Colors Flying High - Let's Play Persona 5 Royal

Click Here for Update 103

newmascotresized: God dammit! Fuck! Shut up! Fuck! Go back to being dead!

Akechi: “To think I’d get to see you so surprised… honestly, it’s pretty satisfying.”

newmascotresized: Okay… let’s see. There has to be a reason for this other than “We bought back Akechi because fangirls”. Maybe it’s like Interstellar where that lady hallucinates George Clooney being alive.

Sae: “You said, ‘there’s no need’… just what do you mean by that?”

Akechi: “Exactly as it sounds. I’ll agree to testify against Shido and his crimes. I assume that works for you?”

newmascotresized: Any minute now, Sae’s going to look at Joker and go “Who are you talking to? There’s nobody there.”

Akechi: “That’s right. I have no hidden agenda at this point. If I had to explain myself, I’d say it’s simply personal principle that I repay my debts.”

Sae: “For the time being at least, I’ll take your word that you’ll cooperate with the investigation.”

Akechi: “That would save a lot of time.”

Sae: “I’m sorry… you can forget everything I just told you. I’ll take him in myself.”

newmascotresized: Okay, she just talked to Akechi and acknowledged his existence. New theory: when Mementos was merged with reality, Igor implanted a fake Akechi into Sae’s head that’s just good enough to testify before vanishing.

newmascotresized: That’d go great with the whole “the world is a cognition” bit and would make the end of the casino feel like less of an ass pull. And here I underestimated the writers for Royal thinking they’d bring Akechi back purely based on his popularity with the Japanese fanbase. It’s not like they’d change the entire plot based on a focus group. Nobody could be THAT dumb.

newmascotresized: We get messages from every possible love interest that we’ve maxed out.

newmascotresized: In addition to these nine options, there’s a hidden tenth option which only appears as a failsafe if you are not dating anyone. Unfortunately, you can’t select it if you meet the criteria for any of the other possible scenes… and as it turns out, I did in fact date Haru in the base game so I can’t use that save file. I completely forgot about that.

newmascotresized: Anyway, it looks like Tae won the poll, so we’ll do her date for this update. The rest of them will be posted under the “Alternate Scenes” header.

newmascotresized: Tae’s fashion sense is like that one zombie from Chainsaw Man who has so many thoughts that the only thing she can think of is Halloween.

Tae: “Anyway, thanks for coming. Were you hoping to see me today?”

Tae: “Aren’t you straightforward? Well, then I can be honest too: I’m glad to hear it. So what happens after this? If you don’t have anything in mind, we can go out to eat. Don’t worry, no experiments today.”

Tae: “Cool. Let’s go. Oh, but first… this usually isn’t my style, but it’s Christmas, so… would you like to hold hands?”

Mara: Whoa there! That’s WAY too lewd for a second date! It’d be one thing if you put a collar around Joker’s neck and suddenly it’s BDSM-o-clock, but holding hands!? Can we even show that? That’s practically illegal!

Mara: Holy fuck! I’m calling the goddamn FCC! You can’t show that! He’s underage! I need an adult!

Tae: “Didn’t think all the restaurants would be totally booked…”

Tae: “…Where do you learn these lines? Cake first, though, right? Once we’ve got that, you can feed me all the cheesy schlock you want. Let’s go look for one.”

Tae: “You wouldn’t happen to have any Christmas cakes left, would you?”

Tae: “What?”

Tae: “Well, in that case… we’d like to buy it.”

Tae: “Can you believe that?”

Tae: “Slow down. We’ll get to enjoy it soon. Just the two of us.”

newmascotresized: Joker: “Are you still talking about the cake?”

Tae: “Maybe we should do this more often. How about you? Having fun?”

Tae: “Wow. I didn’t know you were so worked up over it. Well, maybe I can make this a little more exciting.”

newmascotresized: Each of the possible Christmas dates (except the one for not having a date, which would actually be really useful if it existed) gives you an item that carries over to New Game Plus.

newmascotresized: These items give a boost to the amount of confidant points earned during a confidant event with the corresponding character. Because equipment carries over, Tae isn’t a great choice for this.

newmascotresized: The best choice here is Haru. This is because at the end of the game, you get an item from every non-auto confidant you’ve maxed out that gives you all of their abilities as soon as you unlock Rank 1 in NG+.

newmascotresized: The exceptions are the party members, who only carry over their passive abilities - they don’t carry over any of their combat abilities (Harisen Recovery, Endure) or their second Persona.

Tae: “Here’s your present. Not handmade or anything, okay? Just do you know this wasn’t some huge labor of love.”

Tae: “You can be pretty sweet sometimes. …Hmm…”

Tae: “Got a chill down your spine? You had cream on your nose. No idea how it got there, but…”

newmascotresized: Yusuke wouldn’t need to do this because he and Joker don’t need excuses to be intimate.

Tae: “As far as your other identity goes… I figure it’s not my business. But as long as we’re making this work somehow, I might as well say this. I can at least tell how much you and the other Phantom Thieves go through to save people.”

newmascotresized: The whole thing with Yaldabaoth has already self-retconned.

Tae: “I am your girlfriend, after all. I just wanted to acknowledge that… it’s thanks to those efforts that I found my own calling. …I really am glad I’ve got you.”

Tae: “Still, I gotta say… you’ve got some weird taste. People talk, but what it comes down to is that the Phantom Thieves are these big modern heroes, right? Never really thought of myself as girlfriend material, let alone for a hero.”

Tae: “All right already. Bring it down a notch, smooth talker. Who are you trying to impress? Whoa, look…”

newmascotresized: Who does this? Who sees snow and goes “Let’s open the window!”

Tae: “I never fell for this stuff. All the snowfall, the romance… I’m not exactly the swooning type. …Didn’t think I was, anyway. Geez. I’m supposed to be the adult here, but you’re the one who keeps supporting me.”

Tae: “How about you? It’s… good, right? I feel like… I’m going to wake up any second now, and all this will be gone.”

newmascotresized: It’s funny because… well, you’ll see.

Tae: “You’re right. Maybe everything can just be nice for once.”

newmascotresized: Oh no, a recording block! Whatever will I do? How will I show off how fucking stupid the expansion content is!?

newmascotresized: This is the point where the “Where Persona 5 Ends” and “A World Without Pain” routes are going to diverge. Technically, the divergence happens when Akechi comes back, but the first major changes start here.

Makoto: “He turned himself in to the police. Sis told me yesterday. He’s admitted to being the perpetrator behind the recent cases.”

Yusuke: “So he’s alive…”

Ann: “Akechi-kun survived and owned up to what he did…”

Haru: “Well, I feel it’s for the best. If Akechi-kun is alive, and he can atone for his crimes… that’s not a bad turn of events.”

newmascotresized: It’s like they’re retconning the fact that Akechi killed her father and Futaba’s mother, because Persona started with Persona 3 and Akechi has always been the soft gay pancake boyfriend.

Ryuji: “Right. Ain’t that all stuff to be happy about?”

Haru: “Mmhm. It’s Christmas. We should enjoy the day to our hearts’ content.”

Futaba: “I approve. Let everyone be merry to the max!”

Sojiro: “I’m the one who should be giving permission, you know. Well, as long as you don’t go overboard, I guess you can go ahead and cut loose today.”

Sojiro: “…He didn’t hear a word of that. Eh, fine.”

Yusuke: “Oh my! This is quite the sight. …I’m going to be entirely honest: I wasn’t able to bring a dish. Instead, leave the dishwashing duties to me. I’ll make sure they turn out beautifully immaculate.”

newmascotresized: Joker and Yusuke can tell no one they bought the giant boyfriend cake.

Haru: “Hmm… why don’t we all just clean up together?”

Ryuji: “So, who brought what?”

Makoto: “I brought that marinated seafood.”

Ryuji: “Mmm! That’s super good!”

Haru: “It may not be to everyone’s tastes, but I brought that cheese plate.”

Ryuji: “Whoa! It smells like dirty socks… ohhh! But it tastes great!”

Haru: “Thank goodness. Oh, is this a croquembouche? It’s so cute!”

Ann: “All I did was buy some cream puffs and stack them up, though.”

Yusuke: “It’s been arranged so artistically that I hesitate to sample it. When it comes to sweets, Ann truly has us beat.”

newmascotresized: When I saw this line in recording, I went “What are the chances of Akechi walking through the door and going ‘Hi, it’s me, Akechi! I brought them!’ like it’s a fucking 90s sitcom?” and was very ready for the possibility I’d have to cut recording there and have the rest of the update being me screaming “FUCK” again.

Ryuji: “Uhhhh… me… kinda?”

Ann: “Ryuji… brought sweets…”

Yusuke: “Ryuji and sweets…”

Futaba: “Sweets…”

Ryuji: “Hey! What’re you guys gettin’ at?”

newmascotresized: This is anime, so of course boys can’t enjoy sweet things.

Haru: “I had expected something along the lines of meat… for some reason, chicken comes to mind when I think of you.”

newmascotresized: KFC is a huge thing in Japan on Christmas.

Futaba: “Ryuji… chicken…”

Haru: “U-um, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean that in any kind of comparative way.”

Ryuji: “Please, don’t keep going… it just hurts even more…”

Ryuji: “Did you hear what I just said?”

Ann: “C’mon, don’t get all depressed. Everyone’s here to party!”

Futaba: “Everyone…”

Ann: “Oh…”

Haru: “Mona-chan…”

Makoto: “I was trying my best not to mention it, but it’s hard to avoid.”

newmascotresized: I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is yes.

2935869-get_smoked

Ryuji: “Yeah, we were just talkin’ about- HUH!?”

Ann: “Wait… what? No way! I thought you disappeared!”

MorganaCat: “Looks like the only me that disappeared was the one in the Metaverse.”

Makoto: “So… you stayed in reality as a cat?”

newmascotresized: SMART GIRL moment.

MorganaCat: “When I woke up, I was out in Shibuya looking like this. I headed back here right away, but it took a surprising amount of time.”

Futaba: “If you were coming back here, you should’ve told us, moron!”

newmascotresized: What was he supposed to do, use his cell phone?

Haru: “We were so worried!”

Sojiro: “Sheesh… well, I’ve brought my own surprise back too. I brought some fried chicken. This doesn’t have anything to do with your conversation earlier, though. Any room left on the table?”

MorganaCat: “Oooh! Now there’s our chief for ya!”

newmascotresized: They should have used this portrait for Morgana even in dungeons. It’d probably make me hate him less. Hell, they should’ve gone all the way and made him a cat when he’s in the party.

Yusuke: “Talk about everything falling into place…”

Haru: “Things are finally back to normal.”

MorganaCat: “…Family, huh? So I’m basically your older brother, right?”

MorganaCat: “Futaba… that’s right. Tonight’s supposed to be a celebration… I’m glad I could be a part of it. I know I already said it, but… thanks, everyone. I’m glad I got to come back to you.”

newmascotresized: Now that it’s over, let me tell you something about that last scene. It’s actually recycled from the base game - the difference is that in the base game, it happens in February. They even recycled some of the dialog.

newmascotresized: In fact, let’s talk about what happens in the base game. In the base game, Joker turns himself in sometime in the early hours of Christmas morning. He spends Christmas being interrogated, and then is subsequently tried and put in prison.

newmascotresized: This event in the base game is the party meeting up to figure out how to get him out of prison.

newmascotresized: This is another thing that doesn’t happen in the base game, which skips from the 25th to the 31st.

newmascotresized: She sure helped him out in that one fight against an enemy Joker could’ve instakilled, and… wait, why does it feel like they forgot something?

MorganaCat: “A year-end party, huh? I’m already excited! Oh, let’s invite Yoshizawa right away!”

newmascotresized: What. What the fuck is that scarf. Joker, why are you letting your boyfriend wear that?

Ann: “Yeah! You really helped Akira out, too.”

Kasumi: “In that case, I’ll accept your offer.”

Ryuji: “Yo, I really can’t stop starin’ at that thing you’re wearing.”

Yusuke: “Heh… so it’s caught your eye as well. It happened to catch mine while I was strolling through the city. I bought it for myself as a reward for the end of the year. What do you think? About the scarf.”

newmascotresized: I was torn here between option one and option three: on the one hand, Joker wants to get that scarf off Yusuke ASAP, but on the other he also wants to gently prod Yusuke into wearing something more tasteful.

newmascotresized: The only reason Joker doesn’t pick option three is that he’s terrified that one day Yusuke will burst into Leblanc carrying a handmade scarf.

Yusuke: “Thank you. Your compliment is music to my ears.”

Kasumi: “I don’t think anyone other than you could pull it off, Kitagawa-senpai.”

Sojiro: “This fashion chat is fine and all, but if you don’t dig into that soba soon, it’s gonna get soggy on you.”

Ann: “It’s chow time!”

Ryuji: “Mmm! So good!”

Kasumi: “Sakura-san, you made these noodles yourself, right? They’re amazing! You could open a soba restaurant!”

Sojiro: “Aw, thanks. I made a little too much, so if anyone wants a refill-”

Kasumi: “Seconds please!”

MorganaCat: “How fast do you eat!?”

Haru: “You eat a lot more than I’d assumed you do, Yoshizawa-san.”

Ann: “Seriously? While being that thin!?”

Kasumi: “Kurusu-senpai, don’t kid them so much. My appetite’s totally normal.”

Makoto: “It’s finally happening…”

Sae: “I was planning on telling you all about this a little later. This case is all thanks to a certain man’s testimony. But, I can at least share this one piece of good news with you.”

Yusuke: “And that would be…?”

Sae: “The woman involved in Kurusu-kun’s false charge case has finally come forward and provided her testimony. I can’t say for certain yet… but his criminal record may very well be overturned.”

Ryuji: “For real!?”

Haru: “That’s wonderful!”

Kasumi: “Congratulations, Senpai!”

Sae: “Of course, this is highly confidential, got it?”

Sojiro: “What great news, Akira. Looks like we really will be having a happy new year.”

newmascotresized: Ironic when in the base game, Joker is in prison at this point. He doesn’t get out until February.

Futaba: “This is incredible! It’s an actual, real-life good ending!”

Futaba: “I’ve been seeing this guy on TV all the time lately.”

Ann: “Oh yeah, he’s a model-turned-actor. With a figure like that, I can see how he’s gotten so popular.”

newmascotresized: This guy is in… I think Shibuya, but it might be Shinjuku, throughout the game. He usually complains that he can’t break into acting.

MorganaCat: “So, he’s popular, eh? If I were more like that human, maybe Lady Ann would…”

Ryuji: “Now that I’m thinkin’ about it, a helluva lot sure did happen this year.”

Ann: “Right? It’s like, how many years of our lives did we actually live through this year?”

Yusuke: “I doubt we’ll experience anything even similar to it for quite some time.”

Sae: “Well, this is just from my point of view, but I really hope that’s the case.”

Ryuji: “Then I guess starting next year, we’ll just be good boys and girls at school.”

Makoto: “If that’s the case, then I assume you’ll be able to handle your summer break homework on your own - right?”

Ryuji: “Please don’t go there, Senpai…”

Ann: “So much has happened over the past twelve months. But in the end, we got to spend it together like this. I wanna believe that this was a great year for us.”

Futaba: “Yeah. I don’t have any proof, but I feel like next year’s gonna be even better for us.”

newmascotresized: So what you’re saying is that it’s been a long December, and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last? I think I already used that song but this LP has been going on so long that I have forgotten if I actually did.

newmascotresized: I also am just now finding out that Counting Crows had more than one album, which goes against my belief that they put out A Long December and then on January 1st, 1997 walked out into the morning sun and were immediately vaporized.

Kasumi: “I feel the exact same way! How strange…”

Yusuke: “Well, that’s only natural, considering how pleased we are with our end-of-year celebration.”

Sae: “I really don’t want to get going, but it seems like it’s time.”

Ryuji: “See ya next year, right?”

Futaba: “Next year… Sojiro! Osechi time! Get those New Year’s dishes ready, chop chop! And don’t forget the black beans!”

newmascotresized: Osechi is a New Year’s thing in Japan that comes in this a tiered box kind of like a giant bento. It has a number of different foods in it, but there’s one in the Wikipedia article for it that makes me wish this was a thing in the US.

newmascotresized: This is a thing they need to adapt immediately in Connecticut, only the top box is just the lobster, cooked and ready, with all the other stuff replaced by butter and lobster sauce. Maybe some lemon wedges too.

newmascotresized: The second tier is a second lobster, and the third tier has… a third lobster. You know what, just skip the box and give me the three lobsters and the sauces so I can maximize my lobster intake.

Sojiro: “Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. If I start prepping the beans now, they’ll be ready by the morning. Don’t worry about the food, you just go have a good night’s sleep.”

newmascotresized: I made dorayaki once. Nothing like going “Shit, time for bed, also time to soak the beans.”

MorganaCat: “Hey, Akira - don’t tell this to the others, okay? But, even after I disappeared, I was still vaguely conscious… and being separated from all of you was… really scary.”

MorganaCat: “I thought, if it’s even a little bit possible, I wanted to come home to you guys… that’s why I’m so glad I was able to come back here.”

MorganaCat: “Yeah, thanks. Well, it’s pretty late. Let’s get to sleep. I know I’ve said this before, but I hope we keep sticking together like this, Akira.”

newmascotresized: Shit, that’s a one-way ticket to a stiff neck in the morning.

newmascotresized: It should be obvious where Joker is. We spent ten confidant ranks in here. This is Maruki’s office.

newmascotresized: The voice here plays twice and is distorted the second time.

newmascotresized:Joker moves at a plodding pace, and you can hear voices in Japanese playing in the background. Some of them definitely belong to Haru and Ann, and I think one belongs to Futaba but it’s hard to make out.

Kasumi: “Were you still asleep, Kurusu-senpai?”

Kasumi: “I was just guessing, but I suppose you did sound a bit sleepy, too. Remember promising me that we’d go pay our respects to the shrine together on New Year’s Day?”

Kasumi: “Great! Well, today’s the day, if you want to keep that promise… I realize this may be a bit forward of me, but… what do you say to accompanying me to Meiji Shrine this afternoon?”

Kasumi: “Really? Great, thank you! It’ll probably be pretty crowded today, but it oughtn’t be too bad in the afternoon, at least.”

Kasumi: giggle “I must agree. I’ll make sure to pray to the gods that it won’t be so crowded! Oh, shoot… I hope that doesn’t count as me wishing before making my offering.”

Sojiro: “Heeey, you up yet?”

Kasumi: “Well, let’s meet at the shrine around noon. I’ll see you then!”

Sojiro: “If you’re awake, could you lend me a hand?”

Sojiro: “Oh, that reminds me - Happy New Year.”

Sojiro: “And I hope you’ll continue getting along with Futaba and myself.”

Sojiro: “I could cook some up, so long as you serve yourself everything and pay your bill on the way out.”

Sojiro: “That’s a wise choice.”

newmascotresized: Joker screams. He runs to his room to call Yusuke and tell him to bring the biggest squirt gun he can find.

newmascotresized: This guy’s voice is unmistakably Morgana’s. What the fuck is going on here?

Sojiro: “Oho, lookin’ sharp.”

Futaba: “Heheheh…”

newmascotresized: I’m only not screaming because I know there’s a plot reason for all of this. The thing is, it’s not a plot reason that explains the obviously human Morgana or Akechi coming back to life.

newmascotresized: Trust me, I’ll be screaming soon enough, because one of the things it doesn’t explain is why a bunch of cutscenes that were added for Royal to the base game exist at all.

Futaba: “Sorry, I don’t wanna be late to the shrine. More showing off comes later. Welp, time to make like a tree!”

Sojiro: “What’s up? Did you have plans for today or something?”

Sojiro: “Aw, c’mon, you should’ve just said as much, then. I’ll be fine here, so off you go. Have fun. Oh, but it’s pretty cold out there, so don’t forget to dress warm so you don’t catch a bug.”

newmascotresized: Uh, Joker? I think he’s right in front of you.

newmascotresized: Everyone else seems normal, at least.

newmascotresized: Atlus: “Sorry, we can’t afford to write a better plot. We’re too busy dumping our money into portraits we’re going to use for one scene.”

Makoto: “Talk about incredible happenstance.”

Yusuke: “Indeed - but, due to this fortuitous turn of fate…”

newmascotresized: What’s funny about this is that Yusuke has a little animation where he starts the box over near where Makoto is, but quickly moves it to the left.

newmascotresized: I think we all know he’s actually talking about Joker.

Kasumi: “What’re you doing, Kitagawa-senpai?”

Futaba: “Just ignore him. It’s like a fit he gets into sometimes.”

Ryuji: “So, what do you wanna do after this? If we’ve got the time for it, why don’t we grab somethin’ to eat together?”

Makoto: “I’m sorry, I’ll be heading out with my family once we’re finished here.”

Yusuke: “I have somewhere to be as well.”

newmascotresized: By the end of this conversation, we’ll know a lot about this strange new world we’ve entered. In fact, this cutscene is going to make a few upcoming ones kinda pointless.

newmascotresized: The only people who haven’t had their dreams magically come to life are Makoto and Yusuke. In the former case it’s because Makoto is a cardboard cutout and Yusuke’s only wish is Joker.

Ann: “Well, I guess we’ll all just go do our own thing then.”

Haru: “Mmhm! See you later.”

Kasumi: “Oh, I was wondering earlier - what did you wish for at the shrine, Kurusu-senpai?”

Kasumi: giggle “Well, we did just run into everyone else - maybe that was your wish!”

Kasumi: “Me? Well…”

Kasumi: “Ummm… he’s telling me that some relatives have come over to the house, so I have to go home and spend some time with them. He decided to come all the way out to the station to get me… my family’s kind of serious about their get-togethers.”

Kasumi: “I’m really sorry - I was the one who invited you here and everything! At least allow me to accompany you to the station.”

newmascotresized: I don’t know what it is about the portrait for Kasumi’s father, but it looks… off. Anyway, there’s also a portrait if you didn’t do Kasumi’s Rank 3 event.

Kasumi: “Hrgh…”

Shinichi: “Who do we have here? I believe this is our first time meeting.”

Kasumi: “This is Kurusu-senpai. The one I told you about before? My senpai who’s done so much for me.”

Shinichi: “Ah, so you’re Kurusu-kun. My daughter talks about you all the time.”

Kasumi: “D-Dad! Not all the time!”

Shinichi: “Is that not so? I was told you picked these out for me, too. I know it’s pretty late for it, but thank you all the same.”

Kasumi: “Dad wears them all the time, even at work.”

Shinichi: “I’m quite the fan of them.”

newmascotresized: This shot here is kind of a plot hole, but the weird color filter thing has happened twice now. The first time was when Joker walked down the stairs this morning.

Kasumi: “Wha-?”

Shinichi: “Hm? Something wrong?”

Kasumi: “Ah… no, nothing! Well then, Kurusu-senpai - please excuse us!”

newmascotresized: Well, that’s it for this update. We have a number of lengthy cutscenes coming in the next update, plus I have to do all the other Christmas Eve dates.

newmascotresized: Next time, we’ll see what’s probably the gayest scene in the game (not counting the gay Yusuke route) and find out who the final villain is.

newmascotresized: Anyway, I’m tired of all this dialog. I feel like it’s too much build-up, not enough payoff. Dreams magically coming to life… what a stupid fucking plot. I’m gonna go to bed. Good night, everyone.

Summary

timrodresized: I went back and did some housekeeping with the hub post and realized I never got around to posting Haru’s romance scenes. Let’s fix that.

timrodresized: Like all of the romance cutscenes, Haru’s Rank 9 is identical up until the choice.

Haru: “Huh!? Oh, I, um…! Do you… really mean that…? I-I see. So… it wasn’t just me. You know… at first, I thought I was asking you for help because of the Phantom Thieves…”

Haru: “But I think really… it was so I could spend time with you. O-Oh! I guess I’m already getting better at saying what I think… f-for some reason… just looking at you gives me butterflies…”

Haru: “U-Um, maybe we should go somewhere a little more private… some of the maids are still around here. O-Oh, but um, we definitely can’t go to my room! Who knows what they would say about that…”

Haru: “Akira-kun… I’m so full of emotion… I doubt I could even drink coffee right now.”

