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[Let's Play] Shin Megami Tensei II [Finale: The End of the Cycle]
cj iwakura
The Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
The Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
Finale
Part 9
Part 8 [2]
Part 8 [1]
Part 7
Part 6
Part 5
Part 4
Part 3
Part 2
Part 1
Prelude:
For those who may have missed out on the history of the demonic apocalypse...
Before we begin, a prelude...
Yet, all is not well.
Several decades after the Great Destruction...
While cultivating the wilderness, fighting off packs of demons,
and through countless deaths, humanity survived...
But people were not strong enough to survive without someone
or something to cling to or rely on...
The Messian religion preached the advent of a savior, gathered
together believers, and built a new city at the site of the Old Cathedral...
This city came to be known as
Tokyo Millenium.
Welcome back to the world of Shin Megami Tensei.
Where demons are your best friends, and gods are your worst enemies.
SMTII was released for the Super Famicom/SNES two years after its classic predecessor.
It takes place in a world that regards SMT1's neutral ending as canon.
Toaster and Paula successfully founded a land where the people could live freely.
Naturally, that meant they proceeded to screw it all up.
Specifically, they were fooled by the Messians. Again.
The Lawful run the show.
And it is in this land, Tokyo Millenium,
that a new group will rise to fight the tide of evil with a demonic army.
Perhaps you could name them.
In order of appearance, presumably.
The Hero.
A resident of Tokyo Millenium, trained to compete as a gladiator.
Has no memory of his past.
The Hero's Acquaintance
He claims to know the hero somehow.
The Heroine
She swears to always be by the hero's side. Surely that won't end badly.
Law Heroine
A mysterious woman from the Center, the Messian base of operations.
Law Hero
A representative from the Order of Messiah.
The Rival
Some jerk who struts around town, proclaiming to be The Messiah.
He loathes the Hero, making him a prime candidate for demon chow.
(Note: I'm not entirely certain all of them can be named. But I'm pretty sure they can be!)
The first update will begin within a few days or so, ideally.
Some info:
-This will be a blind LP. I've never played SMT2 before.
-SMT2 vastly improves on SMT1's sadistic gameplay.
Automapping is easier, there is more variety to fusion(such as skill inheritance), dungeon movement is more fluid, combat is better presented, the list goes on and on.
Will it be more difficult, have equally sadistic maps, and the same amazing plot?
Only time will tell.
Before we begin, a prelude...
It has been thirty years since the now-legendary Toaster,
accompanied by his beloved Paula,
saved the world from the machinations of the hateful Messians
and the warmongering Gaians.
accompanied by his beloved Paula,
saved the world from the machinations of the hateful Messians
and the warmongering Gaians.
Yet, all is not well.
Several decades after the Great Destruction...
While cultivating the wilderness, fighting off packs of demons,
and through countless deaths, humanity survived...
But people were not strong enough to survive without someone
or something to cling to or rely on...
The Messian religion preached the advent of a savior, gathered
together believers, and built a new city at the site of the Old Cathedral...
This city came to be known as
Tokyo Millenium.
Welcome back to the world of Shin Megami Tensei.
Where demons are your best friends, and gods are your worst enemies.
SMTII was released for the Super Famicom/SNES two years after its classic predecessor.
It takes place in a world that regards SMT1's neutral ending as canon.
Toaster and Paula successfully founded a land where the people could live freely.
Naturally, that meant they proceeded to screw it all up.
Specifically, they were fooled by the Messians. Again.
The Lawful run the show.
And it is in this land, Tokyo Millenium,
that a new group will rise to fight the tide of evil with a demonic army.
Perhaps you could name them.
In order of appearance, presumably.
The Hero.
A resident of Tokyo Millenium, trained to compete as a gladiator.
Has no memory of his past.
The Hero's Acquaintance
He claims to know the hero somehow.
The Heroine
She swears to always be by the hero's side. Surely that won't end badly.
Law Heroine
A mysterious woman from the Center, the Messian base of operations.
