Let's get this baby started. Opening cinematic, go!
There is a lot of initial exposition before we can actually play, and i mean a lot
Is this really necessary?
Welcome to the velvet room.
My name is Igor... I am delighted to make your acquaintance.
It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter...
It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future.
Now then... Why don't you introduce yourself...?
In the interest of larping, the protagonist will bear my alias.
Hm... I see.
Now, let's take a look into your future, shall we?
With a wave of his hand, Igor summons a deck of tarot cards.
Do you believe in fortune telling?
Igor places the 6 top most cards in a circular around the deck
*chuckle* Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?
He flips the lower right card
The card indicating the future beyond that is...
He flips the lower left card
This card represents "hesitation" and "mystery"... Very interesting indeed.
It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination and a great mystery will be imposed upon you.
In the coming days you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here.
The coming year is a turning point in your destiny... If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost.
My duty is to provide assistance to out guests to ensure that does not happen.
Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you.
This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself.
My name is Margaret, I am here to accompany you through your journey.
We shall attend to the details another time.
Now for the proper intro!
A Queloric Magic commercial
Our protagonist is moving to Inaba - The teacher is explaining this to the class.
Ryotaru and Nanako, our protagonist's uncle and niece respectively. On the TV we can see Namatame Tarou and his wife Hiiragi Misuzu, more on those two later. They soon depart for Yasoinaba station to pick up the protagonist.
Clipping issues, everywhere! My eyes! It seems PCSX2's D3D9 renderer has had a few regressions, hopefully that'll improve in the coming weeks. At least the shadows are no longer throwing colourful confetti everywhere. Just bear with it for now.
But I digress, we are now leaving Yasoinaba station, suddenly someone calls out to us.
Yo! Over here.
Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photograph.
Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaru Dojima. I'll be looking after you.
Let's see... I'm your mother's younger brother... and that about sums it up.
I forgot to take a screenshot if this one, but we are occasionally offered to select from a set of responses. These can be used to guide your way through dialogue, but more on that later. Those at the early stages of the game don't really affect much eg...
= Nice to meet you
==> Long time no see.
= ...
I'll say. You've really grown. I still remember when you were in diapers...
Come on Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin.
......
...'lo.
She kicks Ryotaru in response.
Ow, hahaha.
Well then... Let's get going.
My car's over there.
> You got in the car and headed for Dojima's house.
Due to current PCSX2 clipping issues, you may notice the Attendant looks like 3 people superimposed.
Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?
Uh-huh
<Attendent> It's in the back, to your left. You know which way's left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in.
I know... Geez...
No, my Nephew is form the city, we went to pick him up from the station.
<Attendant> The city, huh...?
Fill up my car while you're at it.
Regular's fine
<Attendant> Right away, Sir!
Good a time as any for a smoke...
<Attendant> Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?
<Attendant> There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs.
<Attendant> Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now.
<Attendant> Give it some though, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student.
<Attendant> Oh, I should get back to work.
> Nanako is looking at you.
For a moment everything becomes much brighter (I timed the screenshot a bit poorly).
Did you get carsick?
You don't look too good...
> Could it be exhaustion from the long trip...? Now that she mentions it, you feel a little dizzy...
All right, let's have a toast.
So... Your mom and dad are busy as always... They're working overseas, was it?
I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents... It's rough being a kid.
Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around.
When playing JRPGs, do as the japs do...
C'mon, there's no need to be so formal.
Look, you're making Nanako all tense.
Well, anyway... Let's eat.
Ugh... Who's calling at this hour?
...Dojima speaking.
......
Yeah? I see... So where is it?
......
All right, I'm on my way.
Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze...
I don't know how late I'll be. Nanako, you help him out, okay?
...Okay.
Nanako, it's raining out. What did you do with the laundry!?
I already brought it in!
...All right. Well, I'm off.
<Weather announcer> --for this week. Next let's take a look a the hourly breakdown of tomorrow's weather.
<Weather announcer> With storm clouds moving in from the west, expect rain throughout the day tomorrow in most areas
The weather does play a very significant roll on the actions you can take during the day, so it's usually a good idea to keep it in mind and plan your time allotments accordingly. Rainy days are typically best suited for raising stats and dungeon crawling. More on that later.
...Let's eat.
> You find yourself alone with Nanako
...It's always like this.
