For many of you, time is of the essence, so here is a brief synopsis of my previous journey. I, the mischievous boy known as Ark, lived in a village known as Crysta, which I previously believed to be the epicenter of the Universe. One day, I violated the Elder's trust and opened a mysterious door that brought a calamity upon my village. The Elder then made me aware that this village was a part of a vast underworld and sent me on a journey to restore my village. After activating five towers and restoring five continents: Eurasia, North America, South America, Africa, and Australia, my village reawakened. The Elder then sent me on a journey to restore the world above. I transformed what was once a barren wasteland into a world that was full of lush vegetation, flocks of birds, animals that roamed the Earth, and I brought about the restoration of humankind. This journey was a grueling experience, so I lost consciousness for three years after reviving humankind.
Returning to the present, I awoke in small village in Tibet teaming with yaks and monks. I hadn't witnessed a single human since my journey to the surface of the Earth, so this was a surprise. I was made aware that I had been out cold for three years, so I once again attempted to find my place in this rapidly transforming world. Before awakening, I had heard the Elder's voice. He entrusted me with a new task: revive "The Genius". Could he have been any more vague? First, I was thrust into a land devoid of life, and now, I had to find a "Genius" in a land that was the polar opposite of what I had previously witnessed. I wondered why the Elder knew so much? And why did he desire the revival of the surface and its inhabitants, when he previously secluded me and the rest of his village from the outside world. I realized that regardless of what the Elder was thinking, I must press on with my journey; otherwise, there would be no hope of returning to my beloved homeland.
After resting, I awoke to a town full of the undead. These walking corpses were out for my blood, so I had to quickly devise a plan to save myself and the girl. I wondered why these people that were previously human were suddenly undead? Did someone cast a spell on them? My racing thoughts had to wait while I hunted for the girl through unconventional means. With the help of the girl's scarf, her dog, and a holy emblem, I managed to find her amongst the hordes of the revolting undead. When I discovered her, she was once again angry, but at least she was a little more talkative this time. She informed me that she had created a mirage to make this undead city look like the town she formerly inhabited. This girl, Meilin, hadn't gotten over her dead parents, so she would frequent the city to relive her memories. Her powers enabled her to do so. This time, I was able to take her back to her grandfather without any major problems.
Meilin's grandfather was joyful upon her return, so he and the village leader gave me directions that would enable me to reach new lands. Their advice was to travel to a camp of nomads that would teach me how to cross a seemingly endless desert.
The castle was home to a king, guards, servants, and a princess. This princess was of a foreign land--a village of which she was the last remnant, so the king took her under his wing. A female knight under his command named Fyda was responsible for the princess' protection. I was soon made aware that this princess was mute, so foreign suitors had been entering the castle with the goal of helping her regain her voice. I tried my hand at making the princess speak, but I failed miserably. As a clueless foreigner, I felt hopelessly lost, so I went in search of a solution. By sleuthing, I had discovered a few clues: a Robin Hood-like figure was locked inside of the castle, the king appeared to have a bad reputation, a townsperson mentioned he was looking for a mushroom in a small forest, and there was the village the princess was from. The princess' former home was guarded by a dense forest that was impassable without a certain item. A magical bell was needed to guide a person through this forest, and it was in the possession of the king, so the only way to obtain that item would be to resort to thievery.
Once I was inside the town, I discovered the village's past with the help of Meilin. Meilin had the ability to see what had transpired, so she offered to create a mirage in the hope that Elle would then speak. We quickly returned to the castle, and Meilin unleashed her mirage. In the mirage, we discovered that the king had been seeking a great treasure hidden in this village, and no one would reveal its location. In a rage, he decided to wipe out the entire village. Elle was the only person saved for unknown reasons, but her parents had been murdered. After knowing that Elle had discovered the truth, the king expelled me from the castle. I rested a night before proceeding onward in my journey.
The next morning when I awoke, I discovered that the king was dead and Princess Elle was nowhere to be found. Had Elle murdered the king? Was the princess kidnapped? I was unable to return to the castle to find the answers, so instead, I participated in a town election before moving on. Through voting, I helped the citizen wanting liberty and democracy obtain a position of power. I then moved on to a previously inaccessible area guided by a toll booth.
I soon reached a small Portuguese fishing village where I received word that the Castle of Spain had turned into a nightmare. Columbus, who had recently returned from an overseas voyage had been imprisoned there unjustly, because he was blamed for the death of the Queen's three sons. Apparently, the Queen went berserk and murdered everyone in the castle. I decided to see if the rumors were true, so I headed to the Castle of Spain with the hope of rescuing Columbus and securing a vessel to cross the sea.
