Follow TV Tropes

Live Blogs God, the Devil, and Flynn: Let's Play Shin Megami Tensei IV!
HamburgerTime2014-03-11 17:54:22

Go To


Chapter Final: The Future That We Bring When Tomorrow Comes

Samyaza: You still wish to complete third third quest you've been offered, yes? You get sidetracked easily; come, your lady awaits at the Cafe!

Flynn: She's not my... anyway, this quest is from Stephen, and it seems fairly urgent. I just need to make some last few additions to my party...

(FLYNN fiddles with his Gauntlet for the last time. The light blazes out of it, brighter than ever before, as URIEL, MICHAEL, SANAT, and the ANCIENT OF DAYS descend from the heavens!)

Koga Saburo: Holy freakin'... You beter know what you're doing here, kid!

'Yaso Magatsuhi: YASO MAGATSUHI!

Ancient of Days: BEHOLDETH, HUMANITY, THE FACE OF ABSOLUTE ORDER! YOU WHO HAVE BESTED ME AND NOW CALLED ME... IT CAN BE FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN ESTABLISHING MINE ABSOLUTE LAW, YES?

Sanat: PISS OFF, YOUR BREATH SMELLS! HELLO THERE, MY LITTLE EXPERIMENT, WE MEET AGAIN! OOH HOO HOO YOU LOOK EVEN STRONGER THAN BEFORE! NOW, LET US USHER IS CHAOS TOGETHER!

Ancient of Days: THOU FELL BEAST, THOU HAST NO PLACE INSULTING MY BREATH! CLEARLY THE ONLY REASON ONE WOULDST CALL THE ANCIENT OF DAYS IS TO ESTABLISH TRUE ORDER.

Sanat: YEAH YEAH YEAH, HEARD IT AL BEFORE. BITE MY SPINY RED ASS, OOH HOO HOO!

Flynn: Umm... actually...

Michael: Ah, the young man who defeated us so handily; we meet again! Your cosmic affiliations perplex me, but that was a most riveting battle. Would you not agree, Sir Uriel?

Uriel: Oh, most definitely, Sir Michael! Never before had we even considered the side of humanity to be able to match us in such a way!

Raphael: Y-you can't be serious!

Gabriel: ...

Aeshma: And indeed, I've returned to my true form, as well.

Flynn: Asmodeus?

'Sraosha: No, Aeshma! You're telling me all this time I've been working with this-

Mastema: Patience, Sir Sraosha.

Aeshma: King Aquila was my best friend. I would be honored to serve you, his greatest and proudest descendant!

Aeshma is perhaps the strangest demon in the game. He's only level 10, but requires very high-level fusion materials, and has some of the most overpowered skills in the game, including the four elemental Pierce skills. These do exactly what they imply: they permit a demon with them to bypass resistances of each particular element. Since Aeshma is so weak, he's basically designed to mass-produce him and fuse those traits onto other demons. The rest of them, we'll get to in a bit.

Flynn: Alright, we'll see what Stephen wants, I guess...

This is "For the Past, For the Future," the very last quest in the game, featuring its toughest superboss. accept it to be transported back to Tokyo, as it was before the Firmament was placed over it. Here, Stephen appears from the fog as he is won't to do, and finally, finally gives us the full story on the Bad Thing that happened 25 years ago.

It began at Camp Ichigaya, when suddenly, demons began to emerge from the Yamato Perpetual Reactor, and soon spread throughout the world. As typical of politicians, every country blamed every other country for this disaster. Ultimately, the situation spiraled into a global thermonuclear war with countries getting wiped off the map one by one (it's implied at various points that the angels may have helped this war along in some way, to rescue the "Chosen" in their cocoons and leave the "Filth" behind to die). Now, "a certain country" has decided to destroy Japan, and has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile at it. In response, the Counter-Demon Force summoned up Masakado to shield the city from the blast, but he went out of control. This is what Stephen wishes of Flynn: to take his past life's place in the timeline and calm Masakado down, thereby saving Tokyo.

Flynn: Alright, let's do this. I'll need everyone's full cooperation. Sir Uriel, can I trust you to safeguard Tokyo with me?

Uriel: You have proved steadfast in your convictions. Let us see how far they can take you.

Flynn: Sir Michael, how about you?

Michael: ........Yes.

Raphael: But... but...

Lucifuge: Count me in, as well.

Belial: Lord Lucifuge, you escaped?

Lucifuge: You beat my master, that means you're my master now. That's just how it is.

Flynn: Alright, let's move out!

