Luminous Arc 3 After Break / Intermission Guide

V1.4 - 2010 Aug 30

V1.3 - 2010 Jan 21
V1.2 - 2010 Jan 14
V1.1 - 2010 Jan 13
V1.0 - 2010 Jan 12
Author: cuc
V1.4 Update Notes
When I first started this guide, I was expecting the game to be
announced for localization in a short time. Thus the guide was written
in anticipation of the eventual English version. Unfortunately, at this
moment no publisher has shown interest in picking this game up.
The purpose of this guide is to provide info on a relatively confusing
and unintuitive aspect of the game, not to create a full translation
aid. However, I do feel the need to add a list of characters and some
basic info about the gameplay.
Other than that, the V1.4 update is mainly a belated update of info
about the completion rate.
Table of Contents
I. The basics
1.1 Difficulty, New Game+ and advice for new players
1.2 Character and intermission chart
1.3 FP
1.4 Party member intermission
1.5 Bath event
1.6 NPC intermission
II. Related topics
2.1 Secret information
2.2 Good luck gifts
2.3 Side quest
2.4 Main story dialogue choices (Glen and Anogia)
2.5 Ending
2.6 Other secrets and features
2.7 100% Completion and bonus content
III. Advanced techniques and hacking
3.1 Missable intermission
3.2 Obtaining all intermissions
3.3 The 4-playthrough challenge
3.4 Hacking
IV. Intermission dialogue choices
4.1 Party member intermission choices
4.2 Bath event choices
4.3 NPC intermission choices
V. Credits and Copyright
I. The basics
1.1 Difficulty, New Game+ and advice for new players
Before we start, there are some important things to know.
Difficulty:
-Once the game starts, there's no way to change the difficulty (other than
hacking), not even in New Game+.
-All enemies have increased stats in Hard mode. The Hard mode is truly
challenging.
-The enemies have increased stats in New Game+. The stats won't be increased
further in subsequent playthroughs.
Items retained in New Game+:
The inventory, the party's stats, FP and zodiac cards (explained below),
status of shop, library and alchemy workshop.
For a new player, it's important to know how you want to play the game.
There are some unavoidable spoilers.
-If you only plan to beat it once, read the "main story dialogue choices"
section as soon as you reach Ch19.
-If you are aiming for 100% completion, read the related section.
1.2 Character and intermission chart
In Luminous Arc 3, each chapter is divided into a day part and a night part.
The day part is for main story battles; the night part is for other things.
You are given 3 hourglasses each night, that is 3 free units of time to be
spent on various activities. There are two types of activities, raising
Refi's stats and intermissions.
In the Luminous Arc series, an intermission (called "After Break" in the
Japanese versions) is an optional dialogue (generally with choices) between
the main character and a friendly character, which may raise the latter's
relationship value.
Exactly how intermission works is different in each game. This guide will
explain every aspect of LA3's intermission system. For now, people who've
played LA1&2 or similar games may want to know this:
-Unlike LA1&2, some NPCs in LA3 have intermissions.
-LA3's party member intermissions affect both gameplay and the endings.
Obviously, you can do an intermission that costs more than 1 time unit when
you have only 1 hourglass remaining. This is one of the game's most basic
techniques.
As an aside, most services (shops etc.) are open day and night. You can
still take quests in the faculty room even before entering a story battle.
Only the stats-raising (infirmary, bath and training room) are restricted
to the night.
List of party members in the order of their joining, with info about their
places of hangout at night (slight spoiler):
Name |Gender |Element |Weapon |Type |Class |Where?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Refi |Male |Neutral |Great |Phys. |Berserker |main character
| |/Silver | sword | |/Ragnarok |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Glen |Male |Fire |Spear |Phys. |Cerberus |training room
Elulu |Female |Water |Flute |Magic |Siren |kitchen
Ashley |Female |Dark |Swords |Phys. |Valkyrie |garden
Heine |Male |Nature |Shield |Phys. |Aegis |outside bath
Inaruna |Female |Light |Whip |Magic |Ishtar |shop
Sara |Female |Nature |Bomb |Magic |Pandora |library
Sion |Female |Wind |Bow |Magic |Venus |classroom
Yuu |Male |Dark |Tablet |Magic |Grimoire |alchemist
Dhino |Male |Wind |Knife |Phys. |Fenrir |church
Olmoldee |Female |Fire |Harp |Magic |Titania |infirmary
Raira |Female |Water |Scroll |Phys. |Taoist |fortuneteller
Anogia |Male |Light |Lance |Phys. |Siegfried |club
List of NPCs with intermissions:
Name |Gender |Description
--------------------------------------------------------------
Gil |Male? |The librarian. Gender officially unknown.
Hiyo |Female |The moon of the twin alchemists.
Hina |Female |The sun of the twin alchemists.
Samantha |Female |The fortuneteller.
Kopin |? |See "100% completion"->"Kopin theatre"
Miria |Female |A character significant to the story.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Lotta |Female |Rabbit-cosplay waitress.
