Long Story

***Long Story*** is a game announced by Lunatic Entertainment in May of 2015. It is stated to be of an incredible size and scope, involving some 700+ characters total, including numerous playable, NPC, and boss characters. The game utilizes the *Monster Space* engine converted into a turn-based RPG. The game's name stems from taking 200+ hours to complete.

The game allows the option to let friends on your contact list to drop in and out of your game at will. These other players can choose to set up their own party to complete quests on their own, or they can, if close enough to another player, allow themselves to be counted as that party and battle together; they will still act on their own outside of battle, unlike early *Tales* games. However, players cannot choose the same party members as those that have already been selected by other users, providing an interesting balance, forcing players to try out a number of the available characters and keep more than just their preferred party leveled up.

## Story Synopsis

### Chapter 1: Denki-gama

The game opens up in a small, quaint village specializing both in agriculture and subsistence fishing, nestled between the Vista Foothills mountain range and the Bubbly Expanse ocean. Splashing fish and mewing chyka are the most common sights and sounds. The party are locals here, having been all born here and lived here their entire lives. The game's initial 7 tasks consist of various manual labor tasks expected of such a settlement. However, this does not remain true for long.

#### Initial Tasks

##### Task 1: Till Fields

The first task involves planting the season's harvest. This is relatively nonchalant, and involves first tilling the fields, then planting the seeds into the ground. Afterwards, they must go fetch water buckets and water the rows. Throughout this first task, the player is able to converse with an intelligent, perpetually pleased plant named Woody Treefern. Treefern will remind them of what tasks still need to be done, and can also be asked for hints.

##### Task 2: Fish & Game

With the fields properly tilled, the small group are informed that the fish are running, and therefore it is time to catch this season's slippery harvest. They are also given their first opportunity to hunt, and are tasked to boat out to Hunter's Cove, where the town of Denki-gama catches their meat. In order to accomplish this task, they are sent with allowances to first purchase equipment to use for the hunt.

With that, they can go climb into the rowboat to move out to the island. The seas are calm and there are no incidents along the way, making for an easy ride. After arriving at the island and mooring the boat, the party are tasked with finding their prey items, a few local species of deer- (unspecified) and bird-equivalents (Whifflebird) to sustain the town. The deer is a simple task of locating the meadow in the middle of the forest and getting into the game's first battle sequence, which is very simple. Once the deer has been slain, the player then must travel back to the boat to put the animal in it before hunting the more elusive Whifflebird.

    To find it, the player must first check every screen of the island, at which point the bird will reveal itself. A goofy-looking creature, this ratite proves significantly more difficult to catch, and it will appear on every screen from then on out, either dashing back and forth or performing some sort of silly action like hiding in the bushes or dancing and squawking in the middle of the screen. To initiate battle with the Whifflebird, the party must make physical contact with the creature. However, it has a high tendency to flee battles, usually after the first strike is made upon it. Luckily, the more damage done to it the slower it gets due to becoming dazed and thus making it easier to catch. Also, if the player is unable to catch the bird within 5 minutes it will accidentally run into a tree and knock itself out, to cut down on frustration factor; however failing to catch the bird yourself will result in losing out on an Achievement.

With both the deer-creature and the Whifflebird back at the boat, the party loads up and heads back to town. There isn't much time to waste however, and they are immediately asked to obtain the fishing net from the hut of Retari, the local fishing expert. Although the party tries to just take the net, he bursts out of his home and startles them. Apologizing, he informs them that today would be a good day for crabs, as well, and tells them to grab some traps while they are at it. He then proceeds to instruct the party on how to fish and set traps, and shoos them on their way back to the shoreline.

