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Inactive Let's reach out to the truth in Persona 4! - Archive links on page 28

Who shall we romance

  • Nobody

    Votes: 12 25.0%
  • Satonaka Chie (kingcomrade)

    Votes: 19 39.6%
  • Amagi Yukiko (kingcomrade)

    Votes: 21 43.8%
  • Shirogane Naoto (kingcomrade)

    Votes: 15 31.3%
  • Ebiharra Ai (kingcomrade)

    Votes: 15 31.3%
  • Kujikawa Rise (kingcomrade)

    Votes: 14 29.2%
  • Matsunaga Ayane (kingcomrade)

    Votes: 12 25.0%

  • Total voters
    48
  • Poll closed .

Mrowak

Arcane
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
3,947
Project: Eternity
Keep it live, bro... but I would advise you to change the mode of your LP. Word-for-word transcription with lot's of portrait-swapping clearly doesn't work here.
 

Cowboy Moment

Arcane
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Messages
4,407
o_O

Pseudo-Freudian.... That's almost like... Jungian! It's Jungian in the Persona series (ex. the shadow self, the tarot archetypes)

Oh, I'd be happy if the game had enough subtlety to actually make the difference between Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis visible in its context. But it doesn't. It has a huge red castle and an extremely homoerotic bathhouse.
 

MaroonSkein

Augur
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
347
Location
St. Petersburg, Russia
Oh, I'd be happy if the game had enough subtlety to actually make the difference between Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis visible in its context. But it doesn't. It has a huge red castle and an extremely homoerotic bathhouse.
There's nothing inherently Freudian about the castle and the bathhouse. Yukiko growing out of her prince on a white horse fantasies and Kanji confronting his :codexisfor: side can be seen as steps towards Jungian individuation. Just because something has to do with sex doesn't automatically make it Freudian.
 

Hirato

Purse-Owner
Patron
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
3,935
Location
Australia
Codex 2012 Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong
This is a big update and with its conclusion, we will have completed most of the introduction (thank god).
Shit finally starts to get real, so let's start today off with a bang!

0001.jpg

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Oh boy, another victim, not quite the bang I meant, but I think we can safely conclude it's Saki-senpai until further notice.

0004.jpg

> Ryotaru hurries past and leaves the house...

nanako.png

...Dad has to go do something. He got a call, so he left.
> Nanako looks worried...

0005.jpg

We're going to overhear a lot of gossip over the course of the game. It really helps set the mood at times.

<Red umbrella girl> When I looked, I saw three police cars zooming by.
<White umbrella girl> You live by the police station, don't you? Did you hear anything?
<Red umbrella girl> I heard some yelling, but nothing more. Total disappointment.
<White umbrella girl> Geez, you need to pay more attention to stuff like that. How else are we supposed to get the juicy stories?

> You hear sirens nearby...

0006.jpg

After the day's classes, the school is gathered in the assembly hall...
a pair of girls can be overheard gossiping about something... could it be the midnight channel?

<Rumour-loving girl> Hey... Did you see it yesterday?
<Long-haired girl> Of course not... What, is that rumour for real?
<Rumour-loving girl> I dunno, but it seems like a lot of people have seen it.

chie_earnest.png

Yukiko said she'd be here after lunch...
I wonder why they're holding a school assembly all of a sudden.
...Hey, what's wrong, Yosuke?

yosuke_earnest.png

Oh, it's nothing...

<Ms. Sofue> Everyone, please settle down. The school assembly is about to begin.
<Ms. Sofue> First, the principal has something to say.
> Ms. Sofue moves to the left of the stage and the principal takes up her previous spot at the podium.

<Principal> I... regret to say that I have a terrible announcement fro all of you.
<Principal> One of our third-year students, Ms. Saki Konishi of class 3...
<Principal> ...has passed away.

0007.jpg

> Chie is shocked and Yosuke looks as though something inside of him was torn asunder and his stomach about to lurch.

<Principal> Ms. Konishi was found deceased early this morning...
<Principal> The reasons for her passing are currently under investigation by the police.
<Principal> If they ask you for your cooperation, I urge you as students of this school to provide only the facts.
<Principal> I have been assured by the faculty that there's been no evidence that bullying was involved in the incident.
> The principal's address continues

0008.jpg

<Girl's friend> Well, last time, it was from an antenna, but this time she was hanging from a telephone pole.
<Girl's friend> It's gotta be a serial murder case...
<Rumour-loving girl> Someone said the cause of death was some unknown poison.
<Girl's friend> Unknown...? C'mon, this isn't some sci-fi drama.
<Girl's friend> Oh, by the wya, did you hear? Someone saw a girl that looked like Saki on that Midnight Channel thingie.
<Girl's friend> They said she totally looked like she was in pain. Isn't that scary?
<Rumour-loving girl> Haha, sounds like someone had a nightmare.
<Rumour-loving girl> The media's been broadcasting their interviews with her nonstop, so maybe they just had Saki on their minds.

The girls said something I found intriguing, I make a mental note to correlate TV broadcasts with the midnight channel appearances.
Could there be a be a connection?


0009.jpg


chie_angry.png

Sheesh, it's easy to toss around theories if you're not personally involved...

