Nanashi: What a bizarre place... Twisted Tokyo. Smelled pretty bad too.
David: You will lean to appreciate the sweet smell of decay, kakaka...
(NANASHI turns to see MAITREYA meditating, with YURLUNGUR, FUU-KI, PATRIMPAS, AND KWANCHA behind him, doing the same)
Nanashi: Oh? What\'s this? He\'s not... doing anything to you, is he?
Yurlungur: Nah mate. We\'re trying to reach enlightenment. Lord Maitreya says we can protect our weaknesses if we do that.
Maitreya: Try not to be distracted by Earthly things... such as your annoying summoner.
Nanashi: Hey. We\'ve got a last few quests to do, before we head off to knock over the Creator. First one\'s right around here.
Itsumade: How long is this going to take?
There are four remaining Challenge Quests left. First up is \"Minami Sunamachi Demon,\" right at, well, Minami Sunamachi, north of Twisted Tokyo. There\'s supposedly an invisible demon hiding in one of the storefronts. But if we check all of them, there\'s... nobody there. After checking the third, Dagda tells us the demon is right there, and an Ongyo-ki appears!
MINI-BOSS: BRUTE ONGYO-KI
Level 80. Resist Phys, Resist Gun, Resist Elec, Resist Wind, Weak Light
Yet another forgettable mid-boss. His main gimmick is that he always gets the first strike in battle, since he got the jump on us; he attacks mainly with the ailment-inflicting Phys moves his playable counterpart specializes in. Still, not hard at all, especially given how overpowered Light is. On his defeat, he just... leaves.
Sphinx: What do you call an Ongyo-ki that can be seen?
Ongyo-ki: Not very good at his job.
Vasuki: \'Well I SSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE you right now; what does that make you?
Ongyo-ki: How can you see me... when I was never here?
(ONGYO-KI runs backwards around a corner)
Nanashi: Alright, got another call about Futotama messing up the Imperial Palace. Caller wants his shawl to bring magic back to Tokyo.
Amaterasu: If this own country\'s gods are rioting then we\'re not as secure as we thought...
The Imperial Palace is near Ichigaya. There\'s a Domain over it, but having traversed the ultimate Domain, this is extremely easy.
MINI-BOSS: ENIGMA FUTOTAMA
Level 75. Weak Wind, Resist Light, Resist Dark
Another fairly simple mid-boss. He\'s interesting in the fact that, referencing his playable form having both Attack and Healing Knowhow, he exclusively makes use of items to attack; I saw mostly Zionga stones and Magic Mirrors. Regardless, Deadly Wind wastes him.
Kazfiel: And don\'t come back \'til you call Jesus Lord!
Futotama: To think I would manifest in such an uncouth incarnation... truly, one never knows where one will be observed next...
Nanashi: I still don\'t... really understand that but okay.
Thor: BEHOLD! The great Lord of Thunder is here! Am I to understand you invoked me, child?
Nanashi: That\'s right. I need all the help I can get!
Sraosha: Dost thou PROMISE to treat thy gods, angels, and demons well, HMMMMMMM?
Next up we have \"The Guard of Midtown,\" taking place in, obviously, the Midtown building where we found Tenkai. Unlike in Vanilla this dungeon is totally optional and figures only in this quest. It seems the demon Hagen is guarding treasure here and our petitioner wants its location - and he\'s prepared to give us a Black Card, allowing access to the members-only shop in Ginza, if we take Hagen out.
Hagen first appears in the doorway leading to the elevators as a red static form; we attack him to begin the fight. He\'s not particularly tough but he does have Blight, Acid Breath, his unique move Loyalty Slash (Phys instant kill while Smirking), and Megidolaon, which he\'ll rain on us if we put up Tetrakarn. After a while, though, he retreats further in.
Hagen: How pitiful. I\'ve been observed as a coward here.
Now we\'ve got to chase him up the building! Layout\'s the same as in Vanilla but with the addition of Wraithwalls; there\'s a Power Spot in the lobby and one of one of the higher floors as well; we need to get creative with these and the elevators to reach the Wraithwalls in time but really it\'s pretty straightforward.
White Rider: Kakakakaka! Thought you could use an assist, little one! This wicked one shall fall under my valiant bow!
Baal: Oh dear I feel kind of funny... no- not again- GYAAAAAAAAH!
(BAAL vanishes in a flash of light; in his place, BEELZEBUB appears!)
Beelzebub: WHY YOU LITTLE BAZZZZZZZZTARD ZZZZUBZZZUBZZUB! YOU RE-DEMONIZZZZZZED ME!
Nanashi: Seems like you\'re stronger in this form, dude. I thought demons liked that?
Beelzebub: A BIT MORE RAW ZZTRENGTH CANNOT COMPENZZZZZATE FOR WOUNDED PRIDE, ZZZZZZZUBZUBZUB...
There are three more encounters with Hagen. He runs away after the first two, but is ready for the final confrontation when we reach the door to the room Mastema was in in Vanilla. Be prepared...