Columbus thanked me, and offered me his vessel. Being an intrepid explorer, I had to accept, but I first wanted a good night's sleep. During the evening, Fyda (Elle's bodyguard) came to me and requested that I take Elle with me on my journey, since she was in grave danger. I didn't know who was after her, but I willingly obliged. The next morning, I set sail, but we all know how ship voyages turn out. Not only are ships often reduced to rubble from storms, but they often have to deal with sea monsters and ghosts. As luck would have it, during the night I heard a scream. Elle was in the clutches of a ghost, but I quickly fought off the howling banshees. I put in a good night's work, so I thought I would lay back and catch some z's. Like a famous spiky red-haired hero, I got out of bed late after the ship had arrived in the New World. I noticed that Elle was missing, but I was handed a letter by a fellow sailor. The letter revealed that she had indeed killed the king and didn't want to be a burden to me, so went off gallivanting.
In the farming village, I discovered that there was a prominent inventor who had created a flying device, but he had gone missing ever since he crashed into the Great Lakes. I attempted to enter the Great Lakes, but someone was guarding the entrance, awaiting his wife. I decided not to end the pathetic man's life, and instead, proceeded to journey south. A large river hampered my progress, but a builder was willing to do something about it if I could gather some logs. I discovered a tiny forest full of evil stumps, and I started hacking away faster than Paul Bunyan. Soon, I brought the engineer some logs, and he quickly constructed a bridge. Once it was complete, I journeyed on to the carnival town of Liotto.
There, I heard about a tower in the sea that was under attack by monsters. Before heading out to kick some monster tail, I stopped at this romantic spot with Meilin who I had encountered again recently. She wanted me to reveal my love for her at night, but alas, an image of Elle appeared, so she was out of luck. With a hole permanently etched in her heart, she yelled at me and decided to skedaddle. Ignoring Meilin's outburst, I decided to rest once again.
In the morning, I journeyed to Mermaid Tower by boat, and cleared out the tall underwater structure that was infested with monsters. How I could breathe underwater was a mystery, but I managed to free the mermaids from captivity. One of them, was the wife of the man guarding the Great Lakes, and she had become a mermaid after dying in a shipwreck, due to reincarnation. She bestowed me with a ring to give to her husband, so he could rest in peace.
I quickly returned to the Great Lakes and presented the annoying guard with a ring from his wife. He thanked me and spontaneously vanished, so I proceeded to enter the cave underneath the lakes. This cave was a clearly a giant monster's lair. I fought off venomous enemies, traveled through underwater portals, used flippers to swim, and fought off starfish parasites plaguing a dragon. These starfish had been holding Will, the man responsible for inventing the airplane hostage, so after a lengthy battle, I managed to secure his release. Unfortunately, Will no longer had the parts to build another airplane, so I had to head to Yunkou where the parts were supposedly located.
I once again had to travel by sea, but before heading to Yunkou which was near the coast of China, I traveled to Neotokio in Japan. This town was similar to late 1990's Japan with modern amenities such as TVs and computers. It also featured a developer's room, where I got to meet various developers of Terranigma. I don't know what developers are, but it was cool nonetheless.
Why was he here? I don't know, but he offered to create a distraction so I could sneak inside the castle. His distraction allowed me to make like Shadow and sneak inside the castle. Instead of being a typical dungeon filled with monsters, this area was more Metal Gear- esque. I couldn't break necks like Solid Snake, but I managed to sneak past guards holding flashlights with some running shoes I had obtained during a side trip to Australia. When I reached the castle's prison, I encountered Elle hanging in chains. As I went about rescuing her, I fell into a pit below.
It turns out that Meilin had created a mirage of Elle. She was angry with me for breaking her heart, and she had also been working for the owner of this castle (who was in league with the king who had destroyed Elle's village), all along. I foolishly fell for a few other illusions, but Meilin was later done in by her own trickery. Her boss, Mr. Wong, had turned on her since her usefulness had ended, and he decided to kill us both. Fyda later appeared to help rescue Elle from his clutches. A mercenary Mr. Wong had hired, Royd, who I encountered briefly in other parts of the world turned on Mr. Wong, so I managed to escape with Elle. I discovered that Mr. Wong had been working for someone named Beruga that lived near the town of Mosque. With this knowledge, I headed back to meet Will who had built an airplane. I then borrowed Will's amazing airplane, and flew to the town of Mosque in the Middle East.
When I reached Mosque, I was overcome with a feeling of dread. The city appeared to be ran by religious zealots who worshipped a messianic figure known as Beruga. Apparently, he was a renowned scientist who had been dead for ages, but his revival was imminent. Bergua's place of residence was a futuristic monolith to the south, so I prepared to infiltrate the tower by land.
