No Items, No Death
I advise any lactose intolerant subs to avoid this and the next EX boss, as they contain a threatening amount of cheese.
Fighting Sekundes is like fighting a runaway train, and fighting him for this challenge was like fighting a runaway train during an escort mission. My first thought was to rely on Max's Aqua Spiral to do most of the damage, and then distract him with Reid, but there was two problems with that. First, when playing as Reid the AI always repositions after casting spells (similar to Symphonia) so they're "on-screen", so they could get caught up in Sekundes' barrage. Secondly, playing as Max didn't work to well either since Reid's Rising Phoenix didn't do well enough distracting him since he would just run right through and head for the back row.
After trying over and over with Reid and Max setups I decided to ditch one of the casters and have Chat spam hammers. It worked a little better but Dhao-...Sekundes would just run through eventually. So like....every boss from here to the end of the game, I put Eternia down for a few days.
Then I came back recalling a cheesy method, and after throwing Max out I headed the battle with Keele on point. Using the low-tier spell glitch, he and Meredy were more than able to push keep him in check throughout the entire fight with FIYABOWL and Ice Needles. It was inevitable that he got close, but with Reid and Chat on the frontlines Keele and Meredy had enough time to get to the back and start up the spell barrage again. All high tier spells had to be off so the barrage wouldn't stop, so Meredy was only allowed the use of Cure, which was literally a lifesaver.
The only problem with this setup was that it was killer on the fingers. I actually had to reset the button configuration numerous times to get something that was both comfortable and efficient, and in the end I had to use L + R....so it was basically like playing Ys Seven *shrug*. Even still, I'm sure I paused the game at least once during this take since my fingers were dead holding the PSP still + the mashing...the mASHING. THISSERIESISNOTHINGBUTMASHING. And if you can't tell, I actually messed up a bunch of times since the mashing has to be somewhat rhythmic and precise. It wouldn't have been too bad, but since the PSP doesn't have a single button for shortcuts like the PS1 version you have to mash AND release (so important lawd) the two buttons you're using for shortcuts simultaneously and EXTREMELY QUICKLY in order for this crap to work....AND molesting the analog stick occasionally to Gather the party since they love to derp when pushed around the field...bullshi-
But yeah, Sekundes is a real douche. He can't really be comboed (Xillia boss?) since he just shrugs off your attacks, and all of his crap does way too much damage and has way too much range (LASER). If you could just combo the bastard it wouldn't be too bad. Once he begins using Million Assault, though, hope for victory literally plunges into despair and ya might as well reset the game if ya mess up the rhythm. Runaway train...is a fairly accurate description of him, imo.
L+R, ugh don't remind me. I hated the guard system in Ys Seven. Not hard to do, but a pain to get right because I would unintentionally set off my finisher move. XD
Flegan777 4 weeks ago
@Flegan777 Oh no, Ys Seven was much more forgiving than this nonsense. With Ys you could hold down the trigger that didn't set off the special attack (I think it was R?) and then only have to press the other (L) trigger to guard. Doing it the double tap way still seemed harder here since there was some annoying timing along with it.... + doom finger arching.
Vercsase 4 weeks ago
Huh, I thought the PSP version fixed that glitch. Good to know it hasn't.
DreamSword 4 weeks ago
@DreamSword Unless it was my execution, it definitely seems like there is a noticeable gap in casting instead of a constant stream. Keele should be able to keep Sekundes pinned alone from what I recall, but it didn't pan out so well in action. But yes, it would've been tragic if this was fully removed...though the impact wouldn't be on the level of something like Abyss' map glitch (R.I.P.).
Vercsase 4 weeks ago