Elisa |Female |Cow-cosplay waitress.
Myuu |Female |Cat-cosplay waitress.
Pete |Male |Dog-cosplay waiter.
Nahato |Male |Horse-cosplay waiter.
The intermission chart:
The first part is for party members, sorted by their locations at night.
The second part is for NPCs, sorted by relations between their events.
The first three NPCs' intermissions are not related to anyone else's.
Name | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|23|24
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sion | | | | | | | |#1| | @|#1|#2| | | |#2| @| |#3| | |#3|#3
Glen |#1| |#1| | @|#2| | | |#2| | | @| | | | | | | | |#3|#3
Sara | | | | | | |#1| | @|#1| | |#2| | @|#2|#3| |#3| | |#3|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashley | | |#1| @| |#1| | |#2| | | @|#2| | | |#3| |#3| | |#3|
Yuu | | | | | | | | |#1| |#1| @|#2| | |#2|#3| @|#3| |#3| |
Olmoldee | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |#2| |#3| | @| | @|#3|
Inaruna | | | | |#1| | @|#1| | | |#2| @| |#2| | | | | |#3|#3|#3
Elulu | |#1| | |#1| @| | |#2| | @|#2| | | | |#3| | | | |#3|#3
Dhino | | | | | | | | | |#1| | |#1| |#2| | @| |#3| @|#3| |#3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heine | | | |#1| | |#1| @| | |#2| |#2| | @| |#3| |#3| | |#3|
Raira | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |#2| | | @| | |#3| @|#3
Anogia | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |#3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|23|24
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miria | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | *
Kopin | | | | | | | *| | | | | *| | | | | | | | *| | |
Samantha | | | | *| | | | *| | | | *| | | | | | | | | | |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hiyo | | *| | | | | *| | | | | *| | | | | | | | | | |
Hina | | | | | | | | | *| | | | *| | | | | *| | | | |
Elisa | | | | | | | | | | *| | | | *| | | | | | *| | |
Myuu | | | | | | | | | | |FR| *| | | *| | | *| | | | |
Lotta | | | | | | | | | *| | | | *| | | | | | | | *| |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gil | *| | | | | | | | | | *| | | | | | | *| | | | |
Pete | | | | | | | | | | | | *| | | | | *| | | *| | |
Nahato | | | | | | | | | | | | |FR| *| | | | *| | | *| |
#1, #2 and #3: party member intermission.
@: bath event.
*: NPC intermission.
FR: faculty room event.
1.3 FP
FP is LA3's name for the relationship system. It stands for "philia point". As
can be seen on the character status pages, the FP system is composed of two
parts, the heart meter and the stars.
The heart meter reflects the relationship variable, here referred to as V. The
maximum value of V is 90.
V=0 - Empty heart
0<V<30 - Blue, somewhat filled heart
30<=V<60 - Yellow, half-filled heart
60<=V<90 - Orange, almost filled heart
V=90 - Red, fully filled heart
Heart meter can be increased through intermissions and giving good luck
presents. The stars are only gained through intermissions.
When you already have 1 star and V>=30, you can gain the 2nd star. The 2nd
empty star slot becomes larger to reflect that.
When you already have 2 stars and V>=60, you can gain the 3rd star. The 3rd
empty star slot becomes larger to reflect that.
When you have 3 stars for a party member, you obtain a "Zodiac Card". From
then on, when Refi is adjacent to this party member, they can perform a
powerful "Unison Strike".
The game's ending is determined by a combination of heart value and stars, and
the exact algorithm is not known. See the "ending" section.
The heart value and zodiac cards (that is to say, Unison Strikes) are retained
in New Game+, but the stars are not.
1.4 Party member intermission
Depending on the conditions, two types of party member intermissions may occur
(bath events not included). They'll be referred to as "major events" and
"minor events" in this guide.
A minor event cost 1 time unit (1 hourglass), contains no dialogue choices,
and always increases the heart value by 10.
A major event gives you one star. The events for the 1st and 2nd stars cost 2
time units, while the event for the 3rd star costs 3 time units. You can judge
an intermission's time cost by the number of exclamation marks "!" over the
character's head.
In a major event, there are dialogue choices.
1) In the 1st choice, choosing a wrong option results in "Normal Break".
2) Choosing the one correct option gives you the 2nd choice.
3) In the 2nd choice, choosing a wrong option results in "Good Break".
4) Choosing the one correct option results in "Best Break".
The increase in heart value is:
Normal Break: 10
Good Break: 20
Best Break: 30
A Best Break also gives you one consumeable item.
Whether a major event happens depends on three factors: the current chapter,
the current number of stars for that party member, and his heart value. If the
conditions are not fulfilled, a minor event happens instead.
A party member's intermissions can thus be divided into 3 phases, marked in
the intermission chart as #1, #2 and #3. The 2nd star can only be gained in
Phase 2 & 3, and the 3rd star in Phase 3.