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chie_angry.png

Yosuke! Not you too!

yosuke_angry.png

Just listen for a sec! Something kept bothering me, so... I watched it again, and...

yosuke_worried.png

I think the girl on the screen... was Saki-senpai.
There's no mistaking it...
Senpai looked like... she was writhing in pain...
And then... she disappeared from the screen.

chie_earnest.png

What...?

yosuke_worried.png

You heard Senpai's body was found in a similar situation as that announcer's, right...?
Well, remember that guy you told us about? How he was all excited that his soulmate was the announcer?
Maybe... Just maybe, but...
Ms. Yamano might've been on that Midnight Channel before she died, too.

chie_surprised.png

Hold on... Are you saying..?
People who appear on that TV... die...?

yosuke_worried.png

I can't say for sure.
But something tells me... I just can't dismiss it as coincidence.
Plus, remember what that bear thing said? How that place was dangerous, and that we should leave before the fog clears...?
It also said that someone's been throwing people in there.
And that room with the posters on the wall... It has to have something to do with the announcer's death.
I mean... don't you think there's some kind of connection there?
Couldn't that world in the TV have something to do with Senpai and the announcer's death!?

0011.jpg

Say what you will, but when it comes to assembling the clues, Yosuke tends to be quite on top of things...

yosuke_earnest.png

..So it's not just me, huh?
If there is a connection, then it's a good bet that the two of them went inside that world.
That would explain the posters in that room.
Which means... if we look around, we might find a place that has something to do with Senpai, too.
I'm thinking about going in again. I want to find out for myself.

chie_earnest.png

D-Don't do this... You should just let the police handle this and--

yosuke_angry.png

You think we can rely on the police!? They haven't made any progress on the announcer's case.
Besides, even if we told them about the world inside the TV, there's no way they're gonna believe us!

yosuke_worried.png

If I'm completely off-base with this, that's fine...
It's just... I need to know why senpai had to die like this.
After what I've seen and what I've put together, there's no way I can ignore it now...
Sorry... but you're the only person who can help me.
I'm gonna go get ready. I'll be waiting for you at Junes.

chie_earnest.png

I can kinda understand how he feels...
But we can't be sure we'll be able to get out safely again.

0012.jpg

chie_surprised.png

Y-You serious...?
Uh... Anyways, let's go to Junes We can't leave Yosuke alone...
> I and Chie storm out the school doors after Yosuke.

0013.jpg

0014.jpg

If like me, you thought he was holding a really long ladle, it's actually a golf club.

chie_angry.png

We came to stop you, idiot!
C'mon... You really shouldn't do this. It's too dangerous.

Chie, you're such a party pooper...

yosuke_earnest.png

I know... But we were able to come back once, right?
If we go in form the same location, maybe we'll meet that bear again.

chie_angry.png

"Maybe" isn't good enough!

yosuke_earnest.png

Look, I can't just act like everyone else and pretend this has nothing to do with me.

chie_earnest.png

That's true, but...

0015.jpg

> You voiced your concern over Chie coming along.
> There's no telling what may happen over there... Because she's liable to whine about everything and beat the stuffing out of Teddie.
> Your Understanding has increased

yosuke_earnest.png

Yeah, it'll be just you and me.
Don't worry, I'm not going in without a plan. Chie, I'm leaving you in charge of this.

chie_surprised.png

Huh? What's that? A rope...?

yosuke_earnest.png

We'll go in with this tied to me, so I want you to hold on to this and wait here,

chie_surprised.png

Wh-what? Then, is this a lifeline? C'mon, wait a sec...

yosuke_earnest.png

Here, Hirato... This is for you.
> Yosuke gives me a Golf club and 3 doses of medicine...
> We depart...

0016.jpg

transition.png


0017.jpg

0018.jpg

chie_surprised.png

See...? I knew this wasn't gonna work...
Now what...?

0019.jpg

yosuke.png

Look, this is the same place as last time! so they are connected from place to place!

kuma_surprised.png

Y-You guys... Why'd you come back...?
0020.jpg

yosuke_surprised.png

You're that thing from last time...!
Wait, what the hell did you just say!?

kuma.png

Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here.
It's making this world more and more messed up...
This is the second time you guys came here. And I don't think anyone forced you in.
That means you're the most suspicious!

0021.jpg


yosuke_angry.png

What're you talking about, "throwing people in"!?
If someone was thrown in here and couldn't get get out, they might die!
Who would do such a--

yosuke_annoyed.png

Wait a sec...
All this talk about someone throwing people in here...
Does he mean Senpai and the announcer?
Did that "someone" throw those two in here?
0022.jpg


yosuke_annoyed.png

Yeah... I agree.
Let's assume he's telling the truth...
Could it be that someone's throwing people in here, intending to kill them...?
If that's the case...

kuma_angry.png

What're you guys mumbling about? Why'd you come back here, anyways!?
It's a one-way door! You can't get out once you're in!
Remember? How I had to let you guys out?

yosuke.png

Yeah, whatever.
We don't need your help this time! see, this time we have a lifeli--

0023.jpg

yosuke_angry.png

H-Hey! You better let us out when we're done investigating here!

kuma_angry.png

Grrrrr! I'm the one who wants to investigate!
I've lived here a long time. But it's never been noisy like this till now.
Do you have proof!? Prove to me you're not throwing people in here!
......
See! So it is you guys!

yosuke_angry.png

For the last time we're not the culprits, so e have nothing to prove to you!
Hey, you better answer our questions. This isn't like last time, when we came by accident. We're dead serious!
Listen up, 'cause people have died in our world... Every time the fog appears, a dead body shows up with it.
It has to be related to this place somehow! If you know something, tell us!

kuma.png

A dead body? Whenever the fog appears...?
I know that if it's foggy on your side, the fog lifts here.
It's really dangerous when the fog lifts. That's when the Shadows get violent.
aaaah... I get it...

