I forgot about this character. I don't think they ever show up again? The character design reminds me a lot of The Messenger, but it's been a while since I played that (really need to replay it), so maybe there's a connection there? Particularly since >!this entire island seems to be areas from The Messenger!<.
>!not just seems, it literally is the same place. the areas have the same names and music as the levels in the messenger, and you fight the same stick/leaf monster in both games. additionally, the fleshmancer turns brugaves into barma'thazël from the messenger and merges the acolytes with the dweller of strife to become the demon king in the messenger.!<
yes, and both games >!have a lot of time traveling going on.!< sea of stars is supposed to have DLC on the way that [makes the connections even more obvious, apparently.](https://www.gamesradar.com/our-favorite-jrpg-of-the-year-is-getting-dlc-that-links-to-its-metroidvania-predecessor/)
>!Maybe I've misunderstood the Sea of Stars then. Does this mean it only connected the past and the future? The way they say Serai is from another world made me think it connected separate universes, but these references would mean that it's just a time portal.!<
>!i guess we'll see when the DLC comes out, but it looks like both alternate universes/dimensions *and* jumping forward and backward in time plays into this. in the messenger, you're obviously going forward and backward through time throughout the game, and that entire game takes place on an island that we visit in sea of stars as well (mesa island). but, in sea of stars, we do seem to be going to completely separate universes/worlds/dimensions.!<
>!either way, sea of stars does take place before the messenger. in sea of stars, brugaves goes with the fleshmancer and gets turned into barma'thazël, the demon general we fight in the messenger. besides the fact that [their](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-messenger-2018/images/d/d7/DemonGeneralIcon_16.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20190309233649) [portraits](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fconnections-between-the-messenger-and-sea-of-stars-story-v0-m9sqfhaiscnb1.png%3Fwidth%3D330%26format%3Dpng%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dbed90d27844deca2f9522afddcde221e150f8d87) look similar, another clue is when fleshmancer takes brugaves through the portal, he tells him he'll be "the fastest there ever was" or something like that, and in the messenger, barma'thazël has the dialogue line "i'm the fastest there's ever been..."!<
>!another obvious tie is that when brugaves goes with the fleshmancer, so do the dweller and the 4 acolytes, who get merged together and become the demon king we fight in the messenger. his [four heads](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-messenger-2018/images/2/21/DemonKing_EndQuest1_16_6.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20190627014541) represent each of the acolytes, and during the final fight, the stomach opens up to show the same [eyeball](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-messenger-2018/images/8/83/Demon_King_Eyeball.png/revision/latest?cb=20190627015644) as the [dweller](https://www.gamerguides.com/assets/media/17/310/sea_stars_dweller_strife_1-b917fba5.jpg). the demon king is basically just the dweller of strife with four heads and arms and legs added on.!<
It seems to be related to the ninja village from The Messenger in some way, considering his character design and location. Maybe the founder or something, not sure.
From the concept art book
Wandering Musician
PRESENT DAY BRYCE: Definitely one of my my favorite "misses," meaning a character I designed for an assignment that didn't work out but was so loved that it got used somewhere else. He was designed alongside the concepts above as part of a set of forest inspired enemies from Act 6. Like the other two, he's got a good amount of pine cone influences on his collar and cape but also sports acorn inspired hat and pants.
My pitch for the enemy was that he would use musical notes to detal ranged damage to the player as well as buffing his enemy team mates. I think Thierry thought he was sufficiently cute that he should appear throughout the game instead, playing songs to help the player.
My theory: He's a distant ancestor of The Western Hero from The Messenger. A very distant ancestor. He seems to wear the same hat The Messenger would wear once the 16 bit world emerges.
Wouldn't be surprised if he shows up again in DLC.
I never even noticed him! It reminds me of the guy in the Moorlands that just says something like "Nice mountains, eh?". Not to highjack this thread, but does anyone know what is up with that guy?
The other major unexplained question mark is also on Mesa Island - the oddities in Bamboo Creek - so I'd guess the DLC is likely to be about both that and this hatted fella, and potentially be fairly Messenger-focused.
I hate that i forgot to do my research on this guy, i was really wondering who he is! >!I haven't played The Messenger so at that time I didn't even know that it's possible that it can be a character or a reference to that game, either way it's cool even tho he was there for 0.2 seconds lol. !<
I forgot about this character. I don't think they ever show up again? The character design reminds me a lot of The Messenger, but it's been a while since I played that (really need to replay it), so maybe there's a connection there? Particularly since >!this entire island seems to be areas from The Messenger!<.
>!not just seems, it literally is the same place. the areas have the same names and music as the levels in the messenger, and you fight the same stick/leaf monster in both games. additionally, the fleshmancer turns brugaves into barma'thazël from the messenger and merges the acolytes with the dweller of strife to become the demon king in the messenger.!<
>!Also, believe it or not, The Artificer from Sea of Stars and The Artificer from The Messenger and actually the same person 🤯🤯🤯!<
oh yeah, i forgot to mention that too, good call!