Major Event |Star |Heart |Phase
--------------------------------
1st Star |0 |ANY |ALL
2nd Star |1 |V>=30 |2, 3
3rd Star |2 |V>=60 |3
Each minor event is unique, depending on the chapter it takes place in. The
major events stay the same. For example, Glen's 1st star major event will
always be the same, whether you trigger it in Ch1 or Ch24.
It helps to think of intermissions in terms of their chapter placements, with
each chapter having its own minor events that are replaced by major events
when certain conditions are met.
Most party members have 2 P1 events, 2 P2 events and 3 P3 events.
Glen has only 2 P3 events, and Dhino has only 1 P2 event.
Raira and Olmoldee have no P1 event; they join with 1 star and V=30.
Anogia has no P1 or P2 event; he joins with 2 stars and V=60.
Obviously, each character's first intermission is always a major event.
There's no minor event "underneath" it.
As a result of the intermission system, you won't be able to see a character's
every intermission in one playthrough (without hacking), since 1 or 2 major
events have to happen in place of minor events. But since it's the Zodiac
Cards that add to the completion rate, not the intermissions themselves,
not seeing these intermissions won't affect anything.
1.5 Bath event
In certain chapters, Refi will encounter party members in the bathhouse. These
are the bath events.
Each party member except Anogia has 2 bath events.
In these chapters, at the beginning of the night, you won't be able to find
the character at the usual location, since he has gone to the bath
(obviously). Once the bath event is over, the character will return to the old
spot.
In a bath event, you are presented with 1 dialogue choice. Choosing the
correct option makes interesting things happen (nothing remotely explicit,
it's all teen-rated stuff), and large portraits of characters will be shown
(instead of small head portraits).
To view a character's 2nd bath event, you must have viewed the 1st one in the
same playthrough. If you passed a party member's 1st bath event previously,
then try to trigger the 2nd bath event, the 1st event will happen instead.
There are chapters where both a male and a female character have a bath
event.
Bath events have no consequence on other parts of the game, except for the side
quests (see the "side quest" section). They don't add to the completion rate.
1.6 NPC intermission
Some NPCs (non-player characters) in LA3 have intermissions.
Typically, an NPC event presents you with 2 dialogue choices. Similar to party
member events, choosing the 1st answer correctly allows you to progress to the
2nd choice, and choosing both correctly results in "Best Break".
Unlike party members, getting Best Breaks in NPC events won't give you items.
Each NPC (except Miria) has one intermission that contains a battle: 2nd event
for Samantha, 3rd event for everyone else. Those battles tend to be
relatively easy.
If you passed an NPC's intermission, his next intermission won't happen at all
(no exclamation mark).
NPC events have no consequence on other parts of the game.
Each NPC (or group of NPCs) has a special illustration to be seen in his
intermissions. The NPC intermissions themselves DON'T add to the completion
rate; it's the illustrations and the intermission battles that affect the rate.
For Miria, Samantha, Kopin and Gil, the picture is shown if you get Best Break
in the last intermission.
For the NPC groups, if you've made enough good choices (exact conditions are
unknown, so just choose all Best options), some addition story will happen
after you get Best Break in the last intermission, and the picture will be
shown.
Story-wise, most NPC events are not very interesting, so whether they are
worth pursuing to the end is ultimately your call.
The NPC groups are:
1) Twin alchemists: Hina and Hiyo
2) Knight Club waitresses: Lotta, Elisa and Myuu
3) Knight Club waiters: Pete and Nahato
Note: Elisa even has a dialogue choice hidden within Hina's intermission.
Of the 5 waiters, only Lotta joins by default. The other waiters must be found.
1) Elisa joins in Hina's 1st intermission, Ch9
2) Pete joins in Gil the Librarian's 2nd intermission, Ch11
3) Myuu joins in a faculty room event, Ch11
4) Nahato joins in a faculty room event, Ch13
As NPC intermission are organized into event chains, it's a good idea to focus
on finishing a chain with all Best Breaks in one playthrough.
The two chains:
1) Hina, Hiyo and the waitresses
2) Gil the Librarian and the waiters
A conflict between the two chains at Ch18 prevents you from finishing both
in the same playthrough.
For more information on Miria's intermission, see the "side quest" section.
II. Related topics
2.1 Secret information
Gil the Librarian sells secret info of party members, but only if you are
already close enough with them. With the increase of heart value, more secret
info will be unlocked.
You can replay a character's transformation sequence after buying all his
secret info. Refi's sequence is unlocked after buying all secret info.
The status of secret info is retained in New Game+, but your status of secret
info doesn't affect your completion rate.
Since secret info are not exactly cheap, you'll likely be spending your money
on more imediately important things at first.
|Cost |Heart
---------------
S |5000 |V=90
A |3000 |V>60
B |1000 |V>30
C |500 |V>0
D |200 |V>=0
2.2 Good luck gifts
Samantha the fortuneteller helps people with their relationships.
