It's Valhalla, the slums. It's basically inhabited by the people the Messians outcast, so they're probably regarded as lesser people.
Strange. I mean, Thor was a Mesian ambassador, so I'm surprised the new administration would be using the name of Norse Heaven for the bad part of town.
I would've named the place after wherever the Asura reside (if indeed the Asura reside anywhere - I'm not exactly up to date on Hindu mythology).
On the other hand... Valhalla is a place to party in preperation for the final battle and, as ForceVoid pointed out, this Valhalla, too, is party town.
Most excellent. I don't remember much from this game, so this will be fun to watch. Do any of the big demons/angels you killed in the last game return in this game?
Teriferin on
teriferin#1625
0
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
Just a warning about Hawk's stat distribution, you do need to eventually get his mag stat up to 12 by a certain point in the game if you want to avoid some extra grinding.
Everyone calls me Madam. The officials at the Center have left the
control of everything here in Valhalla to me. People have flocked to
Valhalla to visit the Colosseum and casinos we have opened here,
devoting themselves to the pursuit of all sorts of earthly delights.
And as a result, peace has flourished in Valhalla.
With all sorts of pleasures at one's fingertips, the residents here
live out their lives without conflict.
Do you not think this is a great accomplishment?
I am very proud of Valhalla. I think it is an ideal place to live.
Take a look at this.
Ant races?
Oh.
The officials in the Center intend to tighten their grip on the city
and control people's lives to a greater extent.
However, I plan on leaving Valhalla the way it is now, as a free area.
There was a scientist that had been working for me for the past
while, but he ran away. He intends to open a portal to the Abyss,
and summon a horde of demons to the surface. The reason I called you
here to my estate is that I would like you to find him and bring him
back to me. As you have won the tournament, I know that you are a
capable man... Would you please assist me?
Uh...
The scientist's name is Haneda.
Hanada?! Then Haneda isn't here!?
No, he is not. He has fled somewhere to the slum district.
Where, I do not know. I leave the matter in your hands, Hawk.
Oh yes, that's right. Let me lend you my pet to assist you in your search.
Kerberos, come here.
He is quite powerful, and surely will prove a trustworthy and
reliable helper.
Kerberos, don't just sit there, greet the man!
So, you're the new Champion, eh?
Normally I wouldn't associate with low-level weak humans
such as you, but as Madam requests it, I'll go along with you.
Very well. I look forward to hearing good news, Hawk.
And so off we go to the slums.
Not without meeting some new faces.
Not exactly a nice area. Hope Lydia brought some pepper spray.
Bufula this early in the game? SMTII doesn't waste time.
I hate backseat demons.
Could be that you wind up being the final Champion.
This being a bad thing?...
Don't rush!
Gaia adherence has really been suffering.
The Temple Knights kill anyone openly practicing any other religion,
so we've been forced to go underground.
So not much has changed. Good to know!
Beyond a few chests, there's not much to keep us from finding the rogue scientist.
(Nocturne vets: don't those scrolls look familiar?)
This is the laboratory of the master genius,
the great Doctor Haneda! Stay out! I'm at a critical point here!
What? You've come to take me back!? Like hell you will!
A master genius like me needs to be able to perform his
experiments without restriction!
Since neither those thickheaded zealots in the center
nor that old fart Madam seem to understand that,
I've gone off to do my research by myself! And guess what
that unrestricted research has produced? Nothing less
than a tunnel straight to the Abyss!
No longer will I have to perform all these stupid menial tasks
by myself! From now on, I'll summon as many demons as I
need to help me! To start with, I'll take the artifacts I need...
It's decent, as doll collections go.
With the power contained within these four statues,
all I need to do is place them in the right formation in an
area whose energy is close to being in tune with the
Abyss... and the door will open! Behold!!
Wow, that Chinese dry wall really does suck.
Kill those little punks who want to disrupt my research!
W-w-wait... you're supposed to kill them... not..m-me..
Well, found dead is still found!
Oh, hi.
Kerberos made this a freebie, which was probably on purpose.
New additions!
And then we go back.
I shall let Madam know that you are here.
We couldn't bring Haneda back alive,
but you're a pretty tough one!
I like you, kid. I hope that we will meet again.
Bye doggy.
I had thought you would be able to bring
Haneda back alive... I'm a bit disappointed,
but what's done is done.
By the way, someone is here to see you.
He is a messenger from the Center.
Think! Remember your true name!
Your name is...
When they said the motel was cheap, they weren't kiddin'.
Whether or not you choose to be a servant
of God, or an agent of the demons..
Either way, it is a great gamble.
A gamble on which the fate of all humanity rests.
So, it is now time. Identify yourself as you will.
Now I'm seeing things, that's what I get for drinking straight from the...
