#skelkatraz

[dqb2-secrets-and-trivia]

DQB2 Skelkatraz Trivia:

This is the true map of Skelkatraz. The game only reveals the main island to the player, yet there are more places that you can explore.

The area at the right is a replica of Hargon's Castle from Malhalla, that gets used as a backdrop for the dream sequence Malroth has in The Hole.

Here is the comparison between both:

And here are some other angles:

You can return to it right before escaping the island, and steal all of the citadel blocks, including Hargon's thone. Here is a video demostrating it (Although the castle in the video had already been ransaked previously):

[sapphire-rb]

Some interesting text found on the code: Part 1.2 - Leftovers from DQB1

Split from this because it turned from 'fun trivia' to 'theory territory' and I wanted to keep the other post more informative than rambly.

5:

Look at that! I don't need to translate that, just read it for yourselves!

Inside the menu code there's text hinting at a chapter-structure thing, like the one from the first game!

What I think happened was that originally during early development the 4 islands were planned the same way the 4 DQB1 chapters had been planned, and then they connected them with a more lineal plotline (since there were complaints about the disconnect between chapters in the first game).

Then the game would start you from the beginning if you hit 'new game', and as you advanced through the islands you would unlock the ability to start a new game jumping directly to that part of the story, like how you unlock chapters and can replay them individually without having to complete the previous ones in the original.

That's why there's a "for beginners" and "for experienced" prompt. It'd be a little weird to tell you about "beginners" if you unlocked the menu as postgame, and there's no way they'd let you skip to the end minutes after turning on the game for the first time.

Here's the menu from the first game as a reminder:

(Also! Default builder name bonus. They are the same across both games)

And! There's no Skelkatraz in the menu, but there is a Malhalla, so Skelkatraz can't have been omitted for spoiler reasons, right? Or maybe it is, since 'before Malhalla' is slotted at the end... Was that not on the list originally because didn't want to spoil Malhalla on the menu, but eventually decided it was too important and had to add it?

But wait- can that mean that there was no 'before Malhalla' planned at the beginning? That after leaving Moonbrooke you would be basically thrown into Malhalla instead of having to build the Steppe (Steppe that just pauses the Builder-Malroth character arc for no reason)?

Because if you think about it- why is there an 'After Malhalla'? that's just a glorified cutscene away from 'After Credits'. Unless Cerulean Steppe was planned to happen after Malhalla originally and not before, which would explain why there would be content between Malhalla and Credits (prompting a need to give you the option between 'after' one and 'after' the other) , but none between Moonbrooke and Malhalla (meaning both 'After Moonbrooke' and 'Before Malhalla' would be the same point in time). And then afterwards they moved the Steppe to between Moonbrooke and Malhalla because it made more plot sense.

And think about the castle. In-game the villagers just build the shell of it, and the game just tells you to 'build it properly' post-credits. And I've heard player complaints about the game not bothering to give you a proper castle. But if Cerulean Steppe was originally a post-game IoA part, then the castle had always been planned for post-game content, and when they had to put the Steppe into the main plot they had to compromise with the shell to keep the original post-game castle idea intact.

So if that's true, and you think about the fact that Skelkatraz is omitted there, maybe the original 'structure breaker' was Malhalla breaking in the Cerulean Steppe part. But then that was cut, and Skelkatraz was slotted in during the Scarlet Sands part to fulfil the 'structure breaker' role. And Skelkatraz adds the plot point about the Children of Hargon attacking the island- and would you look at that, it just so happens that that plot point is resolved in the Cerulean Steppe part, right before Malhalla! (being the only thing that gets resolved during the Cerulean Steppe part)

And Skelkatraz is also a very buggy part of the game, so it being a last minute addition also checks out.

So, I wanted to add at the beginning of this text, the idea that if the 4 islands were planned like the 4 DQB1 chapters, that maybe IoA had been planned like how Terra Incognita had been planned. Something a little bit outside of the main plot.

Considering the idea that the Skelkatraz sequence didn't exist originally, it makes sense that the Cerulean Steppe would be out of the plot, because it means that all 3 IoA sequences were themselves 'out of plot', and you would have the 4 islands plot as the main story while going to the IoA was more of a 'side quest' thing.

Now, I'm not saying that IoA used to be like Terra Incognita. I'm pretty sure that IoA has always been like IoA, but maybe at first they had planned it to be like the little sandbox safe haven Terra Incognita is, before the realised that if they wanted to make a more intertwined plot they couldn't just have the hub of the game be completely removed from it and doing its own thing.