She'll first divine 3 possible gifts to give to a person, then you choose
one, and she'll help deliver it. If the person likes the gift, the heart value
increases, and Samantha wouldn't help with this relationship further; if the
person doesn't like it, you can try again.
As you can control the outcome of any intermission through save/load,
there's no practical need for the gifts at all. The selection of gifts
themselves may give you a few chuckles though. Once a character's heart value
reaches 90, Samantha will no longer help with that person, so visit her before
that.
Gifts don't add to the completion rate.
Heart |Cost |Effect
----------------------------------
V=0 |1000 |Increase V to 1
0<V<30 |3000 |Increase V to 30
30<=V<60 |5000 |Increase V to 60
60<=V<90 |10000 |Increase V to 90
The "increase V to 1" part must be a joke on players who give presents before
even establishing the relationship.
2.3 Side quest
The side quests in LA3 all work in the same fashion: a rumor is spreading in
the school, Refi investigates, and hijinks ensure.
The problem is, you're required to trigger a series of dialogues without
obvious hints in the right order. That makes them very easy to miss.
Story-wise, side quests are definitely worth doing, especially "Our Rebellion"
"Seraphim Ring", "Things You Should Not Know" and "Two Bonapartes".
The battles in side quests are all difficult. Whether you should challenge
them immediately or leave them to New Game+ depends on your skill.
3 side quests may be affected by bath events, since if a character is in bath,
he can't be there to trigger the side quest. You should either do the side
quests in other chapters, or view the bath event so the character involved can
return to the original spot.
Side Quest 1: "Our Rebellion" (Ch7-8)
1) Happens at night.
2) Talk to Lando, he's by the entrance of the dormitory.
3) Talk to Kate, she's in the Special Class classroom.
4) Talk to the male student in the faculty room.
5) Talk to Heine, select "Yes".
6) A battle against Heine, Inaruna and a few students.
7) After the battle, you may speak to Ashley, Glen and Valerie about it.
8) Talk to Inaruna in the store.
9) Go to the infirmary.
* Inaruna is in bath in Ch7. Heine is in bath in Ch8.
Side Quest 2: "Guardians of Rose" (Ch10-12)
1) Happens at night.
2) Talk to Nathan, he's in the training room.
3) Talk to Emma, she's in the library.
4) Talk to the female student in the court.
5) Talk to Ashley, select "Yes".
6) A battle against Dhino and Guardians of Rose. Very difficult for the first
playthrough.
* Ashley is in bath in Ch12.
Side Quest 0: "Seraphim Ring"
To see Miria's intermission, an entire side quest must be completed.
1) In Ch14, after the main story battle, examine the glittering on the floor.
2) After the cutscene, speak to Hina.
3) Battle. It's difficult for the first playthrough, so focus on the 3 pink
monsters (N-Buccaboo). Eliminating them results in victory.
4) In Ch20, speak to Elulu in the bathhouse.
5) After doing these, if Anogia joins your party in Ch24, Miria will also come
to the Human Realm with him.
6) Miria is in the Teleporter Room.
Side Quest 3: "Things You Should Not Know" (Ch18-21)
1) Happens at night.
2) Talk to the female student looking at the Witch portrait in the school
hall, 2nd floor.
3) Talk to the male student facing the opposite direction from the faculty
room.
4) Talk to Sion, select "Yes".
5) A battle against Sara, Sion and a lot of Kopin. This fight can be extremely
difficult if you are underleveled.
Side Quest 4: "Thriller Note" (Ch20-23)
1) Happens at night.
2) Talk to the female student farther from the entrance in the fortuneteller's
room.
3) Talk to the female student on the right in the cafeteria.
4) Talk to the male student in the school hall, 1st floor.
5) Talk to Raira, select "Yes".
6) A battle against Yuu and a lot of knights.
7) The victory condition is to reduce Yuu's HP to lower than 1/4.
8) Reducing Yuu's HP to 0 results in Game Over.
* Raira is in bath in Ch23.
Side Quest 5: "Two Bonapartes" (Ch24-25)
1) Happens at day or night.
2) Talk to the male student in the infirmary.
3) Talk to the male student in the alchemy workshop.
4) Talk to the female student by the window in the Common Class classroom.
5) Talk to Bonaparte in the dorm, select "Yes".
6) A battle against Nephilia. Take care to protect Bonaparte.
2.4 Main story dialogue choices (Glen and Anogia)
The possible scenarios of the main story are about the survival (or not) of
Glen and Anogia.
If you only plan to beat the game once, be sure to have both survive.
Either of them dying would result in a story that... doesn't provide enough
closure.
