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I just booted up my PS4 to grab a bit of extra footage before I put out the next update, and I'm greeted with the game starting to update to 1.02, which is the update that brings the PS4 version up to parity with the Switch release. I put the kibosh on that download immediately (good thing I had automatic downloads off, but it's good to know I won't have to buy this game again to cover that stuff after all. Anyway: update coming later today.
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Aug 8, 2022 16:22
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 14:26 |
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Update on that: Uh-oh, I booted up the game again and it installed the update! Oops! Looks like I'm covering that stuff sooner than I wanted to!
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Aug 8, 2022 16:26
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Chapter 105: Destruction 12 Time for yet more Destruction. Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)   Lots of Terra Carriers, eh? Those fly, so we should at the very least bring Yuki.  We upgrade Hijiyama’s Leap Attack from +2 to +5, his Demolisher Blade from +5 to +8, and his EMP Attractor from +0 to +5.  We also upgrade Juro’s Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons from +2 to +5, his Multi-Rocket Launchers from +2 to +5, and his Jammer Rocket Launchers from +3 to +5.  Ryoko gets her Multi Rocket Launchers upgraded from +1 to +3.  Miura gets his Main Battery Heavy Railgun upgraded from +3 to +5. We also upgrade his better railgun, Main Battery Mega Railgun, from +3 to +5. Honestly, probably a waste to do both.  Finally, Yuki gets her Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers upgraded from +1 to +5, her Multi-Lock Missiles upgraded from +1 to +5, and her Leg Spike upgraded from +6 to +8. We’re getting close to the point where we have nothing left to really upgrade for most pilots and can instead dump Meta-Chips into boosting their stats.  That looks like a fine party. Let’s roll. Music: (PHENYLALANINE) (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)     Okino? Where’s this coming from? I keep calculating and recalculating and I always get the same result. I wish it was different, but… you deserve to know. I measured the rate of incoming kaiju, and… we can’t win. There’s zero chance of surviving until tomorrow. A physical impossibility. ……Heavy poo poo, man. We failed. It doesn’t matter if we fight back… Our window is gone. It’s over. …If you don’t want to tell the others, then… I understand. You understand nothing! Is that who you think I am? That I’ll just give up simply because I’m told to!? I’m not just fighting for my own survival… You know it’s more than that. Hijiyama-kun… Hijiyama doesn’t give a single gently caress, though.  Video: Destruction Wave 3-4     Ah, yes… Is Megumi Yakushiji-san all right? I have to look out for you! I’d never forgive myself if I couldn’t repay your kindness. You’re the Yakisoba Pan Angel!  ……  You’re the yakisoba pan guy! Always wandering around school with one of them in your hand! I, uh… well, you see, to protect the homeland… Oh, hell with it… Yakisoba pan is the food of the gods, and I’ll never pretend otherwise! ……Glad to see Hijiyama is already over being told about his unavoidable demise.    Juro’s skill The Only Neat Thing to Do reduces the WT recovery speed of every pilot while he’s active… but only in the final battle.       All right, next up is a boss wave. We’ll be fighting an RPF and a Drum Mine.  Upgrading Nenji’s Limiter Removal from +5 to +8. Again, this just reduces the EP cost, but I’d like to actually be able to use it in conjunction with Demolisher Blade’s already-hefty cost, so that’s fine.  Iori upgrades her Jammer Rocket Launchers from +4 to +5, her Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons from +2 to +5, and her Multi-Rocket Launchers from +2 to +5. I’m upgrading as much as I can to +5 because I just feel like that’s a good standard and it’s a point before the upgrading costs get too high.  Ryoko upgrades her Multi-Rocket Launchers from +3 to +5.  Tomi upgrades her Super Large Missile from +4 to +5, and her Main Battery Heavy Railgun from +2 to +6. She also unlocks and equips her Hyper Condenser to let her fire off two railgun blasts in a row for an increase in EP cost. That’s probably the least flashy Hyper Condenser in the game, however, because we’re mainly using her railgun on hordes that will probably die to the first blast, since it doesn’t pierce the armor of bigger enemies.  Finally, we upgrade Shu’s Leg Spike from +3 to +5 and his Shield Matrix from +4 to +5.  We definitely want Nenji for this one, trust me. We also want Yuki, but she’s part of the bonus objectives so we don’t really have a choice there. All right, team looks good. Transform and roll out! Music: [RIBOSE] (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)       Who knows what kinda kaiju this one spits out…     So that’s it, huh? No more screwing around? I wanna laugh, but this ain’t even funny…  We have to stop it. No matter what.   We have been sufficiently warned. Let’s go.  The Drum Mine EX has two hundred thousand HP. It’s going to take a lot to put a dent in this thing. Even Nenji’s Demolisher Blade feels like it does negligible damage without assistance in the form of Jammer Rocket Launchers, back attacks, and Limiter Removal.  On the other hand, the RPF EX has a measly forty-five thousand HP. Pff, gently caress outta here. Video: Destruction Wave 3-5 (I recommend watching this one)  And we’ve done it.    We’ve been working pretty hard… That’s worth a little time off, right? Not like anyone’s going to school tomorrow anyway. And I’ve got just the idea for Yuki-chan. How about a day at the amusement park?Dude.  What, just you and me goin’? Hey, it’s the best reward I could ask for. Could be fun, right? …… Fine, dumbass. You get your one date.What the gently caress!? Uh… really? I wasn’t actually expecting…Even Shu himself is flabbergasted! So… For now, go kick some rear end, and… try not to die. Yuki-chan…   Nenji, Tomi was absolutely watching that, she was also in the fight.  Ryoko’s skill Atonement restores the HP of all other pilots when her Sentinel is taken down. Legitimately might be the most situational Pilot Skill I’ve seen yet, especially because you don’t usually put 2nd-generation Sentinels on the front lines, and having a pilot die outside of their Sentinel is an instant game over, so it’s a massive hazard even with the HP restore for everyone else. Maybe you could take advantage and throw a Shield Matrix on her after her Sentinel gets taken out? But then, why wouldn’t you just shield her before her Sentinel needs to leave for repairs? I dunno about this one, guys.  Tomi’s skill For My Parents increases her damage proportional to damage done to the city. Very weird skill because I still have no idea what causes city damage.  Shu’s skill Watch This, Yuki-chan! increases his damage when he’s close to Yuki. Unfortunately, that’s damage dealt, not taken.       We have a lot of Mystery Points, huh? When are we gonna get those last few locked Mystery Files?     And that's going to do it for today's update. I know I said I would update the board this time, but... next time for sure. Yeah.
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Aug 8, 2022 18:58
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Thinking in context of mecha and more general action-scifi media, city damage would mainly be caused by
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Aug 8, 2022 21:07
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So does that update immediately throw off your entire party/gameplay balance? I've heard and seen of the Sentry spam so I must imagine that's no longer viable. That boss level is neat. On one end, a slow rear end tanky bomb that'll just nuke everything and on the other just a massive factory. I wish more levels seemed as gimmicky as these instead of every 5th one. ...so that Juro passive is literally just "You will use me in the final level or else" huh?