After I was unconscious, I heard the Elder's voice. He congratulated me for finally awakening "The Genius". The Elder mentioned that my quest was complete, and that I could now rest for eternity. Had I been used this entire time? I thought I was a goner, but the ruler of Tibet managed to revive me, and I found myself in the village where my quest for "The Genius" began. Beruga was obviously quite powerful, and an impending calamity threatened the surface, so it was clear that something had to be done. I went to the Kumari, the village leader seeking what I must do. He sent me on a quest in search of five starstones. I feared that I was being used again, but I mustered up courage and took a chance.
With the starstones in hand, I proceeded to a massive graveyard in a desert in Antarctica (I know, crazy right?), and there I placed the starstones inside five skulls. A spirit appeared, and asked me why I was able to survive all these near-death experiences? He explained that I was able to survive because I was the hero. This spirit was the light side Ark, my spirit, and I was the dark side Ark. We would work in tandem to save the world. He explained that this Earth ran on a cycle. Birth and rebirth were ever-present in this world and even the world could be destroyed and recreated, but someone had thrown this process off. Because Beruga had been revived, the world was thrown into chaos, and it was up to me to do something about it. The spirit then zapped me with a beam of light and I went unconscious. He told me to dream about the Earth.
My dream was an usual one--I was a baby in the village of Storkholm (the surface parallel to Crysta), and the Elle of my home village walked in my room. A voice told her to kill me, so she took me to the basement that looked just like the place where my journey began and proceeded to do so. All of the sudden, the Elle from the surface walked in, and she was surprised that there was another Elle. Before she could do anything, Yomi (the creature I unleashed from Pandora's Box at the beginning of the game) told my childhood friend Elle to kill me. Before this could occur, several distant voices reached me. Kumari, the elder from Tibet, the great tree I saved, and the animals I had revived told that I was the only hope for the world's revival. Yomi then immobilized me and the Elle from the surface, and told my childhood friend, Elle, to kill me. He mentioned that I no longer had any use after reviving Beruga. The Elder had ordered my death, and this was necessary in order for Dark Gaia to revive. Elle refused to kill me, so Yomi decided to carry out the deed, and she sacrificed herself in order to save me. In her dying breath, she mentioned that she had always wanted to be with me, so I was deeply saddened by her passing. I wondered why I had even gone on this journey in the first place? Did I cause the death of my good friend because of my childish antics and need for adventure? Now was not the time for questions however, because I still had a world to save.
A box similar to the one I opened at the beginning of the game was in this basement. What was inside? Yomi. This Yomi was light side Yomi, and appeared not to have evil intent, but one can never be too sure. He mentioned that great treasures could also be found inside the box that were previously hidden from the king. The village was guarded with wolves (or the spirits of the villagers) in order to protect the treasures. What were the treasures? Powerful hero equipment that's a perfect fit for a demon slaying badass like yours truly. After donning the equipment, I was ready to waltz out of the village when a bird delivered an important message. This message was from my allies who told me to meet at Beruga's tower in Siberia. One transatlantic flight later, I arrived at Beruga's doorstep. As I entered, I would encounter the old man from Lhasa, Fyda the swordswoman, Perel the skater, Royd, a former mercenary, and Meilin. These allies would help me overcome many obstacles. They activated numerous switches and destroyed deadly turrets and security cameras. As we were about to corner Beruga, he climbed aboard his airship, but we managed to board the ship, just in the nick of time.
My light side spirit explained that I was hidden away in the village of Crysta, so I would be unable to meddle in Dark Gaia's affairs. He had recognized me as the legendary hero, so he created a copy of a light side town and held me prisoner. This place wasn't meant to exist, so it would soon disappear. The surface world was all that would remain. Even I would disappear for good. The spirit gave me one last chance to walk around the village, however. I felt a sense of despair as I walked around my once lively home. Everything I had once known was forever lost. I now understand the sadness that overwhelmed Elle when her homeland was crushed by a greedy king. What did I go on this journey for? I could have been happy and lived a carefree life in my faux village if I just minded my own business. Yomi appeared and tried to comfort me. He explained that I was basically a god-on-Earth with my ability to bring life to the world. Yomi also mentioned that good and evil would always exist as long as humans were alive, so the cycle would be never-ending.
Yomi not only tried to cheer me up, but I finally learned what he was. Apparently, Yomi was the creature that humankind and animals had evolved from. We evolved from his state, and may eventually return to his state (but that's not such a comforting thought if you ask me). With nothing else left to tell me, I decided to accept my fate and sleep eternally.
Before perishing for good, I experienced one last dream. Elle appeared, and mentioned that she tried to kill me when I was a baby at the Elder's command. She failed because she realized that we were all individuals and shouldn't simply live at the command of one entity. Elle told me we would meet again, and my last memory was my transformation into a bird, where I'd watch the world grow older...
But there is one last memory. Someone knocked on Elle's door at the close of the adventure. Could it have been me?
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