Haru: “Er, well… H-How are you?”

Haru: “O-Oh, you… you’re so unfair… I was thinking the same thing, though. I wish you were here with me. Urgh… I’m the one who called, and yet… I suddenly feel so nervous.”

Haru: “I just couldn’t control myself, and… I blurted out everything that was on my mind… I hope we can see each other again soon. It’d be nice not to have to rush… okay, bye.”

timrodresized: Haru’s Rank 10 on the romance route is mostly identical to her other Rank 10, except it takes place in Joker’s room instead of in Leblanc itself.

Haru: “I would have been married to a man I don’t respect… and lived a horrible life. I’m glad I can be with you instead…”

Haru: “I meant, I’m… um… glad to be your teammate…”

Haru: “Y-Yes… thank you. As long as you’re by my side… it feels like everything’s going to be okay… and if you’re ever in trouble, I will be there for you. After all, you were there for me when I needed it.”

Haru: “I can help you now. I have the strength to do so, I can sense it.”

Haru: “So, um… t-today… I’d… like to be with you a little longer.”

The real mystery for me right now is how much this stranger had to bribe the developers to get his name in the dialog boxes to be “Studly Guy.”

Click Here for Update 104

newmascotresized: Well, I’ve got some bad news. I went to record the alternate Christmas Eve events this morning, and my copy of the base game is gone. I say “gone”, but there’s an envelope where it was that has something inside of it the exact shape and size of a PS4 case. My guess is it’s probably a prank.

newmascotresized: Joker screams. He screams again. There’s someone in Yusuke’s spot, but it’s not Yusuke!

MorganaHuman: “Huh? I was just sleeping… hey, you’ve been acting kinda weird since yesterday. What’s going on?”

newmascotresized: Isn’t this just that scene with Michael in YIIK?

MorganaHuman: “Ooh! Oh, you can go on ahead. I’ll be down in a sec.”

newmascotresized: Huh… this is kinda how I felt going into my basement this morning to record. Probably the damn neighbor’s dog waking me up at 6 in the morning again.

newmascotresized: I feel like they could’ve skipped those scenes where Futaba hints that her mother came back and just gone right to this. I mean, it’s obvious something’s fucked… like whoever put my copy of the base game in that envelope.

newmascotresized: I don’t remember if I mentioned this earlier (I think I didn’t to avoid the spoiler) but the wiki claims that the villain in the Featherman Seeker game has the same verbal tics that Wakaba does in Japanese.

Wakaba: “Looks like your recipes have reached housewife-level quality. You trying to get hitched sometime soon?”

Sojiro: “Heh, thanks, but no. Hey, come join us.”

Wakaba: “Good morning.”

newmascotresized: I kinda had to go with this one.

Wakaba: “Oho, is this your first gag of the new year?”

Futaba: “Heheh, drunk on the spirit of the new year already, huh?”

Sojiro: “I’ll warn you not to try any pranks with Wakaba… it’ll only blow up in your face - she’ll tease you forever until she finally bores herself.”

newmascotresized: It’s dumb that he can immediately recognize her as the sphinx, but doesn’t know immediately who Wakaba is - especially considering he’s seen her before.

Futaba: “What’s up? Not feeling so good?”

MorganaHuman: “He’s been like this since yesterday.”

Wakaba: “Morning, Mona.”

MorganaHuman: “Mornin’! Do you think there’s enough osechi for me to join you?”

MorganaHuman: “Was that a question? Of course I’m me. Seriously, are you all right?”

newmascotresized: You know, I’m having a sinking feeling that maybe I should open that envelope… but it can wait.

Sojiro: “Okay, that’s enough joking around for now - go ahead and grab a seat. I bet you’re just hungry.”

Wakaba: “I can’t remember the last time I actually got to relax and enjoy myself on a New Year’s like this.”

MorganaHuman: “I’m stuffed too… if only I had something to cap off this meal… like a cup of coffee.”

Sojiro: “Boy, that was a subtle request.”

Futaba: “Ooh, does anyone want dessert with their coffee? I’ll go pick it up, my treat. You want a Mont Blanc, right, Mom?”

Wakaba: “Oh, how kind. Thank you.”

Futaba: “All right! I shall return!”

Sojiro: “Be careful.”

Wakaba: “What’s the matter, Akira-kun?”

newmascotresized: I’m fine with Wakaba being alive, but fuck off, Akechi!

Sojiro: “Sorry, we haven’t opened for the day yet.”

Akechi: “My apologies - I merely wished to speak with Kurusu-kun for a moment.”

MorganaHuman: “Why don’t you go and get some fresh air with him? I’ll stand guard over your dessert for you.”

Sojiro: “You say that now, but when he gets back and his dessert’s gone, I’m pretty sure he’ll suspect it was an inside job.”

Wakaba: “I can definitely see that happening with Mona on guard duty.”

Akechi: “We have to discuss this.”

Akechi: “That’s right, just like you seem to be. …Come on.”

newmascotresized: We know why - the answer is because Royal was written around a focus group.

Akechi: “That seems as good a place to begin as any. At the end of last year, I turned myself in to the police as the perpetrator of the serial psychotic breakdown incidents. Your memory of this is still intact, correct?”

Akechi: “Ah, yes…”

Akechi: “We have greater concerns right now. In fact, I’m a bit offended you think so little of me that you expected me to be dead. Perhaps the most confusing part of my story comes post-detainment.”

Akechi: “Obviously I was thoroughly interrogated about my involvement in Shido’s case… but for some reason, after questioning, I was suddenly released. No explanation whatsoever.”

Akechi: “Yes, I was acquitted of all charges. It’s absolutely preposterous. More than that - it should be impossible for them to release a confessing suspect after only a brief interrogation… but, what’s even more unbelievable to me is…”

newmascotresized: Here’s what I don’t get about this entire thing. It’s pretty clear the whole reason Akechi is alive (apart from focus groups and the writers being spineless) is to take the fall instead of Joker.

newmascotresized: The thing is… if reality is so fucked that Akechi can walk into a police station, confess to being a serial killer, and then walk right out afterward, why did he need to exist in the first place?

newmascotresized: Wouldn’t it have been easier and more straightforward for Joker to turn himself in and get immediately released? Maybe with a scene where the police start to arrest him but then suddenly change their minds and release him?

newmascotresized: This feels like one of those end-of-chapter quizzes in Hotel Dusk.

Akechi: “I should get to the point. …Let’s make a deal. What say we join forces on this?”

newmascotresized: This should’ve been a fucking legit option. Joker has no reason to do anything with Akechi apart from ram his head into one of those washing machines like it’s Hotline Miami.

Akechi: “Well, I can understand that… but considering what’s going on, I think it’s best to put aside personal grudges and work together on this. For the time being, you and I share the same goal. To solve this problem, don’t you agree that it’d be safer for us to partner up?”

newmascotresized: No, it’s fucking not! The best thing you could do is get Yusuke and Ann!

Akechi: “Have you made up your mind?”

newmascotresized: I wish they had put in a route that lets you reject Akechi entirely - he’s useless anyway, given his gear is horribly out of date compared to the rest of our party. He also doesn’t have any boosts or amps.

newmascotresized: If you’ll recall, back when we fused Futsunushi we found out that Futsunushi itemizes into Hi no Kagutsuchi - but no one can use it. That’s because Hi no Kagutsuchi is Akechi’s final melee weapon.

Akechi: “First, I need information. Can you tell me what happened after… parting ways with me in Shido’s Palace?”

Akechi: “…I see. Though some abnormalities appeared immediately, the most glaring ones arrived after the new year… and all of the Phantom Thieves, with you as the sole exception, are living in this altered reality without even realizing it…”

Akechi: “Go ahead.”

Kasumi: “Senpai!? It’s Yoshizawa! I’m in Odaiba right now, and… uh…”

Kasumi: “Um, I don’t really understand what I’m seeing, but I’m just going to describe it to you… it’s that building… it’s really faint, but I can see that “Palace” thing that Morgana-senpai mentioned a while ago!”

newmascotresized: Clearly when the base game’s ending said “Mementos has collapsed, the Metaverse is gone” they meant “The entire ending never happened”.

Kasumi: “Kurusu-senpai, I know this is sudden, but… could you come to Odaiba right away?”

Kasumi: “I understand. I’ll see you soon!”

Akechi: “That was Yoshizawa-san’s voice, wasn’t it? I believe I heard her say the word ‘Palace’.”

newmascotresized: This is like that moment in Monster Hunter World where you find out that you didn’t actually kill half the monsters.

Akechi: “Despite not being in the Metaverse? You’re planning to meet up with Yoshizawa-san, right? I’ll join you - we’re all but guaranteed to find a clue there.”

newmascotresized: I want to fucking punch him.

Kasumi: “…Akechi-san?”

Akechi: “We just happened to be together when he got your call. First a dead woman returns, and now a Palace appears… how intriguing.”

Kasumi: “Akechi-san, you know about Palaces?”

Akechi: “Would it help you grasp the situation if I told you that I have the same powers he has?”

Akechi: “Allow me to stop you there - I’m not a part of the Phantom Thieves. However, since you’ve already grasped the concept, it’s clear to me that you’re a fellow Persona-user.”

Kasumi: “Um…”

Kasumi: “Yes, I can use a Persona as well. I’m not a part of the Phantom Thieves either, though… I just so happened to slip into this Palace with Kurusu-senpai and Morgana-senpai a while ago.”

newmascotresized: Does it hurt being that anime? Seriously, I think that’s the only time I’ve ever seen someone use “senpai” twice in a sentence.

Kasumi: “But, what could be the meaning behind its appearance here? I just happened to be passing by on my way home when I came across it…”

Akechi: “Since nobody else is making a scene about it, I assume others aren’t able to see it. Or, they see it, but it doesn’t evoke any real reaction in them…”

Kasumi: “Yes, that’s exactly it! I asked some people in the area, and none of them seemed to care at all about its appearance.”

Akechi: “Hmm… rather than simply hypothesize out here, we may be better off taking immediate action.”

Kasumi: “You mean, we should go into the Palace?”

Akechi: “Not only has a Palace manifested itself in reality, but this is the only one visible to us. I realize I have no proof, but it’s highly likely that this is related to our current incomprehensible situation.”

Akechi: “Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just go inside and see what we can learn? That is, if we have the means to do so.” Oh, it’s…"

newmascotresized: For a dead man, Akechi can sure make a scene drag.

Akechi: “I thought it was gone for good, but it looks like we’ve regained access to the Nav.”

Kasumi: “I have it as well.”

Akechi: “Is there a search history?”

Kasumi: “Search history… how do I check… ah! There’s one search in the log, but…”

newmascotresized: If you paid attention back on 10/03, you know whose palace this is… and here’s where I get to point out how this palace is a plot hole.

image

newmascotresized: The keywords are “Dr. Maruki”, “Stadium”, and “Research Lab”. Somehow, Kasumi got in without using Maruki’s full name (Takuto Maruki) and using the other keywords in the wrong order.

newmascotresized: This is either a plot hole, or all those times Joker had to ask for someone’s full name to get at them in Mementos were pointless.

Akechi: “The ‘name’ portion of the entry has been censored somehow… could this be the doing of the Palace’s Ruler?”

newmascotresized: Could this be the work of an enemy Stand?

Kasumi: “Does that mean we can’t enter the Palace?”

Akechi: “Well, we do have the search history, so it should be possible to infiltrate it anyway.”

Kasumi: “…If you’re going in, would you be willing to bring me with you? I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s been bothering me about this place ever since we first entered it. I promise I won’t slow you down.”

Akechi: “What’s your call?”

Kasumi: “That settles it!”

Akechi: “All right. Let’s do it.”

Violet: “What could this building even be?”

newmascotresized: Akechi somehow fixed his helmet. In the expansion content, Akechi is the answer to the question “What if Guts was an annoying fuckboy?”

BlackMask: “We’ll likely find that out if we keep pushing forward.”

Violet: “Is that so? By the way, um…”

BlackMask: “What’s the matter?”

Violet: “Well… I’m not sure how to put it…”

Violet: “True outfit?”

BlackMask: “Yoshizawa-san aside, there’s no reason for me to uphold the pretense of a righteous, sincere Detective Prince. Enough chatting. Let’s move out.”

newmascotresized: This is yet another one of those scripted “Investigate the palace but not too much” sequences. Now that we know who this dungeon belongs to, I can post the music.

Music Gentle Madman

newmascotresized: There’s a chest right in the beginning with some SP recovery items in it. The devs put this here because you don’t have the chance to unequip the party you fought Yaldabaoth with or buy more SP patches.

BlackMask: “That was a few months ago, wasn’t it? There could’ve been a change of heart since then. Do you remember how far you went in last time?”

BlackMask: “I see, so you’re only familiar with the area close to the entrance… let’s keep going.”

newmascotresized: The stealables here are hearts. Because we’re John Persona. God dammit.

Violet: “This is definitely different from the last time.”

Violet: “What a strange announcement. ‘Become happy’? What kind of place Is this?”

newmascotresized: Most of the NPCs have these weird smiles on their faces. There’s something I’d like to talk about a little bit, which is how the writers for Royal went about designing Maruki.

newmascotresized: Like Innocent Sin, Royal also had an official guide published. In that guide, the writers did an interview where they said that they realized one of Hashino’s major downsides was his inability to write anything that isn’t a shounen battle manga villain.

newmascotresized: Their stated goal in designing Maruki was that they wanted a villain the player doesn’t want to hate… which is kind of a problem because it makes it hard to justify why Joker (or the player) should want to oppose him.

newmascotresized: I’ll talk a little more about it when we learn what Maruki’s plan is - but I think you all probably already know what it is… especially since I spelled it out in the hub post.

BlackMask: “The language of a Shadow is a hint into its Ruler’s ideology… this one sounds rather cultish, for example. Sorry, but we’re going to pass through there now. We don’t have the time to waste on peons like yourself.”

newmascotresized: The problem with the writers’ idea is lines like this. I’m going to spoil something minor: there’s a bad ending where you agree with Maruki’s plan. Officially, it’s not supposed to be a bad ending - both the ending where you defeat Maruki and the ending where you agree with him are supposed to be valid choices.

newmascotresized: It also would’ve been better if there weren’t enemies here, since Maruki having an army of shadows definitely doesn’t feel evil at all. No sir.

newmascotresized: Well… mostly because I had nothing better to do. If I didn’t want pain, I never would’ve LPed YIIK. Or Two Brothers, or Ni no Kuni 2. Or that one LP I don’t talk about.

newmascotresized: This enemy is called a Macabre, and is from Devil Summoner. It’s not a mythological figure.

Violet: “Y-Yes… ready whenever!”

BlackMask: “It’ll be too much trouble to go about this haphazardly. I’ll provide the support.”

Violet: “Akechi-san!?”

BlackMask: “Now, time to obliterate them!”

Violet: “A-All right!”

newmascotresized: Akechi has lost his Bless attacks and is a Physical/Curse hybrid. He has no boosts or amps, and his passive sucks: it has a chance to reduce the SP cost of support spells - like Debilitate.

newmascotresized: The thing is, Ann has a passive that does the same thing… only hers works on all spells.

newmascotresized: Macabre is weak to Bless, and I could have gotten a one-round kill if I had used Metatron instead (including the All-Out). Hassou Tobi doesn’t quite cut it.

newmascotresized: Kasumi is still a Physical/Bless hybrid, though unlike Akechi her skillset doesn’t suck. She comes with Bless Amp and Ali Dance.

BlackMask: “Especially considering the last-minute arrangement of our team and all.”

Violet: “…”

BlackMask: “Yoshizawa-san?”

Violet: “U-Uh, yes! So, that Shadow - it said something about research. And also something about pain…”

BlackMask: “It mentioned salvation as well - all this seems to indicate that the Palace’s Ruler is not in his or her right mind. …Oh?”

BlackMask: “I seem to have found a map to this place. Let’s make good use of it.”

Violet: “Would you say this is how he normally is? Like a, ah… ruthless sort of person?”

Violet: “I see…”

BlackMask: “What say we save the idle chatter for later and keep moving? Unless teaming up with a ‘ruthless sort of person’ is too much for you to handle.”

Violet: “…Looks like we’re busted.”

newmascotresized: This area is a waiting room with a staircase on either side. Both lead to the same place. It’s almost like the level designer is trying to tell us something… using the environment… about there being multiple valid paths.

newmascotresized: Bugs and Nebiros show up, and even though we’ve encountered both before, their stats are hidden. Their weaknesses are the same: Bugs is weak to Nuclear, Nebiros to Bless.

newmascotresized: I got a random negotiation thanks to Kasumi critting, so I used the Greatest Weapon to grab some money. We’ll need it.

newmascotresized: Chimera also shows up, and is weak to Wind. A single Panta Rhei from Vishnu ends the fight.

newmascotresized: There’s an area to the North that I backtracked to later - it has a chest with some incense in it. Nothing important.

Violet: “That voice… look!”

Shinichi: “Yes, she’ll be here too. I’m sure she’ll be here, once she’s able to calm down… sniff sob Why… Why?”

BlackMask: “That was your father in the video just now, wasn’t it, Yoshizawa-san? And the one he was speaking to…”

Violet: “…I’d mentioned to you that I’ve lost a family member, right? But, how was this video-”

Violet: “I’m sorry… I don’t know what’s been wrong with me lately. I’ve been getting this feeling, like… like I need to remember something, but at the same time, I oughtn’t remember it…”

BlackMask: “…Can you still walk, Yoshizawa-san? Whatever it is that’s happening, we have to keep going if we hope to learn more about it.”

newmascotresized: “If you can’t keep moving, we can’t keep the plot moving.”

Violet: “Yes - I’m all right! Let’s go.”

BlackMask: “…Hey. When was it that you said you became acquainted with Yoshizawa-san?”

BlackMask: “I see… anyway, let’s move out. I suspect we still have a long way to go.”

newmascotresized: Where the hell was this Akechi during all those long, pointless cutscenes with the old Akechi in them?

BlackMask: “You seem to be in pain again. Are you all right?”

Violet: “I-I’m fine! It’s just that… I can’t stop thinking about that video we saw earlier…”

BlackMask: “You mean the one about Sumire-san?”

Violet: “Yes… let’s keep pushing. I need to find out why that was shown to me!”

BlackMask: “Hmph… a newcomer.”

Violet: “All these warnings of pain and tragedy! Who is your Ruler? Why do you all think you know so much about me!?”

newmascotresized: Kasumi does a bunch of attacks that are all nulled. Nebiros and Belial being here makes sense thematically, given their whole relationship with Alice in SMT1.

newmascotresized: Dammit Akechi! Make up your fucking mind! Are you ripping off Guts or not?

newmascotresized: He says in a turn-based JRPG.

newmascotresized: I didn’t even need Akechi or Kasumi - Metatron killed both of them in one Makougaon. There was this lady I used to work with who had “Have a blessed day” in her email signature and now I understand what she was really saying.

Violet: “Huh?”

newmascotresized: This is a scene that would’ve been absolutely PERFECT… had they done it in October. As it is, it’s going to foreshadow a plot point that happens maybe two minutes later.

Violet: “What…?”

newmascotresized: Sure is strange how this fake Kasumi is looking at the real one and calling her by her dead sister’s name.

Violet: “…!?”

Violet: “Stop…”

newmascotresized: One of the other things in that interview about Maruki: the writers said they didn’t want Maruki to taunt the player the way the other palace bosses did… but once you understand what’s going on here, that’s exactly what he’s doing.

Violet: “…Stop it!”

BlackMask: “…Yoshizawa-san, you’re…”

BlackMask: “A man’s voice…”

newmascotresized: Why didn’t they lead with this? Have Maruki show up as soon as Joker enters the dungeon, begging him not to go any further. He’d probably use the phrase “in your best interest” at least once.

newmascotresized: I mean, he knows that Joker can go through these dungeons like nothing - I’m not sure if he knows about the whole “killing God” bit because that’s basically a self-retcon, but he knows about Shido.

Violet: “Nothing but heartache, huh… I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I have no intention of leaving now!”

BlackMask: “We’re in agreement here. We also refuse to do as you say. Now, why don’t you drop the ‘big voice behind the curtain’ act and face us directly?”

BlackMask: “…He agreed to that much more readily than I expected. Perhaps the Palace’s Ruler really will make his appearance?”

Violet: “Thanks for your concern. But I’m fine, really! Let’s go.”

newmascotresized: Just one corridor until the end.

newmascotresized: It took me this long to remember to get a shot of Akechi’s cut-in for the All-Out Attack. He also has a new finisher screen, but none of the enemies here are weak to Curse.

newmascotresized: This is not as ridiculous as Maruki gets. That’s actually Maruki and not a shadow, by the way.

Marukevil: “I pretty much figured that you would end up infiltrating this place. …Truth be told, this isn’t how I was hoping we would meet again.”

Violet: “Dr. Maruki… you’re the Ruler of this Palace!?”

Marukevil: “…Palace?”

BlackMask: “A place where distorted desires manifest - we’re asking if you’re the source of the desires here.”

Marukevil: “Ah, I see. Well, to use your own words: yes, I am this Palace’s Ruler. But in my case, it seems a tad different from the ones you’ve seen.”

BlackMask: “Would we also be correct in believing that you’re involved in the abnormalities outside the Palace as well?”

Marukevil: “Yes, you would. Do you like the reality I created for you?”

BlackMask: “You… created it?”

newmascotresized: He’s Man-Maki. That’s exactly what he is. This, by the way, is why they put all those scenes with the party members meeting Maruki in… but they don’t explain how he’d know what Morgana wanted.

newmascotresized: This shot slowly morphs into a dutch angle and I hate it.

Marukevil: “Is that how you really feel? …The old reality was cruel and unfair. The truth is, Yoshizawa-san suffers immense pain each and every time she taps into her forgotten past.”

Violet: “My… past? Dr. Maruki… what do you mean!? What’s happened to me!?”

Marukevil: “… All right. I had honestly hoped that all those warnings you were given would change your minds… but if it’s your true desire, then I want you to recall who you really are. And I want you two to learn as well.”

newmascotresized: Here’s why I fucking hate this scene. This would have had a million times more impact if it had happened before the weird shit started, especially if the other party members were here.

newmascotresized: See, there’s never really a point at which any of the characters agree with Maruki - and that’s the problem. You kind of NEED to have that for him to have an impact as a villain.

newmascotresized: Like, imagine this scene except he’s trying to get the party members to agree with him - and inadvertently creates a schism in the party because some of them (Futaba, Ann, and Haru) want it while others (Yusuke, Ryuji, and probably Makoto) don’t.

newmascotresized: That would have made this scene good. It would have had a fucking impact, and shown Maruki as being a bad thing without him even intending to be: all he’s really trying to do is help.

newmascotresized: The other issue I have is that as far as I’m aware, the game never goes into the actual flaws with Maruki’s plan: that he’s effectively a softer Yaldabaoth and that it’s impossible to make a world where everyone’s dreams come to life because people have conflicting desires. Oh, and that he can’t know what everyone wants.

newmascotresized: Welcome to the dumbest fucking plot twist in the game.

Marukevil: “…Seems you remembered.”

Sumire: “That’s right… I’m…”

Sumire: “No… that’s not right! I’m… I’m not Kasumi!”

BlackMask: “…The girl named ‘Kasumi Yoshizawa’ is currently deceased.”

Sumire: “It was last spring… before I started at Shujin… we were walking home from practice. It happened right there, on that street in the video… I wasn’t looking where I was going… and Kasumi, she protected me from the car…”

newmascotresized: It looked more like she was trying to kill herself.

Sumire: “I was saved by Kasumi… I robbed her of her dreams… and even her life! I’m… her younger sister, Sumire Yoshizawa.”

Marukevil: “I’ll take over from here. After all, I do play a part in this story. Her real name… is Sumire Yoshizawa. She’s Kasumi-san’s younger sister. But for months now, she’s only seen herself as being Kasumi Yoshizawa… her deceased elder sister.”

newmascotresized: This is the dumbest fucking plot twist. Why would you do all this convoluted bullshit when it could just be “I made her forget how her sister died, so she doesn’t blame herself.”

