Growlanser II - Chapter 9: Friendship

King Eliotte will congratulate Wein and his party on defeating Wolfgang and bringing an end to his rebellion upon return to the Burnstein Capital. Afterwards, Wein is presented with a choice on whom to spend his time off with. Your choice here determines several things. First, the ending you will receive and the subsequent unlocking of that character in Growlanser III; but only if you finish the main story and not choose the alternate path that is available shortly. Second, this character will join Wein in the beginning of the final battle, which isn't of much consequence, but notable. Third, said character will get a special portrait in the status menu; again, just cosmetic, but of note. And fourth, on a NG+ you will have a special item in your inventory specific to that character that will allow you to choose their ending again regardless of their affection; assuming you have satisfied the other requirements. Other than having maximized a character's affection for Wein, there are several factors that play a role in if you can view certain endings. If you do not meet the requirements, the character will turn down Wein's offer and the ending will default to Hans, however, this will not count towards having gotten Hans' ending. I'm not sure what happens if Hans turns down spending the day with you, but I suppose it would default to Xenos. Below I will discuss, besides maximized affection, the requirements to obtaining character endings.

• Charlone, Riviera, and Arieta's endings are required to be unlocked first before you can see any of the male character endings.
• Charlone's ending cannot be gotten unless she became a Unicorn Knight, even if her item is used.
  
• Carmaine's ending requires Lyell to be in your party, and his item is useless otherwise, too.
• Sereb has an ending, but cannot be unlocked in Growlanser III, unfortunately. To see his ending, you must first have gotten Arieta's, then use her specific item on a NG+ with Sereb in your party.
• In regards to the NG+ items, they will not work if the character is not in your party. For example: you can't use Brett's item to see his ending if you recruited Ernest Lyell.

Once you've finished the game, under the main story path only, the endings you have unlocked are denoted by the character portraits shown in the save/load menu. You, however, do not have to play through the game 9 times to see all of the endings. Hopefully, you took my advise in the last chapter and saved before returning to the Burnstein Capital. Once you've finished the game, simply reload this save and choose another character, then fight through the two final battles again to see another character's ending. After the credits roll, you are given the option to add that ending to all the save files on your memory card, which makes this possible. Of course, to see all of the endings, you will have to play through the game, at least, twice and choose the opposite of Brett/Lyell and Arieta/Sereb.

Whatever character you chose to spend the day with, a soldier will interrupt and declare that King Eliotte has summoned Wein back to the castle immediately. Maximillian has, apparently, started his own rebellion and fled into the Lost Forest area. It's up to his best friend, Wein, to subdue him.

Back out on the world map, the Burnstein Capital's wears have changed, as warned in a previous chapter, and thus a number of items that were once available here have become unbuyable. However, a couple of Lv7 gems have returned and are available here, once again. New armor includes: the Brave Gauntlet for Wein, Carmaine, and Lyell. Holy Maiden Dress for Charlone and Arieta. Enhancement Garb for Hans and Sereb, and the Angel's Leotard for Riviera, which is the best armor in the game for her. I would purchase only one of these for your inventory, however, because after the next battle, the best armor in the game becomes available for all other characters and is quite costly.

If you check the status of the character Wein spent the day with, you'll see they have a slightly different character portrait. You'll have also noticed that there is a day counter at the top of the world map screen. If you wish to select an alternate, but not recommended, story path, Wein needs to make it to the Time & Space before the number of days expire. Even if not planning to take this path, I recommend you making it to the Tower before this, as there will be additional enemies in the battle if you do. Although, if you've been having a tough time in the battles, it could work towards your advantage to let the days run out and not have to face as many adversaries in the next battle. Whatever you choose to do, if you're a completionist, I recommend you swing by Starkberg. After the next battle, the armor shop here will change and the following items will become unbuyable: Mirage Gauntlet, Black Garment, Feather Robe, Elven Leotard. Make sure to add these to your inventory before continuing further.

If you make it to the Time & Space Tower before your set number of days expire, you'll find Maximillian and Logan preparing to enter the Tower. If you ran out of days, only Logan will be here waiting for you. Max is planning on using the Power Mask, that the group encountered sealed in the West Burnstein Ruins at the very beginning of the game, to force mankind into peace through its ability to manipulate and control. Max will then give Wein the option of joining him. I highly recommend that you refuse and only play Max's scenario if you save before making the choice and can return later to this save file to complete the game normally.

 

Unlike Wolfgang's scenario, there is absolutely nothing to be gained from choosing to join with Max; only an additional battle and a slightly different final battle and ending than the main story. Hans, Brett/Lyell, Arieta/Sereb will also permanently leave your party and you will NOT get credit for obtaining a character's ending. It is interesting, however; and worth playing at least once, just don't override your current save file and lose your progress with it. If there is one positive to be gained from siding with Max, it's the vast majority of the gems in the game will be for sale, but with the exception of the Lv7 Wizard's Secret, they are ones you were able to buy throughout the main story. Wizard's Secret can be bought in Wolfgang's scenario, though. Despite the number of gems for sale, you will be unable to purchase the best armor for your characters and the Zauerberg Arena is inaccessible. For more information on Maximillian's scenario, see the next chapter.

