Click Here for Update 89
: This scene had a lot of changes in Royal for some reason. In the base game, Sojiro isn’t in the room at this point.
: “The police report on your death isn’t gonna show up at your school. No need to worry. Seems Prosecutor Niijima worked out some kinda deal with the higher-ups or something.”
: …And how exactly did she do that without Shido finding out, given that the “higher-ups” are mostly in his pocket - at least, if what he says is true.
: Now, I’ll admit that I do this sometimes, but come the fuck on! Proofread your goddamn script!
: “And I guess if they reported your death now, they’d basically be saying you were a phantom thief. They can’t really go around announcing what the Phantom Thieves are, so I’m sure they’ll avoid that.”
: Futaba’s dialog here was cut significantly - it was originally about five minutes of text. Royal adds voiceacting to it as well. I wasn’t aware of this, which is why I didn’t just put it in the last update.
: To avoid confusing anyone, I’m only going to post the dialog that actually shows up in Royal. You can see the entire thing from the base game here, if you’re interested.
: “Well, remember how I put that wiretap app in Akechi’s phone? Basically that let me see GPS info for two phones: yours and his. I’d be able to tell the precise moment Sae Niijima, who had your phone, ran into Akechi!”
: “That’s when I saw my chance and beep - sent the signal to activate the Metaverse Navigator. But there was the chance they’d just pass each other without saying a single word.”
: “That’s why we needed you to tell Sae Niijima to show the phone to Akechi!”
: You might be wondering why she keeps referring to Sae by her full name - I think it’s because in Japanese, everyone refers to Makoto by her last name.
: “This plan still surprises me no matter how many times I hear it…”
: “Still, I couldn’t just directly hack into the Metaverse Nav. It’s a mysterious app, after all. But you know how it has that bookmark function? All you have to do is push the button.”
: “Making the phone think he was pushing that button was totally doable. Mwehehehe.. pretty good, huh!?”
: I do want to post a couple of excerpts from the base game’s version of this scene, because I want to show you just how much of a confusing clusterfuck it was. For this, I’ll use Futaba’s phantom thief portrait.
: “Lemme see, another problematic thing was… oh yeah! Tying Akechi up! That was really tough. Uhh, I obviously don’t mean the real Akechi. Even if we could do that, it would ruin our plan.”
: “The one we had to tie up was Sae Niijima’s cognitive Akechi… this part’s really complicated. I know you’re tired. You sure you wanna hear all of this now?”
: This is where my theory about the multiple plot drafts comes from. There is no cognitive Akechi in Sae’s dungeon. I saw this my first time through and thought I missed something, but I didn’t.
: “Well, since the rest of us didn’t get captured, we had to act. We had to pretend we never wanted you to get arrested.. pretend the suicide news was a real shock.. basically we had to act like we didn’t know anything, 24/7.”
: I’m pretty sure this is also from the initial plot draft that had the cognitive Akechi in it. In the initial draft, there was probably a longer period between when Joker gets arrested and when Akechi ‘kills’ him.
: “The enemy knows who we are, so we couldn’t let our guard down even once while you were gone. If they had people watching us and realized what our plan was, they would have killed you immediately.”
: There’s one last bit of optional dialog, and that’s with Morgana.
: “But even that’s putting it too lightly. You had it rough in there, didn’t you?”
: “Akechi was after you all along. I knew it was risky, but we had no choice but to depend on him… but thanks to your tenacity, you were able to fool him.”
: “It’s payback time. Let’s make him regret underestimating the Phantom Thieves!”
: And now, let’s do the only thing we can do and go to bed.
: “Don’t worry about it. This’ll be a breeze compared to what we’ve had to face so far. And we’ll have all the time to come up with the plans together!”
: “To be perfectly honest, I don’t really care what happens to Shido one way or the other. But when I consider the fact that he’s your enemy, I naturally think he’s my enemy as well.”
: “I’m going to stay with you until the very end. Well then, we should get to sleep.”
: “When you were in a pinch in the Palace, she picked up a reading of someone who came to your rescue. Was that…?”
