In Progress Let's reach out to the truth in Persona 4!

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Perkele

Page 4 reached, you are clear for posting Hirato.

I'd need to prepare one first, it'll probably be ready later tonight.

Just to clarify the romance poll a bit, we'll be pursuing everyone whose vote count exceeds the nobody vote.
I'm quite surprised there was 13 votes not directed at the Nobody option, thought the codex didn't like romances in their games.

Just a quick update today, I'm tired, keeping my eyes open is a chore and my vision is a bit blurry. That aside, let's get today;s update rolling.


Even though it's Saturday, we still have classes.
Apparently many schools in Japan teach lessons 6 days a week; Varies from school to school apparently.



You saw what was on last night, right?
I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on TV, we can't ignore it.
Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something,

ITT we learn that both Yosuke and our hero have a perception score well below 5... Where does Chie fall?


If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this.
Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims...
If someone's using that world s a weapon, that's unforgivable.
We need to find the culprit... no matter what it takes!



Yeah... I agree.
You know, I tried sticking my head in the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually worked.
I think I can do that now because I have the same power...
Persona, wasn't it?
Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case.
Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first...

Yosuke, did it by any chance occur to you that the culprit has the exact same abilities as US?
In other words, someone in the exact same situation as our hero.


I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case.
...Well, let's do our best!

> Even with so much mystery swirling around, Yosuke is trying his hardest to move on...
> You sense a faint stirring of friendship between you and Yosuke...






We have just established the Magician Social Link with Yosuke.
Social Links deserve a bit of an explanation, but they're quite simple all in all.
Persona 4 has 21 i think, these are divvied up into 3 categories.

The first category are the other characters that will aid you in the dungeons. Yosuke is an example of one of these. Leveling these up tend to confer additional benefits, in the case of a party member like Yosuke, it will make him more useful in combat.
The first rank of the Magician Social Link allows Yosuke to take a one mortal attack for me.

The second category is of course the opposite, characters who don't directly help you in the dungeons. Leveling these links don't provide any special benefits, but spending time with their associated characters can have their own perks. The first of these we will probably establish will be the Strength Arcana.

The third category I can only describe as "plot milestones". This is pretty much restricted to the Fool Arcana, which we will establish quite soon under the guise of "our investigation". It will track our progress to catching the culprit.

All of these grant on average half a level with fusing a Persona of their respective Arcana. For example if I was to max out the Magician Social Link (rank 10) and fuse a Persona like Jack Frost (Magician Arcana I think...), he'd gain 5 levels after the fusion.
They probably affect a few other things (ie, which Personas are up for grabs), but I don't have conclusive evidence to this point.

To level up your social links, you spend time with the respective character or help them (eg, Magician), advance the plot (eg, Fool) and some require even the occasional odd task.


> As you form a bond with Yosuke, you feel the power in your heart strengthening...
> ...You recall Igor's words.


"The persona ability is the power to control one's own heart... And the heart is strengthened through bonds.
"As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop."
"The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities."

> Social Links... Is this bond with Yosuke what Igor was talking about...?
> You have established the Yosuke Hanamura Social Link of the Magician Arcana!




Um... About yesterday... We're sorry we worried you...


Oh--never mind that. Is Yukiko still not here?


Huh? Y-Yukiko-san? Uh... no...? At least, I haven't seen her today.


Oh man... What should I do...? Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real?
You know... All that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world.


Oh, we were just talking about that. We're thinking of checking it out later--

Abrupt musical change!!!
This track is so overused, it actually starts to get predictable and funny towards the end. Never fails to install a sense of worry though.
In any case, we are about to learn on which side of 4 Chie's PE score falls...


The person on TV yesterday... I think it was Yukiko.
That kimono looks like the one she wears at the inn, a-and she wore it during the interview a few days ago too.
I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded...
I called her earlier in the evening though, and she said she'd be at school today...
I-I...


Calm down. We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?


No...
> You summed up the information you gained in that other world for Chie.


What's that supposed to mean...? Wait, are you saying... Yukiko was thrown in there!?


We don't know yet for sure. We should check to see if she's safe first.
Give her another call.

> Chie pulls out her cellphone...
> ......


No good... Her voicemail picked up...
She's not answering...


Are you serious...? Then is Yukiko-san inside that place...?


Jus--S-Stop it! Something must've come up, like an errand or something...


Oh, or she might be helping at the inn... She wouldn't be able to answer her cell if that's it...


Yeah, but would she skip school for that?


W-Well, I'll give the inn a call... Umm... I've got the number here somewhere...


C'mon, Yukiko... Pick up...

If you clicked the link above, you may resume listening to whatever you were listening to before


Oh, is this Yukiko!?
...Thank god, she's here!


Uh-huh... Uh-huh, i see...
Hm? Oh. Nah, it was nothing. I'll email you again later...
*sigh* She was over at the inn.
She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out.
Yeah... Now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year.
She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too.


Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing!
She was totally fine!