Wait, what?
Who?
My name is Kenshi. I've been searching for you
for quite a long time! You might not remember it,
but you were originally a resident of the Center, Blendy.
Lydia, you have also been ordered to return to the Center.
The two of you should come with me. We are going back!
To think that you were a Center citizen all along...
What a shame, you wouldn't have had to go to all that trouble
risking your life in the Colosseum had you known.
This isn't the sort of place that you belong in.
Hurry and return to the Center!
[Messian Transport Go!]
Or should I say, you've finally returned!
In any case, I am overjoyed to see that you are both all right.
Here, this ID card is yours.
At last I can give it to its rightful owner!
As for you, Lydia, you should have known better than to run off like that.
The Temple Knights are our most glorious and prestigious order,
and it does not look well upon us when one of them decides to
arbitrarily leave leave the Center like that. I would like a full explanation
from you in a moment.
Guards! Could you escort Lydia inside to my office?
It's too bad that we never were able to find that little boy,
but I appreciate you sticking your neck out for me like that...
I hope I'll see you again!
Right before you were kidnapped and brought from the center,
Mekata erased your memories. As a result, you remember neither
your true identity nor the divine mission that was bestowed upon you.
Blendy, you are to become our Savior. Your birth was a fulfillment
of the ancient prophecy foretold by John in the book of Revelations...
You are destined to become the Messiah!
You have been given wondrous powers with which you can
bring salvation to the people of the world!
In the past, a great city known as Tokyo once stood upon this land,
but was destroyed in a cataclysmic war.
From the ashes of the city, we built a new city- this "Millennium."
Millennium's purpose is to actualize the Thousand Year Kingdom,
an age where the people will live in peace forever.
And in order for Millennium to truly become the Thousand Year
Kingdom, we needed a Messiah to guide us.
And so, you were born. In you, God himself as given unto us a savior.
To aid you in this, your most holiest of missions, God also gave us one
that would be a fitting partner for the one who would become the Messiah.
Rachel, you may enter.
But don't worry. I am with you now, and will remain so from now on.
You'll soon start to remember things you've forgotten, a little bit at a
time, and you will eventually return to your old self.
And I will never leave your side, ever...
Uh... can I have the other girl back?
...district of Holytown.
King Frost has frozen over the entire area with his powerful
ice magic. And if that weren't enough, Basilisk is also rampaging there,
breathing thick clouds of its deadly toxic breath throughout the entire
district, claiming many innocent lives.
Please, save the people of Holytown! Go into the western exit from
the Center. If you enter the passcode 0352 in the security door there,
you can enter Holytown.
And so, welcome to the Center of the new Millennium.
And down he goes, bringing Holytown back to normal, aside from the silly name.
Really gross it is.
Sell it I cannot.
It's full of these Stalker guys. They creep me out.
Look familiar? Am I messing with that? Hell no.
(I bet it's for an uber boss later on.)
Our first Angelic rep. She was a beast. No negotiating, just pain.
Good XP, though.
May as well head home, there wasn't much else in Holytown but more of the iron mask guys.
Driving the demons out of Holytown.
While you were gone, I debriefed Lydia,
and she told me about Hanada's death.
It would seem the man had far too much
confidence in his own abilities.
With him gone, the only rebel left is Mekata...
But where on earth is he, I wonder?
He is a dangerous man, far more dangerous
than Hanada was.
If we leave him be, there's no telling what he might do!
Yesss? Oh, him.
I see... thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Blendy, it would appear that we have another
emergency on our hands. Within the Factory district,
there is a large excavation and mining project being
undertaken underground. The evil demon Betelgeuse
has appeared there and has taken over the entire site.
At the same time, and perhaps as a result of his influence,
several of the Demi-Nandi that we have been breeding
for food have gone on a rampage in the farming areas of
the district.
The Factory is an essential part of our city. and both its
resources and the workers there are in grave danger!
Please, defeat Betelgeuse and the Demi-Nandi,
and save the citizens of the factory!
You can get to the Factory through an underground tunnel
from the Center's southern exit.
We're so Messian-whipped, off we go again.
Five Temple Knights is Sir Pokey.
Who cares about him? It's not as if he's going to play an important role or anything.
That can't be good, probably Betelgeuse's influence.
Hopefully.
And off to the Factory.
It's less than pleasant.
I think this was the music here, I could be wrong.
Getting worse. I really like the background here during the battles, it conveys how bleak this area is.
Hitoshura it isn't; they're easily dealt with.
Deeper and deeper into [strike]Beetlejuice's[/strike] Betelgeuse's lair.
More quakes.
Hey, I met your cousin in Devil Summoner (Raidou) 2.
These guys were too tough to kill, I ran.