yosuke_pain.png

If it's foggy on our side, it isn't in here...? Shadows get violent...?

kuma.png

That's why I said to hurry back! It's dangerous when that happens!
Okay, no more questions.
I know you guys did it! you better stop right now!

yosuke_angry.png

I've told you and told you, we're not the ones doing it!
I've about had it with you... Why the hell won't you listen to what we're saying!?

kuma_sad.png

I-I'm just saying... you might be the culprits.
I'm just making sure...

yosuke_annoyed.png

What...? Man, this bear's driving me nuts...
What is this place, anyways? It looks like a TV studio...
Is something being filmed here...?
H-Hey, don't tell me... Is that weird show being filmed here!?

kuma.png

Weird show? Filmed? What does that mean?

yosuke_annoyed.png

Uh... I'm asking if someone's been filming the people that get thrown in here.

kuma.png

......? I don't get it...

0024.jpg


kuma.png

Only me and Shadows are here! I told you before!

yosuke_angry.png

Ugh... We don't know what these Shadow things are! Or what you are either, for that matter!
You keep telling us to prove out innocence, but you're the most suspicious thing here!
Maybe you're the real culprit!
And what's with that stupid costume!? I'd say it's time you showed your face!

0025.jpg

I stand corrected, Teddie doesn't have any stuffing for Chie to kick out of him.

kuma_sad.png

Me...? The culprit...? I wouldn't do such a thing...
I just live here...
i just want to live here peacefully...

kuma.png

Okay. I'll believe that you guys aren't the culprits.
But I want you to find the real guy who did all this. You have to stop him.
Promise me, or else...
I'm not gonna let you guys outta here.

yosuke_angry.png

Y-You little...!

kuma_sad.png

This can't keep going on! My home here will be a complete mess!
And then... and then... I...
> The bear begins to cry

yosuke_annoyed.png

Wh-What're you crying for all of a sudden?
Geez, this thing's really weirding me out...
*sigh* Hey, what should we do?

> Someone on the outside is throwing people into this world...
> The mysterious bear is asking you to find the culprit behind this...
> You remember the words of a mysterious old man who called himself Igor...

0026.jpg


> Could this be the mystery that will be thrust upon you...?
> What was the "contract" Igor spoke of...?
> Could finding the culprit and solving the case be part of this promise...?
> In any case, since you cannot leave the TV world on your own, there seems to be no other option...

0027.jpg

kuma_smile.png

Th-Thank you!

yosuke_annoyed.png

Damn bear... Practically holding a gun to our heads...
But... it's true that we came here to figure things out. So far, we're completely in the dark.

yosuke_earnest.png

Look for the culprit, huh...? Bring it on!
You got my word, too.
Might as well introduce ourselves...
I'm Yosuke Hanamura, and this is my buddy, Hirato Kirata.
You got a name?

kuma.png

...Kuma. ...Teddie.

yosuke_pain.png

*groan* Figures...
But how are we supposed to find the culprit in the first place?

kuma.png

I dunno...
Oh, but I know where the last person came in.
I'll take you there. You might find clues.
Oh, one thing first. You two should put these on.
> Teddie gives me and Yosuke a pair of glasses...

0028.jpg

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

Whoa!
The difference is like night and day...
With these on, it's like the fog doesn't exist!

kuma.png

They'll help you talk through the fog.
I've been here for a long time. So you can rely on me!
But I can only show you where the place is. You guys will have to defend yourselves.

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

What happened to relying on you!?
Th-There better not be any monsters! You understand!?
We brought weapons, but they're more for show!
We just got here! If it's so dangerous, why don't you do something instead of relying on us!?

kuma.png

Uh uh. No way. I've got no muscles.
Oh! Oh! I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance!
How's that sound?

From this point forward, Teddie will join us in battle as a support character. It has its downsides and its upsides. On the upside it gives the analysis ability an upgrade, Teddie will keep track of affinities for different monsters and some other information. On the downside, he will now continually pester you with the likes of "Oh no! Yosuke is low on health!", "Way to go, you knocked him over", "Keep it up, 3 more enemies to go!", "Oh no, sensei got knocked down!", etc, etc. His eventual replacement is pretty annoying in this regard too.

0029.jpg

0030.jpg

megane_yosuke_worried.png

I-Is this thing for real!?
Ugh, this is so lame...
We swore to find the culprit, and this is all the backup we get...?

kuma.png

...Oh yeah. Can I ask you something?
Who's this Saki-senpai person?
Someone you know?

megane_yosuke.png

My waifu!
That doesn't matter right now...
Anyways, at least now we know Senpai might have been thrown in here.
Maybe we can find more information, too.
Let's get moving, Hirato

0031.jpg

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

What is this place...? It looks just like the shopping district...
What's going on here!?

kuma_sad.png

Some weird places have appeared here recently.
Things are getting so tangled, I dunno what to do...

megane_yosuke.png

Uh... by the way, why are you standing so far from us?
...You better not be planning to high-tail it if something does come up.

kuma_blush.png

Of course not!
I mean. Uh. I can't stand too close, you know. I'd get in your way...

megane_yosuke.png

Hrrm...
Man, they really went all out on this...
But out of all the places in town, why'd they replicate this one?

kuma_sad.png

How should I know? This is reality for the one who's here.

megane_yosuke.png

*sigh* As usual, nothing you say makes any sense...
But if this is our shopping district, we're not far from Saki-senpai's...

0032.jpg

megane_yosuke_worried.png

Does this mean... Senpai disappeared here?
What could've happened...?

kuma_surprised.png

W-Wait a second. Th-They're here!