My dad's a detective.
<Announcer> In response, Eye Television has decided to cancel all of announcer Mayumi Yamano's televised appearances.
...This is boring.
<Commercial> Every day's great at your Junes!
Every day, young life, Junesu! Nanako, you are absolutely adorable.
...Aren't you going to eat?
With that, the first day of events is concluded. There are currently 3 things we can do
Firstly, we can sometimes eat something from the fridge in the evenings. There are some unusual items at times and these usually confer an attribute boost. Unfortunately these often make you feel ill which means your day is over.
Secondly, we can check the weather. As previously mentioned you should be aware of this at all times and plan your time allocations accordingly.
Umbrellas naturally represent rain, clouds overcast possibly humid weather and the sun warm clear sunny days.
Here we can see that it will initially be raining tomorrow and that it will be overcast later on during the day.
You can summon this menu by interacting with a TV or asking someone in your party at certain gatherings. In addition when a day transitions to the next, you will also get a chance to see the forecast.
One thing to note is that it is typically foggy after long periods of rain. This plays a significant roll in the story.
Thirdly, we can go to sleep. Occasionally you'll have a dream that has some sort of positive effect. To trigger the dreams you will need to end the day with the futon specifically. Ending the day in another way (eg studying) will preclude you from dreaming. Off to dream land we go!
> You'll be living in this town for one year starting today...
> You wonder if everything will be all right...
> School starts tomorrow. You should hurry to bed.
> ......
> ......!?
> This is...?
> The area is covered in a thick fog...
> ......
> All you can do right now is proceed forward
This is probably meant to serve as a quick introduction to the dungeons, Literally, the only direction you can go here is forward.
<???> Do you seek the truth...?
<???> If it's truth you desire, come and find me...
<???> The voice came from up ahead...
Continue through? Damn straight! You'll find plenty of doors like these in the actual dungeons. Obviously, there are rooms, corridors and the occasional Boss behind them.
We now get our first taste of the game's TURN BASED COMBAT! I'll explain things as we go.
<???> Hmhmhm... Try all you like...
Bosses will often say something before actual combat starts, this is not a freak occurrence
We currently have 4 options available to us. They are of course Guard, Attack, Skill and Rush.
Our vitals (HP == yellow, SP (ability points) == green) can be seen down the side. I'll explain the rest as they become available to us.
Rush is basically a high speed mode where your party will do regular attacks against enemies, until you exit it. Opponents will continue to attack as normal.
Guard will reduce the damage from the next attack, as well as prevent you from being knocked over by the attack, but more on that later.
Attack will make your character charge in and do a regular attack against an ordained foe. If your equipped weapon has any special abilities they will take effect here.
Skill utilises the abilities of your equipped persona, this is followed by the character crushing a tarot card to summon said persona. The persona itself will execute the attack or action.
When you have selected a skill or ability, you will need to select a target, depending on certain conditions and abilities, the cursor will look different or hover over your allies.
For example, the skill "dia" targets one party member and heals them and mazio will hurl a zio at all enemies. In the case of Mazio, you will still need to confirm it.
After a few turns, the apparition will use an ability called "bewildering fog" that makes him impossible to hit. After a few more the fight will end and we will wake up for day #2
Combat Banter
<???> Hmmm... It seems you can see a little, despite the fog...
<???> But... you will not catch me so easily...
<???> If what you seek is the "truth," then your search will be even harder...
Rather foreboding don't you think?
<???> ... Will we meet again...?
<???> At a place other than here...
<???> Hmhm... I look forward to it...
4/12
> ...
> You can hear someone's voice
> ......
> It's almost time to get up...
> ......
> You feel like you had a nightmare...
> What could it have been about...?
> ......
> You're starting school today. You should head to the living room for now...
Good morning.
> I take my seat as the toast jumps out of the toaster.
Okay.
I can toast bread... and cook sunny-side up eggs in the morning.
Dad can't cook, so I buy dinner.
You're starting school today, right?
My school's on the way, so... let's go together
> Nanako seems somewhat restless...
> You decided to head to school with Nanako.
School Zone, Samegawa flood plain...
You keep going straight form here.
My school's this way. Bye.
School Zone, Intersection in front of the school...
> That looked painful...
> You should leave him be...
> What kind of student life awaits you here...?