For Glen to survive, you should:
1) Choose the 2nd option (to defeat the enemy first, NOT to rescue Glen) in
Ch23
2) Eliminate all enemies before defeating Glen in Ch23
For Anogia to survive, you should:
1) Choose the 1st option ("Wish to have such power") after the battle in Ch19
2) Choose the 1st option ("Prepared to use it") before the battle in
Ch21
3) Eliminate all enemies before defeating Anogia in Ch24
4) Choose the 2nd option ("Forgive him" rather than let Anogia leave) after
that battle
The first time Glen survives in your game, he will rejoin the party at a
fixed level: Level 35 in the first playthrough, and Level 45 in New Game+.
Once he has survived, his combat unit would stay in the party in subsequent
playthroughs, then you can start actually developing him.
Once Anogia joins the party, his combat unit will always be available.
For the calculation of the completion rate, the only thing that matters is
whether each of them has survived once; you don't need all 4 combinations for
100% completion.
2.5 Ending
In Ch25, Refi would speak to one party member before the final battle. If
there is more than one possible candidate, you can choose among them. This
decides the ending of that playthrough.
The candidates for the ending are selected based on a combination of heart
values and stars. The exact algorithm is not known.
While LA3 has 12 endings, you don't have to beat the game 12 times to see them
all.
Once your completion rate reaches 70%, an ending view mode will be unlocked.
Besides the endings you've obtained, you can view the endings of all
characters you have Zodiac Cards for. After playing the ending, the game will
promote you to save the game. In the new save file, that ending will be marked
as "completed".
2.6 Other features of the game
After each battle, the system will choose a MVP character, and you gain Lapis
jewels (equipments which grant character bonuses and abilities) based on his
drop table.
The MVP is determined by actions such as healing party members and dealing
final blows on enemies. When more than one person has the same MVP points, the
last one in the order of your pre-battle character selection would become MVP.
This can be seen most obviously in LA3's first quest.
Later in the game, Dhino's MVP reward table includes the blue Lapis
"Cursed Knife" and "Adversity Soul". They can be sold for 3000R each, making
this the best method to make money. Once Anogia joins, you can also use him
for farming Cursed Knife, as his MVP reward table always includes "Cursed
Knife".
The next section "100% completion" has a few hints about some game features.
The best weapons are imbued through the alchemy system.
Good armors can be found in some of the later quests. You often have to
deliberately prolong the battle so that the reinforcements carrying good loot
can appear.
In certain main story battles, eliminating the non-boss enemies quickly will
trigger gold-colored "Treasure Monsters" to appear. Their stats tend to be so
high that you can only possibly defeat them in New Game+, and they drop rare
Lapis.
On the other hand, in New Game+ you may overpower the enemies too quickly. In
that case you'll have to wait for the trigger to take effect.
List of golden Treasure Monsters:
Battle |Type |Loot |Trigger
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ch5, 1st |Devil |ATK+20% |Enemy number <= 3 when Boss's 4th turn ends
Ch10, 1st |Kopin |HP+30% |Enemy number <= 1 when Dhino's 5th turn ends
Ch10, 2nd |Devil |MAG+20% |Enemy number <= 3 when Boss's 5th turn ends
Ch12 |Knight |DEF+20% |Enemy number <= 2 when Boss's 5th turn ends
Ch13, 1st |Knight |RES+20% |Enemy number <= 3 when Boss's 4th turn ends
Ch15 |Kopin |MP+30% |Enemy number <= 2 when Boss's 4th turn ends
Ch21 |Knight |SPD+20% |Unclear
Ch25, 1st |Devil |TEC+20% |Enemy number <= 2 when Boss's 4th turn ends
2.7 100% Completion and bonus content
Because of the amount of intermissions that are required, at least 3
playthroughs are necessary to get 100% in LA3.
The following contribute to the completion rate:
1) Completing the main story
2) Completing all 50 quests
-Starting with Ch18, you can press L or R on the quest world map to switch
it between 2 maps.
3) Main story branches
-Glen has survived once.
-Anogia has survived once.
-Miria has entered the Human Realm once.
-See related sections.
4) All side quests
5) All 12 Zodiac Cards
6) All NPC illustrations and intermission battles
7) All 36 Kopin Theatre entries
-In Ch7, if you get Best Break in Kopin's 1st intermission, he will allow
you to read his diary.
-This is only limited to the current playthrough. You'll need to do the
intermission again if you want to see Kopin Theatre in another
playthrough.
-You can view the diary twice per chapter, once at day and once at night.
-Seeing all entries requires 2 playthroughs.
-No consequence on other parts of the game.
8) All 12 endings
9) All hot spring scenes
-Starting with Ch20, you can access the "hot spring dungeons" via
Teleporter Room. These are the challenge levels of LA3.
-After beating each of the 6 elemental dungeons, you can choose one from
two party members of the same element to give a slight raise to his stat
s.
-Bringing all 12 party members to the hot springs means beating all the hot
springs twice.
Bonus content:
1) Gallery
Unlocked after one playthrough.
A "congratulations" group picture of super deformed party members smiling
is unlocked at 100% completion.
2) Scene Replay
Plays hot spring conversations you have viewed.
