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Oxxidation
Jul 22, 2007

take a good hard look at this motherfuckin etc

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DeafNote
Jun 4, 2014

Only Happy When It Rains
Welp if the sin wasnt already obvious, the music gave it away.

Hwurmp
May 20, 2005

I'm On A Boat is a fairly prideful song, it's true

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
Shido didn't choose the Tug Life.

Malah
May 18, 2015

You have got to be loving kidding me

GunnerJ
Aug 1, 2005

Do you think this is funny?

GunnerJ posted:

He keeps talking about "setting sail for a better future" or some poo poo so I bet it's a ship.

:smug:

Blue Labrador
Feb 17, 2011

Tora posted:

Comrade

The Japanese Bernie Sanders memes grow even stronger

Malah
May 18, 2015

It's not even a battleship! What is this weak poo poo!? WHY?

TheOneAndOnlyT
Dec 18, 2005

Well well, mister fancy-pants, I hope you're wearing your matching sweater today, or you'll be cut down like the ugly tree you are.

Malah posted:

It's not even a battleship! What is this weak poo poo!? WHY?
Shido's a weak villain but I actually think the reasoning for his Palace being a ship is pretty good. We'll hear more about it once we start exploring, but suffice it to say it's based on more than the fact that he used the word "steer".

GunnerJ
Aug 1, 2005

Do you think this is funny?

TheOneAndOnlyT posted:

Shido's a weak villain but I actually think the reasoning for his Palace being a ship is pretty good. We'll hear more about it once we start exploring, but suffice it to say it's based on more than the fact that he used the word "steer".

I mean, "the ship of state" is a common metaphor used to describe the project of national politics. So it's not totally off the wall thematically.

Funky Valentine
Feb 26, 2014

Dojyaa~an

So we've robbed:

- a castle
- a museum
- a bank
- a tomb
- a space station/corporate headquarters
- a casino
- and now a ship

All we need is a train Palace and a plane Palace and we'll be the best heist crew.

Junpei
Oct 4, 2015
Probation
Can't post for 11 years!
Some cut lines, IN ENGLISH from a scene in Sae's Palace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyAUgiwd0po

Oxxidation
Jul 22, 2007

Junpei posted:

Some cut lines, IN ENGLISH from a scene in Sae's Palace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyAUgiwd0po

they were leaning way too hard into akechi's competence for that palace already, that was cute but it would have been too much

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
Are you gonna call or fold? Say it out loud right now! D'arby! :argh:

Hunt11
Jul 24, 2013

Grimey Drawer

Malah posted:

It's not even a battleship! What is this weak poo poo!? WHY?

A battleship would only make sense if he was a lot more militaristic and more importantly in terms of targets for thieves a battleship makes no sense.

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

I'm more concerned with the question of "why is most of Japan under water in Shido's palace?" I get the ship theme, but why go that far? Why not have it be a ship sailing on a big river or the ocean looking at Japan?


...the game won't even acknowledge that question, will it?

HIJK
Nov 25, 2012
in the room where you sleep

AradoBalanga posted:

I'm more concerned with the question of "why is most of Japan under water in Shido's palace?" I get the ship theme, but why go that far? Why not have it be a ship sailing on a big river or the ocean looking at Japan?


...the game won't even acknowledge that question, will it?

Search your feelings.

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

AradoBalanga posted:

I'm more concerned with the question of "why is most of Japan under water in Shido's palace?" I get the ship theme, but why go that far? Why not have it be a ship sailing on a big river or the ocean looking at Japan?


...the game won't even acknowledge that question, will it?

Not only will the game acknowledge it, it did so in the last update.

Arist posted:

Even though this country may sink, he alone will survive… That’s what this cognition is about, huh…?

TheDavies
Mar 27, 2010

AradoBalanga posted:

I'm more concerned with the question of "why is most of Japan under water in Shido's palace?" I get the ship theme, but why go that far?

Because Shido, like most megalomaniacs, thinks of himself as the end of history. And the idea of Japan sinking has a fairly long history.