Marukevil: “Of course, it was only her cognition of herself that changed, so to the people around her, she was still Sumire-san. For some reason, though… there were a few rare exceptions to this. Did something happen to make you believe she was Kasumi-san?”

BlackMask: “It appears you were clueless, but she was Sumire Yoshizawa from the start. However, when we watched that other video, she gave her name as Kasumi Yoshizawa. Considering such an odd claim, I’d actually suspected for a moment that she was the Palace Ruler…”

newmascotresized: Wouldn’t you know that she couldn’t be, because she has a Persona?

Sumire: “After Kasumi died, but before I started at Shujin, I received counseling from Dr. Maruki. That was when I told him… if Kasumi is gone and can’t make her dream come true… then I want to become Kasumi, so I can turn her dream into reality for her.”

BlackMask: “So that’s why you meddled with her cognition? For her own wishes?”

Marukevil: “That’s right. Limited as it was, I already had the power at the time to actualize her wish. Put yourselves in her shoes for a moment… Sumire-san’s older sister died from protecting her. Imagine surviving such a dismal tragedy…”

Marukevil: “Who would be able to cope with that survivor’s guilt, let alone heal from the emotional scarring that she’s suffered? If Sumire-san can live a healthy, positive life by becoming Kasumi-san… then I believe that reality is what would make her happy.”

BlackMask: “…I’ve had enough of your high-and-mighty rationalization. All you really did was use her to try and make everyone acknowledge the validity of your research.”

newmascotresized: There’s one card I’m very surprised Maruki isn’t playing, namely that he’s the reason Akechi is alive. I also don’t quite get why he’d bring Akechi back if Akechi’s sole purpose is to oppose him.

Marukevil: “So that’s how you see things, huh? That’s quite unfortunate. Of course I wanted society to acknowledge cognitive psience through my research…”

newmascotresized: I don’t think the writers for Royal understood what they were doing when they wrote Maruki. Notice how he’s saying he wants to end suffering - in effect, making a “world without pain”.

newmascotresized: When we see Maruki’s reality, what we’ll actually see is “a world where everyone’s dreams come to life”, which… is what Evan wanted in Ni no Kuni 2, more or less. Why wasn’t he a villain again?

BlackMask: “…!”

Marukevil: “My work will convert the wishes of the people into reality. Even as we speak, my research is coming to fruition… no one will ever have to suffer again under the yoke of an unfair world.”

newmascotresized: Maruki has two contradictory visions: a “world without pain” is a very different thing than “everyone’s dreams come to life”.

Marukevil: “This… Palace, you called it? It’s a place where its Ruler’s desires take physical form, yes? I wish to utilize my research to save humanity - I suppose that would be the ‘desire’ I hold dearest.”

BlackMask: “…What total nonsense.”

Marukevil: “You could very well be right. Still, I’m entirely serious about changing our imperfect reality. Just as she was saved by becoming Kasumi, I’ll save every other person in the world currently suffering.”

Marukevil: “I don’t know for certain - it’ll most likely be treated as if it never existed. The cruel reality will cease to be, and the reality I generate will be the sole world recognized by society.”

BlackMask: “And you assume we’ll buy into your brainwashing and just live in the palm of your hand? Honestly, that sounds absolutely revolting.”

Marukevil: “…All right, so that’s your answer, Akechi-kun. How about the others? Yoshizawa-san… allow me to ask you yet again… which reality is it that you wish to inhabit?”

Marukevil: “If you so desire, you can return to your life as Sumire… but if you’d rather continue your life as Kasumi, I can grant that wish for you as well.”

Sumire: “Dr. Maruki… I…”

Sumire: “It’s impossible… I’m sorry, Kurusu-senpai… I… I can’t go back to being her… I can’t be the one who led her sister to her death!”

newmascotresized: The real question is why would you not offer to bring Kasumi back?

Marukevil: “Please don’t judge her. This is just evidence of how painful life is for her. You two sensed doubts forming in the reality I manifested - that’s what brought you here.”

newmascotresized: I picked the top option because I thought it went to the bad ending. It doesn’t - we can’t get that until the next time we come here.

Marukevil: “…No decision yet, huh?”

newmascotresized: I think the writers also didn’t understand that if you want to make a villain who doesn’t seem like one, having a giant tentacle is probably not the best way to go about doing it.

newmascotresized: Meet Hastur, a Persona that originated in Eternal Punishment. He is Cthulhu’s half-brother.

newmascotresized: Hastur opens with a nuclear explosion.

newmascotresized: Joker jumps slightly and dodges the entire nuclear blast.

newmascotresized: We actually did more damage than Hastur has HP - the Diarahan only heals it for 2000 and Akechi did a hit for around 750.

newmascotresized: Hastur then responds with his signature skill, Abyssal Eyes. It’s mechanically identical to Lucifer’s Morning Star. There’s a softlock that can happen here if you’re on NG+ and have Hastur yourself - if you use Abyssal Eyes, it breaks Akechi.

newmascotresized: Here’s one of Joker’s two Showtime attacks. The other is with Sumire. The English title is “Bladed Runners” while the Japanese title is “From Hell Till Dawn”.

newmascotresized: You should probably watch the video of it in Japanese.

newmascotresized: I hate how un-subtle the signs are.

newmascotresized: Cutscene director, can we please stop it with the dutch angles? This is starting to look like a student film.

BlackMask: “I’m fairly certain any further ‘negotiating’ is pointless.”

Marukevil: “That seems to be the case, unfortunately. But first, I have an idea. Rather than explain it with words, I’d like you to actually see this new reality with your own eyes.”

Marukevil: “…That, I cannot do. As I said before, she wishes to live in the reality where she is Kasumi. There’s no way I can hand her over to you with matters as they currently are.”

Marukevil: “I already told you that I won’t harm her. And I’ll swear by it. Don’t worry about her. Go, look at the reality I’ve created for you all.”

Marukevil: “Once you’ve seen the results, I know you’ll realize which future is best.”

BlackMask: “You think we’ll just obey your orders?”

Marukevil: “I apologize, but you really are going through with this - even if it’s by force.”

BlackMask: “Tch… he got away. We shouldn’t chase him too far. What say we head back for now?”

Akechi: “To think Takuto Maruki of all people would be the mastermind behind this absurd situation… and he happens to be warping the very fabric of reality while ranting about making everyone’s dreams come true.”

Akechi: “Talk about incomprehensible motives… I can’t even wrap my head around such intentions. At any rate, we need to figure out our next steps.”

Akechi: “Don’t you think it’d basically be suicide to try and save her in our current state? We need intel first. If we’re going to stand up to him, we have to know more than nothing. I’ll do some investigating on my own.”

Akechi: “I hate that we have to do what he says, but Maruki told us we have to wait until January 9th. Let’s meet up here next week. Although, I imagine both our lives will be very different if you choose to live in this reality as your friends have been.”

Akechi: “It’s me. I discovered something that I thought I should tell you right away. I called Yoshizawa-san’s house to see what I’d learn - they believe she’s been at ‘training camp’ since yesterday.”

Akechi: “To think, Maruki really is changing our physical reality as he sees fit…”

Akechi: “No kidding. This is the first time I’ve witnessed a power that even comes close to this magnitude. Even the great Phantom Thieves you’re so proud of fell in line with his scheme.”

Akechi: “You’re going to see if you can change their minds, aren’t you? Well, fine. I suppose we can use the manpower… if you can bring them to their senses, that is.”

Akechi: “That’s wholly dependent on whether or not they’re capable of leaving the reality they supposedly wished for. I’ll focus on investigating Maruki further. You do what you need to.”

Akechi: “Well, I’ll reach out to you should anything come up. Goodnight.”

MorganaHuman: “Was that Akechi? You two seem to be getting along well lately. Hey, so I was thinking. Why don’t us Phantom Thieves all go to a hot spring together some time? Then, Lady Ann I can… heeheehee…”

newmascotresized: Joker reaches for his air horn. It isn’t there. The four squirt guns he keeps hidden in his room are gone.

MorganaHuman: “How’s that sound? Perfect, right? We should ask the rest of the gang soon.”

newmascotresized: There’s a flashback to Maruki from not even a minute ago, so I’ll skip that.

MorganaHuman: “All right, we ought to hit the hay for today. Ahh… the bed may be a tad too cozy for the both of us. Oh well! I’ll just start sleeping on the sofa instead.”

newmascotresized: That couch is not NEARLY big enough. Plus, it’s got those wooden arms…

MorganaHuman: “Huh? Where’s this coming from? Well… yeah, I’d say I’m happy.”

MorganaHuman: “Haha, yeah! I can still remember how much you hated when I’d curl up on top of you! Wait… curl up on top…? That… doesn’t seem right…”

newmascotresized: I also feel like the writers didn’t quite have a solid definition of how Maruki’s reality works. Why would Morgana not remember being a cat?

MorganaHuman: “I got captured in Kamoshida’s Palace, and that’s when I met you guys… when we’d go into Mementos, I’d transform into a…”

MorganaHuman: “Huh? O-Okay…”

MorganaHuman: “…! What was-? Sorry, I’m gonna go out and do some thinking for a bit. You should get some sleep.”

newmascotresized: This is where 1/2 ends. Next time, we’ll… hey, I never opened that envelope.

newmascotresized: I have a feeling I know what this is.

newmascotresized: That’s… impossible, yet I’m not surprised. I really should throw this in the trash and walk away. The fan translation team is hard at work on it. It’ll come out eventually.

newmascotresized: But… do I really want that? Do I want to throw this away? I mean, what could it hurt if I just opened it up? You know, just to rip the image. I can’t use this disk on my Go anyway.

newmascotresized: It’s not like just ripping the image would be giving in. Yeah, let’s do that. I’ll go hook up my PSP-1000 right now.

newmascotresized: Huh. It’s still ripping, but I feel like a terrible curse just got lifted. Wait, what the fuck…!?

timrodawwpresized: Wow! That got done ripping surprisingly quickly. Next time, we’ll forget about this whole painful reality, and move into a wonderful new world without pain.

God, Guts-armor Akechi looks even worse than Tengu Akechi. But it’s kind of fun to have a temporary partner who’s just like “I sure do love being evil! Anyway Joker we need to get to the bottom of this mystery.”

Now, Akechi hates the entire world, and probably also himself, so I can see why he would dislike a world without pain and/or world where everyone’s wishes are granted. I’m curious if that’s his written motivation or if the writers gave him a different one.

Click Here for Update 1...?

timrodawwpresized: Welcome to Persona 2: Eternal Punishment! It’s a direct sequel to Innocent Sin, and boy am I eager to get started… right after I finish eating lunch. The burger place a couple of streets over opened back up yesterday.

timrodawwpresized: I’m really happy for the owner - last I heard, he had a huge gambling problem, but apparently he turned his life around and re-opened all the restaurants he owned. I got two pizza burgers for lunch!

timrodawwpresized: Jun!

timrodawwpresized: This is, of course, the Alaya Shrine we saw in Innocent Sin.

timrodawwpresized: Huh… these text boxes look a little off compared to Innocent Sin. I bet it’s because of all those complaints about the PSP version - Atlus probably decided to go with the PS1-style textboxes instead.

timrodawwpresized: Tatsuya doesn’t wear his Seven Sisters uniform in this game. I’ve heard that originally they had planned for him to stay in his uniform, but a concept artist had already made this red tracksuit and they went with that instead.

timrodawwpresized: Forget…? Remember…? Why do I feel like…

timrodawwpresized: If you’ve read the Innocent Sin LP, you probably have a pretty good idea of what that is. I still feel like I’ve forgotten something though…

timrodawwpresized: Oh, now I remember! The save transfer! It never asked me to transfer my save from Innocent Sin! I can’t have a complete and accurate LP of Eternal Punishment without doing that.

timrodawwpresized: But… I never saw a menu option to do that. Maybe I’d better restart and see if I clicked through it somehow.

timrodawwpresized: Ah, there we go! Now I just need to load the Innocent Sin save.

timrodawwpresized: No data…? That can’t be… I know I kept my Innocent Sin save on this memory stick. I even made a backup, just in case the memory stick (or the PSP) died. I’m sure it’s probably an issue with my PSP’s file structure. We’ll just go without it for now.

timrodawwpresized: It’s a little hard to get across in screenshots, but they’re doing a Shinto prayer with bows and claps.

timrodawwpresized: Is that… Yukino!

timrodawwpresized: And this is how you know it’s the PSP version and not the PS1 version. In the PS1 version, they used the names from Revelations: Persona (because unfortunately, the PS1 version came out before Atlus realized their terrible mistake and re-released Persona 1).

timrodawwpresized: In the PS1 version, Yukino’s name is localized as “Yuki” but Maya calls her “Yukki”… which doesn’t make a lot of sense.

timrodawwpresized: This time around, we play as Maya. She’s now a silent protagonist the way Tatsuya was in Innocent Sin - but that means that we get to hear Tatsuya talk!

timrodawwpresized: JOKER…? Does Jun have penmanship problems or something? That’s probably why he carries around all those flowers.

timrodawwpresized: No, wait… it’s not that… there’s something I was supposed to remember. This is probably why that other guy beat me to LPing Persona 5 Royal by just over a week. I would’ve liked to LP that.

timrodawwpresized: But… everyone knows all you have to do is keep believing, and your dreams come to life! Wait… I feel like… I’ve said something about that before…

timrodawwpresized: We don’t need textboxes to know Maya is telling him “Let’s positive thinking!” That’s what I like about Maya, she’s always an optimist.

timrodawwpresized: The wiki doesn’t have a clean portrait for Mizuno, so I’m going to have to use full screenshots for her dialog.

timrodawwpresized: I think they mention it in one of the guides for this game, but I’m pretty sure the “Rumored Student” is Tatsuya.

timrodawwpresized: There’s this weird bug that happens whenever text is on screen where the framerate slows to a crawl. I’m not quite sure why that is… you’d think it’d be better on the PSP version.

timrodawwpresized: This is probably why I opted not to…

timrodawwpresized: In this world, Yukino has no apparent romantic interest in Fujii.

Yukino: “Wait, you’re going to a party, huh? To hell with the weekends… sometimes you just gotta have a good time.”

timrodawwpresized: We need to talk to everyone in the room to progress.

timrodawwpresized: There’s a lot of NPCs who talk about the “Guardian Dragons”, but it’s not a plot point as far as I know. I feel like this was probably based on an actual fad.

timrodawwpresized: Even in this world, there are rumors about giant spaceships under the city.

timrodawwpresized: Jun isn’t a demon-user. I mean, not anymore. He’s just a boyfriend now, like Yusuke in Persona 5 is in all these pictures of him I found on my hard drive. I have no idea where all of these came from.

timrodawwpresized: Yes! This is why Yukino is, has been, and will always be the best girl in this series… next to Elly. This is something Hashino probably should’ve stolen from Satomi Tadashi before he tried writing his own…

timrodawwpresized: Hold on… Hashino… I feel like I’ve forgotten something. There’s this indescribable rage that boils inside of me every time I see that name, and I don’t know why.

timrodawwpresized: Where’s the option to let Yukino be Yukino? Why haven’t we recruited her into the party yet?

Yukino: "It’s bad enough that she split us up! Now you can’t take some time off! Don’t give in to her, Maya! If you’re going over to Sevens, let me call up one of my old teachers. She’ll be able to help you out.

timrodawwpresized: Wait… ‘Mackey’? That doesn’t sound right. Let me take another look…

timrodawwpresized: Oh it’s “Maaki”, the same way he calls Yukino “Yuuki” with the elongated “u”. I must’ve read it wrong the first time.

timrodawwpresized: Dangit! You know what it is? It’s that slowdown. Maybe I got a bad copy of the game or something.

timrodawwpresized: Now that we’ve spoken to everyone, we can take the elevator down to the lobby and meet this Serizawa person.

timrodawwpresized: I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone described as a “ceramic girl” before… something’s really off about this game.

Ulala: “What!? What do you mean you have to work!? Don’t give me that… you weren’t planning on going anyway, huh? Oh, I know what it is. You’re still thinking about your ‘Deja Vu Boy’ huh? Ka-----! I told you to just forget about him!”

Ulala: “Besides, how close can you be to a boy that you bumped into once at a train station? Even if you felt you’ve met him before… What? You’re not kidding about this work thing? I’ve got an idea! Let me come with you! You’ll be able to finish your work in half the time, and we might still make it.”

timrodawwpresized: Katsuya!

Katsuya: “No normal person could have done something like that.”

Katsuya: “…No, he hasn’t. What the hell does he think he’s doing?”

timrodawwpresized: All these spelling and just… general common sense errors. Everyone knows it’s spelled “Kounan”, with a U. It’s giving me this odd feeling that I’m reminded of something, but can’t remember what…

timrodawwpresized: Oh god… my head…

Katsuya: “I’m sorry that he’s worrying you, too. Please excuse me, but I must be going.”

Ulala: “Were those guys from the Police Department?”

Ulala: “It won’t take long, but… are you sure it’s alright?”

Ulala: “You mean… something happened?”

timrodawwpresized: We can meet another familiar face in the teacher’s lounge while we’re here.

timrodawwpresized: Akinari Kashihara is Jun’s father - in Innocent Sin, he worked with Tatsuya Sudou to write In Lak’ech, the book that ultimately allowed Nyarlathotep to destroy the world before being driven to suicide by his wife, who believed he was cheating on her with Maya Okamura.

timrodawwpresized: Wait… Okamura… I’ve heard that name before - and not from Innocent Sin. For some reason, all that comes to mind is a forehead.

timrodawwpresized: If you haven’t read the Innocent Sin LP, Hanya dies at the beginning of the game after being thrown from the clock tower. It’s so unrealistic - everyone knows that nobody dies from anything except old age.

timrodawwpresized: Anna was a minor character in Innocent Sin, where she was working with the Masked Circle as Lady Scorpio. She’s also gay and in love with Yukino.

timrodawwpresized: She’s one of the focuses of the bonus Tatsuya story in the PSP version of Eternal Punishment, which is why I chose to do this version and not the original.

timrodawwpresized: Noriko was in exactly one scene in Innocent Sin, when she meets Anna at Club Zodiac. But wait… “big sis”? Didn’t she call Anna her “senpai” in Innocent Sin…? What’s with this translation?

HannyaIS: “How do we know that? I let you slip because you were an all-star, but you’re useless if you can’t run! I’m waiting for you to quit school. You can quit along with your friend Suou!”

timrodawwpresized: In Innocent Sin, Anna had already dropped out of school.

Ulala: “Hey, you! Aren’t you gonna say anything!?”

AnnaEPPortrait: “Who… are you…? From a magazine…? I see… you guys probably think I killed him. Write whatever you want.”

AnnaEPPortrait: “I’m… gonna kill him.”

timrodawwpresized: Oh, right. I think I mentioned this in the Innocent Sin LP, but the person driving the car that hit Anna is named after Daisuke Kaneda, a game designer at Atlus who worked on Persona 3 and Persona 4. He had nothing to do with Persona 5, which is good because…

timrodawwpresized: You know, ever since I woke up this morning, I’ve had this… irrational hatred of Persona 5, and I don’t know why.

Ulala: “That was just too cruel. I’m gonna find that old man and complain, Ma-ya!”

timrodawwpresized: We can examine the Narurato Stone, which was the entrance to the Silver River (and subsequently to Xibalba) in Innocent Sin.

timrodawwpresized: In Innocent Sin, Maya Okamura wrote In Lak’ech with Kashihara, and was later accused by Kashihara’s wife of having an affair with him. She later goes insane and kills Maya with the Spear of Destiny.

timrodawwpresized: Our next destination is the Principal’s Office. Once we go in here, the game actually starts.

timrodawwpresized: Well, looks like Hanya dies for the second game straight.

Ulala: “W… what’s with this? What the… hell!?”

Katsuya: “Excuse me, sir. I want to ask you…”

Katsuya: “The note he’s holding… that pattern of killing… it’s him! Are you the first one on-scene? Did you see anyone suspicious? Anything suspicious when you got here? When did you get here?”

Ulala: “I…I don’t know! Stop asking me things all at once!”

AnnaEPPortrait: “I, it’s not me… I didn’t do anything!”

Katsuya: “A, a demon…? Who the hell are you!? And, what’s this feeling…”

JOKERPortrait: “I took a request. So I’m here to kill you. That’s what the rumors say.”

Ulala: “Wha…!?”

JOKERPortrait: “Maya Amano… I know you so ve----ry well… what you even did on the ‘Other Side’.”

timrodawwpresized: Well, this clearly isn’t Jun… but it’s someone who knows about Innocent Sin. He’s also missing an eye… didn’t we know someone like that?

New Persona: Helios

Origin: Greece

Persona 2 Original

Titan of Greek myth who drives the Sun as a chariot.

Helios_(P2EP_Art)

New Persona: Callisto

Origin: Greece

Persona 2 Original

Nymph who either served under Artemis or who was her best friend, depending on interpretation. There are strong connotations that she was likely Artemis’s lover as well.

Returning Persona: Maia

Origin: Greece

First Appearance: Persona 2 Innocent Sin

Daughter of Atlas and Pleione. Eldest of the seven Pleiades. Mother to Hermes.

timrodawwpresized: Wow. Next time, we’ll meet Philemon again and go through a demon-infested Seven Sisters… for the second time.

Click Here for Update 105

newmascotresized: Goddamn, that was a horrible fucking dream. I dreamt I had a copy of Eternal Punishment in English, but I was all boring.

newmascotresized: I wonder if it had to do with that email I sent a few months ago - one of the developers working on the fan translation of Eternal Punishment PSP put out a patching tool that fixes the names in the PS1 version… but it doesn’t have save transfer capability, so I couldn’t LP it.

newmascotresized: Anyway, this section is entirely on rails - you can’t fast travel, and you’re forced to visit the party members in a certain order.

newmascotresized: By the way, you can buy a giant fuckoff Yaldabaoth for the roof of the Thieves Den.

newmascotresized: Most of the minor NPCs have already been affected by Maruki’s bullshit. I’m only going to show off this one and one other. This is the family who asked if the Phantom Thieves could steal what was making their dog sick.

newmascotresized: In the base game, their dog dies shortly before the end of the Shido arc.

newmascotresized: Some of the people walking around the station have smiles on their faces the way they did in Maruki’s palace.

newmascotresized: See that guy in the foreground with the brown jacket and the bag? I kept seeing the smile as a Hitler moustache when I was recording this.

Ann: “Aw, I’m not the one who deserves the credit - you kept up your best effort and now you’re finally being recognized! Akira!? I can’t believe it! Over here!”

Shiho: “Long time no see, Kurusu-kun. Do you remember me?”

Shiho: “Wow, you remembered me? We didn’t even get to talk all that much since I transferred to another school so early into the semester.”

newmascotresized: I’m disappointed but not surprised that they didn’t put in an alternate bit for if you’ve completed Ann’s confidant and saw Shiho there.

Ann: “Of course he remembers you! He HAS to remember, what with the bragging - I’ve told him all about how amazing my BFF is at volleyball.”

Shiho: “Oh, Ann… Sorry you have to put up with all that, Kurusu-kun.”

newmascotresized: Joker’s like “It’s fine, I just appreciate knowing I live in a world with someone as gay as I am.”

Ann: “Shiho was the MVP at the big meet the other day too. Not only was she in the starting lineup, but she scored more points than anybody else! No wonder she’s the star of the team! I’m just so proud of you, Shiho!”

Shiho: “Aw, you’re too much…”

Shiho: “Everyone in volleyball knows that Shujin’s the top school when it comes to the sport. That’s how I was able to convince my parents to let me transfer back… after more than a little begging.”

Ann: “I was so sad when she transferred for her parents’ jobs, but all’s well that ends well! I feel like everything’s just perfect!”

newmascotresized: One thing I don’t like about the writing in this part of the game is that what Maruki can do with his reality warping bullshit is wildly inconsistent.

newmascotresized: Why is it that he was able to overwrite several years of Futaba’s life, but didn’t bother to make it so that Shiho never left Shujin to begin with?

newmascotresized: What he’s asking is if she wants to wake up, or if she’s happy here. In fact, this entire plot arc is what happens when you take Dream of Butterfly and try to turn it into a script.