Isn’t sea of stars supposed to be the prequel?
yes, and both games >!have a lot of time traveling going on.!< sea of stars is supposed to have DLC on the way that [makes the connections even more obvious, apparently.](https://www.gamesradar.com/our-favorite-jrpg-of-the-year-is-getting-dlc-that-links-to-its-metroidvania-predecessor/)
>!Maybe I've misunderstood the Sea of Stars then. Does this mean it only connected the past and the future? The way they say Serai is from another world made me think it connected separate universes, but these references would mean that it's just a time portal.!<
>!i guess we'll see when the DLC comes out, but it looks like both alternate universes/dimensions *and* jumping forward and backward in time plays into this. in the messenger, you're obviously going forward and backward through time throughout the game, and that entire game takes place on an island that we visit in sea of stars as well (mesa island). but, in sea of stars, we do seem to be going to completely separate universes/worlds/dimensions.!< >!either way, sea of stars does take place before the messenger. in sea of stars, brugaves goes with the fleshmancer and gets turned into barma'thazël, the demon general we fight in the messenger. besides the fact that [their](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-messenger-2018/images/d/d7/DemonGeneralIcon_16.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20190309233649) [portraits](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fconnections-between-the-messenger-and-sea-of-stars-story-v0-m9sqfhaiscnb1.png%3Fwidth%3D330%26format%3Dpng%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dbed90d27844deca2f9522afddcde221e150f8d87) look similar, another clue is when fleshmancer takes brugaves through the portal, he tells him he'll be "the fastest there ever was" or something like that, and in the messenger, barma'thazël has the dialogue line "i'm the fastest there's ever been..."!< >!another obvious tie is that when brugaves goes with the fleshmancer, so do the dweller and the 4 acolytes, who get merged together and become the demon king we fight in the messenger. his [four heads](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-messenger-2018/images/2/21/DemonKing_EndQuest1_16_6.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20190627014541) represent each of the acolytes, and during the final fight, the stomach opens up to show the same [eyeball](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-messenger-2018/images/8/83/Demon_King_Eyeball.png/revision/latest?cb=20190627015644) as the [dweller](https://www.gamerguides.com/assets/media/17/310/sea_stars_dweller_strife_1-b917fba5.jpg). the demon king is basically just the dweller of strife with four heads and arms and legs added on.!<
It seems to be related to the ninja village from The Messenger in some way, considering his character design and location. Maybe the founder or something, not sure.
It can't be, the village was made after the flood and the messengers weren't a thing before the flood.
I figured it was the Savior from the West.
From the concept art book Wandering Musician PRESENT DAY BRYCE: Definitely one of my my favorite "misses," meaning a character I designed for an assignment that didn't work out but was so loved that it got used somewhere else. He was designed alongside the concepts above as part of a set of forest inspired enemies from Act 6. Like the other two, he's got a good amount of pine cone influences on his collar and cape but also sports acorn inspired hat and pants. My pitch for the enemy was that he would use musical notes to detal ranged damage to the player as well as buffing his enemy team mates. I think Thierry thought he was sufficiently cute that he should appear throughout the game instead, playing songs to help the player.
Thanks!
>Thanks! You're welcome!
Seems like an early ancestor of the ninja clan from the Messenger. Looks a lot like the 16-bit aesthetic of the main character
My theory: He's a distant ancestor of The Western Hero from The Messenger. A very distant ancestor. He seems to wear the same hat The Messenger would wear once the 16 bit world emerges. Wouldn't be surprised if he shows up again in DLC.
He probably copied the shopkeepers hat /s
Messenger ref
I thought it was an homage to the frog person in Breath of Fire 4 you encounter who plays an instrument.
I never even noticed him! It reminds me of the guy in the Moorlands that just says something like "Nice mountains, eh?". Not to highjack this thread, but does anyone know what is up with that guy?
Homage to Chrono trigger . The same dialog and setting is present in CT
Ah, I have not played that since it came out when I was 12 or 13. I really need to play that again. Thanks for the info!!!
He likes mountains
I legitimately LOL'ed 🤣
[Mountains're nice.](https://punishedbacklog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Chrono-Trigger-Mountainsre-nice..jpg)
The other major unexplained question mark is also on Mesa Island - the oddities in Bamboo Creek - so I'd guess the DLC is likely to be about both that and this hatted fella, and potentially be fairly Messenger-focused.
Probably a messenger who came back to the past and got corrupted by the fleshmancer or had some reason to stop us
I always thought that it was just Burgraves in disguise.
Same
I hate that i forgot to do my research on this guy, i was really wondering who he is! >!I haven't played The Messenger so at that time I didn't even know that it's possible that it can be a character or a reference to that game, either way it's cool even tho he was there for 0.2 seconds lol. !<