|
 What is this? Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is a Playstation 2 game, the third installment of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series, though it's the first one that was officially released in English. It's sitting pretty between Shin Megami Tensei II on the Super Famicom and Shin Megami Tensei IV on the 3DS, and it's of course also part of the greater Megami Tensei/Persona franchise. Fundamentally it's a JRPG, but it's got an original post-apocalyptic setting and monster-recruiting mechanics reminiscent of Pokémon, if Pokémon was themed around various gods, spirits, monsters, and other creatures of myth and religion from around the world, and featured people getting eaten by demons and global near-extinction events. But what are you doing with it? Several years ago I did LPs for SMT1 and SMT2 on the Brontoforums, and they were well received at the time, so when I finally managed to obtain the hardware to do Nocturne justice, getting back in the saddle for a third time seemed like a no-brainer. Anyway, I got started on the Brontoforums again, which have been my home for a long-rear end time. However, there's a lot fewer people around there these days than during my original efforts, and a couple of the guys following my thread started suggesting I try my luck here. Hence, here I am. I've already started; we're ten updates in. However, we're barely out of the introductory areas, we've yet to reach any meaningful decision point and I haven't put anything to vote so far. There's still every opportunity for you lovely bunch of people to get involved in the direction the story will take. The plan is, I put the LP on hold for now, I catch you up with an update every day or so, and when you're up to speed it's simultaneous updates all the way to the end. You are definitely not second class citizens, and your votes will count just as much as anyone else's. In fact, keeping the respective populations in mind, you guys'll probably run the show. And that's perfectly fine. Do I need to know about the previous games to enjoy this? Absolutely not! Nocturne is a self-contained story. It's a little complicated to explain, but it's kind of a reboot that allows the previous games to remain canon. It'll make sense later, I promise. That said, I do make plentiful reference to my previous LPs of the series. You can 100% enjoy what I'm doing if you don't check them out, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and recommend them anyway. I won't claim I'm the second coming of LP Jesus, but people seemed to like 'em! You can find them in the following threads: Let's Play Shin Megami Tensei! Welcome to the post-post-apocalypse: let's play Shin Megami Tensei II Fair warning though, the SMT2 one is incomplete. Health problems forced me to make difficult choices in my life at the time, and I stopped enjoying the game on its own merits, so it had to go. On the other hand, SMT1 is quite complete, and I don't foresee anything that would stop me from finishing Nocturne. (You may also want to check out other Bronto LPs if you like. There's an archived forum with a bunch of 'em, and an active forum with a bunch more. And I assure you that's all the plugging I'm gonna do!) I've played the game before! I probably know more about it than you do! What am I allowed to talk about? Basically, please don't spoil anything. I'm absolutely not going into this blind but I'd still like any discussion to follow the natural game progression. That said, if I happen to say something outright wrong, I ain't some hothouse lily, and I look forward to any corrections. Are you going to minmax this sucker? Nah. In fact I'll probably make some pretty sub-optimal decisions and mess up a bunch. If you're familiar with the Timmy/Johnny/Spike player archetypes, I'm a cross between a Timmy and a Johnny. I'm not gonna cripple myself on purpose but I'm putting the cool and the flavorful before the practical if the choice presents itself, and I avoid grinding if I can. Feel free to discuss what you'd do in my place if you think you know better, though! So you're playing on Normal difficulty? Yup. I know I can beat it on Hard, but this is gonna take up enough of my time without me having to put up with tripled store prices and instant death effects being even more of a pain than they have to be. I hear there are multiple endings. How are you dealing with that? I'll put major decisions to vote, we get the one ending we get, and that's it. Stuff matters. Anything else I need to know? Coupla things. --I'm writing from the silent protagonist's point of view. Nothing I'll make him say is from the actual game. If what he says isn't preceded by his portrait, he's not speaking out loud. --Lines in italics preceded by an asterisk are out-of-character narration or explanation or other such description. *: Like this. I'm used to putting this guy in blue text, but you folks don't do colored text for reasons I respect, so that's my way to deal. --Lines preceded by closing brackets (">") are the game's own narration. --This guy  is the protagonist from SMT1.--This guy  is the protagonist from SMT2.--I'll be putting up videos for some cutscenes and boss battles. I want to focus on showcasing the music and the visuals so I've been keeping quiet so far. However, that's entirely negotiable, should popular opinion demand it. I aim to please! --Apart from this special SA-only OP, I'm doing this in cold open, skipping intro movies and start-up menus. They're kinda spoileriffic! You're not missing anything in the long-term, I'm gonna put in information-rich intermissions somewhere down the line. Don't worry, I got this. Alright, that's it, let's get started. Thanks for joining me, and please enjoy the ride. Table of Contents Part 1: Visiting Ms. Takao Part 2: Awakening Part 3: Shinjuku Medical Center Part 4: On a friend's trail Part 5: Shibuya Part 6: The Amala Network Part 7: Another slight detour Part 8: The Great Underpass of Ginza Part 9: ˇOlé! Part 10: Ikebukuro Part 11: Intermission the First Part 12: Texas Justice Part 13: The Assault on Nihilo Part 14: Of cubes and dirtbags Part 15: The First Kalpa Part 16: Kabukicho Prison Part 17: Ikebukuro Tunnel Part 18: Four Oni Part 19: The Second Kalpa Part 20: All the money Part 21: The Sisters and the Obelisk Part 22: The noble son of Sparda Part 23: The Amala Network 2: Magatsuhic Boogaloo Part 24: Not dark enough Part 25: A trail of blood Part 26: Walk in the park Part 27: Various plans to become evil Part 28: The Amala Temple Part 29: The god who once died Part 30: In the Hall of the Wicked King Part 31: The fruit of destruction Part 32: The National Diet Building Part 33: The beginning of the end Part 34: Free will Part 35: Intermission the Second Part 36: Stillness has come Part 37: Goodbye forever Part 38: Infinite light Part 39: Intermission the Third Part 40: What if Part 41: A new demon of darkness FrankZP fucked around with this message at 12:19 on Mar 30, 2016 |
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 02:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 11:22 |
|
|
 Cutscene: A dream : You're late... You're way late, Francois Hawke! You haven't forgotten that we're going to visit Ms. Takao, have you? Hurry up and get over to Yoyogi Park. You're wasting my quality time!>It's from your classmate. Enter his name.  *: Eh, good enough.  : Oh yeah, you better make sure you look nice for her. How about the jacket you bought the other day... Y'know, the one with a demon graphic on it? You're just the mood maker. Don't forget that.That's typical Isamu right there, calling me to tell me I'm late, then telling me what to wear. But I let it slide one more time, even if only because it's gonna be spectacular to see his face when Ms. Takao strikes him down in one blow. *: As for the jacket with a demon graphic...  That's right: Shin Megami Tensei games are canonically part of the Shin Megami Tensei universe. Anyway, just to make him wait even longer, I'm gonna have a drink.  >You see a vending machine! You have enough change to buy a drink. Will you buy something? Does Atlus make the raddest games? >The drink that came out isn't any of the ones listed. You obtained a Mysterious Drink. >The vending machine is sold out. Well, hmm, okay then. It must be one of those special prize cans that you get for getting to the bottom of a vending machine, and that's definitely not some BS I made up just now. I'll, uh, drink it later.    : No, but it's the same general direction from here. : After the incident, we've had a lot of lookee-loos, but not so many customers. Man, I've had a lot of free time on my hands...: That's weird, I thought this place would be packed. What's going on exactly? : I had a long night and woke up like half an hour ago, if you don't count the nap I took in the train. Seriously, what's the haps?: Hmmm... How should I put this? Yesterday, there was a riot at Yoyogi Park. If you want the details, you can check the giant screen. A buncha people were killed. You could hear the sirens wailing all night long.: Holy crap, it sounds pretty bad. I guess I should pay more attention to the news... but I know I'm not gonna.: I'm sorry about that... I shouldn't be talking on the job, even if I'm not busy.: Eh, no sweat, I'm wasting time on purpose anyway. How's the wife?He gives me a look. Alright then, better get a move on. This empty station is beginning to give me the heebie-jeebies anyway.   