Ann: “Huh? What does that mean? Of course I am…”

Ann: "“Wh-What do you mean, ‘any doubts’? Well, I know I don’t. I spent so much time worrying over everything that now I’ve - wait… what? Something is… I remember being so cornered that I just wanted to die, but then I met everyone, and…”

Ann: “What does that-”

Ann: “Huh!? I just…”

Shiho: “Ann, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Ann: “Oh, um, I’m fine! I think I’m just… feeling a bit tired? Why don’t we go find some place to sit and relax for a bit? Sorry, Akira! I’ll call you later…”

Shiho: “See you, Kurusu-kun.”

newmascotresized: I’m pretty sure this is a fuckup with the script, but Ann never played volleyball.

newmascotresized: These two thought bubbles pop up every morning, so I’ll skip them.

MorganaHuman: “Hm? Are you looking for someone? Haru? She was thinking about setting up a shop in Kichijoji. She went to inspect the new location with the president. She sure looked happy for doing a bunch of busywork.”

newmascotresized: Once you visit Ann, the game will let you warp to Shibuya… where we have to walk to the station. The station is where the other interesting NPC is.

newmascotresized: This is the hobo hitman from the Mementos request.

newmascotresized: Maruki has even infested the world map. We can only go to places that have a party member in them, but today we’re forced to visit Haru. I even tried visiting Ueno (where Yusuke is) and the game would not let me.

newmascotresized: Haru is scouting out the location for “Foreheadland”, a bangs-free amusement park.

Haru: “The research says this community is most interested in high-quality ingredients and a modern store design. Perhaps this location should focus more on organic produce, and a simple but elegant interior…”

Haru: “Oh! Akira-kun? I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Haru: “I’m helping out my father today. We’re here to inspect a potential site for a new company store.”

Okumura: “Is this a friend of yours?”

Haru: “Yes, he’s been a wonderful friend to me. He’s an underclassman at my school.”

Okumura: “…Or are you truly ‘just friends’?”

Haru: “Geez, Father! Don’t jump to conclusions like that!”

Okumura: “Hahaha, calm down, Haru. I was merely teasing. But still… were such a man to apear in your life, make sure you tell me right away, understand?”

Haru: “Oh, Father - is that jealousy I’m detecting?”

newmascotresized: Haru didn’t really have much of a personality in the base game, but I think the writers misunderstood what it is she actually wants.

Okumura: “It’s been quite some time since I last saw Haru like this. You must truly be a wonderful friend for her. Please keep being as good to her as you have been. After all, my daughter’s happiness is my own happiness.”

Haru: “Father… oh, would you care to do something together, Akira-kun? We have a bit of free time, so we could grab a coffee or something.”

Haru: “Yes he is, thank you. …Although he can be a bit overprotective at times. But, he’s honest and caring… he really is my ideal father.”

Haru: “My dream? Oh, no, I wouldn’t call my life anything so drastic. After all, I’ve been so busy lately that I can barely handle what’s on my plate, so- wait… I just…”

Haru: “O-Oh, okay…”

Haru: “What!? That just now… that was…”

Okumura: “Haru? What’s the matter?”

Haru: “Ah, nothing, Father! Nothing, really.”

Okumura: “You must be getting exhausted after all this surveying. Why don’t we take a break somewhere? My apologies for cutting this short - I do hope we’ll have the chance to speak more in the future.”

MorganaHuman: “You’d think training would be a drag, but he sure seems to be enjoying it. …I’m a little tired from thinking too much. I think I’m gonna go for a walk and clear my head…”

newmascotresized: We’ll see what he’s having so much trouble thinking about after this update.

Ryuji: “It’s not for sure or nothin’ yet, anyway. I’m just sayin’ the school’s gotten word of something like that.”

newmascotresized: I feel like the writers for Royal forgot that Ryuji exists. If you’ll recall, at the end of his confidant, the track team invites him back and he declines. The problem here is that Ryuji is kind of a non-character.

newmascotresized: It would’ve been better if they had done something else with him - say, have a world where he got to focus on school because Kamoshida never antagonized him, so he’s no longer at the bottom of the class.

Ryuji: “Aw, you’re still jumpin the gun with this. I’m just trying my best so I don’t get laughed off the team by you guys.”

Ryuji: “Akira? What’re you doin’ here? It’s still winter break.”

Ryuji: “Ooh! That’s nice of you guys - how about an extra large beef bowl and some pork miso soup? Hey, why don’t you come with us, Akira?”

newmascotresized: I’m surprised he didn’t ask for the pork to be in chicken stock so he could go through the entire meat spectrum in a single meal.

Ryuji: “Uh, yeah it’s fun, but whaddya mean? It’s just what I like doin’, y’know? I get all down when I’m not runnin’.”

Ryuji: “My leg… oh, you’re worried about me? It’s totally fine, dude! No problems there since that injury a while back. And that was actually Kamoshida’s fault, so- wait… what? …Ain’t something wrong here?”

Ryuji: “How do we know each other, anyhow? First we met in front of the station by school, then…”

Ryuji: “Uh… sure.”

newmascotresized: And I’ve got to / make my decision / this time it could be my moment.

Ryuji: “Whoa! The hell was that…?”

Ryuji: “Uhh, nothin’! Sorry, I gotta get back to practice! See ya!”

newmascotresized: Finally, we can go visit Yusuke.

MorganaHuman: “He sounded pretty emotional, said something about a piece finally getting recognition. Maybe you should check it out. …Hey… have you gotten shorter or something? I feel like I used to look up at you…”

MorganaHuman: “Nevermind. You’re heading out, right? Stay safe.”

newmascotresized: All of the other party members are open as of today, and of course Makoto is in a spot where it’s very easy to accidentally run into her. In fact, that’s what happens tomorrow.

Yusuke: “Take a look. My mother’s painting is finally receiving the public attention that it deserves. It’s on display for this week only, so I’m glad we have this chance to view it together.”

Yusuke: “…I am truly blessed. I’ve waited so long to see this painting here. My drive to create a masterpiece of this caliber grows stronger every day… but thanks to my sensei’s patronage, each day also brings me closer to painting such an impactful work.”

newmascotresized: Yusuke’s reality is easily the laziest. What they should have done is obvious: made it so his mother never died and the Sayuri was finished… but that’d take effort.

Yusuke: “Nothing in the world could make me happier than I am at this moment.”

Yusuke: “Why, my sensei, of course - Madarame. Even after mother’s passing, Sensei never stopped advocating her work to the public. Not only that, he took me in and cared for me when I lost my only family… I truly cannot thank him enough.”

newmascotresized: Yep, they went the lazy route.

Yusuke: “Ah, I just had a wonderful idea! Why don’t you come join us for dinner? Sensei’s been very interested in meeting you. Don’t worry - he’ll even pay for the meal!”

Yusuke: “Yes, I’d say so, but… what’s this about, so out of the blue?”

Yusuke: “The… ‘Sayuri’? That’s not the painting’s name… no, wait. That seems… something’s not right.”

Yusuke: “What is… could I be making the same mistakes as I did before?”

Yusuke: “Akira, I… actually - I’m sorry… but I’d like to be alone for now.”

newmascotresized: I had talked with Salty Vanilla about doing a Yusu-Gay for this scene, but it was too complex to draw. The idea was that Joker shatters Maruki’s hold on Yusuke with a single hug.

Joker: “This is not how things should be.”

newmascotresized: Today’s the day I accidentally ran into Makoto.

Makoto: “We were just doing a bit of shopping. But soon, we’re going to celebrate our dad receiving the superintendent general award!”

Sae: “Come on, Makoto, you don’t need to raise your voice over it. Remember Dad telling you earlier to just act like it’s no big deal?”

Makoto: “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it… I’m just so thrilled for him - it’s like he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves.”

newmascotresized: I wonder if Makoto was also stuck in a burning shrine, because logically that’s what her father would be getting the award for, given that she’s a shitty genderflipped Tatsuya Suou.

Sae: “Well, I do feel the same way. So, what groceries do we need to pick up before we head home?”

Makoto: “I wonder what Dad would like me to cook… I made eggplant miso soup for your birthday…”

newmascotresized: I looked up some recipes for eggplant miso soup, and it sounds like the blandest goddamn thing ever - kind of like Makoto.

Sae: “You had fried mackerel on yours, right? I can still remember how you pestered Dad about it until he cooked it for you…”

Makoto: “Sis! I didn’t pester him! He asked me what I wanted to eat for my birthday!”

Makoto: “Ooh, I just had an idea! Akira, would you like to join us for dinner tonight? Oh - I guess I don’t know what we’re having yet, though…”

Sae: “Don’t you think it’s possible he already has plans by now? Look at you, Little Miss Outgoing! Where’d this turnabout come from?”

newmascotresized: Here’s the real question. Is Sae’s “world where all dreams come true” a world where she has the tramp stamp but no one finds it ridiculous, or a world where she never got it in the first place?

Makoto: “Uh - Yes? You think so?”

Makoto: “Yes, just as well as always. Even when she’s busy at work, she always has my back. I couldn’t thank her enough for all the… wait… something’s wrong…”

Makoto: “Mom died… so Dad raised us alone… and Sis…”

Makoto: “Wait, what are you saying?”

Sae: “Makoto? What’s wrong?”

Makoto: “Oh… no, I’m sorry. It’s nothing. Sorry, Akira. We have more shopping to do. I’ll see you later.”

MorganaHuman: “I think they said something about hunting for games over in Akihabara. They look like such a happy family.”

MorganaHuman: “Akira…? I think something’s wrong with me… or, maybe not…? I don’t know… sorry, I didn’t mean to hold you up. Don’t mind me.”

Madarame: “I would never have been able to put such an amazing exhibit together all on my own. Everything was made possible thanks to the hard work of all the staff and my apprentices.”

Madarame: “But on the subject of the next exhibit, I was actually hoping to display some of my apprentice’s work instead of my own.”

Madarame: “Correct. Yusuke is the son of one of my apprentices. He inherited quite a bit of natural talent from his mother. As she is sadly no longer with us, I bear the responsibility to spread that boy’s talent to the world.”

Madarame: “A collaboration with Yusuke…? chuckle Yes, I think that’s quite a nice idea. Now I can’t wait for this exhibition to come.”

newmascotresized: The existence of this is a massive failure on the writers part. They acknowledged when they said that Maruki was supposed to be designed to not be hated that the other villains were.

newmascotresized: Having Madarame here isn’t exactly helping the “Accepting Maruki’s reality isn’t a bad ending” argument.

Futaba: “But… but… can’t you feel it!? All the limited editions and the gaming gear… it’s the store’s fault for being a one-stop shopping emporium for gamers! Soooooo… mom?”

newmascotresized: I feel like this is half a step away from being an advertisement.

Wakaba: “No, ma’am. Do you think I get supplemental grants with nothing but puppy-dog eyes? Motion for additional funding: denied.”

Futaba: “Hrrghhh, my case was dismissed… hm? Akira?”

Sojiro: “Oh hey, look who stumbled into us. C’mon, hurry up and pick something already. You still wanna get lunch after this, right? We can take him too now.”

Wakaba: “Oh, what a thoughtful gentleman. Hear that, Futaba? Sojiro’s gonna treat us all to lunch.”

Sojiro: “Hey, don’t go putting words in my-”

Futaba: “Really!? Then, back to Leblanc, people - it’s curry time!”

Sojiro: “Uh, you eat that all the time, though…”

newmascotresized: You know, I just realized something. I’m not sure whether this scene is decently written or the result of the writers for Royal not even reading the script of the base game before they wrote the expansion.

newmascotresized: If you’ll recall, Futaba barely knew Sojiro until after her mother died - up until that point, she only really knew him as a guy who worked with her mother.

newmascotresized: On one hand, you could say that the reason Sojiro is here is because this is his dream world as well - he did mention wanting to get together with Wakaba in his confidant, and this setup makes sense that way.

newmascotresized: On the other, given that the writers for Royal feel like they barely played the base game, I’m not so sure.

Futaba: “That’s 'cause it’s the best!”

Wakaba: “You really can’t get enough of that curry, can you, Futaba? I mean, she does have a point.”

Sojiro: “Heh… thanks for the glowing review.”

Futaba: “Sound good, Akira? I KNOW you know how awesome Sojiro’s curry is!”

newmascotresized: Actually nah, this scene sucks because they squandered it.

newmascotresized: Out of all these scenes, this one should’ve been the strongest. There should’ve been an element of Futaba consciously accepting Maruki’s reality and trying to make the player feel like shit for taking that away from her.

newmascotresized: I would also have had Maruki appear in all of these scenes. They had no problem overusing the fuck out of him when it didn’t matter, but for some reason were afraid to use him when it does.

Futaba: “Of course! Sojiro and Mom worked together to improve its flavor, y’know. And… huh?”

Futaba: “What’s that supposed to mean? What are you getting at? Is it a dream? No, but…”

Futaba: “I still don’t get it… c’mon, why won’t you just tell me…?”

newmascotresized: I feel like they should’ve re-posed the model for this one, because it looks like Futaba’s high on something.

Futaba: “What WAS that!?”

Sojiro: “Are you all right? You two are getting a bit weird.”

Wakaba: “Could this be a case of raging hormones? Look how serious they’ve both gotten.”

Futaba: “Um… it’s nothing! Let’s go, Mom. The curry can’t wait! Akira’s still got stuff to do! I assume! Well, see ya!”

Akechi: “I’ve uncovered a few things in my investigation this week… so I thought I’d share my findings with you.”

Akechi: “First, regarding Maruki himself… he’s been researching ‘the treatment of patients through changes in their cognitions’ since his college years… you already knew about that, correct?”

newmascotresized: By the way, “cognitions” isn’t a word. Cognition is both the singular and plural.

Akechi: “Maruki’s work apparently had enough investors that he was planning to break ground on a research facility somewhere… and as you know, those plans never came to fruition - his funding was cut off and his research was ended for him.”

newmascotresized: I’m pretty sure you mean “grants”, not “investors”, unless Maruki was trying to be Umbrella Corporation or something. Cognitive psience Chris Redfield into seeing everything as a boulder.

Akechi: “It’s probable. However, we can’t be certain of the reason why - at least with our current understanding. What was the purpose of his research into cognitive psience? Doesn’t it feel like there’s more to the story?”

newmascotresized: This is dumb because Akechi should know why. The answer is “because Shido” by the way.

Akechi: “For example… maybe his research was stymied by someone else for their own reasons. Anyway, that’s all I could dig up about Maruki’s history.”

Akechi: “The only thing that’s become clearer is his stance on using cognitive psience - he’s dead serious about ‘saving’ people. He distorted reality itself to make his dream come true. I can only imagine how delighted he is right now.”

newmascotresized: We fucking know! Stop recapping shit that happened not even an hour ago! Fuck!

Akechi: “Ah, that reminds me - there was one more thing I wanted to tell you. About the reality Maruki’s put us in… it seems that Okumura and Wakaba are both considered alive by all accounts.”

Akechi: “They aren’t mere illusions, or cognitive beings - they truly are alive and existing in this world. In fact, their deaths seem to have never taken place at all in this reality.”

newmascotresized: Stop stating the fucking obvious!

Akechi: “Shido was the only one arrested on the crime of attempting to overthrow the government… it seems the Phantom Thieves were causing a stir in this society as well, but there’s no record of your arrest now.”

newmascotresized: Dammit! I thought you were fucking cool now!

Akechi: “Basically, in this reality, you and I haven’t committed any crimes. I don’t understand how Maruki was able to distort reality to such extremes… but at the very least, he was being honest when he told us he’d make such revisions - and rather convenient ones.”

Akechi: “That’s quite the funny joke. It makes me want to puke. Remaining in this Maruki-revised reality means living under his thumb forever… and I refuse to live like that. I’ll be the one to choose my path.”

newmascotresized: You know, something I just thought of: technically, he’s living in Philemon’s reality since the ‘real’ reality got destroyed in Innocent Sin. Why is he okay with that?

Akechi: “That’s how I’ve lived up to now, and it’s going to continue from here 'til the end… but what about you? You saw them for yourself, didn’t you? Your friends seem to have taken a liking to Maruki’s version of reality.”

Akechi: “Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind after seeing them…”

Akechi: “I see. I pray your answer doesn’t change when we face Maruki tomorrow. That takes care of the info I wanted to share. See you soon.”

MorganaHuman: “With Akechi? You guys are really hitting it off lately. Of course, that’s not a bad thing. Hey, so… about what you said before… you know, that stuff about my happiness…”

Summary

newmascotresized: After that horrible dream, I found this in a folder titled “Bisexual Morgana Route” that appeared in my LP folder. I have no idea where it came from, but it looks like Salty Vanilla did it.

newmascotresized: This may or may not have come up in conversation while I was playing that part of the FF7 remake several months ago.

MorganaHuman: “You know, that stuff about my happiness… sorry - it’s nothing.”

Joker: “No. Tell me. I insist.”

MorganaHuman: “Well… I’ve been thinking… and I think that if you go to the stadium tomorrow… something might happen to me.”

MorganaHuman: “And, well… there’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but couldn’t ask for… but I think now might be the time.”

Joker: “And what’s that?”

MorganaHuman: “I want… I want… a date with Lady Ann.”

Joker: “…You know, a few months ago, I would have air horned you for that. But… I’ll give her a call and see what I can do.”

MorganaHuman: “It’s just… that isn’t the only thing I want.”

Joker: “Let me guess, you want sushi, right? I’ll take you for lunch. Akechi and I can wait to go to Odaiba. We don’t need to go right in the morning.”

MorganaHuman: “That’s… not it. I, um… also wanted… a date… with you…”

Joker: (Oh no…)

MorganaHuman: “I talked to Lala-chan at the bar, and she even helped me pick out a dress for you and everything…”

Joker: (Oh god no. I’m all for Maid Yusuke, but this…)

MorganaHuman: “Pleeeease, Joker? I’d be so sad if something happened to me…”

Futaba: “Do it! Do it!”

Joker: “Futaba? What the hell are you…”

Ann: “I’ll go on a date with him, but only if you date him too!”

Joker: “Futaba, did you wiretap my phone and send it to every-”

Yusuke: “Joker, you must do it. I absolutely must see this.”

Joker: …Fine. I’ll do it for Yusuke. (I mean, that one burly sword guy did it… and it’s not like this reality is sticking around once I kill Maruki.)

Sorry that might’ve been me, the monkey’s paw was starting to stink so I doused it in Febreeze until it flipped me off and uncurled.

Weird though, the thread says you’re playing Persona 5 Royal, but you actually seem to be playing Persona V: The Final Frontier.

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In Star Trek V, Kirk can’t be mind-controlled because he’s a god. In P5R, John Persona can’t be seduced into the new reality because he’s an SMT protagonist with no ego or desire of his own, and thus has no wishes to have fulfilled.

Click Here for Update 106

newmascotresized: I really have to remember not to save at the end of a day, because the stupid “no recording” pop-up comes up every time you load.

Akechi: “Based on the look in your eyes, I’m guessing your friends aren’t going to be of any use to us.”

Akechi: “We need as much manpower as possible right now. I was hoping at least some of them would avoid being useless… but that seems to be beyond their capabilities.”

newmascotresized: There should have been an option to punch Akechi here and go it alone.

Akechi: “Well, there’s no point in griping about it out here. Are you ready? As I mentioned yesterday, it’s quite likely that we’ll have to confront Maruki physically. If you’re not prepared for such a contingency, then please go ahead and take care of your affairs as quickly as possible.”

newmascotresized: We could buy new gear for Akechi. I do not. He is being kicked out of the party as soon as I am no longer forced to use him.

Ryuji: “Whoa. Uh, hey guys…”

newmascotresized: I hate how fucking lazy this is. They’re using the same poses and animations from when you use the bottom floor of Leblanc as the hideout.

Haru: “Looks like we’ve all had the same idea.”

Yusuke: “Are you here to speak with Akira as well?”

Ryuji: “Uh, kinda… so, he’s not here?”

MorganaHuman: “He left around noon - said he was meeting up with Akechi.”

Futaba: “Sojiro said if we need to… talk about stuff, we can use this place for a while.”

Ryuji: “Cool.”

Ann: “You know… Akira asked me the other day… something along the lines of whether or not I’m okay with how things are. At first I didn’t know what he was talking about, but as he kept going, his words started to make my chest feel all tight…”

newmascotresized: Another rejected idea I had was having Salty Vanilla do a comic for Straight Joker where he breaks Maruki’s reality because everyone is in love with him.

Makoto: “…I know what you mean. And, ever since then, it’s like… like something isn’t right in my heart anymore…”

Yusuke: “I have no complaints about my current life - on the contrary, in fact. I am truly happy with it. So, in that case… what is this inkling of a feeling I have deep in my soul?”

Ryuji: “Ugh, dammit! I’m so bad at figurin’ out this sorta stuff. Hey… do ya think maybe we’re all runnin’ away from something super-important?”

Ryuji: “I’ve been kinda wonderin’ for a while now… maybe the reason Akira’s words hurt so much is 'cause he’s right. But I was too scared to admit that, for some reason. That’s why I pretended I didn’t understand what he meant…”

Haru: “When I was speaking with Akira, I felt like… I caught a glimpse of this mysterious sight. Something that shouldn’t have happened, but still… I felt like I shouldn’t turn away from it…”

newmascotresized: That was probably light reflecting off her forehead.

Ann: “Same here!”

Yusuke: “And myself as well. It seems that we really have lost sight of something precious to us after all…”

Futaba: “That… might be… but… but… I’m so scared to remember what it is! If I remember… ‘that,’ I feel like my life as I know it is going to end!”

newmascotresized: The writers do add in a little of what I wanted with Futaba, but it’s too little, too late. They’ve already shit their pants and cannot un-shit them.

Makoto: “Futaba…”

Futaba: “But, even still… I don’t want to feel this way anymore, either…”

Haru: “…Me too.”

Ryuji: “I guess that’s it, huh? Akira was tryin’ to tell us all somethin’ important, and I bet he’s probably still workin’ on it somewhere. Ain’t no way I’m gonna bail on him just so I can keep runnin’ from… whatever it is.”

Yusuke: “When I had that strange experience you all mentioned, I saw Akira and the rest of us there together. I want to believe the connection we share here is a genuine one.”

Ann: “Well, I know if we don’t do something soon, we’re gonna lose our connection with Akira… don’t ask how I know… it just feels like the truth to me.”

MorganaHuman: “I admit I am happy right now, but… I just can’t accept the situation as it is. I’m done with trying to escape my problems!”

newmascotresized: Oh, you were expecting we might get to see a human Morgana in a dungeon? This is Atlus we’re talking about. That would require effort… even though I’m 99% sure Morgana’s human model is just Joker’s with stuff slapped on it.

BlackMask: “We encountered an information guide after going up that elevator… if he intends to welcome us in so graciously, perhaps we’ll come across another guide soon.”

BlackMask: “Ah- Before I forget… I suspect the battles are going to get even tougher from here on out due to our lack of manpower. Focusing on our own abilities is fine and all, but depending on the situation, it’d be more efficient to team up.”

BlackMask: “The combination move we pulled off before… that wasn’t half bad. Of course… that all depends on whether or not you can keep up with me.”

newmascotresized: I had to record this part twice because today is the first chance to get Maruki’s bad ending, and on my first run I thought to myself, “There’s no way they’re going to let you just walk in through the front door again, right?”

newmascotresized: As it turns out, the route we took to get to Sumire the first time we were here still works.

BlackMask: “Just as I thought - they’re politely informing us of their location.”

newmascotresized: There’s really not much in this area. It’s a hallway with a couple of rooms coming off it that have nothing particularly interesting in them.

Marukevil: “Once her inner turmoil begins to settle, I’ll have her remember her life as she wishes to live it.”

