Expect the next part, including the first boss battle video, either tomorrow or Saturday.
Things to look forward to:
1. Nate's Persona using a spell it doesn't actually have at all!
2. Me taking the boss and his four cronies out in two attacks. Half of my party didn't even get to act!
3. Me not noticing that John gained two levels instead of one and getting really confused about why it wasn't letting me confirm the three points I spent (because I had to spend 6 actually).
Here we are. The secret cargo entrance... Figures that punk Guido would pick a place like this to do his dirty work.
Mary has her priorities in order.
Wait a minute...Mark, you used to come here a lot, right? Heck yeah!! My band, "Terrors" used to mess it up and use this place as our studio all the time. If you used to play here a lot, didn't you know that Sebec used this place, too?
Shut up! Stupid is as stupid doesn't! What?! "Stupid is as stupid does!" You moron!! Ha ha ha! Just forget it, you two. Let's look for the entrance.
Before they can [strike]let John do all the work[/strike] split up to find the entrance, there is a loud crash from behind them.
Hey I see someone! Who's there? Come out!
The camera pans to the source of the noise, as Alana's totally awesome leitmotif starts playing
Alana!? What happened to the school? Where is everyone? You ran away by yourself? How should I know? I want to know what's going on. Relax, Mary. The disappearance of school has something to do with Guido's machine...It would be faster to find Guido and force him to return things back to normal. I'm coming, too! I don't want to stay here alone. Alana...Well, what's up? Should we just take her with us? Nah, I think I'm gonna hold out for the shirtless guy. What's with everyone!? Fine then! I hope you all die! Aw, man! I hope they all die, too! Now I wish I said yes. Too late, I'm leaving!
I feel sorry for Alana. Anyway, there should be a slot for this Security Card in here somewhere. Let's spread out and find it.
This one is a little less obvious than the giant box that says KEY on it, but only slightly.
Mostly because the keycard slot is a lot smaller.
As soon as we find it Mark comes running up.
So here it is! What is it? John found the slot for the Security Card! John....Use it now! Wait a minute! We don't know what will happen, so let's think first! Never mind that! Let me see...
Mark inserts the card and immediately things go crazy. The screen starts shaking, the lights go in and out and, in general, things are hectic. Nate, of course, takes this as a chance to gloat.
See I told you! What's going on? The lights are going crazy!
Suddenly, the floor opens and an elevator rises up from below.
Notice how close Nate is. He very nearly fell in.
Wow! Look at all this! So this is how they did it! This is exciting! Stop it, Mark! Are you trying to get me killed? Oh, my bad! I didn't mean to do that... Damn, I'll get him someday! You know, Mary's immune to magic and I'm close enough to you that a well placed Nuke More wouldn't hit me...I'm just saying. Heh heh heh...That's not a bad idea... Mark! John! Come down here! Crap! You think she heard that? I don't know, man, but we better get down there before she yells again.
Once everyone regroups below, Nate goes into lecture mode.
Listen Mark! Don't ever touch things without knowing what it is! Ookay. Let's go John!
We take the elevator down to the underground path.
Well, this doesn't seem so bad for a change. No more twists, no more turns. Just a nice, long, single hallway.
Fortunately for John, this place still isn't too bad. There's a few more turns, but most of them are very short and you can see where they lead, if anywhere, on the mini-map. Of course, if you're not observant it can still be a bit complicated.
All right, we have been all over this stupid place, and there is nothing but dead ends. What gives? Well, you did ignore that giant lever over there. What? What lever? There's no lever!
Ooooh, THAT lever!
Okay, let's go.
The second half of the corridors is even easier than the first. The side passages are even shorter, and the mini map makes it even more obvious where you're supposed to go.
Eventually, we hit the stairs in the North-East corner, which leads into the Sebec building proper.
The boxes contain one Herb and two Ripobitan (stronger Herbs). Not even Guido's building is safe from becoming warped and infested with demons. The very first door we come to in the Sebec building is home to a very...interesting new character.
Hahaha WHAT?
I can't live without money! So, gimme gimme! You can be rejuvinated if you pay the price! So, let me get this straight...in exchange for outrageous amounts of money, you will heal us all to full? Right! So...you do know that Mary here can heal us all to full for like 8 SP and then that 8 SP will be recovered by just walking around, right? ... ... So, do you want some healing? Not even a tiny little bit.
Okay, then. Let's get out of here.
With Kelly out of the way, let's take a look at the Sebec Building
The X'd out exclamation mark is one of those damage floors I talked about last time. To stress how unimportant they are, there are approximately two of them in the entire dungeon, and this one did a grand total of one damage to my entire party.
We're told that Guido is on the top floor, but it's not that easy, of course. We have to take the elevator to the fifth floor
Where we follow a long twisty hallway to a stairway down, which we take all the way back down to the first floor
(There's the other damage tile, for the record. As well as a save point and a second Kelly room)
From here we go all the way back up to the fifth floor. It's not very confusing or twisty, just long.
Well, that's not an obvious door or anything. Nope, I'm sure this is just a bathroom or something else equally unimportant. Lots of bathrooms have doors with gold trim, right?
I'm sorry, Boss! She slipped away! Damn! You're pathetic, Tiny. Oh well, leave her, she's wounded and can't go too far. Let's make the Deva System work fast. Yes, sir! They're in there...John are you ready? Gee, Nate, do you think we could maybe leave and come back next week? Of course I'm ready!
Ready to KICK ASS, that is.
Have we become a preschool?
You haven't changed a bit, Guido. Using others for your own dirty work...Aren't you crossing the line of authority? These events...Is Chairman Powell aware of them? Greetings to the heir of the Trinity Group Trust. That old man Powell doesn't know a thing. But, too bad...A person of your stature shouldn't involve himself in things he doesn't know about. Go back to your mommy! Oh, that old butler...What was his name? You arrogant fool! I will never forgive you! Hey, old man! Don't be acting like you have all the time in the world. It's payback, man! So, this is Guido! ..... These kids need to be taught a lesson...Tiny, kill them! Don't make a mess, though. This is my favorite room.
He never went out the door. There must be a trap door somewhere! That's Guido...? I've seen him somewhere... What happened, Mary? You look like you've seen a ghost. What? I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. Hurry, let's go after him!
And it's time for another round of "everyone stands around like a loser while John finds the key/slot/button"!
It's here, by the way. On his desk. Kind of obviously.
Pressing it causes the giant Sebec logo to slide away and reveal a secret door.
Bingo! You did it John! A hidden corridor! Guido sure likes his toys! John! Let's go after them! That's pretty impressive, actually. I know! Who would have thought there'd be a secret passageway? No, not that. The fact that he was able to get to his desk, hit the button, wait for the door to open, make his way through the door, and get the door to close again all in the twenty seconds it took us to kill his lame ass hitman. Anyway, to the Deva Machine!
We head through the door and take Guido's personal elevator all the way down to B1. Things get kind of tricky in a dungeon for the first time on the way to the Deva Machine, though.
Whoa. Who turned off the lights? Heh...now's my chance to make a move on Mary! Aaah! John, watch out! Something just grabbed me! Oh, man, that was you?! Crap! Where'd Mary go?! I'm over here, you guys. It's not that far if you'd stop freaking out... ...We never speak of this again. Agreed.
Past the blackout field, we finally catch up with Guido. And just in time, too, because he's putting the finishing touches on his Deva Machine.
You should reconsider, Mr. Sardenia. Stop the machine now and amend your evil deeds!
That's ludicrous. The human race is the one who should attone their sins. I'm just Virgil leading them to their destiny. We didn't have to send that boy to the great divide between two dimensions! Do you plan to kill everyone who stands in the way of your plan? I won't allow anyone to interfere with my plans. Judgement will fall. It's just a matter of time.
John and friends rush forward to stop Guido.
Where the heck do you think you're going, you stupid geezer!? Oh...So you managed to defeat Tiny? Hmm...I'm not surprised. That man was a bit weak. It's time for you to die, Guido! Haha, such loud dogs! I don't have time to play with you kids. I have a job to do. Come, Dr. Nicholas.
Guido and Dr. Nicholas enter the Deva Machine.
Yo, wait up!! So this is the machine! What is he planning on doing!? This machine! I...Why..? Why do I know this machine!?
Suddenly, the machine starts going haywire and shakes violently.
What's this? Wh...what's...going...on? My...My body is fading away! You are finished, Mr. Sardenia! You will die with me! You involved me in this unforgivable attempt to annihilate the human race! You must pay for that! Nicholas! You...You tricked me!! Kids! When we break up into atoms, this machine will stop! And this town will return back to normal! Run for safety! Hey kids!! Stop the machine! That old doctor...Trying to play the hero... Let's help him! Dr. Nicholas doesn't have to end his life for Guido, too! We came here to kill Guido not the others he cruelly used. Wait! Dr. Nicholas is trying to take responsibility for creating this machine...We should honor his will. Besides, we don't even know how to stop the machine. If only there were someone here who seems to know more than she should about all this. John! Here! We can stop the machine! There we go. This red button here is the emergency stop! The blue button is the booster! Push the red button, and we can help him!
