I gotta say, when this LP started I didn’t anticipate that “fat guy dancing around on a giant piggy bank” would be a boss in this game. But ok atlus you do you ig
The Three Stages of Ann’s Costume:
: What I love about this scene is that there’s absolutely no reason Makoto couldn’t have just used the group IM thing instead of calling.
: I mean, they’re already going the “tell, don’t show” route with Kaneshiro, as we’ll see briefly.
: “There’s something I feel I should let you know. Kaneshiro contacted me.”
: “Kaneshiro!?”
: “He said he’s calling off our debt. It seems he’s disposed of all the photographs as well. And, um… my sister and her team have taken him into custody.”
: “What!?”
: “It appears they did not want him to… disappear, if you know what I mean.”
: Strangely enough, even though the party basically delivered Kaneshiro right into the shadowy conspiracy group that would probably off him anyway, he never dies.
: “His group was called a mafia, after all… I wouldn’t put silencing him past them.”
: “Does this mean we were successful in changing his heart?”
: “It’s hard to say for sure yet.”
: No, I’m sure the amoral yakuza who was exploiting minors for cash just went to the police and turned himself in for no particular reason at all.
: “I see… what about those psychotic breakdowns that Kaneshiro mentioned?”
: Wouldn’t you know!? Your sister is the DA in charge of investigating that!
: I really would like to see what this game would’ve been like if the writing wasn’t constantly repeating itself.
: I mentioned 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim in the last update and I imagine it’d be like that - I liked it up until it started getting dumb near the end, and then completely disengaged with the plot… kind of like what happened with this game.
: “True… that said, all we can do now is wait until Kaneshiro’s change of heart becomes clear to us. Thank you.”
: “A young woman wearing all brand clothing and an older man with gold accessories were arguing. Both were on their high horse, and even though they dressed fancily, it felt noveau riche.”
: “Speaking of, the Japanese words for ‘high horse’ and ‘nouveau riche’ both originated as shogi terms. A lot of people aren’t familiar with shogi, but it’s good to know a little bit about it.”
: “So, Kurusu-kun. Have you seen this piece before?”
: I had to look it up, but this is the Knight piece. Shogi is honestly one of those things that I’ve never cared enough about to get into.
: “That’s right. The lance and the silver general also have the kanji for ‘gold’ on the back. By the way, it’s said that the ‘to’ on the back of the pawn piece is a cursive form of ‘gold’.”
: Some shoji sets apparently replace the “to” character (と) with a different one (个) that’s more similar-looking to the kanji for “gold” (全).
: “If a knight crosses into enemy territory, for instance, they can promote - becoming as mobile as a gold general. A weak piece like a pawn can become gold if you get it to the enemy’s camp, hence ‘nouveau riche’.”
: Fun fact, this is how American football works. That’s why they cut to commercial after every touchdown, because the scoring player has to go get the “gold” kanji drawn on their back.
: “By the way, nouveau riche like to wear expensive clothes because of a desire to be acknowledged. Once humans fulfill the basic needs of clothing, food, and shelter, our next desire is recognition.”
: “That’s why people try to make themselves seem bigger by flaunting their power through money.”
: I mean, maybe. My next desire is something to keep me occupied from the lingering threat of boredom.
: Makoto’s confidant is now open. We will not be touching it this update - normally we would, but I need to buy Eligap some time.
: Instead, we’re going to do a confidant event with Kasumi.
: “Since our talk, I’ve been trying to think of things besides gymnastics that I’m really invested in… and I figured something out! It’s this!”
: “Yeah. I can cook! You really need to regulate your diet in gymnastics, so I’ve been making my own food a lot. And so! Since I also wanted to thank you, I made you bento!”
: “This is actually my first time cooking for someone else besides my family… but I figured this would definitely help me get my confidence back!”
: “I made this specifically with your body type in mind, and knowing how much you exercise… do you want it?”
: I’m just picturing Joker looking into the bag and going “Hey Morgana, does watching DVDs count as exercise?”
: “And it’s all yours! The chicken and eggs are to help you with fatigue. There are some beans in there, too, and it’s on brown rice.”
: “Weight control’s important for gymnasts, but we also need to make sure we’ve got energy and stamina too. So high-protein, low-fat is usually what we go for. We also need iron to maintain stamina, and vitamin B for energy.”
: “Wait… I’m getting all focused on the gymnastics part again… Well, anyway… let’s dig in!”
: “…Why do you look so skeptical, Kurusu-senpai? I guess it might look like a lot, but this is actually a little less than my usual. Don’t worry, I’ve done the math on the calories. I’ll burn all this off at practice.”
: “C’mon, Senpai! You’ll be done before you know it!”
: They keep re-using the whole “Girl who is laughably bad at cooking” thing and I don’t know why.
: “Kurusu-senpai? You okay? Your eyes are glazing over…”
: “You think so? I don’t think it’s that weird for an athlete. Heavy seasoning would probably be bad for you, so I went easy on it. Hmm. Was it too light? Excuse me…”
: No! Curry is overrated! That was the entire point of Disgaea 5… at least, I’m pretty sure it was because I’ve forgotten everything else about that game. It was pretty bad.
: “So I decided to go for maximum curry flavoring! U-um, sorry… were you not a fan of that flavor? Or, wait - maybe you prefer the super spicy ones!”
: “I’m so sorry! I did this all wrong… I’ll go get some kind of condiment to change the flavor! Once I fix it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more!”
: “Should I get mayonnaise? Soy sauce…? Maybe miso? Do you think Dr. Maruki will have some salt!?”
: “Oh, you’re right! I should just buy something new you can eat right now!”
: “Um, but… well, thank you! Now, we should really eat.”
: “Thank you for completely finishing your meal, Kurusu-senpai. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out perfectly… I came up with the idea of making bento, but I couldn’t decide on the flavor…”
: “Either way, I’m really sorry! I’m so embarrassed… I thought it was so great when I presented it to you, and now…”
: And that’s how Ni no Kuni 2 was born. Or YIIK.
: “Next time, I’ll ask you what you like before I try anything too crazy. I’ll go buy that super spicy ‘Megido-sauce’ for next time!”
: Megido Sauce, guaranteed to devil bust your tastebuds or your macca back.
: “Hee hee… it seems like you’re always helping me find my way forward, Senpai. If I didn’t have you, I’d let my failures get to me and end up in some big pessimistic spiral again.”
: “…Maybe this kind of confidence can help me figure out who I really am.”
: “Okay, now that we’ve gotten all our nutrients, it’s time for the next phase! I don’t mean to be too demanding, but I’m going to train you even harder than before! Make sure you keep up!”
: Joker immediately reaches for the air horn. He’s seen this before.
: When we get back, we get a notification that the next Caroline and Justine outing is open. We’re not doing that for another week or so.
: Hifumi Togo is this game’s best girl. She still doesn’t hold a candle to Elly or Yukiko.
: Unfortunately, we won’t be touching her confidant for some time. She is well worth doing even if you’re not going for 100% because you need her to fuse Lucifer.
: I mean, maybe in the real world, but in the SMT universe churches are for one thing and that’s devil busting the Messians before they can do the whole “Thousand Year Kingdom of God” nonsense.
: “Let’s ignore that idiot. Anyway, a shogi expert, huh? Striking an enemy with but a moment’s inspiration, skillfully strategizing toward victory…”
: “They said she’s at the church in Kanda, right? We should check it out when you have the time.”
: We have a couple of things to do tonight First, we can sell all this sooty armor, which is more than I remember picking up.
: The grab bag is available again, so I take one.
: The three Old Haori are upgrades for the male characters, so I go ahead and equip them. We’ll probably wind up buying new armor from Iwai anyway, but this will work when we go into Mementos next week.
: Sakai wants a Yakisoba Pan. We’ve been carrying one around for like three months. It’s probably still good.
: He gives us another Black Robe, which I might actually save for the late-game. I think there’s a few armor pieces near the end of the game that are better than the ones you can buy.
: Speaking of Iwai, let’s go sell all the vendor trash. That’ll bring us to 667,000 yen.
: Can you guess who the next target is going to be?
: This sounds like it was written by someone who has no idea how the internet works.
: If you hadn’t guessed by now, this spells it out. Anyway, we’re just going to call Kawakami, and…
: “That voice on the phone wasn’t Kawakami. Maybe you should ask for more details?”
: I’d just like to point out how little sense this scene makes. Joker is presumably calling the maid service’s number, and somehow reached the hospital from the maid service.