BlackMask: “The life that she wishes for, huh? Call it what you like - you’re merely brainwashing people for your own satisfaction.”

newmascotresized: I have a feeling that up until the last minute, the writers knew NOTHING about Maruki. They didn’t know if they wanted him to be a villain or not, they didn’t know how his powers work, they knew nothing.

newmascotresized: I feel like I know what happened, too: the Royal devteam was going to make Maruki into a villain - he was going to be a cult leader and the whole “world without pain” thing was going to be global-scale brainfuckery instead of him actually warping reality.

newmascotresized: The only problem was that when they focus grouped it, the people who latched onto Akechi in the base game also latched onto Maruki - and they realized that if they made Maruki a villain, it might hurt sales.

newmascotresized: Instead, they decided “We’re going to be as milquetoast as possible and flip-flop constantly as to whether he’s a villain or not, effectively making a non-villain villain” and that’s how this shit came to be.

newmascotresized: Oh, and then there’s my actual point here: if he can alter reality, that’s not really brainwashing.

Marukevil: “I’m wholly aware that some will interpret my acts that way… but if that self-satisfaction leads to the happiness of thousands of others, don’t you agree that outcome is for the best?”

newmascotresized: By the way, when I was looking for a screenshot for the bad ending (I had to borrow footage because I didn’t feel like sitting through 20 minutes of credits) I found about a thousand YouTube videos of people going “WOULD YOU AGREE WITH MARUKI” and god fuck that shit.

Marukevil: “Kurusu-kun - if I understand correctly, you went and checked in on your friends this past week. This reality is the one that they all wished for… did any of them seem troubled by that fact?”

Marukevil: “Once you do, you’ll be just as happy as they are. Didn’t you see it yourselves? Your friends don’t just want to live these lives - they want you to choose this reality for yourselves and live happily too.”

newmascotresized: Here we have Cult Leader Maruki.

Marukevil: “Please, I want you to understand… for their sake, as well as yours.”

newmascotresized: I’ll cut the rest of the flashbacks. They’re word-for-word identical to the last update.

newmascotresized: The worst part of this? This scene might’ve fucking been effective if the writers had a fucking spine!

Marukevil: “Well, it’s time…”

BlackMask: “…”

Marukevil: “For the sake of Yoshizawa-san, and the rest of your friends… I ask you to give me your answer.”

Marukevil: “Huh?”

BlackMask: “Negotiations seem to have broken down.”

Marukevil: “…I see.”

Sumire: “You’re not serious, right? Please… I’m begging you, Akira-senpai… please let me live as Kasumi!”

Sumire: “But, why? The pain is too much… why can’t I just leave it behind me!? Kasumi is gone forever, and… and it’s all my - all Sumire’s fault! I can’t live that kind of life!”

Violet: “If you do, then I’ll…!”

BlackMask: “How stubborn… no matter what you say to her, I doubt she’ll understand. I don’t think we have a choice in the matter here. I could take care of it for you right now… but you’d prefer her to leave here alive, right?”

BlackMask: “Just hurry up and end this.”

newmascotresized: Akechi then fucks off to let us do this boss fight alone.

newmascotresized: Kasumire can only use physical skills and bless spells - and guess what Lucifer is immune to?

newmascotresized: I hit the rush button and let it handle the fight for me. Kasumire doesn’t repel or null Bless, and doesn’t have Megidolaon lined up if you null everything she can throw at you.

newmascotresized: At low health, Kasumire will start using Charge… which is a total non-threat if you null Physical.

BlackMask: “Looks like you lost.”

Violet: “…Why?”

Violet: “Akira-senpai… no… I can’t… I can’t go back to being Sumire… you saw it all for yourself, Akira -senpai. it’s my own fault that my sister’s…”

Violet: “Why don’t you understand!? Please, I beg you…”

Marukevil: “Yoshizawa-san…”

newmascotresized: Naturally, the animators had to put in a scene of a tentacle creeping up Kasumire’s thigh.

newmascotresized: This fight is scripted, because we didn’t get enough of that shit with Yaldabaoth.

newmascotresized: Berserk Cendrillon has the same gimmick Yaldabaoth did - on her turn, if her HP is low enough, she’ll drain one of the Byakhees to heal herself for 600 HP.

newmascotresized: Now, you might ask “What happens if you kill both Byakhees before she goes, say by using a high-level Nuclear spell?” and the answer is that Maruki goes immediately before Cendrillon does and summons more.

newmascotresized: The Byakhees will always attempt to use Heat Riser on Cendrillon if she isn’t already buffed. The best use of Akechi’s turns here is to use nothing but Debilitate.

newmascotresized: I thought I might be able to get a weakness hit using Cendrillon’s actual weakness (which is Curse) but nope, she’s just neutral to everything - including Bless.

newmascotresized: Anyway, the rest of this fight is watching Cendrillon heal until…

Marukevil: “You can’t tell? It’s her refusal to accept the truth…”

BlackMask: “Tch… we can’t afford to waste time on this shit!”

Fox: “Our apologies for making you wait so long.”

Noir: “Is that…?”

Panther: “Akechi-kun and Dr. Maruki!?”

MorganaCat: “What in the world is going on here!?”

newmascotresized: Oh, right. The game makes the mistake of returning Morgana to his stupid anime mascot portrait instead of the realistic cat one. Yeah no, fuck that.

Skull: “So much of this shit makes no sense, but we’ll cover it later! We’ve gotta stop her first - right, Joker?”

MorganaCat: “All right! Let’s get in formation!”

newmascotresized: The fight immediately starts again, with Joker and Akechi healed to full. Your first priority here is going to be to get rid of Akechi by any means necessary.

newmascotresized: That’s because Cendrillon can now use Bless spells. She can still Drain them for 600 HP, and will do that if she gets an extra turn from hitting Akechi.

newmascotresized: The rest of the fight is as simple as casting multi-target Nuclear spells to hit the Byakhees, and then Baton Passing to Yusuke or Makoto to shit out damage. We nearly hit 4 digits even against Cendrillon’s ridiculous magic defense.

newmascotresized: You also probably want to get rid of Ann, if only because the Byakhees null Fire.

newmascotresized: I get Cendrillon really low on HP… and then I accidentally nuke the Byakhees to death.

newmascotresized: This causes Maruki to summon more before Cendrillon’s turn, which she then uses to heal. Because both of the Byakhees are fresh, she gets the full 600 HP out of it.

newmascotresized: Fortunately, Ann gets a Showtime and it doesn’t matter.

Marukevil: “You’ve all… I can’t believe you’ve thrown away your happiness just to come here and… and how? It’s impossible…”

Marukevil: “That’s right. More importantly, why are-”

Skull: “Dude… what the hell’s Doc doin’ inside a Palace!?”

BlackMask: “He’s ruling this Palace, is what he’s doing.”

Skull: “…!”

BlackMask: “Not only that, he’s the one who generated this whole distorted reality - isn’t that right, Maruki-san?”

Marukevil: “…All of this was done for your own joy.”

Fox: “Our joy?”

Marukevil: “That’s right. I only wanted to grant your wishes… each and every one…”

Skull: “What, you what? Whaddya mean!? We never wished for anything like…”

Marukevil: “Is that really true?”

Skull: “Huh?”

Marukevil: “…No, never mind. So you all intend to deny the reality I’ve created for you… if you want to fight me… then so be it. If you plan on changing my heart, that’s fine too.”

Marukevil: “But before that - I think there’s still room for discussion here. Also, I believe taking care of Yoshizawa-san is more important than settling this issue right now.”

BlackMask: “Planning to run again?”

newmascotresized: Here’s a question: why isn’t Akechi fucking shooting him? You know, with the silenced pistol he carries at all times.

Marukevil: “We can get back to fighting, if that’s what you really want… but I think you’re rather exhausted at the moment.”

newmascotresized: We have at least four Somas. The game could launch us right into Maruki’s boss fight and I could easily win it, even with the HP and SP levels I had at the end of the Cendrillon fight.

BlackMask: “…”

Sumire: “Ngh…”

Marukevil: “…There’s still time. February 3rd. I’ll hear your final decision on the 3rd. If your views can’t align with mine by then, we’ll have no other choice but a physical altercation.”

newmascotresized: You know, for a character who’s supposed to be a villain people don’t hate, I fucking hate Maruki. His characterization is completely fucking inconsistent. Just look at this last bit of dialogue.

newmascotresized: First he goes “I believe there’s still room for discussion here”, which totally fits his character: he’s a therapist who knows he doesn’t stand a fucking chance in a fight against a bunch of teenagers who killed God.

newmascotresized: Then he immediately goes into “If your views don’t align with mine, then we’ll have no choice but to have a physical altercation”. What the fuck is this shit?

newmascotresized: I’ll tell you what they should’ve done. They should’ve not had the cutscene on 01/02, put this cutscene on 01/02, and then had this one be Maruki trying to sit the party down and reason with them.

Oracle: “…I’ve lost his reading.”

Queen: “I want to pursue him, but I doubt that’s even possible right now.”

Skull: “Let’s get outta here. Yoshizawa’s gotta rest, anyway.”

Yusuke: “The Navigator’s returned to our devices… a Palace is visible in our own reality…”

Ann: “Um, does this mean reality’s broken right now, or something? Something to do with Dr. Maruki, anyway?”

MorganaCat: “Hey, Akira - how much do you know about this stuff?”

Futaba: “So Dr. Maruki…”

Haru: “He altered our reality… to make our dreams come true?”

Yusuke: “This is all too much for me to handle at once.”

newmascotresized: Akechi: “What you’re referring to as Linux is in fact GNU/Linux or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux.

newmascotresized: Hashino is not incompetent unto himself, but is rather another dysfunctional component of a poorly functioning writing team made worse by his presence.

newmascotresized: Wait no, Hashino’s definitely incompetent.

Ryuji: “That’s right! Akechi-!”

Akechi: “There’s no reason to be defensive. Had I wished to kill you all, I would’ve done so already.”

newmascotresized: Sure you would’ve. If you had the gun with you, you’d have killed Maruki - or at least tried to and failed because you’re easily the worst party member.

Makoto: “So you’re not here to fight us?”

Akechi: “I’ve already put our feud behind me. Not only that… since he and I both refuse to accept reality as Maruki sees fit to make it, we currently have the same goal.”

newmascotresized: Dammit, Morgana! That’s not how it works! You’re supposed to do that when the dialog inadvertently references song lyrics! Fuck!

Akechi: “What about the rest of you? Considering how you were all living your ideal lives in that other reality until you decided to come here… while his heart is distorted, he is quite different from the adults whose hearts you’ve changed so far.”

Akechi: “Now that you know his intentions, I’m most interested in learning whether you still plan on fighting him or not.”

Yusuke: “What do you mean?”

Akechi: “I’m up against someone with the power to distort reality as we know it. The more allies on my side, the better. If we all share the same goal, shouldn’t we join forces and improve our odds?”

Sumire: “Nnh…”

Akechi: “I’ll be going now. Be sure to consider my point.”

Ryuji: “Hey… hey! Geez…”

MorganaCat: “Yoshizawa! Are you all right?”

Sumire: “I…”

Sumire: “Oh, yes…”

Ann: “No no, you don’t need to apologize!”

Makoto: “We should probably go our separate ways for now and discuss it at a better time.”

Ryuji:“Yeah. Tomorrow we can… oh yeah, third semester’s startin’ up tomorrow, right?”

Ann: “I guess we’re going back to school, huh? We still don’t have any idea what we want to do from here on out, though…”

MorganaCat: “We’ve got time. Maruki said he’ll wait until February 3rd before… let’s really think it over before making our decision.”

Sojiro: “Huh, I didn’t know you guys were out together… wait - what’s wrong, Futaba?”

Futaba: “…Hey Sojiro… is Mom…”

Sojiro: “Mom…? You mean Wakaba? Well… what about her?”

Futaba: “Uhh… nah! It’s nothing! It’s just, I happened to remember something about her, that’s all!”

Sojiro: “I see… okay then. Y’know, I caught myself thinking about her earlier too. Odd coincidence, huh?”

Sojiro: “Well, I’m gonna head home for the night. How about you, Futaba?”

Futaba: “Hmm… I’m gonna stick around a bit longer.”

Sojiro: “I see. Don’t stay out too late, all right? The place is all yours. You’ve got school tomorrow too, so get to bed at a reasonable time.”

Futaba: “O-Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you what happened before we came to rescue you! We all ended up here at the same time after you left for Odaiba…”

newmascotresized: Mercifully, this is a lot shorter than the whole bit after the casino. It’s still the writers for Royal shitting their pants in the same way Hashino did in the base game.

Ryuji: “Wait, you’re-”

MorganaCat: “What the -!? I’m…”

Futaba: “Oh yeah… that’s right! Why were you human, Mona!?”

Ann: “Yeah! You’re supposed to be a cat!”

MorganaCat: “I am NOT a - oh wait, yeah. I guess I am a cat.”

Yusuke: “How did we never realize…”

newmascotresized: I like to think Yusuke thought Morgana was a dog the entire time.

MorganaCat: “You know, we’ve got more important things to do than sit around here and figure out what happened to us.”

Makoto: “You said he was headed to Odaiba, correct? And with Akechi-kun?”

Haru: “We need to find them!”

newmascotresized: Why was any of this necessary to show? We saw the glass break, then they show up. There’s really no need for there to be anything in between unless it radically changes the understanding of the plot.

Futaba: “…You were fighting this whole time, weren’t you? While I was just bumming around town without a care… I’m sorry… deep down, I always suspected something strange was happening… something wrong.”

Futaba: “Ah, but I’ve totally snapped out of it thanks to you, Akira! I’m all good now!”

newmascotresized: I hate this fucking scene. I hate this fucking scene so fucking much. I hate the fucking writers for Royal. I hate whatever fucking dipshit put this in without realizing it should’ve been much longer and also far earlier in this godawful shitshow of cutscenes.

newmascotresized: The writers here were handed every fucking thing they would’ve needed to succeed. They had Aoi Yuuki, who EXCELS at fucking emotionally-charged scenes. They have a voice direction team that’s at least competent. It should not have been fucking hard to make a scene people would’ve remembered long after finishing this game.

newmascotresized: All they had to do was fucking do their job! That’s it! The scene would practically fucking write itself! Fuck! But no, instead we get fucking Kasumire and her dumb bullshit no one cares about, with every other character as a fucking afterthought.

newmascotresized: What pisses me off even more is that this is a game where the fucking writers had no problem adding 20 minutes to a cutscene, but couldn’t be fucking bothered to add maybe four or five minutes per character into the start of the expansion! Fuck! These dipshits are no different than the fucking Allansons!

Futaba: “School’s tomorrow, right? You better not stay up late… you might end up oversleeping…”

MorganaCat: “Look who you’re talking about! How could I be anything else? Sheesh… all this trouble with Yoshizawa and Maruki… we’ve got nothing but problems right now… for now, we should all meet up at the hideout. We gotta recap the situation and hold a strategy meeting.”

newmascotresized: No we fucking don’t! We don’t need a fucking recap! Fuck! Shut up! Shut the fuck up! Fuck!

MorganaCat: “Well, we’re going to need time to figure all this out. Either way, we can think about this tomorrow. For now… we should go to sleep.”

John Persona’s only wish is for better writers, and yet…

Summary

newmascotresized: Since I already recorded it, let’s see what happens if we choose to accept Maruki’s reality on 01/09. There is a MUCH, MUCH better version of this bad end that happens on 02/02.

Marukevil: “Oh, what a relief… you’ll accept this world!?”

BlackMask: “No… Akira, please tell me you’re not serious…”

newmascotresized: The game gives us one last opportunity to back out, which is something you do when you’re choosing between what’s supposed to be two equally valid ending choices.

Marukevil: “Really!? I’m just so happy that you’ve come to see things my way! You don’t need to worry about anything anymore. Just leave the rest to me.”

newmascotresized: There’s a musical sting here that makes it very clear that you have fuc-

timrodawwpresized: That you’ve picked the objectively correct answer! After all, accepting Maruki’s reality is a valid ending choice and there’s no reason for there to be an ominous musical cue at all!

timrodawwpresized: Oh, what’s this doing here? I thought this was where I put my recording for Eternal Punishment. That’s fine, we’ll just go with this.

Sojiro: “Huh? Is that some kinda joke? C’mon - wake up, Mister Party Planner… this whole get-together was your idea…”

Futaba: “Y’know, something hit me a while back - we’re the same age. You don’t have to be so polite to me.”

Kasumi: “But Futaba-senpai, I still think of you that way.”

Futaba: “Then as your senpai, I order you to speak casually to me! And no ‘-senpai’!”

Kasumi: “Got it! …Hi, Futaba.”

Haru: “Was that, ah… casual enough?”

Futaba: “…Confirmed for casual!”

Kasumi: “Thank you, Futaba-senpai! Oh, uh…”

Futaba: “It’s no biggie, just go with whatever’s easier for ya. Your senpai allows it!”

timrodawwpresized: Aren’t these lengthy gags about honorifics just the best?

Ryuji: “Attention, everybody: it’s ehomaki time! I’m gonna do my thing! Just gotta make a wish, and then eat this whole thing in one shot! So… which direction am I supposed to face for this to be good luck?”

timrodawwpresized: Ehomaki is a kind of sushi roll eaten on Setsubun, which traditionally uses seven ingredients to represent the seven lucky gods. The ingredient list is… pretty much anything, actually. The only rules are seven ingredients and also that you don’t cut the roll once it’s made.

timrodawwpresized: It’s kind of controversial because a lot of places make them… and that means a lot of it goes unsold and gets thrown out. Combined with the fact that ehomaki are rather large, it means a lot of food waste.

Akechi: “It says that’s north-northwest of here, and a bit to the right, so…”

timrodawwpresized: The traditional thing to do on Setsubun is to eat the ehomaki in the year’s lucky direction - 2021’s will be south-southeast and 2022’s will be north-northwest.

Ann: “How much is a ‘bit’, though?”

Ryuji: “Eh, I’ll figure it out. Don’t say a word to me until I’m done, got it? I gotta eat the whole thing without talkin’ for the wish to come true.”

Makoto: “Do we actually have to watch this?”

Yusuke: “I’d be hard-pressed to call this picturesque.”

Haru: “Do you really think eating an entire roll of sushi could grant your wish?”

Futaba: “I prefer throwing beans for luck. Drive them demons away! Sojiro, you be the demon this year.”

Sojiro: “And are you going to be the one who cleans up afterwards?”

Kasumi: “Come on, Ryuji-senpai! You can do it!”

Ryuji: “Thanks!”

Kasumi: “Oh!”

Ryuji: “Oh!”

Ann: “Good grief.”

MorganaHuman: “Well, that’s Ryuji for you.”

Ryuji: “Shorry…”

Kasumi: “Me too… but I really do appreciate all of my senpai cheering me on!”

MorganaHuman: “That’s right we’re cheering you on! We’ve got your back, no matter what. After all, this is where you belong!”

Ann: “Yeah! We’ll always be together. And that goes for all of you!”

Ryuji: “Fine, fine! I’ll just try again!”

Sojiro: “Still at it, huh?”

Kasumi: “So, ‘we’ll always be together,’ huh? I sure hope so.”

Sojiro: “Nice work putting that all together.”

Sojiro: “You can take it over for another party whenever you’d like. Hey… can I ask you something? So, um… I’ve been thinking for a while now… if it’s good with you…”

Sojiro: “And I’ll make sure to talk to your parents about it took, okay? But, at least until you’re done with high school and all… would you maybe like to keep staying at the cafe? And maybe, even after graduation, you could… whaddya say?”

Sojiro: “Really? Well, I’d better get the ball rolling tomorrow, then. Heh, things sure are cookin’ up around here.”

timrodawwpresized: I remember my high school graduation. It was a wonderful, magical time - I even got confessed to under the cherry tree… which admittedly was a little weird because I’m from the US.

timrodawwpresized: In fact, it was strange because the school had a courtyard with like, three dozen cherry trees in it and every single one had someone get confessed to underneath it that day.

Haru: “Mm, thanks.”

Ann: “Makoto’s last big speech as council president got me all teared up… sigh That was such a nice ceremony.”

Ryuji: “Hey, lemme see.”

Ryuji: “You gotta do that to be officially graduated!”

Futaba: “Aren’t you feeling even a bit sentimental?”

Makoto: “This year really flew by, didn’t it?”

Haru: “We made so many memories together… I might even remember those better than what we did in school.”

Ann: “Yeah. But it is gonna suck not seeing you two at school anymore.”

Futaba: “Don’t worry. I’ll be attending here starting in April.”

Ryuji: “For real?”

Futaba: “I’ll be bringing the lunches, so you better get psyched! Sojiro’s gonna teach me how to cook!”

Ryuji: “Oh, right - you’re gonna be here too.”

MorganaHuman: “Don’t forget about me, either. Maybe I should become a high-schooler as well.”

timrodawwpresized: Morgana can finally go to the same school as his boyfriend!

Ann: “Ooh, will you? That sounds like fun!”

Yusuke: “Perhaps I should also transfer to Shujin…”

Haru: “You came to the ceremony?”

Kasumi: "I wanted to tell you… in person… huff Congratulations on your graduation!’

Makoto: “Thank you.”

Haru: “I have an idea - why don’t we take a group picture?”

Ann: “Ooh, yeah!”

Makoto: “We haven’t seen you since the pep rally. I’ve been meaning to ask, what are your plans after high school, Akechi-kun?”

Akechi: “I’m thinking about going freelance. Considering how busy I’ve been up to now, I think I’ve earned at least a year or so of taking it easy.”

Futaba: “Don’t turn into a shut-in, got it?”

Akechi: “Thanks for the warning. Now, everyone gather up over there.”

timrodawwpresized: There’s another musical sting here, and I don’t know why. I mean, this is a great ending! No one died, everyone is happy…

timrodawwpresized: There’s some shots during the credits, and I missed one because there’s like five minutes of credits in between. I’ll post a screenshot I stole from a video of it.

timrodawwpresized: Wait… something’s not right about this one. Shouldn’t there be someone else there where Madarame is? I feel like Yusuke had a boyfriend, but…

timrodawwpresized: Huh. There’s something about this one that makes me feel… angry. I don’t know why that would be! I loved this game! I’m actually really sad to see it end - you feel like you’re there, you know?

timrodawwpresized: This is the final shot, after about five additional minutes of credits. It’s weird… Joker looks like he’s got this strange secret that he shares with Akechi.

timrodawwpresized: Anyway, let’s get started on Eternal Punishment again!

On the plus side, if it’s a world without pain than that one RPG with the four letter name doesn’t exist, so it’s impossible to say whether this is a good ending or a bad ending.

Click Here for Update 107

Lavenza: “You have been imprisoned once more… this time, not by the God of Control, but a different entity… one who’s bound you through your future.”

newmascotresized: Read: Atlus was too lazy to make a new design for the Velvet Room that might actually reflect Maruki’s reality.

Lavenza: “However, you held fast to your free will and believed in your bonds, allowing your friends to regain their own realities. You are on the verge of grasping a potential reality once more.”

Lavenza: “Our meeting again now, within this place, is proof enough. It seems the time has come.”

Lavenza: “We are merely beings who provide aid to humans as they carry out their will… you must be the one to determine the path and actions to take. If the will of rebellion still thrives within you, then we will surely meet again.”

MorganaCat: “We ought to tell everyone else that, too. Let’s all meet up after school.”

newmascotresized: Okay, so wait. The party knows that Igor and Lavenza exist. We know that they’re capable of pulling the other party members into the Velvet Room. Why the hell did they not just meet there?

newmascotresized: I mean, I’ll tell you why - it’s because that would require effort and probably rigging the Velvet Room up for the entire party, and we all know Atlus’s slogan when it comes to effort.

Sumire: “Good morning… um… I’m sorry. I can’t believe what I tried to do to you two… I genuinely cannot apologize enough for what happened…”

MorganaCat: “Aw c’mon, there’s no need for that. More importantly, how have you been?”

Sumire: “Physically, I’m fine… but, mentally? To be entirely honest, I’m all mixed up.”

Sumire: “My memories are still pretty fuzzy and I haven’t really processed everything yet… I’m going to need a little time to myself to think things through. I have to figure out what to do with myself from here on…”

Kawakami: “Next year’s going to be all about your college entrance exams, so you’d better start preparing now. Oh, and if you cause any trouble, that’ll show up on your transcripts. So make sure you behave yourselves, okay?”