This seems like one of those choices that really determines the value of a man, huh? ...Eenie-Meenie-Miney-Moe... John! Okay, okay, I'm just kidding. I'm pressing the red button, obviously.
But, pressing the red button doesn't seem to help, as the machine keeps rocking violently. Finally, though, the machine seems to calm down.
Yes...I...I can hear you calling me! This is impossible! My plans were perfect! Could it be that girl??
The screen flashes white and when it fades back in, there's a new visitor in the room
Hahahaha!! Fools! I will not die! Take me to your world!! W...What the..? Damn! How could this be!?
The Girl in Black hits us with some sort of power that causes the whole room to shake and fade from view.
We seem to have been dumped in an old building with hardwood floors. Are we dead? Maybe we're dead.
Owww...
Oh. Well, I guess we're not dead.
Mary! You OK?
Mary manages to get to her feet, too. As does John.
Dude, Nate's dead! Awesome! Uhhhh!... Aw, man... What is this place? Oh, John! You're alive! Looks like we're all fine. Luck must be on our side. Hey, this is our school gym that was demolished half a year ago. I see now...We seem to have come back... Come back? Six months? Are you sure you're OK, Mary? Slipped back in time? It's so different from your mother's story, Mary. May I repeat it again, I don't have a mother. Maybe what Bruce was saying was true!
Before anyone can explain to Mary that she has to have a mother to have been born, a student barges into the gym
"Bruce was seriously injured! That girl in the black dress came again."
No, no! Bruce!
Mary rushes out the door, presumably to check on Bruce.
Hey, Mary! Is Bruce the one who's been missing for two months now? Stupid girl...What was she thinking? Doesn't she know any better? John, let's follow her.
On our way out, Nate interrogates the student in an effort to figure out what's going on:
"Rude as usual...It's a month from today! How could you forget?" The dates are the same. Hey, what grade am I in? "What!? We're all juniors. What're you talking about? Ha ha ha...I'm telling everyone about this!" The same year, too... I don't get this! Wait a minute, I get it! What!? Hurry and tell me! It's irony! His name is TINY because he's so BIG! ...Goddamnit John.
Next time: John finally lets someone else join the party!
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
I just read through all of the updates, and this is a really enjoyable LP. Thanks for the time and effort that you've put in to it. I'm going to do my best to catch up with you on my PSP copy so I can follow along at home so to speak. I could play the PSX version, I guess, but I'd rather not have to figure out where I put all of those old memory cards.
I just read through all of the updates, and this is a really enjoyable LP. Thanks for the time and effort that you've put in to it. I'm going to do my best to catch up with you on my PSP copy so I can follow along at home so to speak. I could play the PSX version, I guess, but I'd rather not have to figure out where I put all of those old memory cards.
Thanks. I'm really glad that people are enjoying this, I was pretty nervous, since it's my first Let's Play.
Update should be coming around Wednesday-ish, and then a bit more regularly after that. I'm not sure how interesting you guys will find the boss videos, sadly...I've played ahead a decent bit, up through the next to last boss, and well, let's just say none of them have lasted more than two turns except for one that held out a full four by spamming a healing spell and never attacking.
When we last left our ragtag bunch of teenagers with attitude, they had been sucked through some sort of vortex created by the little girl in a black dress and teleported to their school...apparently six months in the past, or something. Let's tune in.
There definitely used to be a hole there. How wacky! Let's go see what else is just different enough to strike us as weird!
We're back in school for the third time. I couldn't for the life of me find the music used for this visit, unfortunately.
Oh, John! Are you hurt somewhere? Ms. Beverly! ......... Dude, you made her feel left out. Ms. Smith! Ms. Smith, it feels like such a long time since we last met... ......... She...She's so depressing! That is so unlike her. Wacky!
Let's leave Ms. Smith to stand around the infirmary all depressed. It's no fun to aggrivate depressed people.
You know who it is fun to aggrivate, though?
It hasn't been that long... I suppose so...We just played Persona, went to visit Mary, and then...You left right after we rescued Mary's mom... And then you opened that box even though I specifically told T.J. to tell you I thought it was shifty! .....? You were there too! Playing Persona? Visiting Mary? Rescuing..? What are you talking about? ...You don't remember? Or, maybe you're not the Yuki that we know... Now that you mention it, she doesn't look very trustworthy. Or respectable! ...Whatever it is, I think we should get out of here.
Aargh! What's going on here!? I don't understand any of this! There, there, Nate. It'll all be okay. Hey, I know what'll cheer you up, wanna go laugh at poor people? ... ...You mean it? Sure, let's go find T.J., okay? Okay... Thanks, John. Haha, this is gonna be great. ?
My daddy is going to hire a bodyguard to protect me from those demons. You guys should have your parents do the same. Oops, sorry...I guess you guys can't afford it...
Isn't that T.J.? What's up with her? Was she always like that!? Oh, it's Nate...Are you still hanging around those losers? It's not like I want to... Those losers...Yo, wassup girl!? Are you calling us losers!? True...These guys are losers...But it pisses me off hearing others say it. That's almost nice of you, Nate. Are you sure you're feeling okay? Shut up! You knew this was going to happen, didn't you? Haha, totally. Let's go find Mary!
Is that really you, John? I never thought I'd ever see anyone from our world again!
Wassup? Are you Bruce? The one that's been missing? Seriously, dude! At least TRY to keep up. Yeah, it's me! I somehow came to this world with Selina two months ago. I came from the same world as all of you! You just said "world". You mean this isn't the past but another world? Right. I thought it was the past, too. This town looks just like our town did a year ago...Although there are some things that aren't the same...For instance the Police Station is now a forest and the Hospital is a castle. This place, for Mary, has been a utopia. It's been like paradise up until a month ago. Parallel worlds...You mean a world like ours exists among many worlds...in a parallel universe? Are you serious? Everyone was thinking you eloped with Selina. Now you're telling us we're in another world? Whatever... This doesn't make any logical sense. But after Guido built his machine, I guess anything is possible... Well, it's possible...
Dun dun dunnnn! Wait! You mean this Mary we see isn't the Mary we know from our world? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to deceive you...But I wasn't sure until I came back to this world. I never thought that there could be parallel worlds or that I'd end up in one. Oh, that explains why you were acting so strangely. I fell asleep in the classroom, and I woke up in a different world...It took me a while to realize this. What the...? Then that means the real Mary is still somewhere in the hospital! Why couldn't you tell us this earlier, uhmm...Mary!? I'm really sorry, but you wouldn't have believed me. And, I thought that if we killed Guido, both worlds would return to normal...I was going to tell you when it was all over. Hmm, OK...So Selina hasn't been seen since that girl took her? Yeah...I can't believe I couldn't do anything for her! It's so darn frustrating!
Suddenly, the screen shakes and everyone freaks out.
I don't believe it! That girl again?
I eliminated the exits so no one can escape! Ha! Ha! Ha! That's such a staccato laugh...is this a recording? It's that girl! Did she say she erased the exits? If demons start coming...We'll all die! Damn! I have to go! That's the spirit! Everybody panic! PANICING ALWAYS HELPS! No, Bruce! Don't go alone! Everyone stay together! We must do something! I don't know what going on, but we can't stay here. Let's go John!
And go we do, out into a new dungeon. "Demon Hermelion" as it's called is probably the first dungeon in the game that can present any sort of challenge. The design is more confusing, with more dead-ends and branching paths, and the encounter rate is higher. The demons are capable of doing some good damage, too, even if they don't exactly look threatening...
Possessed toilets and basketballs make up most of what we fight. The toilets have some strong magic, especially "Evildark" magic like Curse and Dead. These are especially dangerous for Mary who is equipped with a "Holylight" Persona and therefore takes increased damage from these spells. A Curse spell that normally ticks off 1/8th of the victim's health at the end of the round will leave Mary with only one HP. Fortunately, she still has the amazing Heal All and is capable of making sure everyone's at full at all times. John and Mark have enough magical power between Ice All and Nuke More to end most fights in one round as well. The biggest threat is being ambushed by a group like this.
Beyond that, there's not much of interest in the school. Most rooms have students that freak out about the demons and the little girl in black. There's a Velvet Room near the start of the dungeon, but our Persona layout is still pretty good for the next dungeon or two so we leave that alone, too. The only interesting bit of the dungeon is on floor 4.
That trap tile is the game's way of making sure you go into that room, there. Step on it, and...
Down you go to the floor below. We'll be seeing these trapdoors a lot more in an upcoming dungeon, so keep them in mind. Let's make the game happy and head into that classroom, then...