Law Hero
A representative from the Order of Messiah.
The Rival
Some jerk who struts around town, proclaiming to be The Messiah.
He loathes the Hero, making him a prime candidate for demon chow.
(Note: I'm not entirely certain all of them can be named. But I'm pretty sure they can be!)
The first update will begin within a few days or so, ideally.
Some info:
-This will be a blind LP. I've never played SMT2 before.
-SMT2 vastly improves on SMT1's sadistic gameplay.
Automapping is easier, there is more variety to fusion(such as skill inheritance), dungeon movement is more fluid, combat is better presented, the list goes on and on.
Will it be more difficult, have equally sadistic maps, and the same amazing plot?
Only time will tell.
cj iwakura on
0
Posts
I expect good things, because SMT1 set a very high bar.
Hero is rocking that codpiece.
Still, whether that's the case or not, these are not the standards of fasion I would expect the Mesians to have.
Acquaintance: looks like a Cassio.
Heroine: Lydia? I dunno
Other Heroine: Rei Ayanami
Other Hero: some name that reminds you of punching something. he looks like a puncher.
XBL: Torn Hoodie
@hoodiethirteen
I second Blender for the hero, keeping with the household appliance theme.
He also looks like he's dressed in bandages.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Acquaintance: Kensington
Heroine: Apple
Other Heroine: Rachel
Other Hero: Kickpuncher
As for the name recommendations, let's get Biblical on this.
Protagonist (Aleph): David
Heroine (Beth): Michal
Acquaintance (Gimmel): Solomon
Another Heroine (Hiroko): Bathsheba, alt: Abigail
Other Hero (Zain): Cyrus
If all else fails, other hero needs to be named Billy.
Actually, there's probably a better name for two of the above characters that would ironically work, but
Hero: Blender
Harp Hero: Benjamin
Destined Heroine: Lydia
Law Heroine: Rachel
Law Hero: Puncher
The only one that has any sort of lead is Blender.
Oh, and give me a name for this silly goose too.
The Rival
Some jerk who struts around town, proclaiming to be The Messiah.
He loathes the Hero, making him a prime candidate for demon chow.
I freely admit this is a terrible suggestion, so don't blame me if you take it.
Blender for Hero is perfect. Rival looks like a Phantasy Star reject. I nominate the name "Chaz".
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Hero: Blender
Harp Hero: Benjamin
Destined Heroine: Lydia
Law Heroine: Rachel
Law Hero: Kenshiro
Rival: Vegeta
Okay, so Benjamin technically wasn't a vote for Gimmel's name, but I like it.
So, Harp Hero becomes Cassio.
Law Hero will be Kenshi.
May as well shorten the Law Hero's name to Ken.
Hero: Blender (Thirding this one)
Friend : Lucus
Heroine: KumaTo
Law Heroine: Hinawa
Law Hero: Claus
Rival: Pokey (Though Garry/Blue/Green also works)
Friend: Marley
Heroine: Kara
Law Heroine: Paige (As in Betty? I mean, it looks like she's about to throw a ball-gag in someone's mouth.)
Law Hero: Consta(pated)
Rival: I second Douche for this.
Rival: Pokey - Digging this, how whimsical!
The Rival's name is now disputed between Pokey(which continues the Paula theme from SMT1) or Douche.
I went with Paula for the Heroine in 1, so my preference there is obvious.
Let's just call the hero Alpha or something.
But not Hokey.
(I already named Lydia and Kenshi, so we're pretty much stuck with them.)
Because I'm not tired of Anchorman references yet.
Lamp has potential.
Oven
Fridge
Plate
Iron
Bacon
Last call.
No opportunity to name the Main yet. I really hope the Law and Acquaintance were who I thought they were.
Uh, apparently our Heroine is now going to be Rachel and the Law Heroine will be Lydia.
Ah well!
Just so we're clear.
Good morning, Crono!
...wait, wrong game.
