I was hoping that I'd get a couple more replies so this post could be pushed onto the next page. Thanks, guys. Now to continue!
Yes, the end game is pretty rushed. Each chapter is extremely short and linear, and the first time through it was a let-down, especially after Chapter 3. On subsequent play throughs I found it didn't bother me as much, because I knew what to expect.
Chapter 6 - Dirge
Real world Dirge looks a little different:
I take a couple of minutes to take in my surroundings. This, after all, is where I was born and where my parents lived. I try to imagine how my life should have been, living high up in the mountains, far from civilisation, in a secluded monastery almost permanently buried in snow. In some ways I think I prefer having been kidnapped and having had the chance to see the lowlands and Imperial City.
One passageway in the temple leads to a small room with a single well in it.
I hear the noise of engines and spy the Marvellous Dragonfly landing a short way away. My friends are here!
I go to meet them, and naturally they are surprised. Dawn Star's visions had led them to Dirge, but they had expected to find me as a ghost, not as flesh and blood. I explain that the Water Dragon was able to bring me back to life.
Silk Fox explains what happened to them. It seems that Emperor Sun Li did not view them as a threat so he did not order anyone to execute them - they were able to flee and take shelter in the surrounding countryside.
But Sun Li is also aware that I have returned - and he marches upon Dirge this very instant. Just how long was I dead for, exactly?
Sky is ever the bearer of bad news. It looks like we shall have little choice but to stand and fight. I don't particularly fancy our odds.
That wasn't all Dawn Star's visions had told her, though. She also suspects who her father is...
I reply in the affirmative, and Silk Fox is outraged. 'She can't be! That would make her...'
Sky finds the whole episode highly amusing.
A storm is brewing and we'd best get plenty of rest so that we're all ready to face the Imperial Army tomorrow.
As the party disperses Sky draws me to one side and asks to speak to me privately before we retire to our tents.
I have a couple of things to do first. I finish exploring the temple courtyards and find pages from the Tome of Ritual. Putting them all together, I am able to read from them and perform a ceremony in front of one of the temple altars that lays to rest all of the troubled spirits of the soldiers.
Now it's time to talk to Sky.
(Click for large; I don't yet have smaller versions of these images)
Finally, not to be outdone (and because I had it available) here's the end romance scene if you play a female character and woo Sky.
That night my dreams are infiltrated by Sun Li.
He forces me to face the spirits of some of my old dead friends. I defeat them, but he warns me that I would not fare so easily in real life...
The next morning it is snowing heavily, and the Imperial Army is fast approaching. Sky is missing - he went ahead to scout them out.
Sky returns, but he is wounded and bleeding heavily.
Henpecked Hou is easily panicked.
Kang the Mad's words are exactly helping, either.
We arrange that Dawn Star, Silk Fox and Kang the Mad shall take a few of Kang's explosive casks and go and blow up the bridge. The Black Whirlwind, Henpecked Hou, Chai Ka and myself will head off any soldiers that come by air.
Sky is too wounded to fight, but he has plans. He'd like a couple of Kang's explosive casks too, and he will go and wait in the temple.
The weak, narrow bridge is, despite appearances, Dirge's greatest defence. It is the only known entrance into the town, and thus by removing it, only flyers can now approach.
The bridge is successfully blown up, and the siege golems frustrated.
As Silk Fox, I am complimented by Dawn Star.
Meanwhile The Black Whirlwind is having a field day. He slaughters the enemy left, right and centre.
Eventually they stop coming.
It is then that the bell tolls.
I hurry to the temple to find out what on earth Sky's game is.
Sky has laid a trap for Death's Hand. He allowed Death's Hand to believe that he would betray me, and the bell is the signal that it is safe for Death's Hand to approach. But Sky has rigged up the columns so that the roof will collapse upon any of Death's Hand's companions, allowing me to face Death's Hand alone.
Not so fast!
...Except that Sky can accept his daughter's death, and he wishes to see the Emperor overthrown as much as I do.
I finally defeat Death's Hand. But Emperor Sun Li's spirit appears in the portal, ready to raise him again.