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

What?

kuma_sad.png

...Shadows. I had a feeling they were going to attack...!

Shit just got real, FUUUUUUU YEAAAAAA!
0033.jpg

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0035.jpg

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Supposedly the protagonists fights off some inner demons and awakens his persona.
Fuck if I know what it was.

<Mysterious voice> I art thou.
<Mysterious voice> Thou art I.
<Mysterious voice> The time has cometh.
<Mysterious voice> Open thy eyes, and call forth what is within.

0039.jpg

0040.jpg

I don't see anything distinct about the card, but our hero's first Persona is Izanagi of the Fool arcana.
Shinto legends dictate that Izanagi is a god, the former husband of Izanami. The game treats the Fool tarot/arcana as a special case that can morph into just about anything. This probably explains our hero's ability to change his persona at will.
I defer further explanation to our resident occult expert.
Oh yoohoo! Kuroneko, you're up koneko-chan!

0041.jpg

Per...
0042.jpg

...so...
0043.jpg

...na.
0044.jpg

Note how the protagonist crushes a a tarot card to summon his persona.
While not noteworthy in and off itself, I just want to note that we don't do any emo shit like shooting our own heads to summon said personas.

0045.jpg

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I almost feel like I'm doing an after action review for an anime...

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Combat time, oh yeah!
We have 3 new options in the context menu. Here the L2 shortcut may also be of some use, whilst held it will hide the HUD and draw a green overlay on the next entity to act in combat.

0053.jpg

This is the analysis, which can be quickly accessed via L1. Reviewing collected information on an enemy does not cost you your turn. The menu in its current form should be self explanatory. As you encounter and defeat creatures it will get filled in with the affinities you use against it, as well as its level and normal HP/SP ranges.

0054.jpg

The persona menu allows us to change personas once per round before we act. There are a few things to explain here in regards to personas.

First levels. Our protagonist has two distinct sets of levels, his own and that of the Persona. His own determines his upper SP and HP limit as well as the level of persona he can forge and obtain. You can equip a persona of any level. Our other party members do not have this distinction between their character and persona level, it is treated as being one and the same.
When personas level up, they gain 3 stat points which is distributed randomly among the 5 attributes, Strength, Magic, Endurance, Agility and Luck. I'm not certain but I believe their effects are as follows...
Strength - influences damage dealt with your melee attacks.
Magic - influences potency of offensive and curative spells
Endurance - Reduces damage received from attacks
Agility - Allow you to act earlier in combat (much like "sequence' in fallout)
Luck - chance to land a critical

For affinities, there are 7 different types of attacks, physical, fire, ice, electric, wind, light and darkness.
The light and darkness schools only contain skills with a chance of instant KO.
Hama/mudo are useful and succeed often enough to be a useful tool in some of the harder trash encounters, as opposed to Final Fantasy where it would be several orders of magnitude more efficient to hit trash mobs with regular attacks as opposed to "Death" magic.
For the magical affinities, their respective base magic attacks are agi, bufu, zio, garu, hama and mudo.
Your resistances can be of one of the following types
Weak (Wk) - you take extra damage and are knocked down if you're guarding when it's used against you
Normal (-) - you take normal damage
Strong (Str) - you take less damage
Null (Nul) - you take no damage and can't be knocked down via attacks of this type.
Absorb (Abs) - Any damage dealt to you via this element will instead be restorative
Repel (Rpl) - Any attempts to inflict damage on you will return it to its source.
There are abilities that will allow you to counter physical attacks too.
Combat revolves around exploiting the weaknesses of your enemies whilst covering your own, keeping this in mind is vital.

Next up, skills.
All personas can learn up to 8 skills, these are denoted by the 8 blocks on the bottom left. On the right you can see another skill, as well as several cards with a '?' upon it.
When you learn a new skill, it will automatically use up a free slot if one is available. If not you will be prompted to unlearn a skill; you can unlearn the ability you just learned.
When you've gained enough levels to learn a skill, the next skill in the stack will reveal itself. The amount of these left are denoted by the cards beneath the next skill. Here we can see Izanagi has one more skill to learn after Rakunda.



Items should be rather self-explanatory. This menu allows use of restorative items as well as utility items such as bombs to be used in combat.

0055.jpg

We'll be seeing plenty of this in the future. I have opted to use Zio against the Hableries and I landed a critical. There are two categories of criticals, for physical attacks it'll knock an opponent over on a successful strike, for magical abilities your chances to hit are increased significantly

0056.jpg

As can be seen here, I've exploited their weakness and knocked one of them down. In this state they are easier to hit and the dizzy status can be inflicted upon them. Dizzy can be inflicted by dealing a sizable amount of damage to an enemy that is vulnerable to the effect. Whilst dizzy, the mob spends their next turn recovering.

0057.jpg

0058.jpg

I did forget to mention one thing. When you knock an enemy down, you gain a "1-more", this basically means you get to act again. You can do this via criticals or by exploiting enemy weaknesses. Keep in mind, enemies can exploit this when fighting you as well.

0059.jpg

0060.jpg

0061.jpg

No sweat...

0062.jpg

> Hirato Kirata somehow faced his other self without even seeing him or having any of his inner thoughts exposed, the fuck!
> He has obtained the facade used to overcome life' hardships, the Persona Izanagi.

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

Whoa... Wh-What was that!?
Did I hear you say "Persona"!? What was it--
I mean, what did you do!?
Hey, you think I can do it too...?

0063.jpg

The bear seems to have gained some adoration of me...

