Growlanser II - Chapter 3: Road Trip

Having stopped the marauders, at least for now, we have to make our way to the Magic Academy on an errand for Maximillian. The next portion of the game will be filled with events, with few battles, so make sure you take advantage of any random battles as there will be some nice gems to purchase coming up soon. I recommend trying to reach level 7 before you get to the Academy. Anyways, move to Northwest Rottenbaum, then up to the South Ruins. There will be a small scene between Wein and Charlone, that will raise her affection for him, and Wein will find the Story #3 to pocket.

 

At the Grasslands, Wein will recall the mysterious girl he met here when he was younger. When asked about his promise, choose "..." to satisfy both Charlone and Hans. Afterward, Wein will coincidentally meet another strange girl and her dog (?). Warning her of the danger of marauders, she will take her leave.

Moving on to the Southern Checkpoint, talk to the Time Bandit here and he will give you the option to see the timer for obtaining rings in random battles. This is rather trivial as the timer is always displayed during story battles even without this, but take the option anyway.

 

West of the Southern Checkpoint, at the South Lost Forest, the party will automatically spend the night in a familiar-looking man's cabin in the woods. It turns out this is the former Imperial Knight, Ernest Lyell, who was expelled for fighting against Burnstein in the previous war. This scene is required viewing if you want Lyell to join your party later in the game.

 

Next, move to the East Lost Forest and speak to the woman here who is frantically looking for her missing child. Over at the North Lost Forest, Hans will find her son and ask Wein to allow him to escort him back to his mother. You'll need to choose "Okay, but hurry" because the third option will negatively effect Charlone's friendship, which is rather petty. There's no tangible reward for this, other than Han's friendship, which should be completely maxed at this point.

Over at Agriss Village, now, talk to the Soldier and tell him you haven't seen the dam and a path to it will become available to the north. Also, speak to the Field Worker who will hint to holding a page of the manuscript we can obtain later. The best part of Agriss, however, is the gem shop. Lv2 Deft Wind, Skill Effect, Sonic Blade, and Lv3 Critical Hit are all great gems. Any character can benefit from the Deft Wind gems, but Charlone, in particular, should always have the best level of these equipped to reduce the wait time between attacks. I highly recommend Skill Effect gems for Hans because they increase the chances of him inflicting abnormal status on enemies (Assuming you have learned the skills for it first). Later on, once Hans masters all of these skills, and equips a high-level Skill Effect gem, he'll be able to immobilize enemies easily. Sonic Blade is good for Wein, and other non-ranged characters, allowing them to attack from farther away than they normally would, but I wouldn't waste a slot on it. As for Critical Hit, if you can afford it, pick it up for both Wein and Hans. There's also a new armor for sale here, Studded Leather, but very expensive.

 

North from Agriss Village, visit the Upstream Dam and select for Wein to ignore the warning. Be careful: if you select to obey the warning, you will not get another chance to enter. Inside, the party will meet two Rolandian soldiers and Hans will take a break to fish. He'll find a Lv3 Angel's Hand gem, which gives a 30% chance to revive a character if they fall in battle; which the odds are a little low to waste on a ring slot, in my opinion. If you already have 9 of these in your inventory, Hans will just fish up some Elm.

West of Fort Rargin, you will find the Time & Space Tower. This was the place of the decisive battle in the original Growlanser game. You can talk to some people here, but it's important that you pay the 15 Elm to take a tour of the tower. During the tour, Wein will see Arieta off to the side. While it seems cold, you absolutely need to choose to "Snub her". If you don't, Charlone's friendship level will take a large hit; again, she's petty. Whether you talk to her or not, this is the first of many required scenes if you want Arieta to join your party later on in the game.

 

North to Grandshill now, select the option to speak to your companions for a small scene, then talk to the Arena Fan NPC to acquire Story #4. The Old Magician has some nice magic advise, as well.

Continue north to South Rachel and search the area for an NPC that will give you Story #6 if you took the tour of the Time & Space Tower. Further on, at the Control Facility Ruins, Wein and Charlone will have another scene that increases their relationship slightly. At this point, Charlone should have seven bars of friendship. Before you see the next story event at the Magic Academy, make absolutely sure you are finished with everything you need in the Burnstein area; afterward it will be unavailable to you for a long while. Also, when you return, the stores in Burnstein and Starkberg will have changed, but their wares can still be found elsewhere, so nothing they have is missable right now.

 

Entering the Magic Academy, talk to the Xenobiologist to begin a very fruitful sidequest, and also the Braided Girl which will impact the friendship of a later fellow party member.