...You know... IoA only gets 'unlocked' after Furrowfield... The same way Terra Incognita is only unlocked after Cantlin...

ok I don't think my rambles are coherent at this point. Sorry. Got too excited. But anyway, I think it's fun to think about how the game was planned and changed around. Makes you appreciate how much work goes into it.

[uncuteartist]

DQB2 should have a "stop showing me cut scenes and events I just want to build shit for a while" option for replays

[yzafre]

Skelkatraz is a pain to play through on repeat runs, but narratively? Man. The whole sequence is so cool.

((ahahaha, reposting this bc I put it on the wrong blog (┬┬﹏┬┬) ))

Anyways! Lineart version only, since I thought it looked really good.

[isabaeart]

It sort of happens in a natural way, no one tells him, Malroth just feels really REALLY Attached to Shion a months after post game events. Shion had always felt the same [her feelings start at the Skelkatraz saga] but with Malroth not understanding love, she decides to keep them to herself and tease him with "i love you's" until one day he suddenly says it back and means it. The very last frame is a direct reference to their first ship piece.

[sapphire-draw]

I have some decent-ish drawings from last year where I went 'ok but what if you could give Malroth a weapon that he could hide in his jacket or something in Skelkatraz and then you could fight the gatekeeper in The Hole'

I don't know how to clean up pictures of traditional drawings sorry

When I finished the drawing I grabbed the orange fluoresent marker and started going a little nuts with it oops

[asexual-levia-tan]

personally i enjoy gacha games

but i have to admit that i enjoy gacha games the same way moonbrooke and skelkatraz were my favorite parts of dqb2

i just like resource management games, and gacha games are like. the height of not having enough of the resource you need/having to manage them carefully to get the result you want

[mabusthedark]

Dragon Quest Builders 2: Escape from Skelkatraz! https://twitch.tv/mabusthedark

[sebdoesthings]

I actually enjoyed Skelkatraz a lot, from what i remember! It was a nice change from the usual gameplay.

I think the reason why i didn't enjoy the endgame chapter is because I love trees. I love rustic buildings, i love wooden furniture, i love medieval type stuff. So building all those machines and metal things (it's been ages since I played the game, was it an airship that they built?) was just entirely and utterly boring to me. Plus, I found the monster characters to be pretty uninteresting, and their manners of speech annoyed me.

Overall, it's a section that from its location alone did not do anything for me, and then took away the one thing that would've made it bearable. I might enjoy it a little bit more now that I know what happens, but if I do, the experience will surely be only a sliver above the first time around.

Okay so that post about tragedies in video games bounced off some neurons and my thinking yesterday about Dragon Quest Builders 2, and a thought finally cohered there, so let’s talk about Dragon Quest Builders 2 and dramatic irony with our BFF, the God of Destruction!

Okay. So Dragon Quest Builders 2 works off the setup of Dragon Quest 2, where a cult of monsters called the Children of Hargon (named for their high priest) are menacing humanity. It’s mentioned, literally once or twice before the final battle, that Hargon is specifically trying to bring about the coming of his evil god Malroth, who he summons as the final boss of the game. This is about all the characterization and build-up Malroth gets, and his design is an evil six-legged dragon with a big skull necklace. He’s not very memorable. But, since he’s a god of DESTRUCTION specifically, it fits really nicely into the idea of Dragon Quest Builders. Builders in this series are tied to any act of crafting and creation - making a house is building, but so is making medicine or cooking. Farming is an aspect of building, outlawed under monster rule along with the rest, because these acts are tied specifically to humanity. The premise of the game is bringing hope back to the world by reintroducing humans to the art of making things. So Builders 2 establishes that destruction is therefore something heavily associated with monsters and monster culture, and as a builder, you represent their opposite. The game starts with Hargon already defeated and a straggling ship of monsters kidnapping you (an apprentice Builder) and some other villagers to execute you in revenge for the cult, Hargon, and the Master of Destruction’s demise.

And then, this is not a spoiler, it makes that Master of Destruction your best friend.

Keep reading

[dqb2-secrets-and-trivia]

DQB2 Skelkatraz Trivia:

There's a lot of evidence that Skelkatraz was a late development addition. As a consequence of this, the island has a few minor oversights from the lack of beta-testing and polish.

One example of this is this line, that despite being spoken by Malroth, the game recognises it to be unnamed.

Here is the full conversation.