Whoa dang, shoulda checked the smog alert too.  Music: Large Map ~ Real Universe *: Well, isn't this both familiar and new at the same time! We're the little blue token, as usual. The green ones are NPCs with a few lines, but no portrait. Interestingly, the green tokens are turning back and forth, while our blue one is rotating counter-clockwise. In ages past this would mean we're Chaos-aligned while everyone else is Neutral... but the Law/Chaos alignement axis is no longer a Thing. So it's probably just a visual distinction or something. If we take a good look at Yoyogi Park, there's a big square construction site in the middle, and it's kind of not supposed to be there. Hmm! Let's check out the western entrance before we talk to anyone else.  Oh, hmm, alright then. Let's get our chat on, then.  Young officer: We ask for your cooperation.  Shabby man: It's a dream where da world becomes round... : You don't say.Shabby man: By gum! I means ter say... Da world IS round, but it got round-er, ya see!? : Still not seeing it, sorry.Shabby man: I think it's a prophetic dream, but no one believes me... By gum!  Reporter: I feel that the demonstrators' actions were out of line... But, even I can't forgive Cybers Communication for destroying the park for their own profits! >The reporter's impassionned speech continues. So, ecoterrorism then? I don't know if I'd start a riot about that sort of thing myself, but I have to admit it's kind of an eyesore already.  Young man: Oh, you mean that thing they're showing on TV? : Why, was there more than one big riot that ended up with a bunch of dead people yesterday?Young man: It doesn't seem real to me! I feel like this riot happened in another world or something... Well, I don't really have anything to do with it anyway. : Right, good call, let's keep our heads down. : Why hel-lo.High school girl: You said you were going to visit Ms. Takao today, right? : I don't remember telling anyone. But clearly Isamu couldn't keep quiet.High school girl: Just because she's beautiful, don't go doing weird things to her, okay!? : Wait, do I have a reputation for doing weird things to beautiful women? ...hey, come back!She's gone. Aw, man, what.  Ah, here's that good old jumbotron. Lessee... >The news is showing on the giant video display...  Newscaster: The demonstration got out of hand, and there have been several deaths and injuries reported. Also, Hikawa, the top executive of Cybers Communication, is still missing.  *: During my first test run, I encountered this and immediately thought, "oh sweet, a SMT1 reference!" Then my brain clicked, and I thought "holy crap! it's not a reference to SMT1, it's a reference to my Let's Play of SMT1, where I consciously refused to use the widely-accepted canon names and chose to name my party members after Akira characters!" Then my brain clicked again, and I got creeped out, and I decided to think about something else very quickly. >The news continues...  Ugly high school girl: ...Don'tcha think that Hikawa guy's cool? Even uglier high school girl: As if! He's got all those bad rumors about him floating around! Ugly high school girl: Oh, gawd! That's what makes him so cool! *: I didn't make up those names, that's what the game calls them. Yikes.  Woman: Did you hear about the riot?! Three people died, right??? Eeek! I'm so scared!! Man: You're such a scaredy-cat! C'mon, baby, every night we start our own 'riot of love'! Woman: You're such a pervert! But, I love that about you!! *giggle* Oh Lordy, get me outta here.  : Man, I hear you. So tragic to see all these abuses of punctuation.Police officer: There were even fatalities, yet it's like a carnival here. : Wait, what? Someone died of exclamation mark overdose?Police officer: Just a while back, a long-haired man walked in. : Oh, you were talking about... Oh! Oh.Oh.  Young man: He had a giant sword on his back, and looked dangerous! But, I swear I've seen him somewhere before... Hmmm... : From that description, it could be anyone. : Why are you telling me? Do you think I'm holding?Old man: The hospital up ahead hasn't been open for a while. What's goin' on? : I... okay, that is strange.I hope they still allow visitors, or this'll have been a huge waste of time.  Tourist girl: What's up with everyone here? Everyone's so dang crabby, even after the riot! : I have to assume dead protestors will have that effect, yes.Tourist girl: By the way... Do you wanna have a good time with me??? : Yes, but not as much as I'm looking forward to seeing the exact moment when my friend's heart shatters into a million pieces. Sorry! : I'm loitering, basically.High school boy: ...Did you hear the rumor about Yoyogi Park? : News, yes, but rumors, no. Whatchagot?High school boy: I heard, on the night of the riot, a demon was spotted at Yoyogi Park. It was a terrible demon that killed all those people! : That's crazy. You're crazy.High school boy: Well... it's just a rumor. *: That's everyone talked to. But there's also an eastern entrance to Yoyogi Park. Let's try our luck.   Well, that's different. Man: I won't be able to get a single picture of the scene... Just my luck.   *: Well hey, if it isn't Definitely Not Johnny Depp!  : I figured I'd come have a look like everyone else. Can we see anything from here?  : "The clash between a well-known company and a civic organization results in deaths"...  : ...that it was a struggle between two opposing cults.*: Man, the subtle body language is amazing here. I don't remember it showing so clearly on the old CRT TV I had back then. >Your cell phone started to ring. : ...Huh? Isn't that your phone ringing? : Oh, hello!Classmate: *sigh* I finally got a hold of you. What have you been doing all this time? >Please enter your classmate's name.  *: Also good enough. : I could see if it was Isamu, but you're never late. Did something happen?: Not really, sorry, I'm just making a grim tourist of myself.: Where are you now?: In Yoyogi Park, near where those riots occured.: Yoyogi Park? Well, since you didn't show up on time, Isamu and I left without you. ...We're almost there. So yeah, I'm sorry, but can you come directly to the hospital?: Yeah, sure, sounds like a plan.: You know which hospital it is?: The one in Shinjuku, right?: ...Yeah, Shinjuku Medical Center. Just go east from Shinjuku Station, and you can't miss it.*: It's easy to miss, but the man is slightly startled and turns his head towards us at the mention of Shinjuku Medical Center. Dude has great hearing. : I know the place, I think I saw it a minute ago.: Oh well. : Huh, you have a much better reason to go than Isamu does. I'll be right there, don't worry.: Thanks, I'm not planning on staying there long. Okay then, see you later.: Later!>Chiaki hung up.  : Aren't you the curious type?: ......That's where I'm headed, too. What a coincidence. : Eh wot?: You don't know what happened here, right?: Not really, no.: Then, you probably don't know what kind of place that hospital is, either. The report on the Gaea cult and the Scripture of Miroku... It's an interesting read.>You obtained an issue of Ayakashi Monthly.  : That place is different. ...Heheh. False info is pretty common in the occult industry. If it does turn out to be wrong, just laugh it off, okay?: I definitely will.: Well, I'd better get going. My name's Hijiri. If we ever meet again, let me know what you thought about my article.And he leaves. I'm tempted to start reading, but if I'm going to see the place with my own eyes, why bother? Let's get a move on.  And there's the hospital. Two entrances, eh?  "The entrance to the annex is closed. Please use the entrance to the main building." Huh, I have to assume that old man back there can't read. Let's use the other way in, then.    Nicer than I expected, for an evil occult demon hospital.  : I really wasn't that far, it's like two blocks. *: Note the concerned eyebrows. Dang! : From what I hear, it gets stranger.  : Look, even the reception desk is empty. Isn't it creepy here? I don't like it...: Yeah, it's, uh, got an atmosphere. : He hasn't come back yet, though. He'd better not be off fooling around. : I met a reporter at the park, and he gave it to me.: You got it from a stranger? Come on, you should know better than that.: He had some candy too, but I already ate it. : What!? It's an occult magazine! Why would you bring something like THAT here!?: It was that or littering!: ...... Well, I guess it might help me kill some time. : Eh, might as well.: If we can't find Ms. Takao, then I don't wanna stay here another minute. He should be on the second floor, where the patients' rooms are. I'll wait here. ...Oh yeah, let me borrow this magazine.: Sure. Heck, keep it, my treat.: Thanks! *: Just like that, we're set loose. Let's explorin'! Music: Shinjuku Hygienic Hospital  Ah, there's an elevator just at the end of the lobby. How conveniently hospital-like.  *: The hospital is largely empty, and most of the doors are locked and barred. We might as well go straight to the second floor.  The place really is barren. It's not outright frightening, but it's abnormal for sure.    *: This part of the building is roughly U-shaped; as we enter the eastern wing, we catch a glimpse of someone on the west side. Curiously enough, if we had gone west first, we'd be seeing someone on the east side. You literally cannot get it right the first time.  