Yay, dark mazes! Not quite as bad as SMT1's. Not yet anyway.
I found some awesome weapons here which may or may not have been rare drops. I'm lucky like that.
So after some traveling, I figured I'd eventually have an idea of when we were close to the big bad's lair.
Nope.
KILL IT WITH FIRE
That thing scared me half to death, since it literally jumps onto the screen after you plunge into an opening in a dark maze.
Sorry, no recording, I wasn't ready for it. But rest assured, it died nasty.
It hit harder than King Frost, but no nasty ice magics.
Lots of XP.
Now I can finally work at full strength!
Congratulations! ...I think.
You'd better not get too close,
it's dangerous here!
Ah, they're back!
For some reason, boss music played here. For one of them.
They're engineered using Majuu Nandi as a base.
We butcher them and use them for food.
Yummy.
It's where we produce all the commodities
that the residents need to survive.
PETA would have a field day here.
He joined up at random, no complaints here.
I made tons of cash in the mines, so time to stock up on some better firepower.
(Would you believe I fought Betelgeuse without knowing there was a town was to the northeast of the mines?)
Messians: you suffer, they profit.
Justified by their deity at that.
Do they really enjoy working that much?
Call me skeptical.
Deja vu!
Here is the latest news from Millenium.
We have just received a report that Blendy,
the Colosseum champion,
was actually a resident of the Center all along.
He has been given a new ID card and has returned to living in the Center.
I know that guy!
Time to get gone.
Home sweet home, sort of.
Citizens of the city.
Thanks a lot, I don't know what we'd do without you.
By the way, there's something I've been
meaning to show you for a while.
Head to the Arcadia area. Arcadia is an experimental
area of the city we've been working on to try and
create an ideal world for the coming of the Thousand
Year Kingdom. It's got special environmental controls,
technology, and... well, you should see for yourself.
Anyhow, Cassio is there, do you remember him?
If you still can't, you should go see him.
Maybe he'll jog your memory!
Arcadia can be reached from the eastern gate of the Center.
The passcode to get in is 9103.
With a name like Arcadia, I'm sure it's a very happy place.
Heh, Betelgeuse looks exactly like his snake form from the movie when he's trying to scare off Lydia Deetz. That's actually kind of impressive.
El Fantastico on
PSN: TheArcadeBear
Steam: TheArcadeBear
0
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
You'll be seeing more of him.
Sort of.
Also, I thought there might have been the first choice coming up, but it seems to be a 'but thou must!' situation. Someone who's played SMTII might want to help me on this one.
Return to Valhalla spoilers:
When I fight The Rival, and I have the choice to spare him or not. Does it affect alignment?
Also, I thought there might have been the first choice coming up, but it seems to be a 'but thou must!' situation. Someone who's played SMTII might want to help me on this one.
Return to Valhalla spoilers:
When I fight The Rival, and I have the choice to spare him or not. Does it affect alignment?
Of course it does. Almost everything affects alignment in the SNES games, from which demons you use, to how you answer to story choices, to how you answer to demon conversations, to how much money you spend (not really)
elliotw2 on
XBL:Elliotw3|PSN:elliotw2
0
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
Part 4 (Interlude): The Anti-Messiah
So with all that conflict out of the way, I finally had time to do some fusing.
Sort of.
He looks less creepy in human form. Not too impressed by his skills, maybe later.
Boo. Alignment sucks. (I bet we're heavy Law.)
Well, at least I have a dwarf... thing.
And off we go to Arcadia.
COMP access required. Picky clientele.
Well, it's certainly blue.
(This same place is a key location in the MMO, I'll post some pics of it to compare later.)
It is only fitting that a strong, beautiful man such as myself
be chosen to live in Arcadia!
Look! Look at my beautiful body! My rippling muscles,
my exquisite face, ah!
Uh, okay.
Moving on!
...and it's all thanks to Lord Cassio!
Lord Cassio is truly our savior! He's in the mansion
at the end of the path that runs through the trees.
This is truly an ideal world!
For them, anyway.
worrying about any of the disasters
or tragedies in the outside world.
However, we still cannot escape death.
If we can find the secret to immortality,
then we will have nothing left to fear.
No kidding.
Took a bit of searching to realize Cassio's crib really was hidden.
It's been quite a long time, Blendy.
It's me, Cassio. Do you remember me?
So, what do you think of the Arcadia Area?
While you were gone missing, I was put
in charge of this area, and have built it
into a microcosm of a future utopian world.
As I'm sure you already know, Millenium
is trying to bring the Thousand Year Kingdom
into reality. The Arcadia Area here is an
experimental test case in an isolated
environment, to see what kind of world we can
create once the Thousand Year Kingdom
becomes reality.
So far it's been a great success.
