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Deja Vu - Somebody had better look out... (complete)

ghostdog

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
11,076
A Nightmare comes true. No memory, blood on our hands, poison in our veins, the police on our back, shifty rackets, crooked dames, dirty deals and a mean case of... DEJA VU.


Dejavu-dos.jpg



Deja Vu is a nifty little point-and-click adventure game set in the world of 1940s hard-boiled detective novels and noir movies. Developed from ICOM Simulations it was first released in 1985 on MAC and then ported to almost every platform available (DOS,Amiga,AtariST, C64, NES). Later on, a Windows 3.1 version appeared and it also got a port to GBC. Other ICOM titles include Shadowgate and Uninvited, which both featured similar gameplay.


Back in the day I played the NES version but never managed to beat the damn game. Years later I replayed it and finally beat it and now I decided to try the windows version which has the best graphics. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed with the windows version (which is basically identical to the older PC/Amiga/Atari versions apart from better graphics). No music, lousy sound effects, sluggish/messy UI and an extremely annoying time limit. Frankly, the NES version is the best because it provides a good compact UI and nice music. I will endure this playthrough for your amusement, but if you want to play the game yourselves, definitely go for the NES port.


dejavu-nes.jpg



You know, I actually installed Win3.1 in dosbox to run the game. Yep, I'm going through hell to make LPs for you people. It can be played in winXP, but it seems to be going much faster and thus the time limit ends very early in the game and fucks you up good. Ah, windows 3.1. I still have those 7 unholy floppy disks somewhere... If Bill Gates reads this LP, I'm sure he'll shed a tear (and then eat a baby).


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:what:


BillGates%2Bcopy.jpg








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ghostdog

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
11,076


Welcome to a nightmare come true.



icom.jpg




You are waking from a stupor that feels like a chronic hangover after a week in Vegas. There is a throbbing bump on the back of your head, big enough to make your hat size look like an Olympic record. You notice your right palm is covered with dry blood, but you neither see nor feel any open wounds on your body. On your left forearm you feel a sharp pain under the shirt sleeve. Rolling up the sleeve, you discover what looks like a fresh needle mark. "Have I been injected with something?" you wonder.


As you come out of the fog, you are able to make out your surroundings. You have no idea where you are and why you are here.








1. THE FACE OF A STRANGER.







krnl386_052.jpg



Feeling the luckiest guy in the world, I fix my gaze on the hanging coat.


bog01.png
It's a gray trench coat that matches your trousers and probably your taste.

hero.png
Huh ? Who the hell are you ?!

bog01.png
Your alter-ego, a voice in your head. Maybe you're going crazy, bud. But what you should be really asking yourself is... WHO AM I ?

hero.png
I... I ? Who am I ?!

bog02.png
Can't remember shit, can you ?

hero.png
Oh fuck. I've fallen prey to the oldest trick in the gaming history.

bog02.png
Pull yourself together, because things are bound to get worse.


I grabbed my coat and put it in my inventory, discovering something even more interesting behind it :

krnl386_058.jpg



bog01.png
It's a .38 special. Go ahead and make your day.



I sure have had better days. Still feeling dizzy I searched the coat with trembling hands.

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I discovered some coins (with the picture of some dame on them), a fresh pack of Luckys, a pair of sunglasses... nothing much, but the rest of the stuff look far more interesting : A Gold-plated lighter, a handkerchief and a leather wallet all having the initials J.S. embossed on them.


Jason Statham ? Jack Sparrow ?


hero.png
J.S... Are those my initials ? Doesn't ring a bell... can't...UNGHH


I feel very dazed. I better do something about it. The memory loss is making me fell weary. I feel like I have been up for many days without any sleep, only worse...


bog02.png
There's a battle going on inside your head and you seem to be on the losing side, bud. You must hurry.


Searching the wallet seems like the smart thing to do. I find a key labeled "OFFICE" a 20$ bill and...

krnl386_071.jpg



hero.png
Siegel...is that me ? Damn, can't remember anything.

bog02.png
Well, How about trying on those glasses ?


When I tried to put on the glasses they slided off my head. Obviously they're not mine.


bog02.png
Enough ! It's time you left the warm safety of the shitter and face the outside world.