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Aug 9, 2022 01:13
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HGH posted:So does that update immediately throw off your entire party/gameplay balance? I've heard and seen of the Sentry spam so I must imagine that's no longer viable. To my knowledge, the changes made to Destruction mode, with the exception of the Sentry nerfs, are all additive in the way of new pilot armaments. I'll cover them in the next Destruction update, which will be rather soon given how we have two of those left and only eight Remembrance chapters left. As for Juro, I haven't played around with the changes yet, but I've heard tell that he's actually somehow now the worst pilot in the game as of these changes, presumably by virtue of the nerfs to Sentries and, I assume, not getting much in the way of good new toys to play with. We'll have to see. Natsuno used to be pretty bad, but apparently even she got some cool new tools in her kit.
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Aug 9, 2022 01:28
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 We can unlock Gouto now that we’ve done more Destruction, but…  We’ll save that for later. We’re going to finish Megumi’s story today.  Chapter 106: Megumi Yakushiji 7 (FINAL) Music: Beyond the Memories (Rikako Watanabe)    …Oh, uh… hey, Chihiro. What’s up?     You by yourself? I am. Are you by yourself too?  Can you stay and talk ‘til then? Of course. I’ll stay here until they come get you. Where’s your friends? Well, I have some at school.   Hm? What’s wrong. You look like a scared kitten. Run, Megumi! It’s a trap! Music: Emotional Storm (Yoshimi Kudo)     D-Code? Do you mean the Deimos Code? Yep. I know it wasn’t you. Tell me who it was. Huh? A fluffy black cat. With a white-tipped tail.Well, this looks like the end for Megumi. She’s had a good run.  Renya Gouto… You’re late, Gouto-kun.  Do you understand what you did to me? I sealed your powers as a witch… To fight the kaiju. That’s what I was told. I thought you’d be able to see through the ruse a bit more. It was nanomachines!Of course it was! They added code to the ones already in their bodies. The code expands the kaiju’s capabilities. How strong it will allow them to become… We have no way of knowing.Huh? Wait, is this Shiba’s program to unlock the rest of the game features? But… it makes the kaiju stronger too!?  The one behind all this, the one who manipulated you… It seems they are trying to take control of the D-Code. If they succeed… They will also have control of the Sentinel dock in the factory. In other words, we lose all our means of defense. (to Gouto) Are you aware of who that cat is? That seems bad. He must have known this would happen. He had a plan. That’s why he used the girl. So we couldn’t trace it back to him! But that very cleverness is what proves it was him. So who is he? No one you’d have heard of… He’s a criminal from the future. A criminal… (I won’t forgive him. Not ever!) Time to go get revenge on the cat!      You seem mad. But I haven’t lied to you. I’ve been saying that from the beginning.Haha! Oh, Fluffy! I’m gonna miss you after Megumi rips your head off! Music: Deafening Silence (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  All that about ancient civilizations and curses… You’ve been playing me for a fool the whole time! I haven’t been lying. There IS an ancient civilization. This may look like the 20th century, but it’s not. Humanity actually died out in the 22nd century. It’s been millions of years since then. So, in reality, the 22nd century is an ancient civilization. So you’re saying… this isn’t the real world? No more lies? No, more lies!  I’m done being used! Use Magical Gun on Fluffy  And now you’re in control of the kaiju and the Sentinels. Was that your goal all along? To end humanity? I’ve already told you. This is a game. I’m only making preparations. A game where our lives are on the line!? Not if things go the way I want them to! I can get you all out of here alive!    Suddenly, the TV turns on.  Cat, if you could turn on the TV on this whole time why were you always such a bitch about Megumi changing the channel?  Music: A Clause With Claws (Rikako Watanabe)  You’ve really turned into a dangerous girl. Although, I guess that is my doing… Use Juro’s Memories on Fluffy  Ah, right. That… Those are my memories, actually. …! It’s not my fault though! Fuckin’ really, my guy? “It’s not my fault!” That the best you got? You really think I’d believe your lies again? No. I don’t imagine you would. You were using Juro too, weren’t you? It was not my intention. But in the end, that is what happened. You need to give up on trying to bring him back. *shoots*   Christ, this cat! But you don’t have to meet the same fate as the rest of them. *shoots*      Wah waaaaaaah! You hate to see it, folks!  Music: IMMINENT (Yoshimi Kudo)         I forced everyone into battle. But the only one who really deserves to die…       It must have really been driving you mad. But don't worry. If you don't fight, there's no way you'll survive. You did what had to be done. …… Music: Staring Into The Void (Yoshimi Kudo) I want to apologize. About his memories. There were things that happened… I didn't expect… But none of that matters to you. There's no excuse. I boasted about how I could bring him back. It may seem like I tricked you, but I really did all that I could. I had no ill intent… Well… Maybe a little. I just wanted him to become the Juro of my world. I wanted to control his feelings of love. Almost like a parent to their child… I wanted my desires to become his own. I guess I hesitated, once I saw the depth of your feelings. There was still some human left in me after all… You might not believe me, but I really have become fond of you. The days we spent together were surprisingly fun. It gave me an odd feeling. As if I were on holiday with a cheeky daughter. You left me some nice memories. And now it's up to all of you. I've made all the preparations I could. Since I was unable to hold up my end of our contract… This is goodbye. If our plan succeeds… I want you to live out the rest of your life with Juro. In case it wasn’t clear, all the different forms of 426/Adult Juro/Fluffy have the same voice actor, Ben Diskin. This is the only instance in the game where the adult version of a character has a different VA than their younger self, as Young Juro is played by Chris Hackney. Anyway, Diskin is a favorite of mine and his Fluffy performance is especially good and funny. I mention this because the first time I played this game I recognized him instantly in every form, but still got blindsided by the twists because I just assumed they were skimping on hiring different voice actors instead of, you know, them all being the same guy.    What happened? Did you… Shoot yourself in the stomach?  Megumi turns to walk away.  Just hear me out.Music: A Brave Gene (Hitoshi Sakimoto)  I’ve been thinking about the dreams I had. None of that matters now… I dream of myself inside the Sentinel. I’ve seen it over and over. I fight in the Sentinel… Taking down kaiju after kaiju, struggling in pain… Fighting like some kind of possessed demon.   Pilot must cease control.  Abnormality detected in life support. Emergency release of Sentinel pilot. Initiating…  No! Cancel release! I’ll continue to pilot. Overwrite command. I won’t let them destroy Megumi’s city. This place is home to all our memories… Life support limit reached. Emergency release procedure. Initiating… No! Cancel the release! I’m not done yet… Juro, buddy…  The only one who has experience piloting Sentinels… Is the Juro Izumi you know. These are his memories. In battle, he was always calling out someone’s name. I didn’t realize it at first, but… I know it now.     I’m not Juro Izumi anymore. But my feelings are the same. …… Maybe it’s because of his memories… But even so. None of that matters to me now.    (blushing) …… Do you not feel the same way? Thank you, but…  Consider Juro’s Memories (Fluffy really was trying. Just like he said. He was trying to get his memories back. What do I…) I may not be as strong as him. But I don’t care.     I wouldn’t have it any other way. Does that mean…   Aww…   Look at him sleeping up there. I hope he’s warm.     I know you’re not him. Music: Lonely Struggle (Rikako Watanabe) I just wanted to say… I’m sorry. And I—  For you, Fluffy.   But you still went without me. Music: To the Final Battle (Yoshimi Kudo) This time it will be different. This time, it’s my turn to save you.              And that’s Megumi’s story finished. Time to finally update that board! Ugh!   We’re first going to remove these two mysteries from the board, because they’re pretty conclusively solved. We know Fluffy’s agenda, even if that phrase is almost too funny to allow to leave the board.  We also add a line about the self-repairing probes from the last Gouto update. That’s not the important part of that cutscene, but I felt it was worth including. I notably forgot to include a bit here about what was the important detail there, Morimura being Okino’s biomom, but I’ll have to include that in the next board update because I’m not going through all this hassle again today!  No close-up shots of the board this time, because I made a lot of changes to pretty much every corner of this thing, a lot of which I should have added long, long ago. I added every instance of someone being shot with the nanomachine injector. I added Megumi shooting Juro (which I’m going to assume was real since she also shot herself), as well as a lemniscate indicating her self-shooting. I added white links between Megumi and Ryoko/Ei because she must’ve just gotten them offscreen or something. I added a friendship link between Ei and BJ. I added a familial link between Okino and Chihiro. I added a purple “murder” link between Juro Izumi and Megumi (though that probably should have been 426 and Megumi, eh). I added a romantic link between Ida and Miyuki Inaba. I also added a romantic link between Juro Kurabe and Megumi, natch. Is that everything? I feel like I’m forgetting at least one, but oh well. That’ll do it for today. Arist fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Aug 10, 2022 |
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Aug 10, 2022 18:32
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   Chapter 107: Renya Gouto 5 Music: A Bridge from the Past (Rikako Watanabe)      Why are they coming this way…? The terminal’s the other way…     Iori-chan? They all appeared on this side out of nowhere! Just keep running! …That’s easy to say… But where are we even supposed to run…?   Two massive missiles explode in the sky behind the group.  I’m sorry I couldn’t get you somewhere safer… But… I’ll handle this. Usami-chan?          I’m going to protect you. Everything’s gonna be okay.Miwako is too good for this cursed world. …… *sigh* Just so you know, I didn’t want to do this. …I’m gonna try something. …? Honestly… I know you can see me! You’ve got a drone up, right!? I need you here right now! …Gouto? You don’t mean… Gouto-kun! Renya Gouto? Yup…   Gouto-senpai! Where did you come from…?Gouto’s finally arrived to sweep Miwako off her feet!  My senior ID can get me access to the higher-level commands. But I still need the biometric authentication to get it started. So I’ll need your help. Though…    Are you… trying to shift from here?         We’re inside the underground UFO… The Sector 4 mainframe.  Maximum hypocrisy. Your fight might get just a little easier. ……   Music: Self Sacrifice (Yoshimi Kudo) Despite the name of this track, no one is actually sacrificing themselves in this scene.  Thank you… I didn’t think you’d come back for me… *gasp* …I’m shifting you back.    …Can you hear me?   Wait, you’re the girl Miwako was helping…  I’m Chihiro Morimura. What…? …That’s our teacher’s name… I’m going to evacuate the populace all at once. Readouts say 1.2 million people in Sector 4… They’ll all be force-shifted to the year 2025… As in, Sector 3. …To the year 2025? …So you don’t have to worry about any civilian casualties. …That’s all.          *sigh* Why am I doing this…?  What’s the meaning of this? How did you gain access? Explain yourself.Music: Just Because (Composer: Azusa Chiba, Arranger: Rikako Watanabe) I’m Takatoshi Hijiyama… I just have one favor to ask of you. A favor? Well, ah… I-It’s kind of complicated, but… I’m… actually asking on behalf of someone else. A young man by the name of Okino…     Oh hey, Hijiyama’s unlocked now.  Miwako loving rules.
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Aug 12, 2022 19:39
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Give Miwako a mech
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Aug 12, 2022 23:47
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   Chapter 108: Ryoko Shinonome 8 (FINAL) Time to finish Ryoko’s story.   Music: Just Because (Composer: Azusa Chiba, Arranger: Rikako Watanabe)    …1985. What’s the last thing you remember? 426… He got away from me. I won’t let him escape next time. …… I see. All right. Ryoko’s head is pounding.  My head really hurts… Maybe I should keep you here, for further observation. My internal clock just needs a bit to readjust…Ryoko’s head is pounding. You’re putting too much of a burden on your nervous system. You need to stop shifting. Do you still have your pills? Make sure you’re taking them.Ryoko’s head is pounding.  Consider Pills   (This should make me feel a little better.)Consider Surveillance Footage (Surveillance footage…? That’s right. I saw something important… …… I can’t remember. Maybe I should go look again. It was in Shikishima’s underground facility, in 2105. I just need to… get to the gate…)Consider Gate (They said the gate’s been sealed, but… What if it’s a lie? A way to try and keep me here? ……)  Let’s just head to the gate before Gouto shows up.   Consider Surveillance Footage (Surveillance footage…? …… I saw something important…)   Music: Bleak Pressure (Kikuchi Yukinori)    You won’t be able to use it. I knew it. It was you. You disabled the gates, not 426. I won't let those drat mind-controlling pills screw with my head anymore! Who told you that? I saw it for myself. You're trying to mess with both me and Iori Fuyusaka's heads! She's getting worse…  It separates the nanomachines from the rest of your brain. Your memories will keep disappearing. Those pills you've been taking… They inhibit that separation. They try to preserve the link. But its effectiveness has been gradually decreasing. No. I won't believe anything you say! Are you screwing him up too? …!?Music: Cognitive Dissonance (Rikako Watanabe)  You inserted the code that 426 created.    Ryoko’s head? Oh, you better believe that’s pounding. I’ve told you the truth a number of times. But you weren't able to accept it. You couldn't hold on to the memory. That's a lie. You messed me up with those pills. You made me confused.Ryoko’s head is pounding. It's all there. You just have to remember. The code that infected the Sentinels... DD-426… You were the one that gave it to Sekigahara. You're lying…Ryoko’s head is pounding.      For you to ask for me personally… I can't tell you how happy it made me. I've been waiting. I need you to look at this.Oh goddammit, more of this motherfucker’s malevolent manipulations!  Music: STAGNATION (Yoshimi Kudo)  Code DD-426…  There is a flaw in the program. It is inhibiting you from unlocking the full extent of their power. But, there exists a code to fix it. A flaw…? If we implement this, the Sentinels' capabilities will increase greatly. Morimura-san, however, does not agree. Why? She believes the Sentinels are more than capable as they are. Ugh. Why is she like that? She's always going against you, Mr. Ida. If only everyone was as understanding as you. It'll be our little secret, of course. And then Morimura-san will see who was right. All you have to do is put this code into the Sentinel. Okay, I'll do it. gently caress off, Ida!      