Hawk, get up already! Hurry it up! You've made it all the way to the tournament finals!
You can't start slacking now! And don't give me any bullshit about not being capable!
I may have been the one that saved you when I found you getting attacked by that demon,
but I could tell right off from the way that you were fighting that thing that you were a natural!
Especially the way you were able to hold your own despite being in that drunken stupor!
Don't give me that face... You better be glad I saved your sorry ass!
And remember, in your test run through the virtual battle you not only made the high score,
but literally went through it unscathed. That's skill! And don't be forgetting that I was the one
that paid for that run! After all, you couldn't even remember your own name when I found you...
Who else would've taken you in? And you make a hell of a Gladiator, too... thanks to me, of course.
Hawk's a pretty cool-sounding name for one too, don'tcha think?
Ah, this formerly studentless old man's luck has finally turned.
Anyhow, until you win the championship, and get us both out of this hell-hole, no slacking!
I'm not going to let that asshole Haneda show me up any longer!
Crap, sorry about the rambling.
Yeah, sure. What're we talking about again?
Then get your ass up and start today's training!
Nice guy.
So this is our base of operations for the time being. So to speak.
All we can do is train, so let's oblige the old man... robot... thing.
Virtual Battle is basically mini dungeons wherein the player can practice battling without fear of death.
Without HP loss and death to his minions, not so much.
Imagine vets may recognize that too.
SMTII's new U.I.. Improved, isn't it?
See that glowing bar? It tells us when a random encounter's likely to occur.
No more random battles every single step. (Yes this happened in SMT1. ALL THE TIME.)
Just.. every seven steps or so. But I can handle that.
The new COMP interface. Auto-mapping is here as usual, but now it's been relegated to a single button for shortcut usage, too.
Very handy.
But enough of that, let's do some [strike]killing[/strike] training.
Bad doggy.
Hawk's still weak, but he can take them out easily enough.
Hawk is just the name that Okamoto gave him. We can change it later. I think.
The first VB boss. He's a joke.
And we're done, for now.
Didn't see you helping.
Stat boost get. I'm going to go with a Strength & Stamina focus like in SMT1, unless anyone objects.
It worked well enough before.
Here, take this. Use it for the virtual battlers scattered around town.
Yeah, everyone knows you spent the rest on virtual girls and blow. Slacker.
The Slums of Valhalla. Nice place, right?
...
You get used to them.
What with Okamoto being as poor as he is, everyone knows he doesn't have any money.
Tell him to return the 1000 Macca I lent him!
We're off to a fine start.
No wonder everyone's broke.
It's gotten so that no one will take anything but it anymore.
Sure beats the nu-yen.
Come here. No, over to your left.
It wasn't me! The old man did it!
Stand before me and listen to what I have to say.
Then your eyes will be opened and your path will become clear...
..oh. Sure.
Is this the first time that you came here? Very well. I shall tell your fortune for free.
Hmm... deep, deep within the recesses of your soul...I see... a name. A woman's name.
She is very important to you.
Uh... Lysol... Idiot... Lydiot...
Lydia!.... yeah.
Lydia. Do not ever forget that name.
Her fate is inexorably tied with your own.
Now that we've established that our amnesiac is a certified schizo, we can move on.
All of the Areas are controlled centrally by the "Center".
Damn it! I thought I lost them!
What was he like? Well...
You will give him a name... Understand?
Should've... laid off the... Mega Messiah Big Gulp...
If only I had that emergency food supply like in that show... Tenshi... Denchi...
Yeah! ..wait, what?
Hey, listen when someone's talking to you!
Man, you've got an arm terminal! You won it at the Colosseum, didn't you?
With that, you can access the terminals! There's one outside town to the east.
My dreams are coming true! The unicorn was right!
Uh, back to browsing Valhalla...
He blows it all that the casino and never returns it.
So until he shapes up, I'm not selling him anything.
Okamoto's costing us all our fun.
Let's try this!