Kawakami: “Now, time to turn in that homework. Let’s see, who’s on class duty today…”

newmascotresized: The writers had a prime opportunity here to show off how much reality has changed, and they fucking blew it. As far as I know, they do go into that a little bit as time goes on… but not nearly enough.

MorganaCat: “Have you been studying…? Well, not that you really had time for that.”

MorganaCat: “We definitely need to update everyone about Lady Lavenza… and cook up our plans for here on out, too.”

Yusuke: “Akechi had mentioned that we needed to determine what we’ll do from here on out - it seems he was right.”

Haru: “We can’t accept this reality, but… that means we’ll have to fight Dr. Maruki, right?”

MorganaCat: “That’s right. We have to confront Maruki and steal his desire… in a way, it’s business as usual for us.”

newmascotresized: And this is exactly the fucking problem! It shouldn’t be! They should have fucking taken this entire concept and run with it!

newmascotresized: Imagine if they had done something like Snow Queen, where the idea is that you have to rescue the party members and kill Maruki - but every day you take makes Maruki’s grip on reality stronger.

newmascotresized: There’d be a Thanatos First mode, which would be simply soloing him with Joker and killing him on January 4th. Otherwise, saving a party member takes a day. There would probably be a thing like the mirror shards you could use to save the adult confidants and Hifumi/Shinya.

Ann: “That desire’s just a wish for us all to be happy, right?”

MorganaCat: “I admit, it’s nothing similar to the desire we’ve seen in the likes of Shido and Kamoshida.”

Haru: “The Phantom Thieves only change the hearts of evildoers. Dr. Maruki is quite different from our past targets…”

Ryuji: “Well, I think we already know what we gotta do.”

newmascotresized: Do we know that Ryuji isn’t still in the world where dreams come true?

Ryuji: “There probably plenty of folks out there, livin’ all happy in this reality. Who knows? Maybe Dr. Maruki’s actually doin’ the right thing. But we all still feel like this reality’s wrong, right?”

newmascotresized: No, that’s not a typo on my part. That’s how the game does it. I think what they meant to type was “There’re prolly”.

Ryuji: “We decide what’s right for ourselves. That was what we all agreed on when we went after Akira in the Palace. If changin’ Doc’s heart fixes our reality, then I’m gonna do it.”

newmascotresized: Okay so why the fuck isn’t Maruki here? The writers had no fucking problem inserting him in every other cutscene in the base game, but couldn’t have him here?

Yusuke: “So, we’re going to change our target’s heart not to reform society, but to acquire the reality we believe in. That doesn’t sound bad at all.”

Ann: “Then it’s unanimous!”

MorganaCat: “Well, that means our next step is pretty clear.”

MorganaCat: “Right. Maruki said that he’d be willing to fight if we are, too. It’s safe to assume he’s expecting us to infiltrate his Palace.”

Ryuji: “That reminds me - you know that, uh… reality-bending stuff? Why’s Doc able to do that anyway?”

Futaba: “I’ve been wondering the same thing. Even if he was the top cognitive psience expert, that wouldn’t be enough for him to do all of this.”

MorganaCat: “If we’re going to fight Maruki, we’d better dig up some more intel on him first.”

Lavenza: “This is Lavenza speaking.”

newmascotresized: Metal Gear!?

Haru: “Huh?”

Lavenza: “Your will of rebellion has reached new heights. We would like to aid that will, if you find it agreeable.”

Ryuji: “Wait, how is she even calling you?”

newmascotresized: Joker: “Well, uh… I may have paid Caroline and Justine several million yen to fuse Lucifer.”

Futaba: “And how’d she know how high our wills are? Did she tap your line or something?”

Ryuji: “Her timing was just too perfect… maybe she actually did!”

Lavenza: “I’ve performed no form of electronic surveillance whatsoever.”

Yusuke: “…Apparently she can hear you.”

Lavenza: “There’s something I wish to tell you regarding your current situation… however, I’m reaching the limit of my communication ability with this method. Let us meet in person tomorrow.”

newmascotresized: Joker’s saying that not to do the Solid Snake thing, but because he’s surprised Lavenza didn’t buy a better phone plan with all that money.

Lavenza: “Yes. Of course, your friends are also invited. As for the location… let us convene at your school.”

MorganaCat: “At Shujin?”

Ann: “Wait, she’ll be at the school? Lavenza will?”

Lavenza: “In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

MorganaCat: “She hung up…”

Ryuji: “Is she really gonna go to our school? Just, walk through the front gates like nuthin’?”

Haru: “I’m not sure what to make of it… but since we’ve determined our goal, and Lavenza’s offered to help us… I’d call that progress of some sort.”

MorganaCat: “All we have left is whatever we discuss tomorrow at school, plus whether or not we’re going to team up with Akechi.”

Makoto: “Considering what Akira told us, it really does seem like we share an end goal with Akechi, but…”

newmascotresized: And here’s how we know the writers for Royal did not fucking read the base game’s script.

Haru: “Mmhm, me too.”

MorganaCat: “Are you sure?”

Futaba: “Dr. Maruki’s strong enough to change reality itself. If we’re gonna fight him, we’re gonna need Akechi’s help.”

Haru: “Plus, if he does betray us again, we’ll just take him out too.”

Ryuji: “I guess that settles that.”

Makoto: “Let’s all meet at Shujin tomorrow. I’ll take care of figuring out how to get Yusuke and Futaba into the school.”

Yusuke: “I appreciate the effort, thank you.”

Ann: “All right, let’s head home for now.”

MorganaCat: “Why would Lady Lavenza want to meet up at the school? It’s not like she just wants to check out the place… right?”

newmascotresized: There’s no reason for it. No, really.

newmascotresized: I don’t think I explained how confidants work in the expansion, but we’re about to see how.

newmascotresized: As of today, any party member you reached Rank 10 with prior to The Last Day becomes eligible for a hidden 11th confidant rank. The exceptions are Sumire and Akechi.

newmascotresized: Akechi’s Rank 11 is unlocked based on how you answered the questions at the end of his Rank 7 and Rank 8 events. Remember how I said those were permafucks? That’s why.

MorganaCat: “…Hey. Sorry… it’s nothing.”

MorganaCat: “I was just… remembering what happened that night. You remember, right? The night before we went into Mementos to erase it… before we’d dealt with Shido…”

MorganaCat: “Remember how I said I’d finally found the place where I belong? Even though I said that - and really believed it - I still fell right into Maruki’s hands. I know I’ve made it obvious how much I want to be a human…”

MorganaCat: “More than once, I thought it would give me a chance with Lady Ann, but… what I did was just so lame. I can’t believe I was off having a blast while you were busy trying to help us.”

MorganaCat: “Quit being so nice to me! If you try excusing something this big, I’d be more disappointed than anything. Now that I think about it, you’ve been helping me from the very beginning.”

MorganaCat: “Hell, I was locked up in a prison when we first met. sigh I’m nowhere near cool…”

MorganaCat: “Quit buttering me up! You don’t have to tell me twice, though - I’m going to be super cool from here on out!”

MorganaCat: “Know what? I’m going to make you a promise right now. From here on, I’m going to be more independent! I just kept relying on your for everything because deep down… I thought you could figure everything out for me.”

newmascotresized: That “relying on your” is not my typo. That’s the game. The expansion content seems to have more typos than the entire base game did.

MorganaCat: “But that’s all changing! I’m going to stand proud on my own four feet… and I’m going to be the one to protect you. I promise I will!”

newmascotresized: These events are as low-effort as possible. There’s no special music, no text screen, no nothing.

New Persona: Diego

Origin: Novel by Johnston McCulley

Persona 5 Royal Original

Don Diego de la Vega is the real identity of Zorro.

newmascotresized: The third Personas for each character gain three new things over their second forms: first, they gain a new resistance (in Morgana’s case, it’s to Bless). They also get an upgraded trait (Morgana’s trait previously boosted healing, but now also has a chance to decrease the cost of healing spells) and a final super ability.

newmascotresized: Morgana’s super ability is Miracle Rush, which hits all enemies for physical damage and has a high crit chance. It’s not bad if you need extra press turns, but it’s not great as final abilities go.

MorganaCat: “Anyone who tries to pull one over on us like that is asking for it!”

MorganaCat: “Hrgh! I mean, it’s true, but… let’s just forget that part! Let’s reject Maruki’s world together and fight for our REAL reality! We’re gonna be even greater partners now!”

newmascotresized: Unfortunately, we can’t go right into confidants because there’s two more days of fucking cutscenes. The game gives you almost exactly enough time (plus a day or two) to get all the Rank 11 events and get Sumire to Rank 10.

newmascotresized: The screenshot pop-up is because we unlocked a trophy for “Evolving a party member’s Persona”… even though we already did that eight times.

newmascotresized: Why isn’t Inui off being a CEO and hunting poor people for sport?

Inui: “You all look sleepy. What, did you doze through the new year? Was Shogatsu one big excuse to laze around? Good grief… Shogatsu’s not supposed to be an excuse to relax, you know.”

Inui: “We decorate with kadomatsu, kagami mochi and shimenawa in order to welcome the Toshigami deities… it’s one of the oldest traditions in Japan.”

newmascotresized: There’s a lot to unpack here. Shogatsu is the Japanese New Year celebration, which runs from January 1st to January 3rd. It’s a big deal because it’s one of the few days everyone has off.

newmascotresized: Kadomatsu are decorations made from bamboo, with pine branches and plum branches thrown in.

newmascotresized: Kagami Mochi is kind of like a snowman made of mochi with an orange on top. They’re used as a decoration around the new year and get eaten a week or so later.

newmascotresized: Shimenawa are those rope decorations that get wrapped around trees and buildings.

Inui: “By the way, cherry blossom viewing and even Children’s Day are meant to commemorate deities and spirits. Japan’s got a lot of gods, so naturally there ended up being a lot of events and rituals to accommodate them all.”

Inui: “There’s a phrase referring to all the Shinto gods as a collective… anyone know it offhand? All right, Takamaki-san! I’ll bet you slept through Shogatsu…”

Ann: “Huh!? Oh, uh, yeah! I mean-”

MorganaCat: “Hey, Lady Ann is obviously panicking! Be a good guy and help her out!”

newmascotresized: I do not know why the game does this. Stats are kind of pointless, since if you have all the possible Rank 11s you have them maxed anyway.

Ann: “Akira, are you awake? Can you give me a hint? It’s some phrase about the gods… but it’s kind of abstract, right? What’s this phrase supposed to illustrate about the gods of Shinto?”

Ann: “Yeah, I think that’s right! They use a specific number, right? What’s that phrase again? The one about how many gods there are in Shinto…”

Ann: “Yeah, I think that’s it! So people call the gods of Shinto… the Eight Million Gods!”

Inui: “That’s correct. We call them yaoyorozu, or ‘the eight million gods’. Though that number’s not meant to be taken literally. ‘Yaoyorozu’ is essentially shorthand for myriad gods. An uncountable number.”

Inui: “In olden days, the Japanese believed that gods dwelled in everything. What with all these traditions, you could say these beliefs still affect our lives today… It’s a wonderful thing, really. We really need to cherish our history.”

newmascotresized: If Golden Kamuy is right, it’s not just a Shinto thing - the Ainu have a very similar belief system.

MorganaCat: “Nice! Lady Ann seems really relieved!”

MorganaCat: “As for myself, be sure to order some jelly-filled bread and- hm?”

MorganaCat: “That’s…”

MorganaCat: “Yeah, let’s go!”

newmascotresized: This is pretty much the same route we took in Joker’s dream, only backwards.

MorganaCat: “It even showed up in your dreams? That’s strange… well, never mind that. There’s no point in thinking about that right now. Let’s get inside the nurse’s office, quickly.”

Lavenza: “Hello. Thank you for coming.”

Lavenza: “…I see. Exchanging common expressions upon meeting like humans do… it has a rather pleasant feeling. But, that is irrelevant - let’s turn to the matter at hand.”

Lavenza: “As I told you yesterday, there’s something I wish to tell you. But first, please gather your friends here.”

MorganaCat: “Here? You wanna meet in the nurse’s office?”

Lavenza: “This place is filled with the cognition of ‘bedrest’. Maintaining my existence in a reality controlled by someone like Maruki is no simple feat… but the exhaustion that it induces is limited by this place’s cognition, so I may converse with you all in person here.”

MorganaCat: “I… see…”

Lavenza: “Until that time, I will provide my eyes with a much-needed rest…”

MorganaCat: “Wait, ‘rest’ - uh, Lady Lavenza?”

Makoto: “Considering how I don’t have an adequate excuse for the school to approve your being here… we’re lucky it went as well as it did.”

Haru: “Well, it’s just as we said before - we’ve accepted your offer to work together.”

Futaba: “Now’s not the time to let personal stuff get in the way of our goal… BUT if you ever betray us again, we’ll make sure you regret it.”

newmascotresized: I have no fucking idea how the writers for Royal got Futaba’s characterization this wrong. They work for the same company as the original (non-Hashino) writers and could probably contact them at any time.

Akechi: “…All right then. That’s no concern of mine, anyway. Remember what I told you all before? We share a mutual interest. Until Maruki is defeated, we have a deal to uphold.”

Lavenza: “Does this mean… you’re ready to begin?”

Ryuji: “Uh, ain’t that our line?”

Lavenza: “Yes, I wished to speak with you about the circumstances that led this Maruki to alter reality as you know it… as well as the true nature of his power.”

MorganaCat: “You know all of that?”

Lavenza: “I admit, there will be a degree of speculation involved - but, only to a small extent. First, I will explain the situation with the current reality. I believe that Maruki has altered the cognition of the masses…”

Lavenza: “In other words, it’s thought that the alterations he’s made are the result of his meddling with Mementos.”

Makoto: “He changed Mementos? How is that even possible?”

MorganaCat: “Wait - don’t forget about our experience with the Meta-Nav and Maruki’s Palace. It seems like this kind of thing has a habit of sticking around despite our expectations.”

Lavenza: “Mementos is the cognition of the masses given form. If that man is truly capable of controlling individuals’ cognitions… and that man were also to gain access to Mementos… it would be no surprise that he could impact everyone’s cognitions and affect reality itself.”

newmascotresized: I remind you again that “cognitions” is not a word. “Cognition” is its own plural.

Ann: “Ah… could he really have done all that? I mean, it’s assumed that Dr. Maruki has the power to control cognition, right?”

Lavenza: “Exactly. That man’s controlling of cognition - let’s see, why don’t we refer to his power as ‘actualization’? Most likely, that actualization is a power unique to a Persona. In other words, this man named Maruki is…”

MorganaCat: “That’s impossible… there’s no way to have a Persona and a Palace at the same time!”

Lavenza: “Determining when Maruki first awakened to his power is wholly impossible. However, by the time he crossed your paths… there’s no doubt that he was making use of his actualization - although, he may have only been doing so subconsciously.”

MorganaCat: “Even if it IS just his subconscious, he’s using a Persona in the real world…”

newmascotresized: Can he also shoot lasers from his eyes and travel through time? I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised at this rate.

newmascotresized: Just like Akechi with his “I can make things go crazy” powers that Hashino pulled out of his ass and then never mentioned again, Maruki is also an ass pull. Writers never learn anything.

Haru: “So, his ability to make Yoshizawa-san think she was Kasumi-chan…”

Lavenza: “It was most likely through the use of actualization.”

Akechi: “Still, though… even if we assume that Maruki has unique Persona abilities, such as the case with Akira and myself… we still need to determine how he used that power on Mementos as a whole, rather than just a single individual.”

MorganaCat: “Right. Even if there were some kind of power that could affect Mementos… it’s on a whole other level from what we’ve seen so far. A single person just shouldn’t be capable of all that.”

Ann: “That’s true. Changing reality just by thinking about it isn’t something humans do, it’s something that like, gods do.”

Lavenza: “And what if he became such a god?”

Ann: “Wha-?”

Makoto: gasp “The God of Control!”

newmascotresized: There’s something about the way she says this that reminds me of Grace in Gabriel Knight 3 with her dumbass jangly key man geometry management bullshit.

Lavenza: “Indeed - the being in Mementos that you all defeated was a false deity that the masses deludedly clung to… it is easy to conclude that Maruki simply took over the false god’s position when it disappeared.”

newmascotresized: Maruki simply reached into his ass and pulled out a new Mementos and then pasted it over the old one.

Ryuji: “Took over his position? Whaddya mean? So you’re sayin’ society thinks of Doc as a god now or somethin’?”

Akechi: “Now, the Phantom Thieves are the ones who gained the masses’ support after defeating this so-called God of Control… so it would follow that the masses would turn to the Phantom Thieves next as their savior.”

newmascotresized: Wait, how does he know about that? He admitted a few days ago he didn’t know about anything that happened after he died, and there’s no way the writers wouldn’t force us to watch Joker telling him.

Akechi: “In that case, why did they instead turn to Maruki, who did none of the work the Phantom Thieves did?”

Lavenza: “It’s most likely because…”

newmascotresized: Remember all those dumbass cutscenes the party members had with Maruki? This is why they exist.

newmascotresized: That’s what… some 40 minutes of cutscenes just to explain how Maruki knew what the party wanted? This is like that fucking scene from YIIK with the dial-up modem, only five times longer.

newmascotresized: There’s no reason for them to exist, either! You have a fucking setting with brain magic, why could you not have just said “Because Maruki is a brain wizard” and called it a fucking day?

newmascotresized: In fact, I’m going to coin a rule that probably already exists, which I’m going to call the “Hashino-Allanson Rule of Explanations”. The rule is this: if your plot allows you to plausibly explain something in fewer words, why the fuck aren’t you?

MorganaCat: “Wha-!?”

Makoto: “After we defeated the God of Control, we wished for reality to be like Dr. Maruki described it… and it happened?”

Ryuji: “Uh, I don’t remember doin’ any wishin’ with you guys and Doc! I mean, when would we have even had the chance to?”

Ann: “…! What about our counseling!?”

newmascotresized: There’s five screens worth of flashbacks I’m going to cut.

Akechi: “Looks like you all walked right into the spider’s parlor.”

Lavenza: “There’s no way of knowing how many of those situations were intentionally orchestrated by that man… however, the result is the same - a desire for his actualization was seeded within your hearts.”

Lavenza: “Thus, I have no doubt that it was your own desires that led to their actualization.”

Ryuji: “So this is all our fault, huh…”

Futaba: “We’re the ones who told him the cognitive world really exists, too…”

Futaba: “Right - let’s fight! If this is our own fault, we’ve gotta be the ones to fix it!”

Yusuke: “Yes. This realization changes none of what we must do.”

Lavenza: “Very well - then allow me to proceed. This world is in a very unstable condition currently. On the day that the God of Control fused Mementos with the real world… the merging was undone through your efforts, and the two worlds are now attempting to return to their fused states.”

Akechi: “So what you’re saying is,”

newmascotresized: That this is what it’s like when worlds collide? Eat shit, Akechi! Nobody steals my gimmick!

Akechi: “This world has reverted to a state where the fusion with Mementos hasn’t been totally undone. That explains why Maruki’s Palace was visible in Odaiba.”

Lavenza: “Even as we speak, Maruki is still influencing this world in places where its boundaries are blurred… as slow a pace as it may be, he still continues to actualize the world of the masses as a whole…”

Lavenza: “Should this continue, reality shall merge with Mementos once more. The two worlds will again become one… when that happens, anyone trapped within the actualized world can never again awaken to the original one.”

Ann: “No…”

Lavenza: “This issue goes beyond the masses as well. Although you are all Persona-users… it would be next to impossible to defy Maruki in a world completely under his control. To be clear - once the two worlds conclude their fusion, there will be no chance of your success in this mission.”

Lavenza: “And… I believe this fusion will conclude in one month’s time.”

Yusuke: “We only have a month!?”

Haru: “If memory serves me correctly, February 3rd was the date Dr. Maruki gave us, right? Could he have possibly chosen the time limit based on when his actualization will be completed?”

Makoto: “…It’s possible.”

Ryuji: “If that’s the case, we don’t got another choice except to steal his Treasure by then.”

MorganaCat: “We’ll need to secure our route to the Treasure by the 2nd so we can send our calling card… then, on the day of… we’re most likely going to have to fight Maruki.”

Yusuke: “Allow me to produce the calling card. This is certain to be our final card… I’ll pour my heart and soul into its creation.”

Akechi: “Be that as it may, there are still some unsolved questions.”

Akechi: “Right.”

Makoto: “What’s the deal with the Palace’s name? It doesn’t seem to affect the app’s functions, but…”

Lavenza: “That must also be a product of Maruki’s cognition. He most likely learned that you could somehow infiltrate the Metaverse. As long as he permits your existence, your method of infiltration will not entirely disappear, either…”

Lavenza: “However, in his heart, he must have feared you would learn his identity as the Palace’s ruler. Perhaps such a feeling took the form of hiding the Ruler’s name from you.”

Futaba: “But in that case, why didn’t Dr. Maruki just… actualize us out of existence entirely?”

Akechi: “Maruki told us that he wants us to accept his world. It may be hard to believe, but since we mutually benefit from his actualization, maybe he really does want us to submit.”

Ryuji: “…Sorry, even if it does fix shit for us, I just can’t accept the world gettin’ treated like that. Let’s start the infiltration tomorrow, yeah? And you? Sound good?”

Akechi: “You’re willing to ask me as well?”

Ryuji: “Duh, dude! The Phantom Thieves don’t act unless it’s a unanimous vote.”

newmascotresized: Akechi was never John Persona, though.

Akechi: sigh “Fine then. You know I have no intention of accepting Maruki’s world, anyway.”

Ryuji: “Then that settles that.”

Ann: “Wait - what about Yoshizawa-san?”

Makoto: “We may not have summoned her as one of the Phantom Thieves, but this definitely involves her as well.”

Haru: “Maybe we should fill her in on our situation once she comes to terms with her own. What she does with that information, though - that’s up to her.”

Futaba: “Right.”

Lavenza:“If that concludes matters, I shall continue to watch over you, Trickster. Please show me the path that you choose for humanity…”

Sojiro: “Hey, once you’re done washing that, you can go ahead and call it a -”

MorganaCat: “Yoshizawa?”

Sojiro: “…Have a seat. She’s here to see you, right? Don’t worry about finishing up - I’ll take care of it later.”

Sumire: “Would you mind if I… got something off my chest?”

Sumire: “Thank you. So, to tell the truth… I saw you all go into the nurse’s office today… and, um… I sort of eavesdropped on your conversation.”

newmascotresized: About how really, Sumire could not have been in this game at all and the plot would be basically the same?

Sumire: “You’ve all found the paths you want to take and are following them with such confidence… whereas I’m simply… like Dr. Maruki said before, I ran from the truth.”

Sumire: “I couldn’t handle the fact that Kasumi died because of my actions. My memories are still a bit hazy, but even when I remembered that I’m really Sumire, I didn’t want to accept it.”

Sumire: “I was still running from reality, where Kasumi is gone… where I had to live for Kasumi instead of as her.”

newmascotresized: The writers are already resorting to recaps and filler to make Royal seem like a worthwhile purchase, when it isn’t at all. This was maybe a $15 or $20 expansion DLC, not a $60 full-price re-release.

Sumire: “No… like I said earlier, I realized something when I saw you all striving to push onward… I can’t keep running like this. But now that Kasumi’s gone, I have no idea what to do with myself… Akira-senpai… what should I do?”

newmascotresized: God dammit. Yes, Sumire, we know what your fucking character motivation is.

Sumire: “…! You can be awfully firm sometimes, Akira-senpai. But you’re absolutely correct. I must thank you for allowing me to unload all of this onto you.”

Sumire: “I’m still not completely sure what I should do, but… I plan to think more on it. I’ve got to figure out what to do with my life now.”

MorganaCat: “One month to go, huh? We’d better come up with a plan. That time is gonna go by fast…”

newmascotresized: Next time, we’ll do Maruki’s dungeon in a single day - not because we want to, but because we’re forced to. It’s boring. We’ll also lose our 100% status.