: “But thanks for coming all this way to visit me. Ugh, how could I collapse at a time like this? I really need to make some money… how am I going to make today’s payment…?”
: “You contacted the school…!?”
: Takase’s family would get a D- in Extortion 101.
: “I-I’m sorry…”
: “These are Takase-kun’s guardians, the ones I mentioned the other day. They took care of him…”
: Why do they keep using “the other day”? They could just have said “I told you about them” and it’d be enough.
: Seriously though I don’t understand how they supposedly did a once-over on the script between the base game and Royal and didn’t change some of this stuff.
: “He’s one of my students. He came to visit me…”
: “I’m sorry…”
: “Kurusu-kun…”
: I feel like Persona 5 takes place in some kind of bizarro world where extortion and blackmail are legal and everyone just kinda does it.
: “That’s not…”
: “…I understand. I will pay you… so…!”
: “I have to figure out a way to make more money… I guess transferring to our sister company is the only way…”
: This is one of the reasons I feel like the whole “there is a right answer to every choice” thing is kind of a bad idea.
: If you ask her about the sister company, the game spells it out for you: it’s prostitution even by Japanese legal standards.
: “Haha… I can’t believe I’m getting scolded by my student. Why…? Why are you so interested in helping me? I’m not worth it…”
: And then a doctor walks in and beckons Joker out of the room. “I’m sorry, son. The disease has progressed too far. We’re going to need to send her to Anime Containment.”
: “…Meow. …I’m so tired. All I really want is… a way to apologize to Takase-kun. So if his guardians demand money, then I just have to pay them…”
: “Sorry, I’m not quite back to a hundred percent yet, so my thoughts are all over the place.”
: “…I’m going to get some rest. I appreciate you coming to visit me today. …It made me really happy.”
: I remember the last time I was in a hospital - I was visiting someone, and right around this point I had the Ham Sandwich of Despair.
: The person I was visiting had wanted one, so I went down to this overpriced sandwich place in the lobby and got one, and when I brought it back up they told me they didn’t want it after all. They tell me to just eat it because they’re going to order dinner from the hospital.
: So there I am, in a hospital room, eating a ham sandwich. It doesn’t taste like anything, no matter how much mustard I put on it, because of the overpowering smell of the cleaning fluids the hospital uses. It is the Ham Sandwich of Despair.
: “…Visiting hours are over. Get home safe, okay…?”
: We start the 30th with Ann asking us to go to Mementos. We’re not doing that yet, because there’s still a few more requests we need to pick up - namely Kawakami’s.
: Instead, we’re going to to see our boyfriend.
: “It is on display as we speak. Would you like to come see it with me?”
: “Then let us head to the museum. To be honest, I have yet to actually go there myself. This should be quite lovely.”
: “Hm, I believe my piece truly stands out among the sea of art here. And yet, nobody has come to see it… perhaps they are so afraid of the truth held within that they dare not take a closer look.”
: Joker glares at the old people. No one hurts his boyfriend.
: “…There is no need to worry. I am not bothered in the slightest. That was nothing more than the drivel of unrefined commoners. I needn’t pay any attention to them.”
: “As long as those who are in the know understand my work, I will be happy.”
: “Look! A knowledgeable patron has arrived!”
: “I would like your opinion, sir… what are your thoughts on this piece?”
: If I was actually writing the More Like Yusu-Gay route, I’d probably have him say something like “You’ve clearly got something interesting to say here, but it’s like you’re afraid to really put yourself into it and say it.”
: Yusuke would have a thought here which would be something like, “Doesn’t he get it? I can’t! If I do that…”
: Then there’d be a flashback of Yusuke with Madarame, where Madarame has either realized himself that Yusuke is gay or Yusuke has told him directly.
: I’m not sure exactly how I’d write it, but it’d be something like Madarame telling him that he can’t be openly gay and an artist at the same time, “because that’s how this country is. Your pieces would never sell. People wouldn’t bother to look beyond you to your art.”
: The idea is that it’s something where he’s doing it to keep Yusuke under his thumb, but also has a grain of truth to it.
: “My work is… empty?”
: “…Indeed. But… why? I put my heart and soul into this piece, captured the very essence of desire… it was supposed to lay bare the reality of the world!”
: “Perhaps… perhaps he was right. It may be empty after all… these colors, these brush strokes… they do not convey the true meaning of desire, only my conception of it!”
: “I haven’t captured desire… desire has captured me! How could I have fooled myself into believing otherwise!?”
: “This grave mistake shall be the end for me!”
: “But, I… what is going to happen to me now? Without art, what will remain of my being!?”
: “Akira… you are correct. Surrendering myself to fate after only one failure would be very much unlike me. Still, being criticized by someone with such a keen eye is truly painful…”
: “But that is all the more reason I must break out of my slump. I must prove my ability to him…!”
: “I will start by painting. After that, I shall paint, beyond which I shall paint even more. That is the only way I will learn to capture the essence of emotion.”
: “After all, you can only accomplish so much in using logic to analyze the contents of the heart. …I hope you allow me to continue my skill card services as well, Akira. I shall conquer this!”
: “Now then, let us head home. I wish to start anew.”
: “That one gentleman’s critique made me fully realize what I’ve been lacking. Now my path is clear! I will simply keep on drawing. I’m going to have ten pieces finished up by end of today!”
: That last part isn’t a typo on my end, that’s exactly how it is in the screenshot. They forgot a “the”.
: “Hah! If anything, I should be doing more. I’ll do anything to escape this slump! With your support, I was able to pick myself up rather quickly today.”
: “I hope this doesn’t discourage you from joining me again. I will get past this. Sorry for taking up so much of your time. We’ll meet again soon.”
: It’s here I figure out how the touch pad confidant tracker thing works.
: All the tracker does is steer you toward a “recommended” confidant each day. Neither the reload-heavy 100% route nor the one I’m using do this one tonight.
: There’s also a crossword tonight.
: Tonight, we’ll be starting what’s either the most or the second-most important confidant in the game.
: “You can begin by telling me your name.”
: “Ah, Akira Kurusu-san. I see. Your name is quite lucky. That aside, what type of consultation can I interest you in today?”
: “Well, um… I use tarot cards to foretell the future.”
: As it so happens, I actually have a complete deck of tarot cards with the Persona 4/Golden faces on them, but I have no idea how you’re supposed to use them.
: “Now then, let’s start with an initial reading to test the waters of your fate. O divine power… bring forth this boy’s fortune!”
: “I see. There seems to be new wealth in your future. Your financial fortune is looking good today. This wealth of which I speak will come… from your house.”
: “Head home without detour, and precisely five thousand yen will await you there!”
: If someone wants to explain to me how it is you’re supposed to do… whatever it is she’s doing… I’ll do it with the P4 cards and post it in the thread. We’re going to be coming back here a lot.
: Anyway, this is a preview of Chihaya’s first ability: the money reading. Money readings cost 5000 yen and get you twice the money if you end a battle with an All-Out.
: This is one of the reasons that the Greatest Weapon in the Phantom Thieves Arsenal is a better technique than confusion farming - you can go directly to an All-Out from the negotiation screen and double any money gained that way.
: “As you should. Fate is absolute! But… what is this? How strange. Kurusu-san, the general flow of your future seems to indicate… ruin…? And an inmate, locked away in a lonely cell…”
: “You seem to be a good person, Kurusu-san… but are you perhaps mixed up with the wrong crowd? Beyond that… my…”
: This is foreshadowing to something we could have seen, but haven’t. It’s a reference to the game over cutscene that happens if you ignore the time limit for a Palace.
: Let’s just pretend I went and actually sat through several hours of going to sleep in a loop until I ran out the timer on Kaneshiro’s dungeon.
: I took these from a video on YouTube. They’re from the base game, which is why the font is different. I kind of wish they hadn’t changed it, because I started using it for the update banners and didn’t know they had changed it when I started making them.
: This cutscene is actually a gigantic plot hole for several reasons. I’ll give you the first one: this cutscene takes place in November. By this point, Joker should know who the person with the gun is.
: “I cannot offer advice to that end… Hm. If the divination is coming to me this clearly, the truth of it is simply undeniable.”
: “Now that I think about it, there may be way you can attempt to counteract your destiny.”
: Bring a Persona that’s immune to gun damage and then light the gunman on fire?
: Remember how I said we need 100,000 yen to unlock Chihaya? This is why.
: “I typically only recommend this to my more experienced customers, but your situation is too dire to ignore. You see, the stone itself is imbued with an aura of joy that will sap away all the horrible energy surrounding you.”
