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Post subject: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:10 pm 
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EDIT 2/27/20: I started another run through the game a couple of days ago and remembered someone asking about a complete items list...since I was at the start of the game, I figured, "Why not? There's not *that* many items anyway!" So...long story short: I made a complete list of items in the game. Yes, it's complete, as far as I know, and I also included the hidden items. I actually consulted a Japanese site which listed a lot of these items, but not all of them. Since I had already found some of them, my finds complemented the Japanese site's info for this, possibly complete, Aretha II items list. Here's the download links:

.docx format: https://www.mediafire.com/file/aa4jrxe9 ... .docx/file

.pdf format: https://www.mediafire.com/file/zze5ajh3 ... t.pdf/file

I'll remove the other links, since that older info has now been replaced with this newer, more complete version. If anyone sees anything off, let me know. I've double checked everything and it looks good so far.

But is this really, really complete? Hmm...good question. As far as items go, I think it is fairly complete. As far as secrets in the game, however, there's still one annoying thing bothering me:

Spoiler! :
In Bain Village, there's an empty house on the right side. The only other empty houses/places in the game were empty because the requirements weren't met at the time (that is, Mixed Form #5, in Milbatos, and Mixed Form #6, at the top of Argento Tower). Once the conditions were met for Mixed Form 5 & 6, lo and behold, they appeared and the place was no longer empty. Now, I'm not saying there's another Mixed Form NPC, as Mixed Form NPC #6 clearly states his is the "final" Mixed Form. However, that empty house still bothers me...I have no idea who's supposed to be there, nor what the requirements are. Heck, it might just be the game designers messing with the gamers, for all I know! Bear in mind that you don't gain access to Bain Village until pretty much the end of the game, so you'd think that any requirements would have already been covered. Well, there's still a few things I can try, before I call it quits. If anyone else finds anything, post here!


Well, back to the game for me. I've still got a few things I'd like to try!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlike Aretha I, Aretha II tends to hide all the extra items. If these items were hidden in treasure chests and just required exploration, I wouldn't even post this, but some of these items are hidden in such a way that makes them very difficult to find. So, I compiled a short list which includes the most important/interesting hidden items in Aretha II (no, it's not an exhaustive list, and yes, there are more hidden items, but exploration will reveal those). Thanks, Draken, for the info regarding the "Golden Egg". Oh, and, obviously, there's spoilers galore, just so you know.

Anyway, I've uploaded this list here:

In .docx format:
Removed, as this is an older version. Link to a newer, more complete file above.

In .pdf format:
Removed, as this is an older version. Link to a newer, more complete file above.

Hopefully it will save others some frustration :)


Last edited by Bwah117 on Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:20 pm 
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Bwah117 wrote:
Unlike Aretha I, Aretha II tends to hide all the extra items. If these items were hidden in treasure chests and just required exploration, I wouldn't even post this, but some of these items are hidden in such a way that makes them very difficult to find. So, I compiled a short list which includes the most important/interesting hidden items in Aretha II (no, it's not an exhaustive list, and yes, there are more hidden items, but exploration will reveal those). Thanks, Draken, for the info regarding the "Golden Egg". Oh, and, obviously, there's spoilers galore, just so you know.

Anyway, I've uploaded this list here:

In .docx format:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/m6bfw6sm ... .docx/file

In .pdf format:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/2iqdcbwn ... s.pdf/file

Hopefully it will save others some frustration :)
You know, it's funny, but at the time I proposed adding clues to the story script. Bongo` and several others said, "Heck, no! Localized games are getting dumbed down enough, as it is." Heh, I'll open discussion on this subject a second time. I've always been inclined to go with the majority viewpoint.


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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:17 pm 
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You know, I must admit I'm torn...on one hand, the items in question are extremely well hidden, to the point that most players will not find them (which is a shame, as the Monster Guide is a really nice feature of the game). I searched literally every spot in town for said item, but not before I went on a wild goose chase all over the game world :D

For example:
Spoiler! :
the Golden Egg...I had already tried 'talking' to every chicken in Natal with no luck. Well, it turns out you must speak with the chickens AFTER the Dark Arts Weapon is activated, as only then will they give you the Golden Egg, and that's just one of many items with such requirements.