Oh! Are you all right? Wait! There's a demon!
:twisted: Here I come! I'm going to be feasting tonight! Hey you! Get back! It's dangerous! Wh!? ...Chris!? You guys? Get back, this guy is mine!
:twisted: Ha, you think you're a man, do you? Well, it's your lucky day! You'll be the first to die! That way you won't have to see your friends suffer! I'd like to see you try killing me! You're going to die!
Dude are you summoning a Persona or doing Flashdance? ...
Oh. Guess it was the Persona thing. I just wasn't sure, is all.
Mark hasn't yet caught on to the fact that everyone we have ever met can summon a Persona.
What? You guys, too? That is correct. By the way, you look like the real Chris, are you? What do you mean? This world is not the real world you know...How should I explain it... He sent us to a world similar to our own. Didn't you hear this before? Guido and the scientist were talking of a boy who was sent to a place between worlds. That's you, isn't it? How did you get here if you were sent to that transdimensional place? Why are you after him? ...I was floating around in a place where nothing made any sense...Then, I found a child dressed in white. When I woke up, I was here, the child was gone. That's it...I don't remember anything else. A girl dressed in white? Alright, alright. We'll find a way to get Guido and go back home. Come with us, your mother must be worried sick about you by now. What? Guido's here? In that case, I'm going with you. Great! My name is Mary! How do you do, Chris! .... What? Do I have something on my face?
Aww, Mark's jealous. Anyway, we finally have our fifth and final member of the party! Let's rank up his Persona and take a look at what he can do.
Fittingly enough for joining so late, Guni is the best of the starters. Twinslash is a decent physical attack. Curse is the Evildark version of Voodoo's Holy. Berserk and AttackBack are fairly unique if useless spells. Berserk puts one character in Berserk status, which greatly increases his or her attack power at the expense of no longer being able to control that character. Casting Attack Back allows a character to counter physical attacks directed at them. Magic Seal is basically useless and just stops an enemy from casting spells which sounds nice except all the enemies with dangerous spells are immune to status magic (or worse, reflect it back at us). Sonar is a fairly powerful AoE spell.
With that out of the way, it's time to head to the final area of the dungeon and kick a little girl's ass.
This glass door with a giant field behind looks like a promising area for a boss fight!
Well what do you know, I was right!
Ahh...! You interfered with my daddy's work! Return the school back to the way it should be! If you don't, I'll spank you until your butt swells to twice its size! No!! Maggie only listens to Daddy! Try if you can! You flat-chested woman! Flat...! Now that upsets me! I hate this child! Take it easy, Mary. She's just a child. Talk to her...be nice. Shut up you loser! Loser! Loser! Loser! Oh my god, this kid is awesome. You want to join my party, kid? ...You...This little brat! Calm down, loser. Nate...!! How about if I kill you instead? Quiet! This is a suitable place for you to die!! Abra Kadabra! Kill them, RoboRat!
Well...it lasted longer than Tiny, at least... Shoot! I'll tell my daddy! My daddy is so strong. He'll whip your butt!!
And with that...threat, She disappears.
Wait! Oh, she ran away again!
You know...we've never seen Bruce and the little girl at the same time...
Is everybody okay? Bruce! Are you okay? Yeah, the school at least is back to the way it should be. Thanks to you. I really appreciate this. By the way, there's someone I'd like you to meet. Can you come with me? For what reason? He's been kind to me and took me seriously when no one else would. He's been studying things, including parallel worlds. He may already have some of the answers to what is going on around here. Oh yeah? What kind of man is he to take your stories seriously? Well, if you meet him, you will know. I'll be in the library waiting for you guys. Hey hey! He left hopping on one leg. Chris, why don't you come? ...... Ha! You're never in sync with us...Be happy, man! ...Leave me alone. There he goes again. Well, shall we, John? Right. To the library!
I don't think I've mentioned this, but every time one of the male characters yells "Persauna" in battle, I want to punch somebody. Probably John, since his name doesn't match everybody else's capitalized name scheme, another thing that bugs me. Why do RPG developers let people do that? Why not force all caps upon the first name screen if all the other characters are going to have it?
I know, weird bitching to be having 8 parts in, but it was getting to me during that RoboRat video lol.
I don't think I've mentioned this, but every time one of the male characters yells "Persauna" in battle, I want to punch somebody. Probably John, since his name doesn't match everybody else's capitalized name scheme, another thing that bugs me. Why do RPG developers let people do that? Why not force all caps upon the first name screen if all the other characters are going to have it?
I know, weird bitching to be having 8 parts in, but it was getting to me during that RoboRat video lol.
I am always torn when I start a new game of this...do I make it all caps to fit with the battle screens or do I make it normal capitalization to match everyone outside battles? I tend to go for the latter because for some reason, the names are only capitalized in battle/status screens and in game it's normal. It gets on my nerves, too, though, don't worry.
And I have to see it a lot more than you! :P
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
I would like to take this time to state that I officially hate the experience system in this game.
I'm doing some grinding for you guys so you can see the super high level Personas (Think I might go and beat the final boss first at this point, once with "normal" Personas for the area, and once with the uber ones, could be interesting) and the scaled experience is starting to bug me. It may not look like it makes that much of a difference in the example in the first post, or in the videos, but those are times when everyone gets to go. In a normal fight when just one or two people act before the fight ends, the difference can be big.
I'm trying to record the final boss and every time I go to save the video, it gives me an error and doesn't save it...Gonna try a few more times, but we may end up having to screenshot it
The Anonymous brings up a good point that I may as well clarify right now.
There is no way in hell I am grinding up to level 99 so you can see Lucifer in action. Sorry.
...yeah, so...
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The AnonymousUh, uh, uhhhhhh...Uh, uh.Registered Userregular
edited August 2010
You rule :P
Also, if the SP cost seems prohibitively high, that's because at Rank 8 all of Lucifer's stats are maxed out. In other words, Chris/Reiji becomes a fucking invincible tank* capable of one-shotting [strike]everything[/strike] almost everything. All that's missing is Armageddon.
He's actually nearly useless against any high level Evildark enemy. They either absorb or worse, reflect, all of his spells. Honestly, I prefer Dark Angel for my "why are you this high a level what is wrong with you" high level Persona.
And the cost is pretty ridiculously high even with the stats given the fact that Chris has 900 SP on level 99 (and that's with a bunch of SP Sources pumped into him -- he'd probably be at about 850 normally) and is decently high in the two stats that matter (Agility and Technique), and so is only getting a boost of maybe 10-20 points in them. And he already has a 99 in Strength just through leveling+equipment, too.
All in all, Lucifer is more of a showpiece than anything else.
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The AnonymousUh, uh, uhhhhhh...Uh, uh.Registered Userregular
edited August 2010
*facepalm* I knew I was forgetting something. Still, it's Lucifer.
*facepalm* I knew I was forgetting something. Still, it's Lucifer.
"It's Lucifer" is a valid argument, it's true.
I wasn't planning on getting him, honestly. But I was grinding John and Nate to level 94 to make Abracab, so I figured I might as well.
Also, I'm probably not getting Ashura because I apparently missed a Spell Card from some demon somewhere, even though I encountered all of them and I'm pretty sure I contacted them all, but whatever. So unless I stumble onto the card I missed, no Ashura, so...Lucifer can make up for it.
When we last left off, John and co had just saved the school from the little girl in black by beating up a robot, and Bruce asked them to meet him in the library.
So...was that giant, evil, ominous door in the library in our world, too? ...No, John. Right. What about the loser in the makeup? Oh, yeah, sure, he was there.
And he was, I just never talked to him because he's only important for the Snow Queen Quest.
I hear you've experienced some rare phenomenons. I'm envious of you all.
Are you really Kain? It can't be! You're talking too normally to be Kain! Hmm...My other self in the other world must be such a weirdo. I'd like to meet him.
OK, down to business, my friendly visitors... I hear you've made studies about the two worlds. What have you discovered? Everything that happen [sic] seems to happen independently of each other. But, in truth, they are closely inter-related. This black door that appeared suddenly is no exception. Only people who are connected to the door may know the truth, and, sorry to say, I'm not one of them. So the reason why we're here is to try and unravel this whole mystery? I don't know who is responsible for this, or why he involved all of you...But it seems your job is exactly that. So, whoever this person may be, you must find and possibly destroy him. Anyone else worried about how non-chalantly a bunch of teenagers are talking about killing people? Just me? Okay, then. Guido Sardenia... I've heard that name! I hear beforehand how all these incidents would happen. These predictions were given to me by a gentleman at the Shrine. A gentleman? Man, what are you talking about!? Prophets usually wear rags!! They come in all forms, you idiot! Yo, wassup!? Are you calling me stupid!? Man, I outta beat your head in so you can be stupid just like me, then! ... Why don't the both of you just shut up!? THANK YOU.