Having once again failed our perception checks, we will disregard the fact that you brought up the fact that Yukiko was the one on the Midnight Channel and that you haven't heard from her since Yesterday... I'm starting to think Chie's a bit of a tsundere...


And you were all, "Is Yukiko-san inside that place...?" Hmph...


S-Sorry...
But there is a reason we thought that.


Oh yeah...? What?


Well... we thought people show up on the Midnight Channel because they're already over in that world.
I mean it make sense, right? People show up on TV because they're inside the TV...
But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. We might want to see what this is about.
Alright, let's meet up at Junes after school.

Give Brosuke some credit, he's pretty good at assembling what we've learned so far and drawing quite reasonable conclusions therefrom.



O-Okay, I think that's more than enough about my sorry escapades.


If I hadn't seen the place first hand... I'd never have believed story like that,


Yeah, no kidding.
Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside--




Wh--How? By talking to that Teddie guy?


Yeah. Too bad there's so many customers around... I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today...


I got it! C'mere a sec.
Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance anyway.
Hey Chie, stand over here. Make a wall with me.


A wall?


> Something bit you!


Wh-What's wrong!?


Shhh! Not so loud, you idiot!


He'll be right, mate.


Wow, that looks like it hurts... Sheesh, that stupid bear must've done it.
Hey, you! We know you're in there!



No, it's not a game! Can you sense anyone inside there right now?


Who's "anyone"? I'm a lonely little bear like always.
This land feels so bear-ren...

Disclaimer: Teddie really said that line. All my atrocious bear puns are in update #3.
I'm kind of sad they didn't translate his lisp of ending most of his sentences with "kuma".


Shut it!
So there's no one inside...? You're sure?


I-I'm not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!


I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway.
Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still...


Yeah... You'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?


Sure, I'll go pick her up at her house.


Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel.
Cross your fingers that this is all just a misunderstanding...
What's your cell number? I'll call you when I watch it tonight.





And we've still got nothing that points directly to a suspect...


We don't even know if this is a homicide.


Well, what else could it be? There's no way a body could end up like that by accident!


...I know.
We haven't found the cause of death for the first vic, and now we've got a second one just like it...
If this is a murder case, there's no doubt we're dealing with a single perp.
But if that's true... what the hell is going on?


You know, I thought at first that this all spun out of that love triangle.


No, That singer--Misuzu Hiiragi--has a solid alibi. She was performing overseas, and her phone records prove it.
And remember, the only reason the scandal went public was because Misuzu herself broke it to the media.
No one would put themselves under suspicion that way if they had murder on their mind.

I'd imagine phone records wouldn't be terribly difficult to fake... I'm a little concerned they didn't look further into Misuzu, but I digress, she's innocent.


Got a point there...


Same with Taro Namatame, her husband. No matter how much we shake him down, nothing links him to the murders.
He's been working in the city for the past six months.
Seems he was here recently because of the scandal, but he was swamped with work back home at the time of the incident.
There are eyewitnesses and other evidence placing him at his office the night that Mayumi Yamano died.
And we can't find anything that shows Yamano making content with Namatame before or after her disappearance...


You hear Namatame's career has also been killed stone dead? He's been fired from his position as secretary.
He's practically as much of a victim as the Yamano girl.


Yeah, I agree...
Then we have the second case, regarding Saki Konishi...
She's the one who discovered Yamano's corpse... But I don't buy the killer shutting her up as a possible motive.
She was killed well after she reported the body, and the culprit didn't hide her. It's like they were meant to be found.
The only other connection is that she attended the same school as the daughter of the inn where Yamano was holed up.
But that hardly points to a motive. Coincidences like that are common in a town as small as ours.


Yeah... I heard about that angle on the news, too.


What!? Is the story about the inn out already?


Okay, I got it! How's this?
Maybe there was something about the corpse that only Saki Konishi knew!
And our perp killed her to keep whatever it was from leaking out!


......
Either way, all we can do now is to keep investigating anyone involved with the victims...
Our perp... It has to be someone in Inaba.


Ooh, is that your detective's intuition at work?
> Ryotaru glares at Adachi...


Tadaima!
Nanako is watching a quiz show tonight, which leaves us with nothing to do tonight except save our game and head to bed...


I don't have a suitable portrait... so enjoy!
We're not going to have another one of these animated segments for a long time, if i recall correctly, the next one is scheduled for sometime in July















> That was definitely Yukiko on the Midnight Channel just now...



That was Yukiko-san for sure! it looked like her, and i mean, she even said her name!


But didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird!?
And she looked like she was on some low-budget TV show... Was it like this before, too?


At present, nether of us have Yukiko's number, naturally that duty should fall to Chie...


Y-You're right! Let's get her to contact Yukiko-san!
Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!



That's all for today, I'll do another one tomorrow after I've rested up, I don't imagine the next game day would be particularly big...

Obligatory Closing DISCUSS! questions

Is there only one culprit as Ryotaru suggested?
Who kidnapped Yukiko, was it someone she trusted?
Why does the Midnight Channel display what it displays when there's no one within?