He explains that Prince Sun Kin is no longer alive; for these past twenty years it has been his spirit bound to the armour, powerless to resist the Emperor's commands. Death's Hand is not truly evil; he is a puppet, a tool.
I try to appeal to any decency left in Sun Li by telling him that his daughter lives.
But ultimately Sun Li does not actually care. If Dawn Star had been of any importance to him, he surely would have been able to recognise her by now.
He intends to remotely resurrect Death's Hand - resurrect him as many times as is required. But with my new-found knowledge, I am able to prevent this from happening. I learned in the spirit world that as a Spirit Monk I have the ability to bind a spirit to me; I can do this now with Sun Kin.
The spirit of Sun Kin fights Death's Hand...
...and Sun Kin wins.
Sun Li admits that he has lost his strongest ally - but he believes that I will find it hard to resist keeping Death's Hand for myself. I, however, know better.
Sun Kin's spirit is finally free, and Death's Hand keels over, the armour now empty.
My party outside have been running into problems...but it would appear that the golems were tied to Death's Hand's command; because as soon as he collapses, so too do the golems.
The Army has been defeated.
My party is safe.
We have to leave for the Imperial Palace; but before we set off once again in the Marvellous Dragonfly, my teammates offer me words of support.
If you did not romance him.
I appreciate their encouragements, and brace myself for the upcoming fight...
Sun Li admits that he has lost his strongest ally - but he believes that I will find it hard to resist keeping Death's Hand for myself. I, however, know better.
Ah, the binding of Death's Hand. Such a wasted opportunity.
There's some neat dialogue here. A few examples of Open Palm gone terribly wrong, where you basically proclaim that you get to decide how and when he redeems himself.
But even if you take those options, you still get Closed Fist points if you bind him. Shame, really.
The binding of Death's Hand is something I'm considering in a post script to this thread - along with Kang the Mad's quest and anything else I fear I've neglected/overlooked. I've not bound him to me in previous games because I didn't want to upset my party - do you upset them even if you've been following the Open Palm path?
So far I've largely been working off what I already had. Would it be preferable for my next playthrough to have reader input? I suppose I'm just afraid you'll all make me turn evil.
What's Kang's quest? I don't think I ever did it on the Xbox.
As far as I know it's in the Xbox version as well.
Anyways...
Kang has a couple of mysterious wind maps. He doesn't know where they lead, but he wants to go there anyways. During the voyage, Kang mysteriously regains some of his memories. This leads him to build some doohicky. It doesn't fly and it doesn't explode, so who knows what it does? Activating it, you're transported to a minor Heaven. It's similar to the Heaven of the Forest Spirit, but this one belongs to Lord Lao, artificer of the Celestial Bureacracy. The machinery of the Heaven is still intact and you can use the Configuration scrolls to operate all that stuff and give yourself some neat bonuses. The more you use Lord Lao's Furnace, the more Kang remembers of his vague past. He remembers that Lord Lao got into trouble with the Bureacracy and is imprisoned. Because Lord Lao is the greatest inspiration for all inventors everywhere, Kang recruits you to go out and save this minor deity.
Turns out, however, that Lord Lao is not physically imprisoned. He was simply robbed of all his memories. Turns out, Kang is Lord Lao. Which might explain how he always survives all those explosions. Anyways, when Kang/Lao realised that he was getting in trouble with the Celestial Bureacracy he somehow locked his memories away and went into hiding, waiting for the day when it was safe to reclaim his identity again. Still... Kang remains Kang and he has no interest in going to back to work for the Celestial Bureacracy. The human world is so much more fun. "So many interesting things to build to help people with so many small problems".
What's Kang's quest? I don't think I ever did it on the Xbox.
As far as I know it's in the Xbox version as well.
Anyways...