<Student's friend> Yeah, it's King Moron alright... We get to enjoy his long-ass sermons every day for a whole year...
<Female student> Hey you guys, I heard there's going to be a transfer student from the city in this class.
<Sitting student> Huh? Really? A guy or a girl?
...Huh? You look dead today.
Yeah, um... I don't wanna talk about it...
What's with him?
Who knows?
I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward!
First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons.
Long as I'm around, you students are going to be as pure as the driven snow!
Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student.
This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage.
And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him!
Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick.
As previously mentioned, some dialogue options can increase your attributes. Some options and events may have prerequisites too before they can be accessed. We'll get to one of those later, but needless to say, initially, the protagonist is an absolute pussy.
Characters don't have very detailed animations (frankly, you wouldn't even notice at the low native resolution of the PS2), so you'll be seeing many of these toons pop up here and there to help characters express themselves. Especially in cases where we're not in a position to see them.
Hrnh... That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately.
Now listen up!
This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one.
You better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them!
But what do I know... it's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast.
Every time I turn my back, you're fooling arond on those damn phones, checking your life-journals and your my-places...
> Mr. Morooka goes on and on...
Excuse me! Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?
Huh? Yeah sure, Hear that? your seat's over there.
So hurry up and siddown already!
Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class... Well, we'll just have to hang in there for a year.
> You can hear people around you talking about you...
<Male student> Sucks to be the transfer student, eding up in King Moron's class on the first morning here...
<Whiny student> Yeah, he won't think twice about suspending you if you get on his bad side.
<Whiny Student> Then again, we're all in the same boat...
Shut your traps! I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!
> Your life at this new school has begun.
> Will you be able to fit in here...?
That's all for today. Normal lectures will start tomorrow.
<School intercom> Attention, all teachers.
<School intercom> Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting.
<School intercom> All students msut return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice.
Hrnh. You heard the announcement. Don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise.
<Brown-haired hirl> He's seriously getting on my nerves...
Suddenly, sirens can be heard from outside and some students rush towards the window.
<Excited student> Did something happen? Don't those sirens sound really close?
<Excited student> Ugh, I can't see a damn thing. Frickin' fog...
It's foggy and there was an incident, take note!
<Rumor-loving student> Yeah, like every time it rains lately, it gets all foggy.
<Knowledgeable student> Hey, did you hear? I hear the paparazzi's looking all over for that announcer.
<Rumor-loving student> Oh yeah. You mean Mayumi Yamano, right?
<Rumor-loving student> I heard some guys spotted her at the shopping district
<Knowledgeable student> Actually, I heard that...
<Rumor-loving student> Are you serious!?
<Rumor-loving student> Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?
I can't discuss such things.
<Rumor-loving student> Y-Yeah, I guess not.
*sigh* Sheesh, how much longer is this gonna take?
There's no telling.
I shoulda left before the announcement...
By the way, didja try what I told you the other day?
you know... That thing about rainy nights...
Oh... No, not yet. Sorry.
Ahhh, that's okay.
Well... it's just, I heard a guy in the class next door yell something like, "My soulmate is Yamano, the announcer!"
<School intercom> There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatches around the School Zone.
<School intercom> Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible and quickly leave the school grounds.
<School intercom> Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home.
<School intercom> I repeat...
<Excited student> "Incident"!?
<Girl's friend> What, something actually happened?
<Brown-haired girl> C'mon, let's go take a look!
Why don't you come with us?
Oh, nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka. You know I sit next to you, right?
Well, nice to meet you!
This is Yukiko Amagi.
Oh, nice to meet you... I'm sorry that this is so sudden...
C'mon, don't apologise like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing.
I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all.
This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see...
Seeya thanks!
Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD!?
Chie chases after Yosuke and he runs into a desk..
What the!? I can't believe this! It is completely cracked...
My "Trial of the Dragon" ...!
A-Are you all right?
Oh, Yukiko-san... Are you worried about me...?
He's fine, Yukiko. Let's ditch him and go home.
> He looks like he's in a lot of pain...
> You should leave him be...
Leaving Yosuke behind, we were accosted by a
zombie crazy just outside the school gates
What...? Wh-Who are you?
> Onlookers are starting to gather...
<Onlooking student> What's up with him? What school's he from?