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

S-Sensei...?

kuma.png

Gosh almighty! You're amazing, Sensei! I am one impressed bear!
I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the Shadows were scared of you!
*gasp* Are you the one who's able to bring people into this world?
> I nod.

kuma_surprised.png

Hah! That's what I thought!
You're the culprit This is really something.
Don't you think so, Yosuke?

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

Dude, you call him Sensei and then don't show me any respect!?

kuma_sad.png

Sorry...

megane_yosuke_smile.png

W-Well, your support wasn't bad, though.
I gotta give you some credit for that.

0064.jpg


kuma_blush.png

Huh? R-Really...? Heehee.

megane_yosuke_smile.png

All right, you two keep it up, and I think we'll be fine from here on out.
Now let's get back to the investigation!
Man... I wonder what could've happened to Senpai here.

0065.jpg

<Unknown voice> It's all because of that store...
<Unknown voice> Oh, I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there.
<Unknown voice> Oh my... How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is...?
<Unknown voice> I heard their sales have gone downhill because of Junes.
> Yosuke looks increasingly uncomfortable.

<Unknown voice> That poor father... to have his own daughter working for the enemy.
<Unknown voice> What a troublesome child...

megane_yosuke_smile.png

Hey... Hey, Ted!
You said that this place is reality for those that are here, right!?
So... Does that mean this was Senpai's reality when she wandered in here...?

kuma.png

I... only know about what's over here.

megane_yosuke.png

Fine...
Whatever's going on here... We'll find out ourselves!

0066.jpg

> You begin to hear a man yelling...
<Middle-aged voice> Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!?
<Middle-aged voice> You know what the neighbors say about you, right!?
<Middle-aged voice> Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generation!
<Middle-aged voice> Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!

megane_yosuke_worried.png

I-Is this... Senpai's dad...?
I... I can't believe this...
She seemed liek she had fun at work... She never said anything like this to me...
You're telling me THIS was how Senpai really saw things!?

0067.jpg

megane_yosuke.png

It's the photo we took the other day with the other part-timers at Junes...
Wh-Why's it cut up like this...?
> The scrap of the photo shows Saki Konishi smiling...
> Yosuke is standing next to her...

seifuku_saki_sigh.png

I... never had the chance to say it...
I always wanted to tell Hana-chan...

seifuku_saki_angry.png

...that he was a real pain in the ass.

seifuku_saki.png

I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all...

seifuku_saki_angry.png

But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic... what a dip.
Who cares about Junes, anyway?
Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back...
I wish everything would just disappear...

megane_yosuke_worried.png

P-Pain in the ass...?
I-It's a lie... This can't be...
Senpai's not like that

0068.jpg

0069.jpg


kuma_surprised.png

H-Huh? Two Yosukes...?

megane_yosuke_angry.png

Who are you!?
I-I wouldn't think that...

shadow_yosuke_gloat.png

Hahaha... Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself?
Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!

megane_yosuke_angry.png

What're you saying...? That's not true, I--

shadow_yosuke_gloat.png

You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone.
The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation.
And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you cam snooping...

megane_yosuke_wince.png

S-Stop it!

shadow_yosuke_gloat.png

Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe... I DO know everything you're thinking!
Why's that...? Because I AM you!
You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do out in this shithole?
A world inside the TV--now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?

megane_yosuke_wince.png

That's not true... Stop... Stop it...

shadow_yosuke_punk.png

You're just trying to act like a big shot... If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a hero!
And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!

megane_yosuke_angry.png

That's not true!
What are you!? Who are you!?

shadow_yosuke_gloat.png

*chuckle* I already told ya.
I am you... Your shadow... There's nothing I don't know about you!

megane_yosuke_angry.png

Screw that! I don't know you!
You can't be me, you son of a bitch!!

0070.jpg

shadow_yosuke_gloat.png

That's right, say it again.

0071.jpg

megane_yosuke_angry.png

You're not me... You're nothing like me!

0072.jpg

0073.jpg

0074.jpg

0075.jpg

> Yosuke is flung backwards and is presumably out cold for this encounter.

0076.jpg

0077.jpg

<Shadow Yosuke> I'll crush everything that bores me...
<Shadow Yosuke> Starting with you!

0078.jpg

He opens up the battle with "Wind of Oblivion", as you may recall my persona is weak to the wind affinity so he knocks me over. He follows this up with Power Charge, which boosts his attack damage significantly for his next physical attack.

JRPG combat systems tend to be a bit like a puzzle, Shadow Yosuke should be a cinch to defeat if basic logic doesn't elude you.
The first thing to do,as with any other enemy, is to probe him for weaknesses. We'll soon learn he's weak to the electricity affinity. Our pattern for this guy attack should therefore look as follows...

If he's guarding, you guard - he will use Wind of Oblivion in the next round.
If he used power charge, attack him with Zio then guard.
Otherwise, attack with Zio and follow it up with a physical attack.

Combat Banter
<Shadow Yosuke> How long can you survive this?
<Shadow Yosuke> Heh, that's it...? Boring...

0079.jpg

0080.jpg

0081.jpg

Izanagi has leveled up to level 3 as a result of the encounter, he learned Rakunda, improved magic by 2, agility by 3 and luck by 1.


> Yosuke regains consciousness and stands up...
megane_yosuke_worried.png

I... I...

kuma.png

Yosuke, are you okay!?

megane_yosuke_worried.png

Y-Yeah... What.. Happened...?

0082.jpg

kuma_sad.png

That thing came from you, Yosuke...
you have to admit it... or it'll go berserk again...