3) Kopin Theatre
Unlocked at 80% completion.
4) Profile
Profile of party members. Unlocked at 90% completion.
The bath towel portraits are unlocked at 100% completion.
5) Sound Test
Unlocked after one playthrough.
6) Ending
Unlocked at 70% completion.
III. Advanced techniques and hacking
3.1 Missable intermission
First of all, it should be emphasized again, since intermission themselves
don't add to completion rate, missing them has no consequence at all.
This and the following sections are purely for challenges and story content...
If you are not interested, you can skip these parts to the "hacking" section
or the "dialogue choices" section.
Before we start, please take some time thinking about the system of major
events and minor events. How will a character's heart value change, depending
on the outcome of major events, and your choice of which events to see?
Based on the intermission mechanics, a conclusion can be drawn:
While the first event placement in each character's P2 or P3 has a minor event,
it'll be replaced by a major event, as long as the heart value is high enough.
That is to say, the only time you'll see these events, is when you are moving
down a character's event chain for the first time, and haven't got Best Breaks
in the preceding major events. Miss them, and they can't be seen in subsequent
playthroughs.
3.2 Obtaining all intermissions
Seeing all outcomes of an intermission is easy: just use save/load. Changing
the FP to see missable events, however, is so much trouble it's not worth
doing it without hacking.
Still, Is there a way to see all minor events legitimately?
To do that, we'll have to go down a character's intermission chain two times:
a first run to see missable events, and a second run to view others.
Using the simplest case as example, there are two possible arrangements for
Dhino's two runs (the numbers refer to the time cost of events):
1) 2 0 1 1 0 0 2) 2 0 1 1 2 1
2 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 2 3 1 0
For Olmoldee and Raira, who have 3 intermissions, there are 4:
1) 2 1 1 2) 2 1 1 3) 2 1 1 4) 2 1 0
0 2 3 2 0 3 2 3 0 2 3 1
Similar arrangements can be made for other characters. You'll see some of them
in the next section.
3.3 The 4-playthrough challenge
Notice:
1) the content of this section is pure theory, and hasn't been tested out in
reality.
2) If anyone has attempted to put my solution into practice, please tell me
your results on the GameFAQs board.
3) If anyone managed to solve the puzzle by themselves, and the solution has
substantial differences from mine, please also tell me.
The goal of the challenge:
to catch all intermissions, including the missable ones in 4 playthroughs.
With this challenge, the intermission chart becomes a huge resource
distribution/optimization puzzle. If you have a lot of spare time, and can
gain enjoyment from solving such puzzles, feel free to try it yourselves. I
have provided my solution.
The puzzle is solvable, but not trival. Some chapters allow "just" enough
events, no more, no less. A similar (but much simpler) situation can also be
found with Luminous Arc 2's intermission system. These facts suggest the
possiblility that a game designer had considered this challenge, and had
deliberately set it up.
Hints for solving the puzzle:
1) Map out all possible variations of each character's two runs.
2) Analyze all chapters with high event density, using them as basis for your
plan.
3) Categorise the characters according to their situations.
My solution:
Read all preceding sections before attempting this. You should understand
what adds to the completion rate, what tasks are best left for New Game+,
and so on.
Most characters are organized into 3 groups. Group 1 occupies the 1st and 2nd
playthrough, Group 2 occupies the 2nd and 3rd, etc.
Group 1: Elulu, Dhino, Olmoldee
Group 2: Ashley, Yuu, Sion
Group 3: Glen, Inaruna, Sara, Raira
Heine's two runs are in the 1st and 4th playthrough.
Most of the plan are very rigidly defined and can't be easily altered. Anogia
and Miria's intermissions are exceptions. I arrange these elements this way
as an attempt to improve the flow of the story, so that the story can
gradually improve from the 1st time to the last time. What the actual
experience will become, I have no idea.
If you want to use Glen or Anogia as early as possible, ensure them survive
the 1st playthrough, and in Anogia's case, move his intermission to the 1st.
1st playthrough:
Name | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|23|24
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Olmoldee | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2| | 1| | @| | @| 1|
Elulu | | 2| | | | @| | | 1| | @| | | | | | 1| | | | | |
Dhino | | | | | | | | | | 2| | | | | 1| | | | 1| | 2| | 1
Heine | | | | 2| | | | | | | 1| | | | | | 1| | 2| | | 1|
Glen | | | | | @| | | | | | | | @| | | | | | | | | |
Raira | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | @| | | | @|
Samantha | | | | *| | | | *| | | | *| | | | | | | | | | |
NPC Fem | | *| | | | | *| |**| *| *|**|**| *| *| | |**| | *| *| |
"NPC Fem" refers to the event chain of Hiyo, Hina, Lotta, Myuu and Elisa.
Choose correct answers for all NPC events.
Choose wrong answers for all major events (Normal Break).
