The Dominion of Hate (1994)
 |
Forbidden lands lie beyond this marker The following article contains story spoilers! |
The Dominion of Hate is the last chapter in Live A Live and takes place in Lucretia, now frozen in time and being controlled by the Demon King Odio. Just like the Medieval Chapter, it is a classic RPG scenario and the longest one in the game. It is unlocked once all previous chapters have been completed.
Its cursor and menu background depends on who the main protagonist is.
Chapter Description
After Oersted became the new Demon King, Odio, he took control of the kingdom and eradicated all of its living inhabitants. It is now a dangerous land full of monsters from various time periods. The heroes that defeated the incarnations of Odio have been summoned in order to prove their worth and defeat the demon king once and for all.
Chapter Mechanics
Before the Chapter starts, you must choose a protagonist. If you chose anyone that is not Oersted, the chapter will proceed "normally", with the protagonist appearing in Lucretia being able to encounter and recruit the other heroes into your party. The protagonist won't be able to leave the party, and the only things that change depending on the protagonist are some minor cutscenes and dialog.
The Dungeons will also be accessible if you have the corresponding character to the trial in your party. In these, you will be able to gather gear and each character's ultimate weapon. The main goal of the chapter is to get strong enough to defeat Odio. Any item that you didn't pick during the The Lord of Dark chapter(Except the two Hero's Shield as you cannot access them in the final chapter and the plants respawn.) will become a stronger item and will be able to be picked up in the Finale. Enemy encounters also change based on your party's average level.
If you chose Oersted, you will instead go through a boss rush in which you will control all incarnations of Odio in their respective battles to win them and change history. You can either decide to win them normally or use the special move Armageddon to end existence.
Bosses
The chapter contains 8 main bosses:
- Amlucretia, a godlike giant fish that resides in the Trial of Instinct and guards the Ariel Ring.
- Jaggy Egg, four hungry monsters that wait in the Trial of Time and guard the Ariel Glove.
- Erauqs, an ancient robot that sealed its mind in the Trial of Intelligence and guards the Ariel Helm.
- Death Prophet, a black panther that hunts cowards and turns them into stone, it guards the Ariel Mail.
- Head Plucker, a ghastly knight that kills those who step into the void with its blade, he guards the Ariel Boots.
- Voice Heart, an old fat man that appears through the various corridors of the Trial of Technique.
- Apophisphio, a bird demon that rides an eel who guards the entrance to the Trial of Strength.
- Ishtar, a snake ouroboros demon that appears as a mini-boss during early parts of the chapter.
Chapter Boss
The boss of this chapter (and the final boss of the game) is Odio. You fight him at the top of The Forbidden Land.
He has two phases, the first one consists of two Odio Eye, one Odio Mouth, and one Odio Mole. You must defeat each part except the Odio Mole. Once defeated, the Odio, Mole will transform into Pure Odio. This battle is very difficult, as both phases have strong attacks and can inflict various statues including Petrification. This is why it is recommended to get the Cosmic set from the optional bosses. It is also recommended to be at least level 12. However, once Odio is defeated. Oersted will appear as himself. You can either kill him or run away to spare him. Killing him grants the "Never Ending". Sparing him leads to a boss rush to defeat all incarnations of Odio, leading to the Good Ending.
If you have recruited all protagonists at least once, following the boss rush you will get extended credits.
Scenario Endings
Armageddon Ending (Pure Odio)
If Odio (Oersted) wins the final battle in his Pure Odio form, a cutscene begins where he created a white shockwave that blasts through every chapter of the game, destroying every world, at every era. As Odio finishes destroying everything that as ever existed, the credits start rolling. The track Armageddon slowly gets quieter and quieter to be replaced by church bells and blowing wind. The bells also start getting quieter, followed by the wind. After the screen has gone complety black, and the sound completely silent, text appears, saying the following (loose translation): "...In the end... Everything was blown away...". You're then brought back to the menu, to reload your save file.
Armageddon Ending (Oersted)
Obtained after choosing the "Armageddon" prompt during the boss rush as the incarnations of Odio. The command appears in any of the fights for that chapter as Oersted. When brought down to critical HP levels, the "Armageddon" option becomes available, which plays the same cutscene as the "Pure Odio" ending.
Sad Ending
Obtained after completing the boss rush as the incarnations of Odio and not activating the "Armageddon". Oersted declares himself and his incarnations as the true victors. He then wanders through the lifeless Kingdom of Lucretia as credits roll. He goes through the mountain and forest area, before arriving to the city. He visits his former cell, where Uranus died. He passes through the throne room and ends at the castle balcony to look at Devil's Peak in sadness. Unable to find happiness, the screen darkens and text displaying "Sad End..." appears. You are then brought back to the menu.
