2nd Day - Monday’s Turmoil
JP’s are earlier risers than the Devil Survivor 1 crew was, for it’s seven in the morning when we get back to Hibiki. After a cursory knock Makoto enters his room to tell him that she’s already sent Daichi and Io out with escorts to their homes, but she doesn’t think there will be any good news... Her other piece of information for the morning is that thanks to his friends’ info on Nicaea, all of JP’s has switched to using its summoning app, as it’s apparently more efficient than the homebrew version they were using before. We’re told to sit tight for a while until Daichi’s escort returns, and control’s given back to us. Immediately we get an email from Nicaea informing us that the Cathedral of Shadows is now available, so it’s a prime time to do some fusing. Like always, what demon you get out of fusion depends on the levels and races of the two components, and following the new standard set by the game’s immediate predecessor, inherited skills can be freely chosen by the player.
We start the day by seeing what Daichi has to say in front of the Diet Building. He’s pretty downcast, his report being that their neighborhood was almost completely destroyed, so much so that he couldn’t even get near their homes. Still though, it’s not like they found their parents dead, so it’s not like they’ll never see them again, right? he insists, trying to keep a positive outlook. Aaaand I believe that’s the extent of attention the game shines on that subject. Io, on the other hand, her worries about her parents get a bit more spotlight since she has to be the member of the trio who’s more emotionally fragile, but for now it’s basically the same deal as Daichi - went home, apartment building was collapsed, but her parents were nowhere to be found. If you go talk to Joe next, he’s decidedly less concerned; he didn’t even bother going home in fact, since he says his parents have already passed away and he’s not even from Tokyo originally.
At 8:30 the first mission of the day appears, at the familiar Sengakuji Temple in Shinagawa. The group finds Makoto confronting three belligerent demon tamers over their use of the summoning app. After they each make sure to call her a bitch they decide to summon their demons, and Hibiki’s group steps forward to back Makoto up. Seeing they’re now outnumbered, the thugs decide to flee, but we can’t have that.
Mission 5: App Abusers
- All demons must be defeated
- All allies cannot die
- All tamers cannot escape
That stipulation made me want to test whether or not the mission would continue if your party all died but Makoto was still alive, but since she’s AI controlled this time she pretty much murders everything she sets eyes upon so I didn’t get the opportunity. It also looks like resistances gained through the Fate System only apply when the character’s actually under player control, as Makoto’s Ice resistance doesn’t look like it’s showing.
This is one of those “stop the enemies from fleeing” missions, but the game’s considerably easier on you than the previous one was, because one or two of them managing to escape will not result in a game over, only if all three escape. And that’s good, because as I remarked in the previous game the Sengakuji Temple map is pretty small and one of the tamers starts so close to the escape panels that the only way you’re going to be able to catch up before he gets away is if you fused a Hare of Inaba (the first available Wilder) to use Devil Speed with. The tamers won’t attack you on their own, in fact they don’t even have any demons on their teams, and they all happen to have the first available Auto Skill to crack, the accuracy/evasion boosting Hustle. The demons on the map will do their best to prevent you from pursuing their masters with Bind and Ghost Wounds, but once you do manage to beat some of the tamers the remainder will frantically summon some more demons, including a team with two Gagysons, which can be deadly as they possess Elec Dance. Just keep an eye on your HP and focus on lining up weaknesses and you’ll persevere, preferably with a nice little stash of macca as the battle reintroduces the Macca Bonus feature from the first game.
Completing the mission earns us 60 EXP and 500 macca.
Makoto thanks us for our help in confiscating and destroying the tamers’ cellphones and observes that it looks like more people have accessed Nicaea than she thought. After she leaves Daichi asks Hibiki what’s next for them, then trails off as the realization that there’s nothing left to do after the events of yesterday sinks in. Joe speaks up to lift the mood by assuring him that he shouldn’t worry about that stuff since he’s still a student, then says that Yamato actually asked him to gather everyone together. Afterwards Hibiki gets a phone call from Yamato as a follow-up, who explains that he’s decided to register their phones with JP’s’ own private network, so while the characters can’t call their parents or friends, they can at least keep in touch with each other.
