011. Rippletide - Mega64.net

Today we'll be exploring the coastal port town of Rippletide. It's a small place, not too many NPCs, and a few we'll be saving for a couple Side Stories in a bit.

This is also where I really get to experience the joy that is Scrutinize's success rate. I mained Alfyn my first game so I was spoiled with reliable info boxes.

Thankfully this guy's the hardest one and I get him first try, but 70% is probably the average around here.

Guy must have gotten started early in his career!

In addition to having Black Attire for a whopping 90 leaves cheaper than the equipment shop, there's a nice dagger that gives an Evasion bonus and has a chance of inflicting Poison, which is actually good in this game.

Actually I should probably pick that up next time I boot up the game to record, it'll be nice for Therion or Primrose once we get them.

The Colziones have a very basic item shop, but we can Scrutinize them all the same.

...though it's a bit difficult with their 50% success rate.

Olneo and Marina both have some really good items that we can't afford. I believe the Beastly Scarf restores a set 100HP each turn, as opposed to certain abilities giving a percentage of Max HP, but I'm not finding any sources right now to verify.

Marina has a Rare Stone for vendor fodder and a Dragon's Scarf, which restores a set amount of SP each turn.

Both are obviously intended to be bought later in the game, when the effects won't be as overpowering.

This guy seems suspicious, but...

...he only sells herbs.

...Hmmmmmm...

This is the merchant Tressa bought wine from. Oddly we can't purchase from him again.

But she knows all kinds of stories, so we sometimes go visit to hear her tell one. My favorite stories are about this strange land that lies over on the other side o' the ocean.

Entertainment's probably hard to come by in this sleepy town, especially since there seem to be few kids here.

He's also got a couple of plums for sale.

Of course we have an ability to help out Tressa in her hometown.

This guy only has grapes and plums. Still very useful for us, but not worth a screenshot.

Not that I ever get a chance to speak them. All my knowledge is good for is telling tales to the children.

It's a shame to have accumulated such knowledge in a lifetime and no longer having any use for it. Luckily I'm ahead of the curve and all the knowledge I've accumulated is already useless.

A nice variety of Soulstones, at least!

Speaking of which, this is an accessory that blocks Silence. With Silence you can't use skills. Since I have nothing else, might as well give it to Cyrus!

Funnily enough, I believe this is the item hint associated with the silent merchant earlier.

Take caution - they say there are pirates hiding out in the cave. And monsters, of course.

Some of these are tragic.

...Then all the darker when you realize you can steal her dead husband's harpoon that she uses to survive. I mean, it would make a decent upgrade...

Obviously, she's not interested in selling it. She does sell an Evasion-boosting Slippery Nut, though.

Essence of X are Concoct components. Grape/Plum/Olive should be somewhat obvious what effects they'll have, at least for defensive concoctions.

I've heard there's a village far to the south where you can get the best quatrait flowers...

I'm sure we'll be traveling south eventually...

Also Cyrus apparently got too personal and has earned the ire of the town, meaning we can't do Path Actions any longer.

Luckily we can get that fixed, for a price of course. 2000 leaves does sting a bit this early on.

At least it wasn't terminal seasickness.

These are very basic Concoct components, but they're also dirt cheap and you should honestly buy them as often as you can since Sleepweed and Addlewort can be a pain to accumulate at times.