Kang has a couple of mysterious wind maps. He doesn't know where they lead, but he wants to go there anyways. During the voyage, Kang mysteriously regains some of his memories. This leads him to build some doohicky. It doesn't fly and it doesn't explode, so who knows what it does? Activating it, you're transported to a minor Heaven. It's similar to the Heaven of the Forest Spirit, but this one belongs to Lord Lao, artificer of the Celestial Bureacracy. The machinery of the Heaven is still intact and you can use the Configuration scrolls to operate all that stuff and give yourself some neat bonuses. The more you use Lord Lao's Furnace, the more Kang remembers of his vague past. He remembers that Lord Lao got into trouble with the Bureacracy and is imprisoned. Because Lord Lao is the greatest inspiration for all inventors everywhere, Kang recruits you to go out and save this minor deity.
Turns out, however, that Lord Lao is not physically imprisoned. He was simply robbed of all his memories. Turns out, Kang is Lord Lao. Which might explain how he always survives all those explosions. Anyways, when Kang/Lao realised that he was getting in trouble with the Celestial Bureacracy he somehow locked his memories away and went into hiding, waiting for the day when it was safe to reclaim his identity again. Still... Kang remains Kang and he has no interest in going to back to work for the Celestial Bureacracy. The human world is so much more fun. "So many interesting things to build to help people with so many small problems".
As I'm unlikely to be online over the weekend I'll make the end-game post now.
This will conclude the Open Palm playthrough.
Chapter 7 - The Last Battle
The storms quieten and my party sets off in the Marvellous Dragonfly, heading straight for the Imperial Palace.
The Black Whirlwind sums up my feelings on the matter pretty succinctly:
We kill a few guards and head down into the tombs.
There we find a frightening spectacle. The tombs have been completely gutted, creating a large space within the depths of the palace. This is where the Emperor stored the Water Dragon's body! It is kept in a state of near-death, forever bleeding, unable to die while the machine cogs whirr.
This is the breaking point of the game. Up to now you can have been completely selfish and violent, but now you can choose to amend for your deeds and kill the Water Dragon. Likewise, you can have been following the goodly path of the Open Palm, but decide to take the Water Dragon's power for yourself by tainting the water flowing from her body and rule as an evil Emperor. If you choose the latter, half your party will resist you and it will be their bodies you use for the blood sacrifice.
I can't contemplate killing my party members, nor do I have any desire to taint the Empire and act as its ruler. I've worked so hard to cleanse Dirge and oppose the power-hungry Sun brothers.
I slay the Water Dragon.
Now to enter the throne room.
This looks familiar...
Emperor Sun Li. Always so polite.
With his power as a god, he is able to encase me in my own doubt.
But once again he underestimates my strength of mind, my party and their loyalty to me.
No mortal being can help with the final barrier. But there is someone else who is still loyal to me. Someone who is no longer mortal.
I break free.
He offers me a bargain; but I am not about to accept. Why should I settle for a compromise, now? He would not give me any power; I should merely die for the 'good of the Empire' and be taught about in the history books as a sacrificial lamb - something I am not willing to be, not for Sun Li.
I suggest a one-on-one, master-and-student fight. He agrees.
And he falls.
The Water Dragon is freed and Emperor Sun Li is no longer a god, or even alive.
The crowds cheer.
(Phew, exceedingly short chapter!)
...and as for what happens afterwards:
(Spoiled for big):
If you romance the girlies, only Silk Fox's fate changes (if you do not romance her, she becomes Empress and rules either fairly or with an iron fist).
Arguably the most satisfying romance conclusion - you become Emperor!
This thread is cool, I never found out that dawn star was Master Li's daughter. You know what else that means though? the threesome scene=incest....ugh.
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This thread is cool, I never found out that dawn star was Master Li's daughter. You know what else that means though? the threesome scene=incest....ugh.
This thread is cool, I never found out that dawn star was Master Li's daughter. You know what else that means though? the threesome scene=incest....ugh.
You're saying that's a bad thing?
And anyways, one has to wonder, how much interest do Silk Fox and Dawn Star show for each other anyway?
Nope, not even a multiple-form boss. Although if you see the whole end-game as the last four chapters, then...
I did have the fights on easy the entire way through, so most of the time it was five seconds of clicking and they'd go down. But it's pretty much universally agreed that the hardest fight in the game is the Ravager in the Arena - once you've worked out what you have to do with the Emperor/Sun Li (i.e. having to switch styles a lot) it's not very difficult at all.
