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Beyond the Beyond: Update 47: Bonus Update - All About Zalagoon
Normally I do this stuff in the end of act bonus update but we're a long way until then and it makes more sense to just get this out of the way now. Before we leave Zalagoon let's go over the odds and ends weird things that we haven't touched on yet. Our next update will resume where we left off in the story.
We saw an old man in front of this bookshelf while wandering Zalagoon Castle. However prior to defeating G there are actually no NPCs anywhere inside the castle except those scripted for their specific plot-relevant placements. With some walk-through-walls magic it is easy to get into the archives. All of the small rooms in the castle share a map so we could technically get here via walk-through-walls from the bedrooms or the armory. That isn't necessary though as the staircase warps are functional.
We find a book: The Prophecy of Text Overrun! Actually it's just the book the old man mentioned. Without cheating there's no way to see this in game so it must have easily slipped under playtesters' radar during localization.
The old man stated exactly what the book says in game so at least nothing was missed by having the bookshelf blocked off. Also, pay no attention to how the shadow being cast by the west wall doesn't make any sense given the fact that this room is below ground and the light source must be within the room.
Another Case of the Deads
The return to Zalagoon presents another scene with mandatory dialogue and no pesky revive gem to get in the way of script breaking. Let's see how the developers handled this one!
As an aside, before I begin, the servant woman sprite pictured above is apparently only used right here. I actually mistook her for a soldier the first time I saw her because from behind her head scarf looks a lot like the helmets the soldiers wear. She vanishes without a trace as does the boy acting as Sir Bison's messenger.
First off I used our current team for this as it was much more expedient to use codes for VP, LP, and status to make the character I wanted dead well... dead by putting VP at 1, LP at 0, and making them poisoned. First up is Samson.
With him dead Sir Bison greets the group and the game runs a character check.
But Sir Samson is not well! We won't be able to stop Glade unless we can prove your identities. *turns to priest* Pastor, please help Sir Samson.
Sir Bison then turns to the priest and asks them to help Samson. Said priest has no dialogue and doesn't even seem to acknowledge the request but the revival fanfare plays. Once complete Sir Bison continues on with his next line as if nothing had happened. Samson is revived but still poisoned because apparently this revival process doesn't bother to address the reason the person died in the first place.
Note, however, that the priest doesn't ever do anything on their own. All they've got is their one line and the ability to stand around to provide a plausible reason why someone would be brought back to life. They won't save the game or fix bad status.
Edward's turn! He gets the same treatment. The result is the same with just a different line of dialogue. If both characters are dead Sir Bison will say each line then the fanfare plays and both are are restored to life. Efficient!
Prince Edward is dead! We can't oppose Glade without Marion's Prince. [sic] *turns to priest* Pastor, please help Prince Edward.
When G appears zie actually asks for Finn so I reloaded the savestate at Sir Bison and repeated the process. Neither Sir Bison nor the priest with him care if anyone other then Edward or Samson or dead - in fact the priest never does anything at all but stand there like a prop.
Anyway in this instance when G asks for Finn the team all shake their heads. Normally this is when they would instead do the "shake with fear" animation and then Finn would nod and the scene would move on.
Since Finn isn't there G is disappointed.
What?! Finn is not here? Sir Shutat told me to use this opportunity to dispatch him. But I guess I can't. Then, I'll just have to destroy you guys instead.
Then the battle against G begins down one team member. Eh, we can still take him.
Rerunning the process for Samson I wanted to know how the pillar lifting scene would look this time without him and the result was the same as the last time. Since the game didn't have a sprite to follow the camera stayed put while an invisible Samson performed his heroic feet just out of sight to the west. It's one of those scenes that's still hard to convey in just screenshots.
And here's the fight with G without Samson present. The game just chugged merrily along like nothing was wrong.
Channeling the power and fury of his slain comrade Finn lashes out with incredible force dealing 281 damage!
Moments later a mighty critical blow for 668 damage fells the demon!
Or, you know, Finn cheated because I used a code to give him 999 attack power so the battle would end quickly. It took four rounds and I still suspect that G is in the back row.
In this cropped down, zoomed in screenshot taken in the corner of the Zalagoon exterior map are the sprites needed for the player party and G's appearance. I can pick out Annie, Tont, and Samson but Edward's buried. This isn't unusual for the game. It loads stuff like this due to event flags.
It's possible to get into buildings via the walk-through-walls code but there are no NPCs hidden behind closed doors. Everybody locked their doors and ran off. Finn and Steiner can't be seen because they didn't enter through the door meaning the instruction telling the game to hide the roof was never triggered.
The exception would be the bar because the interior is a different map. The population and script haven't changed since the last time we were here which makes it seem like these people have locked themselves inside the bar and are trying to wait out armageddon or something.
The ale-securer guy is missing which means Finn and company can peak at the barrels in the back. One does indeed contain ale.
The one in the corner contains wine. Just don't ask where the winery or the vineyard are because the game's not telling.
The rest of the castle exterior really is a set piece. There is no collision set and the layering is not configured to create the illusion of depth with player sprites. As an example of what the game would do take the pillar in the bottom right corner of the screenshot above. If Finn were to walk into the shadow he would find that it sits on the layer above him creating the illusion that the pillar is casting its shadow over him. It's not perfect though. Steiner isn't on the same layer as Finn (probably because Steiner is on an auto-follow routine) and Finn's shadow doesn't disappear as it should but overall this is still rather impressive for an early Playstation game. A Sega Genesis definitely can't do layering like this.
And here's an example of how the game sometimes fails to account for shadows. Steiner should be casting a shadow on the servant woman but that layer falls under her. Finn was also able to walk right through her. What's supposed to happen is the player emerges from the waterway on the tile north of her which automatically triggers her scripting. Until her script is complete Finn can talk to her but she doesn't impede his movement.
To round off the trip around the exterior map here are some of the tiles crammed into the upper right corner. We've got various animations: flags blowing in the wind, the water in the two ponds, and the portcullis.
On a final note the game refuses to acknowledge Steiner's presence when he's hovering above Finn's bed. If Finn skips waking up his friends then any time the player re-enters this part of the castle the game will try to warp Finn back to this bed which can result in everything going haywire and the game becoming unplayable.
I have mentioned recently that walk-through-walls codes can be dangerous, right?
UNUSED MUSIC
As mentioned with the Music Box there are 3 tracks unused over the course of the game.
Unused 1:
This track is a bit peppy but also gives off a stressful scene sort of vibe. It was probably intended for some sort of action sequence in the game.
Unused 2:
Slow and plodding this track could have been used for a town or dungeon although it sounds like a better fit for a puzzle-filled dungeon. Honestly it doesn't sound as polished as the used tracks.
Unused 3:
This melodic track has a cousin that is used in the game and it's a shame this one didn't get a spot anywhere. It would be perfect for some lonely little village or shrine somewhere.
Unused 4:
This is actually a fanfare and can't be heard in the Music Box. I'm not really sure where this would fit though. Some sort of event trigger maybe?
Next time on Beyond the Beyond - haven't forgotten about the bridge.