Here there are no demons, and hence no
need to fight, and interpersonal conflicts
between individuals have been eradicated
as well.. Everyone lives in peace and harmony.
Once the entire world has been made like Arcadia,
we really can say that the Thousand Year Kingdom
has come! Blendy, if you like it here, you can
come back whenever you desire.
You are always welcome here in the halls of Arcadia.
All right then. Please go back to the Center and tell
Kenshi that Arcadia has been an overwhelming success.
Sounds easy enough.
(I hope I'm not the only one who sees Rome parallels in all this, aside from the Islander color scheme)
Not hard to get back, either.
I didn't do it, I swear!
I haven't got time to explain, go talk to the Bishop!
Jehovah's witnesses again? It's okay, I brought guns.
The demons have finally managed to break into
the Center! And what's worse, the anti-Messiah
has also shown himself! This false savior is
deviously manipulating the innocent populace!
If we let him continue, Millennium will surely fall
into a state of utter chaos! We have been receiving
reports of the Anti-Messiah's activity from both
Holytown and Valhalla, but we don't know exactly
where he is at the present time.
For what reason is he claiming to be the Savior?
Please, try and find out.
But he could be anyw-
Oh.
Good luck with that!
So much for defending the home turf.
May as well go find this idiot.
Here is the latest news from Millennium.
There have been a great many reports lately of
a hero running throughout Millennium, saving the
people and performing valiant deeds. Many
suspect that he may be the Messiah.
He is currently at Valhalla Colosseum, and hopes
to fight Blendy, also rumored to be the Messiah, in
order to prove that he is indeed the Savior of prophecy.
Well, I'd hate to be that gu-
...
Crap.
You're gonna fight Pokey here in the ring.
Uh...
Ok then, I'll fill you in on the details.
Rumor has it out on the street that Pokey
is the true Messiah that the fatcats in the
Center have been talking about all these
years. He himself claims to be the Messiah,
and to prove it, he says he wants to fight you.
Since both of you are rumored to be the Messiah,
to have you duke it out in our arena is a profitable
story for us. So we set up a special match for you
to decide things once and for all right here!
Then he can wait some more!
...oh, fine.
How dare you deceive the people the way you have,
extending a false hand of salvation!
Just like the prophecy foretold, you are indeed
the Anti-Messiah! For the fate of the world, and
the fate of humanity...
I cannot let you live!
The false savior, the Anti-Messiah!
Nice guy.
So we go back through again.
Along with some taunting from the idiot populace.
The Rival's waiting in the same place The Red Bear was.
You could have run like a scared dog so easily.
But it is God's will that you be struck down!
Prepare yourself, Anti-Messiah!
In the name of the true Messiah, I shall defeat you!
He was pathetic.
And stubborn.
Cue uber attack!
Which really wasn't all that deadly...
Hey, out of the w-
Yeesh, never mind. Thanks for that!
How dare you do something as underhanded
as using that poor woman as a shield!
But she-
Screw it.
The pointy end goes into your neck, for starters...
Posts
Are we sure this is a future ruled by the Mesians? This doesn't really seem to be their thing, unless I horribly misunderstood them.
...party animals!
I would've named the place after wherever the Asura reside (if indeed the Asura reside anywhere - I'm not exactly up to date on Hindu mythology).
On the other hand... Valhalla is a place to party in preperation for the final battle and, as ForceVoid pointed out, this Valhalla, too, is party town.
Missing you.
Love, Garret.
Let's visit the Madam, shall we?
You're the new Champion, Hawk!
Please, please, come in! Take the elevator up!
Our reputation precedes us.
Sure thing.
Reminds me of another mansion from long ago...
(Flashback!)
I can keep her!? That's way swell!
With that taken care of, back to reality.
Madam is waiting for you. Madam, the new Champion has arrived.
Butler naming creativity is at a constant low.
Madam doesn't deign to speak to us in person, however.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GLB7h3zeFs
Everyone calls me Madam. The officials at the Center have left the
control of everything here in Valhalla to me. People have flocked to
Valhalla to visit the Colosseum and casinos we have opened here,
devoting themselves to the pursuit of all sorts of earthly delights.
And as a result, peace has flourished in Valhalla.
With all sorts of pleasures at one's fingertips, the residents here
live out their lives without conflict.
Do you not think this is a great accomplishment?
I am very proud of Valhalla. I think it is an ideal place to live.
Take a look at this.
Ant races?
Oh.
The officials in the Center intend to tighten their grip on the city
and control people's lives to a greater extent.
However, I plan on leaving Valhalla the way it is now, as a free area.