What's wrong Codex? Why do you want a harem ending? Is it because you're Crispy As Fuck(R) and hoping to pick up some dating tips? DISCUSS!

This gaem... The hell? It's both intriguing and terrifying.

I haven't seen the fabled "great writing" yet, but the levels or "ridiculousness" are satisfying - as expected from Persona series.

Also, it keeps reminding me to finish SMT: Devil Summoner.

Welcome to another episode of Persona 4: The LP
I'm only going to be covering the first half of 4/17, today, so yeah, sorry, I'm going to be a bit of a cock-tease.
Though after the next update, we should be be done with the introduction phase of the game (I hope)

So let's get started


Looks like we're in for some nice weather





He woke up early, so I woke up with him.
He said he's gonna be late.

> If you leave, Nanako will be left all alone to look after the house...
> On the other hand, you have important business with Yosuke today...

All things considered, I suspect she's been alone at home since her mother died...


Are you going somewhere?
I'll be fine by myself.



Oh, the sun's gonna come out. I should do some laundry.
Uh... Weren't you going somewhere?

And so we depart for Junes...



I found some stuff we can use in the closet at home.



We've got our personas, but a golf club's not that reliable of a weapon.


I kind of wonder if answering "aikuchi" will cause me and Yosuke swap weapons.... probably not...


Ahh, you've got discerning taste. This is a Junes exclusive.
The Blade's fake, though...
As for me... Wait, maybe both would be good, too.



Yosuke shows off for a bit...


Ooh boy... This is going to end well...
<Patrolman> Two suspicious young males found, one armed with multiple weapons. Requesting immediate backup.



No... No no no no, this isn't what it looks like. We didn't steal it...
Uh, I guess that's not what matters... A-Anyways, we're not doing anything bad!
We're just two ordinary kids who like weapons and... Ugh, that doesn't sound right either. Ahaha...

<Patrolman> Put the weapons down now! We'll listen to your story at the station.
<Patrolman> Hands where I can see them, too! I said now!


<Patrolman> Are you resisting an officer of the law!? Y-You're under arrest!



It almost looks like Ryotaru is facepalming.


...You didn't seem the type to pull a stupid stunt like this.
You know what's been going on around town. We got men stationed everywhere.
For god's sake... You're lucky I was around, or this would have ended up on your permanent record.


We're sorry...
> Your weapons have been confiscated...


<Uniformed officer> Seems like it... But she's just a high schooler, you know. Could be that she decided to run away from home...


Hey...
Did he say Amagi...? Then... she really is...


Hm? Who's what now?


Oh, uh, nothing...


I'm sure you've seen on the news that there's an investigation in progress... We're sensitive about certain things.
You're free to go. But this better not happen again.



Whoa... Pardon me.


Huh? Aren't you the kid staying at Dojima-san's place?


Oh...! Uh, can we ask you something?
It's about Yukiko-san... I mean, Yukiko Amagi of the Amagi Inn...
Did something happen to her?


Huh? Oh, umm... Am I allowed to say...?
Well, if you're friends with Ms. Amagi... Keep this between us, okay?
We got a call from Ms. Amagi's parents yesterday evening saying they couldn't find her anywhere.
Since it was the weekend, the workers at the inn were extremely busy, and no one saw Ms. Amagi around that time.


Oh, but that doesn't necessarily mean this is a case just yet!


But, people've been turning up dead on foggy days... So we're really sensitive to stuff like this.
By the way, did she say anything to you guys about maybe going through some hard times?


Uh...? Hard times?


Well, that announcer, Ms. Yamano, was staying at the Amagi Inn before the first murder.
Seems Ms. Yamano had some harsh words for the manager about the staff's attitude towards guests.
The stress of it caused the manager to collapse.
And with Ms. Amagi being the manager's daughter... She must've felt pretty strongly about the incident, y'know.

SPOILERS: Considering what happens on our visit to the inn, Yamano was fighting the good fight with her voice...


By the way, did Ms. Amagi ever hint that she might be leaving the house?
'Cause if not, there's been some theories floating around that she's laying low for some reason or another...


...Crap, I think I've gone too far. You didn't hear that, okay?


Adachi, what the hell are you chatting with civvies for!? And where's my coffee!?


S-Sorry! I got it right here!


Psst! Forget I said anything! Please!




There you are!



Sheesh, what're you guys doing!?
I've been looking everywhere!


Uh, well, there was a slight misunderstanding... We'll tell you about it later.


Anyways, something's up with Yukiko-san!


Huh? You know already!?


I kept calling her, but she didn't pick up...
So I went to her house, and it turns out Yukiko really did disappear...!


I guess we've got no choice but to go now...
But that aside, the cops are saying some weird stuff. They think Yukiko-san's hiding to "lay low"...


Apparently, Yukiko-san's mom collapsed because that announcer lady bitched her out.
They think that gives her a motive, and the fact that the announcer died right after makes her even more suspicious...