: “So it was Yoshizawa.. then we’d better let her know you’re safe now. And, I’ll even lend you a hand with that.”
: There’s scenes each day for the next few days where we’ll get IMs from the various non-party member confidants. I’m not sure what the criteria to get them are - I heard it was Rank 10, but we get Shinya’s even though we’re only at Rank 9.
: This means we miss out on Iwai’s and Chihaya’s.
: “I swear, you’re like monkeys in a zoo. …Hm? Oh yeah… I received word from Kurusu’s family that he’ll be absent for a bit. Geez.. what do you people think school is, anyway?”
: “It’s almost time…”
: “You don’t need to worry about it in here, but try not to do anything to draw attention. Anyway, today’s a day off, so eat your curry and take it easy.”
: “You can take your time with it too. It’s not like any customers are gonna be showing up.”
: “Let’s try and think of the keyword once the chief’s curry has energized you.”
: “All right, let’s head to the Diet Building. Make sure you aren’t discovered, okay?”
: You might be wondering how it is that Joker can go out if he’s supposed to be dead, and the answer is…
: A hood. Clearly, Joker is a descendant of that guy from Assassin’s Creed.
: “You gotta be kiddin’ me… you realize you’re done for if you get caught, right? …Sheesh, the stunts you pull sometimes. Just don’t stay out too late.”
: “Let’s begin at once. Police cars are making rounds, so we can’t stay here too long. We already have ‘Masayoshi Shido’ and ‘Diet Building’. All we need is ‘what’ he thinks of this place.”
: Why would they even need to be here? The game showed them guessing the keywords just fine in Leblanc.
: “Maybe ‘Mt. Fuji’ since it’s the highest place in the country?”
: “What about a ‘mansion’?”
: “Since he’s going to subjugate everyone as prime minister… perhaps a ‘school’?”
: “What about an ‘arena’ like the Colosseum?”
: “Imperial palace?”
: “…It’s no good.”
: “I thought we would’ve gained entry by now… maybe we shouldn’t have called Akira-kun here…”
: “Shido stole the cognitive psience research, right? Maybe it had some special move written in it.”
: Shido did a quarter circle back and punch and now his palace is impenetrable.
: “Is that even possible?”
: “Who knows? I’ve got no idea.”
: “There was nothing like that in the notes I saw.”
: “Anyways, what kinda person is Shido? I can’t figure him out…”
: “I did some light research on him last night, but I couldn’t get a grasp on the type of man he is.”
: “What kind of person is Representative Shido? What’s he think about the National Diet?”
: “You know, what’s his shadow see his personal brain realm as?”
: “An exemplary answer.”
: “It makes sense he wouldn’t tell teenagers anything unnecessary.”
: The guard’s radioing in and asking “Hey control, is anime real? Because I see a bunch of teenagers with off-color hair and modified school uniforms sitting outside, and I can’t tell if they’re anime protagonists or just teenagers.”
: “Wait, is it about us?”
: “That doesn’t look good.”
: “We should leave at once. Tomorrow’s a day off, so let’s have an early strategy meeting. Meet at Leblanc, okay?”
: “We should all think about this tonight…”
: “I’m saying this even though it would make more sense not to, because now I’ve got no one to pin all my murders on.”
: “However, I believe that this country’s citizens are still living their days in anxiety. These scandals only increase our distrust of the current government. As a citizen myself, I am enraged!”
: “Look who’s talking.”
: “What does it mean to be a politician with responsibility? Working toward personal gain without consideration of the country is outrageous!”
: “The election’s public notification is tomorrow, but no matter where I go, people are cheering for Shido.”
: I’m not exactly sure what he’s talking about. If I had to guess, it’s probably Shido being announced as the candidate for prime minister even though it’s kind of a foregone conclusion at this point.
: “Everyone’s being deceived so easily.”
: “In order to save this country that has been tainted by villains, social reform is essential!”
: “Ugh…”
: While Joker was gone, someone put up a Phantom Thieves flag in his room.
: “I get no one knows the truth about him, but it still creeps me out…”
: We have time tonight to do something, so let’s try another game.