“To be beautiful, a living creature, and every whole made up of parts, must not only present a certain order in its arrangement of parts, but also be of a certain definite magnitude. Beauty is a matter of size and order, and therefore impossible either (1) in a very minute creature … or (2) in a creature of vast size—one, say, 1,000 miles long—as in that case, instead of the object being seen all at once, the unity and wholeness of it is lost to the beholder.”
Poetics, Aristotle

Click Here for Update 108

MorganaCat: “Should we tell Yoshizawa? Well, we should probably leave her alone. Tell everyone to meet at the hideout. We should all talk this over before we infiltrate the Palace.”

newmascotresized: Today sucks, because we can’t get an alarm reading when we really want one. I think (but I can’t prove) that Maruki’s dungeon has a higher chance of spawning alarms to offset this.

Ryuji: “February 3rd is the date we agreed on with Dr. Maruki… we’ve gotta go find that Treasure already. Once that date passes, it’s over. We all get that, right?”

Akechi: “We’ll have to discover a route by February 2nd, to be precise.”

Ryuji: “That’s another way to look at it! And nice, you actually remembered?”

Akechi: “Of course I did. It wouldn’t be a terrible idea to secure our route sooner rather than later… we must be deliberate, however. We have no idea what’s going to happen.”

MorganaCat: “Yeah. Dr. Maruki’s pretty much got the power of a god. I doubt anything’s going to go smoothly. We’d better not let our guard down.”

Sumire: “You’re going to fight Dr. Maruki, yes? …Please, take me with you!”

MorganaCat: “Uh, but… you can’t go in dressed like that.”

newmascotresized: Persona 1? What’s that? Everyone knows Persona started with 3.

Sumire: “Please? I’m done running away.”

Violet: “I can’t keep relying on people, like Akira-senpai… I want to live life as Sumire!”

MorganaCat: “Heh, color me impressed.”

Skull: “Looks like she’ll do just fine here.”

Violet: “Thank you!”

MorganaCat: “In that case, we gotta come up with a code name for you!”

newmascotresized: …Why? Maruki already knows who everyone is.

Violet: “A what now?”

Skull: “It wouldn’t be right if you were the only one usin’ your real name, y’know?”

Violet: “Oh, you’re right!”

MorganaCat: “Joker, got any suggestions?”

newmascotresized: Yes, that makes total sense as a codename, in this dungeon where the person running it already knows who you are.

Violet: " ‘Violet’… yes, let’s go with that!"

Oracle: "Excellent! Now remember everyone, ‘Violet!’ Not ‘Violent’, ‘Violet!’ "

newmascotresized: I have no idea what she says in Japanese, but it’s definitely not that.

Violet: “Yes, thank you for clarifying!”

BlackMask: “Are we done? We should probably get moving.”

Skull: “I know, I know. Geez! C’mon, Violet - let’s roll!”

Violet: “Um, so what are we supposed to do now?”

MorganaCat: “First, we secure a route to the Treasure. We’ve gotta know where it is before we can steal it, after all. We’ve already checked most of the places on the map though…”

MorganaCat: “Looks like we’ll need to go even deeper into the Palace.”

Oracle: “Hold on, lemme take a look real quick.”

Oracle: “Except, I’m getting some weird Shadow readings, sooo… be careful. That’s over in front of the auditorium. Let’s get going.”

newmascotresized: Before we get going, let’s take a look at Sumire’s Persona so I can explain why I’m not using her.

newmascotresized: Cendrillon kinda sucks. She’s a Bless/Physical hybrid who has Bless Amp but doesn’t have a magic stat to back it up. Given that it’s too late to give her Charge or Concentrate, we have no reason to use her.

Noir: “Violet, are you holding up okay?”

Violet: “Yes! Sorry, it’s just… I feel just a little off…”

Violet: “I let my guard down for a second, but I swear I’m fine! So sorry for making you all worry.”

BlackMask: “That’s fine and all, but don’t hold us back either. If you push yourself harder than you’re capable of handling, you’ll endanger everyone on your side, too.”

Oracle: “Enemies approaching! They’re fast… I dunno what the heck they are, but we’d better move it.”

MorganaCat: “Should we get back to it? If things start looking bad, we’ll retreat right away. Until then, we’ll back you up with everything we’ve got!”

newmascotresized: Why is Maruki not here? All of the other awakening scenes have the villain in them.

newmascotresized: Man, the lighting in this scene does not do the models any favors. Haru’s hair looks like it’s made of plastic.

newmascotresized: Did ANYONE proofread this fucking script? Anyone at all?

newmascotresized: The lighting here makes Kasumi look like Maki. Seriously though, who decided this lighting was a good idea?

newmascotresized: The wiki claims that Cendrillon is actually Kasumi in the same way that Nanjo’s final Persona in Persona 1 was his dead butler, Yamaoka. I have no idea where the fuck they got this from.

newmascotresized: It wouldn’t make thematic sense for Cendrillon to be her sister because the whole fucking point of her character is that she’s trying NOT to be her sister.

Violet: “I’m done running away from myself!”

Skull: “Yeah, you tell 'em!”

Oracle: “Go, Violet! Give 'em hell!”

newmascotresized: These are Loa, which are weak to bless and psychic. The entire theme of this dungeon is “enemies that are weak to bless”… but given that you’ve likely been using Joker for Bless and Curse coverage the entire game, there’s not much of a reason to switch now.

MorganaCat: “You were as impressive as always out there. Well done, Violet!”

newmascotresized: As what, the one time you’ve actually seen her fight?

Violet: “Thank you. I still have a lot to learn, though. I promise I’ll do my best not to slow you down!”

Panther: “C’mon, you don’t have to be so formal with us.”

Violet: “Sorry. And the same goes for you too, Joker-senpai… I hope you’ll still be there for me.”

newmascotresized: And with this, we are no longer at 100%. It is once again possible for us to permafuck - though it’d be difficult since I think Kasumi’s confidant ranks require a lower point threshold.

Skull: “All right, let’s kick some ass!”

Violet: “Yes, let’s press onward!”

Oracle: “So the Shadows were behaving unusually because of that ambush… well, we may have been run through the wringer, but we have a mission here! Let’s check out that door.”

Violet: “Ah yes, you’re right… I’d completely forgotten.”

newmascotresized: Let’s go through that door now.

Oracle: “I took a look around, but it looks like it was built so it couldn’t be accessed anywhere else. You’ll need an ID for the door.”

Skull: “That lock means there’s gotta be somethin’ important in there, though! Let’s go get an ID!”

Violet: “But first, we need some sort of clue…”

Oracle: "Oh! Look!’

newmascotresized: Futaba, with the power to hear things nearby!

Skull: “Wassup, Oracle?”

Oracle: “I intercepted some communication between the Shadows… our ID hunt’s finally come to an end. That Shadow over there has one.”

Skull: “Looks like your snooping - I mean, your tech skills came in handy again. I didn’t even spot that Shadow.”

Oracle: “I don’t think he knows I heard him. Why don’t you ambush him for the ID? You can’t reach him from in here, though. You’ll have to go around the back and through the auditorium.”

Violet: “Understood. We need to take that hall up ahead. Let’s go!”

newmascotresized: You’ll notice a lot of side areas in this room. They are all COMPLETELY FUCKING POINTLESS.

newmascotresized: Roughly half of the enemies in this part of the dungeon are outright insta-killable.

newmascotresized: This area is a featureless hallway, but near the end you’ll hear the “grappling hook here, idiot!” sound effect.

newmascotresized: The rafters in this room are kind of a maze, but we get a glimpse of this dungeon’s red shadow right away. I would not recommend fighting them unless you use Morgana and feel like save-reloading.

newmascotresized: This is Fafnir. Fafnir is extremely annoying to fight: he repels Phys and Gun, absorbs Fire and Nuke, and resists Electric. He has no weaknesses.

newmascotresized: The ‘intended’ way to fight him using Akechi and Sumire… though really, Akechi and Sumire are going to be pretty useless because they’re both physical hybrids.

newmascotresized: Fafnir is also level 86, putting him well outside negotiation range. The party at this point is around level 81. Most guides recommend that if you’re going to attempt to negotiate, you save and then use Down Shots repeatedly until you can negotiate.

newmascotresized: We don’t see it this fight, but Fafnir also has Nuke Break - meaning he can bypass Makoto’s innate Nuke defense and Lucifer.

newmascotresized: Fafnir drops the Sooty Scale Armor, which has a chance of turning into Morgana’s best armor. I think you have to wash it yourself to have a shot at it.

newmascotresized: Shortly afterward, we get a fusion alarm… and then I notice something. Fafnir’s starting Magic stat is one point higher than Michael’s. He also has significantly better resistances.

newmascotresized: We get a cutscene that can be summarized by those two lines: we can now fuse any of the Personas native to Maruki’s palace. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Returning Persona: Fafnir

Origin: Norway

First Appearance: Megami Tensei II

Son of the dwarf king Hreidmar, and brother to Regin and Otr. Turned into a dragon after plotting with Regin to kill their father and steal a large amount of gold that had been given to him by Loki. Was later slain by Siegfried.

newmascotresized: Fafnir gives Joker access to Debilitate, which is one of the few ways left to boost Joker’s damage. As soon as I left the Velvet Room, I got another alarm, so…

New Persona: Hastur

Origin: Modern Fiction

First Appearance: Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

Hastur is a Cthonic god best known for his appearances in HP Lovecraft’s stories - but he did not originate there. He instead originated from a short story called “Haita the Shepherd” by Ambrose Bierce, who you may remember as the writer of The Devil’s Dictionary. Best known for killing anyone who says his name three times.

newmascotresized: Oh yeah. In Eternal Punishment, Hastur is a SUPER HIDDEN Persona that the game never tells you exists. Let me describe the process for getting him.

newmascotresized: You have to go to Double Slash in Aoba and talk to a random NPC who will ask you for your birth date, which you have to answer with either “HASTURCOMEFORTH” or “イアイアハスタア” (IA IA HASUTA) at which point the material card spawns on Maya’s desk at Kismet.

newmascotresized: Anyway, Hastur has a magic stat exactly one point higher than Baal’s and several points above Vishnu’s, while at the same time having better resistances than either.

newmascotresized: Unfortunately, I don’t have the space to hold enough Personas to fuse what we’d need to make the best guns for Akechi and Sumire. Making their melee weapons is kind of pointless - the ones they start with are maybe 20 or 30 attack lower than these.

newmascotresized: Lavenza also has her own animation for fusion accidents.

newmascotresized: Anyway, this entire area is a bunch of linear platforms with enemies we can kill with one button on them.

Oracle: “Wait, hold up! He’s communicating with another Shadow. I might be able to intercept some useful info.”

Oracle: “Wha-!? Sorry, Joker… that Shadow’s about to head out! Ambush him! Quick! Go, go, go!”

newmascotresized: We’ve got a fight against Dionysus and a Chimera. This is one of the possible random encounters in the next area.

newmascotresized: Dionysus has no weaknesses, but doesn’t have the raw tankiness needed to make him an annoyance.

newmascotresized: Once he’s down, the Chimera goes down in a single Panta Rhei from Hastur. We’ll see him in action later.

Violet: “We got the ID! Now, we just have to…”

Oracle: “It sure feels like we’re one step closer to the Treasure. Might as well try the ID out on that door now.”

Violet: “It opened! You did it, Oracle-senpai!”

Oracle: “Oracle-senpai… mweheheh, I like the sound of that! From here on out, we’re off the map. Keep your guard up, everyone!”

newmascotresized: If I was writing this, Futaba would whip out a katana and go “It looks like the kouhai… has become the senpai”.

Skull: “Ugh, we go through the hassle of gettin’ this ID and THIS is where we wind up?”

Queen: “Don’t be too disheartened just yet.”

BlackMask: “Considering the size of the room, there are most likely multiple exits. If we can make our way through here, I believe we’ll be much closer to the Palace’s central area.”

Skull: “Sooo, basically, we just gotta keep chargin’ on! Well, then let’s hurry and get the hell outta here!”

MorganaCat: “Being psyched is fine and all, but we don’t have the best visibility here. Stay on guard, all right?”

newmascotresized: This area is small, but very vertical.

newmascotresized: Here, we run into the Treasure Demon for Maruki’s palace: Orichalcum. While it’s used a lot in fantasy RPGs, it has a basis in reality - it’s a metal that comes up in ancient Greek writing.

newmascotresized: The demon’s appearance is based on actual “orichalcum” bars found in a shipwreck off the coast of Sicily in 2015. Those bars were primarily made of copper and zinc.

newmascotresized: We want an Orichalcum because of what it itemizes into: an accessory of the same name that boosts all stats by 6 (7 if you make it during an alarm) and gives the Evade Phys ability.

newmascotresized: At this point, we don’t really need Tae’s SP recovery accessory on Joker. His SP costs are rock bottom and Life Aid will recover all the SP he spends in regular battles.

newmascotresized: An extra 7 points brings Joker’s total Magic from gear to 22, which is enough to boost even his weakest Personas over 80.

Queen: “Is that the exit? Let’s wrap this up, Joker.”

newmascotresized: There’s a few Fafnir encounters lurking around in this area, which take advantage of the cramped hallways and relative lack of hiding places.

BlackMask: “That means this place must be important. Let’s take them out whenever we’re ready.”

Fox: “We will surely be walking into a fight - have you finished your preparations?”

Fox: “Very well. Let’s go!”

newmascotresized: For a mini-boss, this fight manages to be pretty annoying. While Cu Chulainn is weak to electric, Scathach has no weaknesses.

newmascotresized: In addition, Scathach has both Tetrakarn and Makarakarn in her moveset. Makarakarn isn’t that big of a deal because everyone nulls their own element, but Tetrakarn shuts down Yusuke.

newmascotresized: We get a Showtime fairly early into the fight, probably because Joker kept knocking down Cu Chulainn and Baton Passing. Now, here’s where the fight starts getting irritating.

newmascotresized: Scathach also has Elec Wall, which she’ll use on Cu Chulainn to null lightning if you weakness hit him a few times.

newmascotresized: To make things worse, Cu Chulainn casts Revolution and starts critting on every attack.

newmascotresized: Your best bet here is to have Joker hit Cu Chulainn with lightning, and then Baton Pass to Ann or Makoto and use the extra turn to Concentrate.

newmascotresized: Once Scathach is alone, she’ll start bringing out the ice spells. This is where you should probably switch Ann out.

newmascotresized: Scathach now has both Tetrakarn and Makarakarn on her.

newmascotresized: I also forget that for some stupid reason, Metatron doesn’t null Bless, so Joker eats some reflect damage.

newmascotresized: Ann gets a Burn off on Scathach, which Makoto follows up on for a free All-Out.

Skull: “So, where are we now?”

Noir: “This room seems very different from the rest of the Palace… it was more heavily guarded as well.”

Queen: “Could this be… some sort of surveillance room? The monitors are displaying various rooms within the Palace.”

newmascotresized: That last line doesn’t sound like dialogue - it sounds like a narration… and a pointless one at that.

Panther: “Wait… we were being watched this whole time?”

Oracle: “I dunno about that…”

Oracle: “All sorts of information’s being collected here from across the Palace and getting converted into raw data.”

Fox: “Data collection? But, what for?”

Skull: “Y’know, this room ain’t got any sorta way forward. Think we gotta find another path somewhere else?”

Fox: “Is that… Mementos?”

Oracle: “I’ve tracked the location all the data is being sent to! Looks like it’s going into Mementos. We might be able to make some headway if we investigate this location.”

newmascotresized: Seriously, what the fuck is this dialog?

Queen: “That reminds me, Lavenza did tell us… Dr. Maruki is utilizing Mementos to distort all of reality. Even still… are those really data cables?”

newmascotresized: I know this probably isn’t the case, but it feels like they wrote a lot of this dialog to be Joker’s thoughts rather than actual dialog, and then re-did this scene to have the party in it.

Oracle: “Agreed. Sticking around here isn’t going to help us any.”

Skull: “Alright, let’s get outta here for now. Let’s see if a Mementos trip does us any good!”

newmascotresized: This feels like more filler. What we’ve seen of Maruki’s palace so far is far smaller than even half of Shido’s or Okumura’s dungeons, and now we’re going into Mementos… which is procedurally generated.

MorganaCat: “We’ve got more firepower now, but our target this time is so much more powerful than any we’ve faced so far. We should probably get ourselves as ready as possible, like Yusuke said.”

newmascotresized: Wait, what’s Mishima doing here? Shouldn’t he be in a world where women find him attractive?

Mishima: “About the Phan-Site requests. If I find any this year, I’ll be sure to pass the info on to you!”

Mishima: “There aren’t as many posts now, but it looks like there are still plenty of people in trouble. We’re all counting on you, Phantom Thieves! Dispense justice!”

MorganaCat: “There are still people in trouble out there, huh? …That could mean there are still some targets left in Mementos. Whether there are or not, we’d better be prepared for anything - who knows what might happen.”

newmascotresized: You might ask why the fuck anyone would bother doing sidequests this late into the game, at a point when Mishima’s confidant is locked out. I haven’t recorded that far yet, but my suspicion is that these are for mid-bosses in the new area of Mementos that serves as the second half of Maruki’s palace.

Ann: “Hey, if it’s okay with you, then… can I see you after school? I’ll be in the usual spot. All right. Thanks.”

Mishima: “Uh… I can go on ahead…”

Ann: “Oh, sorry! We’re all good now! I’m gonna get going. See you later!”

newmascotresized: The game will suggest a Rank 11 event each day, but we are not bound by their suggestion. All of the base game party members (not counting Akechi) are available from today on.

MorganaCat: “Make sure we’re all stocked up on important supplies. We don’t want to run out of something when we need it most.”

newmascotresized: Yeah, let’s go see…

newmascotresized: Yusuke! Do you really think Joker wouldn’t go see his boyfriend first?

Yusuke: “We’ve already decided we’re going to oppose Dr. Maruki, so I know it’s far too late to say anything, but…”

Yusuke: “I just can’t keep averting my eyes from the truth…! I betrayed you, and all we stand for! How can I pretend I’m still worthy of our lofty ideals? Or your support!? I’m… I’m an utterly hopeless fool!”

Yusuke: “Please, I don’t deserve consoling…! You gave me my strength. You taught me to face the truth without fear… that strength - that anger is how I rose up against Madarame. I saw him for the fraud he was, and I freed myself from his lies…”

Yusuke: “And just look at what I’ve become. Dr. Maruki gave me a false security. He showed me a life spun from my deepest desires, and fool that I am, I welcomed it!”

Yusuke: “What indescribable humiliation…! How could I be such a detestable, narrow-minded sheep of a man!?”

Yusuke: “And you! You of all people deserve to shame me, but still you say nothing!? I betrayed you…! I have spat on the very principles of art! And more than that - I have spat on all you did to help me find my answers!”

Yusuke: “I’m nothing… not even worth the empty words I spoke… I can’t even bring myself to look you in the eye… forgive me, Akira…”

Yusuke: “Are our hearts truly so deluded? Are we foolish enough to cling to these misguided fantasies!? …You offer me mercy I do not deserve! There is no beauty in this!”

Yusuke: “I was a slave to my hubris all along. How did I ever believe the meaning of true beauty was within my grasp…? I was just a fool, lost in dreams!”

Yusuke: “I… see. Perhaps there is truth in that. …I can only apologize. You’ve saved me from repeating my mistakes once more. Compared to the grand legacy of my mother’s art… I am still but a chick toddling in her shadow as she soars.”

Yusuke: “I dreamed of flying at her side. Yet for all my leaps of faith, I only plummeted from my nest, again and again… what I needed… was a teacher. To grasp the beauty in my mother’s work… I needed a guiding hand, to offer criticism and validation as I earned it.”

newmascotresized: I was going to have Salty Vanilla do a Yusu-Gay for this, but then I realized this scene is pretty gay as-is.

Yusuke: “And our talks together have already led me to so many beautiful revelations.”

Yusuke: “My apologies - I got ahead of myself. But my point stands. I believe there is still a great deal I can learn from you. And if that’s true… then I’ve found my teacher. And with him, the path to truly grasping my mother’s art.”

newmascotresized: You are not ready to see what Yusuke’s final Persona is. Trust me, no matter how ready you think you are, you aren’t.

New Persona: Gorokichi

Origin: An Actual Person

Persona 5 Royal Original

Birth name of Ishikawa Goemon. Only mentioned in two historical sources, both made after his death - one a history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi detailing Goemon’s attempt on Hideyoshi’s life (which led to Goemon’s execution) and a second from Pedro de Morejon (who was apparently a Spanish missionary who traveled around Asia in the late 16th century).

newmascotresized: Gorokichi gains a resistance to Wind and an upgrade to his trait, which gives a greater chance of dodging physical attacks. His final skill, Hyakka Ryouran (a Japanese phrase meaning “Hundreds of Flowers Blooming Profusely”) is effectively Thermopylae without the restrictions. It costs a whopping 90 SP, but given that Yusuke only uses his SP to charge, is a great way to save Joker’s action economy.

Yusuke: “Akira… this reality of ideals and perfections - it’s not wholly wrong. Truly, there are parts of it I find almost painfully beautiful. However… you have helped me see clearly again. I believe I wish to return to our own reality.”

Yusuke: “It suits me far better to paint with both ugliness and beauty upon my palette.”

Yusuke: “Ha! Indeed. Let us return to our true home. To the reality where I discovered true beauty. …Ah, but first… you know what they say about fighting on an empty stomach.”

Yusuke: “That reminds me - I haven’t even offered you any tea yet. And you brought some kind of treat with you too, didn’t you? Is it sweet bean jelly? Or maybe a baked dessert, like dorayaki? Or perhaps you’ve brought…”

newmascotresized: How does Futaba know the kid is female?

newmascotresized: There’s a trade we can do tonight that I’m not going to bother showing because the reward is ass - you trade a bun from the Chinese bun stall in Kichijoji for an accessory that gives Resist Phys.

newmascotresized: Instead, we’re going to see the big reward for doing all of Caroline and Justine’s outings throughout the year. I’m not sure if the game will hint at this or not if you don’t know it’s there.

Lavenza: “…If I may be abrupt, could I ask a favor of you?”

Lavenza: “The truth is… I still have memories from when I was split in two… spending time with you and visiting all sorts of places together. So, I have been wondering… would you show me your current home?”

Lavenza: “I would like to see the room that has shaped you into the person you have become. I do understand my timing is not the most appropriate, given the current state of the world, but…”

Lavenza: “Are you certain? Thank you so much. Let us be off immediately.”

newmascotresized: Joker points to the sign reading “BOYFRIEND STORAGE” that’s always just off-camera.

Lavenza: “Oh! I would never have guessed. So you prefer cramped, dingy spaces? How fascinating… please, tell me more about yourself.”

Lavenza: “Your infiltration tools are made here? Could I possibly try my hand at it?”

Lavenza: “Thank you. Let us see what I can do.”

Lavenza: “Now, what should I make? Ah! I know - to show my gratitude for rescuing me, I shall craft for you a secret weapon. I think you’ll be rather pleased with it.”

newmascotresized: I feel like this is the devs going “We could have put in an actual reward here, but we won’t.” This scene IS the reward.

newmascotresized: The animations for this look really weird if you have the laptop on the desk - it looks like she’s doing something to it.

Lavenza: “Ouch! Cursed screwdriver - how dare you defy your wielder!? Obey me! Drive those screws! …Ugh! Oh, screw it! Megido-”

Lavenza: “While it pains me to say it, your secret weapon will have to wait. More importantly, I should be using this time to learn more about you.”

newmascotresized: They should’ve at least put in a joke melee weapon for Joker or something.

Lavenza: “It’s… surprisingly similar to the one in your cell. Can you truly rest here?”

newmascotresized: The cat comes with terrible allergies and a need to wash your sheets every three days to remove all the hair.

Lavenza: “So you can pet it as much as you like whenever you rest? I must say, I am a bit jealous… still, this space seems somewhat cramped for a fully grown human and a feline. May I sit?”

newmascotresized: It’s better that way, fewer places for him to get his hair.

Lavenza: “You fiend! You’ll pay for splitting me in two! Let’s see how your ‘holy’ grail holds up to this sledgehammer! Take that - huh? It didn’t work!?”