However, once they reach the shore they are surprised to see Retari waiting for them. He informs them that he has changed his mind and thinks he should probably go with them on this endeavor, as the sea was looking "extra frothy today"; this gives the party their very first Guest, which will become a common feature throughout the rest of the game. First, the party must set out the fishing net. It is large and so they must attach one end to the shoreline's pulley system and the other to the aft of their rowboat before rowing a distance out and setting the line. Once the line is pulled taught, they then drop an anchor for it and Retari instructs them to continue on back to the waters of Hunter's Cove. Here they travel to specific spots, where Retari then has the boys toss out the crab traps. Once all traps are set out, he tells them that it is time to check the net. Fish have already filled the net, and so the party returns to shore and, with the rest of the townsfolk, haul in the net. At this point they have to catch the fish as they flop about randomly on the beach (making contact with the fish is enough to catch them) and then head back out to check the traps. The traps, too, are full already! Retari comments on how interesting this turn of events have been, as it usually takes longer to catch something. With the traps set back out, Retari notes incoming inclement weather and informs the party that they better head back home for now.

On the way, the sea gets steadily more frothy, until the entire sea around the boat looks like a bubble bath. Retari acts cautiously and suspicious, and sure enough a massive crustacean emerges from the water, which the old fisherman refers to as his nemesis, his "Frothy Foe". This initiates the game's first boss battle, against the creature that is simply referred to as Frothy Foe. Luckily the party has Retari as their guest member, and thus it is quite a bit easier, as the boss can knock the party out. Eventually Frothy Foe is defeated and slips back beneath the waves and the party boat back to shore, no worse for wear. They then return the rest of the catches to the beach and decide to go inside to sleep off the incoming thunderstorm, as well as all the cuts and bruises they had obtained that day.

##### Task 5: There's Been a Murder

The fifth task played out in the game begins when the player(s) discover a lady lamenting at the town square's fountain. Investigating the situation reveals that she is the local bunny farm matron, and she has become very distraught as her flock has been mysteriously dying off—rather gruesomely, in fact—each night for the past few weeks. She feels that she has nowhere left to turn, but the party volunteer to help her catch the culprit

    . After collecting several clues and encountering a number of close calls, the team discover that the culprit is none other than one of the matron's bunnies, an albino runt wearing socks on his ears and wielding a kitchen knife. Although he tries to attack the party, he is defeated and the proof is shown to the matron. She expresses shock and anguish to discover it was her once-beloved #47 that had committed these atrocious acts. Deeply troubled, she thanks the party and hands them a Lucky Rabbits Foot before sending them on their way.

##### Task 6: Weed the Field

The sixth task begins automatically the next morning, with the main character's father bursting into his bedroom, waking him up from a dead sleep. Groggy and confused, he listens to his father hurriedly explain away how the harvest has been infested with weeds and they must act immediately. Although he does not initially understand why this needs to occur immediately, he soon discovers that these are very aggressive weeds that he and his friends must fight to subdue. In the end they fight the Overripe Gargleberry.

##### Task 7: War on Bugs

The final task starts at the tail end of the next day, with the community noting the huge number of insects that have begun running amok through town, however as it is getting dark the town choose to rest up first before the endeavor. To investigate the party must shrink themselves down to insect size, but in order to do so they must first seek out a local hermetic witch and insult her so that she will place a shrinking curse upon them. Once minuscule, they can snoop into the arthropod agenda.

They soon discover that there is an ongoing war between the various insect species, as stated by the arthropods inhabiting the witch's cabin, and the party offers their aid, hoping to end the battle prematurely before it damages the crops and structures of the community. This leads to them being given a ride back to town upon the back of a fly bomber, which takes them to the Ant Headquarters. Here the party ally with them and find that they are one of the two factions. They also learn that a group of devious insects are the instigators of the battles, led by the insane and energetic click beetle, Snapper.

The party learns that several missions must be completed in order to subdue the uprising, including reopening the supply lines and repairing damage done to the hive's structure. However, each of these tasks involve doing battle with one of Snapper's generals, including Diver and Backswimmer. Being successful in these tasks opens the Ant Army's chances of ending the feud and the party joins the engagement that takes them straight to their foe's fortress. Within the confines of this nest they face Snapper himself, and soundly defeat him. With Snapper defeated, the opposing insect force retreats and the Ant Army thanks the heroes, insisting that they will do everything they can to protect the town's crops.

Once they have ended the feud, they must find a way to apologize to the witch and get back to normal size.