There was a scientist that had been working for me for the past
while, but he ran away. He intends to open a portal to the Abyss,
and summon a horde of demons to the surface. The reason I called you
here to my estate is that I would like you to find him and bring him
back to me. As you have won the tournament, I know that you are a
capable man... Would you please assist me?
Uh...
The scientist's name is Haneda.
Hanada?! Then Haneda isn't here!?
No, he is not. He has fled somewhere to the slum district.
Where, I do not know. I leave the matter in your hands, Hawk.
Oh yes, that's right. Let me lend you my pet to assist you in your search.
Kerberos, come here.
He is quite powerful, and surely will prove a trustworthy and
reliable helper.
Kerberos, don't just sit there, greet the man!
So, you're the new Champion, eh?
Normally I wouldn't associate with low-level weak humans
such as you, but as Madam requests it, I'll go along with you.
Very well. I look forward to hearing good news, Hawk.
And so off we go to the slums.
Not without meeting some new faces.
Not exactly a nice area. Hope Lydia brought some pepper spray.
Figures.
An old friend.
Let's make some new ones!
So to speak.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGnuW1hPquc
Bufula this early in the game? SMTII doesn't waste time.
I hate backseat demons.
Could be that you wind up being the final Champion.
This being a bad thing?...
Don't rush!
Gaia adherence has really been suffering.
The Temple Knights kill anyone openly practicing any other religion,
so we've been forced to go underground.
So not much has changed. Good to know!
Beyond a few chests, there's not much to keep us from finding the rogue scientist.
(Nocturne vets: don't those scrolls look familiar?)
This is the laboratory of the master genius,
the great Doctor Haneda! Stay out! I'm at a critical point here!
What? You've come to take me back!? Like hell you will!
A master genius like me needs to be able to perform his
experiments without restriction!
Since neither those thickheaded zealots in the center
nor that old fart Madam seem to understand that,
I've gone off to do my research by myself! And guess what
that unrestricted research has produced? Nothing less
than a tunnel straight to the Abyss!
No longer will I have to perform all these stupid menial tasks
by myself! From now on, I'll summon as many demons as I
need to help me! To start with, I'll take the artifacts I need...
It's decent, as doll collections go.
With the power contained within these four statues,
all I need to do is place them in the right formation in an
area whose energy is close to being in tune with the
Abyss... and the door will open! Behold!!
Wow, that Chinese dry wall really does suck.
Kill those little punks who want to disrupt my research!
W-w-wait... you're supposed to kill them... not..m-me..
Well, found dead is still found!
Oh, hi.
Kerberos made this a freebie, which was probably on purpose.
New additions!
And then we go back.
I shall let Madam know that you are here.
We couldn't bring Haneda back alive,
but you're a pretty tough one!
I like you, kid. I hope that we will meet again.
Bye doggy.
I had thought you would be able to bring
Haneda back alive... I'm a bit disappointed,
but what's done is done.
By the way, someone is here to see you.
He is a messenger from the Center.
Think! Remember your true name!
Your name is...
When they said the motel was cheap, they weren't kiddin'.
Whether or not you choose to be a servant
of God, or an agent of the demons..
Either way, it is a great gamble.
A gamble on which the fate of all humanity rests.
So, it is now time. Identify yourself as you will.
Now I'm seeing things, that's what I get for drinking straight from the...
Wait, what?
Who?
My name is Kenshi. I've been searching for you
for quite a long time! You might not remember it,
but you were originally a resident of the Center, Blendy.
Lydia, you have also been ordered to return to the Center.
The two of you should come with me. We are going back!
To think that you were a Center citizen all along...
What a shame, you wouldn't have had to go to all that trouble
risking your life in the Colosseum had you known.
This isn't the sort of place that you belong in.
Hurry and return to the Center!
[Messian Transport Go!]
Or should I say, you've finally returned!
In any case, I am overjoyed to see that you are both all right.
Here, this ID card is yours.
At last I can give it to its rightful owner!
As for you, Lydia, you should have known better than to run off like that.
The Temple Knights are our most glorious and prestigious order,
and it does not look well upon us when one of them decides to
arbitrarily leave leave the Center like that. I would like a full explanation
from you in a moment.
Guards! Could you escort Lydia inside to my office?
It's too bad that we never were able to find that little boy,
but I appreciate you sticking your neck out for me like that...
I hope I'll see you again!
Right before you were kidnapped and brought from the center,
Mekata erased your memories. As a result, you remember neither
your true identity nor the divine mission that was bestowed upon you.
Blendy, you are to become our Savior. Your birth was a fulfillment
of the ancient prophecy foretold by John in the book of Revelations...
You are destined to become the Messiah!
You have been given wondrous powers with which you can
bring salvation to the people of the world!
In the past, a great city known as Tokyo once stood upon this land,
but was destroyed in a cataclysmic war.