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Reluctantly, I turned to face the mirror...

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DAMMIT ! Maybe a slap in the face will jog some memories into my battered skull.

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SOCKO indeed ! Apart from an aching jaw nothing else was gained from this move. Feeling even dizzier I opened the door to the hallway.

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In the state I'm in, every little clue might help. Compelled to investigate, I enter the women's bathroom...



DeusEx.jpg



Whoops, wrong bathroom.


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The stall is empty ? No, not completely empty, on top of the toilet I spotted something shimmering.

bog01.png
It's a gaudy, expensive pearl earring. If I were you I wouldn't wear it in this part of town.


I take it with me, you never know, I may actually find out that I'm a drag-queen. Thinking it's about time I left these filthy bathrooms, I move towards the other door in the hall.

krnl386_109.jpg

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Joe's Bar. Is Joe Siegel his name ? Is this his bar ? My head feels like it's filled with smoke, no recollections come to enlighten me. There's a shot of rye on the stool, I take it down, hoping it will make me feel better. It doesn't. In fact, minute by minute, I feel worse...


krnl386_129.jpg



The clock is ticking, the goddamn clock is ticking. My hand moves to the cigarettes. It feels like a familiar move.

krnl386_134.jpg



hero.png
I probably deserve many things, but I'll live long enough to get out of this bloody mess.

bog02.png
Bold words. We'll see if you'll live up to them.




Little did I know about the tendency of this sadistic game to kill me in every turn. But I learned. I learned the hard way...





Recommended views :
D.O.A. (Dead On Arrival) (1950)
 

Majestic47

Learned
Joined
Nov 9, 2011
Messages
432
Oh wow i remember this game. Very....strange interface for its time. And uglier than I remembered.
 

Crooked Bee

(no longer) a wide-wandering bee
Patron
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
15,048
Location
In quarantine
Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire MCA Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
The hell is this? Where's mah Chrono Trigger!?
:rpgcodex:

On a more serious note, whoa, a new ghostdog LP! :salute: The game looks fun, I'll be following this.
 

ironyuri

Guest
Looks interesting.

One thing I'm wondering: is there some sort of arbitrary background timer running down with each action taken, or is it more as you said, just running regardless of what you do?
 

ghostdog

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
11,076
And have in mind that what you see from the UI is the result of tweaking to make it bearable. Basically, 8-bit NES dejavu FTW.



ironyuri said:
One thing I'm wondering: is there some sort of arbitrary background timer running down with each action taken, or is it more as you said, just running regardless of what you do?
From what I gathered in this version time runs regardless what you do, and if you run out it's mandatory to restart, or at least to fire up an early savegame in order to save as much money as possible. I must have restarted at least 5 times during this playthrough. In the end since I knew exactly what to do I could finish the game in 15-20 minutes.

I believe there are a couple of key moments where it seems you gain back a small portion of time. Usually when you do something that helps you jog some memory.
 
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Messages
8,268
Location
Gritville
I played Deja Vu, Shadowgate and Uninvited on the NES when I was a kid... Those fucking games scared the crap out of me, and as such I will not follow this LP. :smug:

One thing though: I always though Uninvited was the better game of the three.
 

ghostdog

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
11,076
I am disappoint by the lack of faith.

:rpgcodex:

This LP wont be abandoned before reaching page 20 !

hopefully it will be finished by then...
 

ghostdog

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
11,076

With no recollection of who I am, and a maddening headache, I woke up in the middle of the night in Joe's Bar. The place seems empty. I feel like I'm going to faint any minute now, but I've got to push on...


krnl386_131.jpg



hero.png
I'll take my fucking chances.








2. Ace In The Hole.








I climbed the stairs to the first floor...

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hero.png
Hmm, this one looks familiar.

bog02.png
That's a poster of "Puff" MacMuffen. No boxer ever took a dive so gracefully as he...

hero.png
And what about this one ? Hey, that's ...!


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bog01.png
Ace huh ? That must have been centuries ago.


Feeling more like the Joker, I enter the room at the end of the corridor.

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The phone doesn't work. My gaze turns to the typewriter.


bog01.png
For those who are literate, it is a handy tool. For those who aren't, it's a timewaster. I suggest you move along.