#### Explosive Deal

After only a few days of these tasks, a commotion in the town square causes the party to investigate. As it turns out, a traveling salesman has just arrived: His name is Barry Blaszcowicz from the metropolis of Analogue City on the other side of the mountains, and he sells explosive devices for the "betterment of society". He states has come to Denki-gama in an attempt to peddle his wares, insisting that the use of his bombs could effectively quintuple productivity with little to no side effects other than "the sudden flash of pretty colors and the great feeling in your chest of a job well done". He tells the townsfolk that bombs could not only be used to quickly blast earth to till fallow ground and make it usable again but also could be used to quickly stun fish for easy and quick capture. A life of enjoyment could be theirs by simply purchasing his devices.

The townsfolk are a bit uneasy about this aspect, as they rely on these industries to feed their families and simply survive. Undaunted, Blaszcowicz offers to perform a simple demonstration of his bombs' awesome power. He sets up both a farming and fishing test up to go off at the same time, again attempting to show how quickly all of their hard work could be done in a matter of hours, allowing them to kick back and relax for the rest of the day. However, seemingly in his excitement he somehow managed to mess up both demonstrations, and the farmland is converted into pock-filled ruts (though sure, still tilled) and the waters leave a large number of dead, not stunned, fish - far too many for the village to eat and not have anything go to waste. Angered at this disrespect, the elder chastises him and explains that the farmland would be unusable in its current state and that the fish population would take years to return to their normal levels. Although Blaszcowicz tries to defend his actions, he stammers and chokes. The townsfolk drive him out of town and try to begin rebuilding.

Later that very same night however the salesman returns to the town under cover of darkness. Revealing himself to be a maniacal, vengeful soul, he quietly plants bombs all throughout the township. He detonates one early to wake the town, and reveals to them the situation they are now under. Most citizens are too scared to do anything about this, but the party and a few others actively seek out the bombs before it is too late. Unfortunately, although they are able to gather all of the devices successfully, nobody has any idea how to actually disarm a bomb. Fearing their town is still going to be leveled, one individual notices that they are all blinking and that they are remote detonation bombs, and not time bombs as initially assumed. The party rush through town to find the salesman and stop the threat at its source, but find that he has set up a small encampment outside of town. They confront him and try to get the remote device from him but he then reveals he is more than he seems, and that he has spent much of his life training in fencing. He then proceeds to parry many of the party's attacks, only failing to parry critical strikes until he tires, at which point he is unable to defend himself. He languishes that he shouldn't have put off training, and this weakness becomes his downfall. Defeated, he leaves the detonation device behind and flees with his life towards the foothills. The party decide that it is better for them to stop him now than to wait in town for his inevitable return. They pursue their foe.

### Chapter 2: Vista Foothills

The party chase after Barry Blaszcowicz, and find themselves in the Vista Foothills which surround the secluded town of Denki-gama. However, they lose his trail.

#### Chaos on Mt. Krumbel

Although they had lost his trail for a short period and become lost in the woods, the party eventually locate their target, Barry Blaszcowicz, along Mt. Krumbel. Here Blaszcowicz has run into a local construction company, and using his power of words has convinced them to consider using his bombs to help carve the path towards societal progress. Although the party try and warn the construction workers that Blaszcowicz has no good intentions, the workers laugh in the party's face, chocking their tale up to "kid fancy". When the party continues to insist, they are escorted off the premises, being told that they are causing a commotion and that detonation will be under way that afternoon.

The party is then forced to sneak around the construction site and stay out of sight while trying to reveal evidence of Blaszowicz's mania. They eventually find evidence in Blaszowicz's Journal, which they bring to the Supervisor. Unfortunately the detonation has already begun and even the supervisor cannot stop it now. The party watches anxiously as the wall of granite is detonated, and are shocked along with everyone else when the blast proves to be too intense, causing an earthquake that damages the construction equipment and buries the camp in rubble. When everybody comes to, the Supervisor has been gravely injured and can no longer speak up for the party. Confusion temporarily worms its way through the camp's ranks until Blaszowicz convinces them that there is likely a treasure trove of jewels buried below and that they will all be filthy stinking rich. Greed overtakes them and a survey team is hastily put together to delve into the depths. The party is again escorted off-site and a guard is posted who prevents their re-entry.