: Wasn’t this a Yakuza substory? I think it was.
: “All you need to do is keep it wrapped in cloth and be sure to recharge its power in moonlight every three days.”
: The worst part is that we have to take a second day to buy the crystal. We’re going to buy it anyway, but now we need to spend two time slots on it even though we already have enough money.
: “I-It’s legitimate, I promise! So… you really don’t want it? What a shame it will be to see the flames of youth snuffed out so soon…”
: “Well, come see me again if you change your mind. I really can help you, if you’d like.”
: “The chief seems strangely happy. I wonder what’s going on.”
: “Hey Akira, how’s your pocket money situation been looking?”
: I mean, we’re only carrying around $6,200 in cash.
: “Hahaha, you’re hopeless!”
: “What? Is this… five thousand yen!?”
: “I won some money from the lotto, so I don’t mind sharing my winnings.”
: There’s a lotto stand in Shibuya we could use, but I never did in the base game.
: “Don’t worry about the details. Or what, is that five thousand yen not enough for you? Anyway, make sure you close up the shop like always.”
: “Hey, so… does this mean that fortune teller was right?”
: “She even got the amount spot on! Maybe that Chihaya lady can seriously read into the future! Wait… this is bad! Didn’t she say you’re gonna die!?”
: “Come on, we need to go talk to her again and figure out what to do! …And maybe I can have her read my compatibility fortune with-”
: It’s zero percent.
: He’s finally learning to fear the hose.
: Next time, we’re going to start Makoto’s confidant, find out Kawakami’s secret, pay 100,000 yen for a magic crystal, and most importantly see the first part of the Gay Yusuke Route. I might even write something for it. Maybe.
: Eligap already has the next part mostly done, so this should be the only time I’ll need to stall for that.
The fact that all the pieces look the same makes it pretty opaque. Go is easier to learn, and also probably harder to play.
One day a girl will be bad at cooking and like meat in the same scene. This will cause a double event and the entire MegaTen universe will dissolve.
Churches are for coffee and donuts and seniors playing bingo, I’m pretty sure. Maybe they do other things in churches in Japan.
Is it just me or are they really trying hard and laying it on thick with Kasumi?
Yeah that’ll probably happen in Persona 6 when they realize they’ve run out of anime archetypes and have to start combining them.
Yeah, it’s not just you. I think part of it is that they really need you to be invested in Kasumi’s storyline for the parts they added for Royal, and part of it is that they really did not want to have another Marie on their hands. I think there’s also an element of “we need an age-appropriate romance option for Joker that people will actually want” because of how popular Tae and Kawakami are.
The best part is that it’s all wasted effort because she’s not in Scramble.
Anyway, I mentioned in the last update a thing about Valentine’s Day and White Day. That’s because I never actually saw how Valentine’s Day worked in the base game: it happened I think after the final boss but before the final cutscene and by that point I just turned the game off.
As it turns out, we can and will see all of the Valentine’s Day dates… though it’ll be a bit of a pain to do so. The same will happen for White Day. I’ll explain how that works when we hit 07/08 and hit Rank 9 with Kawakami.
: It’s 7/1, and after something like two months we’re finally finishing The Gallant Rogue.
: We get a glorified tutorial informing us that the diner now has a drink that boosts Charm. I don’t believe we’re ever going to order it, even though it brings back memories of the Persona 3 MC drinking dozens of cups of Pheromone Coffee to boost his charm.
: By water, he means the squirt gun he’s about to blast Morgana with.
: “A variety of heroes battling for dominance - truly an epic time. Charismatic rulers and warlords with the command of a thousand men may have their own appeal…”
: “…But personally, I think that the strategists who support them can’t be ignored. Now then, Kurusu-kun. In the book, Zhuge Liang of Shu is famous for his exploits during the Battle of Red Cliffs…”
: This is one of those things they put in just for Dynasty Warriors fans, isn’t it?
: “He’s also the inventor of the baozi, a kind of round dumpling. But their original name was based on their appearance. What’s the meaning of the original Chinese phrase that these dumplings’ name came from?”
: Baozi are white dumplings that originated in China but have since migrated to a number of different areas - including the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. There’s even a Uyghur-specific one.
: They have a number of fillings, but most of them involve pork. The Uyghurs apparently have one that’s cooked in tandoor and filled with lamb… if they offered me that in chicken I’d probably eat it.
: There’s also apparently dessert ones with custard or adzuki bean paste inside, which I’d also eat.
: “That is correct. Its original name, mantou, came from a phrase meaning ‘a barbarian’s head.’”
: “At the time, one region’s barbarians would use a person’s head as an offering to soothe the deity of a flooding river. But Zhuge Liang made a baozi in the shape of a head as a substitute.”
: They called it “the sacred swirly”.
: “These days, you can find baozi with cute faces on them. If you think about their origin, it’s not too far off the mark.”
: Now, if they had one with steak in it, I’d be all over that… even though that’s basically an empanada. The taco place near my house that used to have those closed down and I hate it.
: “I never knew strategists came up with cooking, and not just strategies… Makoto’s our strategist. Wanna see what she can cook up?”
: Right after school, we drop off The Gallant Rogue and pick up Speed Reader.
: We then make a stop at the bookstore in Shibuya and buy everything that’s on sale.
: Near the train station in Shibuya, there’s a lottery stand. You can actually do daily or weekly draws here (using the different windows) but the middle window sells Summer Mammoth tickets.
: As far as I understand it, the Mammoth tickets always win, so there’s no reason not to buy one.
: Today, we’re going to start Makoto’s confidant. You need Knowledge at Rank 3 in order to do that. Makoto is one of the five confidants that requires a max-rank social stat to finish.
: We already know about two of the others: Sojiro (who needs maxed Kindness) and Iwai (who needs maxed Guts).
: “Up until now, I’ve been the quintessential honor student. I believe I’ve been handling my position as student council president with ease as well.”
: “A-and I don’t mean that in a boasting way, that’s simply how I’ve thought about it. …But in the end, I was unable to make any kind of impact with either Suzui-san or Kaneshiro.”
: “Turns out there’s no use for a rule-abiding honor student when things get tough. Now that I’m a member of this team, I want to do everything I can to help you all.”
: Oh, that’s right! Speaking of students, I had someone contact me on Twitter to explain that I was actually right about the word “Shujin” meaning “Prisoner”. It’s apparently one of those things where there’s multiple ways to spell the word.
: According to them, it’s a painfully obvious pun that gets harped on a lot in the Japanese script.
: I’m honestly kind of glad I didn’t understand that when I played the base game. There was this period at the start of the base game, before I understood how bad the writing is, where I actually thought the writing was okay, and that kind of thing would’ve ruined it for me had I understood it.
: “I think… I-I will need to broaden my horizons somewhat.”
: “My first step will be to learn more about the other students. But… I struggle with that. There seems to be a disparity between my tastes and those of my peers…”
: “I knew it… I don’t even know where people like to go for fun… it would be nice to have a grasp of such concepts. Plus, the student council must be responsible for understanding the student body they serve, right?”
: “I-I don’t mean that in a surveillance way, I just want to know them as people. I may be a phantom thief, but that’s no excuse for me to start ignoring my presidential duties.”
: “Now, back to the topic at hand… where do people usually go for fun?”
: For some reason, this entire scene feels like it’s the writers trying to understand Kids These Days ™.
: “I enjoy the movies myself, sometimes. I think I’d prefer somewhere I’m unfamiliar with… oh, I know! How about the arcade? I’ve never actually been to one.”
: “Do you think you could take me? I’m not sure if it will broaden my horizons per se, but simply studying won’t get me anywhere.”
: How much do you want to bet that this is one of the writers trying to live out their dumbass teenage romance fantasies?
: “Thank goodness… I think I would have been totally lost in there had I gone by myself. Well, let’s get going.”
: “There are more girls here than I expected. Hey, over there… you play by aiming the gun at the screen, right? That actually seems somewhat realistic.”
: We’ll learn all about that game in a different confidant that we can’t do yet. I’m not even joking when I say there is an entire confidant about that game.
: “I-if it’s okay with you… do you think you could teach me?”
: This is incredibly painful to read. It’s incredibly reminiscent of Ready Player One and all the cringy excerpts from it that got posted when the movie got announced.
: I mean, it’s not quite as bad because if this was the RPO author Joker would start making out with Makoto right there as every single person in the arcade lines up to high-five him because he’s so awesome, and then he’d say something like “This is just like the time I got the high score in Pac-Man”.
