Beyond the stars and under the fallen snow - Let's Play Star Stealing Prince!

Table of Contents
Prologue: A Prince
Part 1: The Snowbound Kingdom
Part 2: An Unfortunate Discovery

Chapter One: Into the Wilderness
Verse 1-1: Encounter in Sabine Forest

Chapter Two: Tower of a Princess
Verse 2-1: The Star Princess

Chapter Three: A Return
Verse 3-1: The Severed Link

Chapter Four: A Prince's Determination
Verse 4-1: The Shrine Guardian
Verse 4-2: Path to the Sepulcher

Chapter Five: The Sepulcher of the Lord
Verse 5-1: Island in the Sky
Verse 5-2: The Empty Paradise
Verse 5-3: Memories and Nightmares
Verse 5-4: The Truth

Chapter Six: The Forgotten Way Home
Verse 6-1: Pathways and Recollections
Verse 6-2: The Western Tower
Verse 6-3: The Phantom Guardian

Chapter Seven: Homebound
Verse 7-1: A Brief Rest
Verse VII-II: Possession
Verse 7-2: Inner Demons
Verse 7-3: Sailing to the World


♪♪Soundtrack♪♪ (in order of appearance)
Title
Sabine City
Castle (slightly higher quality)
Nightmare
Research
letsgo
Dreams
Snow Day
Battle
Underground
Boss01
Dream
Ruins
Calm Days
Snowy Ruin
White World (slightly higher quality)
Dungeon
Demonization (slightly higher quality)
Serious
Piano
Shrine
Battle01
Boss02
Mysterious Place
Maze
Old Castle
For the Old
Battle (Croaking Crow version) (slightly higher quality)
Serious (Dragonic Symphony version)
An Angel Dies
High Pressure
Boss
Memory
Pressed for Time
A Dream's a Dream
Dream's Heartbeat (YouTube link just in case)
Elegy
Magic
A Quiet Determination
Luna
Forgotten Paths
Western Tower
Somber
Boss (Fusion World Music version) (YouTube link just in case)
Starlight
Boss (Corico version) (slightly higher quality)
The Unknown (For some reason this link doesn't work in Google Chrome; not sure why.)
Calm People
March to Tomorrow
No Time Left
One Believes
Dream's Catastrophe
Goodbye
Royal Rumble
Clarity
I'm Home


Extras
Music websites
Most of these are in Japanese, so it would be a good idea to use a translation extension for your browser of choice.
Hirokazu Akiyama
Pgoya
Dragonic Symphony
Croaking Crow
Old Woods Hut
Corico (MIDI stuff here)
Green Tone
HalMIDI
MaestroRage
G2
AtelierNonta
JewelBeat.com

Related links
Star Stealing Prince download link
Star Stealing Prince blog (contains spoilers; you have been warned)
Star Cadets website
Ronove's development blog (and Twitter) (and tumblr)

-----------

Hello, all! Glad you decided to stop by. I'll skip the longwinded introduction because quite frankly I'm not very good at them.

Fellow tyrants, Let's Play...


Why no, I couldn't come up with a good thread title, why do you ask?

Anyway, Star Stealing Prince is an RPG developed by a lady named Ronove and released early last year. It is free to download, and you can do that here. I highly recommend playing it instead of solely reading this LP, because there are certain things that can't quite be conveyed to the same degree through screenshots and music links. But I will do my best! That's what I'm here for, after all.

So without further ado...



Let's get this thing underway.



♪♪~Title

The music here is slightly slower in-game, and in a different key, but is otherwise the same. Speaking of music, the soundtrack to this game is pulled from several free/public domain sources, rather than composed for the game itself (with one exception we'll get to later). Don't worry, for the most part the tracks Ronove chose fit the game quite well, no matter what obscure Japanese website they happened to come from.

But enough about all that nonsense, we have a game to play!



I like the font this game uses. Normally I don't pay attention to this kinda stuff in video games, but for some reason it caught my eye.


Prologue, Part 1: The Snowbound Kingdom



♪♪~Sabine City

EliteGuard: "Was there any worry it would go away?"
Snowe: *grins* "Haha, probably not!" *stops smiling* "My mother always gave thanks whenever we came back safely from exploring."
EliteGuard: "Ah. She was always the spiritual one. Shall we head off to the castle, your Majesty?"
Snowe: "You can go ahead. I want to see how everyone's doing."
*The two guards look at each other for a moment.*
EliteGuard: "Are you sure?"
Snowe: "Definitely."
EliteGuard: "Yes, your Majesty!"
*The two guards head for the castle.*



At this point the game hands over control to us. This is the perfect opportunity to poke around the town, wouldn't you say?

(I'm formatting dialogue differently than I usually do because this game likes to bold and italicize certain words for emphasis. I feel like such instances would be lost on the reader if I were to just italicize everything like I normally do; still, let me know if you don't care for it and I'll think of something else.)



There's actually quite a bit to see in Sabine, given its size. We'll work our way around clockwise.



Cozy.



Bowen: "Hello Sire. I've been trying to bake some cookies for my wife and kids, but they always turn out pretty bad... Maybe salt is a bad substitue for sugar..."
"Joshua has been a bit of a brat lately–I'm not sure what we did wrong. In fact, I was sure we were good examples... maybe we should rethink this."
"Trillby is a little shy, but she likes you. If you have the time could you go say hello?"

Trillby, huh? I wonder if she's upstairs.

(A lot of NPCs have multiple lines of dialogue if you talk to them more than once; Bowen here is a good example of that. Incidentally, I'm not sure how best to separate said lines. I'll try the method used above for now, but I'm open to ideas.)



First, though, we'll check out some flavor text. There's a lot of that, too, trust me.



Trillby: "Never eat my dad's cookies. I don't know what he does, but they taste so bad! Maybe I should take the recipes away from him."
"My mom took Joshua to work at the item shop–he sort of tripped the priest at church. He should stop being so mean."



I wonder why those books are blank... eh, I'm sure it's not anything to worry about. That about does it for Bowen's house, so we'll be on our way. Although I get the feeling I'm forgetting something...



Ah, of course! Never leave a dusty dish as-is!



Perfect. Man, Bowen needs to take better care of his things.



Just in case you were curious what the flavor text was after dusting the dishes.



Hm, no one seems to be home. Maybe they're upstairs.



Wait, what would the manly equivalent of a romance novel be? A pirate novel? Detective story? I guess I'll leave that question for the audience.

Ah, I knew someone had to be here.

Henry: "One day I think you should take more than just guards to explore outside. There are many people eager to see the outside of town."
"I was thinking about trying to get more people into music in this town. Not enough people humming while doing their chores or anything."

I dunno, man, I think the guitars and castanets in the background are good enough. Maybe that's just me, though.



Eh, I'm not in the mood to get tanked. Too bad we can't take one of those apples, though. Oh, well.



We'll just dust these real quick before we go. (Side-note: I like how this set of dishes gets its own, slightly different flavor text post-dusting, instead of sharing with that other set. Flavor text does repeat occasionally, but those instances are few and far between.)



Ah, hadn't thought of that. We might take you up on that request the next time we leave Sabine.