Disheartened but not wanting to leave without bringing Blaszowicz to justice, they prepare a camp on a nearby ridge overlooking the demolition site. In the middle of the night the team is awakened by the screams and howls of frightened and injured men. Quickly steeling themselves they rush the camp again, only to find everybody there dead and monsters running amok. Blaszowicz however has survived by hiding in the watch tower along with the guard, and dons a bomb suit upon seeing the party. He declares the site as lost and insists the guard follow him into the caverns; when he does not, Blaszowicz locks him in the tower with a bomb, which detonates and kills the man. Blaszowicz flees down into the mountain tunnel system.

#### ...and the Lords of the Underworld

Entering the caverns under Mt. Krumbel, the party begin their search for Blaszowicz, fighting off numbers of Night Goblins and various aggressive fauna that has been disturbed by the detonation. Although they quickly locate and corner their fleeing foe, they are interrupted from exacting vengeance when the floor collapses beneath their feet, sending the party and the bombs salesman plummeting to the levels below. Stirring after an indeterminate time unconscious, the party witnesses some of the local rocks appear to shuffle, and then watch helplessly as the salesman is dragged slowly away from them. The party then black outs again, only to wake again hours later in a cell built out of stalactites and stalagmites.

Looking around, they soon discover that they are in a makeshift prison, and are surrounded by various others of differing races: Prince Azrael the Drow, Skarsnik the Night Goblin, Wrigglepriest Angurwrithem the Matoda and his daughter Aerayt, and of course, Blaszowicz. Although Angurwrithem is too deeply entranced in his own religious prayers and Skarsnik is certainly a devious fiend, Aerayt is curious towards conversing with your kind. The elven prince is in seemingly more dire straits however—he is desperately trying to escape his cell in order to save his father, the King of the Drow, from being executed by their captors, the Dwarves. Azrael, in his desperation, informs the party that they should not be fooled by outward appearances, and that the Drow are a benevolent race, and that the Matoda are harmless as all they care about is the worship of the soil and giant worms; he states that his species are only imprisoned because they sit on a large gem vein as the seat of their throne that the Dwarves wish to consume, being lithovores, and that the Matoda are only imprisoned because the Dwarves have allied with the Kobolds, which predate upon their kind. Azrael then admits that the Night Goblins are fiendish, but in order for them all to escape death's door they would have to ally with Skarsnik out of necessity. Over the course of a few days, the party and the other prisoners work towards an escape, eventually pulling it off 5 days after the party was imprisoned. The party have a few options that will affect later portions of the game:

* They can either help Angurwrithem summon the giant Rockborer Worms which will make him appreciate them later on but cause his daughter to greatly dislike them, or refuse to aid him, causing his ire towards the party but Aerayt's alliance. This will affect an entire subchapter later on.
* When the prison break finally occurs, the party must make the choice to either release Blaszowicz from his cell as well to give him a fighting chance but that the alliance of convenience was over immediately following, or refuse to release him and leave him to his fate. Either way he will find a way out to be encountered later on, but it will change his following dialog during a later encounter with him.

In the end, all of the prisoners make their escape, but the King is slain before the party and Azrael can get to him. Distraught, he escapes with the party to his kingdom, where he offers them sanctuary.

Azrael broods over the course of the following day, but invites the party to witness his coronation as the new King of the Drow. With a heavy heart he openly thanks the party for their part in his escape, and after the ceremony he brings them to his throne for a private conversation. Here, he informs the party that despite the recent events, his people did not possess the strength to fight against the combined might of the Dwarf-Kobold Coalition. He asks our heroes if they would be willing to help strengthen the might of the Drow to better protect their citizens. This involves small raids against both the Kobold village and the Dwarf stronghold, building a wall to prevent possible raids by Night Goblins from deeper in the caverns, and finally finding out how to tame the local, super aggressive Biloids into a warmount for the Drow people. Once these tasks are finished, the party is then offered a chance to help the Drow make a push against the Dwarf Stronghold. They agree and storm the base they recently escaped from, ultimately bringing it down. Azrael then thanks them for their aid, and asks if there is anything he can do for them. They inform him that they are still seeking the Bomb Salesman, and he sends his scouts out, who come back later on to inform the party which direction to focus their search. Although the group are offered permanent sanctuary within the Drow territory, they respectfully decline and move on their way with Azrael's apparent blessing.