Let the record show that John's line there is the only part of that I made up. Mary seems to have gotten smarter since returning to her own world, at least.
Yes, yes! He callled himself Philemon. Uh...Those two are.... Just forget them. They're always like this! John, let's go to the Shrine! I've seen him before, too. He might know where Guido is hiding! Right. To the shrine!
Upon leaving the school, though, we learn that the entire city is surrounded by a strange white mist.
Well, except for Guido's half, which is covered in darkness. This is actually symbolic. Of more than just "good" and "evil" but to go into it more now would be pretty big spoilers. Remember this, though!
No one's here...I think Kain tricked us! But Kain said this world seemed to be...What the...?
Hey Mark! It's that butterfly again... ...Is this a trap? If that butterfly does anything, I'll squash it. Oh...I feel dizzy...I can't see..!
Sure enough, everything goes black and then...
How are you, my friend? The world you are in now is Guido's world. He is trying to take over with his evil desires. If you follow him, you will find the truth about this world, and find your way back to your own world. Guido has taken over the East side of town and is looking for something. If he finds it, there will be no tomorrow for either your world or the world you're in now. You must stop him. You can go to the East side through the subway terminal, but it is protected by demons. To defeat the demons that guard the gate, you must find the pieces of the shattered Holy Mirror.
The screen fades again, and we return to the real world. Or the...fake world? The fake real world? The...we're back at the Shrine.
Guido is here, too? Good, it saves me the trouble of having to go look for him. He said that there's a demon in the Subway Station. And what's that...Mirror? What was that mirror called? Holy Mirror, you moron! We could cross over to the east side if we had it. I guess Guido wasn't satisfied with just taking over our town...I'll teach him not to fool around with me! I don't know anything about this Holy Mirror. I think I've heard of it before...John, what do you think? I think you suck. But seriously, it's a priceless artifact you guys, there is literally only one place it can be.
There it is! The Holy Mirror!
But before we can take the mirror and go kick Guido's ass...
What was that? A little girl's face appeared and told us not to take this Holy Mirror! I don't give a damn! I've got to get it! She looked like...Mae...
Mark invites the wrath of a little ghost girl and grabs the mirror. And then promptly gives it to John in order to save himself from divine retribution. To the subway!
The subway system is a dungeon, of course, but it is a very short and easy one. The trickiest aspect is actually a shortcut--a conveyor belt type floor trap that moves you from one end to the other. The catch is it only goes in one direction, from the end of the dungeon to the beginning. But, since it is right next to a very obvious set of stairs leading to a large empty room, if you step on it and get sent back to the start, it's really your own fault.
At the bottom of said stairs, inside the aforementioned giant room, we find the demon:
OK, then! Since you want to die so bad! Hey, John, let's kill him! Seriously, what is it with you guys and murder? It's getting kind of creepy. Stop complaining! Let's just kill this guy and go after Guido!
:twisted: Grrr...You have defeated me! My master is fond of strong people like you. Go now...
Turns out someone was watching our fight, though.
Oh no...These stupid humans killed the demon... I can't believe it! Maggie! You're here to cause trouble again, aren't you!? This is my house from this point on! I won't let you out once you come in! We'll just have to take our chances then. We have to get Guido! ...I won't let you! If you come in, you'll be sealed in forever! You stupid little girl! You've already tried that before, remember? It's about time you became a good little girl! I'll spank you if you don't! I'm not stupid! I have a better plan this time! Your next enemy is a really cute girl! Look forward to it! Abra Kadabra!
And with that, she's gone. Past this room is another small Subway dungeon, with the same moving floor trick. This time, though, it leads from the exit to the stairs down, so we can't use it as a quick exit. It'll be great if we need to cross back to the light side of town, though.
I haven't forgotten this, don't worry! Been alternating between busy and sick, so I haven't had the time/energy to update. It's not dead though, I promise! Update by Tuesday, and it'll be big to make up for the wait.
Had to split this one into two to make it under the character limit.
When we last left off, John and the others had just crossed through the subway into Guido's half of town. Rather than go after him right away, John opted to head to the store for some shopping.
The Black Market is the best place, ever. The stores have great equipment, the casino has powerful stones and rocks to give your Personas extra spells, and the Pharmacy sells ElixStones, which teach your Personas Elixir All, a healing spell that heals the whole party to full HP. It can be used as an item for the same effect, so it's a good idea to stock up on at least a few of them here, as it's the only place you can get them and when the store inventories change late in the game, you can't buy them anymore.
Alright, first order of business, we make Nate suck less and the rest of us rock even more. To the Velvet Room!
John AKA Azrael
STR 49
VIT 44
TEC 14
AGL 43
LUK 32
OMP 153
DMP 128
No Effect against Magic
Weak against Attack
Azrael is amazing. Wing Flap is fairly useless in the best of cases, and is literally entirely useless when considering John's placement on the battlefield--it can't hit anything (I had to shuffle them around to get him up to rank 2). Elixir All is from one of the ElixStones I mentioned, and makes a great Persona even better. Lighter is an upgrade of Ellen's Light spell, and does decent Holy damage to a small area. It's great for Evildark enemies, but only okay on everything else. Fear Song and Life are both bad, but Life is even worse. Fear Song is, as you might expect, a status spell and Fear is one of the less useful statuses, at that. Life is incredibly deceptively named. It doesn't revive dead party members; instead, it kills the user to bring all living members to full HP. Never use Life. Strength Up is amazing and we'll see it in action a couple bosses from now. Suffice to say in just two casts it can up damage from ~40 a hit to ~100 a hit. When coupled with the fact that most weapons and guns hit multiple times, and John's best guns hit seven times, this becomes insane very quickly. Judgement does high Dark damage to a wide area. It's essentially useless on Evildark enemies, but it can wipe out almost everything else in just one cast. And, hey, we have Lighter for Evildark guys anyway. Azrael will be with us for a long time. Like, "in the final battle" long.
Absorb Magic. As in "will be healed by all spells that don't deal Holy damage." That alone is enough to make her useful. Which is good because, really, that's all she has going for her naturally. Poison Pin and Dead are...okay, but if you want physical damage, it's better to just attack with your weapons, and Dead doesn't do enough damage to non Holylight demons to make it worthwhile. I added a Discharge Stone to give her Lightning, maximum electric damage to all enemies, just to make her valid as an attacker. She's an outstanding defensive Persona, though, and a huge upgrade for Nate.
Mark AKA Vidofnir
STR 29
VIT 22
TEC 27
AGL 51
LUK 41
OMP 157
DMP 127
No Effect against Wind
Weak against Gun
Gasious is another great one. Chill, Chill All, and Gust All are all fairly self-explanatory. Force does maximum Gravity damage to a wide area, and comes from a stone I bought at the Casino. Spike Claw is basically worthless, like all other physical spells. Holy Word is amazing. It is, essentially, the Holylight version of Judgement and as such is capable of taking out all non Holylight demons in its area of effect with just one cast. As a bonus, his agility is obviously great, which makes Mark actually able to compete with the likes of John and Mary.
Chris AKA Hel
STR 29
VIT 25
TEC 45
AGL 41
LUK 56
OMP 160
DMP 125
No Effect against Spirit
Hera is a special Persona. You can't make her the same way you make other Personas. You have to start with any combination that gives you a Persona of the appropriate Arcana (Death, in this case) and then add a specific item. For example if we fuse an Ifirit card and a Dribbler card, we normally would get the Inferno Persona, as so:
But, if we add in a Niple which we bought from the casino way back before the hospital:
I just bought it because it sounded like Nipple! Who knew it could be useful, too?
Hera is another mostly defensive Persona. No Effect against Spirit makes her immune to Holy and Dark spells, even with her Evildark nature. Her spells are basically useless. Curse is minor dark damage, Blind Light, Mezmerize, and Bad Luck are all status spells. Having played ahead through the ending, I can officially say that Trap Cure is the single most useless spell in the entire game. I stepped on every single tile in every single dungeon and the only damage tiles in the game are the two we already encountered in the Sebec Building. Hell Eyes is an instant death spell that works 100% on Holy demons and frequently enough on non-Holy/non-Evil demons that it's actually worth using. Chris can make good use of it, too, due to his position on the battle field. He spends most of his time in battle using that, and most of his time in bosses shooting his gun.
Alright, that's everyone, let's-- Um, John...? What? What about me? Tell me, Mary, is your Persona level 55? No, it's only 32... Well, then no new death god for you. Now, like I was saying, let's get rid of these old, useless Personas.
You can delete Personas you no longer need. This is as simple as transferring a currently unequiped Persona to Igor's stock, and then selecting delete. If your Persona is Rank 8, though, you get a little bonus.