: Sarutahiko is a demon that has not made an appearance since Nocturne. He’s the husband of Ame no Uzume.
: “Oh, there’s a practice course. Let’s try that one first. All right, time to practice a normal-distance shot.”
: I miss the QTE the first time by a single bar.
: “Your ball’s in the rough now. That wasn’t the best shot… oh, the screen changed. It looks like you’re stuck in the sand now.”
: “Not bad! You managed to get yourself out of the bunker. Oooh, you’re near the flag now! It looks like this is practice for getting your ball on the green.”
: “Hey, you did it! The ball’s on the green now. Looks like that’s the end of the practice course. I guess we’ll finish here for today.”
: “Oh, that’s right. Aren’t you all supposed to be gathering here today? Make sure you finish eating before everyone shows up.”
: “It’s almost time for our meeting. I wonder if anybody has figured out the keyword…”
: No, that’d be Elon Musk, and also an emerald mine.
: “…No good.”
: “How many’d we miss?”
: “Perhaps he truly does have a barrier up.”
: “Right!?”
: “That’s not something to be excited about!”
: “We know all the way up to ‘Diet Building’ too…”
: “…So you enter keywords into the Metaverse Navigator.”
: “Boss, can you turn the TV on? Shido might be on it.”
: “Sure thing.”
: “Him and his stupid, composed face!”
: “I truly apologize for causing such a stir. Honestly, it required a lot of courage to openly oppose them when their popularity was at its peak. I mean, people often lashed out at me online and whatnot.”
: “That was to catch them off guard. I could say I applied my profiling knowledge. Once they lost public support, someone they thought was their greatest enemy lent a hand…”
: “That’s the same strategy used in romance, wouldn’t you agree?”
: Joker and Yusuke look at each other and reflexively go “No.”
: “Why is he being treated as an ‘ace detective of justice’!?”
: “It’s not just on TV or online. Newspapers, magazines… I see his face everywhere.”
: “On the other hand, no one’s hoping for our comeback on the Phan-Site, like at all!”
: “The Phantom Thieves are ‘evil’. Shido and Akechi are ‘just’… it should be the other way around.”
: “They’re manipulating information using the media!”
: “Leaving Akechi aside - we’ll get back at him later - our main issue is Shido.”
: What the shit kind of dialog is that? That sounds like something you’d hear out of the narrator in a book.
: “Were there any instances before when you didn’t know the Palace keywords?”
: “Well, there was the time with Futaba.”
: “We didn’t know anything about her, so all we could do was make conjectures.”
: “Then, why don’t we just go directly and see Shido?”
: “That’s impossible. He’s surrounded by bodyguards and followers all the time.”
: “There’s no way high school students can get an appointment with him either.”
: “Well, we do have an adult with us…”
: “No, that’s still impossible. Besides, that’s too dangerous a method.”
: “Well this is a problem…”
: “Isn’t that an election-campaign car?”
: “Oh right! The candidates are currently campaigning!”
: Hold on.. you recognize Shido’s voice in person, but don’t recognize his voice from the multitude of times he’s been on TV?
: “I apologize for the commotion! I am Masayoshi Shido!”
: “Wait, did he just say ‘Shido’!?”
: “Yeah, he did!”
: Has this happened to anyone ever, where you recognize their voice almost a year later but not their face? I mean, unless you’ve got prosopagnosia or something.
: “…!?”
: Haru runs after him because Haru thirsts for blood. That’s not even a joke - there’s a couple of Metaverse lines that confirm it.
: “This way. Hurry! By the way, did something happen? You didn’t seem well a moment ago..”
: Gee, I wonder what his palace could possibly be. What’s funny is that this isn’t even the line that makes Joker realize what it is.
: Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, this will not raise Japan’s declining birth rate.
: “Let us all set sail toward a happy future together! I hope to continue serving you all!”
: “You guys wait here! I’ll go get intel for us!”
: “Wait!”
: “I just wanna talk to him for a sec!”
: “The hell!? Ain’t he s’posed to hear a citizen’s comments!?”