Dominic: "It's weird. I don't remember much besides this city and your parents. Or maybe it's not weird. I don't know anymore."
"The kids really like making snowmen. I think we're going to run out of things to make faces out of."
"Sometimes, I feel as though we're all just walking to nothing. Like we have no goals. I dunno. But now that you came home, it doesn't matter, right?"

Huh... that conversation made me a little uneasy for some reason. Best not to think about it, I guess.



Um... okay, apparently snowmen here can talk. That's... odd. I'm just gonna visit the house next to it before I get too freaked out.



Huh, what's with that little girl's hair?



Mariland: "I miss the grass and trees. Although, I can't recall ever seeing them without snow in person. Oh, I wish the snow would go away."
"Hello Prince Snowe."

Man I dunno what your problem is, snow is great. Then again, where I live we're lucky to get snow maybe once a year, so I'm probably a little biased.



Aw, don't do that, she just wants to be sure you're safe.

Anastasia: "All the books in this house are blank–I tried telling mom, but she said I should stop trying to find excuses not to read. What am I supposed to do?"
"People ask me why I have blue hair–I really don't know! My mom says Grandma had blue hair... but I've never seen her. I wonder where she is."

I dunno, kid... maybe she passed on before you were old enough to remember what she looked like. It's the best explanation I can think of, at least.



Huh, that is weird. Maybe we should get someone in the castle on this once we return there.



There doesn't appear to be anyone up here... wait, is that a helmet on that table?



Aw, the helmet doesn't have any flavor text. Now I'll be wondering what it's there for for the rest of the game.



Interesting painting. The artist must've been well-traveled.



Kitty! :3



Let's check out the item shop next.



I'll be sure to do that, ma'am.



Hm... we don't necessarily need to at the moment, but it couldn't hurt to look.



Pretty basic stuff for sale - Tonics do what they say in the screenshot, Antidotes cure most status effects (more on those later), and Revive Herbs, uh, revive a KO'ed character. Not that we'll get much use out of them since Snowe is the only party member, but it's good to keep in mind I guess. Also of note is that Lucre is this game's currency, which is almost definitely a shout-out to the Mana series. I mean, unless another RPG series happens to use Lucre, but there aren't any others that I'm aware of.



Don't worry about it too much; we'll manage.



Dog! There's even a "woof" sound effect whenever you pet him. :3



Yeah, living in a castle probably exempts us from having to buy this kinda stuff. Anyway, that's all there is to see here; let's go back outside.



It would, wouldn't it? I might do that sometime.

Gregory: "Come to my inn! It's wonderful. Great rooms for time away from the kids–if you know what I mean." {Alright already, stop laying it on so thick. =/}
"Maybe I should head to the Pub and talk about some philosophy with one of the Magic Helpers. They can get pretty philosophical. It's great."

You don't say? I'll keep that in mind I guess.



Sure, I don't see why not.



If there's one thing RPGs have taught me, it's to always appreciate free healing.



I really like the - lighting, I guess? - in this game. It creates a nice atmosphere while you're walking around exploring and stuff. Even simple things like these streetlamps or the candles in the houses and buildings we've been in go a long way toward making Sabine feel... lived-in, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Articulating your thoughts is haaaard



Yeah, that doesn't sound so bad, for a snowman.

Theodore: "Why do you think it never stops snowing? My mom hates it every day. She says she wants to see the grass again... can't you make it go away?"
"Sometimes I don't think my mom knows who I am. That only lasts for a second though and she smiles and remembers my name. It's odd."
"This looks odd, don't you think? I wonder if there used to be a door here at one time."

Geez, kid, you seem pretty troubled. Hope you feel better soon.



Why thank you, sentient snowman! I certainly hope this will be the case.



This house seems kind of small compared to the others. I guess whoever owns it lives here by themselves.



MagicHelper: "Between you and me, I think she likes him!"



That's my kind of stove... or, uh, anyone's, I guess. Not sure where I'm going with this.



Not much up here - although the books on that shelf are all blank. I'm starting to wonder who the hell put the damn things everywhere.



Really? You'd think someone would have by now. At least we did, right?



Sweet, free stuff! This game has a lot of hidden items; it's a very good idea to thoroughly explore every place you go to. We'll see better examples of this later; for now, we'll continue checking out Sabine.



Nice church. Small, but serviceable.



Heh, thanks.



Heavy stuff, man.



The priest is probably off somewhere else in town. I'm sure we'll run into him eventually.



Score! (I'll just show the "You found X!" message from now on, so I don't have to stitch as many screenshots together.)



I'll leave you two to it, then.



Huh, pretty nice armory for a small town like this.



Sharon: "Seeing you walking around makes me smile though. Just like the late Queen! Always checking up on us."

Well thanks Sharon, I appreciate it. (I'll go over Snowe's weaponry and such in a later update; for now, suffice to say that he differs somewhat from your typical RPG protagonist in that respect.)



Marth: "We do business just fine, so don't you worry at all. Thanks for coming by though, it means a lot."

Sure thing, man. Hey, say hi to Jeigan for me, will ya? booooo, hiiiiss



Dusting - truly a noble calling.



It certainly is. (Are you tired of those castanets yet? I'm not!)



Huh, that's weird.



Don't worry, just a couple more buildings and we'll be done in Sabine for the time being.

Brian: "I don't think Jacob understands bars. He keeps asking if there is a kid-friendly atmosphere. I don't think I can get this through to him!"



Jacob: "I really wish there was a place the children could go. Since they were kicked out of the library, they cause havoc for Kathryn. Do you think you could convince the helpers to let them back in? I'm sure they loved reading all those books."

Yeah, I'll see what I can do.



Wh- well fine then, geez. Nobody asked for your opinion anyway.



This must be the inn.



It's good to be back, ma'am.

MagicHelper: "It just looked so fun!"

Ah, the joys of science.



This room is behind the leftmost door. The one next to it has the same layout. Let's see what's upstairs.



It's like the medieval fantasy version of an apartment. Pretty nice.



Heh, that kid's gonna be in for it when they have to turn that in.



Still not in the mood to get wasted. But we can talk to the other patrons, at least.



Valorie: "Though I do like that you visited me! Don't get me wrong, I just wish my husband wouldn't brush his duties off on me. This pub was his idea!"

No offense, ma'am, but he sounds kinda lazy. He'll probably be in here soon, though.



"MagicHelper: "At times I wonder why..."

Maybe deep down you get satisfaction in your work or something? I dunno, lady.



LibraryHelper: "Maybe I'm just weird. But, Sire, when I see you, I suddenly forget that and smile. Maybe you shouldn't leave so often."
"This wine is very divine. I think I rhymed. That was pretty lame wasn't it?"

Well hey, at least you recognized that. You'll get the hang of this whole joking thing, I'm sure.



Go Fish can get pretty intense sometimes.



I'll just leave you to it, then. Enjoy your steak or whatever that is.



Kitty! (It mews when you read its flavor text. :3)



Charles: "Yo, Prince Snowe, what is up! Don't you love my utilization of slang? I do believe it suits me, but mother does not approve. Maybe I should practice in secret."
"Sometimes when I'm not expecting it, I feel weird. Like I'm not thinking like I should. I asked Mother about it, but she said I was silly. I wonder."