We have a good view of the parking lot from here. As a nice touch, cars of various colors randomly pass on the street back there. And notably, there is exactly one car parked here. (That is actually a neat detail but I'm not at liberty to mention why yet.) In any case, let's check out the west side.     Well, there's Isamu alright. I'd know that belt buckle anywhere.  : Normally I'd say it was for fun, but considering how this place feels, that'd be a dick move. : You come here late, you cause trouble... Geez.: I'm pretty sure you're just jumpy. I know I am.: Ah, forget it.  : I'm getting a freaky vibe from this place. I'm actually kind of worried. : This place better not be contaminated by some deadly virus... : Oh well.: I know the value of a good "oh well", but in these circumstances it feels a mite flippant.: I'll go back and see how Chiaki is doing. She's probably all mad at me 'cuz I've been gone so long... *sigh* It's hard to please a girl with her upbringing.: Ha, like I've ever seen you try.: See ya in a bit, Francois. I really hope that this is nothing we should be worried about... It's about time he left, the tacky rays coming from that belt buckle are overwhelming. *: We take the stairs back down, just because.  At least Chiaki is still where I've left her.  : Don't look too excited!: Um, Francois... You know that special report at the beginning of the magazine? Well, it says some things that are a little disturbing. : Nice bunch of fellas, once you get to know them.*: Shush! : They're right here in Japan. Anyway, they believe in this book of prophecy called the Scripture of Miroku. : and these people are actually trying to make that happen. The reporter was unable to learn what is meant by "chaos"... It could be worldwide terrorism or some other tragedy. But...  : I even checked the men's room.: If that's your idea of trying to please well-bred ladies, I can see why you think it's so hard. : We're in the middle of a conversation, so please save the details for later. Now, where were we? ...Oh yeah, read this part. "A hospital on the east side of Shinjuku is closely linked to their plan..." : You know, this could be the hospital that they're referring to. : Things like they experiment on patients, and how a psychic got scared and ran outta here... There was also one about the hospital being under the influence of some cult... : I haven't heard those things before. Maybe we shouldn't have come... : There's definitely something wrong with this hospital. : I'm worried about Ms. Takao.: Yeah, this whole cult business is sounding less ridiculous every second.: Hey, let's look around some more. If we don't find anything, then at least we'll know that there's nothing bad here.: Aight, good idea.: It looks like you can access the annex from the second floor. I'll go take a look. >You obtained an ID Card.  : ...You're not scared, are you?: O-Of course not! I'm sure she's not down there, that's why I'm having Francois go!: What time is it?*: Dude, it's been over four years, on another forum, no one knows what you're talking about. Can we just get through the intro without any more interruptions from the peanut gallery? Please? : ...Right.: All Francois needs to do is confirm that Ms. Takao isn't in the basement. It's my duty to see her in person. If something does happen, Francois, just run like hell! Alright?: Yyyyeah, I'll do that.: *sigh* I can't believe him sometimes. But now, I'm worried about Ms. Takao. We should make sure she's okay.*: And we have control again. The basement, eh? Can't be much spookier than the rest of the place. It's just, like, there's no windows, right? No biggie.  Err. Okay. A prison gate. And someone spilled cranberry juice on the floor. I'm sure that's normal.  >You used the ID Card.  It worked. Glee.  On one hand, it would have been nice to run into Ms. Takao down here already. On the other hand, considering the general environment, it's kind of a relief that there's nobody at all.  Let's wander in an operation room. What's the worst that could happen? Someone might even come in to yell at me and I'd have the chance to ask one half of one question in the three seconds it'd take for them to kick me out.  Okay, I'm beginning to think there might be something to those cult rumors.  Yeah, that's not cranberry juice. Holy crap, could this be Ms. Takao's...? I gotta keep looking.  Here's Room A02 this time.  >Will you enter the room? I'm going to regret this. Cutscene: StillnessWHAT the poo poo just HAPPENED. Was that a demon? Was that the demon who killed the protestors yesterday? Rooftop. Rooftop. Elevator, then rooftop. *: One car in the parking lot. I presume either Hikawa and Yuko came here together, or Hikawa came in alone some time ago and Yuko just arrived.  Where did these two come from? Are they with Hikawa?     : I see. My, my... But, we're busy at the moment. Let's come back later. Is there going to be one thing that'll have happened since I set foot in this hospital that'll have made any sense? Anyway, elevator. But... I want to check on Chiaki. First floor.  Aw hell. No, no, no, wait, nothing is hosed, Ms. Takao must have got here first, she must have sent her to the rooftop too. Let's go and find out what the hell is going on. Cutscene: A rounder world
FrankZP fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Nov 13, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 02:10
|
|
|
The world ending is always a promising start to a story.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 09:48
|
|
|
What's funny is this "rounder world" stuff is the first I've heard of it, in this LP. Then again, the videos I've watched/my own play experience don't talk to the NPCs too much. I like your style though. Not too intrusive. Can't wait for when this game pulls off it's mask and says "hi, we're ATLUS. and we hate you." On current events, gosh, isn't it nice to be back in modern day Japan, a shift from SMT2? The intro is almost kinda like the start of SMT1, to an extent. Only much faster.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 10:37
|
|
|
FrankZP posted:I'll put major decisions to vote, we get the one ending we get, and that's it. Stuff matters.  There's only one outcome for this.Always loved the into to this game, something about the fact that the apocalypse happens straight away is really cool.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 14:01
|
|
|
This was my first Atlus game and my introduction to the entire SMT franchise. Never got around to really finish it though. Guess now's the time to play along to this LP.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 17:12
|
|
|
Golden Goat posted:
You have an SMT avatar. you know that's the premise to every SMT game. World ends(ed), It was someones fault, demons appear, you appear, you kick demon, angel and human rear end.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 20:58
|
|
|
Good god I love this game, always fun to see how somebody else plays it. I always love reading SMT LPs because I love seeing what kind of team the LPer builds. I always manage to run with a team of ladies when I play Nocturne. Liking the narration, it adds a bit of fun. For anybody wondering, the blue face on the back of the occult magazine is actually a character from Shin Megami Tensei if...
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 21:14
|
|
|
This is really a fantastic game, and I put a ton of time into it back in the day. I really enjoyed just making the most pimped out teams. What was really cool about the game was how it punished you for going into fights unprepared, but rewarded you if you built your team correctly. There was no 'one strategy works for everything'
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 23:03
|
|
|
The problem is that "preparing correctly" either requires foreknowledge or the use of a certain cheese build.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 23:56
|
|
|
AmewTheFox posted:I like your style though. Not too intrusive. Can't wait for when this game pulls off it's mask and says "hi, we're ATLUS. and we hate you." I try to make sure anything I insert in a conversation fits the flow of dialogue, so most of the time you could possibly imagine the two characters having the exact exchange without it feeling too much like they're talking past each other. As for "we hate you", the game kinda has the kid gloves on in the beginning, on Normal difficulty at least. But when the gloves come off, they come flying off at supersonic speeds and detonate in a burst of antimatter as they hit the wall. (As for Hard mode, it's not unheard of to have trouble getting past the first two battles against the weakest enemies in the game.) Golden Goat posted:
Heh, I was sure there was only one outcome possible for my SMT1 LP, and people managed to surprise me. We'll see! Aight, today's update incoming, gimme a few. Glad to have you guys on board!
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 00:11
|
|
|
Just a request (since I'm blind, apparently) could you bracket the important videos with emoticon? I didn't realize there was a video at the end of the update until this morning and it was entirely by accident.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 00:17
|
|
|
Ooooh, right, no prob, I'll get right on that. Good thing I saw this post a second before I put up the new update! Seeing as you mention "important" videos, I'll make a distinction between plot-critical stuff, that'll mark with , and battle videos that I'll just bold. Let's see how it goes.