It sounds so easy to do a Closed Fist run...but it's not. I do have some extra screenshots - I finally managed to complete Kang the Mad's sidequest (phew) and I also loaded up a game to see what happens when you bind Death's Hand to yourself. Uh, I wussed out of that in the end, though, because my party members made me feel so bad
The flyer missions were frustrating, but still not as bad as the turret fights in KotOR1.
And I love Let's Play threads, obviously. No complaints here. All ready for the next one, folks? I'm not sure when I'll start it, though. Was originally thinking tomorrow, but I'm away Thurs-Sun.
Anyway:
The Binding of Death's Hand
I could probably buy into this sudden revelation that Master Li's motive is 'For the Greater Good' if I hadn't been killed, my people brutally slain, and a goddess enslaved. I can understand that the Empire was suffering from drought and that this must've proved a good motivation - but I cannot permit the dead to walk the earth any longer.
This is where I tell Sun Li that his daughter still lives.
I've done this to make the world a better place! It's not about me gaining ultimate power and becoming a god, no! Why would you think that?
Fight!
Now to go for the 'I'm Open Palm, but I'm not that forgiving' route.
Amazing what a little retrospect can do to a man.
I'm starting to look a little pissed off right now.
I'm just trying to make him pay amends. Justice is supposed to be fair, right?
This looks pretty bad-ass, I have to admit.
We walk out to greet my other party members.
Only the Black Whirlwind has any real sense.
It's not like I'm going to make him do anything evil! I haven't changed that much!
I ask if they've been talking behind my back.
Even Silk Fox, who is perhaps the most neutral member of your party, cannot condone this course of action.
Dawn Star is a goody-two-shoes, as always.
They give you so many chances to set Prince Kin's spirit free.
Now I know he's serious.
Yes, I know what it does.
Okay, this is where I could no longer hack it, guys.
I mean, I'd even have to bind my own boyfriend. I just wanted to command Death's Hand to do some good in the world, that was all!
Okay, okay! Give a man a break!
I ask if my party will follow me, now.
It seems so. Their loyalty, which was in question only moments previously, is now unwavering.
Kang the Mad's sidequest
Since the last flyer battle can be pretty tough, I decide to follow people's advice and complete Merchant Hin Goo's missions so that I can buy the Dragon's Wrath upgrade. This will allow me to defeat the boss in one fell swoop.
I did have several screenshots here; but they weren't terribly interesting. Suffice to say I complete the missions and upgrade the Marvellous Dragonfly.
Now to talk to Kang.
It seems that Kang has a windmap. When Gao the Greater met Kang, Kang had a lost memory and an old windmap in his hands. Gao didn't think much of Kang's windmap, and so the windmap has never been thoroughly examined.
We set off on an adventure...but we merely end up back where we started.
Sky is so cynical.
But what does it do?
Not really, no.
So what happens if you enter an incorrect configuration?
Wait - I've been finding strange sets of instructions here and there as I've been travelling.
I decide to test out Lord Lao's furnace using the notes I've gathered.
There's the Water Wheel.
The Clapper Chimney.
The Conductor.
The Whirling Cogs.
Finally, there's the Cauldron.
Every time I use a configuration correctly, I gain power. My stats increase.
Off we set on another adventure.
But we didn't land anywhere!
I ask Kang what the purpose of Lord Lao's furnace is. I mean, it's surely wasn't created purely so I could increase my stats, was it?
Posts
Attack, Jump Over, Attack, Jump Over................
Yes, the end game is pretty rushed. Each chapter is extremely short and linear, and the first time through it was a let-down, especially after Chapter 3. On subsequent play throughs I found it didn't bother me as much, because I knew what to expect.
Chapter 6 - Dirge
Real world Dirge looks a little different:
I take a couple of minutes to take in my surroundings. This, after all, is where I was born and where my parents lived. I try to imagine how my life should have been, living high up in the mountains, far from civilisation, in a secluded monastery almost permanently buried in snow. In some ways I think I prefer having been kidnapped and having had the chance to see the lowlands and Imperial City.