We delete all the initial Personas, as well as John's Ixl. John, Mary, Mark, and Nate's starters all give stat up items, and Ixl gives a completely useless Illcure, which heals the Sick status which approximately one enemy in the game inflicts. Chris' starter persona, though, gives us a NukeStone. We can use this to teach a Persona the incredibly powerful Nuke More spell. We'll be saving that one for sure.
Well, we're all done here, so let's just go ahead an leave.
Uh...let's just go ahead and...
Well shit. Looks like we're stuck here. Maybe we can find some people that can explain what's going on...
Let's start here. The diners don't actually sell anything, so they have to exist for some reason, right?
Oooh...What's wrong with this atmosphere? The air is so damp...It smells like they haven't circulated the air in here for a month!
8-) "Yeah, I got a straight!" You're a shirtless dude in raver pants, fingerless gloves, and a fright wig. I highly doubt you have anything straight.
;-) "Our only hope is the Harem Queen! Ah yeah! Full House, baby!"
:x "They remind me of outside...Damn! I want to go outside..."
We all share the same fate. Quarreling won't get anyone anywhere! We're all servants of Her Majesty...The Harem Queen! No one may leave the market. The Queen has decided, and so it shall be. I suggest that you guys behave yourselves so that the Queen will favor you... You know, you're talking and all I'm hearing is 'beat up the Harem Queen.' Let's go! We don't have time to hang around! Let's just put an end to this stupid Queen! Mark's right for once! Let's go to the Queen and ask her to free us! That's...not what Mark said. He said...oh who cares let's go beat up a girl. To the Harem Queen!
The entrance to her lair is near the Velvet Room. I didn't get any screenshots because I suck and also was filled with dread. This dungeon. This dungeon, you guys. You don't even know. It is terrible. The floors are way too big to even attempt to screenshot so what I have done for you is I have scanned the maps from the OFFICIAL PERSONA 1 STRATEGY GUIDE so you can get an idea of how horrible this dungeon is.
The first three floors are deceptively simple, so they're not included. They're basically just an elevator/stairs leading down to the fourth floor or as I like to call it, the first circle of hell.
Those black and white boxes, of which there are so many that the entire alphabet is not enough to map them all? Trap doors. More than twenty-six trap doors, exactly one correct path to the end of the dungeon. It is infuriating and tedious, and awful, and every other negative adjective all rolled into one and just be glad you don't have to do it yourselves.
Along the way, there are a few dialog rooms, represented by the speech bubbles on the map. They're pretty decent indicators that you're on the right path, although even after the last one things can all go wrong and you'll end up having to do it all over again.
This painting! Selina painted this! Selina? Our Selina? I heard that she disappeared a long time ago!
Mark is the best character because he just never seems to be paying attention to all those exposition dumps. He's probably still wondering when we're going to get to the Hospital to visit Mary.
That's Selina's painting? Then why do they keep saying it's the Queen's painting..? I don't know...Maybe Selina was captured by the Harem Queen... ...seriously? That's your deduction? Like, for real?
When you talk to them, though, they seem less interested in why Selina's painting is here and more interested in commenting on how sucky it is:
Damn, this room is so childish. A kid must have made it. It's a pretty painting and all, but I don't really like it... This painting looks pretty nice if you just glance at it, but something's missing. The talent is there, but the artist's emotions are absent. It looks too fake! I don't have much interest in art, but this somehow this painting doesn't touch me like Mary's paintings.
The beefcake next to it seems to enjoy it, though.
:winky: This is the Queen's painting...Isn't it beautiful? The Queen is so talented and beautiful! She has moles all over her face and she still manages to look pretty. I once saw a painting by the Queen's friend, but it sucked hard!
Finally, though, through all the shirtless men, terrible paintings, and annoying dungeon design, we make it to the Queen.
Mary, it's been such a long time...John, everyone, welcome to my palace! Selina! It was you all along!? H...How could that be? I knew it! Hey John, did she always have all those moles? Wasn't she always boasting about how great her skin was? Selina!? This can't be...Oh! I know! You're being threatened by the real Queen, aren't you!? You can't be our enemy! There's no way! You're so dense! No one can threaten the Queen! I'm here by my own will! This palace...This room...Isn't it all gorgeous? An angel in a black dress gave me this mirror. It grants me anything I wish for. Black dress..? That's Maggie! Selina, she's no angel! Damn! Think about it Selina! She kidnapped you, remember!? I wasn't too sure at first, either...But she told me that she was looking for someone who could use that mirror...And she just happened to come across me... Everything is OK now that we know the Queen is Selina...Come back with us! Bruce is hurt and he needs you... What...Bruce is hurt? Mary...I don't need Bruce anymore. I don't like him anyway... ...What? What did you just say? I said I don't like Bruce! I never liked him in the first place! Liar! You used to be so proud of him! I remember how you would talk about him all the time! Don't you get it!? You're so stupid! I only went out with Bruce because I knew that you were in love with him! And, at first, Bruce used to like you, too...I just couldn't deal with it! I couldn't let it happen! I'm more beautiful than you! He should like me, not you! So I tempted him...He was so dumb...He fell in love with me in no time... No...Selina, stop joking around... It's no joke! It's all true! The paintings, too! I'm a better artist than you, but everyone liked yours! I've always hated you! I'm better looking and much more talented than you are! But you've always had it better than me! That's why you stole Bruce from Mary? And that's why you made everyone praise your paintings? ...Wait, Selina, this Mary isn't the same Mary that we all know of! Shut up! This has nothing to do with you! Mary, you were always making fun of me, weren't you? I know you were, don't lie! You put on this show for everyone, making them all think that you're all sweet and innocent! But I bet when no one was looking, you were laughing at me, thinking I was stupid! I'm never letting that happen again! I'm better than you in every way! You think you're all that, just because of that stupid mirror Maggie gave you!? Shut up!! Hey John, aren't my paintings beautiful? Everyone loves my paintings. Unlike Mary's ugly trash, which I can't even call art!
Mary finally just collapses under the weight of "all women care about is boys and being prettier than each other so that's going to be the entire motivation for this section of game."
Selina...You hated me that much..? I...I never knew... Now I know why your paintings suck! Your damn personality sucks! And your painting reflects it! Wouldn't that, technically, make her paintings really good? It's either that, or your damn moles are getting so big that they block your vision! Wh...What..? What did you say? Burned by jealousy...You should've just tried to better yourself...But, instead, you just use the powers of magic to make everyone praise you! Everyone here just pretends they like you and your art...But in reality, they detest you more than anything! They hate your paintings too! You're just ruling with fear. Everybody's afraid of you... They...They detest...Me..? You're damn right! You just hurt Mary because you're so damn jealous and insecure!! I should rip your ugly face off and leave those huge moles on your skull!!! Wassup with your paintings, anyway!? Aren't you ashamed of those ugly paintings!? I know I would be!! I'd probably kill myself if anyone saw them with my name on it! Dude, you're...really hung up on the painting issue, aren't you? I think you should take another look! My paintings are really good! You just can't appreciate great art, because YOU suck! Magic Mirror...Please grant me my wish! Send these fools away! Abra Kadabra! Well, we didn't kick her ass, but we got out of here all the same, so I guess that works for me!
Oh, goddamn it you are KIDDING ME. Oh...You guys are back..? That was fast. Damn!! She warped us all the way back to here!? I wonder if Selina really meant all those things she said... ...I know! I bet Maggie was somehow controlling her! Selina's eyes looked sane...I don't think anyone was controlling her... Nothing is going to happen if we stay here...Let's go back and see her. ... Uh...John? Are you okay? ...kill her... Yo, wassup with you? I'm going to kill her... Weren't you just scolding us for talking about killing Guido? Sometimes people just deserve to die, Nate. I'll stab her right in the stupid face!
That's right. Your reward for completing the worst dungeon in the game and making it to the end? You get to do it all over again! The game is basically just throwing you the middle finger right now.
When we find Selina, she's freaking out. Try to contain your surprise.
Oh, no! Not another mole! This mirror is great, but it gives me moles every time I grant a wish! This mirror must be defective! Yo, Selina! You guys again!? Well? Weren't my paintings better than Mary's? Selina...Just stop it...I know you paint better than me...And those moles... Why don't you shut up? Don't say things you don't mean! You're probably happy that I have these moles on my face, aren't you!? ...Anyway, John, I want to show you something...
Selina opens a curtain to reveal one of Mary's paintings. I didn't get a screenshot in time because I suck.
...That's my painting! John...You saw my painting in my treasure room, right? Which do you think is better? My painting, or the painting done by this ugly wench? Psh! You can't even compare your piece of crap with Mary's art! Did I ask you!? Shut up, you fool! Magic Mirror...Please g rant me my wish! Turn these monkeys into stone! Abra Kadabra! No, stop! Hahaha! That's right! Turn to stone! Damn it! More moles! Turning them to stone was too nice...I should have thought of something more evil to do! John...I'll give you one chance to live. Which do you think is better? My beautiful painting or Mary's painting...Answer me honestly!