You're a strange kid, Charles. But you have a good head on your shoulders.



Haha, nice.



Can't forget about these before we leave.



Looks like we're in the schoolhouse.



Anne: "I keep telling Julia to go home, but she's determined to stay and keep me company. She shouldn't make her mom worry like that, don't you think?"
"Hello, Sire! There's nothing new here–please explore at your leisure."
"When do you think Vera will allow me to take the kids back to the castle library? They really miss it."

I'll try asking her about it once we're back at the castle.



Julia: "Anne says I should go home–but I want to wait until my mom starts to worry–she won't be mad then... right?"
"Mommy was so angry at me earlier! I was hiding in one of the inn rooms and she found me and blew up on me! I'm totally hiding out here now."

Well, try not to stay too long, alright? She's probably worried about you.



Standard school stuff, nothing really out of the ordinary.



Yep.



Hey, what's that shiny thing over there?



Uh... sure, why not? It could come in handy.



We'll just put this in our... uh, whatever Snowe keeps all his stuff in.



Maybe he just has really deep pockets or something.



What could we possibly need this for? Hm... we'll hold onto it for now, I suppose.

I wasn't kidding when I said this game has a lot of flavor text.



And that concludes our tour of Sabine! Kind of an awkward place to finish an update, but I want to cover the castle in its own separate chunk - it should be around the same size as this one, give or take a couple screenshots. I'll have it up tomorrow. Until then, let me know what you think of my formatting shenanigans; I wanna make sure I'm presenting things as optimally as I can.

Next time: Checking out the castle, and other things.

This is really great. I think I'll link this thread to Ronove. (No pressure!)

One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb in a game that's this dedicated to flavor: the item shop. It's RPG convention and all, but in real life, you never go to to the store to buy items. "Medicine shop" would've worked better here.

(end RPG pet peeve rant)

Ooh, this reminded me, I haven't finished this game yet. Will do soon-ish, I'm really enjoying it.

Also, I wonder if the game's title is an allusion to this.

Snowe's love for SPARKLING, CLEAN, DISHES is pretty cute.

You know, as far as obsessive behaviours can be classified as cute.

This is an interesting looking game.

I can't think of other games, but the word "lucre" means "money", more or less. Usually you hear of it as "filthy lucre".

Things are looking pretty good, but I think some of the tiled screenshots would be a lot easier to parse if you put a bit of space between them. It's not too bad for the indoor shots where there's a black border put in by the game, but some of the outdoor stuff I found hard to make sense of.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

I don't know for sure, but I'd say it's a likely possibility.

Heh, indeed.

Really? I didn't know that! Makes sense, though.

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you talking about spacing out screenshots a little more, or putting spaces in the screenshots themselves? Because I can easily do the former, but have no idea how to go about doing the latter. (I'm using Irfanview, if that helps.)

Prologue, Part 2: An Unfortunate Discovery



♪♪~Sabine City

I think it's time we return to the castle. After a little more poking around, of course. But just a little.



Uh, kind of! (The guards all say what the one patrolling Sabine does, if you were wondering.)



Searching our hearts for so long...



Uh, okay.



Guard: "I believe Richard has been looking for you since this morning. He should be in the throne room now."
Snowe: "Thank you–I'll go there now. No doubt he has a few words to share with me."



♪♪~Castle

*Snowe enters the throne room.*



Richard: "Why were you gone for so long? Didn't you tell me that you'd be back by the time the sun came up? It's almost dark now!"
Snowe: "Well, we lost track of time so I had them set up camp. It wasn't that cold–really."
Richard: *steps closer* "How far did you go? You didn't go past Sabine Forest did you?"
Snowe: "Stop being such a bother. I came back alive, didn't I?"



Snowe: "And I am. Father used to always go out to explore and would come home randomly. Why is it different for me?"
Richard: "There was still your mother. Now that we've only got you, we need to be more careful."
Snowe: "And I am fine."
*Richard doesn't respond.*
Snowe: "Look, I'm very tired and I'm just going to head off to bed now."
Richard: "What? What about your duties?"
Snowe: "Well, everyone in town seems to be happy. What did you want me to do?"
*Richard hesitates a bit.*
Snowe: "Hah, I knew it. You're just being a pain on purpose, aren't you?"



Snowe: *smiles* "And it won't. You can finish yelling at me in the morning, all right?"
Richard: *after a pause* "Fine. Tomorrow we shall continue this talk."
Snowe: "I'll be all ears tomorrow, I promise."
Richard: "Good night, Prince Snowe."



Geez, Snowe, don't give the guy such a hard time.



We're railroaded into heading for Snowe's room for the time being. We'll be able to check out the castle a little later.



At least the view is nice.



Sure thing, buddy.



Um, yes! Yes it is.



Snowe: "I should get out of these clothes and into my night-clothes and then I can crawl into bed."

Yeah yeah, in a minute. I wanna poke through all your stuff first.



I gotta say, Snowe's room is quite fancy.



I'm getting to it, dude! Don't get your cloak in a twist.



Ooh, this looks interesting. We'll read it later.



Okay enough messing around, let's get to bed already.



Nice pajamas.



Time to head off to dreamland for the night.

*The music fades as Snowe goes to sleep.*

Huh?



♪♪~Nightmare

...That scarecrow is talking to us. This does not bode well.



Scarecrow dude: "You're asleep, that's why."
Snowe: "Oh. Well–um... what are you?"
Scarecrow dude: "I don't know. This is your dream."
Snowe: "Haha, I guess it is. It still doesn't make sense to me."
Scarecrow dude: "Dreams often don't."
Snowe: "Though... your voice sounds familiar. Did I know you when I was a kid or was that some other scarecrow?"
Scarecrow: "It might have been me. I have been trying to talk to you for a long time now."



Snowe: "Well, if you don't eat me–I can talk to you. Did you know my parents?"



Scarecrow dude: "You have your mother's eyes. It's very creepy. Can't you close them or something? She used to be so terrible. I think. Were you there too? I don't think so."
Snowe: "Umm..."
Scarecrow dude: "What's wrong with the world?"
Snowe: "I don't think anything is at the moment."
Scarecrow dude: "No no, I mean the world. Not here. Out there."
Snowe: "I'm not following."
*Suddenly, a bell tolls, and the screen fades out for a second.*



Snowe: "Wait, I think I missed something."
*The bell tolls again, and the screen fades out for a second.*



Snowe: "Hold on! I didn't catch that."
Scarecrow dude: "I think."
*The bell tolls once more, and the screen fades out for a second.*








Well thank goodness, I don't think I want to talk to you anymo-



*The BGM speeds up slightly and changes key.*
Snowe: "Wait–where is this?"
Scarecrow dude: "Are you stupid or something? It's your dream–why don't you get up and look around? I have something for you, if it'll make you feel better. Just come down the north path."
Snowe: "What are those lights for?"
Scarecrow dude: "For your birthday–I daresay I'm a few months late. Why don't you get moving now? You're trying my patience."
Snowe: "Jeez–all right."



Something tells me it's not a good idea to trust a talking, slightly unhinged scarecrow. Maybe we can swim away?



Crap, looks like we don't have any choice.