I moved along and opened the drawer, inside I found an envelope.


hero.png
Aha ! There's a bill here.


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hero.png
The Pharmacy's address is 934 West Sherman Chicago, Illinois. I'll keep that in mind.

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Sodium Pentathol ? This doesn't sound good...


I decided to worry about this later and check the door ahead. It was locked. I remembered that I had found a key in my jacket.

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The key slid in easily, it was the right one.

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And shit hit the fan...





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bog02.png
This one looks even more stiff than you, Ace.

hero.png
He... He looks familiar...


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The situation is messy, I thought of trying some good old fashioned advice from the gaming company help-line...


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The phone was dead as the man before me. I opened the drawer to find a pencil, a paper and a key :


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bog01.png
The key is marked "FRONT", you know what that means, right ?

hero.png
Yeah, I can finally get out of this shit-hole, but I need to check some things first.


I try to open the safe, it needs a combination.

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My mind is obviously melting down, I open the window get some air and find a fire escape.

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bog02.png
You could get down on the street from here, bud, but my gut says you should check the third floor first.

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Even though you're a figment of my imagination, I'll follow your goddamn gut.

(It's incredibly easy to miss the third floor entirely, and if you do so, you're fucked)

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I open the window and get inside...

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hero.png
What the hell ?!


It almost looks like an electric chair, but it has no power supply leading to it. Maybe it's a dentist's chair. Yeah, a dentist named Mengele...

bog02.png
Have a look at those vials.

hero.png
Hmm, Sodium Pentahol, Medrezine and Diethanol Trimene.

bog01.png
You can guess who was strapped in that chair, right Ace ?


Yeah, it was probably me that was sitting in that chair. The use of those drugs could explain my memory loss. I take the Medrezine vial with me, it was the only one that some liquid left in it.


Then, I search the wastebasket...

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I put it in my pocket, it was probably used on me, so I guess it's ok. Afterwards I check that metal door ahead and to my amazement I find an elevator.

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It leads downstairs.

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hero.png
Ok, there's one more place to check. The basement.


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bog02.png
You don't look so good, bud.

hero.png
Hnnnnnn...! My head !!


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(Yep, this game is so fucked up that you can easily die if you take your time in the beginning.)


I know I don't have much time, but something tells me I should have look around. I open the spigot and let the wine spill to the floor, say goodbye to your fucking vintage, Joe.


bog02.png
Check out those bottles.

hero.png
They're covered in dust... Except this one on the right, there's no dust on it. I wonder why...


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A-HA !


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Everything is weird today. I decide to open the left door and I hit the jackpot.

krnl386_225.jpg



bog01.png
Huh, an illegal casino in the basement. That Joe was one dirty bastard.

hero.png
No wonder he got his ass capped.


The picture on the wal confirms my suspicions :

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Since I'm here I decide to have a go at the slot machines, with all my rotten luck so far, I'm bound to get a break.

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I curse the machine and feed it one more coin.

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:yeah:


That move was necessary, folks. Now we have enough money to get through the game.


I exit the casino and search the rest of the area...

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The place stinks. I move further into the sewers.


bog02.png
Hey bud, what was that noise ?

hero.png
Huh ...?!




WHAT




THE



FUCK



!!!!




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I can't think straight, my head is spinning...



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JC.png
What a shame. He was a good man. What a rotten way to die.





Recommended views :
Out of the Past (1947)
 

Snefix

Novice
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
26
I'm morally obligated to mention two things:

1) The continuous form of 'to lose' is 'losing', not 'lossing.'

2) The past tense form of 'to slide' is 'slid', not 'slided.'

:salute: Regardless, I hope you finish this LP.
 

ghostdog

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
11,076
thanks, you grammar-nazi. you.

I corrected the slid thing, but where did you see me write "lossing" ?
 

Snefix

Novice
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
26
ghostdog said:
thanks, you grammar-nazi. you.

I corrected the slid thing, but where did you see me write "lossing" ?

First page.
There's a battle going on inside your head and you seem to be on the loosing side, bud. You must hurry.
 

spekkio

Arcane
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
8,273
OMG somebody found a typo in a LP thread!

:roll:
 

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