With the refusal of Max's proposal, the party is thrown into the next battle. Although at this point it's only for the additional EXP and Elm, if any of your party members fall in this battle you will not receive a Mission Complete. As you can tell from the number of enemies and how spread apart your party members are, this is going to be a very difficult battle. Begin the battle with Arieta/Sereb moving behind Wein, Riviera behind Brett/Lyell, Charlone to the back of Carmaine, and Hans to the rearguard of Xenos. Once Charlone is in position, have her System Shock the Battle Wizard on the left-side of the screen to take him out quickly. Arieta/Sereb should use their Quicken Aria tech to begin casting, at least, a Lv3 Tornado, with Riviera using Strengthen Magic and Lv2 Quake. Carmaine is going to be needed as a front-line fighter, so have Charlone begin chanting Healing after using System Shock.

 

As for Hans, if you want some additional EXP and ring weapon drops, he's going to need Lv9 Transport Wings and the Lv7 Skill Effect gems. At the start of the battle, Maximillian, the Monk Soldier, and Commander begin to make for the entrance of the Tower. All three can be defeated, however, defeating Max is a lost cause, but make sure to throw a Thievery at him before he gets away. You CAN defeat Max, just causing him to flee into the Tower anyway, but the amount of damage you need to do in an extremely short amount of time is near-impossible and he is immune to all status effects and has well over 1000 HP (He drops no ring weapon, either, if you're curious). However, his two associates can be afflicted with effects and have their progress into the Tower halted. You may want to save just before Hans attacks, and if you're lucky, you'll get the Monk Soldier with either Paralysis or Petrify and the Commander with Paralysis, leaving them sitting ducks to pick off. They both give very good EXP and high-level ring weapons. This is completely optional, though.

If at anything, make sure Hans gets Thievery off on, at least, the Commander. He occasionally carries Lv9 gems as seen in the screenshot above. I've also gotten Lv9 Knock Out and Holy Amulet from him before, as well. Meanwhile, Wein, Carmaine, Xenos, and Brett/Lyell are going to need to take on two of the melee fighters at a time, with Hans and the mages safely to the back of them. If you've learned it, the Bait tech can be extremely useful here, you just need to survive the first onslaught until Riviera and Arieta/Sereb can get their spells off, then your fighters can mop up the remains. Once Hans uses Thievery on the the trio fleeing into the Tower, have him System Shock the Battle Wizard on the right-side of the screen to defeat him, leaving just Logan and the archers to deal with.

 

Have Wein approach Logan, and use Thievery on him, for a short scene. Logan drops high-level ring weapons, so you may consider equipping a Double Rings and Empower gems before defeating him. Having defended his best friend's son, Max, to his dying breath, Logan will pass away and the final battle inside the Time & Space Tower lies before you. If you want to do random battles, this is your absolute last chance to do so; once Max has been defeated, all encounters will cease, but you can still fight at the Zauerberg Arena.

Make your way back to Starkberg and you'll see that the father you met at the Lost Forest has been reunited with his son who works at the armory. Having fulfilled this requirement, all of the best armor in the game is now for sale at the armor shop. Spriggan Gauntlet for Wein, Carmaine, and Lyell. Royal Armor for Xenos and Brett. Oracle's Dress for Charlone and Arieta. The Fairy Queen Garb for Hans and Sereb. And the aforementioned Angel's Leotard for Riviera. For completionists sake, buy an additional Royal Armor for the character, Patrick, in Wolfgang's scenario as all of these pieces of armor are not for sale in that story branch.

 

Additionally, the battle encounters on the world map have received their final level upgrades. The highest encounterable enemies will be level 28, which is extremely unfortunate for those of us who want to reach higher levels. Around level 35, you'll receive so few EXP, making it higher than that is incredibly difficult. You can always use Lv7 Miracle Trainee gems to acquire more master points and statistics though, but it's frustrating basically being capped at a certain level when they, theoretically, go all the way to 99. When you're prepared to finish the game, make your way back to the Time & Space Tower and ascend to the top.

Before you find Max, Wein and the character you choose to spend your time off with at the Burnstein Capital will have a scene together.

 

At the summit of the Tower, Max is preparing the brainwashing ritual with the Power Mask. Wein and his chosen companion will rush in to stop him, prepared to do so by themselves if need be. Maxamillian's not about to let Wein stand in the way of his dreams, however, so the final conflict between friends is at hand.