Choice time, again. If you pick Selina's painting, she gets all happy and changes everyone back to normal. There's no way John's doing that, though.
I am going to beat you to death using one of your ugly paintings and then I will sell the bloodstained result as avant-garde art. I thought you understood, John...I guess I was wrong...I'll make you regret you ever insulted me! Turn to stone!
Before she can Abra Kadabra us, though, Maggie shows up.
What are you doing? Listen, Queen...I'll have your face back to normal if you just defeat these stupid monkeys! Really!? Alright...I'll do it! Well, you heard my Angel...I'm sorry, but I have to kill you guys now. I'll rip you guys apart with my own hands! Magic Mirror...Please grant me my wish! Give me your power now! Abra Kadabra!
This is a boring fight, I'm sorry. I did it at least three times, hoping for an interesting video, and this one won because she technically attacks, even if it didn't do any damage. Feel free to watch the first round and then stop, because that's how every fight against her went.
I'm not going to fix your ugly face since you didn't do as I told you! Well, I wasn't even going to return your face back to normal anyway! Hahaha! What? What do you mean!? Daddy said you were just an experiment! A guinea pig! It didn't matter to him whether you live or die! So you can just stay that way...Forever! Bye bye, you stupid girl! Abra Kadabra! Wait...Wait! I'll stay like this...Forever? Well, not forever. Just until you die. Here, let me put you out of your misery. Selina! Wait here! We'll catch that little girl and make her change your face back to normal...OK? Mary...No! You're lying! You're probably all happy that I look like this! I'm not lying! Selina...I'm your friend! You...You still like me? Yes! Energetic, beautiful, and you're your own self. I can't blame Bruce for liking you. Stop lying! I know...Bruce likes...you...I'm sorry, Mary...I've always envied you. I just pretended to be happy with myself...I wasn't really good at doing anything...No one really noticed me...Everyone loved you just the way you were...Bruce probably hates me now anyway...Mary...go be with Bruce. You two were probably meant for each other... Shut up, Selina! Stop being so stubborn...I know you really like Bruce! Just forget about me...I already have someone else in mind...
Through the Power of Love, or at least Plot Contrivance, Bruce magically appears
Selina!! I looked all over for you! Finally...I found you! ...What happened to your face!? Did you get hurt or something!? No! Don't look! Maggie put a spell on her... Mary! You're covering for me? No...I've had enough! Look at me Bruce! This is my face! I've wronged so many people including Mary...and you...This is my punishment! Bruce, I don't deserve you...I'm a bad person. The only thing worth liking about me was my face...But look at me now...I'm so ugly...You'll be ashamed to be seen with me...Everyone will laugh at you...So, it's over between us...Go make Mary happy! I know you've always liked her... You're wrong, Selina! Yeah, I used to like Mary...But that was a long time ago. I only love you, Selina! I've always loved you! ...You make me say such embarrassing things! Come, let's go home! But...These moles on my face will stay with me forever...Is it okay..? Your friends are probably going to laugh at you... I couldn't care less! Let them laugh at us! You say you have a bad personality? Don't worry, I've seen worse! Just be honest with me...I'll always love you. I don't care how you look! Just stay the way you are. Oh, the Mirror!
The same power that brought Bruce here shatters the mirror to pieces.
Selina! Your face! It's back to normal! You're right! I'm...So happy...Not because of my face...But because I've always thought you liked Mary...Thank you...
With the mirror broken, Mark, Nate, and Chris are all returned to normal.
Mark, barely able to keep up at the best of times, doesn't even know what the fuck.
I'm sorry, Mary. I was lying to you. It's just like you said...I'm in love with Bruce...Please, forgive me. But I know you'll probably never forgive me...I was hoping that we can become friends again... Idiot! There's nothing to forgive! Uh...Forcing us to fight through demon infested catacombs, TWICE, turning all our--and I use this word loosely--friends to stone, trying to kill us...none of these things are worth holding maybe a tiny little grudge? Or killing her. We could always kill her. You're still my friend...I'm happy for you, Selina! Where did Maggie go? Hey Selina, do you know anything about Guido? I think Maggie and Guido are somehow connected. I never heard of Guido, but that girl said she lives in a castle. Castle? What the heck!? Don't be surprised. Maggie is a child with mystical powers. She can easily make a castle. Okay! Let's go look for the castle! Selina, I forgot to tell you, but this Mary isn't the Mary we all know of... So your entire character development right now doesn't even count.
We fade to black to be spared the explanation.
What? Mary's confined in the hospital? I wonder if it's okay for me to be happy when she's still feeling a lot of pain... If I was more careful, then none of this would have ever happened. I'm sorry...
And that's it. We're done here. The worst dungeon in the game, twice, an incredibly easy but annoying boss, and all that dialog just for the character development of a girl we'd never met before and will never see again. Was it good for you, too?
If you didn't keep track of how you got there and had to figure it out from the auto-map, then you truly hate it. That would be me the first time I played the game.
I always thought the design of the Harem Queen boss was neat. The vision of someone turning around to show a face behind their hair (and arms that can bend that backwards) is interesting. A close up would not have worked well with the FMV skill level in Persona 1.
The only really bad part of doing it the second time is after the last treasure room on B9, where you have to drops right next to each other. If you don't remember which is which, you can very easily have to redo the entire dungeon a third time.
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
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Brofist?
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
Things to look forward to:
1. Nate's Persona using a spell it doesn't actually have at all!
2. Me taking the boss and his four cronies out in two attacks. Half of my party didn't even get to act!
3. Me not noticing that John gained two levels instead of one and getting really confused about why it wasn't letting me confirm the three points I spent (because I had to spend 6 actually).
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
We open in the abandoned factory.
Mary has her priorities in order.
Before they can [strike]let John do all the work[/strike] split up to find the entrance, there is a loud crash from behind them.
The camera pans to the source of the noise, as Alana's totally awesome leitmotif starts playing
This one is a little less obvious than the giant box that says KEY on it, but only slightly.
Mostly because the keycard slot is a lot smaller.
As soon as we find it Mark comes running up.
Mark inserts the card and immediately things go crazy. The screen starts shaking, the lights go in and out and, in general, things are hectic. Nate, of course, takes this as a chance to gloat.
Suddenly, the floor opens and an elevator rises up from below.
Notice how close Nate is. He very nearly fell in.
Once everyone regroups below, Nate goes into lecture mode.
We take the elevator down to the underground path.
Electric Brain Travel
Fortunately for John, this place still isn't too bad. There's a few more turns, but most of them are very short and you can see where they lead, if anywhere, on the mini-map. Of course, if you're not observant it can still be a bit complicated.
The second half of the corridors is even easier than the first. The side passages are even shorter, and the mini map makes it even more obvious where you're supposed to go.
Eventually, we hit the stairs in the North-East corner, which leads into the Sebec building proper.
The boxes contain one Herb and two Ripobitan (stronger Herbs). Not even Guido's building is safe from becoming warped and infested with demons. The very first door we come to in the Sebec building is home to a very...interesting new character.
With Kelly out of the way, let's take a look at the Sebec Building
A City, Sebek
The X'd out exclamation mark is one of those damage floors I talked about last time. To stress how unimportant they are, there are approximately two of them in the entire dungeon, and this one did a grand total of one damage to my entire party.
We're told that Guido is on the top floor, but it's not that easy, of course. We have to take the elevator to the fifth floor
Where we follow a long twisty hallway to a stairway down, which we take all the way back down to the first floor
(There's the other damage tile, for the record. As well as a save point and a second Kelly room)
From here we go all the way back up to the fifth floor. It's not very confusing or twisty, just long.
Ready to KICK ASS, that is.
Bring it!
And it's time for another round of "everyone stands around like a loser while John finds the key/slot/button"!
It's here, by the way. On his desk. Kind of obviously.
Pressing it causes the giant Sebec logo to slide away and reveal a secret door.
We head through the door and take Guido's personal elevator all the way down to B1. Things get kind of tricky in a dungeon for the first time on the way to the Deva Machine, though.
Past the blackout field, we finally catch up with Guido. And just in time, too, because he's putting the finishing touches on his Deva Machine.
John and friends rush forward to stop Guido.
Guido and Dr. Nicholas enter the Deva Machine.
Suddenly, the machine starts going haywire and shakes violently.
But, pressing the red button doesn't seem to help, as the machine keeps rocking violently. Finally, though, the machine seems to calm down.
The screen flashes white and when it fades back in, there's a new visitor in the room
Black Kid
The Girl in Black hits us with some sort of power that causes the whole room to shake and fade from view.