FrankZP fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Nov 13, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 00:23
|
|
|
Okay. Okay. Okay. So. Okay. Everyone's dead. No, wait, no, that's not productive. I can worry about everyone else once I'm done worrying about myself. This isn't the rooftop anymore. Where am I?  So it's got those tables with the raised edges, and drawers set in the walls. This can't be a...  Okay so it is a morgue. Great. I don't feel dead. That bug thing hurt like a son of a bitch when it... when it got in. But now, I feel like I'm the opposite of dead. Is this what it feels like to be a demon?  *: Yeah, basically. A very, very weak demon, but a demon nonetheless. quote:Lv1 Fiend Francois Hawke *: Speaking of equipment bonuses, there are no weapons or armor in this game, or none that matter to us in any way. But we are somehow able to swap out the strange demonic insect parasite thing we've been infested with. Or we could if we had more than one.  Meet Marogareh the Magatama, the charming little be-mandibled bastard we've been so graciously given by those generous strangers. It's not exactly the strongest of its kind, but it has no specific elemental weaknesses (or resistances), has tiny if well-rounded stat bonuses, and will start teaching us physical attack skills as soon as we start leveling up. If we live long enough to level up, that is.  We know that next up is the fairly basic "Lunge", and there will be five more skills afterwards. They all have level requirements before they unlock, though.  Interestingly enough, the status screen calls us by our full name, but the main menu is well content to call us by our nickname instead. As much as I'd like to stay here forever and admire my sweet new tats, I'd really rather not spend more time in this room, or this building, than I strictly have to. And getting a move on might keep me from thinking about who the hell stripped me and carried me to the morgue.   Hello, what's this?   : I tend to stare at ghosts. I'm sorry, it's a bad habit. : Am I that peculiar? Have you been living all your demon life in a cave?: For all intents and purposes, yes. This door is at the end of the corridor where we met Hikawa before. So the exit should be the other way.  And that was Hikawa's room. Probably still is. Hmm. *: We enter it automatically.     : Fancy meeting you here! : Yeah, that sounds like me. I'm glad you can tell. : Man, I have no idea.: ...I see. Well, at least you still think like a human...  : I took a quick look around, and it looks like I'm in a hospital... Since you're here too, does that mean this is Shinjuku Medical Center?: Yeah, it is. I've come here before.: ...Anyways. As much as I want to know what's going on out there, I don't think it's safe for me to walk around. : I'm not sure what you're talking about. : My guess is that they're... demons.: Oh, uh. Can't say that I have, no.: My strange experience... your new look... and these weird creatures... I don't think the police will be able to help us here.: Not the regular police, anyway.: drat... I might have to seriously consider the possibility. It's hard to believe, but... If this is Shinjuku Medical Center, then I can't just rule it out.: The Conception.: The Conception... could have occured for real. : If my memory serves me right, it belongs to a man named Hikawa.: Yeah, it does. He was... looking into it. Before.: He must have something to do with all this. : Couldn't agree more.: If you're strong enough to fight those demons, then will you gather information for me?: Well, I was going to gather information for myself anyway. Given the circumstances, we might as well share.: I tried talking to what looked like a ghost, but I didn't have much luck. What's happened to the world...? Are there other humans out there...? We can only learn the answers to these questions by finding somebody else. ...I wish I could do it myself, but I don't think I'd last very long against these demons. Besides, I'd like to spend some time studying this object. I'm counting on you.: Sure thing, no pressure. *: And here's our save point. This is essentially a Terminal equivalent, if slightly more limited. And we can still chat Hijiri up. : Don't worry about me. I know I'll only slow you down if I go with you. ...Hey, I don't plan on dying here, you know. That's why I'm checking this thing out. ...So, go.*: Yeah, Hijiri's not quite the badass normal we've come to expect from our human allies in the rest of the series. No non-demon party members for you! When we leave... : Maybe you should try and get out of this hospital. ...Good luck. *: The A01 operation room we went in before is now labeled "Healing Room".  : Right now, freedom sounds good. But I'll take information if I can get it.: I'll heal your wounds, so please don't eat me!: Oh, err, I, um. Well. You got yourself a deal!>The soul healed you. : I'll heal your wounds anytime, so don't eat me, please.*: So, free healing. Convenient!  : Ehhh, call me Zed, I suppose.: Yet another demon after Magatsuhi.: I'm fairly confident I have no idea what that is.*: We reach the elevator without further incident.  The elevator itself is another story. We're asked if we're going to open it, but that's the only way out.      > You find yourself in a strange place. Music: Amala Labyrinth   Voice: ...Show me... the strength... of a demon...   Okay, so. That's not the hospital anymore.    *: First treasure chest! Medicine restores a fixed amount of HP, 50 I think. Not great, but still useful, considering we have 30 max HP. Oh, and come to think of it...  Remember the Mysterious Drink from the vending machine? That's where this Sacred Water comes from. Battle: First blood Music: Fierce Battle Huh. So that's the power of a demon. *: First blood! This is a fixed encounter; kind of a tutorial, really. It didn't reveal any of the wrinkles of the combat system, but we'll get to those soon enough. And we did gain a level for our trouble. I put our one stat point into Vitality because it doesn't matter how many allies capable of reviving us we have: if Francois hits 0 HP, it's game over. In addition, Marogareh had a bit of a fit. Whenever you level up, you may or may not get the option of allowing your "equipped" Magatama to surge with a mysterious energy. This can have beneficial or detrimental effects, chosen randomly from a set unique to each Magatama. You can get fully healed, or receive permanent stat bonuses, or you can have various status ailments inflicted on you, that sort of thing. Fortunately the weaker Magatama tend not to screw you over too badly, and I think Marogareh in fact can't do you any harm at all. quote:Foul Will o' Wisp *: A bit further down the corridor...  Music: Mystery : Well, thanks.> Dr. Dark healed your party. *: And just before the door...  *: This little dude hurts a fair bit more than the Will o' Wisps but it's still an easy fight. quote:Haunt Preta  The center of this door is pulsating. This whole place feels strangely... alive. *: We come to a T intersection.  Voice: ...This way... > The old man and the woman disappeared... : Bah, like I have any reason to listen to you.I go right instead.   *: And we get into another fixed encounter for our trouble. It's not much harder than the others, fortunately. It's worth noting that we can use our Talk command, but it always results in a "The demon is ready for action!" message, and we lose our turn. quote:Jirae Kodama *: Behind the demons is another Cache Cube, containing a Maragi Rock, a one-shot item dealing weak fire damage to all enemies. We took a bit of a beating, so I go back to Dr. Dark, then take the left path. There's an encouter with two Kodama, and another door. The fight earns us level 3, which is the requirement to learn Lunge from Marogareh. Lunge is similar to our basic attack, with a bit more damage and a bit less accuracy. It also costs 5 HP. Non-spell attacks cost HP to use, like in SMT2. It's calculated as a certain percentage of the user's maximum HP, so physical attackers tend to need healers as backup.   Voice: ...So, you made it... : This was... less difficult than I had expected.   *: And we're teleported back to the front of the elevator, in the hospital. At least it still works. Hmmm... Let's try the roof first. I want to look outside.  Aw hell. This really happened, didn't it. No, no, no. Focus. Keep moving. Elevator. Ground floor.  Gah. Guess I'm not getting out this way.  Had to check. I... I have to assume this happened when Tokyo crumpled up. I don't know if that'll ever stop feeling weird to say.  : Were you trying to leave the hospital?: That was the plan, yeah. Still is, in fact.: Then, how about next door? This is the main building, but there's an annex. Maybe you can use that entrance.: Yeah, I remember! Good point, thanks. : Chiaki? Isamu, you say?: That's right. Did you see them or not?: I don't know anyone by that name...: I... don't know why I expected you would. Sorry.If Hijiri made it, and I made it... There's the happiest thought I've had in a while, for sure. But I'll be even happier if I can find them. *: Apart from the elevator in the north, the lobby has exits to both wings of the main building. I take the east one first.  I wouldn't have expected this place could get any more eerie. *: The ground floor turns out to be mostly locked doors, though there is a Cube with a Medicine in the west wing. I head through a staircase to the second floor, which should connect to the annex in some way. And some of the doors up there are unlocked.  : Magatsuhi is the source of demonic powers, I think. I don't know much about it...: It's still more than I knew before we met. Thanks! Voice: Maga......tushi............Magatushi... >The door is locked from the other side. : And I like it that way. : Hot drat!: He's probably dead by now... Eaten by a demon or something weird like that.: Cripes, don't harsh my buzz! You gotta believe! : You need an Annex Gate Pass to get through.New goal acquired! *: We find some more Medicine, and a couple Lifestones, which are basically the same Magic Stones as in previous installments. They restore a percentage of your HP and are often requested during negotiation.  I didn't expect anything I've seen so far, but I especially didn't expect this.   : I could say the same! : Are you looking for something, too?: I am, actually. A security pass of some description.: Hey, about that thing you're looking for... I'll help you, if you want!: I'd be delighted! : A demon who can help take me to Yoyogi Park.: Bodyguard duty, eh? I can swing that.: You look kinda flabby and weak, but I'll let that slide.: And you're rude, and you have impossibly high standards, but I can let that slide too.: Whaddya say? Should we join up?: Absolutely.: Alright then, let's get outta here! If we have the Pass-thingie, we can get through that door to the annex. I saw some Pretas carrying it.: Welp, I can see where this is going. At least I already know where they are. : The pleasure's all mine.>Pixie joined your party.  quote:Lv2 Fairy Pixie : Wait one goddamned minute. Hold the presses!*: Aight, what's up? : What is this fuckery?*: Don't make me guess. : This clown also gets a pixie for free? Am I the only one living on Pays-For-Pixies Island?: Basically, yeah.