TheDavies fucked around with this message at 06:53 on Sep 18, 2018

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
It gave me more of a Noah's Ark vibe, personally.

Clarste
Apr 15, 2013

Just how many mistakes have you suffered on the way here?

An uncountable number, to be sure.
Shido's palace is pretty cool thematically (and I like the music too), but animated cutscenes are stupid and should've died out years ago when in-game engines started to be able to produce scenes that look just as good if not better.

Down with animated cutscenes! Curse you Shido for foisting this on us!

DeafNote
Jun 4, 2014

Only Happy When It Rains

Funky Valentine posted:

So we've robbed:

- a castle
- a museum
- a bank
- a tomb
- a space station/corporate headquarters
- a casino
- and now a ship

All we need is a train Palace and a plane Palace and we'll be the best heist crew.

Mementos is basically a massive subway station. Close enough.

Arist
Feb 13, 2012

who, me?


D. B. Cooper was a Phantom Thief

Grouchio
Aug 31, 2014

So uh

I wonder what talks must be like when you're palace hunting the day after you've romanced your team-mate.

Geomancing
Jan 8, 2004

I am not an egghead. I am well-read.

Arist posted:

D. B. Cooper was a Phantom Thief

So was Sly Cooper. Masks, calling cards, breaks into all kinds of places to steal their treasures, lots of 'how the hell do you not get caught with how blatant you are'.

Robindaybird
Aug 21, 2007

Neat. Sweet. Petite.

Clarste posted:

Shido's palace is pretty cool thematically (and I like the music too), but animated cutscenes are stupid and should've died out years ago when in-game engines started to be able to produce scenes that look just as good if not better.

Down with animated cutscenes! Curse you Shido for foisting this on us!

Seriously, they basically screwed themselves over with having the animation done so early, with all the plot rewrites, they had to awkwardly shove them in as to avoid wasting the money they spent.

I think they should've just did it all in-game cutscenes, and use the animated cutscenes as promo material - like teaser shorts released to hype up the fandom running up to the release.

Blue Labrador
Feb 17, 2011

Robindaybird posted:

Seriously, they basically screwed themselves over with having the animation done so early, with all the plot rewrites, they had to awkwardly shove them in as to avoid wasting the money they spent.

I think they should've just did it all in-game cutscenes, and use the animated cutscenes as promo material - like teaser shorts released to hype up the fandom running up to the release.

I think animated cut-scenes have a place in games like Persona if they take a more impressionistic approach in their presentation, and are used to build atmosphere or portray theme. I'm thinking, like, the intro to Catherine. The animated cutscenes of The Golden Channel were a super dope way to strengthen the Elvira-esque camp-horror of the plot and very obviously signify the game's intention to play with and explore genre in video games. If we simply wanted to see poo poo go down in the plot, we can just use in-engine bullshit. Is "we're on the beach now!" really the best excuse to completely jump between artistic mediums? I'd say nah.

That being said, ATLUS also released Nocturne, and that game's use of its in-engine cutscenes allowed for amazing 3D pans and haunting cel-shaded lighting in its cinematography, so the company clearly doesn't need traditional animation to make its games look good.

Clarste
Apr 15, 2013

Just how many mistakes have you suffered on the way here?

An uncountable number, to be sure.

Blue Labrador posted:

That being said, ATLUS also released Nocturne, and that game's use of its in-engine cutscenes allowed for amazing 3D pans and haunting cel-shaded lighting in its cinematography, so the company clearly doesn't need traditional animation to make its games look good.

No need to even refer to another game: the game engine unmasking scenes for each character in P5 look pretty good too. Cel animation is 100% superfluous.

Blue Labrador
Feb 17, 2011

Oh poo poo, those were in-engine! Yeah, those look loving great!

And way more in-line aesthetically with the rest of the game. Man, like 90% of anything animated Persona touches just kind of fuckin sucks, doesn't it

Lord_Magmar
Feb 24, 2015

"Welcome to pound town, Slifer slacker!"