Lavenza: “W-Wait! You can’t… ahhh! No… I-I’m being split again!”

Lavenza: “Was I… talking?”

Lavenza: “Please, forget whatever you heard… I was just so comfortable… perhaps I allowed myself to relax a little too much.”

Lavenza: “Ah, you use it for training? May I ask for a demonstration?”

Lavenza: “Put your back into it! You think you can save the world like that? One, two, one two! One, two, one two! Don’t expect me to go easy on you! I’m doing this for your sake.”

Lavenza: “Or is it actually coming from the box attached to it? What is this?”

Lavenza: “I see! I’ve heard quite a bit about these remarkable devices. They say that once a player begins, they’re unable to tear themselves away. If it truly can entrance humans to such a degree… could you play a bit for me?”

Lavenza: “Look how they scatter! This is quite impressive… you weave around each bullet with dizzying precision. Wha-! There’s so many of them now… oh, you’re surrounded!”

Lavenza: “Look out! On your right! I mean, left! No, they’re in front now! Use the boost! Look, it’s the boss! Fire the beam cannons! Annihilate it!”

Lavenza: “You did it! The world is saved! …Ahem. A most dexterous display. I can certainly see why humans get so passionate about these games… perhaps I’ll ask my master if we can install one in our room.”

newmascotresized: I feel like this date isn’t as good as the Caroline and Justine ones were.

Lavenza: “Before I became whole, I visited many places with you and gained a wealth of new experiences. Thanks to that, I feel like I’ve come to understand humans better… and perhaps more importantly, I feel like I understand you better…”

Lavenza: “So, thank you. Though you have cast off your shackles, I will still await you in that room. This is a token of my gratitude for today. Please, take it.”

newmascotresized: Enduring Soul is a completely useless ability unless you’re doing a low-level run or something. It gives Joker the same ability to survive a hit with 1 HP that the party members have. It’s not worth the skill slot.

Click Here for Update 109

newmascotresized: Man, I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve done confidants. I haven’t had to open the guide in what, like ten updates? Maybe more?

newmascotresized: It fucking gets me that this is almost a dig at Maruki, but then isn’t - and I know it isn’t because if it was, the writers would’ve spelled it out more.

newmascotresized: If Japan is the most prosperous country, doesn’t that mean that other countries (who also want to be the most prosperous) aren’t as happy?

newmascotresized: I’d like to remind you that in the actual 2017, people were pulling their money out of Japan en masse due to the government instituting negative interest rates the year before.

MorganaCat: “…Everyone’s faces look so calm for some reason. But this happiness can’t…”

Ryuji: “There was somethin’ I wanted to talk to you about. If you’re free, I mean. Sweet, thanks! It was definitely worth waiting around… crap, is everyone else already at school!? We gotta book it, Akira!”

Kawakami: “You’ve all heard of ‘The Restaurant of Many Orders’ by Kenji Miyazawa, right?”

newmascotresized: Kenji Miyazawa was a Japanese writer and poet who primarily wrote children’s literature. Only two of his works were published during his lifetime, with Restaurant of Many Orders being one of them.

newmascotresized: Miyazawa only became well-known after his death: one of his better-known stories is Night on the Galactic Railroad, which was never finished. It was adapted into an anime film in 1985.

newmascotresized: Unfortunately, he does have a bit of a problematic association that really isn’t his fault - one of his poems (from Spring and Asura, the only other thing he published while alive) was used by the Japanese government in the 1940s as war propaganda.

newmascotresized: There’s an English version of Restaurant of Many Orders titled “Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa” if you’re interested in reading it yourself.

Kawakami: “It was aimed at children, but even when you read it now, it really pulls you in. Speaking of, one of Kenji Miyazawa’s strengths is his sense of naming fictional lands in his stories.”

Kawakami: “Ihatov is the most famous among them. This place is loosely named after the author’s hometown. Okay, now… Kurusu-kun. Where do you think the fictional land of ‘Ihatov’ is modeled after?”

newmascotresized: Miyazawa spent most of his life in Iwate, and supposedly (according to Wikipedia at least, but it’s unsourced and therefore probably bullshit) got the name from the Esperanto pronunciation of Iwate.

newmascotresized: Wikipedia also claims he died the day after spending an hour talking to a group of farmers about fertilizer, but we all know what actually killed him: Esperanto. That and tuberculosis.

Kawakami: “Yup, that’s correct. ‘Ihatov’ is Kenji Miyazawa’s fantasy world… his utopia. A utopia is an ideal world, separate from our own world. Your own little paradise, huh? It’d be amazing if that actually existed.”

Kawakami: “All the booze and meat you want! …Oh, but then I’d be fat. And perpetually hung over. You know what, maybe things aren’t so bad as they are.”

MorganaCat: “Kawakami is pretty realistic…”

newmascotresized: Why is this a fucking IM conversation!? Show don’t tell, you fucking idiots! Fuck! You had one fucking job!

MorganaCat: “Throwing away your past to live in blissful ignorance… yeah, I could never live like that either.”

newmascotresized: You’ll notice pretty quickly that all of the Rank 11s are the fucking same, just with slightly different wording to make it seem like a different character. This shit is peak lazy.

Ryuji: “…Yeah, I had a feeling you’d get me. Well, there’s somethin’ I wanna talk about. Since we’re bros an’ all, I figured I’d just invite you over…”

Ryuji: “Geez, that fast!? You don’t even know what it’s about yet! Just listen, okay? I want this apology to mean something, dammit.”

Ryuji: “It’s like, you know how things have been for me? From the new year to a little while ago? How Dr. Maruki gave me a dream life, and I just kinda… went with it?”

Ryuji: “We basically spent last year together. And you supported me through a bunch of personal shit, too.”

newmascotresized: This reminds me a lot of that one Persona 5 OVA where the second episode is a recap. Did they really think no one was going to notice them recycling the same scene eight goddamn times, especially when you have nothing else to do but these scenes?

Ryuji: “I even told you I’d help whenever you needed it, and now, well… even I know I really let you down.”

Ryuji: “Nah, that was a little late. You’d already figured everything out. Knew from the start, right? I mean, sure, I could fight with the rest of the team like nothin’s wrong…”

Ryuji: “But I dunno. Feels like that’d be betraying all this stuff we built up together. Either way, I can’t just let this go. Gotta settle things somehow.”

Ryuji: “Not… gonna stop… till you say I can. Can’t… forgive myself… unless I do this! Can’t believe… how lame I was… shitty thing… to do…”

newmascotresized: He does around two and a half squats during this text, meaning he’s winded after four. No wonder I never use him.

Ryuji: “Huh? The hell’s… that… supposed to mean…? …Urgh- I can’t think and flex at the same time!”

Ryuji: “Should’ve figured this’d be pointless. I tried to think of somethin’ good, but even I know I’m dumb. So, I… I really wanted to keep going with the track team. Hoped I could keep it going, maybe get a scholarship, and be a star athlete for college. Make life easier for my mom.”

Ryuji: “And yeah, the doc’s big dream would’ve made that happen. But still… I dunno. When I think about it, I realize maybe it isn’t that hard a decision. I went through all that bad shit, got wrapped up in hating Kamoshida, turned into some delinquent…”

Ryuji: “…Almost got the both of us expelled, started hangin’ out with Ann and Mishima more… and even had my big conversation with Nakaoka and Takeishi, even if they beat the crap out of me. Heh…”

newmascotresized: A part of me wants to skip the rest of these scenes, because they’re all like this. They’re pointless fucking recaps that they shoved in to say they had more content.

Ryuji: “But that’s all part of my life. I still own that, y’know? It was a real shitshow sometimes, but I came out of everything stronger. I’m here 'cause I beat my problems. I can’t just pretend they never happened. Wouldn’t be right.”

Ryuji: “Yeah. And that’s why… I’ll stick with the reality I fought for. The one where we went through all of our shit together. That’s where I belong.”

newmascotresized: Oh god dammit.

Blatant Ripoff Persona: William

Origin: An Actual Person

Persona 5 Royal “Original”

First name of William Kidd, who is also Ryuji’s starter Persona.

newmascotresized: How original.

newmascotresized: Apart from being blatant design recycling, William… kinda sucks. A full-party Charge isn’t terrible, but at the same time unless you have a very specific party setup (most likely Ryuji, Yusuke and Akechi or Sumire) you’re probably not going to get a lot of mileage out of it.

newmascotresized: His trait is the only thing he’s really got going for him - it’s one of the only ways to boost physical damage short of using an item.

Ryuji: “Look, you have no idea. When I gotta take a bath knowing I’m not gonna get to sleep in the futon after, that kills me. Uh… sorry. Guess I just dragged you over here to listen to me whine.”

Ryuji: “Look, I know sometimes I’m a real pain in the ass, but… from now on, I’m gonna run with everything I’ve got. So all you gotta do is count on me, Akira!”

MorganaCat: " ‘Kill me,’ huh… talk about a morbid request. Let’s help him before he does something even more drastic!"

newmascotresized: I really should’ve done a typo counter for Royal. We’re up to at least seven or eight.

newmascotresized: Anyway, something weird happens tonight. I look on the map and notice that a couple of areas are open that shouldn’t be, because we’re already past the cut-off date.

newmascotresized: Using the power of Lucifer, we can somehow get that one event with Hifumi we missed earlier - that being the one in Jinbocho that I posted back on the day I missed it using borrowed footage. The text is nearly identical, so I won’t post it again.

newmascotresized: They must’ve changed the flags in Royal to allow for this, and I’m fine with that.

Futaba: “Just… something’s been on my mind. For a while now, actually. …Can we talk sometime? Whenever’s good for you. Thanks… see ya later.”

newmascotresized: There’s a new prize in the arcade we can win, so I grab it.

newmascotresized: I also put up the King Piece decoration. Joker’s shelf is almost full.

Futaba: “You got some time right now? There’s something I wanna talk to you about. It’s really important…”

Futaba: “Thanks… then come to my ro- actually, hold on… can you come a bit later, Akira? I’ll leave my door open, so just come in.”

Futaba: “Um… there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about… so…”

Futaba: “I made a promise to help you whenever you were in trouble. For your sake, and for mine. But now, I…”

Futaba: “Yeah, I’m gonna help us fight back… I’m part of the Phantom Thieves, right? I feel the same way as everyone else. I mean… yeah, I don’t want to accept this reality…”

Futaba: “That’s all still true, but… I know this isn’t real. I figured that out a while ago. But I thought… if I got to see my mom again, then it was okay…”

Futaba: “…I’m so selfish! I was just thinking about what I wanted! You’re mad, I know, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

Futaba: “…Don’t lie to me. You’re mad at me. You have to be. Why wouldn’t you be!? I betrayed you! Don’t you get that!?”

newmascotresized: Joker taps the maxed-out social stats page.

Futaba: “…Sorry… I guess I’m still a little freaked out. This isn’t even what I wanted to talk about… there’s something else I wanted you to hear, anyway. Can I… um, is it cool if I say it?”

Futaba: “So like… Dr. Maruki’s reality isn’t totally one hundred percent illusion, right?”

newmascotresized: Fuck! Where was this conversation two weeks ago, when it might have had some fucking impact!?

Futaba: “Me too. But I guess I won’t get to stay with her. I know… I mean, I know now that this is all in my head. But I wanted to talk with her more. Go on shopping trips and stuf. I dunno, just… I wish I had more time with her.”

newmascotresized: This might seem like it makes no sense, given that Akechi told us that Wakaba and Okumura were both alive (and not Shadows, bullshit ass-pull clones, illusions, or anything else).

newmascotresized: It also doesn’t make a lot of sense that Akechi is still around when Okumura and Wakaba have mysteriously disappeared after the party broke free of Maruki’s control. Allow me to explain that, because the writers won’t.

newmascotresized: In the first draft of Royal’s script, the writers completely capitulated to the focus groups and put in a scene retconning Akechi’s death outside of Maruki’s reality.

newmascotresized: The original explanation for why Akechi is still around is that he was never actually dead - he was merely in rehab somewhere recovering from multiple gunshot wounds and also being exploded.

newmascotresized: While I have to give the writers credit for not being totally spineless, fuck them for ever thinking that’d be acceptable. By the way, the comments section for that video is what a world without reading comprehension would look like.

newmascotresized: By the way, I had a job interview yesterday. Halfway through, I realized I didn’t want it - they don’t offer health insurance and the pay sucks. Then they ask me “What do you do for fun, outside of work?”

newmascotresized: I look this lady in the eye and go “I do commentated playthroughs of video games. But not fun ones. They’re all games I absolutely hate.”

newmascotresized: She looks at me with an eyebrow raised and goes: “…and that’s what you do for fun?”

newmascotresized: Me: “Yes.”

Futaba: “B-But still, like… we can’t just live totally dependent on Dr. Maruki’s reality! Right? Even if I won’t get to see my mom anymore… if I can manage to keep working hard and moving forward, like I was doing in our reality… then I… I think she’d be proud of me.”

Futaba: “Y-Yeah! Um… thanks. …So that’s what I’m gonna do. If Mom could see that I was working hard, being a part of the group… I think she’d be really happy for me.”

Futaba: “I’ve been thinking really hard lately. Wondering how I’d want Mom to see me. And I think I figured it out. I want to be someone who keeps looking ahead - someone who never stops moving.”

Futaba: “This time, I’ll do what I can to protect you. And everyone else too. So let’s go take back our own reality. The reality where we can beat anything the world throws at us, as long as we have each other. The reality my mom gave me.”

New Persona: Al-Azif

Origin: HP Lovecraft

Persona 5 Royal Original

Arabic name of the Necronomicon in HP Lovecraft’s stories.

newmascotresized: Unlike everyone else, Futaba only gets a trait upgrade and a new ability. Her trait is her finisher screen - any time we get that (which is pretty often) we now get a full heal in addition to it insta-killing enemies.

newmascotresized: Ultimate Support actually does more than what you’d think. It does three things at once: casts a full-party Samarecarm (thus reviving anyone who is down), then Mediarahan (restoring everyone to full HP) followed by a full-party Heat Riser.

Futaba: “Master Futaba has reached full recovery! Get ready for perfect navigation, no matter what we’re up against!”

Futaba: “What can I say? I’m my mom’s daughter! I’ll be pestering you a lot more from now on, so… sorry in advance, and thanks!”

newmascotresized: Tonight, we’re going to make a very important decision.

newmascotresized: First, I lock up Mada and feed him a couple of Magic incenses. Mada has a low Magic stat compared to Joker’s other Personas, and I wanted to buff that a bit.

newmascotresized: He’ll sit there for a few days, and then we’ll replace him with Yoshitsune for maximum damage.

newmascotresized: Anyway, a very important decision. The jazz club offers Ali Dance tonight, but we can only teach it to one person. This is good on pretty much anyone who isn’t Haru: Haru needs so many skills to be good that we can’t really give up a slot for Ali Dance.

newmascotresized: I boiled it down to Ann and Yusuke, who both have extremely common weaknesses, and then went with Ann. Yusuke has a slightly higher natural evasion, and Ann has the lowest HP of anyone, so she’s a good pick.

Ann: “Your room’s pretty neat too, but this isn’t bad either!”

newmascotresized: Very mature, she says as she drinks out of something that looks like it’s about 300% sugar.

Ann: “When I practice my walk for my modeling job, I sometimes feel like I’ll forget how to walk normally after… adults might look stylish walking that way, but if a high schooler does it, I think it just looks like they’re trying to show off.”

newmascotresized: Joker panics. The whole point of agreeing to the date with Morgana was that no one was going to remember anyway. Does this mean Yusuke knows?

newmascotresized: In hindsight, I don’t know why I kept Dekaja. We’ve only seen what, one boss that ever used buffs? Maruki can buff himself, but at that point it’d probably be better to use that turn doing damage.

newmascotresized: Today, we’re going to do Ann’s Rank 11. Normally, this would be when we’d be doing Yusuke’s, but we have to put our boyfriend first.

newmascotresized: Ann’s bedroom is a war crime. Seriously, TWO shoe towers?

Ann: “Oh, I didn’t call you here for anything big or official… sorry. Actually, I wanted to give you a proper apology for everything. You know. Cause I got caught up in the life Dr. Maruki made for me.”

Ann: “I guess, but… even if you’re okay with it, it’s really been bothering me. …Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out what the right choice is. I mean, I’m not saying Dr. Maruki’s reality is better or anything…”

Ann: “But I can’t stop thinking about Shiho. Or how great her life could’ve been if things were like this.”

Ann: “No. Not at all. I know this isn’t actually reality. I would’ve been happy, sure, but… it wouldn’t have been real. Shiho was still moving forward. Even after everything she’d been through, she didn’t lose hope.”

Ann: “My strength came from her. That’s why, when Kamoshida said he’d kill himself, I told him he couldn’t run from it all. She didn’t run away, so he can’t either. And if I took the easy way out now… I’d be letting Shiho down.”

newmascotresized: Wait, what the fuck are you talking about? Shiho attempted suicide!

Ann: “You’re so kind, Akira. …Kinda familiar, huh? Back when I finally broke down under the Kamoshida stuff, you listened to me like this too. You didn’t know me at all, but you still listened to everything.”

Ann: “I couldn’t figure you out. Like, I kept thinking, “What is this guy’s deal?” Not only that, but you helped me with Shiho and my modeling… you’re too nice for your own good.”

Ann: “Eheh, I get it. Can’t stand a sad face on a pretty girl, huh? Anyway, I really am grateful. But that just makes me feel even worse about accepting this reality. I’m never going to lose my way again.”

newmascotresized: No, that’s Matoi Ryuko. Kill la Kill was so fucking good, unlike this nonsense.

Ann: “From now on, I’m going to face reality. For me, for Shiho… and for you.”

newmascotresized: My favorite thing about this cutscene is that if you look, Ann sits on her bed the entire time, staring at Joker and not blinking. The models in SMT V are somehow better than this, even if it has massive framerate issues.

New Persona: Celestine

Origin: A Real Person

Persona 5 Royal Original

Unlike the other third Personas (who are usually the first/proper name for the first Persona), Ann’s third Persona is named after Celestine Galle-Marie, a French actress most famous for playing Carmen. Looks kind of like a clown from far away.

newmascotresized: There’s one interesting thing about Celestine’s design that you never really see in-game. The back of her jacket has a design reading “Libre elle est nee, el libre lle mourra”. It’s a line from a song in the final scene of Carmen, shortly before Carmen dies. It translates to “Free she was born, free she will die.”

newmascotresized: Celestine gains resistance to Electric and has her trait’s SP cost reduction boosted from 25% to 50%. I only took High Energy because it’s marginally more useful than Dekaja at this point. The SP cost on it is WAY too high for what it does.

Ann: “Okay, I’m ready to move on! Thank you for everything! I promise, I’m gonna do even better from here on out!”

newmascotresized: There’s another unique non-rankup scene with Hifumi we can do, so why not?

Hifumi: “Change how you look at things, and the game will change as well. The world is like a shogi board. The pieces that live in the world can completely change, depending on the emotions of the player…”

newmascotresized: Oh, I thought she was going to go “The world is like a shogi board - flat.”

Hifumi: “I’ve been so twisted by the adults around me that I began to lose sight of myself. But after I met you and we started playing shogi together… my heart began to change.”

Hifumi: “Similar to this Ferris wheel… you showed me a different view, and changed my world…”

Hifumi: “That’s fine. All it takes is a single moment to overcome a repetition of moves… and an expert hand can break through any situation. That is what you are.”

Hifumi: “From behind, all scenery looks bright and vibrant. I truly love you from the depths of my heart.”

newmascotresized: …Why couldn’t she have been a party member? Why couldn’t they have made it so Makoto was working with Akechi the entire time? Oh wait, because that would’ve been good writing.

newmascotresized: I’m not shitting you when I say the rest of this game after today is going to be nothing but Sumire. We have to do six ranks of bullshit to get her to 11.

Makoto: “I’m glad I found you. I wanted to speak with you.”

Makoto: “I just want to talk, that’s all. If you have the time… is that okay? Thank you. Then let’s keep moving for now.”

newmascotresized: Why the fuck did they do this when they could’ve just shown it? This is fucking Allanson writing.

MorganaCat: “That Ushimaru, huh? It’s hard to believe. Guess we’ll just have to check it out when we’re in his class.”

newmascotresized: Unfortunately, we have to do Makoto’s Rank 11 today.

Makoto: “There’s something I just had to tell you.”

Makoto: “Honestly, I wanted to apologize. I couldn’t back you up when you needed me the most…”

newmascotresized: When have we ever needed Makoto?

Makoto: “I’m talking about Dr. Maruki. Ever since the new year, I’ve been stuck in his fake reality. You remember that time before I joined the Phantom Thieves, when I called you to the student council room?”

Makoto: “I challenged you on your ideals, threatened to expose you all… as if I knew anything about what was going on. …But since then, I’ve learned so much from the Phantom Thieves. From you.”

Makoto: “You’ve saved me, more times than I can possibly count. …After all that… I’d promised myself that if you were ever in trouble, I would leap in to save you.”

Makoto: “But… I forgot that vow. I just threw it away so I could cling to Father and Sis. It’s awful. To know that all along, I was so weak and self-centered…”

newmascotresized: It totally is her fault.

Makoto: “Even if it isn’t… does that really make it okay? Considering all the ways I made your struggle harder, even unknowingly, I can’t just let that go.”

Makoto: “You know… I think I’m more lonely than I was willing to admit. Father never spent much time at home. When he was there, he always had his mind on some case.”

Makoto: “And Sis put all her time into work. For both our sakes. I respected them both so much. And I still do, of course… but I can’t just let them take care of me forever.”

Makoto: “You know what I mean? I think it’s the right lesson to take. In any case, I’ve made my decision. I’m done just sitting quietly and doing as I’m told. If I’m weak, or self-centered, or lonely… or too dependent on my family… then that’s my problem to fix.”

Makoto: “But my pain’s still a part of me. All the struggles, your support - it’s what helped me stand up for myself. I can’t lose that. I’m not exactly abandoning the person I was. But I figure trying to bottle it up will only make my life harder.”

Makoto: "I want to be able to look at the most awful, disgraceful parts of myself, and still be able to say ‘So what?’ "

newmascotresized: That’s my response to all of these Rank 11 scenes. “So what?”

Makoto: "Huh? I’m not sure… at the very least, I know I probably shouldn’t be proud of them. That’s why I wanted to apologize. I guess I’m not completely ready to stand on my own just yet. But… I’ll keep trying, and I won’t run away.

newmascotresized: Makoto prepares to ascend to THE SMART DIMENSION where she can finally go to an anime filled with proper nouns.

New Persona: Agnes

Origin: Medieval Christian Fanfiction

Persona 5 Royal Original

Agnes is another name for Pope Joan/Johanna. She didn’t exist any more as Agnes than she did under any other name.

newmascotresized: Agnes gains a resistance to Curse and a significant buff to status effects. You need Ann and Yusuke to make full use of it, but it’s free Technicals any time it procs.

newmascotresized: Checkmate is a terrible skill. It’s meant specifically for Maruki’s fight and maybe Okumura’s if you do New Game Plus. I think Makoto can cast it three times on a full SP bar. It’s not worth it.

Makoto: “It’s strange. All it took to make my heart stronger was to put myself first?”

Makoto: “Sorry, but it looks like I’ll still have to rely on you a while longer. So I hope you’ll be prepared.”

newmascotresized: We don’t have anything interesting to do tonight, so I put up the Buchimaru-kun doll and called it an update.

newmascotresized: Next time, we’ll do Haru’s Rank 11. We’ll also do a couple ranks of Sumire, but there’s a free day and I might use it to try and fight the Reaper. We’ll see.

Aristotle did not, in fact, see a world where weirdos would latch on to both of those things.

Damn, imagine if one of the party members had been in that situation. You’d have to like, think about whether Yusuke would eve be truly happy without art, or if Haru would be happy if her dad wasn’t evil but she didn’t have her coffeehouse dreams instead of just having Joker walk up to people and go “Are you suuuuuuuure?”

I wouldn’t have guessed Yusuke’s ultimate Persona would by Ruby Rhod but alright. I guess he’s gotta be hot, HOT, HOT!!!