Torneko, One More Final: Not Frustrated Enough Yet?

As I suspected, the game goes on. But my good gear, since I didn't have time to stick it in the vault, is gone. Bah.

Looks like what Team Mondo was building was a palace for the king! Or possibly my wife. Or maybe both- they were both after the box, so they may have been plotting against me.

Yup, looks like a mausoleum to me.

...wait, this isn't a palace. This...

...this is NENE-WORLD. With the Box of Happiness as the center display.

Here's the King camping out back- I guess my wife won't let him in. I guess I only got in to keep up appearances. He hits me with a Yes/No question. Hell, I'll say yes. No idea what he says in return.

I walk out of town and it's back to the Dungeon.

...did the text used to be red like that? I think not. And I can't carry anything but Bread again. Oh well, let's see what we got for a few minutes.

Oh. I know what this is: when you complete Shiren the Wanderer, you unlock the Final Puzzle, which is essentially Hardcore Mode. EVERYTHING is unidentified; every herb and scroll is a mystery that could help you or kill you. Dozens of new item types- most of them harmful -are added into the mix too, like the scroll that seals my mouth shut for an entire level. Which means I couldn't eat bread and nearly starved if I hadn't gotten down a floor in time. Another couple of fun new entries are the Sleep Herb- great to throw, less so to eat -and the Bread Scroll, which turns any single item into a Big Bread. There's also a Reset Scroll that restarts the floor for you, which could be handy.

I made it to Floor 16, which is better than I usually do with the Shiren equivalent. Back in town I discover that whether or not the Box of Happiness is open is what determines whether or not you're in the really nasty version of the dungeon. But since there's no more story to deal with that I know of, this seems like a great place to bring our Flailthrough to a close.