What!? They think Yukiko did it!? What the hell is wrong with them!?


Dude, don't snap at me!


Yukiko's the victim here, dammit, not the suspect...




R-Right! That's the important thing!


With the police totally on the wrong track, we've gotta handle it ourselves.


I'm going too!
And that's final! I'm going to save Yukiko no matter what!

Silly Chie, you don't have a Persona!


Are you gonna be all right...?
But man... They just confiscated our weapons. We can't go in empty-handed...


Weapons...? I know just the place!
C'mon, follow me!






Here we are!


Wh-What kinda shop is this...?


A metalworks... I guess? They sell all sorts of metal crap... like katanas and stuff.


Doesn't that seem weird to you!? Why would you know about a place like this anyway?


O, I get it... You watched one too many kung-fu movies, and...


It's not that at all! I overheard some guys in our class talk about it. They said this place sells weapons and armour.


Here, this one looks good.
> Chie examines the mail behind her...


Oh, but it might be too heavy


I dunno, Chie... I still think it's too dangerous. I know how you feel, but--


You don't!
You don't know shit about how I feel... Yukiko might die from this, for crying out loud!



Psh, I'll be fine! My reflexes are second to none!

This will end well...


Listen... I'm not kidding around.
You don't know what it's like in there! If you're not gonna listen to our warnings, we're leaving you here!
If you insist on coming, just make sure you have something to protect yourself.


Alright...


Hey, Hirato. Mind picking out something for me, too?
You're our main asset in battle right now, so I think you should choose whatever makes it easiest for you.


It's not like I'm short on money or anything... B-Baka!


I got my stuff all picked out! How about you guys?


You know... if we wear this stuff around town, we'll just get picked up again.
But it's not like we can waltz into Junes with a sack full of gear and expect no one to notice, either...


Why not conceal them under our uniforms? I don't think people would notice.


Okay... Let's try that.
Alright, let's split up and get ready.
The store'll be crowded until the afternoon sale ends, and if we walk around together, the cops might get suspicious.


Then I'll see you guys at the Junes food court!


This is our armour and weapon shop. He only starts with a very small selection of goods, but take heed, he never acquires new stock for you, you will need to work for it.
In the dungeons we'll be collecting useless items from fallen mobs, like "large incisors", We sell these to Diadara and he will produce new items if we've sold him enough.
The mobs will only drop the items in questions if more items can be produced from them.


The menu should be self explanatory. I didn't explain accessories earlier, they're items that confer bonuses such as "+1 strength" or grant you bonus skills like "evade ice".




I upgrade our weapons but we keep our current armour; I don't consider the chain mail to be an upgrade.



A bright light flashes!


> There's a bizarre door before you...
> It seems others can't see the door...


So it finally begins...
Now, if you'll give me a moment of your time...




We have been expecting you.
The catastrophe that is headed your way... It had already taken human lives in its approach towards you...
It seems that the time for you to use your Person has come... *chuckle*


Your Persona ability is that of the wild card.
If you strengthen your bonds properly, their power will help you overcome any ordeal.
Our role is to facilitate that.


My contribution... is to give birth to new Personas.
By mixing together multiple Persona cards, I can transmute them into a new form...
This, in other words, is the fusion of Personas.
You have the power to hold multiple Personas and to use them accordingly.
When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility you attain will appear before you as cards.
At times, they may be hard to grasp... but you must master your fear and reach out to them.
When you obtain new cards, please do not hesitate to bring them here.
If you have been developing your Social Links, then your Persona will gain even more power...
They will be one of your chief sources of strength... You would do well to take this to heart.

SHUFFLE TIME! I'll get to that in the next update though, but I'll tell you it can be a real pain in the ass.... Luckily emulators can run at half-speed...
N-Not that I-I'd use such a thing! B-Baka!



The tome you see in my hand is the Persona Compendium.
Registering the Personas you hold will allow you to recall them at any time.
Please see me when you wish to use it.

Quite a useful little thing. A stash of ready-to use personas you can summon at any time. Plus we can only carry about 10 or so, there are literally hundreds of Personas, I barely encountered 25% in my playthrough!


*chuckle* Do you recall my words yo you before?
"The coming year is a turning point in your destiny... If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost."
I meant precisely what I said. Defeat in battle is not the only way your journey may come to an end...
Please do not forget this.
When next we meet, you will come here of your own will.
*chuckle* I look forward to it.
Until then... farewell.


You mean we FINALLY get to control our hero outside of battle and his home?! yay!
In that case, I'll give you a quick tour of the Shopping District


The only other accessible save point that springs to mind is in the school, but that's closed on Sundays and holidays. You can also save at home, but that requires spending your afternoon time slot. There is also a plethora of save points in the TV world, but likewise, this requires you to spend your afternoon time slot to enter the TV.


This is the bus stop. We will be taking this to get to one of our part time jobs. I recall being able to use it for something else, but I forgot what.