One passageway in the temple leads to a small room with a single well in it.
I hear the noise of engines and spy the Marvellous Dragonfly landing a short way away. My friends are here!
I go to meet them, and naturally they are surprised. Dawn Star's visions had led them to Dirge, but they had expected to find me as a ghost, not as flesh and blood. I explain that the Water Dragon was able to bring me back to life.
Silk Fox explains what happened to them. It seems that Emperor Sun Li did not view them as a threat so he did not order anyone to execute them - they were able to flee and take shelter in the surrounding countryside.
But Sun Li is also aware that I have returned - and he marches upon Dirge this very instant. Just how long was I dead for, exactly?
Sky is ever the bearer of bad news. It looks like we shall have little choice but to stand and fight. I don't particularly fancy our odds.
That wasn't all Dawn Star's visions had told her, though. She also suspects who her father is...
I reply in the affirmative, and Silk Fox is outraged. 'She can't be! That would make her...'
Sky finds the whole episode highly amusing.
A storm is brewing and we'd best get plenty of rest so that we're all ready to face the Imperial Army tomorrow.
As the party disperses Sky draws me to one side and asks to speak to me privately before we retire to our tents.
I have a couple of things to do first. I finish exploring the temple courtyards and find pages from the Tome of Ritual. Putting them all together, I am able to read from them and perform a ceremony in front of one of the temple altars that lays to rest all of the troubled spirits of the soldiers.
Now it's time to talk to Sky.
(Click for large; I don't yet have smaller versions of these images)
Full youtube video here.
For the ladies:
Intriguing!
When I return to Silk Fox I find she's been missing me.
I explain that I'm sadly still unable to decide who I like better - the Princess or her cousin, Dawn Star.
She says that she never thought she'd be able to fall in love with me...
What a shame - I'll just have to attend to both their needs.
Youtube video of the full scene here.
Finally, not to be outdone (and because I had it available) here's the end romance scene if you play a female character and woo Sky.
That night my dreams are infiltrated by Sun Li.
He forces me to face the spirits of some of my old dead friends. I defeat them, but he warns me that I would not fare so easily in real life...
The next morning it is snowing heavily, and the Imperial Army is fast approaching. Sky is missing - he went ahead to scout them out.
Sky returns, but he is wounded and bleeding heavily.
Henpecked Hou is easily panicked.
Kang the Mad's words are exactly helping, either.
We arrange that Dawn Star, Silk Fox and Kang the Mad shall take a few of Kang's explosive casks and go and blow up the bridge. The Black Whirlwind, Henpecked Hou, Chai Ka and myself will head off any soldiers that come by air.
Sky is too wounded to fight, but he has plans. He'd like a couple of Kang's explosive casks too, and he will go and wait in the temple.
The weak, narrow bridge is, despite appearances, Dirge's greatest defence. It is the only known entrance into the town, and thus by removing it, only flyers can now approach.
The bridge is successfully blown up, and the siege golems frustrated.
As Silk Fox, I am complimented by Dawn Star.
Meanwhile The Black Whirlwind is having a field day. He slaughters the enemy left, right and centre.
Eventually they stop coming.
It is then that the bell tolls.
I hurry to the temple to find out what on earth Sky's game is.
Sky has laid a trap for Death's Hand. He allowed Death's Hand to believe that he would betray me, and the bell is the signal that it is safe for Death's Hand to approach. But Sky has rigged up the columns so that the roof will collapse upon any of Death's Hand's companions, allowing me to face Death's Hand alone.
Not so fast!
...Except that Sky can accept his daughter's death, and he wishes to see the Emperor overthrown as much as I do.
I finally defeat Death's Hand. But Emperor Sun Li's spirit appears in the portal, ready to raise him again.
He explains that Prince Sun Kin is no longer alive; for these past twenty years it has been his spirit bound to the armour, powerless to resist the Emperor's commands. Death's Hand is not truly evil; he is a puppet, a tool.
I try to appeal to any decency left in Sun Li by telling him that his daughter lives.
But ultimately Sun Li does not actually care. If Dawn Star had been of any importance to him, he surely would have been able to recognise her by now.