After much searching in the dark, the party find Blaszowicz again, who has gotten himself cornered. Though they ask him to surrender he refuses and attacks. Nearly defeated, he pulls out his largest bomb yet, one that he can barely even hold without collapsing. He cries out that this is Game Over but the party succeeds in knocking him unconscious before he can work up the strength to heave the giant bomb at them. Crushed under the bomb he is unable to flee as the bomb's fuse runs low. The party however are able to hide deeper in the caverns, and the explosion causes the tunnels to begin to cave in. Luckily for the party, this detonation has opened another path through the mountain (and also appears to have killed Blaszowicz as well). Feeling their job is done but unable to directly return to Denkigama, the party make their way down the mountainside towards the awaiting Analogue City.

### Chapter 3: Analogue City

#### Taking Care of Caer Draer

As part of their initiation rites into Analogue City's infamous Thieves Guild, the party is tasked with obtaining a lost magical item from within the walls of Caer Draer, a decimated walled fortress along the coastline of this nation, Mainland. Draer had been lost to the great lich Mordecai's forces some years earlier and it now remained in disrepair with a massive number of Goblins inhabiting it.

The item in question is none other than Fort Commander Reginald Bingbong's Eternal Flask, a magical artifact that never runs out of booze. While the fort commander was now long dead, the flask would fetch a great price amongst Analogue City's higher-ups, assuming of course the thieves did not wish to simply keep it for themselves.

The party must then leave Analogue City for the first time since their arrival there, traveling across the Melodic Prairie, where the local grass-equivalents, the flutegrass, sing softly in the perpetual breeze rolling softly in from the coast (the area theme is meant to represent the flutegrass' tune). Several creatures can be fought out here in the prairie to raise character levels, although it will prove mostly unnecessary once inside Caer Draer itself, where no random battles occur. Even so, a smart player will seek random encounters until they come across a Squawklegger, a deer-like bird-equivalent that will drop the Squawklegger Meat item; the first one dropped will become a Key Item instead of a regular one and cannot be used normally.

Arriving at the dilapidated husk of the backside of Draer, the party can hear the ruckus of what is likely thousands of Goblins partying inside. Not wishing to enter an early grave, they choose to bed down and attempt entry after nightfall. They will cook the Squawklegger Meat key item over the fire to turn it into a Squawklegger Steak, and the players can cook other food into new varieties as usual during this time as well; special scenes may also occur around the campfire depending upon whom is currently in the party, including certain characters elaborating more on their own backstories and others potentially discussing possible entries into the fortress with most of them getting shot down for various reasons.

By nightfall, the party packs up their camp and returns to the walls of Draer. A small window has been made from knocked out bricks in the wall. The player can choose to squeeze one character in at a time, but must avoid the patrols along the outer perimeter; characters already inside the fort are unable to participate in any battle against guards. Instead, the player can enter through a gate, where the Goblin guard has fallen asleep. However, there are also two Gobblas - a Goblins' answer to hound dogs - at the gate as well. These Gobblas will grumble at you and will attack if you get too close, but a wise player who has collected the Squawklegger Steak item can hand it over here to the Gobblas, who will then be too busy fighting over the steak to pay you anymore attention, and you can then sneak past. The player can perform a coup de grâce on the Goblin Guard for extra items, though no experience will be rewarded in doing so.

Unique to this mission, all fighting in the fort is optional, though the game focuses on trying to make it through the area without battling any of the Goblins - attacking any in a fashion that does not kill them in the first attack will alert the town, and battles with Goblins will be nearly non-stop from then on out until 100 are dead, unless they can find a hiding place and wait for the area's "ruckus gauge" to diminish back to zero, at which point the Goblins will stop looking for the player's characters and return to their previous activities. Obviously for this point in the game, this is a poor choice to make.

