. : Shades of Silence : . -- Walkthroughs (Tales of Phantasia GBA)

Head to the Tree of Life. You remember Martel, don'tya? Cept she was in black and white at the beginning of the game... She tells you that if the Tree of Life dies, then Magic will disappear from the world (you know this is true because the tree is dead in Cless' time, and they don't know anything about magic). Mint tries to heal the tree, but she still isn't skilled enough to do so. Well, you heard Klarth! On to Venezzia! To get there, you have to pass through Harmel.

AUGH! FLASHBACKS! AUGH!! Oh, no, wait, this isn't Toltus... but what the heck happened?? Head north, and talk to the pink-haired girl. "Rhea" tells you that Demitel attacked the town and killed everyone. Which, of course, sets Cless off on a personal vendetta. Klarth gets peeved. Apparently, they haven't told him everything. Yet. Lia now joins you as an NPC (Non-Playable Character, not some new-fangled breed of mutant from Parasite Eve). Go north to leave, and north to reach Venezzia.

Enter the mayor's house (go right from the entrance to the city and enter the only house you can actually get to) and talk to the two women in the back to learn about Demitel and how to get to his island. Head upstairs and talk to the old man, who is the Mayor of Venezzia... and Lenios' twin brother! (yes, this is important, don't worry) If you want to get to the Item Shop, head to South End. If not, go back to North End and go right. Board the ship and talk to the captain (the guy looking out to the right), and choose Yes.

There is a Melange Gummy and a ?Book on the docks. Books are always weapons for Klarth, and anything with a ? in front of it needs a Rune Bottle to transform it into what it really is. But, believe it or not, this is actually a Porno Magazine... not only is that really stupid, but it's a REALLY CRAPPY weapon. So, just leave it untransformed. (Klarth: Hey! I was going to read that!) ... ^<__<^;; (OK, so they translated it as Glossy Magazine, but it was originally a porno mag) *Ahem*! Anyway...

There's a chest before you get to the gate. It contains a Spy Lens. Go through the gate and, after some comments from Klarth (who seems to actually be getting into this whole thing now), enter the castle. Open the middle window in the back, then go left. The first door has a SP, the second has a Savory behind a table and obscured by a pot. Check the closet right behind the chest for the Magic Key. The third room is a... bathroom. Go back to the main room and go right this time. The last door has a bunch of chests with 2 Apple Gummies, a Verbena, a Savory, an Elixir, and 430g. Use the key on the other door in this area. Inspect the tree in the patch of sunlight for some deliberation. Look, it moved!

Boss: Oak Root (2)
HP: 2,250
TP: 3
Attacks: Shake
Weakness: Fire, Thunder
Recommended level: 9

Place Klarth and Mint farther back from Cless in the Form menu, so that Shake doesn't interrupt their Spell-casting. Have Sylphs turned on in Klarth's menu. Get Cless up as close to the first Oak Root as you can, and use Tiger Teeth (or Sword Rain) on it until it dies. Repeat process with the second Oak Root.

Alternate strategy: Use Lightning Bolt asap, and have Klarth casting Sylphs.

Return to the main room to see that the sun now shines into the room, now that the tree's gone. Turn the middle prism twice, the right one three times, and the left one thrice, as well. A secret passage will open up below you. Enter.

Down, left, and up from there is a Reverse Doll. Go back, and take the bottom-left passage to get a Ranseur and an Armet Helm. Go back and take the top passage this time, save, and go through the door. After some debating on whether or not Lia is Lia...

Boss: Demitel, Lilite (2), Golem (2)
HP: Demitel: 2,700, Lilite: 600
TP: Demitel: 0, Lilite: 20
Attacks: Ice Tornado, Lightning Bolt, Stone Wall, Hell Gem, Summon Lich
Recommended level: Cless: 15, Mint: 14

Formation doesn't really matter in this fight, since there are enemies all around. Just have your second party member once space back from Cless. Take Sylphs off automatic in Klarth's menu (so you can choose his target, instead of the AI doing so).

Have Mint cast Delay on some enemy that's in the midst of a bunch of others, then have her cast it again, but on Demitel this time. Ignore the Lilites for now. You can have Pico Hammer on automatic if you'd like. It might actually help, but then again, she is wasting TP that she could be using to Heal. Have Klarth do Sylphs on Demitel while Cless takes care of the Golems with Tiger Blade (you'd better have this tech by now, cause I'm reading this off of a strategy I planned the first time through playing this game, and I hardly leveled up at all back then!). Once the Golems are gone, do the same thing, except use Tiger Teeth on the Lilites, of course. Once they're gone, do the same on Demitel, and have Mint do Pico Hammer, so he doesn't have even the ghost of a chance to summon Lich.

Alternate strategy: Tiger Teeth the closest Golem. By then, either one or both Lilites will probably have teleported behind you. Take them out with Lightning Bolt while Klarth casts Sylphs on Demitel. Use Tiger Teeth and Sylphs (and Hammer, if you wish) to take out whomever's still left.

You get a ?Book from this fight. No, it's not another Porno Mag, it's Yellow Kings, BUT you'll get a MUCH better book in a minute... After the fight, Lia collapses, and her soul wanders off to join her parents. Awaken, Arche! Yep, it's Bart's psycho daughter, Arche... The scene cuts back to a teary reunion between Bart and Arche, which Mint has to drag Cless away from.

Back outside, you wax metaphysical, and Arche exits. And reveals her true personality... *eck* And it gets worse as she goes along... She gives you two contract rings for Klarth, and proceeds to join yer party! (...) Oh brother.

Alright, before heading to Alvanista, there are a couple of things you should do:

Arche has two Spells that she can cast already, Fireball and Ice Arrows, which are rather pathetic, if you ask me. Arche learns spells by reading Spell books. Return to Euclid and check out Klarth's library. In his bedroom is a book that teaches Arche Stone Blast. The one in the lower-right hand corner teaches her Ice Tornado (yes, the same one that the Lilites used in Demitel's Castle). And no, I don't mean the Comic Book!

Return to Beladum. After a couple of battles, you might want to turn off Arche's skills because, like Klarth, she tends to get a bit carried away with them once she gets them. Talk to Lenios again, and he teaches Arche Cyclone. This is ONLY if you talked to Lenios' brother in Venezzia (so if you didn't do as I say, then ya gotta go back. HA HA!)

Return to Venezzia, and enter the first door on the top street. The woman here will teach Arche Lightning for 200g, and Debris Fall for 4,000g. Enter the Trading Company next door, and go to the top floor to find Elwyn and Nancy arguing with Elwin's father. He's not too pleased with his son at the moment. Leave, and talk to Nancy by the fountain. Elwin is lurking in the shadows above the fountain. Talk to him as well, and answer yes. Klarth tells him to elope, and waxes eloquent on the subject of love. (Klarth: Hey! I know true love when I see it!) ... This from the man who calls his live-in lover (or whatever) a wench?? (Klarth: (...)) ANYWAY!

Arche joins you at level 12, so head back to Demitel's Castle to level her up. Plus, you can pick up a Cabbage, a Halberd, and a ?Book (Rabonis) for Klarth (the better weapon I told you about)! Now... head to Alvanista!