The music here is ten flavors of awesome, so I did a recording.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QasTT6_unT0
Or just listen to this, but you'll miss out on the crazy dancers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6Di5RLEAuU
Furiously.
Right.
OK!
Even demons can get down.
Boy, was I right to leave the slum town!
I think I'll go to the Colosseum next!
The tender is pretty chill, at least.
...virtual battling. That's not part of the program!
Sounds kind of familiar. Creepily so.
Some words of encouragement from another patron.
Sort of.
Word on the street is that the match is going to be Red Bear VS Hawk.
They say Red Bear's going to win.
You'll alphabetize my vinyl, really!?
Uh, elsewhere...
Those who believe will all be saved!
Yeah, we've heard that one before.
So, how about that outside world...
A little revised for modern SMT standards. Somewhat easier to traverse.
If it isn't the sole warrior from that run-down Okamoto gym!
I bet you can't get any decent training at that grubby old gym.
How would you like to join mine? You're pretty cute, too, just my type.
You can never have too many handsome young warriors!
Anyway, if you'd like to use my top-of-the-line virtual trainers, you're
welcome to them... I won't let you train for free, of course, but if you're
interested, just ask one of the gym members.
Of course, no matter how hard you train, you'll never be able to stand
up to my warrior, Red Bear! Ho ho ho ho ho ho!
This is the jerk Okamoto was talking about.
May as well make the best of it.
You too can be a hero in Cyberspace!
She's cuter in Imagine, believe it or not.
2 is about up to our current standards.
Not very colorful.
They're after me lucky charms again!
Eerie.
No, you're worse. DEMONS DIE.
I'm a person just like you, and I came into this virtual battle just so I could meet you.
My name is... call me Steven. I'm here because there's something I want to give you.
Here... this is my Demon Summoning Program that I wrote. You can download it to your
arm terminal directly through the visual interface here.
There has been an... incident... and because of it, very soon, "Tokyo Millenium" here
will most likely be overrun with demons. The leaders of this city have been surpressing the
demons for a long time, but they can no longer hold out.
At this point, nothing can stop the demons from entering our world. Unless we learn to live
with the demons and use their power, we humans will never survive.
Therefore, in preparation, I have been giving this program to everyone that looks to be able
to summon and use demons. I don't know who you are, nor does it matter to me.
All I can tell is that you are powerful, and thus I am giving you this program.
Uh...
Very well. I am glad that you understand. I shall upload the demon summoning program into
your arm terminal. Use it well!
I hope you use this program with forethought and moderation. We will most likely meet again,
here in the virtual reality of the Virtual Battler. I look forward to seeing you again.
Goodbye for now!
If you want my guess?
Steven's the kind of guy crazy enough to put his mind into the virtual battler to avoid demonic apocalypse.
I'm not sure if that makes him insane or a genius.
It was a life altering experience.
In the past, it's produced several warriors who went on to become Champion!
Good for them.
Well, they call me the Red Cyclone!
So, I tried to explore some more, and...
Some Messians are being jerks, so... next building, maybe?
The tournament comes closer every second! Get back to the gym already!
I'll scream rape!
Not like we had a choice.
So, more training.
And some recruitment!
Conversation has gotten a bit more complicated.
Demons seem a bit easier to charm to make up for it.
The tradition continues: everything begins and ends with Pixie.
Got one of these guys too.
Radio... what's up with that radio?
(Flashback!)
This reminds me of a cassette player I had once...
It had Degrassi... Lassie... Rufio...
Damn where my roof just go:whistle:
Oh God. (pun not intended)
Tournament?
You're spacing out a lot lately. Have you gotten back any of your memories yet?
Don't pull that shit in the Colosseum, 'cause if you give 'em an opening, you're as good as dead.
One more win and you'll be a champion! Arrite, let's head to the Colosseum!
Now listen close, cause I know you haven't got your bearings around here yet.
To get there, just head north from that twerp Kaneda's gym.