Footprints? I wonder who they belong to-



Snowe: "Why's she here? I don't think I've ever seen her before."



Scarecrow dude: "Or–wait! I know–I'll burn her limb from limb–make her a pile of glass ash. She's locked away somewhere high and she'll be trapped! Then I'll be able to eat her–do you like that?"
Snowe: "Stop it right now–what the hell are you talking about?"



*The music stops as the screen fades to black.*



*A few seconds pass.*



*Snowe gets up.*
Snowe: "Ugh, what a dream. It creeped me out so much–I don't even know why... it's just a dream. Oh well, I guess. I have to get down to the throne room soon or Richard is gonna get angry again."



♪♪~Castle (slightly higher quality)

*Scene transition!*



"As one can imagine, a dream such as that does not leave a person quickly."



"He couldn't forget those flames–and the girl. Though she was just a fuzzy image now, she looked so familiar."



Snowe: "Nothing's wrong."
Librarian: "...and that would allow for the magic helpers to also have a room of their own so they do not bother the library assistants with all their..."
Richard: "You can't hide that from me, did something bother you in the night?"
Snowe: "I said: nothing's wrong."
Librarian: "...your father didn't think much for the library–only as a place to house histories, but I feel we should expand upon that idea like your mother had planned."



*Snowe walks over to her; Richard leaves his seat at this.*
Librarian: "Uhh... yes, your Majesty?"
Snowe: *grins* "You're brilliant!"
Librarian: "Oh! Thank you, sire! I always had a feeling I was but coming from you, it means a lot!"
Richard: "What's wrong, your Majesty?"
Snowe: "I'm going to the library and I do not wish to be disturbed. I have something that I wish to look up."
Librarian: "Oh! Let me announce that to the assistants, they would love to give you some help!"
*The librarian hurries out of the throne room.*



Snowe: *turns to Richard* "Nothing's wrong. I just had a peculiar dream that's been bothering me. I will let you know what my search in the library entails if it is relevant."
Richard: "A dream?! You're supposed to tell me when you have a dream! Did you forget what your mother told you?"
Snowe: "A dream is just a dream–right? Now leave me be for the time being–a dream isn't going to kill me."
Richard: "As you wish, your Majesty."



The library, huh? Well, we could just head there immediately if we wanted... but since we can explore the castle now, I believe we should do that first. Besides, this will let us walk around in Snowe's fancy prince outfit a little more.

I guess... maybe we'll tell you about it after we're done in the library.

Guard#1: "All is well in the throne room, Sire! Please feel free to make yourself comfortable!"
Guard#2: "Glad to see you back, Sire. I get worried when you're away for too long."
Guard#3: "You shouldn't leave so often–Richard panics whenever you're away for a few days."
Guard#4: "All is well in the throne room, Sire! The seats have been fluffed so the next time you sit on them, they will be as soft as can be!"



We'll work our way mostly clockwise like we did in Sabine.

Guard: "I never know what they're talking about in there–all this magic stuff just flies over my head."
MagicHelper#1: "I found this plant under the snow–it seems to have gained magical powers! I'm researching it at the moment. It might be some kind of super plant!"
MagicHelper#2: "I am extracting magic potions from this gemstone that one of the guards found! I-I'm not finished yet, but when I am I shall give you some!"
MagicHelper#3: "Hmm... this isn't reacting the way it should... I wonder why that is..."



We'll leave her be, then. I wonder what Vera's doing?



Snowe: "I'm good, thanks!"
Vera: "Well then, good luck Snowe. I know you're very determined, but don't do anything to get yourself hurt. If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask."

Ah, so she's the tutorial-lady, then. I'll go over all this stuff once we actually start fighting things. If you happen to be playing along, though, you should totally read these, if only because you'll miss out on a few jokes and minor backstory bits otherwise. (If anyone wants, I can screenshot/transcribe all this and put it in a bonus update or something, but we'll worry about that later.)





That's everything in this room. Let's head down those stairs.



MagicHelper: "The couch is very comfy! Don't judge us!"

Snowe is a very accepting prince. No judging here.



Hooray for free Tonics!



Guard: "Hello Prince Snowe. Nothing wrong here."

Excellent! Carry on, gentlemen.



This is a side-door leading out of the castle, which we can't leave at the moment. That's alright though, we're not done looking around yet anyway. The door on the right leads to the entrance hall...



♪♪~Sabine City

While the stairs on the left lead to the roof of the castle. There's nothing up here but those sweet blue roof tiles, so we'll head back inside.



♪♪~Castle (slightly higher quality)

Now that we're awake, there's a couple new bits of flavor text in Snowe's room.



This is the sitting room. It's rather cozy.



Nice fireplace.



And this is the guest bedroom.



Yes, I can see that, game. We can't get at that bookshelf by the entrance, so whatever contents it holds will forever be a mystery to us.



Understandable. Let's move on.



It seems we've found the kitchen and dining room.



Okay, we're moving, relax.

Guard: "I-I'm supposed to help her, but she keeps shoving me out of the way."



MagicHelper: "Vera doesn't even know why she acts so different from the rest of us."

Well I'm certainly not the one to be asking about this.







Quite a bit to see in this small kitchen.



Guard#1: "This is the vast library that your parents brought with them! I marvel at the size of it."
Guard#2: "It was very kind of the late Queen Lina to recover old children's books to allow the children of Sabine something to read on weary days."

We're just about done with the castle–that door in front of us is the library, and those stairs over to the right lead to the basement. Speaking of, let's check that out real quick.



Guard#1: "For your safety, you should probably remain on the upper floors, Sire."
Guard#2: "This is the entrance to the basements and the catacombs, Sire!"

That's about all we can cover for now. To the library!

*The music fades.*
Snowe: "Thank you! I appreciate all the help you will give me while I research. Now, let's get started."



♪♪~Research (It's in a different key in-game, but is otherwise unchanged.)



*The music fades.*
Snowe: "Wait... no..."



*Scene transition!*



♪♪~Castle (slightly higher quality)

Snowe: "What was my parents' problem!?"
*The music stops.*



*Richard takes the book.*
Richard: "...Isn't this your father's diary? ...Where did you find it?"
*Richard turns a page of the diary.*
Snowe: "It was tucked away behind a few stacks of useless magic books. Kind of like someone hid it there."
Richard: "This is what was so urgent?"
Snowe: "Just read what I bookmarked."
*Richard turns to the bookmarked page.*
Richard: "The date that's circled in red?"
Snowe: "Yes–that one."



Richard: "She is now our Star Princess and we have put her in the tower to the east... she will be locked there..."



*Richard closes the book.*
Richard: "This doesn't matter–this was years ago and it has nothing to do with you now–Snowe-"
Snowe: "It has everything to do with me! I inherited this kindgom, therefore, I inherited everything my parents and this kingdom did!"
Richard: "I think you're taking this too far–you were but a child back then–this isn't what-"
Snowe: "Why is this written down this way then? Tell me why my father is gloating about it for pages on end! Saying how he finally figured out how to preserve himself and my mother–saying how it's wonderful that the girl is locked up there!"
Richard: "Now, Your Majesty–you've been up all night. I really do think that you need some rest."