MINI-BOSS: FAMED HAGEN
Level 80 No weaknesses or resistances
Hagen\'s at full power now and he\'s a lot harder; he\'s swapped Blight and Fog Breath for Hades Blast and War Cry, now can cancel our buffs and de-buffs, uses Megidolaon unprovoked, and can use Critical Eye to give himself free cries and Smirks to set up Loyalty Slash. I wish I could give a strategy for this might but there really, really isn\'t one. Just trade buffs and blows until he drops, and we still can\'t cheese him with Tetrakarn either. Thankfully his health isn\'t too high. At lower HP he\'ll start using Critical Eye nearly every turn, and as seen above has no weaknesses we can exploit. Just have a huge slugfest with him like the Germanic warrior he is, and he\'ll eventually fall, still refusing us to give up the location of the treasure.
We can now go into the room behind him to find... no Mastema, but no treasure either. Evidently this entire Midtown operation was a feint. We still get the Black Card, thankfully. (I\'ve never bought anything at Ginza).
Angel: Well look at me now, little Summoner!
Nanashi: Whoa, I haven\'t seen you for a while. You\'re wearing... more clothes.
Angel: ARE YOU IMPLYING MY CHOICE OF DRESS IS INDECENT?
Cherub: Well now, little one... seems you haven\'t been training as I have...
Angel: Oh, really now, my so-called superior...
(ANGEL obliterates an entire wall of the building with a flash of light, leaving nothing remaining)
Cherub: Gah... what?
Nanashi: Well I... wasn\'t expecting that. Uh-oh. Call from Hiroshi. His girlfriend\'s body\'s gone missing. He says those old scientist dudes want to meet us at Ueno temple.
Yes, it\'s time for the grand finale of the Hiroshi/Tamagami quest line, \"Where the Corpse Went.\" This one takes place at the little temple in Ueno that\'s only accessible through a gate at the pond; it\'s where we met Nozomi in Vanilla. Enter to find Hiroshi and the old men, who give us some... bad news. It seems Tamagami had more bases covered than we thought - Noa wasn\'t just his host, she was his backup plan. He\'d turned her into a demonic Medium, and and she\'s been having a goddess literally downloaded into her body for the past 25 years. Killing Tamagami completed the download.
Nanashi: Goddamn it! We did exactly what he wanted!
Kanseiteikun: A dead man\'s switch... a cowardly tactic expected from Tamagami\'s kind.
The goddess is the last, strongest National Defense Divinity - Izanami, Goddess of the Dead. Tamagami has summoned her here, to this spot, to destroy Japan and rebuild it from scratch in his image!
Tenkai: And my old tormentor fancied himself a \"patriot?\" Bah.
Obviously, we need to put her down. As we agree to the quest, the entrance to Yomotsu Hirasaka appears, with the goddess herself. She evidently buys into Tamagami\'s nationalist bile, and she\'s not willing to talk things out.
BOSS: MEGAMI IZANAMI
Level 82. Weak Fire, Null Ice, Null Light, Drain Dark
A couple interesting things to note here. One is that Hiroshi joins us as a second AI partner for this fight, on top of whoever we\'ve selected, and we can tell him what to do each turn. He can heal us, give us two free Luster Candies, or attack Izanami for minimal damage. Why is that last one even there? I\'ll explain in a sec.
Izanami herself is no slouch - she has Thunder Gods as well as Dark Grudge, a tier-four Dark move unique to her, as well as Megidolaon and Silent Prayer to wipe our buffs. Her deadliest move, however, is Vengeful Curtse, which leeches almost all MP from the party. Hiroshi\'s weak attack, though? Stops her from using this. I have no idea how you could figure that out without a guide. When we get her below half health the first time, she heals back to full; I don\'t think she does this again. Other than that, just de-buff her and pile on the Fire.
Surt: Sahahahaaaaaaa! ROAST, WITCH.
Onmoraki: Yeah! Burnin\' stuff!
Huoniao: I like burning stuff...
At the battle\'s conclusion, Hiroshi tells the beaten goddess that she can rely on the new generation to build a strong Japan; no need to start from scratch. He finishes her off with a single gunshot, bidding his old love farewell.
Kama: How agnonizing. Love should always win; there is no force stronger...
The old men congratulate us, but they have one last request. Use a Balm of Rising on them? Nanashi does so, and... they fade away, revealing that they too were ghosts, bound to this world until Tamagami was finally stopped. Hiroshi bids us farewell and thus we complete the last quest of the game.
Nanashi: I felt kinda bad for that goddess. I think I\'ll take her with me; prove she can trust us kids.
(NANASHI punches the Fusion button on his phone)
Izanami: Well now, that was certainly quick. You intend to prove that that man Hiroshi was correct and the Minister was wrong, yes? Well, show me.
Nanashi: Gladly, my lady. And on that note... we\'ve got a Creator God to beat up now.
???: Well now... my rebellious son...
Nanashi: Oh man I know that voice...
Inanna: I am Inanna, Mother of All. It seems you have wised up to the idea that the Creator must be destroyed. Care for some advice fro one orders of magnitude older than yourself?
Nanashi: Uhh, sure? You\'re contracted to me now, so it\'s not like you can actually hurt me.
Inanna: What a sweet child. Now, to destroy the creator, we will need all the help we can get. I seem to recall your adventure began when you disobeyed orders, traveled to a certain shrine, and did something you came to very much regret. What I\'m saying is... care to do it again?
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