Next it’s back to JP’s HQ to see what Yamato wants with us. In the command room he gathers everyone and announces that now that we’ve seen the state of the city, he wants us to accompany him south to the city of Osaka where the main branch of JP’s lies. Daichi goes wait a minute, why should they go to Osaka, and is told the harsh truth: that this is no ordinary disaster and that simply waiting around for someone else to fix things is no longer a suitable excuse. Going to Osaka may shed some new light on the matter, and he wants to reward people with our talent. Yamato says he’ll be at Shinbashi at 10:00 and departs, and after some discussion amongst themselves Hibiki’s group decides what the heck, why not?
So yeah, we get to go to Osaka. This game’s one of the minority of Megami Tensei games that stick to real-world locations that allow you to visit places other than Tokyo. All told, the game stretches across four different cities, which is surely a first for the franchise. First we have at least a half-hour to kill though, and since I’ve pretty much exhausted the available free battle there’s just watching some short scenes to do, in which we can learn that demons are starting to spread all throughout Tokyo and that Joe didn’t realize until pointed out that his suit’s an Armani knock-off rather than the genuine article. Anyway, at 10:00 we head to SL Plaza to find Yamato summoning a Cerberus to annihilate some demons that’re still hanging around while Makoto uses her phone to get the locomotive to move, revealing another one of those fountain-like devices. Once activated, this one sinks back into the ground as a trapdoor opens and a pole rises up. Yamato says to follow as he and Makoto slide down it and Hibiki and co. follow.
Down below we come out in JP’s very own secret train station, and it’s not just for any train, but rather a bullet train that’s pulled up to the platform. Very nice. Daichi wonders how a train could still be running after the earthquake and amusingly his question is completely batted aside by Yamato saying that it’s no time for questions. Everyone steps on board the train, save Makoto who’s staying behind, and an hour later (that thing must have been traveling hella fast, since normally the transit time between Tokyo and Osaka is around two hours) it pulls in to the secret station in Osaka. Come to greet us are some generic JP’s personnel and a sulky-looking, gray-haired kid. After conferring with his subordinates Yamato tells his companions to see him at 3:00PM after his meeting’s over, and once he’s left the station one of the personnel introduces us to the kid, Keita Wakui, a civilian demon tamer like us who’s helping out JP’s and who’ll be our guide around Osaka for the day. But once they leave all Keita does is comment on Joe having a western accent (something that naturally doesn’t really come through in a translation) before blowing us off, telling us to come find him at 2:30PM at a place called Bickman. Oh, and watch out for the demons roaming the city.
Naturally our heroes are a little put out at that flippant reception (and believe me, it’s a good tone-setter for what it’s going to be like dealing with Keita) and decide that for now the best option is to just wander around the city (or eat its traditional food, in Joe’s case) and see what the state of things are. However, all four of them suddenly get another death clip from Nicaea. This one simply shows Keita tumbling down a set of stairs at a shopping mall or a similar venue and apparently splitting his head open on the way down for when he reaches the bottom he’s clearly dead, requisite pool of blood and all. Daichi and Io express the expected shock at the video but Io’s quick to point out to Daichi that they can be averted and that they were able to figure out where his was taking place from the clip’s scenery...only problem is this isn’t Tokyo, it’s Osaka, and none of them know the city. Joe says that there’s always the possibility of doing nothing but then, that would be just like killing him themselves, wouldn’t it? Either way, they have to get out into the city, with their only clue being the giant staircase seen in the clip.
So from this point on the death clip business will be like the Laplace Mail deaths, if someone’s slated to die, they will die if we don’t intervene. Again it’s mostly a case of just seeing the doomed character’s events ASAP, though there are a few exceptions. While I will make every effort possible to save all the characters for the sake of the liveblog, as them dying will naturally lock you out of their Fate events and unlocked demons, I really wouldn’t blame anyone for letting Keita die as to put it charitably he’s a prick and never stops being one. It’s kind of funny that in the anime, where he had maybe fifteen minutes of screentime max, he came off as maybe not necessarily sympathetic but less of a jerk certainly, than he does in the entire thirty-five-ish hours it takes to play through the game. Maybe he’ll be less of a jerkass in the Break Record scenario, who knows?