0083.jpg


megane_yosuke.png

Brave...
Dammit... It hurts to face yourself...
i knew it wasn't lying... But I was so ashamed that I didn't want to admit it...
You're me... and I'm you When you get down to it, all of this is me.

0084.jpg

0085.jpg

> The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest...
> Yosuke has faced his other self...
> He has obtained the facade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Jiraiya

We're going to be seeing a lot of this over the course of the game... It's essentially what the various end-dungeon bosses boil down to. We will find the victim and their shadow and the shadow half will say all kinds of things the vic does not desire to have in the open. Like Yosuke, our future party members will deny their shadow selves and later accept them after we've beat their shadow selves to a pulp.

megane_yosuke.png

This is my Persona...

0086.jpg

megane_yosuke_worried.png

When we heard Senpai's voice...
I wonder if that was something Senpai had been keeping deep down inside...
Haha... "He was a real pain in the ass," huh?
What a way to find out... Geez, this is so embarrassing...

megane_yosuke.png

If you weren't here, I don't know what woulda happened... Thanks, Hirato.
Hey, Teddie...
Could Senpai have been attacked by her other self here?
Like how it just happened to me?

kuma.png

I think so.
The Shadows here were originally born from humans.
Sometimes the fog clears. Then they all go berserk...
And you saw what happens next. A string-willed Shadow draws others to it. And the big mass of Shadows kills the hot.

megane_yosuke.png

So that's why people die when it gets foggy in our world...
......

kuma_sad.png

Yosuke's pretty worn out...
This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you here.
I don't hear any more voices. I think we're done with the place.
Let's go back.

Persona 4, where lying on the ground wears you out. It's believable for the other cases since they'd be in the TV world for a few days, presumably without much in the lines of sustenance, but in Yosuke's case it's just ridiculous.
Now that I mention it, it does seem rather strange that people don't die from starvation after a few days in the dungeons. To my knowledge there's no drink and foodstuffs. Is the metabolic process simply an unknown concept to the TV world? How is Teddie even sustained? I demand an explanation!


0087.jpg

megane_yosuke.png

So that shopping district, and the weird room we saw before...
Did they exist because the ones who died entered this world, and it became their reality?
I guess what I'm trying to ask is... Did those places form because of the people who entered this world?

kuma.png

I don't know. It's never happened before...
But that's probably where they were when the Shadows attacked them.
The fog does life here sometimes. The Shadows get really violent then.
I always get so scared. I have to hide when it happens...
I sensed people here twice before. but both of them disappeared after the fog lifted...

megane_yosuke.png

So let's get this straight...
Senpai and that Yamano lady were thrown in here, and since they couldn't get out, they wandered around...
After a while, that Shadow thing came out of them. The fog cleared, it went berserk, and it ended up killing them...
Does that sound right?
So if I'd been here until the fog cleared, I woulda been in much deeper trouble?

kuma.png

Yeah. I'm pretty sure.
You were lucky Sensei and I were here with you...

megane_yosuke_angry.png

Dammit...!
Senpai and that announcer... They were stuck here all alone.. No one could save them...

kuma.png

They disappeared when the fog lifted. But they were safe before that.
No Shadows attacked them.
They attacked us, though...
Maybe they're keeping a close eye on us. They might see people who investigate this place as enemies...
It'll be dangerous, but we might be able to fight them! We might save people!

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

Are you saying, if anyone else gets thrown in here, we can save them before they disappear!?

0089.jpg

megane_yosuke.png

Anyways... We need to catch the one who's throwing people in here and make him stop.
Yeah... I'm finally starting to understand what's going on.

That's what I just said, you spotlight stealing bastard!

kuma.png

U-Um... Hey, can I ask something too...?
If Shadows are born from humans, what was Teddie born from?

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

You don't even know where you came from!? How should we know?

kuma_sad.png

I know some things. Mostly about this world... But I don't know anything about myself.
To be honest, I never thought bout it until now...

megane_yosuke_wince.png

Are you serious...?
No wonder we couldn't get a straight answer out of you...
0090.jpg

megane_yosuke_smile.png

Well, you're the one who said you weren't letting us out unless we do.

kuma_surprised.png

Oh! Th-That's right! Okay, I'll let you out. But there's one thing.

0091.jpg

kuma.png

You could come in from somewhere else. But then you won't end up here.
You might show up somewhere I couldn't get to you. Then you'd be doooomed...
Got it!?

megane_yosuke.png

Well, pretty much...

kuma_smile.png

Roger that! One exit comin' right up!

transition.png

0092.jpg


chie_earnest.png

Ah...!
Y-You guys came baaack...!
> Chie is crying...

megane_yosuke_surprised.png

Huh? Chie? whoa, what's with that face?

0093.jpg

megane_yosuke_wince.png

Ow!

chie_angry.png

The nerve of you guys! You are such morons!
I can't believe this! You guys suck!
The rope got cut off... and I had no idea what to do...
I was so worried...
I mean scared stiff, dammit!
I hate you both!

megane_yosuke_worried.png

I... I think that might've kinda sort been our fault.
Maybe we did go a little too far...
Let's apologise to her tomorrow.
I'm completely wiped out... I'm gonna go home, soak in the shower for a while, and get some sleep.

megane_yosuke_smile.png

I think... I'm gonna sleep well tonight.
Hehe... Well, see you in the morning!

0094.jpg

> Near the flood plain while walking home from school...
It would make more sense to be Junes... but we technically did leave all our stuff at school; bags, books, umbrellas...