<Spectacled student> Never mind that, he's going for Yukiko-san? Man, you'd think he'd at least wait until she's alone to make his move...
<Onlooking student> I bet you a can of TaP he gets knocked out.
<Spectacled student> No bet. Haven't you heard how difficult the Amagi Challenge is?
Um, s-so... are you coming or not?
I-I'm not going...
...Fine!
Wh-What did he want from me...?
What did he want...? Obviously, he was asking you out on a date.
Huh? Really...?
You really had no clue? Sheesh...
But then again, that was way over the top. It was creepy how he called you Yuki all of a sudden.
I feel as though I missed a line here somewhere, sozzy...
I don't recall doing that
Whoa, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime!?
...I'd rather not.
That'll teach me to get my hopes up...
Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer student too much.
> Yosuke departs.
We're just curious, is all!
U-Um, I'm sorry for dragging you into this...
<Chie> As... so you came here because of your parents' job. Haha, I thought it was something way more serious.
That is what makes it nice, but there's nothing much we can show to people from outside.
Oh! Though, there is something from Mt. Yasogami... I think our dyed cloths are kinda famous too.
Oh wait, there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. The the pride of Inaba!
Huh? It's just an old inn.
Oh, no way, it's been in all sort magazines as a hidden treature.
It's a great inn! It's been going for generation, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday.
The inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going.
... I don't think that's entirely true.
Haters gonna hate...
Come on... Don't start this again...
She's really popular at school, but she's never had a boyfriend. Kinda weird, huh?
C-Come on, stop it.
Y-You shouldn't believe that, okay? It's not true that I'm popular or that I've never had a boyfriend!
Wait, no! Wh-what I meant to say was, I don't need a boyfriend!
Geez... Chie!
Hahaha! Sorry, sorry. But this is out chance to talk to somebody from the big city, and you barely said a word!
Hey, what's that?
<Spectator housewife> Wow. Who could imagine THAT hanging from an antenna?
<Shopping housewife> I wanted to see it too.
<Spectator housewife> Uh, you got here too late... The police and fire department took it down just a moment ago.
<Shopping housewife> Well, I think it's terrifying. I can't believe a dead body showed up around here...
Wait... What did she just say? A dead body!?
A wild Ryotaru appears!
Huh... I should have figured that'd happen.
That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here...
...You know this guy?
I'm Detective Dojima, his guardian. Uhh... Well, how should I say this... I hope you get along with him.
But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home.
A young detective runs past and throws up off screen...
Ngh... Uuuurrghhh...
Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie? You want to be send back to the central office!?
I=I'm sorry... Nngh...
*sigh* Go wash your face. We're gonna go around and gather information!
Was this what that announcement was about...?
What do they mean... it was hanging from the antenna...?
Hey, Yukiko...? Why don't we go to Junes some other time?
Good idea...
Alright then, we're taking off. Starting tomorrow, neighbor, let's do our best!
> The two of them left.
> You decide to head straight home...
I wonder if Dad's not coming home again tonight...
<Announcer> Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba.
> The School Zone is being shown on TV.
> Could this be the incident you heard about...?
<Announcer> The initial results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed...
Ah! The Inaba Police Department! Th-That's where Dad works!
......
... I know. That's his job, so this stuff happens.
<Announcer> The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof.
<Announcer> Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state.
<Announcer> With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide.
<Announcer> A think fog common to the area has slowed their progress, and plans to fully canvass the area are delayed until tomorrow.
> It seems that the local TV station's announcer was found dead near the Yasogami High School campus...
> The announcer, Mayumi Yamano...
> Her affair with a local councilman's secretary had been on the news just the other day.
They found her on the roof? That's scary...
Every day's great at your Junes!
> Nanako is looking at you expectantly...
How can you not sing along with such a bundle of cuteness? Is it because you're a turtle?
You memorised it already? I'm the best one in my class!
> It seems that she's forgotten all about the scary story.
That's all for now. We still have a long way to go before we're through the initial exposition.
As for the rendering glitches, I hope they get solved soon, I'll keep you guys updated as the LP continues.
As this is my first time doing an LP, feedback is very much appreciated.
This update took a really long time to prepare, and we still have a bunch more characters to introduce (read: portraits for me to clean) and exposition to sit through, so the next one might be a while.