: “You’re that asshole we met at the hotel before! At the elevators!”
: For the bodyguard, it was… actually, what day was that? Oh, right. For the bodyguard, it was Thursday.
: “Come on, stop!”
: “But, these guys-”
: “Hey kid. You don’t want to know what happens when you cross me…”
: “What are you looking at? This country is filled with clueless children… I worry for Japan’s future. Let them go. My next appointment is coming up.”
: Shido looks right at Joker and somehow doesn’t realize who he is. You’d think he’d be racking his memory like “Wait.. I was supposed to do something if I saw a bunch of teens…”
: “Wait… he’s the jerk you told us about before!? The same guy!? For real!? Seriously!?”
: Penalty, offense, number sixty-three, overuse of the interrobang. Five yard penalty, game remains on third down!
: “You’re sure.. aren’t you?”
: “Shido’s the one who ruined your life…”
: “Holy shit… I don’t believe it…”
: “…”
: “…Let’s get going, okay?”
: “Talk about a destined connection…”
: “Shido was involved in the cognitive research too, right? This can’t be dismissed as just a coincidence…”
: “God.. what the hell’s going on here?”
: “Shido was already a politician then, yet he sued a student and ruined his future? He must’ve pulled some strings so that his name wouldn’t be mentioned…”
: Shido pulls a giant rope hanging from the ceiling with a sign on it reading “DUMBASS HASHINO PLOT”.
: “Furthermore, he also would’ve had to force that woman into making a false statement.”
: “He would do anything. We’re talking about a man who ordered a hit inside the police station.”
: “He can’t sit still until he crushes whoever opposes him, no matter how trivial. He’s always been that way.”
: “What a piece of shit! ‘Children are the future’, my ass! What he’s sayin’ and doin’ are completely different!”
: “But now that we found out who did it, can’t something be done about Akira’s record!?”
: “Once the courts have made a judgment, overturning that decision will be difficult. It’d barely be possible even if proof of innocence is presented and Shido admits to his crimes.”
: I’d say this sounds ridiculous, but it’s really not.
: “At any rate, we need to trigger a change of heart in him.”
: “Be that as it may, Shido’s outer appearance and his true face are wholly different. It’s beyond hypocritical. It’s as if he’s an entirely different person.”
: Way to say exactly what Ryuji just said, but in different words. Quality Hashino writing.
: “He speaks about the good of the country… it makes me wonder what really is on his mind.”
: How many villains has this been now where their motivation is “strong eat the weak”? Oh right, all of them.
: “He treats himself as an elite man while looking down on others.. that’s the worst.”
: “I assume the keyword for what he believes the Diet Building is will be despicable too.”
: “It must be something self-centered and completely different from politics.”
: “Someone like him needs to be punished as soon as possible!”
: How many times has someone said that over the past couple of updates? I’m sure you’ve noticed it by now, but Hashino has a lot of trouble keeping the party members plot-relevant.
: “Stewing over it won’t get anywhere. We have to do this…”
: “Oh, yeah, those clothes.. you’d stand out if everyone else is wearing their school uniforms. It might be a good idea to wear your uniform when you head out.”
: Translation: The anime cutscene animators fucked up again.
: This is another night where we can’t do anything. Fortunately, tomorrow is the last day of cutscenes for a while.
: “Huh? Is this a gym? Oh, and there’s a weird old guy standing over there.”
: “Ohhh… so there’s a practice stage before you get to the real action.”
: The inputs are fixed, but this is basically Featherman Seeker without the memory bit. Of course, this was in the base game and Featherman Seeker was added for Royal..
: I also realized I forgot to mention something. Featherman Seeker is basically Akechi’s backstory. If you have the paid DLC that adds the Featherman costumes, Akechi’s is Gray Pigeon.
: Wait, isn’t that screen ripped straight out of Punch-Out? It even says W.V.B.A. on it.
: Next time, we’ll see the inside of Shido’s palace in the mandatory plot test run. After that, we’ve got a week or so of finishing up confidants before we go in for real.