This is the book store. Every few weeks they have a book for sale (you'll always get the last copy), these books will raise your social stats when read at home. There are other books too, but they have special requisites, we'll be encountering several of them during this LP.
Just to drum up some excitement, getting those involves some actual C&C!


This is the local Tofu shop, an old woman is tending to it. We will not be able to enter for some time yet.


Just a quick mention for the quick travel menu.
It allows you to quickly travel to nearby locations, leaving the area will generally take you to an overhead map.
Each location generally has its own set of quick goto locations.




Shiroku's store is where we'd buy general restoratives.
I purchase a few for me and Yosuke, not that we'd need them today...


On the northern side, we can find the Chinese Diner named Aiya. Named as such for the owner's habit of saying Aiya! They generally serve social attribute boosting meals, as well as a mega-beef bowl on rainy days.


This bulletin board is where we'd get part time jobs - none are currently available.


This place sells meat foodstuffs, including Chie's favourite, steak.
I'm not sure if repeated business at this stand will result in anything, but the foodstuffs aren't very useful at restoring us in the dungeons though.


The local shrine, you know, for writing a wish on a placard, festivals, that sort of thing. We won't have any business there for a while, but to suffice to say the shrine is not exactly thriving at present.


The local textile shop, we won't have any business in there for a while either.


The store that belongs to the deceased Saki-senpai's family. The only view we will ever get of the place is in the replica inside the TV world.

There are a few other places, but they were driven out of business by Junes.
Speaking of which, Chie and Yosuke are waiting over there.


This kind of bothers me... what's wrong with your casual clothes that prevents you from just wearing your gear underneath? Why must it be your school uniform?


The sale should end soon, so that'll get rid of some of the people wandering around here.
Alright... Let's get going.


Chie, it's not too late to--


I'm going!


Fine, but don't push yourself, got it!?





That's all for this update.
In the next update we will finally get to do some dungeon crawling and accrue some Personas.
The introduction's almost over, so you can rest easy.

I blame the fact that the harem choice is the kingcomrade option, Codexia has always loved tradition.
Still, thanks to the likes of bioware, I was very much expecting a kneejerk "no romance" reaction...

As for typing everything up, diligence and good tools are the secret, little bee.

^ About time

Welcome to part 7. When last we left our heroes, they just entered the TV World.
And since we're still a ways from the next page, I thought I'd post this anyway...
So without further ado...



What're you doing?


Can't you tell? I'm thinking about stuff.
> It seems he's been thinking about himself all this time...


I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now.


Hey, that wasn't a bad joke. Heehee...!


......

aka, the codexian response


So... did you figure anything out?
Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty.


How rude!


You're right, though. I try and try but nothing comes out of my head.


Will you guys shut up!? Now's not the time for stupid jokes!
Listen... Someone came here yesterday, right?


Wow! There'sa girl with a better nose than me!?
What's your name, Miss?


M-Miss? Uh... I'm Chie. But never mind that! Tell me more about that "someone"!


I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys. After that, it felt like someone was here.


Is it Yukiko-san!?


I don't know. I haven't looked...
The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are.
> Teddie points somewhere behind our hero.


Over there, huh...?
Is everyone ready?


Y-Yeah!
> Everyone runs off...



Dungeons have an exterior safe area, this is the one for Yukiko's castle. Here is typically where you'd swap party members and recover.
At the start you can only enter the dungeon at Level 1. After you've explored a few levels, you can re-enter the dungeon at either level 1 or the previous level you reached.



Y'think this is the place they showed on TV last time?


You're positive that no one's behind a camera for that bizarre midnight program?


Program...? I don't know.
Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be that.
And I told you before! There's only me and shadows here!
There's no "camera" stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning.

You know Teddie, I find it rather hard to believe a word of this nature would birth a creature like yourself


"From the beginning"...? That's what we don't understand!


I dunno... Can you guys explain everything about your world?
I've never seen this "program" thingy before. So I don't know.


Well... is that really what's happening? Are we really looking into this world?
Because the first time Yukiko showed up on that channel was before she disappeared. Doesn't that seem off?
I mean, Yukiko saying stuff like "score myself a hot stud"? That's not like her at all!


"Score"? "Stud"...?


Yeah, I couldn't believe it either... Yukiko-san would never say anything like that.


......!?
I wonder... Is this kinda like what happened to me last time...?


There's a lot of stuff I still don't get. But after hearing your story...
I think that "program" happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that...


So... Yukiko is producing that show herself?
Ugh, I don't get this at all!
Hey... Do you feel Yukiko's presence from inside?

Speaking of not getting things, how come none of us get our own dungeons? Or was that entrance it?
I and Yosuke got ours in Saki's little portion of the world...
While Chie stupidly ran off into Yukiko's castle and endangers herself...


I'm pretty sure.
So, um, what's this "scoring with a hot stud" thing...?


Yukiko's here... I'm going on ahead!


Hey, wait! Don't go alone!
Geez! We better follow her!

See, what did I tell you.