: They could’ve, you know, put some actual visuals in here of Makoto playing the game, but instead they’re making masterful use of the Allanson “tell, don’t show” technique.
: Somehow, I knew people would want me to pick this last one.
: “Of course that was just a game, but… I wonder if I could apply some of the techniques I learned here during battle.”
: The thing is, there is a sizeable portion of the P5 fanbase who is very into Makoto. Somehow, I have a feeling they’re part of the same group that bothered to watch Ready Player One.
: It’s also too bad there’s no way to LP a book because I would dunk on that shit if I could.
: “Perhaps going somewhere I don’t normally frequent is what helped me come up with that idea. You know, it may only be a little bit… but I think I’m starting to understand how people pass time.”
: “Interesting. I would’ve never even thought about coming here before.”
: “I… Hey, do you think you could help me out again later? I might be able to give the team more ideas if I can gain increased knowledge outside of my studies.”
: “Thank you. Perhaps it won’t be immediately… but I’m sure I can be of use.”
: What’s really stupid is that it’s entirely possible that Joker is Makoto’s boyfriend when this cutscene happens.
: This ability is more about seeing enemy skills than it is about item drops - there’s no steal mechanic in this game the way there is in Final Fantasy.
: “I’d like to go there as well. No! N-Not for my own purposes… to tell you the truth, I recently got a report that one of our students was spotted there… I’m skeptical, but… I’d like to confirm firsthand for myself.”
: We haven’t been doing his confidant, but Mishima is now located in Shinjuku at night. Because of course he is.
: “Well, it’s getting late. Let’s head home.”
: “It’s always hard for me to come to places like this on my own, so you’ve been a big help. I’ve had all kinds of new experiences today… and it’s even been a little fun.”
: “Yeah, thanks. I feel a lot better with you helping me through this.”
: “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you. Careful on your way home. I’ll call you later.”
: Tonight’s a special night in that it’s one of the few nights where there’s a follow-up with a Persona 4 character on TV.
: This is another way that we know Persona 5 takes place in 2016. Rise actually just turned 21 - her birthday is June 1st, 1995.
: Tonight’s another Kawakami night.
: Joker’s like “Oh my god, I cured horny!”
: “…My boss found me a part-time job that pays better than this one.”
: “Takase-kun’s guardians keep increasing their demands… so this is just what I have to do.”
: “What I want…? Takase-kun’s guardians say the only true way to apologize to Takase-kun is by paying them. If that’s not true, then what’s the right thing to do here…?”
: “I wonder if I can escape all this if I quit being a teacher. People like me have no right being a teacher. If I quit on my own, I won’t have to pay them…”
: “That’s why I’m going to quit both my teaching job and my maid job… what do you think?”
: What he’s thinking is “I wonder if the whole maid outfit thing is part of the cure for horny. Does she get an employee discount on those? I’m gonna need a few. Do they make them small enough to fit a cat?”
: “That’s what I decided… but did I really decide it on my own…? Now that I think about it, it’s too late for me to stop being a teacher. If I really felt bad for what happened, I would’ve resigned the day he died.”
: “And yet, I still felt the need to teach… I wonder why I feel that way even now.”
: Basically, Kawakami is slowly warping into Ms. Saeko.
: “…Kurusu-kun. Oh, that’s right… I decided the way to apologize to him was to make sure there won’t ever be another student like him.”
: “Because I might’ve been able to save him if I hadn’t been afraid of rumors or labels back then. I wanted to become a teacher who takes care of her students. That’s the mindset I had!”
: “But now, I spend all my free time at part-time jobs, just so I can continue working as a teacher. I put the critical work of a teacher on the back burner, so I could make ‘apology’ money.”
: “That’s where it all went wrong… I can’t make things right with Takase-kun like this…”
: I mean, unless we’re talking anime. Anime’s one of those mistakes that I don’t think you can fix.
: “I’ll be the teacher I aspire to be… that’s the right way for me to make amends to Takase-kun. From here on, I refuse to pay them any more money!”
: “And that is my answer! …Well, what do you think?”
: “You can’t get the right answer from someone else. It can only be found from within. …I learned that from you. In a way, you’re MY teacher. …Haha, just kidding.”
: On our next visit (on 7/8) we’ll be hitting Rank 9 with Kawakami, which opens up the option to date her. Naturally, I’ll be showing off both versions of her Rank 9 and Rank 10 cutscene.
: There’s something I want to explain about dating in this game. I’ll talk about that when we get to the phone call.
: “Especially to you. I averted my eyes from you because you were labeled, just like Takase-kun was… but from now on, I’m going to protect you to. As your teacher, I will never betray you.”
: “Leave it to me! I can be decisive when it counts! I’ll speak with the Takases. I’m not going to run anymore. Everything should be fine as long as I talk to them face to face.”
: “All right, it’s time for me to go. Thank you. See you later.”
: Okay, so about the dating thing. Earlier in the LP, I had mentioned the possibility of having a vote to determine who “Straight Joker” winds up dating. As it turns out, that’s unnecessary.
: The reason is that there’s actually no penalty whatsoever for dating multiple people at once, just like in real life. This is how we’re going to be able to see all the Valentine’s/White Day cutscenes.
: While the canon route is that Joker is gay and dating Yusuke, behind the scenes I’m actually going to be dating everyone at once in what I call the “Reverse Lisa Silverman” technique.
: “Oh, wait… I was supposed to stop working as Becky by today.”
: I like to think that one of the writers was reviewing the script and just goes “Uh, boss? All the phone calls with Kawakami kind of make no sense.” and the boss going “Fuck it, just go with it.”
: “…To be honest, I always kind of knew in my heart I couldn’t go on like this forever. But I felt so stuck facing it alone. It’s thanks to you that I actually figured out what I need to do.”
: “Come on… you realize you can’t feed me lines like that anymore. …But I haven’t given you any proper appreciation yet, so… thank you, really.”
: We get some free time, so let’s read a book.
: Yes. From what I remember, this reduces all but a handful of books to one reading session, meaning we can now optimize stat gains from any day where we get a seat on the train.
: “I told them… that I’m not going to pay them any more money! I’m quitting my part-time job too! Although I’m still in talks with my boss about it.”
: “I’m going to devote myself to being a great teacher! No matter what others say, I won’t waver. So, thank you for giving me such good advice. I just thought you should be the first to know…”
: “It’s what I decided, for Takase-kun’s sake. I’m going to make sure there won’t be any more students like him, who…”
: “I’m not going to run or hide! I’m going to spend my time taking care of my students.”
: I wish the writers had come up with slightly less… I dunno, stupid situations for their characters to be in.
: Like, hear me out here. What if the case was that Takase killed himself and the guardians blame Kawakami for it, even though she reported it?
: The guardians spread this rumor about Kawakami being a “death teacher” who drove a kid to suicide, and the only place she could find a job is Shujin due to the principal being evil. He pays her a rock-bottom salary knowing she’ll never be able to find another teaching job.
: Kawakami can’t sue them because she has no money and has no way of proving that the guardians are behind the rumor, and she has to take the maid job just to survive because it’s about the only place that’ll hire her outside of Shujin.
: Oh look, I’ve just written a somewhat more believable scenario that keeps the same story elements but doesn’t make Kawakami look like a complete idiot.
: “I’ve decided that that’s the best apology I can make to Takase-kun. Paying money to you two is not the solution, to say the least!”
: I’m pretty sure the use of the term “sex worker” here exists only because the English language doesn’t really have a way to describe what Kawakami does. I explained this in a post a while back.
: I think it would’ve been more responsible to just have him say “About your little stint in fuzoku” and then explain what that term means for the people not playing in Japanese.
: “Stop… please.”
: “Haha… I guess I can’t quit my part-time job just yet.”
: “I know! But what am I supposed to do…? … What about the Phantom Thieves…? Would they even help someone like me? No, that’s impossible. Haha…”
: “I can’t do this anymore…”
: “Haha, I could never forget them. I send them money every week… wait, why? You don’t intend on doing something, do you?”
: “Please don’t. A Shujin teacher asking the Phantom Thieves for help would be… I’m sorry. I was so excited to tell you what I had decided… and then it ended up like this… just forget everything, okay?”
: “…I guess I’ll never be able to change. Y-yeah, haha… Class is about to start… I need to go.”
: And now we’ve got all but one of the Mementos requests we need to go back in there. The last one is Chihaya’s.
: We then trade in Speed Reading for Zorro, the Outlaw.