Lots of goodness is to be found at the Magic Academy's shops. Some new, really nice, armor for Charlone is here, but the gems are especially good. If you can afford, and equip, it, Art of Thievery will allow you to steal an item from the first enemy you attack. Hans and Wein probably don't have Thievery techs learned yet, so this is a nice stopgap. If taken it into story battles, just remember to replace it with another gem after your first attack. For the next story battle, to obtain a Mission Complete, we need an absolute minimum of two Lv3 Quickness gems for Charlone, and to make things easier, one for Wein and Hans, too. Magic Might and MP Conservation are wonderful additions and Magic Might, at least, should be gotten for Charlone or Wein, whichever does the most healing for you. Blood Blade and Vampire are highly suggested, as well. You should pick up a Dispel Magic for a future party member, too.

 

Just for a quick check-in, if you aren't on a New Game+, this is my suggested gem setup for the moment, assuming you have gathered the rings to produce it:

Wein: Lv3 Vampire, Lv3 Critical, Lv2 Deft Wind

Hans: Lv2 Indirect Range, Lv2 Skill Effect, Lv3 Critical

Charlone: Lv3 Magic Might, Lv3 MP Conservation, Lv2 Deft Wind

Along with the best armor their strength will allow you to equip. When you're all set to continue the story, select to visit the Magic Academy Library.

At the library, Wein will meet Karene and turn over the Marauder's Remains while also acquiring the Magic Reference Books item. Upon leaving, Max's nameless Messenger will inform you that he is waiting for you at Agriss Village. That's a bit odd. If you talked with the Xenobiologist, when Wein passes over North Grandshill, you'll find yourself in an optional battle.

 

The cat girl the Xenobiologist spoke of has ambushed the party. All of the enemies make the battle look a bit intimidating, but the enemies are rather easy if you've level up to 7. Start with Wein casting Shield on Hans and Charlone, because whether we like it or not, we're going to be surrounded. Have Charlone chant a level 3 Fire Arrow, and Hans attack the Will o' Wisp. Put two castings of Fire Arrow on the Imp to the right of the Werecat, then one to the left. If the left-most one doesn't die, shoot an arrow to finish it off to take care of the magic threat of the Imps. Move Wein to engage the threats on the left-side of the screen while Hans focuses on any enemies attempting to come after Charlone. Keep Charlone with Cure on stand-by while firing another arrow at an enemy after casting. The enemy will eventually get two Bone Golem reinforcements, but it's not a big deal. If you picked up the Art of Thievery gem, when she's in range, equip it to a character and use it on the Werecat to snatch a ring, gem, or some Elm.

When the battle is concluded, return to the Magic Academy and tell the Xenobiologist you saw the cat girl. Once you've done that, head for the South Rachel area and Wein will sense they're being watched. Pick the option "Are you from the Academy" to get the cat girl to reveal herself. The cat girl, who appears nameless, just like the Messenger, hates the Magic Academy and refuses to return, despite Wein having no plans to do such a thing. When Charlone asks to give her a name next time, have Wein agree to move this sidequest further into the future. For now, continue to Agriss Village.

 

The Messenger will guide you towards the Upstream Dam upon arriving in Agriss. Talk to the Field Worker again now, and having met Karene at the Magic Academy, she will give you Story #5. Before moving north to the Dam, make absolutely sure Wein and Hans have learned the Dash tech, and you've equipped Charlone with two Lv3 Quickness gems; this is vital for a Mission Complete in the next battle.

As expected, shady things are going on at the Rolandian dam. Max appears to smash the dam, but I swear his armor was a little more golden last time we saw him. Anyway, the group's been framed and forced to flee as Rolandian soldiers give chase; thinking them the culprits.

 

Hans, being weighed down by Max's books, chunks them aside, losing the Magic Reference Books item for you in the process. However, Wein's led the team into a dead-end with the Rolandian soldiers on their heels; which leads to our next battle. For a Mission Complete, you need to escape to the south without killing a single soldier, which is difficult, but with the Dash tech, Quickness gems, and a little luck, we can make it out with ease. To be safe, save your game just as the battle begins.

I recommend taking the route outlined in the screenshot above. With Wein and Hans using Dash and Charlone equipped with the Quickness gems, they should be able to get out without encountering resistance. However, depending on the enemy AI, Wein may get hung up on an enemy, if that happens, he will auto-attack. If so, divert Wein's path a little distance backward, then resume the above route to attempt to get by. If for any reason a character becomes cornered, reload your game and try again. Despite not fighting, you will still receive a decent amount of EXP for a Mission Complete. If you are at this point and do not have the things necessary to improve your movement, use the same path but make your way to the south with brute force. If you can kill less than four soldiers, you'll receive a Mission Clear and some bonus EXP. If you're wondering, you can get a Mission Clear here and Wein still become an Imperial Knight later in the game.

 

Charlone will take her frustrations out on Wein, blaming him for what is going on. As much as you probably want to pick otherwise, choose "I apologize for getting you into this." to appease her. The only way the group is going to get out of this predicament is to find proof of their innocence and that lies with Karene, who also witnessed Max breaking the dam. With this in mind, the party quickly makes for Grandshill.