She ran off on her own...


Urk...!


There are lots of shadows in the castle.
It'll be dangerous inside for a girl by herself...


Dude, are you serious!? Why didn't you tell us before!?
C'mon, let's find Chie!


As previously mentioned, this is the foyer area, all dungeons have one. At the point I took the screenshot was the "hot area" for returning to the entrance.


Before we can enter, we get to experience another healthy dose of Z-fighting.


These are for you. I collected them myself!
> Obtained 1xRevival bread
> Obtained 5xPeach Seed
> Obtained 5xSoul Drop



This is the entrance for the first level. The interface should be pretty self-explanatory.
As a side note, do you guys have any idea how hard it is to take screenshots when I need to have both my hands on the controller!?

We'll soon start to encounter blobs of shadow. They come either as a hovering ball of death or as a slime, as a general rule the smaller they are the easier they are to tackle.
Their size is modulated by your level, so the higher the level, the smaller and easier the shadows are to handle and that's before we get to combat.
We can also strike targets, if we're successful we'll get an advantage. It's generally a good idea to try and get the jump on your enemies as they play by the same rules as you.
There are also two types of chests about, large and small ones. Small chests tend to contain money or restorative items while large chests contain equipment, but they require a key to unlock.
Some chests are trapped (I encountered 2 of these IN TOTAL on my previous playthrough).

Some floors have the occasional gimmick, which I'll get to as we get to them. Otherwise dungeon crawling is pretty banal shit boring.
Heck, I nearly quit several times just because the dungeons were so lifeless and boring.



Before we do anything, I put Yosuke under my direct command. I have no idea how the other styles play, I never tried them.


As previously mentioned, doors have corridors, rooms and bosses behind them. Some are locked. Keys are typically attained by exploring further or beating a boss.


As previously mentioned, Shadow blobs can come in hovering form. We strike this fellow from behind, but we don't get an advantage.


We encounter this fishy thing.
For hose of you paying attention, there were 2 entries in the combat context menu I haven't explained yet. Tactics and Escape. Escape should be pretty self-explanatory (I never used it) and Tactics allows me to change the behaviour of my allies, as seen in...



Turns out this enemy is weak to Garu, so I let Yosuke handle it.



Now we're introduced to All-Out-Attacks. You are generally going to abuse the fuck out of this, but with that said, using it isn't always ideal.
To get the prompt, you will need to knock all present enemies over. Knocking an enemy over may also result in one of your allies prompting you to do their respective special attack. Yosuke hasn't learned his yet.
Doing an All-Out-Attack ends your current character's turn, returns enemies to their original status (no dizzy or knockdown) and usually deals a lot of Almighty (read: no related affinity) damage to them.



SHUFFLE TIME! I'm just going to skip past the flavour messages, doesn't add anything IMO...

This is basically a minigame you play after SOME battles. Partaking may also give you a chance to participate in Arcana chance, but I'll explain that as we get to it.


In this minigame, the cards are turned with their backs to you and they spin in a circle. They can also spin in a series of random orbits (I prefer this way, much easier to track). You basically stop the spinning when the card you want is in front of you.

There are 3 types of cards.
The red slanted crucifix is the penalty card. It will cause all your rewards from this battle to vanish (EXP, money, loot).
The decal is the empty card, it does nothing.
The third is obviously the various Personas you can obtain.


Naturally.


Peach seeds I think restore 10 HP when taken.




Weak to lightning, all out attack finish.


Stairs to the next level. We'll come back here in a moment...


We strike another enemy. As you can see here the transition from dungeon to battle doesn't work correctly in GSdx's hardware mode.


Huzzah!
Getting an advantage means everyone in that winning group gets to make an attack before the normal turn sequence starts. Can really help out in these trash encounters. As mentioned previously, the monsters play by the same rules as you



As mentioned, they can also move in random orbits. We get the pixie card, no sweat



Just before I forget, their cards...
I decide against using either of them as they're weak against fire. A trait that won't serve me very well here.





Remembering that Chie's Persona is meant to be weak against fire, I equip this fellow.


Yosuke's Persona also leveled up.


The readily accessible floor map. Dungeons do get slightly more complicated, unfortunately not by much.
We proceed to the next floor.


I won't transcribe this conversation as they just describe "Tactics"...


A door to a Boss. These will always ask you if you want to open them (obviously: yes).




<Yukiko's voice> she said that red looks good on me...


Yukiko-san!?


Yukiko is written as "Snow Child"... Is she sleeping beauty?

<Yukiko's voice> Snow is cold and it melts quickly... It's transient... worthless...
<Yukiko's voice> But it's perfect for me... Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless...
<Yukiko's voice> Still... Chie told me that red looks good on me.


Are these... Yukiko-san's inner thoughts? I remember hearing Saki-senpai's, too...


Yeah. This castle is probably here because of this Yukiko person.


Yukiko...