Nothing that concerns you.   *angry sigh* A fourth wave is approaching. We need to get ready.   Music: Cognitive Dissonance (Rikako Watanabe)      Ryoko…  After you shifted, you went missing. It took a long time to get you back. When we finally did, your condition was already terminal. We’ve been able to keep it at bay with the medication. But the destruction of your memories has already begun. For you… We tried to reinforce your memories with nanomachines. But… it hasn't gone well. We thought if we let you roam free… That your memories would stabilize. However… Your memories kept failing. It only made you become further detached from reality. Even still. It is imperative that you remember. Only you can clear the infection within the Sentinels. Because only you know the password. Oh poo poo. We don't have much time. Please. You must remember.   Poor Ryoko. It seems like literally every single thing in this game is somehow her fault. Unfortunately, it only seems that way because that’s kind of the truth.     Try and remember. Ei… kun…? That’s right. I…   Is that my name? It doesn’t sound familiar… Oh, right. I need to find… …What was I looking for again? I can’t remember.Music: Staring Into The Void (Yoshimi Kudo) You don’t have to anymore. You don’t have to look for anything, Ryoko-san. More importantly, how are you feeling? I feel… good. Refreshed. Peaceful, even…  Maybe it’s just not possible. The nanomachines linked to her memory have all separated. She barely has any memories left. …… What are they? We did the same for all of you. When you were connected to the learning devices… You gained the knowledge needed to control the Sentinels and the gates. Those memories were backed up, in case there was an accident. So she has her memories of what happened before the incident. No, not all of them. We only backed up those which pertained to learning.  The password to remove the infection… Gone, along with the rest of her memories. We can no longer rely on the Sentinels. So that's it? You're giving up? There is still one way to use the Sentinels… No. Further exposure to the infection… And there's no guarantee you'll survive. He's not talking about himself. After everything you've taken from her, it still isn't enough? I won't let you put her in the Sentinel. No… No, Ei-kun. Music: Self Sacrifice (Yoshimi Kudo) Sentinel No. 14… It was made just for me. By Mr. Ida.Goddammit, Ryoko! Even after all this!?  Ryoko-san…          Poor, poor Ryoko.   We finally got another locked Mystery File. Let’s open it up.     And that’s gonna do it for Ryoko’s story. Pretty tragic.
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Aug 15, 2022 18:38
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And so the only thing she knows for real is how to pilot a Sentinal. Not why, or who she was. Just that. That is, all things considered, pretty tragic.
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Aug 15, 2022 22:48
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Kind of a bummer. Manipulated and gaslit by an adult crush, hosed up everything for everyone, then forgot it all. Sheesh.
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Aug 17, 2022 18:05
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   Chapter 109: Natsuno Minami 8 (FINAL)    It shouldn’t be a problem if the Sentinel pops up here.  Are you going to summon it right now? Well, we’re going to send it right back, aren’t we? If it’s only for a second, then we should be fine.  Music: Beyond the Memories (Rikako Watanabe) Wait… Right here? Why?  I was previously using Miura’s ID. However, the ownership of the ID returned to him. It’s because I operated Sentinel No. 19… I can… no longer pilot a Sentinel. In order to shift to the Sentinel… it must receive a new pilot.  Wait… that’s not good. Then what do we do? ……  If it’s done at the same time we change the registered pilot… I should be able to secure the log data.  Natsuno… From now on, Sentinel No. 17 will be— Right, right, no problem! I’ll be the one who pilots the robot. …… As long as Nat-chan isn’t in any danger… Sentinel No. 17 will protect Natsuno. If anything, I should be the one fighting…  What’d you say? You must work together… and survive. You know it!  Natsuno… It’s time to activate. Okay!      Now send it back, Nat-chan. Uh… how do I do that?  It… It disappeared…   …Oh dear.  Music: Living in the Moment (Yoshimi Kudo)  What…? BJ was the only one who could retrieve the log data. But the storage capacity on a scout unit like that is limited… He couldn’t store both the log data and his own AI data. No… No, you’re wrong.    drat, RIP to a real one. A real robot, that is. Because that’s what he was. Not an alien.  We won’t go into the Mystery Files for this one yet because I actually swapped the order of this update and the next one, for the first time ever, due to a story detail. Side note: this update took less than five minutes to record. Shortest one in the game!
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Aug 20, 2022 17:20
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The little extra touches on the animations in this game are so good, with Natsuno dramatically ripping off her bandage before swiping START. Same with BJ's eyes going dark as he deletes himself, right as the Sentinel appears - I didn't actually notice that bit till I rewatched the scene later on.
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Aug 20, 2022 18:04
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Chapter 110: Destruction 13 Well, I hosed up. I thought my PS4 was set to only download patches when I requested it to, but I turned it on recently and found it downloading a new patch for 13 Sentinels. This patch mainly serves to bring it up to parity with the more recent Switch version of the game, which featured a number of new abilities and balance changes. I can’t list all of these changes because I sincerely do not know all of them, but the main balance change I am aware of is a nerf to Sentry Guns, oh joy. Sentry Guns used to have 1300x12 (which was apparently mistakenly written as 1300x10 ingame) POW, now they have 1000x12. This means they do less damage per shot. Believe me, we’ll be feeling the difference.  Here’s the PS4 patch notes. You’ll see that they’ve added new armaments, yes, but they also fixed an issue where EP wouldn’t fully regenerate after completing a stage in Destruction, which I had assumed was intentional. So that’s why Gouto and Ryoko always started maps with such low EP!  Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)  If we drop in and check the Customize menus of each of our pilots, we’ll notice some new details. Ei here has four red markers above Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles, an armament we never unlocked. If we were to unlock this armament and upgrade it four times, we would unlock a brand new armament for Ei to use. Every pilot has two of these to unlock now.  If we shift over to Nenji, for instance, we’ll see that he has already unlocked the High-Performance Charger armament, because we have already upgraded the prerequisite armament, EMP Attractor, four times. I’ll go ahead and list everything we’ve unlocked so far:
  We need Natsuno and Miura for this one.  We equip Plasmic Wrecker on Iori to replace Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter, but don’t upgrade it.  For Ei, we upgrade Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles to +4 to unlock a new armament, Anti-Ground Missile Barrage, which we upgrade to +5. This skill fires a random barrage of missiles toward ground kaiju in the area of effect. We equip it, replacing Limiter Removal.  Finally, for Juro, we upgrade Arm-Mounted Piercing Cannons to +4. We also unlock and upgrade Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter to +4 to unlock his other armament, Elite Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter. It’s a stronger Fusion Cutter, but we weren’t really using that thing anyway.  This’ll do. Music: (THREONINE) (Rikako Watanabe)     …… Natsuno-san? Y’know, Miura-kun… you kinda remind me of BJ. Uh… I do? Weird, right? It’s not like the two of you are that similar, even.Uhhhhh, about that… If I had to guess… it’s because he felt the same way. You can withdraw, Natsuno-san. I’ll stay here, as a shield. I’m not going anywhere. No. 17’s gonna win this for us. It’s BJ’s own Sentinel, after all. …… You’re right… He and that Sentinel are one and the same. And I know that I can count on him to protect you. Well, nothing else for it… Please, cover me. Video: Destruction Wave 3-6       If we activate Aegis on all the terminals, time as we know it will stop in this world. We’ll stop time!? You gotta be shittin’ me…   Everyone but us will disappear. They’ll never come back. And that’s not all. We’d be completely isolated. Trapped in a dead world. Just us and the ruined city until the day we die. …So this Aegis isn’t gonna save our asses after all. If Morimura believed the Sentinel Project was a lost cause, this must have seemed like her only option.   Miura’s Tactics Drill increases his attack “when the total number of combos exceeds 100,” whatever the gently caress that means. Apparently it’s really easy to get over 100 combos, so eh, free boost. In the process of looking this up I also discovered what city damage actually is: kaiju that are left alive for too long will target a city block instead of a Sentinel or the terminal, damaging it. The goal is already naturally to kill kaiju ASAP, so whatever.  Ei’s Saw That Coming gives him a high chance to dodge close-quarter attacks.  Megumi’s Watch Me, Juro significantly increases her Attack whenever Juro is nearby.       Unfortunately, we need both Juro and Megumi for this next wave, and we only have Megumi available. Fine, whatever.  Fine, whatever. I’ll knock out the Wave 2-9 S-Rank real quick.   Nenji upgrades his Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles to +4 to unlock Wide-Range Suppression Rockets, which he upgrades to +5. This is basically Missile Rain but only for ground kaiju and in a more focused AoE. It’s pretty good, considering Nenji’s lack of ranged options.  Iori upgrades her Plasmic Wrecker to +3.  Ryoko equips Cyberattack Missiles to replace Heavy Knuckles and upgrades it to +3. She also upgrades Anti-Ground Piercing Rocket Launchers to +4 to unlock her other armament, Anti-Ground Salvo. Anti-Ground Salvo fires a random barrage of armor-piercing rockets around the Sentinel.  Finally, Tomi upgrades Anti-Ground Hunter Missile to +4 to unlock High-Performance Charger, which is the exact same as Nenji’s High-Performance Charger. It’s less useful on her, but we’ll equip it anyway because it’s a good way to get the EP to use Super Large Missile. We slot it in to replace Long-Range Missiles. We also upgrade EMP Stunner from +2 to +3.  Okay, let’s knock this one out.   Yuki’s My Only Friend increases her Attack significantly for a time whenever Natsuno is attacked.  Gouto’s Just As Planned is a weird one. If he defeats many kaiju in a single hit, his Attack, WT recovery speed, move speed, and damage received increase temporarily.     Okay, back to the real action.  It’s going to cost a ton, but let’s just get Nenji’s Wide-Range Suppression Rockets maxed out.  Megumi gets her Multi-Lock Missiles upgraded from +2 to +4 to unlock Piercing Multi-Lock Missiles, which are like regular Multi-Lock Missiles, but they ignore armor. We also upgrade her Interceptors from +6 to +8.  Natsuno gets her Missile Rain upgraded from +4 to +5.  Let’s go. Music: (THREONINE) (Rikako Watanabe)    Ms. Morimura probably didn’t know how tough it would be…  Tetsuya Ida probably never realized Sentinel combat would get this rough. Even the one they called 426 couldn’t have predicted this. You’re right… No turning back now. All we can do is see it through. Video: Destruction Wave 3-7     So… Kisaragi! There’s somethin’ I gotta tell you.  Wait, didn’t you already do this? Now hold on! Gah! What!? Seriously!? Here, now!? You are such an rear end! You have no idea how to do this!  What, that’s bad!? But… this is how they always do this stuff in the movies…  …Sorry, Kurabe, but… That poo poo just makes me feel even worse…Ha!    Nenji’s Get Away From Her! increases his Attack significantly for a time whenever Tomi is attacked. Cute that we got it right after that scene.       Clear within sixty seconds and without a Sentinel being immobilized. All right, then.  For Yuki, we upgrade Shield Matrix to +4 to unlock her armament Active Cooling Device. This shortens the time needed for allies in an area to take action again by 50%, nifty. We upgrade it to +5, but all that really does is increase the range.  And let’s finish one more wave. Music: (THREONINE) (Rikako Watanabe)     Nothing for it. Outnumbered as we are, we have to cover them all… It’s the only chance we have. At least, until Miyuki Inaba reconnects with us. Let’s do our country proud, Amiguchi. Show these fiends the courage of Japan!  You’re an inspiration to us all, Yakisoba Pan Angel. Hijiyama-san… could you stop calling me that…?  Looks like duty calls, huh? Exactly. That’s the true pride of the men of Japan… The will to stare death in the face and laugh. ‘Scuse me, but the ladies are kicking butt out here too… Hey, works for me. Kill my kaiju, too. Knock yourselves out. They’re within range now.Perhaps one of the first times I’ve really enjoyed Shu, there.  Video: Destruction Wave 3-8 None of these Destruction Waves have been very interesting, despite our new toys.        There are three terminals remaining. We can protect two of them with Aegis. But we’re on our own with the last terminal. How much longer do we need to hold out? We need to reestablish a connection with Miyuki Inaba. That’s still 10 hours off. 10 hours we don’t have… But her plan is our last hope. The kaiju are heading for the next terminal… Brace yourself, Keitaro. We are soldiers, and this is the moment we trained for. Hours, days, it doesn’t matter. We’ll hold the line.   Hijiyama’s Tactics Drill is exactly the same as the one Miura got earlier in this update.  We got the S-Rank, but I accidentally skipped past the Mystery File reward (it was for Repair Emitter)    Christ, we’ve got a lot of Mystery Points.  No progressing through the rest of Destruction until the story is completely finished, I see. Time for some Mystery Files!       Ha, it be a unicycle here. Cute. Really like that they actually created this poster as an art asset just for this.  And let’s also see the Mystery Files we skipped from the last update:   
Arist fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Aug 22, 2022 |
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Aug 22, 2022 20:59
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That scene with Nenji was extremely cute. I'm posting from a phone so I can't manage to point out exactly where, but the screenshot where Gotou is talking is posted twice. Also, the skill unlock screenshot for Gotou appears to be missing.
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Aug 22, 2022 22:02
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It makes sense that Juro wouldn't see the issue with screaming his feelings like that considering what he did the last time he was in a sentinel.
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Aug 22, 2022 22:18
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I wonder if you can to the battle with the line "He wasn't a nice cat" before finding out he was a cat. I imagine they've made sure to plot lock battles perfectly to avoid such reveals, but still, that'd be funny. It occurs to me, seeing how many Mystery Points you have... Do any of these newly patched armaments get files I wonder?