He intends to remotely resurrect Death's Hand - resurrect him as many times as is required. But with my new-found knowledge, I am able to prevent this from happening. I learned in the spirit world that as a Spirit Monk I have the ability to bind a spirit to me; I can do this now with Sun Kin.
The spirit of Sun Kin fights Death's Hand...
...and Sun Kin wins.
Sun Li admits that he has lost his strongest ally - but he believes that I will find it hard to resist keeping Death's Hand for myself. I, however, know better.
Sun Kin's spirit is finally free, and Death's Hand keels over, the armour now empty.
My party outside have been running into problems...but it would appear that the golems were tied to Death's Hand's command; because as soon as he collapses, so too do the golems.
The Army has been defeated.
My party is safe.
We have to leave for the Imperial Palace; but before we set off once again in the Marvellous Dragonfly, my teammates offer me words of support.
If you did not romance him.
I appreciate their encouragements, and brace myself for the upcoming fight...
There's some neat dialogue here. A few examples of Open Palm gone terribly wrong, where you basically proclaim that you get to decide how and when he redeems himself.
But even if you take those options, you still get Closed Fist points if you bind him. Shame, really.
A bunch of my party members were pretty pissed that I'd bound him to me and wanted to leave my party. I just bound their souls to me as well.
So far I've largely been working off what I already had. Would it be preferable for my next playthrough to have reader input? I suppose I'm just afraid you'll all make me turn evil.
Anyways...
I want to know how to get the best romance options as closed fist. Apparently dawn star can be corrupted so that she joins you.
Kang is awesome
I am a freaking nerd.
Well... together with the Water Dragon.
This will conclude the Open Palm playthrough.
Chapter 7 - The Last Battle
The storms quieten and my party sets off in the Marvellous Dragonfly, heading straight for the Imperial Palace.
The Black Whirlwind sums up my feelings on the matter pretty succinctly:
We kill a few guards and head down into the tombs.
There we find a frightening spectacle. The tombs have been completely gutted, creating a large space within the depths of the palace. This is where the Emperor stored the Water Dragon's body! It is kept in a state of near-death, forever bleeding, unable to die while the machine cogs whirr.
This is the breaking point of the game. Up to now you can have been completely selfish and violent, but now you can choose to amend for your deeds and kill the Water Dragon. Likewise, you can have been following the goodly path of the Open Palm, but decide to take the Water Dragon's power for yourself by tainting the water flowing from her body and rule as an evil Emperor. If you choose the latter, half your party will resist you and it will be their bodies you use for the blood sacrifice.
I can't contemplate killing my party members, nor do I have any desire to taint the Empire and act as its ruler. I've worked so hard to cleanse Dirge and oppose the power-hungry Sun brothers.
I slay the Water Dragon.
Now to enter the throne room.
This looks familiar...
Emperor Sun Li. Always so polite.
With his power as a god, he is able to encase me in my own doubt.
But once again he underestimates my strength of mind, my party and their loyalty to me.
No mortal being can help with the final barrier. But there is someone else who is still loyal to me. Someone who is no longer mortal.
I break free.
He offers me a bargain; but I am not about to accept. Why should I settle for a compromise, now? He would not give me any power; I should merely die for the 'good of the Empire' and be taught about in the history books as a sacrificial lamb - something I am not willing to be, not for Sun Li.
I suggest a one-on-one, master-and-student fight. He agrees.
And he falls.
The Water Dragon is freed and Emperor Sun Li is no longer a god, or even alive.
The crowds cheer.
(Phew, exceedingly short chapter!)
...and as for what happens afterwards:
(Spoiled for big):
If you romance the girlies, only Silk Fox's fate changes (if you do not romance her, she becomes Empress and rules either fairly or with an iron fist).
Arguably the most satisfying romance conclusion - you become Emperor!
You're saying that's a bad thing?
Anyway, thanks for all your work, Janson. Are you going to do a Closed Fist run now? I'd be interested in seeing it.