2nd playthrough:
Name | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|23|24
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sion | | | | | | | | 2| | | | 1| | | | 2| | | 1| | | 1|
Ashley | | | 2| @| | | | | 1| | | @| | | | | 1| | | | | |
Yuu | | | | | | | | | | | 2| | 1| | | 2| 1| | 1| | | |
Olmoldee | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2| | | | | | | 3|
Elulu | | 2| | | 1| | | | 2| | | 1| | | | | 3| | | | | 1| 1
Dhino | | | | | | | | | | 2| | | 1| | 2| | | | 3| | 1| |
Anogia | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3
Inaruna | | | | | | | @| | | | | | @| | | | | | | | | |
Anogia must survive.
(His intermission can also be moved to the 1st playthrough.)
You can choose correct answers for Elulu, Dhino and Olmoldee this time.
Choose 1 correct answer, then 1 wrong answer for Sion and Yuu's 1st star event
(Good Break).
Choose wrong answers for Sion and Yuu's 2nd star event, and Ashley's event
(Normal Break).
(Inaruna's bath events can switch places with Glen's bath events in the
previous run.)
(For anyone who've looked into this puzzle: Sion's arrangement is the only one
in this solution that allows slight altering.)
3rd playthrough:
Name | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|23|24
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sion | | | | | | | | 2| | | 1| 2| | | | 1| | | | | | 3| 1
Glen | 2| | | | | 1| | | | 2| | | | | | | | | | | | 1| 1
Sara | | | | | | | 2| | | | | | 1| | | 2| 1| | 1| | | |
Ashley | | | 2| | | 1| | | 2| | | | | | | | 3| | 1| | | 1|
Yuu | | | | | | | | | 2| | 1| @| 2| | | 1| | @| 3| | 1| |
Inaruna | | | | | 2| | | | | | | 1| | | | | | | | | 1| |
Raira | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2| | | | | | 1| | 1
Heine | | | | | | | | @| | | | | | | @| | | | | | | |
Dhino | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | @| | | @| | |
Glen must survive.
(In this solution, his intermissions can't be moved.)
You can choose correct answers for Ashley, Sion and Yuu.
Choose 1 correct answer, then 1 wrong answer for Glen and Sara's 1st star
event (Good Break).
Choose wrong answers for Glen and Sara's 2nd star event, and Inaruna and
Raira's event (Normal Break).
4th playthrough:
Name | 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|23|24
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glen | 2| | 1| | | 2| | | | 1| | | | | | | | | | | | 3|
Sara | | | | | | | 2| | @| 1| | | 2| | @| 1| | | 3| | | 1|
Inaruna | | | | | 2| | | 1| | | | 2| | | 1| | | | | | 3| 1| 1
Heine | | | | 2| | | 1| | | | 2| | 1| | | | 3| | 1| | | |
Raira | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2| | | | | | | | 3
Sion | | | | | | | | | | @| | | | | | | @| | | | | |
Miria | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | *
Kopin | | | | | | | *| | | | | *| | | | | | | | *| | |
NPC Male | *| | | | | | | | | | *| *| *| *| | | *|**| | *| *| |
"NPC Male" refers to the event chain of Gil, Pete and Nahato.
Both Glen and Anogia must survive.
Do the Seraphim Ring side quest to see Miria's intermission.
(Miria's intermission can be moved to the 1st or 2nd playthrough.)
Choose correct answers for all NPC events.
You can choose correct answers for all major events.
(Sion's bath events can switch places with Dhino's bath events in the previous
run.)
3.4 Hacking
Unfortunately, LA3 is designed in such a way that if you don't have enough
time to do multiple playthroughs, yet still want to see as much of the game as
possible, hacking is the only choice.
Without using hacking to explore the game mechanics, this guide wouldn't exist
at all. This part deals with the hacking of data related to the intermission
system.
The first number of a cheat code is length of the data:
2 means 1 byte, 1 means 2 bytes, and 0 means 4 bytes.
The first part of a cheat code, after the length number, is memory address of
the data, while the second part is the actual data.
Change difficulty:
221327D5 0000000x
x=0: Normal; x=1: Hard
Change remaining time to 3:
2213267E 00000003
Don't lock the time in the night of Ch25, otherwise the game won't proceed to
Ch26.
Max FP:
Glen
22132685 0000005A
22132692 00000003
Dhino
22132686 0000005A
22132693 00000003
Heine
22132687 0000005A
22132694 00000003
Yuu
22132688 0000005A
22132695 00000003
Elulu
22132689 0000005A
22132696 00000003
Ashley
2213268A 0000005A
22132697 00000003
Inaruna
2213268B 0000005A
22132698 00000003
Sion
2213268C 0000005A
22132699 00000003
Sara
2213268D 0000005A
2213269A 00000003
Raira
2213268E 0000005A
2213269B 00000003
Olmoldee
2213268F 0000005A
2213269C 00000003
Anogia
22132690 0000005A
2213269D 00000003
The first line for each character changes the heart value (5A is hex for 90),
and the second line changes the stars. You can change the value to suit your
need.