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Aug 23, 2022 17:11
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HGH posted:I wonder if you can to the battle with the line "He wasn't a nice cat" before finding out he was a cat. I imagine they've made sure to plot lock battles perfectly to avoid such reveals, but still, that'd be funny. You can absolutely get spoiled on things from Destruction. I believe the tutorial Destruction chapter that introduces Natsuno and Miura actually kind of spoils BJ's death, and that's from like, the fourth update! However, it's not actually possible to get spoiled on that Fluffy detail from this chapter. Wave 3-1 is locked behind Juro's last event, which is when you find out Kyuta Shiba and Fluffy are the same person, 426. Also, I don't think they added Mystery Files for the new weapons, no.
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Aug 23, 2022 17:21
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   Chapter 111: Keitaro Miura 8 (FINAL)    I remember the day the Kurabe family took me in. I held Chihiro’s hand, and there was a sunset just like this…   Consider Chihiro (I don’t care who Chihiro says she is… She’s still family.) Music: Beyond the Memories (Rikako Watanabe)    That Sentinel belongs to us, doesn’t it? Why wouldn’t I show up?  Yeah. The Sentinel’s inside that building.  Pretty soon, all this’ll turn into a battleground. We’ll be fighting in a place that’s supposedly in the future. This is what we’ve been training for. It’s an honor to fight using such incredible weapons.Use Chihiro on Takatoshi Hijiyama  …Could you look after Chihiro? Whenever you’re in trouble, I’ll always be there. And if it ever looks grim, I’ll be the first to take a bullet for you.    Use Sentinel on Takatoshi Hijiyama Music: To the Final Battle (Yoshimi Kudo)  We’re taking back our Sentinel. That’s what I want to hear.       I’m using low-power shots, but still… Feels like we’ve given these guys quite the punishment.You and every other teenager in this drat city.   It’s still a little too early to be thanking me. I’d better join her. Save some action for me, all right?Oh, don’t worry. There’ll be plenty to go around. I’ll catch up to you soon. *nod*  Activate Sentinel          All right, no time to waste. Natsuno-san! Can you hear me? I thought it was all over… Just stay put! I’ll be right there! Okay…  Even if it costs me my life.    And there’s Miura finished, finally. What a good boy he is.
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Sep 3, 2022 17:12
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  Chapter 112: Renya Gouto 6    Oh hey, a conversation between 2188!Gouto and an unfinished art asset. Music: The Chills (Yoshimi Kudo)  The last time I saw you was two months before my death… Roughly a year ago, I think. …Chairman Ogata? An AI construct based on Chairman Kengo Ogata… Why would this be in Morimura's files...? I see… So this is how she managed to raise all those funds… She must've used this AI to access the Shikishima Chairman's hidden network. Not quite. I'm afraid that was originally my idea. The good Professor Morimura was only following my orders. So all of this was by design? Your design? Leaking the prototype nanomachinery to the black market… The catastrophic consequences… You're the one who exploited her. If you blame anyone, blame yourself. We were so close to losing Project Ark entirely. Now, we must prioritize the project above all else. I'll finally have my second chance at life. …You're planning on downloading yourself into a clone… A brave new Earth is waiting for me. I won't let you do this... What is Professor Morimura doing now? …She's dead. By that hitman's hands, I presume. That's humanity… Self-destructive to the very end. Only a few survivors left now. I give them three days at most. My deepest condolences for your imminent death. Shut up, construct! Your project is over! Unfortunately for you, the Ark has already set off. It's still within comms range. You don't have clearance. Out of the survivors, the ones who would have clearance… Despite the fact that this scene involved a character who didn’t even get shown onscreen, who we have never heard from before and—spoiler alert—will never hear from again, it was actually incredibly consequential for the rest of the game. Lotta implications there. But I’m getting ahead of myself a bit. The rest we’ll decode after the game is finished. Music: Staring Into The Void (Yoshimi Kudo)  Suppose I am the professor. Then what? I want to know the truth. I want to know the reasons behind all of this… But that seems unlikely. I imagine you’re not inclined to tell me anything. And why’s that? It’d be inconvenient for you if we had all the facts. Considering you’re trying to eliminate us. …… From the very beginning… You never intended for this world to survive. I do. So you think I’m enabling the kaiju now? Even though I’ve got more reason to hate them than any of you? That is true, at least. You’re clearly not on the kaiju’s side. After all, they are a threat to your primary objective. Which would be to carry out the plan you formed in 2188.Plan? However, that plan may now be untenable. The situation has deviated too drastically. Consider Operation Aegis (If Operation Aegis succeeds… A world reset will no longer be possible. This operation goes against Professor Morimura’s agenda. She will stop at nothing to prevent it.) Recall when I brought you to the underground UFO. I believe you said something like… It was out of your hands. Consider Remark in the UFO    Music: The Tower of Knowledge (Hitoshi Sakimoto)  Yes… Honestly, Okino-kun… You can’t take anything else in life seriously… So why do you put so much time into all this…? *sigh* Just talking to myself. More importantly, look at this mess… Something unpleasant must have happened here. Most likely.  Probably left here by Ida-san…   External damage suggests the weapon was a phaser. I see…  …Is it really possible? I have a fairly comprehensive grasp of this system. This abnormality all comes down to the D-Code, right? I should be able to get rid of it. Why would Ms. Morimura push for Operation Aegis if this was an option all along? …… …Well, you said it yourself. She’s either being controlled by someone… Or she could be trying to save herself. That’s not right…  …That file system hadn't even been analyzed yet… How did you gain access…? I have a senior admin ID. Access privileges for the entire system. You somehow got access to an account that high-level? Yes. I have my ways.  It’s barely operational. I won’t be able to process much here. Well, not much choice… I'll have to send direct instructions to the command ship. Command ship? The mothership in orbit. It can send commands directly to the UFO. Is it… an ark? Some grand design from the people of the future? …Either that, or a base of operations for an alien invasion.80% of Chihiro’s lines in this scene are just bad attempts at playing dumb, lmao.    But we don’t have that long. Time to find another link. Will this fix cut off the kaiju’s attacks? It should be able to solve the problem at its core…  That’s out of my hands. Which means… We’ll still have to deal with the kaiju already generated. We don’t know how many the factories have produced. If we could just verify their numbers… Hm… We’re going to need the Sentinels after all.   Music: UNPREDICTABLE (Yoshimi Kudo)  No matter how you try to fix it, your plan is irreversibly impacted. The most direct fix would be eliminating the D-Code. Then, you would just restart the loop anew…   Which is, in essence, your goal. …You’re overthinking this.Do you really think that’s gonna work on Gouto? Dude’s like a bloodhound for plot beats that didn’t fit into the script neatly. Use Loop on Chihiro  You need them to destroy all the sectors' mainframes. And therein lies your goal. You want this world destroyed so the timeline can be reset. …… But you have one major obstacle… And that's Operation Aegis.Use Operation Aegis on Chihiro  It causes a terminal to seal itself off in self-defense… Preventing anyone from using it to control the world. Once all the terminals are sealed off… We'll be severed from the mainframe. Effectively preventing any further loop or extinction. …… But... if that happens, your plan is null and void. We'd be stuck in a loop where your goal was impossible. What do you plan to do about it? Use Police Records on Chihiro  We discussed the suspect of Ms. Morimura's murder… And you asked me who I think did it. Use Chihiro Morimura on Chihiro Music: Hard Pill to Swallow (Kikuchi Yukinori)   God, Gouto’s got this whole thing figured out, eh?  No fuckin’ reaction. Guilty as hell! She was a staunch advocate of Operation Aegis. A thorn in your side. Someone in the way of your reset. An interesting theory, if also an incorrect one. Believe me… I understand why you'd view me with hostility. Certainly, Renya Gouto was responsible for chasing you out of Newmen. Even if it was on Shikishima's behalf. A buyer, simply eliminating liabilities. After that, you took the lead on Project Ark… under Kengo Ogata's oversight. Oh poo poo, it all comes back around! Use Kengo Ogata on Chihiro  …And Shikishima’s Chairman, who recognized your talent. He passed away in 2187. His age caught up with him. But the other Kengo Ogata is perhaps more relevant. The one you created after his death using his memories… An AI construct. You were letting it control you. Oh my god, she admit it!  Yes... Renya Gouto found that AI. The log was recorded in the colony after your death. You set it so that she’d download your memories. *agitated huff* It's clear this project was not a selfish endeavor. I'm sure you felt a sense of duty to save humanity. But you were also trying to bring Kengo Ogata back to life. So Professor Morimura takes over Chihiro Morimura's clone. And presumably… Kengo Ogata would take over Nenji Ogata's clone.Not my boy Nenji! *flustered breath* That's why you're so intent on sticking to the plan. Certainly, from your perspective… Ms. Morimura was expendable. She had to die. Her very survival endangered your ultimate goal.   And that was the end of Gouto.  …Well, not quite. But it would have been funny if it was.       We’ve just got two more events left, one of which locks this final Gouto chapter off.