: “I am in your debt. It would be rather difficult to go by myself. Now then, our destination is Inokashira Park. Let us go.”
: Right after I finish this update, I’m going to post the first Gay Yusuke Route update, which takes place at the same time and in the same place as this event. It will attempt to show this event from Yusuke’s perspective.
: Joker is, of course, doing this just to see what Yusuke’s reaction is. His boyfriend is already in the boat with him, after all.
: “I have missed the opportunity for a truly wonderful subject… that aside, I must thank you for your help today. This is the ideal location for my next motif.”
: “Perfect… this is it. My previous painting captured only one aspect of the heart: desire. As such, I was unable to arrive at a truly authentic representation…”
: “That is why we have come today. I shall paint a second aspect… the burning passion between man and woman! Fittingly, our theme today will be… the wonders of love!”
: “You too will have an important role here. While I draw, ensure the boat remains as steady as possible amid these devilish ripples.”
: “They are akin to Adam and Eve… yet in time all lovers must come to know the pain of separation… separation is the natural end to any such relationship… but even beyond that, love endures.”
: “Precisely… this is the truth of the human heart! It will make the most wonderful painting! It shall be adored by all who gaze upon it! It may even be given top prize in the next exhibition!”
: “Wait, now is not the time to be thinking of such trivial matters!”
: “I must capture your profile!”
: “Rejoice, for I shall preserve your beautiful love so that all coming generations may bask in its glory. Once I complete this painting, you will become new legends in the art world… a modern Adam and Eve!”
: “A man and a woman intimately swaying in a dinghy of dreams… the blush of their cheeks, the bashful looks… yes, this is the love I was so emphatically searching for!”
: “Familial…? So that overflowing passion was just a figment of my imagination? It seems my bias has caused me to overlook the truth of the matter…”
: “Love is a broad, multi-faceted beast… this only serves to prove how narrow my perspective can be. Hm, romantic love and familial love… the two may be nigh indiscernible depending on one’s point of view.”
: “Perhaps… the truth of the heart lies in the eye of the beholder. Akira, I feel as though I’ve learned something today!”
: Oh wow! We’ll have to check the Cutscene Viewer as soon as this update is over.
: Joker just looks at them and nods. They’re SO CLOSE to getting it.
: This cutscene is so close to being the start of a gay romance route as-is that I have to wonder if they had planned one and scrapped it.
: Just recently, there was a group who delved through the code for Persona 4 Golden and found out there was supposed to be a gay route with Yosuke, which was cut before release but I believe had the script still in the game.
: “What are you talking about? Ah well… come, it is about time we return home. Please row us back to shore, Akira.”
: “It would seem I understand nothing of love after all. Though I’ve progressed by one step, there is no doubt I will face many difficulties moving forward.”
: “When will I fully understand the heart? Even if I ever do understand it, will I truly be able to draw it…?”
: “You’re right. I’ve no intention whatsoever of giving up. I will do everything in my power to get past this. Anyhow, today was a significant use of time. Impressive oarsmanship from your end, as well.”
: Tonight, we have to buy the stone that we could’ve bought last time, but the game wouldn’t let us.
: “I remember you… you had a very abnormal destiny, as I recall. Please, take a seat.”
: “For that much, it’d better not only change your fate, but also give you incredible luck. If you do end up buying one, we should go home and test it out.”
: Translation: Buying the stone takes time because Chihaya’s confidant is not exactly the best from a design perspective.
: The Holy Stone is an accessory, and I forget what it does. We have no reason to equip it. Also, that’s 100,000 yen down the drain.
: “It’s the smart thing to do, considering this is the only way to avoid misfortune. It’s already charged with a happiness aura, so you’ll feel the effects right away. Don’t forget to recharge it with moonlight every three days.”
: Gotta activate those almonds every three days now.
: “Please stop by again and let me know how your fate changed. Goodbye…”
: “I was just about to close up shop, but I forgot to turn the stove off. I guess you start forgetting things more the older you get…”
: “Last time we went to that fortune teller, the chief won the lottery… I wonder what kind of luck we’ll have this time around.”
: We just wasted a hundred thousand yen on a broken magic stone. You have no idea how mad I was when I played the base game and got to this part, because money in the base game was much harder to come by.
: “Hey, do you mind looking over the shop while I-”
: “Th-The stone shattered!”
: Clearly, this is Morgana’s fault for overcharging the crystal with his thirst for human women.
: “What’s gotten into you?”
: “Huh? This tastes… salty! Hey, the Holy Stone is just salt!”
: “…Akira? What’s going on?”
: “You’re salty? That reminds me, I was just about to head out and grab some salt for the shop. I’ll be back in a bit.”
: “Hm… I think this is technically rock salt. I’ve seen the chief grinding some up before. Wait, in that case… maybe the Holy Stone is supposed to help you get better at cooking!”
: I had one of those salt lamps before - not because I thought it had any health benefits but just because. Turns out, those melt all over the goddamn place when it gets humid out.
: Ruined the shelf I had it on, which was just a cheap collapsible bookshelf I didn’t pay anything for. That salt does NOT come off once it sticks to something.
: Look Morgana, you broke it with your goddamn horny and now you’ve got to replace it.
: “B-But, um… maybe if your cooking improves, your fate will change just like she said it would… … I guess it really doesn’t make any sense, huh…”
: “So, that Holy Stone was really just a phony in the end! That fortune teller’s name was Chihaya, right? She clearly has some kind of mystical power… but this is just unacceptable.”
: “…We need to go complain to her!”
: We get an invitation from Ryuji to go to Ichigaya, which I don’t believe we’d get if we were on the reload-heavy 100% route because we’d already be done with Ryuji’s confidant.
: Even on the route I’m using, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to do it, because we don’t really need the confidant points.
: I’ve seen one of these before on Game Center CX - I forget which episode it is, but there’s one where Arino goes to a fishing pond like this.
: It’s a bit too artificial for my taste - the ponds are totally man-made and the fish are stocked.
: “…Hey, doesn’t meetin’ in a place like this look like we’re talkin’ some shady business? I like it.”
: “Like, ‘we’re regular high school students durin’ the day. But at night…’ you know what I mean!? Man, this is gettin’ me pumped up!”
: “…Oh crap, she’s comin’ this way.”
: “Why are you sitting around like old men? Why don’t you go out and do something more exciting?”
: “Wha- Look who’s talkin’!”
: sigh “Adults need time to themselves to unwind and clear their thoughts. You’ll understand soon enough, when you start working in the real world.”
: “Wow… soundin’ real old there, Kawakami.”
: “That’s MS. Kawakami to you!”
: Seriously, you’d think that Atlus would tone down the whole honorific thing given that they knew they were going to exporting the game and that these lines wouldn’t translate well.
: I just realized that Kawakami is wearing a jacket in the middle of July. It’s not like this scene can happen in the winter - this is the one day it’s scripted to occur.
: I have to wonder when Smash Ultimate takes place in the Persona 5 timeline, because I’m just picturing Joker and Ryuji giving each other a thousand-yard stare and reminding each other of their shared secret - they both know Donkey Kong is real but can never tell anyone.
: Joker once asked Donkey Kong if Lanky Kong was real, and DK’s only response was “It’s better if you don’t know,” communicated entirely through a mashup of the DK Rap.
: “I see. So when you get jaded like Kawakami, you’ll just naturally attract fish… uhh, I don’t think that’s right.”
: “It’s a nice, sunny Sunday. I didn’t think I’d be stuck fishing with you two on my day off. sigh Two troublemakers, and their no-good teacher… I guess we’re perfect for each other.”
: “She keeps on gettin’ fish even as she nags… I’m impressed!”
: None of these points matter. Kawakami will automatically reach Rank 9 once we complete the Mementos request, and from there will automatically reach Rank 10 without any input from us.
: And I bet you thought I forgot to grip and sip. We had to wait until the night period because we had to accept Ryuji’s invitation last night.
: Some sip to remember, some sip to forget the time they were leaving Final Destination and overheard Diddy Kong asking Donkey Kong if Lanky was actually dead, to which DK replied “We checked the grave but it was empty”, again using a mashup of the DK Rap.
: “I, Toranosuke Yoshida, will someday find a way to address your concerns in Nagata-cho… oh, Kurusu-kun. How’s your schoolwork?”
: “By the way, what’s your opinion about our current government? I feel that they’re wrong, so I plan on addressing that during my speech.”
: “I’d like you to listen to it, so you can give me your honest opinion.”
: “However, the current administration refuses to discuss their plans for the future… can we really accept such an utter lack of transparency?”