You're the best there is! Just rember what I taught you and you'll be fine!
There's laws against this kind of abuse!
I bet.
I'm guessing this is it.
This is where statues of previous Champions who attained citizenship with the Center have been erected.
Climbed the ranks while always fighting fairly on even terms, he was nicknamed "The True Samurai".
A serious person, he continues to be one of the most popular Warriors, and still has lots of fans.
Said to have been able to freely summon and control demons at will.
Hmm.
Now listen, you make sure he doesn't die too quickly!
If it's over too quickly, the spectators will get pissed and start a riot!
All right, here's the rules. The final battle is a Dungeon Match.
Both you and your opponent will be dropped off in different parts of a big maze,
the center of which is set up as an arena.
Once the match starts, you need to work your way through the maze.
We've dropped some weapons and items in various places in there.
If you find them, they should help you out.
To make things interesting, we've released a fairly large number of demons into the maze too.
Once both fighters enter the ring, the true fight starts. You can only fight your opponent in the ring.
No fighting in the maze if you happen to run into each other there.
The winner of the first will be the first to knock out or kill their opponent, of course.
Uh...
You are strong! you will win! Now make sure you come back in one piece!
Get out there and show them what you're made of!
I plead the fifth?...
Let's introduce our two contenders for the championship!
In this corner, we have Red Bear! And in this corner, Hawk! READY! GO!
Found some really cool gear by looking around.
Kid's stuff by our standards.
Got a new friend, too.
Not again...
His power is nearly identical to yours...
I feel like I'm going to choke.
Simple, easy to remember!
Listen when I'm talking to you! I gotta admit, you have guts to ignore me like that...
or maybe you're just a fool. Hawk, you've done quite well, making it up the ranks this far.
I applaud your fighting prowess!
Uh-huh.
(You can watch this for the new boss music, if nothing else. It's pretty catchy.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2C9Fp7w-_A
I could... have gone to... The... Center...
That's right! ...what'd I do?
I've finally got a decent gym, and showed up that pansy Haneda!
Not only that, I'm finally out of debt and can buy stuff around town too.
Keep winning and make us both rich! If you do, the Madam'll take notice
and call us to her mansion. Hehehehehe... Oh, Madam...
....
Hawk! What the hell are you looking at me like that for!?
Oh yeah, and not only all this, but you get to become an official resident of the Center!
Eh? Looks like someone's here to see you.
That's more like it!
My name is Lydia. I've come here from the Center.
Oh? And what would a Center resident like yourself want with us?
As the new champion, I need your help. I need your help to find someone.
About six months ago, there was an accident in the Center where there was a large explosion.
In the confusion, a little boy disappeared.
Actually, it turns out that the accident really wasn't an accident at all.
It was deliberately set up by two scientists named Mekata and Hanada,
both of whom disappeared right afterwards. After the explosion, I searched for the little boy,
but couldn't find any trace of him anywhere. I think the two scientists took him with them.
Through some digging around, I discovered that one of the scientists, Hanada, has been hiding in
Madam's mansion in Valhalla. The security of Madam's mansion is really tight, and she never lets
anyone in normally. But they say she always summons new Champions there to congratulate them
on their victory. Please, take me with you!
I might be dumb, but I'm not stupid.
Really!? Thank you, Champion!
Hey now, the Champion's too busy to be bothered with your missing persons hunt!
Ah, what the hell, I guess it's all right.
Looks like you've got another visitor.
I am a messenger from Madam. She would very much like to meet you.
Please come to her mansion when you are free. Here. This is an Invitation From Madam.
Please do not bring any more than one guest with you. We will be waiting for you at the mansion.
Aw, you gotta be kidding me? Only one guest? Ah, don't worry about me, though.
You promised the girl you'd take her, best not to go back on it. I'll be here if you ever need me.
Go ahead, have fun!
I'm sure it'll be a blast.
Next time: The New Moronic Order
You DO get to name the main character, but it won't be until during or after the next update.