So, yeah...I can definitely see how some would welcome hints. I must admit the purist in me would rather see the translation remain faithful to the original, though I will also admit I was quietly cursing the game programmer as I tediously searched Gura Town (actually, I only searched about 80% of Gura before I found the item, but it was still very tedious).

I also found an item called "Seram Ore". This item can be used in Mixed Form to produce new items, which I've been able to 'craft'. However, a Japanese site shows another type of 'Ore' in the game which can also be used in Mixed Craft (and, again, it produces items unavailable elsewhere). Sadly, I have not been able to find that other 'Ore' yet, but I'm still looking! Slowly but surely, I'm compiling a list of "regular", hidden items. If there's a demand, I'll upload those as well, though it's far from complete.


Well, back to the game for me (yeah, I'm playing it once more, just to make sure no other bugs managed to sneak in!)


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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:39 pm 
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Recently, localized games are getting dumbed down a little less often, finally. (I'm not talking censorship, that is another can of worms.) I'm still of the opinion spoilers definitely should never be added. Remember that company we took inspiration from for our name. Did you know they ramped up the difficulty of their RPGs not made them easier? Probably the only company that localized games from Japan and made them harder. I'm not suggesting we do that, mind you, but if you want to find something and don't want to work for it, there is guides out there. Why ruin it for those that do want to put in the effort. Sometimes a wild goose chase makes a game more endearing. And it isn't like you can't finish the game without said items. There might not be guides at first, but they'll come along in time.


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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:57 pm 
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You've definitely got a point there, Taskforce. After searching for the Monster Guide for so long, it felt incredibly rewarding to have found it. Sometimes, I don't think it's the item in question, but the search, itself, that makes the find worthwhile. In the case of the Monster Guide, however, it was totally worth it! Also, especially when it comes to games, there's always the benefit of the experience of others who've played it before, which usually results in FAQ's and guides.

I must say, though, the Aretha II designers must have a mean streak in them, as some of the hidden items have some really unusual requirements.

Spoiler! :
That reminds me: there was an empty house in Milbatos, which turned out to house the fifth Mixed Form NPC once you meet the requirements. I also noticed there's another empty house in Bain Village, at the end of the game...makes me wonder who is supposed to be there, and what requirements must be met in order for that NPC to appear (well, assuming an NPC is supposed to be there, of course). Anyway, the search continues...


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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 12:54 am 
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Yep, the big thing in Aretha-II was talking to people 1, 2, and 14 times, if necessary, then going back to town C after you've cleared towns D, E, and F, added new characters to your party, and/or acquired ocean-jumping transportation. Sometimes the hints are there for backtracking to side quests. Other times I wonder if we either missed something in the Japanese, or the original author overlooked including a hint or two he might have intended.

In Destiny of an Emperor-II, Silva Saga, and other games, the rule of the day was searching patches of seemingly empty spaces or random objects just about endlessly. In SSMS-II you talk to cats, dogs, chickens, pigs, birds - you name it! Bongo` said once the potential for even adding new Easter eggs to Aretha-II seemed to be there, but we never got around to reverse-engineering that particular game code and exploiting those possibilities. Mystic Ark also had a lot of developer secrets, tipped off by the block dumps.

Building a game and watching it come together is almost as much fun as playing one, and when Bongo` was active he loved to ferret out all of the code secrets he could find at the end. He told me once he sometimes even dreamed in code! Any given evening, he might tell me something was impossible. Then, he'd think about it all day at work, outline a new approach in his mind, arrive home and try it, and as often as not it would work!


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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 4:42 am 
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Bwah117 wrote:
You know, I must admit I'm torn...on one hand, the items in question are extremely well hidden, to the point that most players will not find them (which is a shame, as the Monster Guide is a really nice feature of the game). I searched literally every spot in town for said item, but not before I went on a wild goose chase all over the game world :D

For example:
Spoiler! :
the Golden Egg...I had already tried 'talking' to every chicken in Natal with no luck. Well, it turns out you must speak with the chickens AFTER the Dark Arts Weapon is activated, as only then will they give you the Golden Egg, and that's just one of many items with such requirements.

