The Hanging Garden

"Hanging Garden. This most amazing of the Seven Wonders floats in mid-air. It's beauty changes with the seasons"

The Hanging Garden is one of The Seven Wonders in Unlimited Saga. It's located close to Escata and is the final dungeon for Ruby.

Hanging Garden is one of the more puzzle based Seven Wonders. It has various areas, or islands, to explore, but advancement is impossible without the 4 seasons; Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. In order to reach the centre of the Hanging Gardens you must manipulate the seasons to your benefit using the mysterious statues dotted around. With the change of seasons comes changes in the environment as things wither or grow according to the seasons revealing, or hiding, paths and treasures.

These puzzles are, however, entirely absent during Ruby's final quest.

Objective
Manipulate the seasons to reach Hortus Quatrius and vanquish the guardian. You begin in Summer at the northen edge of Hortus Primus and work your way towards the center (heading southwest requires the use of the Swimming skill). As you approach the center you will encounter a Rose Thorn hazard Reel System check. Land on the green orb to avoid damage as well as a change to the season. Head south onto the cliff and examine the Archway/Perch.

A statue will ask you to select a 'wing' for it, in doing so changing the season in the Gardens. In order to advance through the Gardens the season must be set to Winter whenever you reach one of the statues. Select the correct wing to adjust the season;

Once Winter has arrived you can proceed over the cliff and follow the path into Hortus Medius. Once in Hortus Medius, follow the linear path (avoiding the Rose Thorn traps) and reach the second cliff. Set the season to Winter and cross the cliff, continuing along the path into Hortus Secundus.

Follow the edge of the Garden (anti-clockwise) and around to the exit to Hortus Tertius. (The Obstacle Crossing hazard near the exit leads to the center of this level of the Garden along with a high-level treasure chest).

Follow the single path through Hortus Tertius and back into a separate section of Hortus Medius. (The Swimming hazard north before the exit also contains a high-level treasure chest). Once back in Hortus Medius follow the short path into the final section of the Gardens, Hortus Quartius.

Head along the path to the crossroads. Southwest leads to a Level 99 treasure chest (Swimming skill required) and the central paths leads to another Archway/Perch, while the northeast path crosses through 2 consecutive Rose Thorn hazards and leads to the Guardian, Giant Drone.

Giant Drone is a toughened version of the common, low-level Wasp like Insect enemy. His attacks have a high pierce rating, so equipment with Life Protection, as well as secondary weapons with ,  and  will help reduce the damage you take. Strong techniques and Combos both work well, with the Giant Drone being especially vulnerable to Blackout (Raksha, Bopeep, Bloody Mary). Upon victory you will recieve the message:

"You have defeated the eerie lord of the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders"

Number of turns: 1000

Location
The Hanging Gardens are split into 5 sections: Hortus Primus, Hortus Medius, Hortus Secundus, Hortus Tertius and Hortus Quatrus. Each area is confined to a circular appearance (similar to that in Leith Torles' Tower) with the key season changing Perches usually located in the center of each. Hortus Medius is the only tier of the Gardens that is not connected; instead it is accessed as 2 separate half-circle areas from the other areas of the Gardens.

The levels are additional broken up into 2 different types of area; normal/grassy areas and shallow water areas, each with their own respective changes to the envrionmental elements present during battle.

Scattered around the Gardens are various patches of Rose Thorns. Landing on one will initiate a Reel System check; failing to land on a green orb will result in minimal damage, but will also cause the season to advance by one (Spring to Summer, Summer to Autumn etc). The Reel System check is active permanently (regardless of successful checks) and will be initiated whenever a turn is passed on a Rose Thorn location.

All levels contain a variety of envrionmental hazards and require the use of the Swimming, Obstacle Crossing and Architect skills to fully explore.

Enemies

 * Beasts
 * Undead
 * Birds
 * Demons
 * Insects
 * Vegeplasts
 * Slime
 * Insect (boss)

Notable Items

 * High-level treasure chest - Hortus Secundus, southwestern/central area. Cross the landslide obstacle closest to the exit to Hortus Tertius and maniuplate the Perch to access the chest.
 * High-level treasure chest - Hortus Tertius, northeast most corner, requires the Swimming skill to reach.
 * Level 99 treasure chest - Hortus Quatrus, in the south/southwest most area, requires the Swimming skill to reach.

Trivia

 * Like many of the Seven Wonders, The Hanging Gardens are probably based upon the the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
 * Giant Drone, while a potentially fierce opponent, can be killed in a single attack that uses the Blackout effect (Raksha, Bopeep, Bloody Mary)
 * The name of each area, "Hortus ...", comes from the Latin term meaning Garden.