Two points of note:
1) The intermissions are loaded when you enter the room that character is in.
Change his FP values outside, then enter the room, and the intermission will
be changed accordingly.
2) The time cost of an intermission is decided before the night begins, and
won't change even if the intermission does.
Bonus related:
Game is beaten:
22132682 00000010
Open up all bonus sections:
22132CF7 0000003F
Unlock all gallery illustrations:
121327C6 0000FFFF
121327C8 0000FFFF
221327CA 0000003F
Unlock all hot spring scenes:
221326ED 00000001
121326EE 00000101
021326F0 01010101
021326F4 01010101
221326F8 00000001
Unlock all of Kopin theatre:
121327BE 0000FFFF
121327C0 0000FFFF
221327C2 0000000F
Unlock all endings:
2213269F 00000002
021326A0 02020202
021326A4 02020202
121326A8 00000202
221326AA 00000002
IV. Intermission dialogue choices
All options are marked as 1 to 4, from top to bottom.
4.1 Party member intermission choices
Choices for Best Break, listed by character.
Glen
1st star: 3 -> 1
2nd star: 4 -> 2
3rd star: 1 -> 2
Elulu
1st star: 3 -> 1
2nd star: 2 -> 1
3rd star: 3 -> 4
Ashley
1st star: 4 -> 2
2nd star: 1 -> 2
3rd star: 3 -> 2
Heine
1st star: 1 -> 3
2nd star: 1 -> 4
3rd star: 4 -> 2
Inaruna
1st star: 4 -> 3
2nd star: 2 -> 2
3rd star: 2 -> 1
Sara
1st star: 1 -> 3
2nd star: 2 -> 2
3rd star: 4 -> 4
Sion
1st star: 1 -> 4
2nd star: 1 -> 1
3rd star: 2 -> 2
Yuu
1st star: 4 -> 2
2nd star: 2 -> 1
3rd star: 4 -> 1
Dhino
1st star: 3 -> 3
2nd star: 1 -> 2
3rd star: 1 -> 3
Olmoldee
2nd star: 2 -> 1
3rd star: 1 -> 2
Raira
2nd star: 3 -> 2
3rd star: 2 -> 1
Anogia
3rd star: 1 -> 2
4.2 Bath event choices
Bath event choices are listed by chapters, but do note that if you passed a
party member's 1st bath event previously, then try to trigger the 2nd bath
event, the 1st event will happen instead.
Ch4
Ashley : 1
Ch5
Glen : 1
Ch6
Elulu : 2
Ch7
Inaruna : 2
Ch8
Heine : 2
Ch9
Sara : 1
Ch10
Sion : 3
Ch11
Elulu : 4
Ch12
Ashley : 1
Yuu : 3
Ch13
Inaruna : 4
Glen : 4
Ch15
Sara : 3
Heine : 1
Ch17
Dhino : 3
Sion : 1
Ch18
Yuu : 3
Raira : 3
Ch19
Olmoldee: 3
Ch20
Dhino : 1
Ch21
Olmoldee: 4
Ch23
Raira : 2
4.3 NPC intermission choices
Choices for Best Break, listed by chapters.
Ch1
Gil : 1 -> 2
Ch2
Hiyo : 1 -> 1
Ch4
Samantha: 1 -> 2
Ch7
Kopin : 1 -> 2
Hiyo : 2 -> 1
Ch8
Samantha: 2 -> Battle -> 2
Ch9
Hina : 2 -> 3 -> 1
Lotta : 1 -> 1
(Elisa joins through Hina's event.)
Ch10
Elisa : 2 -> 1
Ch11
Gil : 2 -> 1
(Pete joins through Gil's event.)
Myuu joins through the faculty room event.
Ch12
Kopin : 1 -> 1
Hiyo : 1 -> Battle -> 1
Samantha: 1 -> 2
Myuu : 1 -> 2
Pete : 1 -> 1
Ch13
Hina : 1 -> 1
Lotta : 1 -> 1
Nahato joins through the faculty room event.
Ch14
Elisa : 2 -> 1
Nahato : 2 -> 1
Ch15
Myuu : 1 -> 2
Ch17
Pete : 1 -> 1
Ch18
Gil : 2 -> Battle -> 2
Hina : 1 -> Battle -> 2
Myuu : 1 -> Battle -> 2
Nahato : 2 -> 2
Ch20
Kopin : 2 -> Battle -> 1
Elisa : 2 -> Battle -> 1
Pete : 1 -> Battle -> 1
Ch21
Lotta : 2 -> Battle -> 1
Nahato : 1 -> Battle -> 2
Ch24
Miria : 3 -> 1
V. Credits and Copyright
Some of the data are from the LA3 Walkthrough Wiki (Japanese):
http://masterwiki.net/la3eyes/
Thanks to DimBright (Youhuang Minyue) and Jackson for some info.
This guide is created by me. It can be distributed as long as it's properly
credited.