*: Mmm-hmm. : Also! I don't see a computer. That is a huge problem. How do they even understand each other?*: Pay attention, man. Dude's a demon now. He speaks fluent demon. The Magatama's the babelfish from hell. It's not rocket science. : Alright, okay, I'll grant him that one. He got a flesh-devouring bug dropped down his gullet, he deserves a bit of a break.*: How kind of you. May we go on now? : Bah, fine. I'll just be over there, paying for pixies. Like a sap.: How many pixies do you even need?: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE TOO MANY PIXIES.*: Aaaanyway. We turn right back and return to the Preta room.  I gotta say, automap science has come a long way. Battle: The Ding-Dong Squad *: Now if you're used to your typical JRPG combat system, a number of things in that fight probably made you raise an eyebrow or two. In fact, this battle is a pretty effective demonstration of the glorious Press Turn System. Let's go turn-by-turn, if you will. First off, the first team to act, in this case the Pretas' since it was a surprise round, receives a number of turn icons equal to the number of creatures on their side. These turn icons are the dragon-looking symbols in the upper right. Your enemies get red ones, you get blue ones. Every member's action consumes one icon, and everyone gets a move in an order determined by their Agility stat. However, you've certainly noticed that the Pretas got four moves in before their turn was over: three basic attacks and a Suku-kaja cast. This is because the second Preta's attack was a critical hit. Criticals only consume half an icon. More precisely, they turn a normal icon into a flashing icon. Flashing icons can be used to perform any action, and are used up first. In any case, the turn order loops around to the fastest creature and keeps going until no icons remain. Yes, this does mean that three icons can be turned into six actions. We can also take advantage of this, of course. We take our first turn. Zed punches a Preta, and Pixie heals Zed because I forgot to make sure he was already full up. Two actions, two icons consumed. Second enemy turn. The first Preta consumes an icon with its Feral Claw. The second Preta tries to do the same, but Zed dodges. This ends their turn: a missed attack consumes two icons, which is to say the icon used for the attack itself, and an additional penalty icon. There is no icon left for the third Preta to act. Our second turn, Zed throws a punch and misses, consuming our only two icons. Turn over. Third enemy turn. The third Preta crits, halving their last icon. The fastest Preta crits at the end as well, but you can't half a flashing icon. Turn over. Our third turn. Zed finishes off the left Preta. This has the added benefit of making sure the enemy team only gets two icons instead of three next turn. Then Pixie casts Zio on the second Preta, hitting its weakness to electric damage. Exploiting an elemental weakness consumes half an icon, just like a critical would. In addition, the electric damage has caused the Shock ailment. Physical attacks on Shocked creatures always crit. Zed uses up our last icon to kill the Shocked Preta. Fourth enemy turn. Only one Preta remains, so he has only one icon. Our fourth turn, swing and a miss. Fifth enemy turn. He crits and therefore gets a second action. Our fifth turn. Punch, Zio, it's like Rapture in here. So! That might have been a bit much to digest, so I'll summarize. -Most actions take up one turn. -Getting a critical hit only uses up half a turn. -Exploiting a specific weakness only uses up half a turn. -Missing uses up two turns. In addition, there are a few more turn effects we haven't seen in this battle. -All creatures can pass a turn, skipping their place in their team's turn order. This uses up only half a turn. (This can be useful in many situations, like passing a turn to your healer so you don't risk a miss before you can get your health back.) -Dealing damage that is reflected uses up all your remaining turns, and your enemies start acting immediately. -Dealing damage that is absorbed also uses up all your turns. -Dealing damage that is nullified counts as a miss, using up two turns. That is the meat and potatoes of it. Don't sweat it if it's not entirely clear; we're gonna see a lot more of it, and you're smart, you'll figure it out. Do feel free to ask for clarifications as well, that's why I'm here. Aaaaanyway! We got ourselves an Annex Pass, didn't we?   : You'll probably die. Nice knowin' ya!: You should be nicer to people you think are gonna die nearby, because we're gonna spend a long-rear end time together if I come back as one of you.*: We don't even have time to reach the other side of this passage before I'm forcefully notified that random encounters have been turned on. By stumbling on a random encounter, natch. Two Kodama, no sweat. Hmm. Well, here goes nothing. : Heyo. : Alright then, you'll just have to die first!*: Oh hey, failing at conversation also eats up icons, depending on how bad you screwed up. The Kodama both attack Zed, leaving him with 7 HP. This is one of those cases where I have him pass his turn so Pixie can heal him before he has a chance to fumble the ball. In any event, we take out one of the Kodamas and attempt to chat up the remaining one.  : Yeah, so, uh. I kinda killed your bro there. Sorry about that. : You wanna play?>Kodama is thinking to himself. : Let me dwain your stwength. Then I'll listen ta you.: Well, fair's fair I suppose. Go ahead.*: Dude sucks up 3 HP. : It was kinda gwoss.: I don't know what you expected.: That's still not enough.: Aw, come on.: Let me dwain your stwength again!: Geez, fine, but only because I feel bad about your buddy.*: Three more HP. : Th-This flavor...!!: Gah, don't enjoy it too much! >Kodama seems to be satisfied. : I'm Kodama the Jirae! Let's be fwends!>Kodama joined your party. : Well hey, I could get used to this. Let's go, kids.*: And by "let's go", he means "let's go back to the healing room in the basement because I'm getting the poo poo kicked out of me". We run into more Kodama along the way, but seeing as we're with one of their own, they let us pass without problems.  *: Hey, that's new. A Will o' Wisp approaches us of its own initiative at the start of a first round.  : Urryyy... YoU... Life Stone...HaVe SSSpArE?: Yeah, I got a couple. Here, first one's free.: HEH HEH HEH HEH!!>Will o' Wisp is happy. : I never thought I'd see the day.: BlarYeeegAiiiiee!>Will o' Wisp edged up to you. It seems that it wants to join your party. : I suppose I can use all the help I can get. Welcome aboard, my good fellow. Try not to drip pure malice on my shoes, it's the only pair I got.: Fri-eNd! Fri-eNd! Fri-eNd! Me, Foul Will o' Wisp!! We, nICE toGeTher worK...!>Will o' Wisp joined your party. *: Just like that, its other allies leave peacefully. I wasn't expecting to see this so soon. The Foul race is among those who will never join you under normal circumstances, but clearly being approached out of the blue by what is usually a quasi-mindless blob of hate is not a normal circumstance. On the way back to the healer, we gain enough experience to level up and learn Analyze from Marogareh, which basically scans an enemy for resistances and weaknesses, as you might guess. We heal up, save, and then come back to the annex passage. On the way, a few of our allies level up. : Wait what.*: That's right, demons level up now. Will o' Wisp increased its Magic and learned Zan (single target force damage), and Pixie increased her Strength and learned Seduce. Seduce is especially interesting as it functions just like Zed's regular Talk command, so she can negotiate with enemies as well. It works a lot better on dudes and a lot worse on not-dudes, though. Also on level up...   : What's on your mind?: I shouldn't need this, so I'll give it to you.> ...You received Bead. *: Beads restore someone's HP to maximum, so that's pretty cool! As we reach the Annex at last, we are greeted by a curious sight.    : It's hard to miss.: That's Forneus! As long as he's here, it's not gonna be easy to get out of this hospital. The exit's down there. It's the only way out. I... feel like I should be scared. But I'm not. There's something inside me, literally inside me, telling me I should just be glad I know whose rear end I gotta kick. But I didn't need it to tell me that. I was already glad. Is that who I am now? ... Alright then. I don't hate it. FrankZP fucked around with this message at 07:29 on Feb 1, 2016 |
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 00:30
|
|
|
Yes, SMT's love-it-or-hate-it mechanic: demon negotiation. I'm personally a huge fan of negotiation just because of the ridiculously weird conversations you can have, plus it's a potentially safer way to get out of battle, but I know a lot of people dislike it. For anybody who wants it, here's an instrumental version of Fierce Battle, ripped straight from the game.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 01:14
|
|
|
I played this game to death back in the day. It was like Pokemon from Hell. Someone mentioned it earlier, but I too look forward to seeing what sort of party you'll use.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 02:41
|
|
|
This game...... I think this was the game that broke me into the "reading the walk-through as I play any games" type. Don't get me wrong, but after the 4th time I went into a random battle and one-shotted myself because I didn't know that the enemy repelled the element I use..... ugh. Still, I do love this game. mauman fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Nov 13, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 03:02
|
|
|
Well, alright then. I must say, we're taking this whole 'just got turned into a demon' thing rather well.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 03:13
|
|
|
Rigged Death Trap posted:You have an SMT avatar. He means the expedience. It happens in the first half-hour. It happens before battles or save points. The world is ending. The wheels were set into motion long before the game even began. Also, FrankZP, even though Marogareh says "normal resistance" it actually resists Death and Expel. Every magatama that doesn't specify something else like null or weak has a hidden resistance to Death and Expel.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 04:05
|
|
|
Though I have seen it happen with other demons, this may be the first instance of my seeing a Will-O-The-Wisp joining the party at the start. You'll have to say if he is worth using in any capacity. This was also my introduction to Megaten back when it first came out, and I was impressed at the level of customization and the difficulty curve, as it required me to forget my Pokemon-like attachments to certain demons and make constant changes to the party in the interest of maintaining a strong group. Favourite aspects of the soundtrack include: the fact that Fierce Battle has actual English lyrics buried under all those filters, and the fact that the game selects a random guitar solo every time the standard battle theme plays. I'm only disappointed that the OST does not seem to include Hijiri's three-note theme that plays during that discussion at the terminal. Keep up the good LP!