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Sep 5, 2022 20:12
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I always appreciate a good QED drop.
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Sep 5, 2022 22:15
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What if I wanted Gouto to get shot, though? 
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Sep 6, 2022 11:17
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   Chapter 113: Takatoshi Hijiyama 7 (FINAL) Music: SEEKER (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)   Well… I think I finally found what we needed. The answer to our problem. What is it?    Consider Tsukasa Okino (What can I do right now…? I have to save everyone. That means I need to stay at Okino’s side.) The command ship’s still behind the horizon. That means still about half an hour until they’re in comms range. Now it’s a waiting game. You remember our talk about the D-Code? Something inside that inner-lossiter? It's the thing calling the Deimos, right? You got it. More specifically… The important part is its connections to three discrete points. One of those points is the command ship in orbit, which I'll show you here. From that ship, it extracts the data of the Deimos themselves. That data's used to manufacture them in the automated factories in Sector 1… Then, the factory-fresh Deimos are deployed to attack Universal Control. And that's how the D-Code works. So why do the attacks make people disappear? I might actually have the answer to that one. But, well… It'd be better if you heard it from her. The command ship.Must be referring to Miyuki Inaba.    Music: Metal Demon (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)    ……   Must have come from aboveground. I’m definitely triggering the voice recognition, but… Looks like my operation authority has been revoked. They’ll be back in action soon.    You’re telling me.   That console…  …You stay here. I’ll go set the timer.   The android briefly turns around to face Okino, but is halted by his command.  Surprise! I was hiding over here in the corner!    Why only me!? I have to get back now, or Okino might not… Someone, anyone… I need to find someone who knows how to time travel… Consider Tsukasa Okino (I know what I saw. Just as I was shifting, I saw Okino… And the androids were after him. I need to get back and rescue him!)       Consider Ms. Morimura (Okino was looking into that teacher… Maybe she knows something about time travel.Consider Keitaro Miura (If what Keitaro said is true… The Sentinel’s capable of time travel. So if I can take it back from the government and Shikishima… Maybe I can use it to save Okino…)Consider Ei Sekigahara (Crawling to him for help leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but… Desperate times call for desperate measures.)  Hijiyama looks around the schoolyard, but sees no one of interest.   Okay, buddy. Jeez.    There’s something I need to ask you. Uh… sure, what’s up?Use Ei Sekigahara on Female Student  Seen any suspicious characters? Sharp eyes, acting fishy? Yyyeah, right in front of— …?Use Ms. Morimura on Female Student  Do you have any idea where she might be? Uh… you need to find Ms. Morimura? I think she already went home for the day… Really…? Of all times, she had to be gone during an emergency… I’ll have to look somewhere else… Use Keitaro Miura on Female Student  He’d be wearing a school hat. Has he been around here? A school hat? You mean that middle-schooler kid? You’ve seen him? Uh, sorry… I don’t really know anything. But you might want to talk to one of our track members. Where would I find them? Around now, she’d probably be at the rest area… Understood. Thank you.  My apologies. I appreciate the help.    Uh… for what?Use Ei Sekigahara on Track Member  Have you seen anyone like that around school? …Uh, yeah. Really! I'm talking to him. …Anyone else? Well... there's also Ogata-kun… ……Unfortunately, Nenji is not going to be able to help us with this specific issue. Unless he suddenly figured out how to use a gate.  Use Keitaro Miura on Track Member Any idea where I might find him? A school hat...? You mean Natsuno's boyfriend? Natsuno…? One of my friends in track has a boyfriend… And he always wears this super vintage-looking school hat. That's him. Do you know where he is? Hmm… He wasn't near the athletics building… I do remember something… Oh, I've seen him around the old school building… The old school building…? So, the wooden schoolhouse. Thank you. Much appreciated. Yes, thank you.If we hadn’t asked the first girl about Morimura, we could have asked this one about her, with the same result (she gets disqualified).    Hijiyama chooses the worst possible time to have a flashback… Music: Now Or Never (Kazuki Higashihara)   …… What’s this?  Don’t be crazy, I-I… ……  Déjà vu, huh? Isn’t this where I confessed to Nenji Ogata, too? That seemed like it really got to you. *blushing* You idiot… You thought it’d make me happy for a man to confess to me? Aww, did Okino catch feelings for this big lug?  Music: Metal Demon (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)     You…? Wait, maybe…? This was the correct area to search.   (to Natsuno) Why do you have this? Who are you…? Takatoshi-san. Let me… take you.Music: Hack and Crash (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  …!? He has been wounded by androids. His condition is critical. What!? …… How do you know about Okino…? Television broadcasts and command ship transmissions. Miyuki Inaba used them to inform me.Laughing thinking about BJ watchin’ the teevee looking for messages from Miyuki Inaba. Natsuno. He will need it. Oh… sure.   A phaser. You will need a weapon to neutralize the androids. Some kind of future-gun…? I extracted it from the Shikishima laboratory. It was designed based on data from the mainframe. Natsuno, please stay here. What? It will be dangerous.      …Three active androids detected. I’m on it!                Ugh… Don’t worry, I’ll get you to a hospital! Music: Living in the Moment (Yoshimi Kudo) Hijiyama-kun… Don’t talk. I’m here. The… letter… Read… my letter…    Okino’s… He’s gone… Universal Control… has isolated him.Just like Tamao…   You don’t have much of a knack for love letters…   Read Okino’s Letter  “So I’d like to share the Sentinel with you. I hid it in the ocean in Sector 5. It’s the one I piloted. Sentinel No. 12. If anything happens to me, you’ll need access to it. So I made one last adjustment to your body on my own. The Sentinel activation switch is on your left forearm.”  Activate Sentinel  If you really are alive… if you’re out there, somewhere… Then you’re going to need a home to return to. It’d be a shame if it was gone. Music: To the Final Battle (Yoshimi Kudo) So… I’ll fight to my last breath to save it.        I thought I heard Okino’s voice…  …! Okino!?Music: Mutual Telepathy (Composer: Kazuki Higashihara, Arranger: Rikako Watanabe) You can't see them, but I do still have legs. No ghosts here. So the scout was right...! I'm still alive. Because we shared the Sentinel… You're the only one who I can communicate with. What can I do? How do I save you? I can't go back to that world anymore. I was cut off from it. To keep me alive. This was the answer, Hijiyama-kun… Remember what we talked about? The mystery process eating up 80% of the innerlocitor's memory? Our hearing, vision, scent, touch, and taste… It was supplying sensory data. Everything we ever perceived. It made everything in that world seem real. That was practically its highest-priority function.Wait a minute… "Seem" real? You don't mean it was all fake? My home, the factory...? The five sectors are not reality. Besides the fifteen of us, every human we've ever known… They were created by Universal Control. That world is a simulated space. A massive, perfect illusion for us.It was the Matrix the whole time!? None of it was real…? These cockpits we're in right now? That is reality. My designs for the Sentinels never had cockpits at all.Wait, what? What kind of suicidal moron would get in a 35-meter weaponized metal suit? A single punch's recoil impact would hit the pilot like a train crash.Ha! But then the finished Sentinels had ways to get inside. I wasn't too familiar with the systems we'd pulled from the mainframe data. I figured it was just a spec I hadn't noticed at the time. But it wasn't even a cockpit at all. They're growth pods. Meant to keep our bodies healthy. We were born inside these pods. We have never known life outside of them.