: The game doesn’t say it outright yet, but Shido is the bald Hideki Kamiya-looking guy who showed up in Joker’s flashbacks and again on the TV in the SIU Director’s office.
: “So he’s claiming those who have made mistakes in the past shouldn’t get a second chance? What can I say to that?”
: “…Yes, I am ‘No-Good Tora’ and I have made mistakes. Yes, I am unpopular and powerless. But that has nothing to do with my arguments! These are things I learned from all my hardships.”
: “You can ridicule me all you want, but I will continue to oppose what is wrong with this world!”
: “The highlight, though, was your yelling.”
: “That’s very promising. But don’t overdo it. You should avoid making enemies whenever possible. …Okay, that is all for today.”
: This guy turning completely around after one speech is giving me flashbacks to Ni no Kuni 2.
: “Please wait! Thank you! …That is all I wanted to say.”
: “I learned something from your dauntless spirit today. I have a bad habit of getting flustered whenever someone calls me No-Good Tora.”
: We know. You’ve said so already.
: “But you see me as someone of value, so I refuse to cower to criticism in front of you. Today you taught me that I must have more confidence in my arguments.”
: No new abilities this rank, but that’s fine - we already have the best abilities Yoshida can give us. The rest are all very situational or only good if you’re not grinding at all.
: “My way of thinking changes when I’m with you. Perhaps it’s the influence of your youthful spirit. Ah, my apologies. It seems we’re out of time.”
: “Thanks to you, I’ve remembered something very important. Now that I think about it, ever since the scandal… I’ve felt alone and helpless. Like the whole world was against me.”
: “Perhaps I got too used to the constant judging and critique, but… I realized I’d overlooked something crucial. I’d forgotten the people who support me… and how encouraging it feels simply to be in their presence.”
: “Perhaps it seems too obvious, or too trite, but… I hope you remember to cherish that, too.”
: “Good. I’m glad to hear it. I will engrave it into my heart. I can’t let myself forget it again. Well, I’ll be counting on you for my next speech, too. See you soon, Kurusu-kun.”
: Next time, we’ll see ANOTHER More Like Yusu-Gay scene, get Chihaya’s Mementos request, and then go into Mementos in as painless a way as possible. Right after this update, I’ll be working on the first More Like Yusu-Gay.
: Welcome to the first More Like Yusu-Gay cutscene. I apologize in advance.
: Wonderful. With his assistance, I’ll surely overcome this slump!
: “It’s so… peaceful here. I should bring a girl here sometime.”
What!? That’s impossible! He hasn’t shown any interest in Takamaki or Makoto…
“Girl…? Does that mean you have a girlfriend!? You should have mentioned sooner!”
: “As if. For such a big city, there’s no girls here that interest me. I mean, Makoto? Come on, she’d make me file a form just to ask her to dinner.”
: “That doesn’t seem to have stopped Morgana. Have you told him about Takamaki-san and Suzui-san yet?”
: “He wouldn’t listen if I told him. He’s still convinced he’s going to sweep her right off her feet.”
: “That aside, I must thank you for your help today. This is the ideal location for my next motif.”
: “Perfect… this is it.”
: Perfect for someone else, maybe. They look like they’re falling asleep.
: “?”
: “My previous painting captured only one aspect of the heart: desire. As such, I was unable to arrive at a truly authentic representation…”
: “That’s why we have come today. I shall paint a second aspect… the burning passion between two lovers!”
: If I can find any, that is…
: “Fittingly, our theme today will be… the wonders of love!”
: You know, when we saw this cutscene from Joker’s perspective, we never saw what it was that Yusuke was drawing. I wonder if this alternate cutscene will clear that up?
: Oh… maybe he did find love after all, just not where he thought he would.
: This whole time, I’ve always felt… different… around him. Like I could be myself. And now, I think I understand what that is.
: I think I’m in love.
: Anyway, the rest of the cutscene is very similar to the base one: Joker starts turning a bit and Yusuke calls out, attracting the attention of the people in the other boat.
: There’s an animation here I couldn’t capture properly where Joker reaches out for just a second and puts his hand on top of Yusuke’s.
: He still denies it at the end though.
Shuujin Academy, not to be confused with Shujin Academy (Protagonist Academy).
A screenshot LP of a book is called a chapter snark and I think it was semi-popular on blogs in the past. A video LP of a book is called a vlog, but really long.
: This update was a lot of fun to record, because I managed to finally snap the game in two. Any semblance of balance will be pretty much out the window after this.
: We have a seat on the train, and now we can really start abusing speed reading. The only annoying part is that this message will now pop up any time we try to read a book.
: It’s also kind of confusing that they didn’t change the menu to reflect the new reading speed, but we’ll be finishing Ghost Encounters on this same time slot.
: Did they get EMF 5? Freezing temperatures? Ghost orb?
: “Whoa, why are you reading that? Whatever you do, just… don’t read it out loud, okay?”
: “So, you’ve finished reading Ghost Encounters. Ah, these stories are way too spooky for me. Don’t talk to me about any of them, okay?”
: For this, we get five points in Guts. This is about the highest stat gain we can get in one time period without using Chihaya.
: “The humidity is what kills me about Japanese summers. I miss the dry heat of California. Not to mention, July and August both have thirty-one days. Summer is long…”
: “Now then, Mr. Kurusu! Two people are responsible for July and August having 31 days. Do you know who these people are?”
: “Great! That’s right. You may already know this, but the months of July and August are named after the Roman emperors Julius and Augustus. Augustus named a month after himself, just like Julius.”
: “However, he felt like he would be losing if his month was shorter than Julius’s, so he added a day. It’s a mystery why men are so stubborn and prideful over silly things like this.”
: “Well, as far as you’re all concerned, you’re just lucky to get a long vacation. They start on the 13th of next week. Don’t forget, okay?”
: She’s talking about exams, which… I don’t quite understand how you’re supposed to infer that from what she just said.
: “Next Wednesday, huh? You’d better make sure you study.”
: “After our enlightening session, I once again attempted to paint. However, nothing I put on the canvas was to my satisfaction… before the gods of art, I am naught but a lost sheep…”
: “Ah yes, lost sheep! I have come here with you for precisely that reason. Our theme today shall be anguish! I shall paint the anguish Christ felt as he bore the sins of mankind!”
: And then Yusuke was the Demiurge.
: “Hm, I have seen various sculptures and paintings on the matter… but merely replicating them will not do. Would any believers be willing to model and help me capture the true essence of anguish?”
: “It seems not. Very well. Akira, you will have to be my model today.”
: Joker immediately grabs the air horn. No boyfriend of his is going to be horny.
: “Only a subject naked as they day they were born can convey the true anguish of birth! Now then… strip! Take it all-”
: “Actually, perhaps not. Being found stark-naked in a church would be even bigger news than the Phantom Thieves.”
: “Hm, I see… so this would be… no, perhaps… it seems this is not working. I would like to capture anguish, yet you remain calm and composed.”
: “Even the slightest wrinkle can change one’s impression of things… I shall not compromise, even for this sketch!”
: “Now, raise your hands higher! More… give me more anguish! Bring it to its upper limits! Like this!”
: I remember the part in the Bible where Jesus started Jojo posing.
: “I understand now… this is the true anguish of the Passion! It feels as though something is boiling up within me!”
: Oh great, now they’re gonna have to explain anime to a priest.
: “Ah, well… this is an art study…”
: “I am attempting to paint anguish, so I decided to use the crucifixion of Christ as a point of reference…”
: If you wanted to see anguish, all you had to do was look at me when I learned about the 1.25 patch for YIIK.
: What’s kind of funny about this is that if you have the DLC for it, you can get Jesus as a Persona. You probably wouldn’t have him for this scene given that he’s level 81.
: The thing that sucks is that Jesus (or Messiah) is one of the only sources of a skill that boosts Almighty damage. The others are also DLC-only.
: “Resurrection? Forgiveness? I’m not sure I understand… those ideas are contradictory to my conception of anguish.”
: Kind of ironic, given that two of the protagonists in this series (Tatsuya and the Persona 3 MC) are both in states of eternal anguish that are not likely to ever get better.
: “So those shocking depictions were actually meant to represent forgiveness, not pain… hm, hope from anguish… I’m not sure I understand.”
: “I must learn more about the hearts of men… Akira… do you think I will be able to capture the truth someday?”