Even though Wein and his companion begin the battle alone, your fellow party members will join the battle after a couple of rounds have passed. As long as you have the Transport Wings and can dispatch the two Battle Wizards quickly, the pressing issue in this battle is defeating Max before the Power Mask's ceremonial ring is filled, which, of course, is a game over. Because of this, you may be tempted to rush into the trio of enemies before Wein, but I recommend hanging back and casting a Lv3 Attack Up and Shield on Wein, then approaching them slowly with long-range Penetration Attack and Perimeter Pulse techs when they get close. If Wein's companion is Xenos or Brett/Lyell, cast the buffers on them as well to begin their charge. All other characters should support Wein with healing and magic.

 

When your party members join you, their positioning is a little varied depending on who started the battle with Wein, but generally, Charlone, Riviera, and Xenos are on the left-side, with Carmaine, Hans, Brett/Lyell, and Arieta/Sereb on the right-side. Hans' first order of business is to System Shock both Battle Wizards to take them out; Arieta/Sereb can support him with a Quicken Aria tech + Blast. With the Wizards out of the way, any characters that have learned it need to use the Physical Defense tech right away. Although it takes forever to cast, Maximillian is charging a high-level Meteor spell that will absolutely devastate a majority of the battlefield. Physical Defense will greatly reduce the damage, however. If you don't have it, have Charlone and Carmaine both hold with their highest-level healing spells until after he pulls it off; once he's cast it, he won't cast it again. Hans can delay Meteor's casting with Aria Disturbance, but it's only a matter of time until you are hit with it. Wein, Xenos, and Brett/Lyell need to rush the enemies on their respective sides, inching their way toward Max. Riviera and Arieta/Sereb should both be using their Strengthen Magic tech combined with Lv2 Quake to heavily damage all enemies on the screen. If you're going to NG+, make sure Hans steals from the Commander, Monk Soldier, and Max himself.

Wein will likely be facing-off with the Commander guarding Max, so beware of the potential stun effect and use Refine if it occurs. Once all of the basic enemies are cleared out, absolutely do not rush Max with all of your fighters unless the ceremonial ring is more than two glyphs away from being filled. This is because Max will use Perimeter Pulse that not only inflicts heavy damage, but has a crazy-high potential to stun everyone it hits. The key to defeating Max quickly is the Berserk tech; possessed by Wein, Xenos, and Brett. This will penetrate his high defense, although be ready to heal the character using the tech. If you don't have Berserk, you'll need to rely heavily on System Shock. Magic is essentially useless against Max, so use Carmaine to heal, Charlone/Riviera to cast Attack Up, and Arieta/Sereb ready with Refine in case someone becomes stunned. It should only take a few hits of Berserk to put an end to Max's ambitions. Note: Every character has a special scene with Max if they engage him physically. That includes the mages, but you'll need to equip them with Lv6 Quickness gems in order for them to have a chance to reach Max before the circle is illuminated fully; besides the fact this being extremely dangerous, but worth trying at least once.

A wounded Max will fall from the Tower and Carmaine rushes in and destroys the Power Mask just in time.

 

Despite the battle being over, a sorrowful Wein will stay behind and hope that Maximillian might resurface from the lake of the Tower. Charlone will come and persuade him to return to the Burnstein Capital and you'll be back out on the world map. As stated earlier, random battles are gone, but you can still use the Zauerberg Arena, if you'd like. Since your Elm does not carry over to a New Game+, I recommend that you visit the various towns and exhaust your supply on armor and gems for your inventory. If at anything, you can sell these to have some extra money at the beginning of your next game.

Before you return to the Capital, stop by West Burnstein and have Wein walk to the outlook. Here, you'll find Maximillian waiting for you. He was saved from the lake by a group of orphaned kids living in the nearby forests. He'll lament his actions, and have found new hope for peace in the future of the next generation. Forgiving and letting him leave the country to explore the world, the two best friends will say their last goodbyes. Seeing this scene unlocks Maximillian as a playable character in Growlanser III.

 

Upon return to the Burnstein Capital, King Eliotte will thank Wein and his party for all of their service to the Kingdom and, after viewing a scene with Wein's chosen companion, the credits will roll.

Bringing a close to the main story of Growlanser II. Thank you for following along with me on this journey!

 

After the credits, the game will ask you if you want to add the bonuses you obtained to all of your save files. This includes: character endings you've seen, including Max's scene at the lookout that unlocks him in Growlanser III, and the "Extra" items on the title screen you collected like "Sandra's Story". Along with these things, this also unlocks Wein as a playable character in Growlanser III, as well. You can then create a new save file to begin a New Game+. The following things carry over to a NG+:

• Armor, gems, ring weapons in inventory
• Armor, gems, ring weapons equipped to your characters (Placed in inventory)
  
• Character ending special items (None for Wein, Patrick, or Max)
  

What doesn't carry over:

• Character levels, statistics, abilities learned, master points
  
• Elm
• Special items like the Stories, Sweet Potatoes, ect.
  
• Relationship values
• Kills for gems like Expert Trial

All the above applies to other scenario's endings, as well. Continue reading on to explore the further alternate scenarios for Growlanser II.