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 06:20
|
|
|
Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:
Honestly, this is why I like the shift to a table of resistances. I think it started in P3, but don't quote me on that. Press Turn was the best thing ever to happen to MegaTen, though. Digital Jello posted:I played this game to death back in the day. It was like Pokemon from Hell. A friend of mine calls MegaTen, "Pokemon for Adults".
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 09:11
|
|
|
ModeWondershot posted:Though I have seen it happen with other demons, this may be the first instance of my seeing a Will-O-The-Wisp joining the party at the start. You'll have to say if he is worth using in any capacity. Will O'Wisp is pretty handy early on since you get super early access to Riberama. So if you ever feel like you need to grind than that skill alone is going to save you some time. Other than that he's normally sitting on the bench due to his weakness to pretty much every sort of magic in the game which easily ruins random encounters. He can be fused into nice demons though.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 10:18
|
|
|
Rigged Death Trap posted:You have an SMT avatar.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 12:57
|
|
|
PeaceDiner posted:Yes, SMT's love-it-or-hate-it mechanic: demon negotiation. I'm personally a huge fan of negotiation just because of the ridiculously weird conversations you can have, plus it's a potentially safer way to get out of battle, but I know a lot of people dislike it. I love demon negotiation...in the persona series. In SMT, it basically boils down to you being the thing's dinner or jeweler until it decides to join you or bail like a jerk. Despite the humor, the demons are just greedy. Does the script of the demons change upon factors like your health?
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 15:14
|
|
|
Tactless Ogre posted:I love demon negotiation...in the persona series. In SMT, it basically boils down to you being the thing's dinner or jeweler until it decides to join you or bail like a jerk. Despite the humor, the demons are just greedy. I don't think so in cases where they ask for your health as payment it'll never kill you, only bring you to 1hp. I'm indifferent about negotiation, sometimes it's way, way too random on what you have to say to appease the demon.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 15:25
|
|
|
Golden Goat posted:I'm indifferent about negotiation, sometimes it's way, way too random on what you have to say to appease the demon. In Nocturne, it's exactly random Sometimes you don't even have the correct option, you're just destined to fail
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 16:49
|
|
|
GeneralYeti posted:Well, alright then. I must say, we're taking this whole 'just got turned into a demon' thing rather well. Heh, it's easy to cope with stuff if you're determined not to think about it too hard! Plus, it feels a little untoward to complain about being alive in a strange, disturbing new way when as far as you know everyone else was just instantly disintegrated. Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:Also, FrankZP, even though Marogareh says "normal resistance" it actually resists Death and Expel. Every magatama that doesn't specify something else like null or weak has a hidden resistance to Death and Expel. Wow, I had no idea. I knew I was gonna learn something from doing this LP! Thanks for the info. Apepresident posted:Will O'Wisp is pretty handy early on since you get super early access to Riberama. So if you ever feel like you need to grind than that skill alone is going to save you some time. Yeah, pretty much agreed there on all counts. This one gets to earn a couple levels because I'm fond of passing down Deathtouch in the early game and I have some limited use for death immunity before long, but that weakness to magic just makes it super risky to have around. If this was Hard mode I wouldn't even consider it. Today's update incoming, just gotta double-check the formatting for a few minutes!
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 18:30
|
|
|
dasmause posted:In Nocturne, it's exactly random But that's why we also have  when negotiation fails.That and a poo poo-ton of save scumming 
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 18:32
|
|
|
*: The Annex's aboveground layout is essentially a mirror image of the main building's. As we reach the base of the U-shaped section, we run into...   : But, this future is only one of many possibilities. The future is not written in stone. I shall help you. What future do you desire?: A bright future would be nice.: If you wish for a bright future... Know your enemies and use attacks that they are weak against. If you do, a bright future full of attacking shall await you. It is not easy to learn your enemies' weaknesses... Only through battles shall you gain knowledge.: And what if I wanted a dark future?: Hmmm! Well, if you wish for a dark future... Continue to use useless attacks, and your attacks shall be nullified, reflected, or absorbed. If you do all of this, a dark future full of defending shall await you.: That's about what I figured. Thanks anyway.: I shall wait here until you learn your future... Bwahahahahaha!*: There's no elevator on this side, so we'll need to take the stairs located at the end of either wing. It's just as well, we should clean out the place anyway.  : I can tell I'm going to hear that a lot. : TAKE THIS AS A SIGN OF OUR MEETING.>You obtained Medicine x1. : Huh. Thanks, little guy.: RARR!! US DEMONS HAVE IT ROUGH. : What is it?: The demon next door isn't trying to eat me, is he???: Nah, he seems like a good enough sort.: Hey... wait a sec... You're a demon, too! Noooooo! Don't eat me!!: Good to see the people here have a healthy fear of being eaten by demons.*: A Cube in the same room contains a Revival Bead, which does pretty much exactly what you think it does.  Whoops, I expected a staircase here. It must only be at the end of the east wing, then.  There's a little garden of sorts down there instead of parking lot, with three visible Cubes. It's surrounded by water and there's no clear way to get there from the ground floor, but if you angle the camera just right you can see a down staircase in the middle, so you must be able to reach it from underground. As I expected, I can confirm that Will o' Wisps don't give a crap whether you have one of theirs on your side or not. Our own Will learns the Riberama spell, which increases the frequency of random encounters until the next new moon equivalent. This'll make more sense later.  : I sure am!: Even if you're strong, you won't be able to beat him alone. Don't just beat all the demons. Try talking to them, and get them to join you.: Way ahead of you, kid. : Aw hell.: I heard adults say demons are outside, too. I want my momma... One day she'll come for me...: I'm... sure she will.*: After taking the stairs down to the ground floor, we realize the way to the lobby is barricaded.   : I really don't.: I saw a human sneak past Forneus just a while ago.: Huh, alright then. That was worth it, thanks.*: Fortunately there are more stairs on the other side of the corridor, leading to the basement. This must be the section behind the locked door we saw earlier.  This side is certainly tidier.  : ...Demons stick together, so defeat the demons in the way first... They disrupt conversations... *mumble* : There's a trick to negotiating with demons... *mumble* : ...There are some races of demons that rarely join through negotiation... *mumble*My my my, multiple morgue mumblers!  *: This door to the east is a shortcut to the first part of the basement, so we can heal up and save. As we do so, Kodama levels up, learns Dia (single target heal) and gives us a Chakra Drop (MP restoration). Hijiri is still where we left him, but he has nothing new to say.  : I hear that Shibuya's a fun place, with stores and a club and all.: Even now? That makes me kinda curious.: Darn! If only Forneus wasn't here! Hope he didn't hear that... : Hiya! : You want me to come with you?: Yeah. Will o' right here is a nice enough guy but I'm not sure he's up to facing the big kahuna.: ............> Hua Po is still wary of you. : I'll do what you say for 50 Macca.: Small change!: Your manners with money are simply incorrigible... This simply is not enough!: Welcome to Pays-for-Hua-Po Island, buddy.: I want 1 Life Stone.: Aight. You do realize I'm saving your life right now, don't you? > Hua Po seems to be satisfied. : I'm Hua Po the Jirae. Don't get me in trouble.: Ha, good one. quote:Jirae Hua Po *: A bit further, we find more stairs leading up, certainly to the other side of the annex lobby. I didn't find the way to the little garden; makes me doubt my memory somewhat. Anyway, we're almost done here.  : Or die trying, yeah.: Err...: Hahaha... Yeah, right! I'll give you all my money if you can do that.: I'll hold you to it. And you better have enough, or I'll have to eat you. : Eh, barely.: Allow me to heal you. I'll heal you anytime, so come again...*: Behind a door labeled S-Terminal...  It's a miniature copy of the cylinder in the basement, set in what looks like a supply closet. It saves just as well as the other one, though.  *: I know Forneus is behind this door. Now I haven't played this game in nearly a decade, but I do remember he uses some pretty scary ice attacks. Hua Po is weak to ice, and Will o' Wisp is weak to magic, which leaves us with only three members of a possible party of four. I'll run around with Riberama on and see if I can't pick up someone else. We do have free healing nearby, so it should be fairly painless. In an event reminiscent of earlier games, a pair of Hua Po appear immediately after we defeat a group of Wisps and Preta. We could take them for sure, but Kodama is weak to fire, and with good use of the Pass command, Zed manages to talk the both of them into leaving peacefully.  *: Nothing else happens for now. Mysterious! A bit later, at the end of a fight with two groups in a row...   : The only ones who haven't joined me yet are the Preta. You wanna be like a Preta? : HMM...> Shikigami is thinking intently. : I WILL LISTEN TO YOU FOR 1 Life Stone.: No prob.: CURSE YOU! STILL NOT ENOUGH! HAND OVER 1 Life Stone.: This would be simpler if you said so in the first place, you overgrown bookmark. Here. : I AM Shikigami THE Brute. I WILL TRAVEL WITH YOU.: Just stay away from Hua Po, alright? She, uh, likes to burn stuff. quote:Brute Shikigami *: As if on cue, we level up, and learn Life Bonus from Marogareh. It's a passive skill that increases our max HP by 10% for as long as we can stand to have it taking up one of our eight skill slots, which is certainly the case at this time. We return Will to stock and summon Shikigami. It's now or never.  *: The game is kind enough to warn us when we're about to enter a boss room. This time, we're ready. Boss battle: Forneus : OH YEAH! WHO'S THE KING OF poo poo TOWN NOW, rear end in a top hat?: You are!: I, uh... Good. Good! Great. Excellent. Thank you.*: This could hardly have gone any better. I should have used Lunge when we Shocked Forneus early on because it couldn't have missed, but it hardly mattered in the end. You did see Mabufu and Icy Death though, and I'm sure you can imagine we would have taken a lot more damage if we had Hua Po and Will o' Wisp still around. quote:Fallen Forneus We can see the way out, but first, we need to heal up, save, and collect on a debt.  : All that butt-kicking gave me a mmmmmighty hunger.: You really beat him...: Oh he's hella dead.: Dang! A promise is a promise!! Take it!!>You obtained 850 Macca. : Dammit. I need to escape from poverty first, before I can escape from here...: Dumbass gamblers. Bah.*: The Cubes in the Lobby contain Medicine and a Revival Bead, which is quite appropriate for the end of what is essentially the tutorial dungeon. We fight in the lobby a bit further to run out the rest of the Riberama effect, and I try Hua Po's Pester to pick up some loot. We manage to bum a couple Life Stones and Mazan Stones (force damage, all enemies) off Shikigami, but also... : How are you? Wonderful! I'll kiss it and make it better!>You recovered HP. *: And by "you", the game means "whoever used the conversation skill". :  : : : *: You do realize you're drooling at six suicides, right? : Fairies kissing fairies, I don't care!: Call me when things get tough! Goodness, I probably won't come, though. Goodbye!*: Pester doesn't work so well on Kodama, though. Zed's Talk is fairly effective against everything that can be talked to, but demon conversation skills hinge heavily on the two demons' personalities. When Hua Po's "playful young woman" personality begs Kodama's "little kid" personality for free stuff, Kodama tends to answer with something along the lines of "you're the adult, you should be the one giving me presents!". At one point, letting Marogareh do its thing gives us a permanent +1 Agility. Spectacular! Before we can leave, Pixie levels up and attempts to change a skill. We can allow or forbid it, because it can succeed or fail. If it succeeds, one of the demon's abilities that has an upgrade turns into the next better version of itself. In our case, Pixie's Dia became Media, which heals our entire group. If it had failed though, Dia would have become a completely random spell of equivalent or slightly greater power, which could technically be an improvement but is still likely to be somewhat inconvenient at least. However, signs of change can still be seen on her body, so she's still got something bigger in store. And a few phases of the "moon" later... Cutscene: Kagutsuchi*: Who could this mysterious man in red- : It's Dante.: Did someone say Dante?: Danteeeeee!  *: No one knows- : Dude, everyone knows.: His name's on the box. *: Can't you guys play along for one effing minute? : Nope.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 18:45
|
|
|
mauman posted:But that's why we also have Well, you can only savescum so much to find a point at which the game decided that you're not good enough to get a demon I guess you could save before each negotiation attempt Speaking of save-scumming, I wonder if it's possible to get stat boosts from magatamas on every level up
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 19:52
|
|
|
dasmause posted:Well, you can only savescum so much to find a point at which the game decided that you're not good enough to get a demon I don't think that all of them have that option. Some can just heal you up or apply some debuffs AFAIK. You could save-scum it to min-max this game to hell and back but that's going to cost you a looooooot of time.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 20:55
|
|
|
It's technically possible to savescum and force stat boosts every level, if you pay constant attention to what you're equipping, but as far as I'm concerned it's both unnecessary and absolutely not worth the time unless you're doing the sort of completionist playthrough where you want to max out the protagonist's stats.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 01:14
|
|
|
*: Before I forget, I gotta mention beating Forneus earned us Wadatsumi, a new Magatama. Unsurprisingly given its source, Wadatsumi is ice-aligned and a bit more spellcaster-oriented than Marogareh. There are several demons around this area able to cast Zio so it's a little risky to use, but we're putting it on anyway. Each Magatama icon on the selection screen pulsates, wriggles and shines at a different speed; the more lively the bug, the closer we are to the level requirement for it to teach us its next skill. Right now Wadatsumi is practically begging to give us Ice Breath, and I'll be more than happy to oblige on the next level up. Alright, we're good to go. Let's blow this healthy joint.  Music: Large Map That's a bit of a geographical change, let's say. In a neat touch, you can see the hill of dirt in front of the eastern entrance to the hospital. And your eyes aren't tricking you, we are indeed walking around the interior of the Vortex World. Do note the spherical indicator in the bottom left corner. It shows us on which segment of the overall world we're currently located. The point of view of this indicator is fixed (think of it as being from the perspective of a geosynchronous satellite), so we can rely on the segment with Shinjuku on it always being the back, so to speak. In any event, we're surrounded on three sides by a terrifying void speckled by chunks of land still somehow barely hanging on, so our only egress is to the west. Or, err, well, whatever "west" means here.  I'd talk to these new guys, but they are of the Wilder race and there's essentially no point.  quote:Lv6 Wilder Zhen  : No... But, let's pretend it is.: Then, let me tell you something. This is Shinjuku, and if you go south from here... ...Well, Tokyo's round, so I'm just talking relatively here... If you go south, you'll see Yoyogi Park and Shibuya. Speaking of which, I saw a human head toward Shibuya.*: In a clever bit of design, the enemies around here are Haunt, Wilder and Foul, so you pretty much can't avoid earning yourself some battle experience here, unless you run away from everything.  Here's Shinjuku Station, essentially inaccessible. As we wander around, we can see pockets of abandoned buildings in between stretches of nearly featureless desert. The sand around each island of former civilization forms concentric circles strangely reminiscent of zen gardens.  *: Hot drat! Look at the good fortune on this guy!  : Er...!! You! You, over there! You! You! You!: Settle down, little dude, you're real easy to notice.: Life Stone... You have? Have?: Yeah, sure, don't spend it all in one... uh. Whuh-oh.*: Yikes, I must have sold our last Life Stone to a Shikigami without realizing it. : Me tricked! Me look stupid!> Zhen suddenly attacked! Guess I better start minding my supplies!  : Do I know you?: ...Have you heard of the Tokyo rumor?Rumor? Aw hell, that must be that student I ran into before the... before. Is it racist if I can't tell ghosts apart? : I probably haven't heard, no.: A guy with a strong will is going to change this chaotic world....: Dante!: ...That's a good one, huh? Tokyo's forever in chaos! Hahahahahahaha!!: I gotta say, I liked you better alive. So there's Yoyogi Park. We made a deal, better honor it.  : It's a bit further than I remembered, but I probably can't trust my recollection anymore. : Does... does it have to be?: We made it to Yoyogi Park, so I guess we can part ways now. : Are you kidding? Have you seen the rest of my crew?: *bUrrRrp*: Fire! Fire! Uweeheehee!: GET IT AWAY FROM ME! IT'S IN MY HAIR!: Awe we thewe yet?: It's like hell's own daycare in here. Please stay. I need you.: Mmmm... I like the way that sounds. *flirt* You win! I'll stay with you a while longer!: Thank you! Oh thank you!*: Just like that, Pixie is now with us for as long as we'll have her. You can tell her to go instead, and if you do so she'll give you the Ankh Magatama and leave forever. Now a Pixie with a couple levels on her versus a free Magatama seems like a no-brainer, but there are two facts to consider, neither of which you are aware of on a blind playthrough. First off, Ankh is available for purchase later. It has basic healing spells learnable at low levels so it would be nice to have it now, but we're not permanently screwed out of it. Second, this particular Pixie is unique. We want her in our party in some form for the remainder of the game. We can fuse her into something else without problems, and fuse her descendants as we please, but if we sacrifice or dismiss whatever creature she's currently part of, we'll miss out on something much later on.  There's no one keeping me from exploring this place now, so I might as well check it out while I'm here.  Oh what the deuce.  : Can't say I've had the pleasure. : Then, hurry up and go to the Fountain of Life up ahead. ...She's hot!: Alright, alright, just... Just watch where you're pointing that thing. : They locked the door, so we can't get in...