Welcome, and thank you for joining us once again for our coverage of Stranger of Paradise’s Main Mission walkthroughs: this particular guide will cover ‘Memories of Poison,’ which takes place in a forest modeled after a similar one from Final Fantasy IX. We will offer the Mission’s secrets, and some tips for the level’s boss and challenges.
Let’s begin!
When you’re ready to begin the Mission, go to the Wicked Arbor and start ‘Memories of Poison.’
The Verdant Shore
Go through the path and grab the purple orb at the waterfall as you pass it by. At the end of the path, climb up a rope, and you will find a pool of water inside of a tree stump. These are healing pools and, when used, they will fully restore your HP. They get consumed on use, but will replenish when using a Cube. Continue forward through the path and grab the purple orb you see on the way.
Bandits’ Corpse
When you see two ramps branching off on each side of you, take the ramp up on the left to find a chest, then turn around and continue forward. You will soon find a giant flower. These will function similarly to a Dark Vent. Only, instead of spawning enemies, they will periodically release poison gas. If you stand in this gas for too long, you will be inflicted with Poison. Once you destroy the giant flower, there will be a breakable wall behind it. Destroy it and you will find a Cube.
You will shortly run into a split. Turn right from here to find a chest, then turn around and take the other path from the split. Continue until you reach a three-way split, then turn left to find a purple orb. Turn around and turn left on the split again, and you will find a chest. Finally, turn around and turn left on the split one more time to continue forward. Grab the purple orb in this area and defeat the nearby giant flower. Then, destroy the wall behind it to continue.
At the split, continue forward to create a shortcut to a previous Cube, then turn around and make a right at the split to continue.
Judgement Knoll
You will soon find another healing pool. From here, take a right. And, on the next split, turn right and go behind the tree to find the Fool’s Missive XV. Now head back to the split and continue forward. Defeat the Flan Prince — this enemy will be a larger, tougher version of a regular Flan, and harder to stagger; his attacks will also be more powerful.
Then, go up the ramp and turn right to find a chest. Turn around and keep going forward until you reach the end of this path, then grab the chest and jump down the ledge to be taken back to where the healing pool is.
Now, take the path to the left of where the wooden wall is, and you will find a giant flower shortly after. Defeat it, then destroy the wall behind it, and continue forward. You will soon find another giant flower. Destroy this one and the wall behind it to create a shortcut to the healing spring. Then, continue through the main path to enter a cave.
Cave of Dying Light
Go through the cave until you reach an open area with a pack of Silver Lobos. From where you entered, go to the other side of the area and go all the way to the right. You will see a hole nearby. Jump down the hole, and continue forward until you see a large tree, then grab the chest on the right side — do not jump down the ledge here. Instead, continue through the path.
Defeat the giant flower you will encounter here, which will be guarded by a Tonberry. Then, jump down the ledge and destroy the wall to the right (it will be next to the hole you jumped down earlier). This will reveal a Memory Memento, which will unlock the Side Mission ‘Indigo Memories: The Humiliated.’ Once you’ve grabbed it, go to the other side of the open area to find a Cube. Then, continue forward to fight a boss.
Great Malboro
Phase 1
The Great Malboro has a variety of attacks have a good range, which will inflict multiple status effects.
- He can slam at you with his large tentacles up to four times. In addition, he is able to attack you with his smaller tentacles (this attack will have less range)
- The Great Malboro can also extend his large tentacles and spin around, hitting anything nearby
- Squash is an unblockable attack, where he will hop up and slam on the ground in an AoE attack
- Ensnare is another unblockable attack, causing the Great Malboro’s large tentacles to go into the ground and attempt to grab you from beneath
- Saliva will have him shoot three projectiles at you, which will reduce your defenses if hit (you can steal this as an Instant Ability)
- The Great Malboro can use Really Bad Breath, which is an unblockable attack that will cause him to spin while breathing out a toxic gas. If hit by it, it will inflict Poison, Paralyze, Silence, Curse, and Slow
- Occasionally he will use Sticky Goo, which will temporarily increase his defenses
The large tentacles can be broken off, which will reduce the Great Malboro’s max Break Gauge, as well as reducing the range of his attacks. Keep in mind, however, that he will eventually use Regenerate to regrow these tentacles.
If you Soul Shield the Saliva Ability, you can use it against him to reduce his defenses, allowing you to take him down easier. He is a very aggressive boss — try taking advantage of Resonance to have an easier time hitting him. Overall, just make sure you stay mindful of his AoE attacks, in particular the Really Bad Breath.
Once you deplete his HP by half, or fully deplete his Break Gauge, you can Soul Burst him and begin Phase 2.
Phase 2
The Great Malboro starts this phase with his large tentacles broken, but will now begin using his tongue as a weapon.
- He will still be able to slam at you and do a spin attack, only now he will attack with his tongue
- Tongue Tied is a new unblockable attack, where he will try to grab you with his tongue. If caught, he will drain some of your HP and inflict Poison, Silence, Curse, and Slow
Shortly after beginning this phase, he will use Regenerate to recover his large tentacles again, and will quickly move to hang from the top of the area. While hanging, he will use his spinning attack, Saliva, and Really Bad Breath. When he is ready to land on the ground, he will use Malboro Splash to slam back onto the ground.
Once he lands, he will begin using Roll as well — this attack will have him quickly moving across the level, damaging you if he makes contact. The Great Malboro becomes more aggressive during this phase, so Resonance will be helpful here again to keep some of the attention off of you. While he is hanging, you can avoid most of his attacks simply by standing right next to him — continue attacking him meanwhile.