<Yukiko's voice> Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning...
<Yukiko's voice> She's bright and strong, and she can do anything... She has everything that I don't...
<Yukiko's voice> Compared to Chie, I'm... I'm...
<Yukiko's voice> Chie protects me... She looks after my worthless life...
<Yukiko's voice> And I... I don't deserve any of it...
<Yukiko's voice> Chie is so kind...


Yukiko, I-I...



Wh-What...!?





Oh man... Is that...!?


It's just like Yosuke!
She lost control over her suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!


The camera slowly rotates clockwise. Rather haunting if you ask me.


Are we talking about THAT Yukiko!? She says I'm protecting her!?
She says she's worthless!
*chuckle* That's how it should be, right?


Wh-What're you saying?


Yukiko's sooo good looking... sooo fair-skinned... sooo-feminine... She's the one all the guys drool over.
When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy... Man, did I get a charge out of that.


Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around...
I'm better than her... Much, much better!


No! I have never thought that!




Chie, calm down!


No... No, this isn't me!


W-Wait, stupid! Don't say anything else like that!



I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person... I'm pathetic.
But Yukiko... She depends on me...
*chuckle* That's why she's my friend...
I'll never loosen my grip on her...
She's too important to me.


No... That is not how I think of her...


*chuckle* So you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again?


But things are different now. When the time comes... I'll be the one left standing.
You won't mind, right? I'm still you!


Shut up! You're...


Chie, no!


You're not me!

Why won't anybody ever hear us out... It's always this "you're not me!" shtick...






Chie!




<Shadow Chie> I am a shadow... The true self...
<Shadow Chie> What do you guys think you're doing?
<Shadow Chie> Trying to defend the "real" me?
<Shadow Chie> Then you're gonna pay the price!


Shut up! Quit being such a pain!


Chie... Just hand in there a little longer...

<Shadow Chie> Hah... Think you can stop me that easy!?


Unleash the weakness probe!
You may recall that I said Chie's persona is weak to fire...


Apparently the boss encounter variant isn't...



But she falls to garu... A weakness Tomoe, Chie's Persona, doesn't have

<Shadow Chie> Ahahaha, how lame!
<Shadow Chie> You're all so deadly serious, and we've only gotten started!


She follows up with Green Wall, this holsters her wind resistance so Garu won't knock her down for a while...


We follow up with regular attacks for a while. Our hero misses a great many of his hits.
The effects of Green Wall expire, but she looks towards Yusuke.
I have a bad feeling about it so I tell him to guard...


You may remember that Jiraiya is weak to lightning, Mazio is a "hit all enemies with lighting" attack.




We just whittle down her health for a while by using Garu and the all-out-attack...
I really hate the motion blur Atlus decided to use...
Screenshot 65 looks really weird at 49% of it's original size too...

<Shadow Chie> Are you guys idiots!?
<Shadow Chie> Why are you protecting her like that?
<Shadow Chie> She's nothing but a grubby bitch!

SUDDENLY!!!!!!111






YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!



Ngh...


Chie! Are you okay!?


What happened...?




What's the matter...? Got nothing to say anymore?


Stop it, Chie. It's all right


And doesn't our hero know it, he's got HUNDREDS!


Everyone...?


He's right... I went through the same thing.
So I can understand... I mean... Everyone has a side like this...


Yeah... I get it now. You are me.



But you still exist. You're part of me...


> Tomoe obtained!


I... Um, well it's true that part of me feels that way...
But I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko...!


Like we didn't know that already.



I'm okay... Just a little tired...


You don't look okay at all...
And I bet you can use the same power we have now.

Have YOU got the power?


Huh...?


Being the introduction... We're railroaded into leaving the TV World for now anyway...


All right. Let's get back to the entrance, though. It's dangerous around here.


I-I never said I needed a break!
I... can still keep going...


Don't overdo it!


It's not that we don't think you can. It's just, we have to save Yukiko-san, no matter what.
Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back.
That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup.


But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she!?
I-I... If those were Yukiko's true feelings... then I have to tell her something.
I'm not as string as she thinks! It's because she was with me...
Because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't, I'd...


Well, you need to get your strength back! Then you can tell her!
Yuki-chan's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people.
They only attack when the fog lifts here.


So Yukiko-san will be safe until then, right?

Assuming she doesn't starve to death...


I'm positive.


Why...? I don't get it...


Teddie told us that the weather here is the opposite of our world.
When it fogs over in our world...
That's the day it lifts here, and that's when the Shadows attack their victim.
So even if we leave for a while, Yukiko-san won't be in danger until the fog starts to cover Inaba.
I'm sure of it. It was the same way for that announcer and Senpai...
Don't you remember how it was foggy in town on the days they died?

Provided Yukiko doesn't st-- Ah, fuck it, they're not paying attention...
And the weather in here is the opposite? Where do I even start with how dumb that statement was...


You mean... they were killed by their other selves?


The fog usually appears after it rains.
But it's been sunny lately. I don't think it's going to rain anytime soon.


Don't worry so much. We'll check the weather forecast first thing when we get back.