I like Joker’s animated awakening, and there’s a few scenes here and there that are great. Honestly the issue seems to be the plot contortions to make the cutscenes fit, not the animated cutscenes themselves being bad.

Robindaybird
Aug 21, 2007

Neat. Sweet. Petite.

Lord_Magmar posted:

I like Joker’s animated awakening, and there’s a few scenes here and there that are great. Honestly the issue seems to be the plot contortions to make the cutscenes fit, not the animated cutscenes themselves being bad.

yeah, that's my complaint, is they went hard on sunk cost fallacy, and hamstrung themselves when they're doing their rewrites. They should've use their now not-usable in game animation as promotional material, so they don't write themselves into corners trying to force the out of date cutscenes in.

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

Not only will the game acknowledge it, it did so in the last update.
Well, looks like I missed that line. My bad.

Grouchio
Aug 31, 2014

Arist who did you decide to romance?

Hwurmp
May 20, 2005

Grouchio posted:

Arist who did you decide to romance?

Haru

Arist
Feb 13, 2012

who, me?


Part 158: 11/24: Nice Boat

Music: Desire



This is bullshit…! A country that children can be proud of, my rear end! It’s completely sunken in his head! If a guy like this stands above everyone, we’re seriously done for!
This is beyond ridiculous!
The same goes for Akechi.




Oh, that rapscallion!

What in the world is he thinking…?

Probably something along the lines of “I’m gonna get that paper, boy!”

Whether it be for glory or for simply a reward…

This is not how any human being has ever formed a sentence in all of recorded history.

My father died because of someone like this…!
We gotta sink Shido instead of this country!
A Palace with not just the center of the distortion, but the entire country sunken… I can’t believe there’s someone with this tremendous of a desire… Be careful! This will be completely different from past Palaces!
We’re definitely gonna take his Treasure!



All right!
We must put an end to this by December 17th, the day before the elections!
Let the infiltration begin! Time to pay him back for setting us up into a trap!

I swear to god I’m not altering these lines, this is actually what the characters say. This poo poo is voice acted, how rushed was this production?

Music: Ark

This song sets the mood pretty well. Unfortunately, this Palace is long as poo poo and you are absolutely going to get sick of it.



Speakin’ of that, shouldn’t Maaku’ve been disguisin’ himself on the way here?
Uh, seeing someone in a disguise with a bunch of kids in school uniforms would be super weird…

I get that they really want us to not worry about the whole forced clothes swap for the sake of the animated cutscene, but they also really shouldn’t be drawing this much attention to it.

Well, we won’t have to worry about any of that once we steal the Treasure… Let’s do this!



Let’s go find out. It’s time we begin our infiltration.




We walk inside…



...and our clothes change, to boot.



But why are even the passengers wearing masks?
You think they’re tryin’ to be Phantom Thieves, back like Haru with that Beauty Thief stuff?
Th-That’s quite enough!
Whatever the reason, it reflects Shido’s mentality. Surely he doesn’t view others normally.
Given the insane nature of his distortion, I’m surprised they even appear as people…





These people suuuuuuuuck.



When we head up the stairs, we are accosted by a Shadow.

Joker, an enemy!
Urgh, it’s attackin’ us with all these people ‘round!?




This is Cerberus. It’s weak to Ice and it attacks with Fire and Physical. It also Drains Fire and Resists Nuclear. While again, we can’t negotiate with miniboss Shadows (really just any Shadow in a scripted fight, as this barely even qualifies as a miniboss), we’ll encounter its regular Shadow form from the dog-type Shadows of this Palace shortly and pick one up for our collection.

I mention that it resists Nuke because while it’s really the only option in the long run due to her lack of good Physical skills for the endgame, getting rid of Makoto’s Flash Bomb and leaving her with only one damage type makes some fights rather annoying. Still, she’s incredibly useful and I wouldn’t switch her out of the party for anything.



We switch out Haru’s Climate Decorum, which we sadly never really got a chance to take advantage of, for Snipe, a skill that increases her damage with Gun skills by 25%. Again, building Haru towards Gun is loving broken and I highly recommend you do whatever you can to follow my example, it’s great. She gets a couple more Gun-related skills and they’re all excellent, so it’s well worth it.