0095.jpg

0096.jpg

I probably wouldn't be replaying it if I didn't...

kimono_yukiko_smile.png

Really...?
But... It must be difficult, moving to a place you know nothing about.

kimono_yukiko.png

I've never been out of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer to a new school...

0097.jpg

kimono_yukiko.png

...I see. She's always full of energy.

kimono_yukiko_smile.png

Chie's very supportive, you know. It's always her who gives me the little extra push I need.
We had homeroom together last year too, and I still remember how we'd cut class sometimes.

kimono_yukiko.png

Oh... I should get going. I need to make tomorrow's arrangements with our head chef.
Our inn can't function without me right now.
Um... I'll see you at school, then.

0098.jpg

<Announcer> Our next story is an update in our ongoing report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba.
<Announcer> At around 7:00 A.M., local high school student Saki Konishi was found dead in Inaba's residential area.
<Announcer> Since the body was positioned similarly to the last victim, and since Ms. Konishi was the one who discovered that body...
<Announcer> Police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death of Mayumi Yamano.
<Announcer> The coroner's report has established Ms. Konishi's time of death at around 1:00 A.M, last night.
<Announcer> The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area.

nanako.png

Another incident...

0099.jpg

Onii-chan's here for you :love:

nanako.png

...I'll be okay.
Can you help me do some stuff around the house?
> Nanako seems to be very reliable for her age.

<Narrator> ...Amagi Inn, located upstream of Samegawa River, is the town's oldest historical landmark.
<Narrator> Vacationers are known to travel surprising distances in order to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs.
<Reporter> After the incident with Ms. Yamano, the manager has stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shows.

Wikipedia said:
Radium is highly radioactive and its decay product, radon gas, is also radioactive. Since radium is chemically similar to calcium, it has the potential to cause great harm by replacing calcium in bones. Exposure to radium can cause cancer and other disorders, because radium and its decay product radon emit alpha particles upon their decay, which kill and mutate cells.
That sounds very unhealthy...

0100.jpg

<Reporter> In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school.
<Reporter> Now that has a nice ring to it... Let's see of we can interview her.
<Reporter> Excuse me!

Round about now is when I started to think the reporter might be behind the incidents...

kimono_yukiko.png

Hm...? Um... Are you speaking to me?
<Reporter> We've heard that you're the new manager. Is it true you're still in high school?

kimono_yukiko.png

Oh, well, I'm only filling in temporarily...
<Reporter> Someday, though... That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors.

kimono_yukiko_sigh.png

Huh? No, um...
> The reporter's rambling goes further and further off subject...

nanako_sigh.png

...This is boring.
Oh, I need to do the dishes...
> Being her onii-chan, I help out with the house work

0101.jpg

Today marks the first day we get to summon the menu.
If you're wondering about my current money stocks, you may remember that this is my second time going through this game. Money and social skills persist across a New Game+.
Mechanic dump incoming...

0102.jpg

First, the skill menu. This menu allows us to use restorative and a few utility skills outside of combat. My character does not possess any of those though.
We will be using this a lot to heal. Keep in mind in the earlier stages of the game it's far more effective to use restorative items than skills like Dia.

0103.jpg

The items menu gives is a quick overview of usable and key items. Medicine restores 100 HP and the rest are remnants from my previous playthrough. I'd advise against googling them, spoilers lurk here.
We can use restorative items here to restore HP and SP as well as a few other utility items, such as GoHo-M, which takes us out of the dungeon.

0104.jpg

The equip menu allows us to change our wielded equipment. The worn armor typically will not be reflected in the models. The game explains this by stating the characters wear it under their clothes. Items can have additional properties, eg, a weapon can inflict silence on hit enemies, or an accessory can grant you the High-counter skill, etc.
Weapons typically have 2 stats, damage and accuracy, likewise armour has defense and evasion. For obvious reasons I skew towards items with higher accuracy and evasion rates.

0105.jpg

I've already explained this menu previously during the previous combat sequence.

0106.jpg

On the status menu we can get a quick overview of our party and how they're all doing level wise. We typically won't use this much as the information is present on the HUD itself. For our protagonist we can see his social attributes as well.
There are basically 5 ranks, and you start with 0 in all of them. after you've gathered a certain number of increments, you will gain a rank in the respective attribute. To my knowledge, Diligence is the only attribute that has any effect outside of dialogue and events and it determines how many times you can fish in a time period.
The others exclusively define the social links you can establish and the dialogue options you can pick.
You should aim to increase your courage is quickly as possible in the beginning, the protagonist really is an absolute pussy.

0107.jpg

Under the system menu, we can find an entry named "Quests". Most of these are basic Fetch quests and some involve back and forth banter between two parties. We'll be doing some, but only as necessary for Social Links.

0108.jpg

> It's raining, something might appear on the Midnight Channel.

0109.jpg

<Weather announcer> In other Inaba-related news, meteorologists are predicting heavy fog throughout the year.
<Weather announcer> The region has seen an abnormal amount of fog over the past few years, and the cause of the climate change is unknown.
<Weather announcer> Whatever the reason, residents of the Inaba area should be extra careful.
<Weather announcer> Our broadcast tonight was extended to bring you up-to-date news on the incident in Inaba. The time is now midnight.
> You switch off the TV.

0110.jpg

> ...The image is there again.
> It seems that if the conditions are met, you can see it as many times as you want...

0111.jpg

It's totally not Yukiko

> The image is so out of focus that you can't tell who it is...
> What would happen if you touched the image on the Midnight Channel...?
> Would you be able to touch the person on the screen...?