But I-I can't turn back now! We've come so far!
Yukiko's still here! She's all alone... She must be so scared!


Then you tell me how much further we gotta go to reach Yukiko-san!

We finished the first 2 levels, so about 5 more...


Th-That's...!


You don't know what's up ahead. The enemies might be even stronger. If we push ourselves too hard and get wiped out, who'll save Yukiko-san then!?
We can't fail, no matter what... Am I wrong?

You know Yusuke... It would be best if we could clear another level or two....
No? No choice but to go back to the entrance? Okay...


......
...Alright.




No worries.
We're definitely gonna save Yukiko-san... Right?


...Right!



Up until this moment during my first playthrough, I didn't even notice we hadn't given Chie her megane glasses. Quite noticeable with an LP when you're doing a lot of portrait swaps...


That's right, you're not wearing the glasses.


Oh yeah... What's with those glasses? Did your eyesight go bad?


Man... You didn't notice until now? How panicked were you...?


Tum de dummm! I got a pair ready for Chie-chan, too.
Here you go!


Whoa! What the--!? This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist!


Why didn't you whip those out earlier if you had them?


I made them right now! You didn't tell me she was coming!
It was all so sadden! I mean, sudden!

Harhar! ... I don't get it.


Huh... so that's the rick. I was wondering how you guys could see where you were going.
Hey, is it alright if I keep this?


Fo' sho!


We'll have to stop here today... But I'll be back with these puppies!


You guys better not come here without me, got it!?


Yeah, let's all promise each other... Nobody goes in alone. It's way too dangerous.

Except you know.. I can leave everyone at the entrance and go crawling solo...




Alright, so from tomorrow on, we'll try and come here as much as we can after school... And that includes days off.
Hey... would you mind being our leader?
You were the first to get this power, and you're way better in a fight than either of us.
I think it's best for all of us if you set the pace of the investigation, and we follow your lead.

Awh shucks, you're making me blush.
And aren't we lucky that no one gets thrown in during exams, school excursions and other periods in which we won't be able to access the TV World?



I had a feeling you'd say that.
I mean, I'm more the advisor type, y'know?
An ideas man, not an executive.


I'm with Yosuke. If you're the one calling the shots, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about this.

Orly? Then why the heck did you run off when we told you to stay behind us!
This intro is linear and railroaded as fuck...


I'm with Yosuke too. If you're the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night.


Teddie, would you please stop talking? I'm really on edge right now...

> You've been unanimously appointed team leader.
> Your days of pursuing this case alongside your friends have begun...


> You have established the Investigation Team Social Link of the Fool Arcana!


Okay. Let's get some rest for today so we're ready for tomorrow on.
And don't forget to check the weather forecast. It gets foggy after a lot of rain, so let's keep an eye out.
Also, let's make sure we gear up for next time.

I'm not sure we encountered enough enemies to get new stuff at Daidara's...
A tutorial message pops up and reminds us it's foggy after the rain and that we can only dungeon crawl after school and during the day time on our days off.



Hey. Mind if I ask something?
You aren't getting involved with any strange business, are you...?
What happened at the station this afternoon... it's still bothering me.

Nothing much... just a double murder investigation. You really killed the mood, bro!



I'll be the judge of that.
Well, it's just been nagging at me, that's all...


What's wrong? Are you fighting...?


No... We're not having a fight.


This isn't the police station...


I agreed to look after you. So don't get yourself involved in anything that could get you into trouble.
Got that?

<Weather announcer> And now, our weather forecast.
<Weather announcer> Due to high-pressure fronts from the west, that sunny spring-like weather will stay with us for a while longer.


Is this lady the one who decides the weather?
'Cause when she says that it'll be sunny, it always is...

D'awww... Nanako, you are SO adorable!!



Uh, she's not really deciding it...


...Never mind.

> The news continues, heedless of the heavy atmosphere...



That's all for 4/17
If we're lucky, the introduction is FINALLY over...
Oh god... please let it be over...

And that's over 170 screenshots for this page (excluding portraits).
Not another will be posted by me until we reach page 5 (12 posts to go!)

I think I'll spend a bit of time redoing the portraits I made before update #4...
Some of them don't look that great. I found a much faster and higher quality method for going about cleaning them when I did update 4.
A boon of using volatile development versions of software I guess...


And in other events, what's up with Black Cat?
I haven't seen her around recently.

Again?!
*sigh*

Bit of a shame really...
Was kind of hoping she'd share some random SMT related trivia during these lulls.

From what I see, this is not gonna happen. This time around she is dead serious - at least sounded like that to me.

Guyz, stop that. We all are her alts, it's p. obv.

And our name is Legion. :twisted:

In her defense, the people at RPGWatch seem to harbor fewer ignorant retards than we do.

I have to disagree.
Both undomesticated snowman and Andhaira are banned over here and posting on the watch after all

Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein.

I stand corrected. Corrected and humbled..

I can't wait for you to hug Brosuke!