From the ashes of the city, we built a new city- this "Millennium."
Millennium's purpose is to actualize the Thousand Year Kingdom,
an age where the people will live in peace forever.
And in order for Millennium to truly become the Thousand Year
Kingdom, we needed a Messiah to guide us.
And so, you were born. In you, God himself as given unto us a savior.
To aid you in this, your most holiest of missions, God also gave us one
that would be a fitting partner for the one who would become the Messiah.
Rachel, you may enter.
But don't worry. I am with you now, and will remain so from now on.
You'll soon start to remember things you've forgotten, a little bit at a
time, and you will eventually return to your old self.
And I will never leave your side, ever...
Uh... can I have the other girl back?
...district of Holytown.
King Frost has frozen over the entire area with his powerful
ice magic. And if that weren't enough, Basilisk is also rampaging there,
breathing thick clouds of its deadly toxic breath throughout the entire
district, claiming many innocent lives.
Please, save the people of Holytown! Go into the western exit from
the Center. If you enter the passcode 0352 in the security door there,
you can enter Holytown.
And so, welcome to the Center of the new Millennium.
Welcome to hell.
Next time: New Millennia, New Stupidity
These are the Messians, they aren't the most creative of people
CJ, why aren't you posting the music for this game? It's pretty good all through
Yeah, we'll see about that, I guess.
The Messians be getting Holy all up in's, yo. Don't be dissin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GLB7h3zeFs
I've hit a roadblock of lack of preparation. The next boss, King Frost, is a beast.
I'm assembling an army(and stats) to melt him.
You're going down, ho.
So yeah, this is still going, rest assured.
And so, a taste of things to come.
You mean this guy?
Gaians: All is forgiven, sign me up.
Welcome back, cj! Hope to see some updates soon.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Hey, do you still remember the
password to get up to Floor 21?
In case you've forgotten, it's 5261.
Not necessary just yet, but good to know.
Yet.
..breathing poison air everywhere. Not the type of place I'd want to be right now!
Believe me, I can relate.
The north leads to Valhalla,
the east leads to Arcadia,
the west entrance leads to Holytown,
and the south entrance leads to the Factory.
We can only access two of those routes at present.
I think it's odd that we would use that kind of currency
in a god-fearing country like Millennium.
Just a bit.
Moving along, but there's not a whole lot to see in the Center.
At least Valhalla was friendlier.
Couldn't get through this door, either, so may as well head off to Holytown.
Here's some world map music, it's pretty catchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=A4iOesA05ZY&feature=related
This is the Center. It's huge. Bear huge.
Tower of Babel huge.
This is where we're headed.
The journey is pretty uneventful, except for...
It's been a while since I've seen you!
I'm glad to see you.
This is Code Breaker! Play it! It's fun!
You just have to guess my number!
That guy. I didn't have enough Metal Cards to make much of an attempt, but it seemed fun.
Another time, effendi.
Off to Holytown!
It's very frosty.
And full of jerk demons.
This stupid Garm. I never could get a single one to join. Maybe I was underleveled, but screw him.
Then die.
One of the legendary beasts of Holytown.
He shows up, runs away, or poisons the group, then runs away.
This is where the King is chilling. He kicked our tails.
(The game over sequence is... interesting, I can try and dig it up, if there's interest.)
Rewind!
I went to do some recruitment and leveling, in that order.
Which means out with the old...
In with the pyromaniacs.
Oh yes.
Fight ice with fire, or something.
Good demon for negating ice magic.
So on the trip back, Basilisk decided he wanted to fight.
Nice try, birdie.
Got a new demon, too. Unlike later games, these types of demons CAN join through conversation.
He's a physical beast, too.
So let's go back.
The Holytown interior is even frostier.
Easy dungeon, fortunately.
Go back to Chernobyl, Trish.
In other words, highway robbery.
Isn't he talkative?
I'm really in a good mood!
I get to freeze whatever I want to!
Hee ho! Hee ho...?
What? You want to stop me?
Then I'll freeze YOU! Hee ho!
Video, you might want to watch this if you care to see how I broke SMTII like I broke SMTI.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jeX87OMIQ4
And down he goes, bringing Holytown back to normal, aside from the silly name.
Really gross it is.
Sell it I cannot.
It's full of these Stalker guys. They creep me out.
Look familiar? Am I messing with that? Hell no.
(I bet it's for an uber boss later on.)
Our first Angelic rep. She was a beast. No negotiating, just pain.
Good XP, though.
May as well head home, there wasn't much else in Holytown but more of the iron mask guys.
Driving the demons out of Holytown.
While you were gone, I debriefed Lydia,
and she told me about Hanada's death.
It would seem the man had far too much
confidence in his own abilities.