Never Ending
Obtained after the defeat of Pure Odio at the hands of the heroes, Oersted reverts to his normal form and tells the protagonist to finish him. If you accept, your character will enter a fight with Oersted, he won't fight back, and gets killed in one hit. If this is done, Oersted dies and fades away.
Your character will say something different depending on who you picked:
- Pogo: "...! Looooooove!"
- Lei: "... I can't stand it! He's... like I was, long ago... Gramps... Was this the right...?"
- Yun: "... Was that the right... ? I... I don't know... Master... What would you have done?"
- Hong: "... I think I understand his feelings, Master... I... Have I done the right thing?"
- Oboromaru: "... Be at peace... In the next world..."
- Sundown: "... Adios..."
- Masaru: "... Damn it... I won but... It just doesn't feel right!"
- Akira: "... You fool... You stupid, stupid fool..."
- Cube doesn't say anything.
The screen takes a yellow tone and credits play along with the song On Broken Wings. Text displaying "And time spun forever and ever..." appears once the credits end. This leaves the protagonists stuck in time, unable to go back to their own time periods.
True Ending
Obtained after the defeat of Pure Odio at the hands of the heroes, Oersted reverts back to his true form and tells the protagonist to finish him. If you decide not to and turn back to the Statue Room of Devil's Peak. The other characters that were not on your party will appear and give some dialog. After this, Oersted will appear to wake the statues and send every character to fight their respective Odio incarnation. If the player looses, he's sent back to the menu. If he wins every fight, Oersted will drop to his knees and say: "Wh... Why can't I win...!? Isn't this my destiny? What's the difference between you and I?!".
Your character will say something different depending on who you picked:
- Pogo: "... Looooove!"
- Oersted: ".. Ah... Love...? I... Perhaps that's all I really wanted..."
- Lei: "You remind me so much of myself... I used to envy people the way you do! But... It's wrong! Just because you want something doesn't mean you'll get it! But if you persevere, you will get what you deserve in the end, I think... So long as you do not give up, you'll succeed! Just never give up... That's all I have to say..."
- Oersted: "... Don't give up... I... I've given up already... Given up on being human..."
- Yun: "... Perhaps you're simply too pure... That probably causes trouble for you. But... When that happens, there are two paths you can take. It's the choice you make that's important!..."
- Oersted: "..I... all I ever done is run away... Fate has punished me for that..."
- Hong: "... I... I... I've always been looked down on by people... but I've never looked down on anyone else... I don't hate them for the things they've done to me..."
- Oersted: "...Haha... Hahaha... It's that simple is it?... I...I've been just as cruel to those who were cruel to me... No, that's not quite right... I've been even more cruel..."
- Oboromaru: "... I would kill anyone, blindly, so long as the order was given... But I then realized that killing people for the wrong reasons is unacceptable! The world cannot be changed by force. Such ideas only lead to more death and sadness... Ryoma Sakamoto taught me that the only way we'll be able to change the world... is if we can place our trust in each other!"
- Oersted: "... The world... can't be changed by force... ?... Trust people... I think... someone told me something like that, long, long ago..."
- Sundown: "... Of course... I too am running away from other people, and am always roaming... But all of that wandering, all that time being alone... It makes you long for a little companionship, every once in a while..."
- Oersted: "... You're right... All that time hating humans and being alone... It made me realize... I too, am human..."
- Masaru: "... Becoming strong... In and of itself, it's not strictly "evil"... But I don't just want to strengthen my muscles... I want to be strong of heart as well!"
- Oersted: "...!! Strength of... heart...? I never thought of that... This is all because of my own weakness... Weakness of the heart..."
- Akira: "... Get a grip already! I don't give a damn about fate, or destiny, or any of that shit. This isn't something that other people, or some God, or anything decides for you! You're in charge of your own future, take the reins! You say you hate people, but you're still human yourself! All that makes you... is a god damn hypocrite!"
- Oersted: "... I forgot that I was human... And I chose the wrong path..."
- Cube: Cube doesn't have dialogue.
- Oersted: "... Why...? By a soulless machine... I see... it doesn't matter that it's a machine... maybe... maybe I'm thinking too much.."
After this dialogue bit, Oersted says his last words before disappearing: "When I die, you will be able to return to your own worlds. But... Don't forget... Anyone can become the Demon King... As long as hatred still exists, in any world, at any time... Don't forget...".
If the player didn't find every character in the last chapter, the credits will be scrolling white text over a black background while music from the protagonist's chapter plays.
However, if the player did find every character a special ending scene will play while Live over Again followed by Live for Live plays. The end screen is a portrait of the character picked for the last chapter.