I did have the fights on easy the entire way through, so most of the time it was five seconds of clicking and they'd go down. But it's pretty much universally agreed that the hardest fight in the game is the Ravager in the Arena - once you've worked out what you have to do with the Emperor/Sun Li (i.e. having to switch styles a lot) it's not very difficult at all.
It sounds so easy to do a Closed Fist run...but it's not. I do have some extra screenshots - I finally managed to complete Kang the Mad's sidequest (phew) and I also loaded up a game to see what happens when you bind Death's Hand to yourself. Uh, I wussed out of that in the end, though, because my party members made me feel so bad
Also, it seems Kang's ending changes depening on whether or not you completed his sidequest (nudge nudge, wink wink).
Not to be one to normally quote like 5 pages ago but I totally agree. We absolutely need some Let's Play action up in here. Great way to spend time.
I never asked for this!
Funny thing is I had more enjoyment reading about someone playing Jade Empire than I did playing it. The game is too damn easy and much too short.
And I love Let's Play threads, obviously. No complaints here. All ready for the next one, folks? I'm not sure when I'll start it, though. Was originally thinking tomorrow, but I'm away Thurs-Sun.
Anyway:
The Binding of Death's Hand
I could probably buy into this sudden revelation that Master Li's motive is 'For the Greater Good' if I hadn't been killed, my people brutally slain, and a goddess enslaved. I can understand that the Empire was suffering from drought and that this must've proved a good motivation - but I cannot permit the dead to walk the earth any longer.
This is where I tell Sun Li that his daughter still lives.
I've done this to make the world a better place! It's not about me gaining ultimate power and becoming a god, no! Why would you think that?
Fight!
Now to go for the 'I'm Open Palm, but I'm not that forgiving' route.
Amazing what a little retrospect can do to a man.
I'm starting to look a little pissed off right now.
I'm just trying to make him pay amends. Justice is supposed to be fair, right?
This looks pretty bad-ass, I have to admit.
We walk out to greet my other party members.
Only the Black Whirlwind has any real sense.
It's not like I'm going to make him do anything evil! I haven't changed that much!
I ask if they've been talking behind my back.
Even Silk Fox, who is perhaps the most neutral member of your party, cannot condone this course of action.
Dawn Star is a goody-two-shoes, as always.
They give you so many chances to set Prince Kin's spirit free.
Now I know he's serious.
Yes, I know what it does.
Okay, this is where I could no longer hack it, guys.
I mean, I'd even have to bind my own boyfriend. I just wanted to command Death's Hand to do some good in the world, that was all!
Okay, okay! Give a man a break!
I ask if my party will follow me, now.
It seems so. Their loyalty, which was in question only moments previously, is now unwavering.
Kang the Mad's sidequest
Since the last flyer battle can be pretty tough, I decide to follow people's advice and complete Merchant Hin Goo's missions so that I can buy the Dragon's Wrath upgrade. This will allow me to defeat the boss in one fell swoop.
I did have several screenshots here; but they weren't terribly interesting. Suffice to say I complete the missions and upgrade the Marvellous Dragonfly.
Now to talk to Kang.
It seems that Kang has a windmap. When Gao the Greater met Kang, Kang had a lost memory and an old windmap in his hands. Gao didn't think much of Kang's windmap, and so the windmap has never been thoroughly examined.
We set off on an adventure...but we merely end up back where we started.
Sky is so cynical.
But what does it do?
Not really, no.
So what happens if you enter an incorrect configuration?
Wait - I've been finding strange sets of instructions here and there as I've been travelling.
I decide to test out Lord Lao's furnace using the notes I've gathered.
There's the Water Wheel.
The Clapper Chimney.
The Conductor.
The Whirling Cogs.
Finally, there's the Cauldron.
Every time I use a configuration correctly, I gain power. My stats increase.
Off we set on another adventure.
But we didn't land anywhere!
I ask Kang what the purpose of Lord Lao's furnace is. I mean, it's surely wasn't created purely so I could increase my stats, was it?
We return to the furnace.
Okay.
We win the battle.
Sarcasm, Sky?
Okay, I laughed.
Well, my stats can't keep increasing forever.
The configurations read like this:
Curses. And here I was, thinking I was the only one who caught that reference.