…Huh. …… …If all that's true… How do we get out? I don't know if we can get out. But at least one thing's clear. If the Deimos invasion destroys the world we knew… Then we will all die inside these pods. …… Fat chance of that. …No matter what else may change, my duty is the same. Hijiyama-kun— …Hijiyama-kun…  …Let’s go.  Aww…       No time travel, no teleportation, no (real) gargantuan mecha! You heard it here, folks: 13 Sentinels is HARD SCIENCE FICTION!!!!    And that’s Hijyama done.  Just our final Gouto event left. We’ll see that next time. But before that, we haven’t seen the board in a few updates, so…  First up, we have an implied nanomachine injection from Okino to Hijiyama (no jokes about that phrasing, please), so we link them in blue.  We add a few new segments to the 2188 segment as well. “Morimura is Okino’s mom, kinda” and “Project Ark is in a simulation???”  We also add two more bits about Kengo Ogata and Professor Morimura potentially taking over the clones of Nenji and Chihiro. These memory downloads do not seem to have happened (or did they????  ) because Nenji’s still the good, sweet boy we all know and love. And so is Iori, I guess, whatever. According to Gouto, the memories would have been downloaded when they turned 18, so we still had some time, given that the simulation only lasts about sixteen years before the Deimos arrive. I add one new mystery to the board: ‘Why is everyone naked?” It is a mystery that we didn’t even know was a mystery until now, but we solved it. And because it’s solved, I immediately remove it from the board. I also remove every other lingering mystery from the board, because they have, to my satisfaction, been answered at this point, be it from this last update or from one of the several preceding. But that doesn’t mean there’s no mysteries left in this game. Because there is a big one…  Well, looks like those Sentinel kids have got themselves in a whole heap of trouble. How are they going to get out of this mess? Will they? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!  And here’s the board.
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Sep 8, 2022 22:02
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We're on the home stretch, folks.
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Sep 8, 2022 22:15
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Hijiyama is such a good boy.  Also, really good pacing to have this be the penultimate update with its reveal! ANNOYINGLY, if you do this bit of story out of order with the "Chihiro force-warps everyone to a different sector" event (and I think that's entirely possible) it really negates the impact of the latter since ultimately she was just moving around data at that point.
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Sep 8, 2022 23:03
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Podima posted:Hijiyama is such a good boy. I think that event is actually the prerequisite for this Hijiyama event, at the very least.
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Sep 8, 2022 23:08
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No time for yakisoba pan, gotta save Okino! That's how you know it's true love. Also lol somebody gave Natsuno a gun
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Sep 8, 2022 23:33
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I love how incredibly impractical every aspect of these growth pods are. Imagine a baby trying to grow while in that position.
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Sep 8, 2022 23:39
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I love that there is a logical explanation for why they're all naked.
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Sep 9, 2022 00:07
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https://twitter.com/hideo_kojima_en/status/376424398023962624
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Sep 9, 2022 00:12
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I'm half expecting a followup twist that a bunch of NPCs were part of the simulation all along.
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Sep 9, 2022 13:42
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GimmickMan posted:I'm half expecting a followup twist that a bunch of NPCs were part of the simulation all along. That's not a twist. That's literally the state of reality. quote:The five sectors are not reality. Besides the fifteen of us, every human we've ever known… They were created by Universal Control. That world is a simulated space. A massive, perfect illusion for us.
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Sep 9, 2022 14:39
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I just want to point out how much I love this line:Arist posted:
It's so great and so stupid. Like, gently caress off, ahahahaha
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Sep 9, 2022 18:52
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SettingSun posted:That's not a twist. That's literally the state of reality. Oh, huh. That's on me for reading this update half-awake before leaving in the morning. Thanks!
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Sep 9, 2022 19:02
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Arist posted:I just want to point out how much I love this line: Are you laughing with the lampshade, or at the lampshade? Like, it's a weeb game. You should expect to run into these kinds of self-referential fedora-tips.
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Sep 9, 2022 21:52
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Both, kinda. Probably more "with" than "at," but there's definitely a tiny bit of eye-rolling there.
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Sep 9, 2022 21:53
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The fact it's a simulation is surprising to me, but probably in retrospect shouldn't be. It answers a lot of questions pretty easily like how you can "reset" the world ad infinitum.
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Sep 9, 2022 23:08
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So as we're wrapping all this up Tamao is oddly not relevant to anything at all? You would think she would be one of the special kids to have a robot made in her shape.
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Sep 9, 2022 23:28
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 14:26 |
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WarpedLichen posted:So as we're wrapping all this up Tamao is oddly not relevant to anything at all? You would think she would be one of the special kids to have a robot made in her shape. Pretty sure she was a victim of budget issues.
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Sep 9, 2022 23:37
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