Richard: "Everything is done for a reason–please, Snowe listen to me."
Snowe: "Calm down? My father and mother were all about justice, and now I learn they did this and bragged about it?"



Richard: "Snowe–please–you're overreacting."
Snowe: "And now you want me to ignore it? What is wrong with all of you?"
Richard: "We didn't leave her alone!"
Snowe: "I can't leave her captive up there any longer–it's not right."
Richard: "We don't need to get her out of there. She's fine, she has a job to do. And we're all fine here–please! Just listen to me!"
Snowe: "No, Richard. I'm going and I'll get her out of there–whether you like it or not."



♪♪~letsgo (The music is in a different key in-game, but is otherwise the same.)

Snowe: "I order you to keep your mouth shut. I need to fix what my parents did wrong. I'm not going to inherit this kingdom with that over my head."
*Richard doesn't respond.*
Snowe: "Good, that shut you up. Now, I'm going on my own–you needn't have any soldiers prepared to go with me."
Richard: "That's way too dangerous! You must reconsider!"
Snowe: "Didn't I tell you to be quiet?"
*Richard reluctantly complies.*
Snowe: "This is my burden to bear. My parents screwed up and I'm going to make it right. I won't let innocent girls be locked up for no reason. I will be leaving shortly. I am sure you can manage the kingdom without me for a day or two. When I return, I expect our guest to be welcomed."



So ends the prologue. Next time we'll get to some actual gameplay, I promise. I don't want to commit to a schedule, but this is a pretty short game, so I should be able to get updates out fairly quickly. Let's hope I'm right!

Next time: The start of Chapter One.

Is this one of those things where Richard could've solved the whole problem just by telling the prince what was up?

SNOWE: Tell me what happened!
RICHARD: Chill out, yo
SNOWE: Stop talking!
RICHARD:

In Irfanview, what you want to do is click "Image" then "Create panorama image." Then it'll tell you to add the images you want to stitch together, and will let you choose between horizontal and vertical orientation. There's also an option for "Spacing" which will let you put a line of pixels in between the images, which is what Yimothy is referring to. I think.

Yeah, that sounds like what I'm talking about. Just to make it clearer where one image stops and the next begins.

Uh... not exactly.

Oh, okay! I tested that out just now and it looks like that should take care of things. Thanks for the help!

I think the images for this update should look better than last time; if anyone still has a problem with them, let me know and I'll tweak my methods for the next update until I find something workable.


Verse 1-1: Encounter in Sabine Forest



♪~Castle (slightly higher quality)

Snowe: "If I need some tips on fighting phantoms, I should talk to Vera in the Magic Hall."

That won't be necessary since I'm going to go over battle stuff soon, but it couldn't hurt to buy some items with the meager funds we have.



You sure about that, Richard? Locking a girl up in a tower is a pretty serious thing to do, no matter what reasons the late king and queen might have had.



Vera: "Before you go, was there anything you wanted a refresher on in terms of magic? I've studied it for quite a while now, so feel free to ask."

We'll be fine, thanks. At least you're more understanding than Richard is.



Before we leave the castle, we'll check out the library. There's a lot of stuff in here to see.



Librarian: "Please feel free to look through it!"

Oh we will, trust me.



(Oh, for- I only just noticed the mouse pointer in the screenshot there. I am such a professional. =/)

LibraryHelper#2: "This library came over with your parents so long ago. It's such a nice place–very serene and quiet. ...Until the kids get here for their weekly meeting."
LibraryHelper#3: "Oh! Are you looking for anything? I have the entire library memorized... oh wait... where did this book go?"
LibraryHelper#4: "Nothing wrong here. All books in order–if you ever want to just sit down and relax, feel free!"



This library has a ton of flavor text.







Some of it provides minor backstory to the game, while other bits are probably references, though what, exactly, they refer to I don't know.





Some of these are pretty obvious, at least.



I was actually kind of impressed the first time I visited this room. Ronove is pretty dedicated to descriptions of various random objects!



Ah, so that explains why all the guards and helpers look alike.



Now that we're done with the library, we can leave the castle.



After one last bit of new dialogue, anyway.



♪♪~Sabine City

Before we head for Sabine Forest, we'll visit the townspeople again - they all have new dialogue, and most have free stuff~ to give us.

Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Henry: "Too bad you aren't taking anyone with you. Here–take these. Anne and I found them hidden in our house."



Awesome! These will fully heal Snowe's HP and MP.

Snowe: *grins* "Haha, thank you Henry."



Henry: "Sometimes I wonder if we really are something. We never hear of any other towns... I wonder why that is."

And, of course, a lot of the citizens have multiple lines, again.



(I appear to have messed up the order of the screenshot here; it's supposed to be reversed. Quality LP'ing, folks. >_>)

Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Lily: "Though I don't think you should, I'm sure you'll be fine. Remember to stay warm and don't do anything to bring harm to yourself. I packed you this."



Nice! This contains five Tonics, Ethers, and Revive Herbs. It'll be handy to open if we're ever running low, so we'll leave it be for now.

Snowe: *grins* "Aww, thank you Lily."



(Damn it, I screwed up the order again! I need to pay more attention to these things.)

Lily: *after shopping* "I'm sure the magic helpers will have some new potions the next time you visit."

The item shop has the same stock as last time, but since Tonics and Antidotes are dirt cheap I stock up anyways. We now have ten of each (not counting the Shop's Package), which should last us a while.



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Mariland: "Oh... okay. I hope you stay safe–I don't know what we'd do if you didn't come back. My husband and I made this for you when you leave again."



This will fully heal Snowe's HP. Definitely good to hold onto for an emergency.

Snowe: *grins* "Aww, thank you Mariland."
Mariland: "Don't forget to come back, Prince Snowe. This place is a lot better when you're with us."

Dominic: "Are you sure you don't need anyone to leave with you? We have very able men and women who can assist you."

We'll be alright, don't worry. Let's head upstairs and talk to Anastasia.



...And Theodore, I guess.

Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Theodore: "Don't stay gone for long–I think it bothers a lot of us. My sister and I made this for you–maybe it'll come in handy?"



This is an accessory. I'll go over what it (and our other equipment) does after we're done talking to the townspeople.

Snowe: *grins* "Haha, thank you Theodore."
Theodore: "When you're gone, do you think it'll make mom sad again? I wish we could find a way to cheer her up."



Anastasia: "Since you're leaving again–you should bring us back something cool!"

I'll keep that in mind if I find anything.



We'll do our best, Bowen.



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Trillby: "Aww... u-um–my brother and I wanted to give you this–who knows, i-it might come in handy."



Kid, you have no idea what you've just given to us. No idea.

Snowe: *grins* "Aww, thank you Trillby."
Trillby: "Good luck, Prince Snowe! Stay safe and don't be afraid to those stupid ghosts–you can kick their butts."



Anne: "Don't forget to check upstairs–we have a lot of extra items you can take–a lantern might be very helpful if you're heading past the forest."
"Are you headed off again? I hope you don't forget to bring water and food with you. Good luck, Prince Snowe! We'll be praying for you."

Way ahead of you, Anne - we already took some supplies from upstairs beforehand.