With him gone, the only rebel left is Mekata...
But where on earth is he, I wonder?
He is a dangerous man, far more dangerous
than Hanada was.
If we leave him be, there's no telling what he might do!
Yesss? Oh, him.
I see... thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Blendy, it would appear that we have another
emergency on our hands. Within the Factory district,
there is a large excavation and mining project being
undertaken underground. The evil demon Betelgeuse
has appeared there and has taken over the entire site.
At the same time, and perhaps as a result of his influence,
several of the Demi-Nandi that we have been breeding
for food have gone on a rampage in the farming areas of
the district.
The Factory is an essential part of our city. and both its
resources and the workers there are in grave danger!
Please, defeat Betelgeuse and the Demi-Nandi,
and save the citizens of the factory!
You can get to the Factory through an underground tunnel
from the Center's southern exit.
We're so Messian-whipped, off we go again.
Five Temple Knights is Sir Pokey.
Who cares about him? It's not as if he's going to play an important role or anything.
That can't be good, probably Betelgeuse's influence.
Hopefully.
And off to the Factory.
It's less than pleasant.
I think this was the music here, I could be wrong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=LQ_GdxPuiuo&feature=related
Getting worse. I really like the background here during the battles, it conveys how bleak this area is.
Hitoshura it isn't; they're easily dealt with.
Deeper and deeper into [strike]Beetlejuice's[/strike] Betelgeuse's lair.
More quakes.
Hey, I met your cousin in Devil Summoner (Raidou) 2.
These guys were too tough to kill, I ran.
Yay, dark mazes! Not quite as bad as SMT1's. Not yet anyway.
I found some awesome weapons here which may or may not have been rare drops. I'm lucky like that.
So after some traveling, I figured I'd eventually have an idea of when we were close to the big bad's lair.
Nope.
KILL IT WITH FIRE
That thing scared me half to death, since it literally jumps onto the screen after you plunge into an opening in a dark maze.
Sorry, no recording, I wasn't ready for it. But rest assured, it died nasty.
It hit harder than King Frost, but no nasty ice magics.
Lots of XP.
Now I can finally work at full strength!
Congratulations! ...I think.
You'd better not get too close,
it's dangerous here!
Ah, they're back!
For some reason, boss music played here. For one of them.
They're engineered using Majuu Nandi as a base.
We butcher them and use them for food.
Yummy.
It's where we produce all the commodities
that the residents need to survive.
PETA would have a field day here.
He joined up at random, no complaints here.
I made tons of cash in the mines, so time to stock up on some better firepower.
(Would you believe I fought Betelgeuse without knowing there was a town was to the northeast of the mines?)
Messians: you suffer, they profit.
Justified by their deity at that.
Do they really enjoy working that much?
Call me skeptical.
Deja vu!
Here is the latest news from Millenium.
We have just received a report that Blendy,
the Colosseum champion,
was actually a resident of the Center all along.
He has been given a new ID card and has returned to living in the Center.
I know that guy!
Time to get gone.
Home sweet home, sort of.
Citizens of the city.
Thanks a lot, I don't know what we'd do without you.
By the way, there's something I've been
meaning to show you for a while.
Head to the Arcadia area. Arcadia is an experimental
area of the city we've been working on to try and
create an ideal world for the coming of the Thousand
Year Kingdom. It's got special environmental controls,
technology, and... well, you should see for yourself.
Anyhow, Cassio is there, do you remember him?
If you still can't, you should go see him.
Maybe he'll jog your memory!
Arcadia can be reached from the eastern gate of the Center.
The passcode to get in is 9103.
With a name like Arcadia, I'm sure it's a very happy place.
Next time: Alex, Oh Alexxxxxx
I never liked SMT2 as much as I liked SMT1, though the interface and combat is a little better.
Auto battle is a lot better. I can actually tell what's happening, and I can set it so that the demons and humans all do the exact same thing.
Fusion also has skill inheritance.
Still no compendium, though.
The dungeons have actual interior design, so that's a huge plus. The visuals are much better overall.
The text scroll is horrible, but that might have been a translation hacking issue.
I think that was, as are the incorrect spell names, and the odd glitch or two in the status page
Oh well, waiting for the next!
I wish you best of luck playing through it.
What.
Arcadia is kind of underwhelming, to be honest. It was much more impressive in Imagine.
I thought there'd at least be new music. So yeah, #4's in the works.
I want my compendium! (And more demon slots! Stephen!)
Also, I think the backgrounds in the sprite pictures make up for it. It helps spurn the imagination.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Sort of.
Also, I thought there might have been the first choice coming up, but it seems to be a 'but thou must!' situation. Someone who's played SMTII might want to help me on this one.
Return to Valhalla spoilers:
Sort of.