=TRUE FINAL BOSS: MASAKADO'S SHADOW=

Level 99. Drain Phys, Drain Gun, Drain Fire, Drain Ice, Drain Elec, Drain Force, Null Light, Null Dark, Resist Almighty

Yes, I do have those resistances right. This is the full-power Masakado, easily the most utterly broken opponent in the game, though I found him a slightly less annoying fight than the Ancient of Days due to equipping less luck. So, as you can see, he's literally immune to everything except Almighty, which he resists, the only enemy in the game that does so. And when I say resists I mean really resists; even Antichthon will only do scratch damage. And by the way, you only have ten turns to win or else Japan will be blown sky-high by the missile. Yes, this is the game's only Time-Limit Boss as well.

And that's without even getting into his move set! His unique skill is the absurd Curse Thy Enemy, which is like Megidolaon, except it always hits as a weakness, no matter what your demons' weaknesses are. This will, of course, give him an extra Press Turn and the opportunity to Smirk. More on how you can guard against this later. He can also throw around Charged Javelin Rains, Concentrated Ma- -dynes, and Yamato Takeru's Homeland Song and Kenji's Conqueror Spirit, two moves that I guess must be powered by super-patriotism or something. However, as a small bit of mercy, he also has the moves Move Slowly, Aim Carefully, Clench Fist, and Prayer. These do absolutely nothing, and he will usually waste at least three of his Press Turns using them, leaving him with, in effect, only two or three turns with which to kill you. But rest assured, he can still do that.

So, you've probably already guessed that to win, you'll need the skills from the other DLC bosses in your party. Your star player will be Uriel. Yes, Uriel. This is due to his Kannuki-Throw ability, which hits more than any other attack in the game. But, you'll need Physical Pierce to be able to hit Masakado, and Sanat can supply that. The easiest way to get Phys Pierce onto Uriel is to fuse Sanat with either Thunderbird or Lanling Wang. This will result in Aniel, who is a fusion material for Uriel. Sanat's Dark Energy should also be passed onto this Aniel, and then to Uriel. You can then charge up the

Also helpful is Michael. With his Archangel's Law skill, he can pass a Smirk onto himself or anyone else in the party, which will more than likely stop Curse Thy Enemy in its tracks, meaning Masakado will lose a Press Turn instead of gaining one. It might be best to teach Archangel's Law to Flynn, too, because he has more MP to go around. It's important to put a Smirk on Uriel every round to make sure he survives. His Fallen Grace is also useful due to its fixed 666 damage, which is not only very high, but bypasses the Almighty resistance.

Flynn: So, how's it feel? Feel good to not fight for destruction once in a while?

Michael: Actually... yes. I have... almost forgotten what it felt like. That Mastema... could he be the one really doing the Lord's work?

Lucifuge: The highest ranks of Order and Chaos fighting together for humanity... what a most curious story...

Lucifuge, who Repels Gun, is just here to stop Masakado using Heaven's Bow, which I've found is easily the most damaging of his moves. If you bring a Repeller, he simply won't use it.

After half of his health is depleted, Masakado will start beginning each round with the single most broken move in the game: Guardian's Eye, which gives him three free turns. These will use up his "do-nothing" moves, so now he has five turns with which to slaughter you. It's important now more than ever to keep the Smirks up so he wastes them. You're also at the mercy of how many Kannuki-Throws Uriel will do, which is random, but fortunately, high numbers seem more common. Keep up this pattern, and eventually, the planet's most powerful demon will fall. History will be set back on track, and Masakado will reward Flynn with his Shadow, which is also his Medium. Flynn is sent back to the present...

Flynn: Alright, let's see if this works...

(FLYNN presses a button on his Gauntlet)

Flynn: Well, Masakado, how do you feel?

Masakado's Shadow: This body is tremendously powerful, but it is a mere shard of my true power. We must restore Tokyo.

Flynn: Right.

Mother Harlot: Kluh huh huh huh huh... I have been told the end is coming. Feast upon me, humanity, and-

Frost Ace: Sorry, we already averted the apocalypse-ho. You're welcome to hee-tag along with us though-ho.

Mother Harlot: Sure, whatever.

Masakado's Shadow and Mother Harlot are two of the strongest demons in the game... and unfortunately, because they're also likely to be among the last you get (at least, they were for me), there's not much left to use them on! You can also explore Tokyo, and see that it's now full of emigrated Mikadoans, all full of hope for the future for the first time ever. One man will mention an encounter with two White Shadows in the form of his wife and daughter, dead since the world war, but he was able to banish them simply by having hope.

Flynn: So the White are still up to no good; that's worrying. It seems they're a lot less powerful now, though.

You can also stop by Mikado again, now vacant bar a few scattered demons, the shopkeepers B and K (for some unknown reason), and the man, who sent his son off to be executed, who has decided to stay behind as penance.