So, yeah...I can definitely see how some would welcome hints. I must admit the purist in me would rather see the translation remain faithful to the original, though I will also admit I was quietly cursing the game programmer as I tediously searched Gura Town (actually, I only searched about 80% of Gura before I found the item, but it was still very tedious).

I also found an item called "Seram Ore". This item can be used in Mixed Form to produce new items, which I've been able to 'craft'. However, a Japanese site shows another type of 'Ore' in the game which can also be used in Mixed Craft (and, again, it produces items unavailable elsewhere). Sadly, I have not been able to find that other 'Ore' yet, but I'm still looking! Slowly but surely, I'm compiling a list of "regular", hidden items. If there's a demand, I'll upload those as well, though it's far from complete.


Well, back to the game for me (yeah, I'm playing it once more, just to make sure no other bugs managed to sneak in!)


Hey! I just started playing this game. It's pretty fun so far! You said you were working on a regular hidden items guide, right? Any idea of when you plan to release that? :)


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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:04 am 
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To be honest, I have no idea, reason being that there's quite a few hidden items in the game (including some I have not found yet). Ideally, I'd like to wait until I've found everything, but that's not very realistic (there's a lot of hidden items). I've been through the game three times, so if you'd like to take a look at the things I've found so far, you can download this file:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/v43923ib ... 9.zip/file

It's not a guide, though, as it's mainly just screenshots of where each item is (the pictures are all labeled, and that includes the item name (usually shown) and the place where it's found). There's several things I'm still actively searching for, and if/when I find them, I'll update this. If I'm able to find a few more things, I'll go ahead and make a guide. As it is, though, I'm not sure there's enough to warrant a guide. We'll see how it goes :)

I like how regular items are hidden in Aretha II...what I don't like, however, is the annoying game mechanic that has your party automatically moving when you press 'into' a wall/item/etc. That makes searching items a bit frustrating, as you'll usually press 'into' the item, say, a crate, only to have your party move AROUND it. You get used to it, I suppose, but it makes searching for these things more difficult than it should be.

Anyway, if anyone wants to make sure they haven't missed anything, take a look at the file. Heck, if you or anyone finds anything not in the file, feel free to post your find here, as it would be nice to have as complete a list of hidden items as possible, all in one place.


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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:28 pm 
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Spoiler! :
Thanks! I've already visited Medinam Tower, but I'd never have guessed about the secret in there :O


I think it's important to document these kinds of stuff, specially for more obscure games like Aretha 2. Even if someone doesn't want to check it on a blind playthrough, it's still very interesting to know after you beat the game or something. Depending on the secrets you miss, it may even be worth a second playthrough!
Finding information about these older JRPGs is really hard if you don't know Japanese, like me. That is specially true when some Japanese sites with the information that you're seeking goes offline for some reason...

Anyways, thanks for your work! I really appreciate it! :D


---

EDIT: I've found a Devil's Ocarina searching a rock to the southeast of the item shop in Bihar. I didn't see that in your notes, so I thought it'd help letting you know :)


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Post subject: Re: Hidden Items in Aretha II...
PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 3:03 am 
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Hey, ze1. Sorry about the late reply, but I've been playing Aretha II pretty much nonstop for the last two days (I already beat the game, but today is the first time I've visited this board since my last post). Yeah, you're right about:
Spoiler! :
Medinam Tower. The funny thing is that I spent an extra hour trying to unlock the rest of the invisible maze, thinking that the maze covered ALL the dark space. I had already finished mapping the maze one hour in, but I incorrectly assumed there was a way to explore the rest, so I wasted an hour trying different things. When I reached the two hour mark, I realized my mistake: that's it, that's the whole maze, so I just continued with my game, but I thought that was funny.


Oh, and thanks for the "Devil's Ocarina" find. It was actually on that Japanese site I mentioned in the first post, and you're right, I didn't know it was there. You might want to download the newest version, as I think it's complete now and much better than the first one.

Yeah, eventually, I'm sure someone will write a detailed, in-depth FAQ for Aretha II (or not...it's hard to say sometimes). In any case, it's good that this information is released so more people can access it.


Last edited by Bwah117 on Thu Mar 26, 2020 4:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

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