do, and when they land on an enemy will do some considerable damage. Of course, enemies have this property too, so if you’re in a narrow passage with lots of enemies, launching the first back toward the others will weaken them for the kill afterwards. But beware, recoil can affect you too, so watch out for falling enemies coming toward you.
Work your way through the stage until you reach the end, where are rather nasty floating sword will greet you. He can pack a nasty jab, so don’t take him lightly. This is where the barrels will come in handy, as he can’t attack through them, so stand behind one and lob it at him a couple of times before working your way round and finishing him off. Now do some bull in a china shop work on those pots to find the Gleamdrop. Don’t pick it up yet though, there’s a surprise waiting for you next to the Gleampool, and that’s 3 more swords a-slashing. You may want to consider using some magic on them if you have any MP left. The reward lies behind them in the form of a Golden Cest, containing a Crystal of Thought.
Now head back, and use that Gleamdrop to get to the next zone.
-3rd Zone
Gleamdrop: Hidden by a pot
Gleamwell: ——–
First thing you’ll see is some treasure chests guarded by an almost indestructible floating block. You can get past it by beating it senseless, but don’t bother trying, and least of all attack the barrel. You’ll knock it back in to the chests, they’ll open, and their contents will disappear before you can say “tie me kangaroo down, skip”. So ignore them for now, and deal with the enemies to the left of this room. You should be at level 3 by now, so they shouldn’t pose much of a threat.
Work your way round the back, dealing with more enemies on the way, and you’ll find another barrel, some pots, and the same chests from before. Watch out for the blue ones, they have spiked underneath that will inflict damage on you if you walk over them. Your reward should be two Crystals of Lore.
Work your way round to the bottom of the screen where the Gleampool is and prepare for an ambush to the left, comprised of some swords and Chobins. This means close and distance attacks, so you may want to lead the swords out of the archers’ reach. You’ll be rewarded with both the Gleamdrop under one of the nearby pots, and if you follow round to the left you’ll see another chest you couldn’t reach before, containing a Bronze Sword. You should get to Level 4 defeating these enemies too, meaning that you’ll actually be able to use that sword when you gain your next level. Take the Drop to the Pool and advance to the next zone.
-4th Zone
Gleamdrop: Defeat a certain monster
Gleamwell: ——–
The enemies in the centre of this level, four flying swords, have the Drop hidden upon their person, so head on in there and beat the snot out of them. Be aware that on the rebound they tend to hit jars around them, so careful with losing items here. The chest contains another Bronze Sword.
Once you have the drop, take it round to the Pool and drop it nearby, there is more work to be done. The moving objects that block your path from reaching the bottom of the level can be defeated, but they have 90 hit points, so prepare for some button bashing. Alternatively you can sometimes block them with barrels, but that’ll take some practice.
Now you have added a Crystal of Strength and 100L to your loot, head back the pool and use the drop on it.
-Save point
You’ll now have the option to save you progress and do some equiping, ’cause it’s not over yet (in spite of the really happy music). So Open the Main Menu and get yourself ready, by putting some Crystals in your frame and equiping any armour enemies may have dropped.
After this, continue on.
– Boss Battle : Xangar –
You find Tess in a clearing, who explains she was praying when suddenly everything lit up and she was transported here, away from the Tower. But really, it IS the tower, but space has been changed.
At this point our fiery friend appears and Tess is told to run for cover, leaving us to deal with the nasty little beastie. Don’t touch him, he can set you alight!
The beast will fly at your horizontally, or attack from the top of the screen, launching small heat seeking flames that dissipate after a while, or if he forms a tornado around him he’ll launch a towering flame that circles the centre of the screen a few times, before he then flies downward off the screen. Watch out for these flames, as they set you on fire, and render you rather useless, running around like a lost chicken. If you’re feeling confident, use a Parry on these, but remember, you can only deflect 5 times at the moment.
Any attacks at this point are utterly and absolutely useless. He has a shield protecting him from harm. You may want to take the opportunity to break jars if you have space for some Gumdrops.
You do have to land some blows to him though to continue, so once you’ve got an idea of how he moves, land a few hits. After a while, your character will realize the futility of this situation. Then suddenly, a sword falls from the sky and sticks itself in the ground near the beast. A light emanates from it and suddenly the protection the beast had is gone. Now the battle will start again, but the odds are looking a bit more promising.
He now has some more attacks though, so you’re back to square one. He can stay at the top of the screen and launch two shurikens at you (these inflict confusion as well as the damage), or just fly downward in the same way he did horizontally before (which is announced by a distant squawk). The only way you’ll avoid the shurikens is to go right to the bottom of the screen or to deflect them back by parrying with your sword. They move faster than you can, so you can’t out-run them once they’re launched.
Your best bet is going to be waiting ’til he flies by and trying to land a blow then. Once you’ve weakened him a bit he’ll start to fly much faster though, so watch out. Else wait for his tornado attack and get behind him, that’ll give you a good chance at hitting him 6 or 9 times.
Once you’ve defeated him you’ll receive your mission tally, and receive a reward depending on your ranking. This can be in the form of items, armor, accessories, etc. Once you’ve chosen your reward, you’ll see the beast split in to two essences (Fire and Wind) known as benevodons and vanish.
Tess and your character will now head over to the sword and be blinded by a new light from the sword. Tess seems troubled, but says she’s alright.
But we’re not the only ones on the scene. A Man’s Voice comes from a distance, intrigued at a human defeating a malevodon. A dark clad man walks on, asking if this sword is the Goddess’ solution, and tells them they have no business with it. But the sword will not let him take it.
“So, mother goddess, you have some power here. Still, it is of no consequence. The Mana Tree is dormant and powerless to interfere. Now, no one can stand in my way!”
He claims a new force is rising, that the lost shall return as the world withers, and will soon cease to exist. Then, as mysteriously as he arrived, he vanishes. An earthquake then strikes, and the two look out over a scene whereby three cities are engulfed by sky-scraping towers of light.
The two return to Moti’s house, with the Holy Sword now in your possession. They explain the appearance of the sword, the strange man, and how he reveled in all the strange happenings of late. Moti fears the horrors of ten years ago repeating themselves: the gates of Mavolia opening again!
It is decided that something has to be done. Watts heads back to Ishe to put together an expedition, while Moti contacts other nations to seek aid. Our task, meanwhile, as chosen ones of the sword, is to investigate the towers of light that have appeared in Lorimar, Jadd and Topple. As the ones in Topple seem to be causing the most grief right now, this will be our first stop. To help is on our way, Moti gives us the Light Flail, and explains its various uses to us, as well as now giving us the option to train in his back garden should we want to.
When we’re ready, he asks us to see him at the upstairs balcony of the Silver Mermaid. Before that, I’d suggest taking a few subquests from the recently opened Dud Services, as well as the subquest you receive from chatting to Tess at the Mana Stone. You will also have available the elemental subquest for Jinn. See the [SUBQUEST] section for details on how to access the elemental subquests.
Also make sure you visit the Bomb Brothers to receive a Purple Gem and learn about gem fusion.
Subquests available: A Maiden’s Prayer (Tess), Benevodon of Wind (Jinn)