We seem to have been dumped in an old building with hardwood floors. Are we dead? Maybe we're dead.
Oh. Well, I guess we're not dead.
Mary manages to get to her feet, too. As does John.
Before anyone can explain to Mary that she has to have a mother to have been born, a student barges into the gym
"Bruce was seriously injured! That girl in the black dress came again."
Mary rushes out the door, presumably to check on Bruce.
On our way out, Nate interrogates the student in an effort to figure out what's going on:
Next time: John finally lets someone else join the party!
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Was Trish somehow not American?
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It was sad since she was so cheap too. It costs maybe 20 bucks tops to heal. She didn't find her business sense until the sequel.
And she runs a talk show in 3!
But $20 is still unreasonable when I can full heal for 8 SP and a couple seconds of walking around.
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Update should be coming around Wednesday-ish, and then a bit more regularly after that. I'm not sure how interesting you guys will find the boss videos, sadly...I've played ahead a decent bit, up through the next to last boss, and well, let's just say none of them have lasted more than two turns except for one that held out a full four by spamming a healing spell and never attacking.
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We're back in school for the third time. I couldn't for the life of me find the music used for this visit, unfortunately.
Let's leave Ms. Smith to stand around the infirmary all depressed. It's no fun to aggrivate depressed people.
You know who it is fun to aggrivate, though?
Suddenly, the screen shakes and everyone freaks out.
And go we do, out into a new dungeon. "Demon Hermelion" as it's called is probably the first dungeon in the game that can present any sort of challenge. The design is more confusing, with more dead-ends and branching paths, and the encounter rate is higher. The demons are capable of doing some good damage, too, even if they don't exactly look threatening...
Possessed toilets and basketballs make up most of what we fight. The toilets have some strong magic, especially "Evildark" magic like Curse and Dead. These are especially dangerous for Mary who is equipped with a "Holylight" Persona and therefore takes increased damage from these spells. A Curse spell that normally ticks off 1/8th of the victim's health at the end of the round will leave Mary with only one HP. Fortunately, she still has the amazing Heal All and is capable of making sure everyone's at full at all times. John and Mark have enough magical power between Ice All and Nuke More to end most fights in one round as well. The biggest threat is being ambushed by a group like this.
Beyond that, there's not much of interest in the school. Most rooms have students that freak out about the demons and the little girl in black. There's a Velvet Room near the start of the dungeon, but our Persona layout is still pretty good for the next dungeon or two so we leave that alone, too. The only interesting bit of the dungeon is on floor 4.
That trap tile is the game's way of making sure you go into that room, there. Step on it, and...
Down you go to the floor below. We'll be seeing these trapdoors a lot more in an upcoming dungeon, so keep them in mind. Let's make the game happy and head into that classroom, then...
:twisted: Here I come! I'm going to be feasting tonight!
:twisted: Ha, you think you're a man, do you? Well, it's your lucky day! You'll be the first to die! That way you won't have to see your friends suffer!
Mark hasn't yet caught on to the fact that everyone we have ever met can summon a Persona.
Aww, Mark's jealous. Anyway, we finally have our fifth and final member of the party! Let's rank up his Persona and take a look at what he can do.
AKA Bres
STR: 22
VIT: 27
TEC: 20
AGL: 25
LUK: 31
OMP: 135
DMP: 120
Strong against everything
Fittingly enough for joining so late, Guni is the best of the starters. Twinslash is a decent physical attack. Curse is the Evildark version of Voodoo's Holy. Berserk and AttackBack are fairly unique if useless spells. Berserk puts one character in Berserk status, which greatly increases his or her attack power at the expense of no longer being able to control that character. Casting Attack Back allows a character to counter physical attacks directed at them. Magic Seal is basically useless and just stops an enemy from casting spells which sounds nice except all the enemies with dangerous spells are immune to status magic (or worse, reflect it back at us). Sonar is a fairly powerful AoE spell.
With that out of the way, it's time to head to the final area of the dungeon and kick a little girl's ass.
This glass door with a giant field behind looks like a promising area for a boss fight!
Well what do you know, I was right!
Boss Fight vs RoboRat
And with that...threat, She disappears.
You know...we've never seen Bruce and the little girl at the same time...
...next time.
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I don't think I've mentioned this, but every time one of the male characters yells "Persauna" in battle, I want to punch somebody. Probably John, since his name doesn't match everybody else's capitalized name scheme, another thing that bugs me. Why do RPG developers let people do that? Why not force all caps upon the first name screen if all the other characters are going to have it?
I know, weird bitching to be having 8 parts in, but it was getting to me during that RoboRat video lol.
Child Abuse With Intro
I am always torn when I start a new game of this...do I make it all caps to fit with the battle screens or do I make it normal capitalization to match everyone outside battles? I tend to go for the latter because for some reason, the names are only capitalized in battle/status screens and in game it's normal. It gets on my nerves, too, though, don't worry.
And I have to see it a lot more than you! :P
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And I think that song was in it!
Yes it was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ign_B2yreGo&feature=related
Mind you, of all the crazy places you can end up in SMT games, this one is kinda tame in comparison.
So far, anyway.
It gets worse.
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I'm currently stuck in the casino on my playthrough of Persona PSP. This is mostly my fault though as I didn't save after I had like 20,000 coins...
I'm doing some grinding for you guys so you can see the super high level Personas (Think I might go and beat the final boss first at this point, once with "normal" Personas for the area, and once with the uber ones, could be interesting) and the scaled experience is starting to bug me. It may not look like it makes that much of a difference in the example in the first post, or in the videos, but those are times when everyone gets to go. In a normal fight when just one or two people act before the fight ends, the difference can be big.
How big?
Pretty big.
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I'm trying to record the final boss and every time I go to save the video, it gives me an error and doesn't save it...Gonna try a few more times, but we may end up having to screenshot it
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Also, remember this?
...yeah, so...
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Also, if the SP cost seems prohibitively high, that's because at Rank 8 all of Lucifer's stats are maxed out. In other words, Chris/Reiji becomes a fucking invincible tank* capable of one-shotting [strike]everything[/strike] almost everything. All that's missing is Armageddon.
*except to Light magic
And the cost is pretty ridiculously high even with the stats given the fact that Chris has 900 SP on level 99 (and that's with a bunch of SP Sources pumped into him -- he'd probably be at about 850 normally) and is decently high in the two stats that matter (Agility and Technique), and so is only getting a boost of maybe 10-20 points in them. And he already has a 99 in Strength just through leveling+equipment, too.
All in all, Lucifer is more of a showpiece than anything else.
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I wasn't planning on getting him, honestly. But I was grinding John and Nate to level 94 to make Abracab, so I figured I might as well.
Also, I'm probably not getting Ashura because I apparently missed a Spell Card from some demon somewhere, even though I encountered all of them and I'm pretty sure I contacted them all, but whatever. So unless I stumble onto the card I missed, no Ashura, so...Lucifer can make up for it.
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And he was, I just never talked to him because he's only important for the Snow Queen Quest.
Let the record show that John's line there is the only part of that I made up. Mary seems to have gotten smarter since returning to her own world, at least.
Upon leaving the school, though, we learn that the entire city is surrounded by a strange white mist.
Well, except for Guido's half, which is covered in darkness. This is actually symbolic. Of more than just "good" and "evil" but to go into it more now would be pretty big spoilers. Remember this, though!
City 2-Accident
So, to the shrine!
Sure enough, everything goes black and then...
The screen fades again, and we return to the real world. Or the...fake world? The fake real world? The...we're back at the Shrine.
But before we can take the mirror and go kick Guido's ass...
Mark invites the wrath of a little ghost girl and grabs the mirror. And then promptly gives it to John in order to save himself from divine retribution. To the subway!
INVASION
The subway system is a dungeon, of course, but it is a very short and easy one. The trickiest aspect is actually a shortcut--a conveyor belt type floor trap that moves you from one end to the other. The catch is it only goes in one direction, from the end of the dungeon to the beginning. But, since it is right next to a very obvious set of stairs leading to a large empty room, if you step on it and get sent back to the start, it's really your own fault.
At the bottom of said stairs, inside the aforementioned giant room, we find the demon:
Another Easy Fight
:twisted: Grrr...You have defeated me! My master is fond of strong people like you. Go now...
Turns out someone was watching our fight, though.
And with that, she's gone. Past this room is another small Subway dungeon, with the same moving floor trick. This time, though, it leads from the exit to the stairs down, so we can't use it as a quick exit. It'll be great if we need to cross back to the light side of town, though.
City 2 Darkness
Next time: New Personas, great items, and the worst dungeon in the game!
I know this was a shorter update, but the next one is going to be huge, to balance it.
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I suppose (hope) all the really messed-up stuff is lurking in that dark zone.
Complaining that kids are talking about murder? They do that in RPGs all the time.
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And more people need to 5-star this thread. Just saying.