As the player sneaks through the town they can eavesdrop both purposefully and inadvertently upon various Goblins, some of which reveals hints to where Fort Commander Reginald Bingbong's Eternal Flask is located (others include lore and simple jokes). The player will eventually find the Eternal Flask in the possession of the fort's "master of drinkemonies", Goorjian the Hiccup. The player has a few options on the table for how to deal with this situation:

1. Wait for a slightly-extended period of time while hiding in the shadows, until Goorjian drinks himself into a coma and all other nearby Goblins also leave or pass out. At this point your party can sneak up and play a minigame where you can pick his pocket while trying not to wake him.
2. You can again wait for him to pass out and perform a coup de grâce. However, while this will get the player the Eternal Flask quicker, he will return later in the game, still alive and looking for vengeance for his forcefully-gained sobriety.
3. You can simply attack the local Goblins, and fight in a mid-boss battle with Goorjian and a few Goblins (which will be replaced every time one is slain). Afterwards, the other Goblins will begin to chase after the characters, forcing them to race out of the fort before they are killed.

With the Eternal Flask stolen, the party returns to Analogue City's undercity and into the Thieves Guild. Greatly pleased with your process, your party are welcomed as full-fledged members of the guild.

### Chapter 8: Whisper

While trying to locate the mysterious coastal town of Whisper, they are forced to traverse the dangerous mountainous forest region of the Urvonda range. Lost, the party must figure out that the closer they get to town the heavier the mist gets.

Whisper is an old coal mining town that has been mostly abandoned. First they must pass an abandoned car and then the welcome sign. After a pass through an old graveyard the party finally arrive in the city limits.

#### Delicatessen

Lucky, they find that the lights are on at a local delicatessen called the Famished Burger. Looking for information and directions around town to complete their tasks, they discover that there is only one employee on-shift at the moment, a young man wearing the deli's mascot named Sabbath. Sabbath is not exactly enthused about wearing a huge burger costume, but he sees opportunity in the party's arrival and confides in them that he hates his job. After expressing his desire to return to the days of a promising future when he was the captain of a local rugby team. He convinces the party to do a trio of menial quests for him.

Each time the party returns to Sabbath, his personality feels colder, more distant. However the party continues to aid him. After bringing him three items, he warns them of an "incoming storm" and flees into the deli. Immediately following this the area suddenly experiences a flash and the entire area transmogrifies into a horrific iteration made of living flesh. The party is shocked to its core despite their experiences with the undead hordes in Romero Town and must take a moment to recover from the experience. Afterwards, seemingly trapped in the deli itself leaves them little choice but to attempt and locate an exit, forcing them to make their way deep into the Otherworldly Deli until ultimately reaching the kitchen.

In the deli's kitchen, the party regroups with Sabbath, now preparing a meal and speaking cryptically. Trying to find a way out of the room, it dawns on them that the meal being prepared before them is made with the remains of the rest of the Famished Burger's staff! Again shocked, Sabbath realizes they have figured it out and acknowledges what the meal is made out of and explains why he killed them as well as how he has been feeding the store's patrons this concoction for some time. The party understandably expresses their displeasure at this news (however, should Serenity be in the party at the time, she will express some minor level of amusement over the situation). This finalizes Sabbath's view over the party and he grows fully detached from reality and, upset, he reveals that he has in fact made a pact with the Gods of Delicious Meats to reclaim his once overflowing potential.

With this, Sabbath himself suddenly transforms too, taking on a demonic yet strange looking form. He announces that he will only answer to "Captain Sab" from now on before levitating on awkward, boneless wings. He then summons six burgers to guard him in combat and keeps himself resupplied from his "meat stock". Luckily, the party are able to kill him despite his "potential", and Famished Burger returns to its true state. The party discover that it actually has blood smeared everywhere and the entire establishment is dilapidated and far worse for wear. At that exact moment however, a food inspector walks in and cries out in shock at the sight. He recovers quickly however and immediately announces that he is shutting the delicatessen down due to its insurmountable list of health code violations. He then turns to the party and sternly informs them to leave before ushering them out and locking the door behind them.