0112.jpg

> You should speak to Yosuke and Chie about this tomorrow.

0113.jpg

igor.png

Welcome.
Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world...
I have summoned you within your dreams.
And so we meet again.

margaret.png

This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter...
In your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice, thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power.

0114.jpg

igor.png

Hold on to this...
From this night forth, you are our guest in this Velvet Room.
Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help.
There is but one price for this assistance...

0115.jpg

igor.png

Very well.
The Persona you have acquired...
It is a side of you that shows itself when you face the world around you.
Perhaps you can think of it as... a facade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life.
Your Persona ability, however, is that of the wild card... Compared to that of the others, it is very special.

0116.jpg

igor.png

The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart... And the heart is strengthened through bonds.
As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop.

0117.jpg

margaret.png

Social Links are necessary for more than strengthening your Persona.
At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are searching for.

igor.png

Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you...?
I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together... *chuckle*
'Til we meet again...

0118.jpg




And that is all for this update of absolutely epic proportions.
I'm a bit tired, so I'm having some trouble thinking of the obligatory closing questions...
But I'll try to indulge you...

Will Chie forgive us?
Will Brosuke ever love again?
Am I a gigantic faggot for starting a "New Game+" as opposed to a regular new game on the hardest difficulty?

Who is responsible for throwing Yamano and Saki into the TV world?
Who is the Kimono wearing girl on the midnight channel who totally isn't Yukiko?
What are these Social Links Igor spoke of and what does it entail for our hero?
What personal trial did our hero overcome to awaken his Persona?
 

Hirato

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Codex 2012 Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong
There are other kinds of bathhouses?
Non homo-erotic ones? sure!
All the Onsen videos have to come from somewhere :p

Keep it live, bro... but I would advise you to change the mode of your LP. Word-for-word transcription with lot's of portrait-swapping clearly doesn't work here.
Agreed, but I fear that if I was to write abridged dialogue, I would not do the original writing justice.
I'll see what I can do for the next update, but first I'm going to take a short break to recover from that update and catch up with the new anime that has aired this season.


EDIT
Seems I can no longer edit the opening post and the first 3 updates, what gives?
 

felipepepe

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Keep going man, we are almost out of the whole tutorial! And almost at page 4, go and prove Bee wrong! :lol:

Also, seeing this again reminds of how perfect is this game art direction. Never has yellow been used so well before. And now I want to play this game again.
 

Hirato

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Also, seeing this again reminds of how perfect is this game art direction. Never has yellow been used so well before.
I have to agree, normally yellow is quite distracting but Atlus uses it with skill and finesse. No small feat considering how dominant the colour is in their interfaces.
In my opinion, the artwork also looks absolutely fantastic, sprites, models, locations, you name it.
And that is in spite of the fact that the game is targeted at hardware from 2000 (or whenever the PS2 came out).
I wouldn't complain at all if new games were released with similar graphical fidelity.
Heck, I am similarly infatuated by the Jak and Daxter series (a console game series I'd actively recommend).

And now I want to play this game again.
Then my work here is done :salute:
 

felipepepe

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And that is in spite of the fact that the game is targeted at hardware from 2000 (or whenever the PS2 came out).
I wouldn't complain at all if new games were released with similar graphical fidelity.
Reason why knowing Atlus may announce Persona 5 this year for current-gen consoles gets me so hyped up.

Then my work here is done :salute:
OF COURSE NOT! Get back here and finish this LP! :lol:
 

Hirato

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Codex 2012 Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong
OF COURSE NOT! Get back here and finish this LP!
Have mercy kind sir, there's no room on this page for another update.

Unless you guys guys are fine with averaging 150+ screenshots a page, I'm trying to keep it around 100 so I don't overwhelm everyone's browsers.
 

felipepepe

Codex's Heretic
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Yeah, you're right. I crammed my whole Diablo LP in 3 pages and it was a pain to read...I blame it on people being to busy with bullshits like X-Mas and new year's eve and not posting enought on my thread. :obviously:

Meanwhile, pointless rambling post like this will help you get to page 4 and prove Mrs. bee wrong.
 

Black

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Messages
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Yeah, the obliviousness of the main character was really a pain in the ass.
GEE LOOKS LIKE A GIRL IN A KIMONO, WONDER IF THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT OTHER GIRL IN A KIMONO I SAW TODAY.
NOPE
 

Cowboy Moment

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Joined
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Messages
4,407
There's nothing inherently Freudian about the castle and the bathhouse. Yukiko growing out of her prince on a white horse fantasies and Kanji confronting his :codexisfor: side can be seen as steps towards Jungian individuation. Just because something has to do with sex doesn't automatically make it Freudian.

The point isn't whether it's Jungian, Freudian, or whatever, but that the game is so hamfisted about it, and that the respective dungeons are visually unimpressive. Which is all the more visible given the game's good art direction in general.
 

Hirato

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Just 6 more posts after this one.
Displaying 25 odd posts a page doesn't really help though.
It'll probably get changed back to 15 sometime in the future, but from what I heard one of the admins say, XenForo doesn't offer a per forum "posts per page" setting.

In the meantime, I'm going to amuse myself with "Angel Beats!"
 

felipepepe

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
 

Hirato

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I'd need to prepare one first, it'll probably be ready later tonight.

Just to clarify the romance poll a bit, we'll be pursuing everyone whose vote count exceeds the nobody vote.
I'm quite surprised there was 13 votes not directed at the Nobody option, thought the codex didn't like romances in their games.
 

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