*: He's not kidding. The door across from the entrance, leading to the construction site proper, is locked from the other side. Of course, Pixies can fly, so it wouldn't have been a problem for our companion.  : The name Hikawa comes up when I look at it... ...I feel like something bad happened to me...: Trust me, it's best not to think too hard about it. : Protesting the 1%, I suppose.: Is there a large amount of Magatsuhi stashed there or something...?*: As if on cue, we get into a fight with two Pixies, but it doesn't come to blows.  Better play it cool here. : Not... specifically, no. What about her?: Seems that she came from some hospital.: !!!*: The area has a couple doors leading to nondescript square rooms and a few Cubes (we get Life Stones, a Dis-Poison, and a Chakra Drop), but on the eastern side...    Music: Recovery Spring : Holy crap, penis dude was right, she is hot! : Your name has reached my humble ears... I will assist you to the best of my ability.: The honor's all mine. *: Healing! Not free, but whatchagonnado. As in previous games, the cost of healing depends on how much HP and MP you need restored. I'm not sure of the exact formula, but MP costs more than HP, so I'm pretty sure it's not cost-efficient to give your own healers a shot at patching you up first, or at least not for a long time. As there is no longer a law/chaos alignment axis, the Lady of the Fount is the only health care provider we have to deal with, and our choices never impact her pricing. If we use the Talk command... : The Magatama is a spirit of misfortune... There may be times when you shall receive a terrible curse by the Magatama raging within you. But, I will be able to purify your curse with this fountain. Please keep that in mind...*: Some Magatama will randomly inflict the special Curse ailment on you upon level up. There are specific circumstances where being cursed is actually desirable, but I do recall it has occasional detrimental effects in combat so most of the time you want it cured as soon as possible. : Go forth now, and do not look back...*: That's all Yoyogi Park has to offer for now, but we check on Major Dick before we go. : We've met the Lady. As much as it pains me to agree with you, you were right.: ...Man, she's hot!: I like this guy.: You would, wouldn't you.  : I think I owe you an apology.: It's just like I said... The world's all round! But even now, no one believes me!: Well, I certainly believe you now.: I hear prophecies from Jupiter! You believe me, don'tcha? *hic*: I'd usually draw the line at drunk ghosts, but you have a good track record so far.: Oh! You believe me!? Then, I'll tell you something good! The 'Demi-fiend' is the one that's going to create the new world...: Huh.: By gum! You wouldn't be... Naw! *hic*: Man, there's no way that's me. I wouldn't even know where to start. : Used to be a bit nicer, before the cultists moved in. Worst gentrification ever.: I wonder if the east side of the park is being occupied by fairies.*: We level up and learn Ice Breath (weak ice damage, multiple hits randomly assigned to enemy group). Both our Magatama seem relaxed enough now, so I switch back to Marogareh.  Between the high cliffs and the gaping void, we've been everywhere our feet could take us. The only way to the eastern part of this area is through Yoyogi Park, and that's not happening. This is Shibuya though, and if there's a human in here, we gotta check it out.    Not as lively as I'd hoped, but it'll have to do.  : The other cities battle it out because of disagreements, but everyone here's laid-back. : Hmm? : Where's that Forneus!?: No... no idea... sorry...Aw...  : There's one with shops, and one with a club. For shops, I recommend the Cathedral of Shadows. They have creepy ceremonies there.: There sure is nothing else I'd rather buy!*: Speaking of creepy ceremonies! Going behind the building in the center here...  ...prompts us to open a door. It's rrrreally not obvious that there's anything at all back there.  *: Mysterious! Ominous! : Familiar!*: If you look closely, you can see the four colored statuettes from Hanada's ritual in SMT2. Nothing else is going on in here for now, though, so we head back to the intersection and go down the stairs to the underground plaza.  Those floors are much shinier than I would have expected.  : What of it?: He's the king of poo poo Town, you know. Show proper respect!: Welcome to Kick-rear end Deli, punk! Try my knuckle sandwich!!*: We're thrown in battle against a single Will o' Wisp. It ends predictably. : ............. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!: That's better.: I'll offer you some juicy information, so please forgive me...: I'm listening.: There's a human girl at the club downstairs.: Okay thanks bye!*: I was thinking of exploring the first basement, but this seems more urgent.  This must be it!  : The club's up ahead. Yup, this seems clubby enough.    quote:Lv7 Foul Mou-Ryo   quote:Lv6 Foul Slime It'll take more than these miserable things to stop me now!  Chiaki! 
FrankZP fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Nov 15, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 01:22
|
|
|
I'm really enjoying how you're presenting this, so I'm going to check out your LPs of SMT1 and 2. I know you said that you were a ways ahead, so if you're going to be doing daily updates like this for a while you might want to use the Off-Site Screenshot Test Poster for the actual posts, and then just link to the page it creates for your actual updates. I only mention this because the thread has otherwise been slow and this page is getting pretty image heavy. I've tried to play this on a number of occasions but I usually end up putting it down before I leave the hospital. Looking forward to seeing more of what I missed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 02:34
|
|
|
I'm really glad you're doing this LP - I happen to like most RPGs, but I don't know if I'd have the patience to sit there and try to get every unique monster/yokai/whatever the hell they are. Also, the starfish demon waiting for Forneus made me snicker.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 02:53
|
|
|
Huh, I didn't realize the Test Poster was for more than just testing! Thanks for the heads-up. I got six more in the can for daily posting before I'm done catching you guys up, so I'll be doing as you suggest until then at least. Once I get back to posting updates as I make them, I expect 2 or 3 updates a week so that might be less of a problem, but we'll see.
FrankZP fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Nov 15, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 03:00
|
|
|
FrankZP posted:Huh, I didn't realize the Test Poster was for more than just testing! Thanks for the heads-up. I got six more in the can for daily posting before I'm done catching you guys up, so I'll be doing as you suggest until then at least. Once I get back to posting updates as I make them, I expect 2 or 3 updates a week so that might be less of a problem, but we'll see. No problem. Most first time SA-LPers that post their first SA-LPs on the day they register, that already have a bunch of updates posted somewhere else, are generally terrible, so this has been a breath of fresh air. It helps that this is a hybrid screenshot LP, so you aren't (really) youtube dumping on us (and plugging your channel). I also like the voices you've given to the characters, staying both true to the source and you haven't been super creepy about Pixie/the female NPCs.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 03:23
|
|
|
RickVoid posted:No problem. Most first time SA-LPers that post their first SA-LPs on the day they register, that already have a bunch of updates posted somewhere else, are generally terrible, so this has been a breath of fresh air. It helps that this is a hybrid screenshot LP, so you aren't (really) youtube dumping on us (and plugging your channel). I also like the voices you've given to the characters, staying both true to the source and you haven't been super creepy about Pixie/the female NPCs. The trick is to make a conscious effort to make the inserted characters into more than one-note joke delivery vehicles. I mostly go for a humorous tone, but it's nice to have a defined personality in mind to fall back on when something dramatic happens in the story. I figured you guys got plenty of chaff, what with how big the place is, but I didn't realize my exact situation was that common! The heart of it is, I let honesty and respect be my guides, and I didn't come in expecting anyone to make exceptions for me. And I don't have an ulterior motive beyond gaining the unique pleasure of entertaining smart people for a few moments every once in a while. GeneralYeti posted:I'm really glad you're doing this LP - I happen to like most RPGs, but I don't know if I'd have the patience to sit there and try to get every unique monster/yokai/whatever the hell they are. Also, the starfish demon waiting for Forneus made me snicker. Ha, I can't promise I'll recruit one of everything, some of the critters are a genuine pain in the butt to get. But I'll give it the old college try for sure.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 18:05
|
|
|
Update 5: Exploring Shibuya
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 18:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 11:22 |
|
|
All I ask is that you keep your original pixie with you (evolved forms count). She deserves that much from us. I always found her to be my one lone companion and friend in this game, since the game actually tried to give her some personality at least at the beginning. Please don't fuse her  I'm not saying that you actually have to use her of course once she's outclassed (though she's never entirely useless since you can use her mp to heal a little out of combat). mauman fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Nov 15, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 18:42
|
|