He looks less creepy in human form. Not too impressed by his skills, maybe later.
Boo. Alignment sucks. (I bet we're heavy Law.)
Well, at least I have a dwarf... thing.
And off we go to Arcadia.
COMP access required. Picky clientele.
Well, it's certainly blue.
(This same place is a key location in the MMO, I'll post some pics of it to compare later.)
It is only fitting that a strong, beautiful man such as myself
be chosen to live in Arcadia!
Look! Look at my beautiful body! My rippling muscles,
my exquisite face, ah!
Uh, okay.
Moving on!
...and it's all thanks to Lord Cassio!
Lord Cassio is truly our savior! He's in the mansion
at the end of the path that runs through the trees.
This is truly an ideal world!
For them, anyway.
worrying about any of the disasters
or tragedies in the outside world.
However, we still cannot escape death.
If we can find the secret to immortality,
then we will have nothing left to fear.
No kidding.
Took a bit of searching to realize Cassio's crib really was hidden.
It's been quite a long time, Blendy.
It's me, Cassio. Do you remember me?
So, what do you think of the Arcadia Area?
While you were gone missing, I was put
in charge of this area, and have built it
into a microcosm of a future utopian world.
As I'm sure you already know, Millenium
is trying to bring the Thousand Year Kingdom
into reality. The Arcadia Area here is an
experimental test case in an isolated
environment, to see what kind of world we can
create once the Thousand Year Kingdom
becomes reality.
So far it's been a great success.
Here there are no demons, and hence no
need to fight, and interpersonal conflicts
between individuals have been eradicated
as well.. Everyone lives in peace and harmony.
Once the entire world has been made like Arcadia,
we really can say that the Thousand Year Kingdom
has come! Blendy, if you like it here, you can
come back whenever you desire.
You are always welcome here in the halls of Arcadia.
All right then. Please go back to the Center and tell
Kenshi that Arcadia has been an overwhelming success.
Sounds easy enough.
(I hope I'm not the only one who sees Rome parallels in all this, aside from the Islander color scheme)
Not hard to get back, either.
I didn't do it, I swear!
I haven't got time to explain, go talk to the Bishop!
Jehovah's witnesses again? It's okay, I brought guns.
The demons have finally managed to break into
the Center! And what's worse, the anti-Messiah
has also shown himself! This false savior is
deviously manipulating the innocent populace!
If we let him continue, Millennium will surely fall
into a state of utter chaos! We have been receiving
reports of the Anti-Messiah's activity from both
Holytown and Valhalla, but we don't know exactly
where he is at the present time.
For what reason is he claiming to be the Savior?
Please, try and find out.
But he could be anyw-
Oh.
Good luck with that!
So much for defending the home turf.
May as well go find this idiot.
Here is the latest news from Millennium.
There have been a great many reports lately of
a hero running throughout Millennium, saving the
people and performing valiant deeds. Many
suspect that he may be the Messiah.
He is currently at Valhalla Colosseum, and hopes
to fight Blendy, also rumored to be the Messiah, in
order to prove that he is indeed the Savior of prophecy.
Well, I'd hate to be that gu-
...
Crap.
You're gonna fight Pokey here in the ring.
Uh...
Ok then, I'll fill you in on the details.
Rumor has it out on the street that Pokey
is the true Messiah that the fatcats in the
Center have been talking about all these
years. He himself claims to be the Messiah,
and to prove it, he says he wants to fight you.
Since both of you are rumored to be the Messiah,
to have you duke it out in our arena is a profitable
story for us. So we set up a special match for you
to decide things once and for all right here!
Then he can wait some more!
...oh, fine.
How dare you deceive the people the way you have,
extending a false hand of salvation!
Just like the prophecy foretold, you are indeed
the Anti-Messiah! For the fate of the world, and
the fate of humanity...
I cannot let you live!
The false savior, the Anti-Messiah!
Nice guy.
So we go back through again.
Along with some taunting from the idiot populace.
The Rival's waiting in the same place The Red Bear was.
You could have run like a scared dog so easily.
But it is God's will that you be struck down!
Prepare yourself, Anti-Messiah!
In the name of the true Messiah, I shall defeat you!
He was pathetic.
And stubborn.
Cue uber attack!
Which really wasn't all that deadly...
Hey, out of the w-
Yeesh, never mind. Thanks for that!
How dare you do something as underhanded
as using that poor woman as a shield!
But she-
Screw it.
The pointy end goes into your neck, for starters...
Well, then.
Do we let him live, or die?
If you want my preference...
Also, why did you make his lines red? It seemed like he was with the Mesians - or at least, talking about how he was appointed by God and all that.
Also, supposedly he's responsible for the demon infestation of the Center, though I could be wrong.