[sapphire-rb]

Your adventures in melting the game into new and unfathomable shapes is amazing I'm so compelled

Asgfs9gusyfsoyvsoycsuv thanks! there's a lot of stuff I want to do like adding new blocks and orange dye and making a user friendly text editor (have a lot of dialogue I want to add to the game) but for that I still have to decode a lot lot of things and I got distracted by Malroth army...

I'm definitely posting more though, this is fun.

[uncuteartist]

I'm just going forget about the plot and build! *accidentally triggers Skelkatraz arc*

[chika-writes]

Holy crap!

I got to writing yesterday and (sorry not sorry) I got four (4!!) chapters finished! They’re all up and ready for reading! Maaaan, I love DQB2, can you tell?

Read ‘em here! > AO3 < & > FFN <

(Pic cred goes to Cockybusiness!)

[onebloodsoakedlion]

Destruction Calls (DBQ2 crossver oneshot)

Ryoma stared at the ceiling of the cell that was now his room. He was nearly crying. He and Malroth had fled the Isle of Awakening to avoid capture only to crash into a prison ship and get arrested anyways. And all because Malroth refused to fight back against the stupid Gargoyle that was holding Brownbeard hostage. Seriously though, Ryoma had an entire sack of healing herbs - they could’ve treated Brownbeard’s injuries after the fight was over. And considering how quick Ryoma was with the sword, chances were that said injuries would’ve been minimal! And besides, Malroth was the more... callous one here, so his surrendering to ensure Brownbeard would not have been hurt was unexpected.

Because of this, Ryoma was stuck in a prison. With nothing. And worst of all, he was dehumanised with a fucking number. Ryoma was so out of his depth that he didn’t even care if fucking Brownbeard had lived or died. He was furious that he was forced to make this sacrifice even if there were other options.

As he failed to get to sleep from his pure anger at the situation, he noticed a shadow appear in front of the prison bars. “It’s time to go, Builder. You’ve been here for long enough.” “Who are you” Ryoma growled. “I am the Puppeteer,” the shadow replied, reaching through the bars, slipping the young prisoner a hammer. His hammer. “This place will do you no good. It won’t do your friend any good. You must leave. Now.” The shadow dived through the bars, straight at Ryoma, dissolving into his body. Ryoma immediately got the urge to break the cell doors down. He slowly walked to the bars, hammer in both hands, before using Bigger Bash to break the bars to bits. It felt so good, as if he’d dealt a heavy dose of irony and karma to his captors. “What do you think you’re doing, 6207?! Think you can break out of this place? Well how about we break your bones, one by one!” Ryoma had no fear of the guard, only rage. He marched up to the skeleton and raised his hammer, before bringing it down on its bony head.

Of course the skeleton’s mates had to come running, so Ryoma switched from hammer to Dragonsbane. The skele squad’s attacks were no match for Ryoma’s swift slashes and dauntless dodging. He was enjoying this way too much. After the skeleton guards were defeated, Ryoma had just enough time to free Malroth and equip his armour before the inspector arrived. The builder didn’t even bother to explain to Malroth how he’d managed to get his stuff back or escape. “What is the meaning of this!? 6207, 6208, how did you even manage to escape!? And how did you even get back the stuff I confiscated from you!?” “None of that matters,” Ryoma growled back, “All that matters is you’re doomed. And it’s all your gods-damn fault.”