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Charles: "It is disappointing, but I understand. I don't have much to give you by way of help, but I hope this brings you luck."



This is... uh, a cat doll. It doesn't do anything special. Yet.

Snowe: "Haha, thank you Charles."
Charles: "Mother seems a bit on the angry side, so I decided not to practice my slang for today."



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Brian: "Ah... well, I hope it goes well. Make sure to stay safe–we don't need to lose you. Oh, take this with you–I made it myself."



This will heal Snowe's HP and MP by 50%. Not quite as good as the Loving Potion, but still handy in a pinch.

Snowe: *grins* "Haha, thank you Brian."
Brian: "I had to give my wife a break–she was about to throw a chair at one of the helpers. I mean I know they're annoying, but my wife has never wanted to throw a chair at anyone. She feels bad about it now, but still–so out of character."



Relax, we won't rat you out. Everyone needs a break sometimes.



Uh, we haven't left yet. But we're getting to it!



Valorie: "I think selling beer and wine brings out the worst in me. Maybe I should try to find some other occupation to do."

Well, whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck in your future endeavors.



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Heather: "I wish you would take more people with you, but if you're determined... I shall pray for your safe return. Please stay safe."



This will heal Snowe's HP by 50%, get rid of almost any status effect he might have, and apply every buff at once (more on those later). Because of those last two effects, though, he can only use it in battle. Suffice to say that the Inn's Potion is kind of amazing and should be saved for dire circumstances.

Snowe: *grins* "Aww, thank you, Heather."
Heather: "When you leave, don't forget to get a good night's rest! That always puts you at your best."
"I felt very odd earlier today. But now I feel so very determined! I wonder for what though."
"Julia finally came back and I grounded her for wandering away so much. Hopefully that gets through to her. Maybe if you took the kids out of the town one day to show them around–that might get the adventure out of them."

Hm... perhaps you're right. That'll be a fun thing to do once we get back.



Gregory: "Some of the magical helpers and the soldiers stay and the inn, but I don't even think they sleep..."
"I'm trying to come up with ideas on how to convince everyone to stay at the inn. I mean, what more do they need than a break from the kids?"

I don't know, man, I'm not exactly an expert on running a business.



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Julia: "But you just got back. I don't think you should leave so often, but if you're sure. Just make sure to stay safe and warm! Here, take this with you!"



Sweet! This has the same effect as those Sanctuary Statues.

Snowe: *grins* "Aww, thank you Julia."
Julia: "Jeez, I came home and she flipped! I have to do my homework ten times now–maybe I should have stayed out longer."
"I wonder if Ivy would help me find a good hiding spot. She's really good at hide n' seek."

Haha, I guess being grounded can't keep Julia down for long.



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Kathryn: "Well, while you're gone, I want you to be safe. If you're ever in trouble, don't hesitate to come back and rest. Take this with you."



This will fully heal Snowe's MP. Pretty sweet if we ever run out of Ethers and need to recover our magic in a pinch.

Snowe: *grins* "Aww, thank you Kathryn."
Kathryn: "Please remain safe, Prince Snowe. Don't forget to stock up on items."



Jacob: "Earlier today I had the urge to throw my plate out the window. I mean, I had burnt my breakfast, but that's no cause for anger."
"I'm not a very good cook–I feel bad that I can't ever make anything for Kathryn."

Well, I'm sure she appreciates the effort at least.



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Sharon: "Well, that's how it goes. You better keep safe or I think you'll make everyone sad. Here, take this with you–I hope it comes in handy."



This will buff Snowe's attack and defense power; I can see it being pretty useful in a tough fight.

Snowe: *grins* "Aww, thank you Sharon."
Sharon: "Stay safe, Prince Snowe. We'll see if we can have something new for ya when you come back. Good luck!"

Already taken care of, but I appreciate your concern.

Marth: "I'll see if I can make anything new for ya when you return–for now, just stay safe!"



Snowe: *smiles* "Yeah, I have some business to do. Don't worry, I don't plan on being gone for long."
Francis: "Aww, I'm jealous that you always get to leave. I hope you stay safe though–everyone worries about you. Take this–my sis and I think you should have it."



This, along with the Scary Mask, is one of the most useful items in the game. I'll go over why in a later update.

Snowe: *grins* "Haha, thank you Francis."
Francis: "Well miss you if you don't come back, so just come back soon! Good luck!"



Haha, maybe.

Ivy: "Don't be gone long–we'll all miss you too much if you did that."



Joshua: "Good luck on your journey, Prince Snowe. Don't forget about us and come back soon, o-okay?"

We will, Joshua, don't worry.

Well, that's everybody. Time to head to Sabine Forest.



♪♪~Dreams

This is the only track I couldn't find when I was searching for music links. Apparently Ronove had a friend compose it for her, which would explain why Google only turned up hundreds and hundreds of results for a techno song when I tried searching for it.



This game has a pretty simple map - you walk along the path shown in the screenshots to get to where you need to go. There aren't any enemy encounters while you're hoofing it from place to place, which is nice. You don't end up spending a lot of time on the map, since the game world is pretty small and locations aren't very far away from each other, but I don't see that as a bad thing. A small, ten-to-twelve-hour game like this doesn't really need a huge, expansive map, you know?



♪♪~Snow Day (The theme is in a different key in-game, but is otherwise the same.)

But I digress. We have a forest to travel through, so let's get down to business. That white floating sphere you see near the top of the screenshot is a phantom; touching it will start a battle against it. (Yep, no random encounters. Pretty sweet.) Before we fight it, though, let's take stock of Snowe's offensive capabilities.



To do that, we'll need to bring up the pause wheel, which is done by pressing X on your keyboard. Aside from Item, the elemental symbols are Magic, the shield/armor/cloak/sword group is Equip, the person with the arrows is Status, and the open and closed books are Load and Save Game, respectively. (Another nice feature; being able to save and load your game whenever you want is pretty great.)



Choosing Item will bring you to a bunch of self-explanatory tabs to look through. Below Gear are Key Items and Loot, the latter of which we'll discuss a little later on. Speaking of Key Items, the Flame I Tome we found in Snowe's room is listed there, so let's go ahead and read it while we're here.



Thanks to the power of literacy, we now have our first offensive spell! This also shows how this game's magic system works, in part; you don't gain new spells from level-ups, but rather by finding spell tomes in your travels and reading them. I've said it before, but exploring the places you go to is really important in this game.

Snowe can't learn every spell he comes across, however; he has an innate element that dictates the tomes he can read. Since it's fire, that means that he'll just have to hold onto any water, earth, or wind tomes he comes across. (I'll go over elemental weaknesses and such when they're relevant; at the moment we don't need to worry about them.)



Anyway, this is the Status Screen. Below Snowe's HP and experience bars are ATK (how strong your physical attacks are), DEF (how much damage you take from physical attacks), DEX (how accurate your attacks are and the likelihood of dodging them in kind), MAG (how powerful your spells are), AGI (how fast you can take your turn in battle), and MDEF (how much damage you take from spells). Pretty simple stuff. The empty bar next to the experience bar is the IP gauge; we'll go over it when we actually fight stuff.