Indeed! Those privileged enough to be on this ship are all on the winning team!
Ahahahahaha!
Hahahaha!



It seems they think no harm will come to them because they’re here on Shido’s ship.
They’re not even sensin’ the danger… C’mon, let’s make ‘em see what this ship really is!



Joker, we should go. It would be a problem if we started drawing attention to us.

First off, “starting!?” We just fought a literal Hellbeast! Second, I wanna talk to the evil political conspirators!



This is Dakini. It has no weaknesses and Resists Fire, but it uses party-wide Physical.



This is Narcissus. Its only skill is Nocturnal Flash, which inflicts party-wide Dizzy. It’s weak to Fire, Resists Wind and Bless, and Blocks Electricity.



An… interesting component of parts of this Palace is the huge-rear end loudspeakers literally “BLARE”-ing Shido’s bullshit campaign speeches. It’s honestly kinda charming. Not the speeches, I mean.



There’s a climb spot next to this chandelier leading to probably the most well-hidden treasure chest in the game.



If we climb all the way up...




We obtain an Idaten Ofuda. Probably never going to use this, but it’s a party-wide Agility buff. I only include it because it’s absurdly out-of-the-way relative to what it actually contains.



Let’s head into the next room.




Hrmmm… I can sense the Treasure’s presence! It’s that way. Let’s go, guys!



Music: Suspicion



There are slots to stick in something like a keycard… Whoa, there’s five of them!



I hear something.

You heard something? From the loudspeaker? Right next to us? Better declare it!

Since there is no one against the plan, this bill will be unanimously passed as drafted.
Passed? What’s goin’ on? Was that Shido’s voice?



...The what now?
It’s that large conference room that’s usually seen on the news.
Ohhh, that thing. Gotcha. …So, what’re they doin’ inside?
Most likely a meaningless vote… one in which whatever Shido proposes will always go unopposed.
So he’s doing whatever he wants by keeping only his supporters in there.
What do we do to get in, though? Should we find these keycards?
Maybe we need some kind of qualification, one that vows to be his follower or swear loyalty.
So basically, we need to prove that we’re on his side.



You sure move on quick…
But what’s this qualification thing about?




That thought never crossed my mind.
Asking around doesn’t sound like a bad idea. The guests here are the cognitive versions of them in Shido’s mind. They’ll know any secrets he shared.
True. You have a point.
That said, the ruler here is that evil Shido. It wouldn’t surprise me if they did turn hostile.
Right… Yeah, wouldn’t they attack us…?
We should prepare for the worst, of course, but I think we’ll at least be able to talk to them. This ship is most likely an ark loaded with those that Shido believes are worth keeping alive. It’d explain the luxury cruise ship. I doubt idiots who can’t even hold a conversation would be here.
We can at least gather information. It helps that everyone’s wearing masks. We’ll blend in even with our attire.

No we won’t!

He must believe that no one shows their true face to anyone else… just like him.



The group nods.

Music: Ark



There’s no doubt… I can sense the Treasure behind this door. Looks like we’ve already hit the jackpot. Let’s go talk to the others!



So, for this segment we have to walk around this room and find the rest of our party to advance. They’re not hidden or anything, just scattered among the main room and the connecting hallways.



Yes, that must be why he can enter the sacred place. I heard he’s not easily seen either…
But why would someone of his stature always be by the poolside?
Well, he must like it there for some reason… but I don’t think it’s the swimming. Hahahaha!
Beyond this door is the “VIP area,” and the main assembly hall is a “sacred place.” It looks like we can’t get in unless Shido accepts us.




My, such flattery! A high-class aura emanates from you as well!
So you noticed! Hahahaha!
Most certainly! Ahahaha!

Man, I hate these people.

Hey, these guys totally ignore me when I try and talk to ‘em… Do I look that much like I don’t got any money…? Is it ‘cause of the skull mask or something?

Poor Ryuji.