The inspector didn’t stand a chance. Ryoma was lightning-quick, and with an expertly-executed sword slash, he knocked the staff right out of the inspector’s hands before he could cast a single spell. Ryoma then proceeded to follow up with a spinning slice aimed at the magus’s lower body, leaving his legs with large lacerations that brought him to his knees. “You’re not killing me,” the shocked magus exclaimed. “Not just yet,” Ryoma replied, propping the inspector up and holding his blade to the monster’s throat, “I wanna show you something. You see, you pathetic children of Hargon keep raving on about how destruction is the way. Well I’ll give you destruction. I’ll destroy this fucking hellhole you call Skelkatraz, before I destroy you!” “No... no! You can’t do that,” the Inspector cried, “You can’t destroy Skelkatraz!” “Oh yes I can, idiotic beast,” Ryoma replied with a wide, menacing grin, “It fits well within the teachings of the Children of Hargon. It’s exactly what you asked for and exactly what you deserve!” What followed was an entire three hours of Ryoma laying waste to every single structure of Skelkatraz, fatigue and hunger be damned. Such destruction had inevitably entailed setting the other prisoners free, but the method and fury only left them with fear and concern. Ryoma would not stop until there was barely any sign that a prison was even there. Concluding his rampage at the crematorium on the Puppeteer’s orders, Ryoma begrudgingly awoke Brownbeard whose body was scheduled to be burned. “So you’re alive,” Ryoma growled as soon as Brownbeard was back on his feet, “That means our trip to this putrid prison wasn’t in vain.” “I’m so sorry that this has happened to you,” Brownbeard fearfully apologised Like I said, they - ” Ryoma interrupted by shoving a bag containing several doses of medicinal herbs and a sword into the sailor’s arms, “Next time someone tries to hold you hostage, fight back and heal yourself. Saves us ever having to surrender again.” Ryoma turned to the Inspector, who he had dragged along with him to watch the destruction of Skelkatraz. Even Malroth, who had helped the young Builder lay waste to the place seemed to pity the poor magus. “Skelkatraz is no more,” Ryoma growled, almost completely out of breath, “Now you know what happens next.” The Inspector trembled in fear. “You guys have always been such hypocrites, you know. You say that building is outlawed, yet you yourselves have the guts to build this prison to put human builders in.” The Inspector nodded, too scared to deny it. “You don’t actually hate building,” Ryoma continued, “You just hate when humans do it, because it gives them an unfair advantage over you monsters. You want to stop us humans from getting what we need in order to defeat you and thus be free live our own lives.” “That’s right,” the Inspector replied, “You humans are so weak without your creations that even two slimes working together could beat you! You would have no choice but to follow Hargon’s orders!” “You just want Hargon to have power over us, don’t you,” Ryoma replied as he slit the Inspector’s throat and let his body fall to the ground. “Burn in hell, you megalomaniac sympathiser,” Ryoma growled as the magus’s body dissipated, leaving behind his soul, which burned brightly for a few seconds before fading away.

Ryoma staggered to the docks, his hands stained with bone dust from the skeletons and magic essence from the Inspector. There were two boats - the boat he and Malroth would use to travel to other islands and a familiar-looking slave ship, the latter of which had only just docked. A gargoyle flew out, took one look at Ryoma and Malroth and its jaw dropped. “We sent you here four days ago and already you’ve escaped!?” Ryoma’s rage energised him once more. He sprinted at the gargoyle and threw his Dragonsbane straight into its chest. He lunged on the gargoyle as it screamed in pain and yanked the blade out of its body before leaping onto the ship and killing its mates with a mere few slashes. Ryoma proceeded to dump a heap of dry grass and oil on the ship before using a torch to set it alight. “Wow, you really are mad at these guys,” Malroth sighed, shaking his head. “This part of the game should never have existed,” Ryoma hissed back. “Game? What are you talking about,” Malroth asked, his head leaning to one side. “You wouldn’t understand,” Ryoma replied, “You’re just a character, bound to a script. Let’s get out of here.” Before Ryoma, Malroth or Brownbeard could set foot on their boat, the other prisoners, still in their raggedy rags, had followed them onto the docks. “C-can we come with you,” one of the prisoners asked, “Since you destroyed Skelkatraz... we don’t have anywhere to live!” “Are you kidding,” another exclaimed, “That boy and his mate are madmen! Didn’t you see their frothing rage as they wrecked the place?” “But what about us! He never hurt us! Sure he grabbed me, but that was just to move me out of the way so I didn’t get destroyed!” “That builder is scary! For all we know he could be worse than our captors!”

It had taken several round trips to get all the former prisoners of Skelkatraz to the Isle of Awakening. While some were pleased as punch to finally be free, others, fearful of Ryoma and Malroth, had made it clear that they only came because they had nowhere else to go. But after the first trip back to the Isle of Awakening, Ryoma had already disembarked, and he was nowhere to be seen.

[neon-flamingo]

Pictures I took while playing Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Part 2)

[howwnowbrowncoww]

Honestly, I know a lot of people have already said this, but it is an actual crime that we can’t get Malroth to change into anything other than a fancy suit (and his swimsuit when he’s in the pool). Why can’t our boy wear a fluffy purple coat for when he visits the Cerulean Steppe? Or a casual tunic so he can finally ditch his garish orange pants? (okay, his pants are pretty cool, but still) Or god forbid a bunny suit! Why can’t two bros just fight monsters together in heels and fishnets?! I just want the option to take a thousand pictures of my builder and Malroth in dozens of different matching outfits! Is that so much to ask?!