Snowe here is not especially physically gifted. His ATK is only middling, and his low DEF, DEX, and AGI make him quite squishy, so we'll have to be careful when dealing with enemies. On the other hand, his MAG is easily his highest stat (and it's normally at 13 at level 1; the Bead Bracelet is boosting it by a couple points), which should help boost Flame I's damage, and Cure I will be handy if we run out of Tonics.



♪♪~Battle

Now that all that's out of the way, let's talk about battles.



Selecting "Fight" (the other option is "Escape") brings up a couple more options; the mace icon lets you use a regular attack, the yellow bubbly stuff opens the spell list, the pack is for items, and the shield will let you defend for that turn. This dude here is a Cold Phantom, a weak enemy that can only hit you for around 3-7 damage. We could take it out with either a couple mace hits or two shots of Flame I; we'll go with the former.



♪♪~Snow Day (There's no victory theme in this game; the music goes back to whatever was playing before the battle.)

I manage to get lucky and take it out in one blow, saving a bit of trouble; Snowe will be able to do that more consistently with a level-up or two under his belt. It drops a Ghost Rag, which is a piece of loot; we can't do anything with it just yet.



With the phantom taken care of, we can nab this Tonic hiding in a nearby log. I do believe that is a snowman I see, as well; let's see what it has to say.



Well, yes, but we can't just sit around knowing a girl is locked up in some tower, can we?



The other logs around the snowman don't have anything in them, so we'll head north. There isn't any important reason I'm stopping by this creek; I just find the view nice.



Just checking for stuff. We'll see what's in that cave after saying hello to that phantom over there (and checking out the other path first).



♪♪~Battle

Sometimes Cold Phantoms like showing up in groups of two, but they aren't much more threatening than when they're by themselves. I think I'll take this opportunity to show off Flame I.



It's only worth a couple more points of damage than a mace swing right now, but it does have the chance to Burn an enemy, which lowers its DEX, DEF, and ATK, on top of dealing slight amounts of damage each turn. While I'm here, I'll also point out that attack and spell animations in this game are super-fast: even endgame mega-spells only last a couple seconds at most. It makes it tough for me to screenshot things, but battles also go by pretty quickly, which is nice.



With the first Cold Phantom crippled by burn wounds, we're free to take them both out at our leasure (although I do miss a couple times and take more damage than I would've liked). It's worth noting that Burn can't actually kill phantoms (although I'm not sure if this holds true for Snowe as well), and it'll wear off after a few turns, so you aren't exactly home free.



♪♪~Snow Day

Anyway, let's keep going. I think I see a chest on the other side of the cave entrance; let's go raid it for stuff after we pocket this Lucre.



Nice. This'll come in handy soon; I encountered another Cold Phantom on the way to this chest and took a couple hits.



Cool! Not that we're able to make use of this at the moment, but it's nice to have. (Side-note: Snow's footprints in the snow are a nice graphical touch.)

♪♪~Underground

Right, time to head through this cave. If we had come here without the lantern, the light radius around Snowe would be quite tiny, and he would suffer from Darkness in every battle until he left. As you probably imagine from the name, it lowers Snowe's DEX rather heavily, making it hard for him to land attacks or dodge them in turn. Normal Darkness can be cured with an Antidote, but "I don't have a lantern" Darkness doesn't go away until you, uh, go get a lantern.



I... guess? Man, what other inanimate objects can talk here?



Wow, that's a horrible suggestion. Even if we didn't have a lantern, I'm not gonna set a sentient being on fire just so I can see. Let's just, uh, leave this dude be.



♪♪~Battle

A little further along in the cave, we run into a new enemy, the Spider. It has about as much health as a Cold Phantom, but its attacks also have a chance to Poison Snowe. It drains a bit of health every turn like in most other RPGs, but it can't KO the afflicted character, so you're not necessarily in trouble if you don't have any Antidotes. (Spiders are weak to fire, by the way, but aren't really strong enough to require it if you want to save MP.)



Anyway, let's talk about that IP Gauge I mentioned earlier. Wearing certain equipment will give you certain spells, called IP Attacks. Using them takes off a certain percentage of the IP gauge depending on which one you use; taking damage fills the gauge back up again.



♪♪~Underground

In this case, Snowe's mace gives him Lightning Strike, which is, for all intents and purposes, a wind spell; lightning is grouped with wind and ice with water, while earth and fire are by themselves. The Bead Bracelet gives him Medicine, which will heal every status effect, making it a free Antidote after a fashion. (Evidently this system is nearly identical to one used in Lufia 2, but I haven't played that game so I'm just going by hearsay.)



In unrelated news, these things are giving me the creeps. And... are those chains on the wall next to it?



Yes... yes they are. That's, uh, kind of an unsettling thing to find in some random cave.



Hm, a fork in the path. Let's head north first.



Ah man, another branch. Let's just keep heading north for now.



Ah, a healing statue! Strange that it's here, but at least we won't have to use any Tonics while walking around this place. (That other path north just leads to more chains.)



Thanks, scarecrow dude. Incidentally, there are secret passages in every dungeon in the game, and they're all worth seeking out. I'm sure we'll find the one in this cave soon, thanks to the helpful hint we've been given.



Hm... this might be dangerous. On the other hand, there might be sweet stuff on the other side of this rope. I say we take the risk!



♪♪~Snow Day

I was right! These will increase Snowe's ATK by one point. Which is not all that much, admittedly, but it's better than nothing.



♪♪~Battle

These Large Rats are more troublesome than they look; mostly they'll either bite you for minor damage or squeak at you, which does nothing, but occasionally they'll land a critical hit, dealing around 30 damage or so. Since that's a little less than half of Snowe's HP at this point, we need to take them out quickly.



♪♪~Underground (Nope, no level-up jingle either. *shrug*)

The good news is that Large Rats are weak to fire magic, letting Snowe get rid of them in one shot. Also, our first level-up! It's pretty average, although the extra point of MP is nice. Most level-ups are like or pretty close to this one, so I won't be showing them in the future for the most part. They are important, since they're the only real way to get more HP and MP, but the best way by far to boost Snowe's stats is to find new equipment.



♪♪~Battle

I wonder what's in this holeOH GOD GET THEM AWAY FROM ME



(Damn it, not again... I swear I'm usually not so bad about this.)

♪♪~Underground

It's not too tough, really; making judicious use of Flame I and Lightning Strike netted us a pretty handy victory, although I do come out slightly worse for wear. Not to worry, though; status effects go away after battle, which will let us save our Antidotes for more challenging encounters.



And we even get a Barrier Relic for our troubles! I didn't go over them earlier, but they're essentially a free defense buff for Snowe. Handy, since we don't have any spells that can do that, but we don't need it just yet.



Aha, this is that secret path the scarecrow mentioned. I wonder what riches this area will hold?



So much for riches, I guess. It's not much, but I'll take free items when I can get them.



Well maybe I wouldn't if I didn't keep getting responses. Seriously, talking scarecrows aren't normal!



This must be the exit. We should go check out the first fork we passed by earlier before we leave, though.



...What? Why is this here? What is it talking about? Creepy...



Sorry, dude, but we have a tower to get to. It's too bad some of the random crystals strewn about the cave aren't near you.

Of course we're treasure hunters; this is an RPG, after all. Besides...