But I’ll do it… I’m going to avenge my mom.




I don’t normally point out random chest contents because they’re generally pretty banal, but a Model Gun is great.




I either remained silent or spoke in simple pleasantries during Father’s business relations…

That’s all she has to say to us! How productive!




I just saw him at the restaurant… To think an important politician like him has been invited here… Well, support from the political world should mean mental shutdowns are as viable as ever!
Ahaha, I’m quite envious… I wonder if there’s a way I can get to know him better myself…
Hahaha, if you wish…
Hearing people speak so casually about the mental shutdown business makes my head spin… ...But it seems as though we need certification from five VIPs to become a “special customer.” These people are willing to share anything. Perhaps it’s because their faces are hidden?



If we try to head upstairs to the next area…



...we’re blocked by a Shadow.

Causing a commotion might ruin our ability to gather intel. Let’s leave it alone for now.




Indeed. Mr. Shido has quite the large circle of acquaintances.
It seems you have to be at least that important to be considered a VIP… I’m truly envious…
Why don’t you go play the slots with him? That might get his attention…
It appears these people all want to be accepted as one of Shido’s special customers. Either way, I’ve gained some information on the VIPs. We should discuss later.



I actually saw what looked like a map on our way here. Why don’t we go check it out?







Not great, but not bad either.
I was able to get a bit of intel as well. We should sort through what all of us gained for now.
Well, I took a look at the map we obtained earlier and found what appears to be a safe room.



Oooh, it’s close.
Perfect. Let’s go over our intel there.




Let’s head over to the safe room, then.

Music: Wicked Plan



The casino earlier looked pretty real too, but talking with these guests was a whole ‘nother story.
You have that right…
This ruler’s observational skills and insight are off the charts. Shido’s a formidable foe…
C’mon, no need to freak out!
I’m not freaking out! I was just thinking it’ll be easier to make a plan since they can talk normally. All right, let’s put together the information we gathered.



And those letters become the keycards?
Exactly. Now, let’s go over what all of us have learned. First, according to my intel… One of the VIPs is an influential politician by the name of Ooe. He’s supposedly seen at the restaurant at night and sits at a table near the window.
Um, I’ll go next. I heard about a prominent VIP who used to be… nobility? It sounds like he’s usually by the pool.
Next is my intelligence. It seems the president of a television station is also a VIP. He always plays slots at night. It would seem he spends his money quite lavishly.
Crap, I’m startin’ to forget people already…
Next is my turn!
For real!? Even you got info?
Of course. I eavesdropped. Supposedly one of the VIPs is the president of an IT company. He’s always in his room and reportedly enters from an exclusive hallway.
Well then, I’ll close us out!
How the hell’d you get info with your looks…?
It seems like some guy they call the “cleaner” is another VIP. I’ve heard that he’s cautious, so it’s probably best if we check the other VIPs first.

Isn’t that backwards? Shouldn’t we get him before raising a fuss with the other VIPs so he doesn’t catch on?

Cleaner? I wonder what they mean by that.
Wait a minute. After all the VIPs we listed, this one’s a cleaner? Is he really a VIP?

Man, we’re idiots.

...Supposedly.
I’m sorry… I couldn’t get any information.
Me neither! So don’t worry about it, OK? Let’s just work harder during the battle.
You’re right… I’ll do my best!

:3:

But there’s a bigger problem, y’know… My memory’s, uh… not so great. Anyways, who was who…? Uhhh…

Some time later…



I can only remember about two of them… What about you, Joker?



Oh dear lord…



The politician Ooe, a former noble, a TV station president, an IT company president, and a cleaner. We get certification from them and obtain letters of introduction that’ll serve as keycards.

For some reason the voice acting swaps the order of “letters of introduction” and “keycards.”

But only go for the cleaner after the other four have been dealt with. Right?
Whoa! Now that’s impressive! You go, genius!
If we can’t remember the details of the VIPs, let’s reconvene inside a safe room.
All right, let’s get this done quickly!