My first order of business is to take advantage of the available free battle at the Hankyu Umeda Station, as the demons we’ve brought along from Tokyo aren’t going to be able to cut it for the most part. This free battle does not mess around either - we’re on only the second day of gameplay and already it pits us against demons like Toubyou that we didn’t have to deal with until the third day of gameplay in the first game! I’m finding it a little hard to properly equip everyone with skills at this point too, since we have four characters instead of three to handle. There’re some decent skills to crack though, like Watchful, Race-D, and especially Elec Dance. Hibiki gets that since I’ve always liked having him specialize in Elec like how I had the previous Hero specialize in Ice (and this was before the anime followed suit!). He (and the Gagysons and Toubyous who learn it naturally) don’t really have the MP to spam it yet, but it still makes for a good ace in the hole. The game definitely seems to want and expect you to spend some time in the auction to buff up your team and get more fusion fodder given the end-of-mission macca payouts are more generous than the first game’s.
Our first plot-related stop in Osaka will be in Morinomiya’s Osaka Castle Park, where the quartet has a good view of Osaka Castle. The ancient edifice and the surrounding buildings are all tilted every which way while some fires still smolder in the distance, causing Daichi to wonder if this was caused by the same earthquake that wrecked Shibuya. Since he’s the Book Dumb one Io and Joe have to give him a geology lesson to explain why Japan’s so prone to earthquakes and how, since Tokyo and Osaka are on different fault lines, it’s impossible for a single earthquake to hit both cities at once. At this a voice says that it wasn’t an earthquake and one of those generic zombie office workers approach the group, claiming that he knows the truth. The shell-shocked guy clutches his head and insists that the destruction wasn’t caused by an earthquake or war like everyone keeps saying, but rather by the collapse of the earth itself (um, that sounds like an earthquake to me...). He runs off laughing like a madman, leaving Hibiki to conclude that the guy saw some demons. Everyone’s desire to check things out only gets stronger, so off we go, the streets of the new city begging to be explored.
Compendium
- Hare of Inaba
◊
- A rabbit who appears in the Kojiki epic, where he tried to trick a school of sharks into forming a bridge so that he could reach an island. The sharks retaliated by tearing off his skin, though he was eventually healed by Okuninushi. In gratitude, the rabbit told the god that he would marry Princess Yagami, a prophecy that actually turned ill for Okuninushi, as it sparked his brothers' murderous jealousy.
- Ogre◊
- Ogres are a common staple of many cultures' myths and fairy tales. Their common portrayal is that of a hulkingly strong but dull-witted brute that has a craving for human flesh in particular.
- Itsumade◊
- These skeletal birds' names is derived from the Japanese translation of the phrase "How long?" They were said to appear where the abandoned corpses of plague victims were dumped.
- Kikimora◊
- Kikimoras are Slavic house spirits. If a household is in order they will take it upon themselves to help out with housework and other chores, but if it isn't they'll make noise, break things, and make babies cry in order to make the neglectful homeowners miserable. It's in-game design is identical to an illustration drawn by Russian illustrator Ivan Bilibin.
- Gagyson◊
- A minor Hebrew plague god, sometimes said to be the subordinate of either Orias or Ose.
- Hairy Jack◊
- Also known as Barghests, Hairy Jacks are said to be vicious black dogs that wander the moors of northern England and are omens of death. The hound in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound Of The Baskervilles was inspired by the Barghest.
- Cerberus◊
- The famous three-headed dog who served as the guardian of the underworld in Greek myth. For the final of his famous twelve labors, Heracles was tasked with capturing the beast with his bare hands, which he accomplished after obtaining permission from Hades. When he presented Cerberus to King Eurystheus the man hid inside a giant vase out of fright. This was Yamato's signature demon in the anime.
- Toubyou◊
- A snake spirit from western Japan. If raised in a bottle or jar they can bring good luck and prosperity to their owner but they can also be sent to people the owner dislikes to bring ill fortune on them.
- Jambavan◊
- A Hindu king of bears (though occasionally he's depicted as a monkey instead) of whom many tales are told of in the epics Ramayama and Mahabharata. He is immortal to all save his father Vishnu, so naturally in some traditions he meets his end in a duel against him over a jewel.
- Erthys◊, Flaemis◊, Aeros◊, Aquans◊
- The embodiments of the four prime elements of nature, earth, fire, air, and water, as put forth by the 16th century scientist Paracelsus.
Soundtrack
- Elegy
- Peaceful days certainly are dead and buried this time around. Literally.
- Heroes are Fearless
- And to juxtapose, here's the "we're badasses!" theme.
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