Your point doesn't hold any water, what with this Ether being ten steps away from where you're sitting and all.



There are rabbits in these things? Well now I just feel bad I can't get any of you out. Good thing we didn't set that one scarecrow on fire...



♪♪~Snow Day

And we're out! Pretty soon we'll be at the tower, and then we can find the girl, get her out of there and head back to Sabine.



Hopefully not! I think you'll be fine, though.



Hey, who, or I guess what, is that?



Snowe: "You talk? What are you?" {I guess talking snowmen and scarecrows are an everyday occurence around here, then?}
???: "Well isn't that rude? I just said hello and now you act like I'm something weird."
Snowe: "S-sorry. I just have never had a ghost try to talk to me. Usually they are attacking me."



???: "Back when I was living, I collected money. I just hoarded all kinds of money. I even scared people around this island and took the money they dropped. Though now I realize that money does me no good in my current state. Ghosts aren't interested in that."



???: "If you find any of this junk, you can sell it to me! I promise not to cheat you out of our items."
Snowe: "Where are you keeping the money? You're just bones."
???: "A ghost never reveals her secrets! Are you interested? I can already see you're filling up with items that have no value to you."
Snowe: "What are you going to do with the stuff I sell to you?"



???: "Well it has to end one day! I just want to be prepared. I bet I could use the items you want to sell for something good."
Snowe: "Sure–why not? I don't need this stuff cluttering up my bags."



Sweet! Now we can sell any loot we find. That is the only purpose loot exists for, by the way; you don't need certain pieces of loot to activate or complete sidequests, and there's no crafting system. You just sell any junk that enemies drop for extra Lucre. Ghost-lady doesn't carry any items, so if we want to buy any we'll need to hoof it back to Sabine. We're still doing fine in that department, though.

*After selling some excess junk...*



Snowe: "All right–are you going to always be here?"
Numismatist: "Nah–I can hop from skeleton to skeleton as long as a ghost isn't sleeping in the skeleton. I'll keep an eye out for you when I'm hopping so you'll probably see me around."
Snowe: "Thank you–I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you as well."

Thanks for the help, Numismatist! We'll be seeing you later I suppose.



Sweet, extra cash. We have around 600 Lucre or so now, courtesy of loot-selling. You can't get at that log in the woods there, at least not to my knowledge; it's just there as background scenery I guess.



*The music fades out; only the blowing wind can be heard.*
Snowe: "I can see the tower in the distance! Almost there!"



♪♪~Boss01



Snowe: "What?! I didn't do anything!"
Bird monster: "ANYONE WHO COMES FROM THAT TOWN MUST DIE OUT HERE. IT IS MY SWORN DUTY."
Snowe: "No! Wait a minute!"

Oh crap, this isn't good at all. I don't know if we can take this thing on our own, but we have to try.



OH GOD THE PAIN

*The music stops.*

Whoa. Short game, I guess.

The artwork thus far is really something, especially the monster designs.

The monster designs are straight out of the runtime package for VX/Ace so far, barring minor alterations as far as I can tell. Most everything else is custom though.

That hearsay is correct. I've always enjoyed that mechanic and wished more RPGs would use something like it. That wiki doesn't mention it but in Lufia 2 the IP gauge doesn't empty at the end of a battle - it can be carried over into the next battle. Does it work like that in Star Stealing Prince?

Yeah, this game is quite pretty. As for the enemies, well... let's just say things will get weird as the game goes on.

Yes, it does, which is pretty nice.

I've been out of commission for a bit, but can I just say, "Yay, new Soren LP!" I've never heard of this game before and I'm already excited.

Aw, thanks. =)

Anyway, I seem to have forgotten just how short the first few chapters of this game are; I hadn't intended to cover all of Chapter One in a single update, but oh well. This trend may continue till Chapter Three or so, but after that there should be at least two updates per chapter. We'll see, I suppose.


Verse 2-1: The Star Princess



♪♪~Ruins (The music is in a different key in-game, but is otherwise the same.)



Snowe: "I remember getting hammered by that bird... hmmm..."
*Snowe gets off of the bed.*
Snowe: "Ugh–my cloak's missing. I guess I'll check this place out."

Wow, I'm surprised we're not dead; gaping chest wounds can't exactly be shrugged off. I wonder who saved us... maybe looking around here will give us some answers.



Man, that bird monster really did a number on us; we're lucky to be alive right now. You'll notice that our IP bar is empty; that automatically happens whenever Snowe is KO'ed, so you want to avoid that if possible. Hopefully we won't be ambushed by anymore giant killer bird monsters anytime soon.



Oh hey, someone laid out some tea for us. That was pretty nice of them. Maybe it was the same person who saved us.



Ah, refreshing.



*Snowe opens the dresser.*
Snowe: "Oh good–a cloak I can use."



An excellent idea. Maybe we'll even run into whoever found us in Sabine Forest.



What's a wind tome doing here? Well, we can't use it, but we'll hold onto it in case someone back in Sabine can.



Damn it, we're trapped in here. I guess we should start looking for the key, then. Let's try that room off to the right.



Evidently someone lives here... which would make the room we woke up in a guest room of sorts. Curious...



Well, at least whoever lives here takes good care of their dishes.



Sweet, we already found the key! Now we can get out of here.



Crap, wrong key. This must be for the door north of us, then.



Looks like we've got a climb ahead of us. Hang on... that must mean we're in the tower, or at least a tower.



Damn it. Maybe we'll find another key in that side-door nearby.



Okay maybe not, but we did find these mittens, at least.



(I swear I'm not doing this on purpose! I really need to pay more attention to where my mouse pointer is while working on updates...)

Nice! Snowe needs the defense more than he does the ATK boost the Power Glove gives him, and protection from freezing is a nice bonus. Getting Frozen is really bad in this game, since it prevents you from doing anything until it wears off. It can only be cured by Snowe's heal spell or a "cure every status effect" spell or item, but since we're by ourselves we're pretty screwed without these mittens.

We also gain a new IP Attack from the Cozy Mittens, called Warm Hands. It will cure the frozen status for 15% of his IP bar, but he can't actually use it if he's suffering from it himself, so it's a good thing the mittens protect us from that.



Anyway, let's pull this lever and see what happens.



No, they definitely weren't. I bet the lever unlocked this door.



I was right! The other two lever handles were missing, though... guess we'll have to look for them to get anywhere in this tower.



♪♪~Battle

It may not look it at first, but this Tired Phantom is a new enemy - you can tell by the eye color and lighter cloak. They're slightly stronger than their Cold cousins, capable of dealing a little over 10 damage per attack; they can also use an ice attack called Ghost Touch. Since ice (and water) is Snowe's weakness, getting hit by it will Stun him, rendering him unable to act for one turn, and Stun is the only status effect that can't be cured by any means. (This works for enemies as well, assuming they survive the attack, and certain bosses.) Fortunately, Tired Phantoms are weak to fire, so you should be able to take them out before they can cause any harm.



♪♪~Ruins

Going through these hidden passages lead to the switches we need to pull to make this chest appear.



Sweet! Let's go restore it to its rightful place.



Awesome; we should be able to go through some previously-locked door farther up in the tower.