Flynn: You know, even though Mikado was founded on the back of a lie, I can't help but miss it. But for the sake of the world, it has to go.

Spriggan: Derrr, alotta us'll miss it too. But we got Minami Suna-somethin' ta live in now.

Minotaur: Mastema and I will move the demons of Tokyo to Toyosu. That region is now uninhabitable to humans, but we should be able to live there just fine.

Gabriel: Our grand design... was it meant to be this way?

Flynn: Now it's time to make things right.

Head back down to Cafe Florida to trigger the game's final scene. You'll be greeted there by Sir Hope, bursting with pride.

Cerberus: GOOD THING HE AM NOT TYPE TO AM HOLD GRUDGE; YOU AM DESTROY HIS HOME, AFTER ALL!

Flynn: Bad dog; Sir Hope's never been like that.

Flynn will automatically go inside to find K, Fujiwara, Skins, and even Hugo talking about their plans for the future. Hugo is ecstatic that the entire city is made of mystic relics, and the one he wants to research most of all is... wine! He's also promised Skins he won't pray to "God" anymore. K, meanwhile, feels he's been here before...

Flynn: ISABEAU! It seems you didn't meet with any resistance. Here, I've got something for you!

Isabeau sips her coffee, smiling. She feels that the Tokyo and Mikado citizens will get along just fine. Because, dammit, everyone's tired of fighting. But there's still one last thing to do. The young hero and heroine head back to the boulder at Ginza. It's time to offer the Great Spirits of Goodwill and Spite to Masakado. Strangely, even if you've unlocked his Shadow form he still appears in floating-head form here. He cautions the pair that the Vicious Cycle of Law and Chaos will one day resume.

Flynn: And we'll be there to face it head-on!

Masakado devours the two Great Spirits with his mouth full of freaky teeth and immediately grows to skyscraper size, and then even higher! The firmament shudders and great chunks give way, and then it dissolves!

(At Ginza, the RING OF GAEA MEMBERS look up in awe)

(At Ueno, the KELPIES guarding the bridge also take notice)

(At Shinjuku National Park, the FARMERS see the long awaited sun again)

(NAVARRE peers out of Cafe Florida to watch)

(ALICE hops up and down with glee as she, BELIAL, and NEBIROS watch. NEBIROS's expression changes from shock to a smile)

(MASTEMA watches, then lowers his head, closes his eyes, and smiles to himself, remembering AKIRA)

(The FOUR ARCHANGELS stare up in disbelief)

(The NATIONAL DEFENSE DIVINITIES, AMATERASU, and IZANAMI cheer MASAKADO on)

Yaso Magatsuhi: YASO MAGATSUHIIIIIII!

Finally, there stands the fully-powered Masakado, the freed Tokyo, and a green, not-at-all-nuked-looking world surrounding it.

Flynn is then taken back to the expanse, where he meets the same little girl he'd seen several times throughout the journey. As the Monochrome Forest vanishes around him, to be replaced by a beautiful beach, the girl also changes, into a strangely familiar young woman.

Flynn: Burroughs?

And at the end of Flynn's long journey, she offers him this:

The Goddess of Tokyo: Thanks.

FIN

Comments

Hunter1 Since: Dec, 1969
Mar 11th 2014 at 8:24:48 PM
So... An epilouge, and... Then what? You pull out Soul Hackers, one of the Devil Survivors, an Etrian Odyssey, or something else?
HamburgerTime Since: Dec, 1969
Mar 11th 2014 at 9:24:10 PM
I'll announce my next project at the end of the epilogue. I'll tell you it will likely be a short one.

And a few author's notes: I hope I was able to make the Archangels at least a little sympathetic. Uriel and Michael I portrayed as the nicest, since they regard Flynn as a Worthy Opponent in their fights, but I wanted to make you like Mike and Gabby at least a little bit.

Speaking of, I'd also intended a scene between the Four and Mastema where they talk about the latter's Face Turn and reference the events of SJ, but I couldn't find a good place for it.

Lastly, in case you didn't know, all but the first three reactions to the dome lifting are "flavor," added by mois.
ReikoKazama Since: Dec, 1969
Mar 11th 2014 at 11:10:37 PM
Whoo! Well, this was an epic journey indeed! (I still wonder if I can find it anywhere... us Australians always get the short end of the stick. T_T) Wonder what's next?
dragonfire5000 Since: Dec, 1969
Mar 12th 2014 at 9:00:53 AM
Well, that was a great conclusion to a great liveblog. As Burroughs would put it, "Congratulations on completing the quest."
Top