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When we last left off, John and the others had just crossed through the subway into Guido's half of town. Rather than go after him right away, John opted to head to the store for some shopping.
Dark Shopping Disctrict
The Black Market is the best place, ever. The stores have great equipment, the casino has powerful stones and rocks to give your Personas extra spells, and the Pharmacy sells ElixStones, which teach your Personas Elixir All, a healing spell that heals the whole party to full HP. It can be used as an item for the same effect, so it's a good idea to stock up on at least a few of them here, as it's the only place you can get them and when the store inventories change late in the game, you can't buy them anymore.
John
AKA Azrael
STR 49
VIT 44
TEC 14
AGL 43
LUK 32
OMP 153
DMP 128
No Effect against Magic
Weak against Attack
Azrael is amazing. Wing Flap is fairly useless in the best of cases, and is literally entirely useless when considering John's placement on the battlefield--it can't hit anything (I had to shuffle them around to get him up to rank 2). Elixir All is from one of the ElixStones I mentioned, and makes a great Persona even better. Lighter is an upgrade of Ellen's Light spell, and does decent Holy damage to a small area. It's great for Evildark enemies, but only okay on everything else. Fear Song and Life are both bad, but Life is even worse. Fear Song is, as you might expect, a status spell and Fear is one of the less useful statuses, at that. Life is incredibly deceptively named. It doesn't revive dead party members; instead, it kills the user to bring all living members to full HP. Never use Life. Strength Up is amazing and we'll see it in action a couple bosses from now. Suffice to say in just two casts it can up damage from ~40 a hit to ~100 a hit. When coupled with the fact that most weapons and guns hit multiple times, and John's best guns hit seven times, this becomes insane very quickly. Judgement does high Dark damage to a wide area. It's essentially useless on Evildark enemies, but it can wipe out almost everything else in just one cast. And, hey, we have Lighter for Evildark guys anyway. Azrael will be with us for a long time. Like, "in the final battle" long.
Nate
AKA Lilim
STR 19
VIT 24
TEC 24
AGL 23
LUK 34
OMP 146
DMP 125
Absorb Magic
Weak against Attack
Absorb Magic. As in "will be healed by all spells that don't deal Holy damage." That alone is enough to make her useful. Which is good because, really, that's all she has going for her naturally. Poison Pin and Dead are...okay, but if you want physical damage, it's better to just attack with your weapons, and Dead doesn't do enough damage to non Holylight demons to make it worthwhile. I added a Discharge Stone to give her Lightning, maximum electric damage to all enemies, just to make her valid as an attacker. She's an outstanding defensive Persona, though, and a huge upgrade for Nate.
Mark
AKA Vidofnir
STR 29
VIT 22
TEC 27
AGL 51
LUK 41
OMP 157
DMP 127
No Effect against Wind
Weak against Gun
Gasious is another great one. Chill, Chill All, and Gust All are all fairly self-explanatory. Force does maximum Gravity damage to a wide area, and comes from a stone I bought at the Casino. Spike Claw is basically worthless, like all other physical spells. Holy Word is amazing. It is, essentially, the Holylight version of Judgement and as such is capable of taking out all non Holylight demons in its area of effect with just one cast. As a bonus, his agility is obviously great, which makes Mark actually able to compete with the likes of John and Mary.
Chris
AKA Hel
STR 29
VIT 25
TEC 45
AGL 41
LUK 56
OMP 160
DMP 125
No Effect against Spirit
Hera is a special Persona. You can't make her the same way you make other Personas. You have to start with any combination that gives you a Persona of the appropriate Arcana (Death, in this case) and then add a specific item. For example if we fuse an Ifirit card and a Dribbler card, we normally would get the Inferno Persona, as so:
But, if we add in a Niple which we bought from the casino way back before the hospital:
Hera is another mostly defensive Persona. No Effect against Spirit makes her immune to Holy and Dark spells, even with her Evildark nature. Her spells are basically useless. Curse is minor dark damage, Blind Light, Mezmerize, and Bad Luck are all status spells. Having played ahead through the ending, I can officially say that Trap Cure is the single most useless spell in the entire game. I stepped on every single tile in every single dungeon and the only damage tiles in the game are the two we already encountered in the Sebec Building. Hell Eyes is an instant death spell that works 100% on Holy demons and frequently enough on non-Holy/non-Evil demons that it's actually worth using. Chris can make good use of it, too, due to his position on the battle field. He spends most of his time in battle using that, and most of his time in bosses shooting his gun.
You can delete Personas you no longer need. This is as simple as transferring a currently unequiped Persona to Igor's stock, and then selecting delete. If your Persona is Rank 8, though, you get a little bonus.
We delete all the initial Personas, as well as John's Ixl. John, Mary, Mark, and Nate's starters all give stat up items, and Ixl gives a completely useless Illcure, which heals the Sick status which approximately one enemy in the game inflicts. Chris' starter persona, though, gives us a NukeStone. We can use this to teach a Persona the incredibly powerful Nuke More spell. We'll be saving that one for sure.
Well, we're all done here, so let's just go ahead an leave.
Uh...let's just go ahead and...
Well shit. Looks like we're stuck here. Maybe we can find some people that can explain what's going on...
Let's start here. The diners don't actually sell anything, so they have to exist for some reason, right?
8-) "Yeah, I got a straight!"
;-) "Our only hope is the Harem Queen! Ah yeah! Full House, baby!"
:x "They remind me of outside...Damn! I want to go outside..."
The entrance to her lair is near the Velvet Room. I didn't get any screenshots because I suck and also was filled with dread. This dungeon. This dungeon, you guys. You don't even know. It is terrible. The floors are way too big to even attempt to screenshot so what I have done for you is I have scanned the maps from the OFFICIAL PERSONA 1 STRATEGY GUIDE so you can get an idea of how horrible this dungeon is.
The first three floors are deceptively simple, so they're not included. They're basically just an elevator/stairs leading down to the fourth floor or as I like to call it, the first circle of hell.
Those black and white boxes, of which there are so many that the entire alphabet is not enough to map them all? Trap doors. More than twenty-six trap doors, exactly one correct path to the end of the dungeon. It is infuriating and tedious, and awful, and every other negative adjective all rolled into one and just be glad you don't have to do it yourselves.
Along the way, there are a few dialog rooms, represented by the speech bubbles on the map. They're pretty decent indicators that you're on the right path, although even after the last one things can all go wrong and you'll end up having to do it all over again.
Mark is the best character because he just never seems to be paying attention to all those exposition dumps. He's probably still wondering when we're going to get to the Hospital to visit Mary.
When you talk to them, though, they seem less interested in why Selina's painting is here and more interested in commenting on how sucky it is:
The beefcake next to it seems to enjoy it, though.
:winky: This is the Queen's painting...Isn't it beautiful? The Queen is so talented and beautiful! She has moles all over her face and she still manages to look pretty. I once saw a painting by the Queen's friend, but it sucked hard!
Finally, though, through all the shirtless men, terrible paintings, and annoying dungeon design, we make it to the Queen.
Mary finally just collapses under the weight of "all women care about is boys and being prettier than each other so that's going to be the entire motivation for this section of game."
That's right. Your reward for completing the worst dungeon in the game and making it to the end? You get to do it all over again! The game is basically just throwing you the middle finger right now.
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1000 Ri of Moles (Karma Palace Theme)
When we find Selina, she's freaking out. Try to contain your surprise.
Selina opens a curtain to reveal one of Mary's paintings. I didn't get a screenshot in time because I suck.
Choice time, again. If you pick Selina's painting, she gets all happy and changes everyone back to normal. There's no way John's doing that, though.
Before she can Abra Kadabra us, though, Maggie shows up.
Vs Selina
This is a boring fight, I'm sorry. I did it at least three times, hoping for an interesting video, and this one won because she technically attacks, even if it didn't do any damage. Feel free to watch the first round and then stop, because that's how every fight against her went.
Through the Power of Love, or at least Plot Contrivance, Bruce magically appears
The same power that brought Bruce here shatters the mirror to pieces.
With the mirror broken, Mark, Nate, and Chris are all returned to normal.
Mark, barely able to keep up at the best of times, doesn't even know what the fuck.
We fade to black to be spared the explanation.
And that's it. We're done here. The worst dungeon in the game, twice, an incredibly easy but annoying boss, and all that dialog just for the character development of a girl we'd never met before and will never see again. Was it good for you, too?
Next time, we go after Guido some more.
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Man, Morrigan really let herself go.
And wow, an entire dungeon you have to go through twice, purely for 5 minutes of conversation and one blocked hallway.
I always thought the design of the Harem Queen boss was neat. The vision of someone turning around to show a face behind their hair (and arms that can bend that backwards) is interesting. A close up would not have worked well with the FMV skill level in Persona 1.
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