Huh? You wanna go back already?
There are people in here with special letters. That means Shido trusts them to a certain extent.
It would be best to consider them as powerful individuals… We do not want to get too hasty. Let us take our time here.

Normally I’d complain about the game forcing us out, but I wanna get the rest of my party Confidants up before we tackle this.

I guess we do have a little time to spare. Well then, let’s head back for today.

Music: Ark



Now returning to the real world from Shido’s Palace. Thank you for your hard work.

Music: Beneath the Mask



……





Do what you need to. I’ll try to help any way I can. Just don’t be reckless, got it?




Whaddya mean?
I have to agree. I’m sure he’s quite used to traveling, especially on extravagant ships.
and it should be obvious he’s not using his own money for it. There are all sorts of rumors online.
Ohhhhhh, I get it! He’s using tax money? Not cool, Shido.
I think he believes that which belongs to others in turn belongs to him.
Even people’s lives.



Right. We gotta pay him back for what he did to Maaku too.




Keep Futaba safe. I’m counting on you.

Roger, chief.





The Diet decides things with a majority vote, but what happens if the vote is split fifty-fifty? A: Speaker of the House decides/B: They flip a coin



The correct answer is… A! The Speaker of the House decides! Let’s hear an explanation!
The Speaker of the House decides, in accordance with Article 56, Section 2 of the Constitution. After the general election, by law, the Diet’s first act must be to appoint a new prime minister.
Oh, you got it right! A tie probably doesn't happen very often, though.

Maaku gains Knowledge +1.





I’ve decided what I want to do with Shido after goin’ into his Palace.

“Let’s kill him.”

We can’t let him run free. If there’s a heart we gotta steal, it’s definitely gotta be his.

Oh, you want to do… the same thing we’ve done with everyone else? That’s lame. Why even bring it up?



I really get it now. I want to avenge you, that’s a no brainer, but that’s not it. If we let him run the country, the weak will be totally effed. Isn’t it our “duty” to protect them?



Remember when I told you that heroes who lurk in the shadows are borin’? Forget what I said. Those heroes are way cooler. …… Hey, Maaku. Once we change Shido’s heart… ...No, never mind. Forget it. Let’s do it. Let’s steal that bastard Shido’s heart. I’ll do everythin’ I can to make it happen. Thanks for listenin’ to me, Maaku. Seeya.

Sure thing, buddy.

Arist fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Sep 23, 2018

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
I'd half thought Akechi was looking forward to seeing how many people would die in the riots when this guy got Phantom Thieved. But it looks like they're setting him up to be just a cleaner.

I suppose it could just be Cognitive Akechi.

Oxxidation
Jul 22, 2007

Glazius posted:

I'd half thought Akechi was looking forward to seeing how many people would die in the riots when this guy got Phantom Thieved. But it looks like they're setting him up to be just a cleaner.

I suppose it could just be Cognitive Akechi.

why would shido risk leaving that job to a haphazard chump like akechi

he only employs professionals

Omobono
Feb 19, 2013

That's it! No more hiding in tomato crates! It's time to show that idiota Germany how a real nation fights!

For pasta~! CHARGE!

Speaking of Akechi, I've got some speculation that isn't spoilers anymore, so I might as well share.

1. I don't recall the game ever stating it outright, but he's Wakaba's killer isn't he?
2. Did he tamper with Futaba's mind in addition to that? During the pyramid I got the feeling that the conspiracy deliberately messed with her palace to make sure their cover story stuck. A "don't question the fishy cover story" implanted directive would have been more than enough.
3. Was he loving around Sae's palace earlier? If nothing else, as the investigator on the mental shutdown cases it would have been worth it to keep an eye on her. I know, it was an assignment deliberately meant to fail; nonetheless.

ManlyGrunting
May 29, 2014

Oxxidation posted:

why would shido risk leaving that job to a haphazard chump like akechi

he only employs professionals



May YHWH smile, and Lucifer have mercy

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Alpha3KV
Mar 30, 2011

Quex Chest
Summary of last update (up to ~24:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EKHlyF6d90&t=1240s

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