: “…Indeed. If I do not have belief in my own abilities, I will never come to accomplish anything. Hm… this is exceedingly strange though. Spending time with you has helped me discover new aspects of myself…”
: “You are perhaps… a mirror of sorts. If there is anything I can do in return, please let me know… I wish to repay your kindness.”
: This ability here was basically useless in the base game, but in Royal we will be getting some mileage out of it… specifically once Yusuke unlocks the ability to make skill cards instantly.
: “Let us return home for today. I bid you farewell.”
: “The crucifixion supposedly symbolizes resurrection, forgiveness, and hope… but I could not grasp those connections.”
: “Once again, I made the same mistake of picking up on only the superficial meaning. The more I think about it… the further I seem to be from understanding the abyss of the heart.”
: “Ah, so my anguish is what leads me to my hope… it’s exactly what I learned earlier today. Thank you, Akira. Perhaps what I need is a change of perspective.”
: “I still have a tough road ahead, but talking to you gave me some relief. I’m truly fortunate to have you by my side. I’ll see you later.”
: Kaneshiro already admitted to Makoto that he deleted the photos.
: “I suggest you break up with him. Things are only going to get worse at this rate.”
: “Let us ask the tarot. O divine power, shed light upon her fate…”
: “Yes, I’ve seen everything. Hm… I can sense a dark presence within your boyfriend. His heart seems to be possessed by a demon.”
: Silly Chihaya, no one in the Persona universe has been possessed by a demon. That’s a main SMT series thing.
: Come to think of it, demonic possession isn’t even really a thing in SMT. Most of the time it’s either a demon in disguise (Thorman, Lucifer, Demiurge) or someone fusing themself with a demon.
: “This demon may hide itself away at times, but when it strikes, it will bring with it great misery.”
: “You will be hospitalized for severe injuries suffered in a domestic abuse incident, and he will be arrested.”
: “Wh-what? You want another?”
: Clearly the only treatment for an abusive partner is more activated almonds. Makes sense.
: Whoa, hold the fucking phone there. You’re telling me we could’ve paid in installments and then just stopped paying when we found out it was rock salt?
: “Um, truthfully, I feel breaking up with him would be the best-”
: “She really thinks her boyfriend will stop being abusive as long as she has a Holy Stone? There’s no way that could be true… right?”
: “Right. It would make our jobs way easier if you could really change someone’s heart with a Holy Stone. It’s clear that Chihaya has some fortune telling skills, but that stone isn’t going to do anything…”
: “Hey, Akira! Why don’t we change that ‘Yuya’ guy’s heart ourselves? I mean, he’s hurting this woman here, right? This is the perfect chance for the Phantom Thieves to save her!”
: “You see, some fates in this world are simply inescapable. The demon within your boyfriend’s heart… cannot be exorcised by normal human methodologies. Fate is… absolute.”
: Some fates like me breaking the game the next time we go to Mementos.
: “A-Although, I guess you might be able to control the demon’s temper if you bought another Holy Stone…”
: “Y-Yes! What do you expect to change with that meager information?”
: First he’s going to wait for this lady to die, and then he’s going to go back five minutes before her death and use a series of “ghost tricks” to change fate.
: “What? You honestly believe you can do something!?”
: “What!? You! What do you think you’re doing!? If you keep on making false accusations like that, the divine power will rain punishment down upon you!”
: Which one? I’m pretty sure most of them have been devil busted by this point, apart from maybe YHVH if you consider him to be a different entity than the Demiurge.
: “Hm, I’ve seen everything. A vision of you groveling on the ground… fate cannot be changed… and I will prove that fact to you!”
: “If that woman stays with her abusive boyfriend, she will meet a horrible injury within a year’s time. Now, if you honestly believe you can change her destiny, go ahead and try!”
: “But once you realize the error in your thinking, come back and let a true expert handle things. I will save her… with a Holy Stone!”
: I never said Chihaya’s confidant was particularly well-written or that she’s a particularly interesting character, it’s just that her confidant perks are a necessity for 100%.
: And here’s the last Mementos request we need. We’ll be going in on the 6th. This time, I’m going to truncate a lot of it except for the boss fights and any dialog related to those.
: Unfortunately, just obtaining the Mementos request takes time, and now it’s the 5th. By the way, I looked at the other LP of this and I’m still almost two months ahead despite only starting 9 days earlier.
: We get a reminder from Yusuke to go to Mementos.
: I have to wonder if the “Club Ruby” sign (the one right above Joker’s head) is meant to be a reference to the Yakuza games. There’s a hostess club in Kamurocho called Jewel.
: “Apparently this place was a hotbed for criminals and illegal immigrants before they installed surveillance cameras… I heard there were quite a few brothels as well.”
: Uh, Makoto? The proper term is “undocumented”.
: Joker’s ignoring her and looking around to see if he can find the secret hobo casino, or the underground fighting arena.
: “Well, I heard a great deal about it from my father… this is the first time I’ve actually been here myself though. Regardless, it’s become far safer now than it used to be.”
: “Of course, the surveillance cameras played a substantial role in that… but it was mainly thanks to the police efforts to clean up the area.”
: “Even so, there’s no way to eradicate crime entirely. It seems the operations nowadays are only better hidden… anyway, seeing is believing, yes? Come on, let’s have a look around.”
: “That guy was so persistent… he must have been a scout for a hostess club. He mentioned how ‘his girls’ get paid a lot to wear cute dresses…”
: “All I wanted was to ask if any Shujin students worked there… but he nearly dragged me inside with him. If you hadn’t been there to rescue me, I…”
: “For him maybe. I thought I was going to have to knock him out… I’m glad nobody had to get hurt though. Hm, I guess that’s how they do it… I’ve learned something new today.”
: “Oh, and thanks again. It seems you have a knack for helping me out. I hope I can do the same for you someday.”
: “That aside… even though this is a shopping district, there are absolutely no students around here. And definitely no Shujin students… though I guess they wouldn’t come in uniform either way.”
: “That was… I used to be in the same class as her! But why is she here…?”
: “Do they do horny things there, because I think I need to refill my air horn before we go in if they do.”
: “I’m not sure… but it seems suspicious. I’ll have to ask her about it. Oh, and I’d like you to be there too, as my witness. Would that be okay?”
: “Well, we’ve spent quite a bit of time here. Let’s head back to the station. Thank you for today.”
: “That was the first time I’ve ever had to deal with a barker. I didn’t know they could be that persistent… today was exhausting, but I also learned a lot. I guess nothing beats practical experience.”
: “Honestly, I’ve realized I can’t solve these problems on my own. It took what happened today to make that clear.”
: Tonight, we’re going to do an outing with Caroline and Justine. We owe them that much after how much I’m going to be abusing the shit out of the Velvet Room.
: “Listen closely: the place we wish to evaluate for your rehabilitation is… where one hones both the body and spirit.”
: “Trainees gather there to test and push their limits using various pieces of equipment.”
: “I had not expected a rehabilitation facility on this side… as wardens, we must see such training for ourselves. Does such a location sound familiar to you?”
: “So, what’ll it be?”
: “So you do have an idea of where it is! Then today, you’re getting a special training regimen!”
: “If you don’t keep up the pace, you will die. Now, take us there at once.”
: I was kind of surprised they modeled the gym from multiple angles, and then I remembered you can go there at night to get extra max HP. It’s pointless.
: “This is what you use to train? It’s rather different from how I imagined it…”
: “Indeed. I imagined the equipment here as having more spikes and chains…”
: “…That’s a bench? Then show us how it works!”
: “By lifting the weight, you strengthen your arm and chest muscles.”
: “But that isn’t nearly enough for a real workout - you should increase the weight.”
: “We’re deadly serious right now. I’m insulted you would think otherwise.”
: “Well, it appears we’ve found the limit for your pathetic arms. Now, what’s that over there? Another body training device?”
: “Demonstrate its use for us.”
: “What a fascinating contraption. Perhaps we should bring one to our room?”
: “We could force the imprisoned Personas to run on it. chuckle Not a bad idea…”
: This is actually an ability they give you if you advance their confidant: you get Persona 5’s equivalent of the Pokemon Daycare. It’s mostly useful if you’re doing an Arsene-only challenge run or need to level up a Persona that’s too low-level to be usable.
: And now Joker has been Yamcha’d.
: “Out of breath already? You still have quite a ways to go.”
: “All right, on to the next one!”
: “Is that yet another tool for training?”
: I’m kind of curious as to why a gym has a training tool specifically for kung fu in it. Maybe it’s a Japanese thing.
: I also don’t quite understand… I think the way these things are made, they’re supposed to move when you hit them to simulate the resistance of a body against your strikes, but it doesn’t look like that’s the case here.
: Then again, I’m not even sure how real these things are. You can buy them, but I know that kung fu is one of those things where there’s a real martial art and then there’s all the weird jangly key man shit that kinda rides on top of that.
: “Were we to try, it would be obliterated almost immediately.”
: “You weren’t trying to destroy it? So, the real purpose is to polish your technique… that’s a pretty roundabout method, but I do see how it works.”
: “As far as physical training goes, this place leaves much to be desired…”
: “But it is admittedly sufficient for your rehabilitation. Here is your reward.”
: Both of the skills these cards teach are useless, but there is a way to make use of them - I’ll show that off tomorrow.
: Today, we break the game.
: We get a glorified alert to go visit Hifumi. We’ll do that in the next update.
: We get a free reading period before we go to Mementos, so let’s use that.
: Speaking of which, this update bought to you by some real-life Kawakami who managed to permafuck the servers at work.
: “Make sure you pay extra-close attention to how totally awesome Zorro is.”
: “So, you’ve finished reading Zorro, The Outlaw. Zorro was not only strong in mind and body, but he also cared for the common people.”
: After about five minutes of plot recaps (which will be repeated when we reach the boss fights) we’re let into Mementos.
: Seven requests. This time, I’m going to just show off the fights and skip the random dungeon bits. Why, you ask?
: Because four of these seven requests take place in an area we’ve already been in - that being the Path of Aiyatsbus (which has enemies from way back in Kamoshida’s palace).
: “Really? It seems the same to- hold up. It looks like the Nav’s reactin’ to something…”
: “What’s this?”
: “It sounds like we can go further down now. It’s because we made Madarame’s Palace disappear, right?”
: “Most likely… I think.”
: “You seem rather uncertain. How far does this… Mementos run, anyway?”
: “Uh… It’s huge! Extremely.”
: “You’re always so vague when it comes to the important stuff. It’s like he’s kinda flaky as our chief of operations. Don’t you want him to try a bit harder too?”
: I will never pass up an opportunity to dunk on the cat.
: “There, there…”
: “I don’t fully understand, but Mementos and the Palaces are related to each other, correct? Then all we must do is continue changing the hearts of evildoers to ascertain its full expanse.”
: “I don’t believe there’s a need to quarrel over it.”
: Rain doesn’t do much as far as I know, apart from activate certain skills that only work when there’s a specific weather condition. Most of those have a second skill that makes them work regardless of weather.
: I go and try Makoto’s ability…
: As well as Ryuji’s instant win ability. To get this to work, you have to dash into a shadow rather than trying to ambush it (which will give you a normal fight).
: After the second fight, I get a fusion alarm. It’s here I found out how alarm-related accidents work.
: First, I fuse a Lamia. I don’t keep her, and she’s in the next dungeon so I’ll log her there.
: Panta Rhei is fucking AMAZING, but I don’t wind up keeping it. The SP cost is simply too high - Joker’s only going to get a handful of them off before running out of SP.
: I fuse again, and get Thunderbird. Ordinarily, we’d want this, as Thunderbird is a full four levels higher than Joker is and is very useful for returning - he gives you a skill card we’ll use to break things later. I’ll log him later, when we wind up keeping him.
: For the record, I didn’t wind up keeping him.
: When you get an accident in a fusion alarm, there’s a chance this happens. I showed it off earlier, but basically there’s a couple of “packages” you can get this way. This is one of them.
: The boost skills increase damage of a particular element by 25%. There’s a better version called an amp (fire amp, ice amp, etc) that increases damage by 50% and STACKS WITH THE BOOST SKILL OF THE SAME TYPE.
: Most end-game Personas are going to have a Boost, an Amp, and two other skills we don’t have yet. One of those we’ll be getting… now.
Human spirits who became tengu and had ignorant or cruel hearts. Usually serve as retainers to larger and more powerful tengu.
: One thing I found out quickly is that the RNG for fusion is very hard to advance, so I dick around a bit until I get this. This is another “accident package” that’s all skills that regenerate HP and SP.
: The important skill here is Life Aid. Life Aid is a skill that you cannot otherwise get until after level 50 and cannot be itemized into a skill card. It restores 8% HP and SP after each battle.
: That’s pretty game-breaking… but that’s not enough.
Demon whose name literally means “Wind Oni”. Can harness powerful winds.
: So let me explain what I did here. I fused the Koppa Tengu (after registering it, of course) into Fuu-ki using… I think it was the Eligor from our earlier fusion alarm.
: Fuu-ki itemizes into a Wind Boost skill card, so what I did was register Fuu-ki and then itemize him into a card… then resummoned Fuu-ki and slapped the card on him.
: So now we’ve got Life Aid, Garudyne, and Wind Boost on one Persona. How can we make this more overpowered?
: Well, a bit later I get a second alarm. During an alarm, Fuu-ki returns a Wind Amp (it really whips the llama’s ass) skill card instead of Wind Boost. Now, are you thinking what I’m thinking?
: Why yes, that is Garudyne with a built-in 75% extra damage plus Life Aid, thank you for asking. I could’ve made this better by keeping his normal trait (which boosts single-target skills by 20%) but I didn’t.
: For reference, here’s Fuu-ki’s normal skill list. I think we came out on top here.
: Here’s another fuck-up, where you can see one of the worst accident packages: all dodges. This is easily the most useless one, because none of these are worth having. Let’s see how our Fuu-ki does.
: This first target is from before the second fusion alarm, so I had the Fuu-ki with Wind Boost and Life Aid but not Wind Amp (it really whips the llama’s ass) yet.
: This is the guy from Kichijoji we heard about way back when we first visited.
: “That’s the first thing out of his mouth… but it seems like this is the old guy who’s making trouble in Kichijoji!”
: “…He’s certainly disturbed. Let’s end this, Joker!”
: It’s just me, Gabe Newell. That’s G-A-B-E-N at valvesoftware dot com.
: I get why they went with Koropokkuru, but that’s not exactly how a koropokkuru would behave. Anyway, this is Garudyne without Wind Amp. It’s doing ~260 damage to an enemy that isn’t weak to wind.
: Ann finishes it off with a fire spell and an All-Out.
: “An unfortunate consequence of isolation…”
: “I’m certain that’s what your family wishes as well. And from now, on, instead of taking it out on others, you should communicate your needs directly to your family. Tell them that you’re lonely before it’s too late.”
: “Look at 'im… thinks he’s some kinda hotshot.”
: “He’s the guy who’s really behind all that bullying, right?”
: “Yeah. If we wanna stop the bullying, we gotta take him down.”
: “Let’s go.”
: One thing you’ll notice is that Makoto won’t show up in any of these scenes. This is because technically, we could’ve done most of these requests before even going into Kaneshiro’s palace.
: “No jerk’s got the right to go around, blackmailin’ people!”
: This guy is the leader of a bullying ring that Mishima warned us about like a month ago.
: “You gotta be kidding! You’re not strong, you’re just a coward who won’t get his hands dirty!”
: Sakoda’s shadow is a Black Frost. In most of the games Black Frost is in, it’s usually a mid-level demon (or Persona) that resists both fire and ice and is usually a three-way fusion between a Jack Frost, a Pyro Jack, and a King Frost.
: In Persona 5, Black Frost is level 67 (!) and is one of the only sources of the ultimate Ice spell: Diamond Dust. The version you can fuse also reflects Fire, but this one only resists it.
: He’s a pretty solid Persona overall so long as you have a way of getting Ice Boost (he learns Ice Amp naturally or can inherit it from King Frost, but none of his ingredients naturally learn it) and Life Aid onto him to offset the insanely high SP cost of Diamond Dust (48 SP, 24 with his trait).
: Since he resists fire, ice and nuke (the real deal repels fire, absorbs ice, and nulls nuke) I just have Ann and Yusuke gun him down.
: “Why don’t you just admit you lost? You’re acting kind of pathetic right now.”
: “All right. Now it’s time for you to get eaten. The strong eat the weak or somethin’, right? When I’m done with you, there’s gonna be nothin’ left but bone. You ready?”
: Ryuji going full-on mainline SMT negotiation mode.
: The Evil Snow Crystal is like the totem items from Persona 1 and 2 and allows us to fuse Black Frost, but doesn’t get consumed when we do.
: Such natural-sounding dialog for teenagers in 2016.
: There’s only one more target in Aiyatsbus, but I didn’t remember that they’re actually on the final level where it transitions to the next area.
: One thing I wish they had don
