Part 18: Update XVI

♪ BGM: DSO_Beautiful Dead ♫

We rejoin our intrepid duo as they head down into the subway.







A whole bunch of nothing is here.



I-It's dark and creepy... Weirds me out.
And it's not just that. Like I thought, the trains aren't moving.
But if we walk along the railway from here, we should be able to get out of the town, right?
Right? There's no mistaking it, right? I mean, we're gonna be saved, right?
Argh, so noisy... We won't know until we find out, will we?
Let's hurry up and go! Let's just run from here!
Oh, but, actually... Maybe it would be better if we pretended like we were dead to avoid attacks. Hey, Toko, do you know how to do a good zombie impression?
...I'm not doing that.



♪ BGM: Wonderful Dead 002 ♫

And with that, we find ourselves in an empty subway station. The Wonderful Dead music has shifted to its second variant for this chapter, and this particular one is tied with It's A Kids' World for my favorite track in the game. We already heard Wonderful Dead 004, which was a more upbeat, lounge-type version, and this is the more low-key variant of that, with less percussion and generally less going on. This track is just chill as all hell, and embodies the lounge feeling that some of this soundtrack has. Back when I was doing Vampires Dawn 2 and did some stuff about how to futz around with RPG Maker 2003, I made some small sample videos showing off some stuff I created as samples, I used Wonderful Dead 002 as background music because I thought it was perfect - the result looking like this (with super low bitrate for additional 2003 authenticity) - and also, over a year ago, I found out that there was an emulator for the Weatherstar 4000, an old weather forecast system used by The Weather Channel for local forecasts, and in dicking around with it, I made this, finding that Wonderful Dead 002 also makes good background music for weather forecasts.

Anyway, that's about enough of my rambling about music, let's get back to that subway.



There's also some grafitti sprayed on the floor of the station. No idea what it says.



First, we head down this part of the map, but...



Huh? Did we pay?



Instead, it's time to head down the stairs.



♪ BGM: We Can't Change The World ♫

Yes, but we already knew that...
I know but... To see it in person, stopped like this... It makes me kinda down, is all.
Jeez, are you really going to get depressed over every little thing?
Yeah, you're right. We should just walk along the railway. Then we'll be safe, right?
L-Like I said earlier, we can't know that for sure... Believing a lie so strongly just makes the truth that much more painful. Pop idols aren't virgins, lottery numbers are fixed...
This world is much easier to deal with if you look at it rationally.
I think...you might have gone a bit off topic there...
For now, there's no other option than to try, right?
You're...right. ...
...Something wrong, Toko? Are you worried about something?
Huh? N-No, not really. It's nothing.
It's just... Didn't I tell you? I'm afraid of the dark.
...Is that all? There's something else bugging you, isn't there?
Listen, if you have a bad feeling about this, or you can sense some kind of danger...
What, do you think I'm some kind of psychic danger detector or something?
If we're gonna do this, let's hurry up and do it now. We'll have time to think later. ...The both of us.
Huh? O-Okay...



Our first objective is to head in the opposite direction we were pointed in, because of course, there might be collectibles around!



In this case, sparkles!



♪ Jingle: Hidden Kids Discovered! ♫



Also, scribbled across the billboards here are the logos of the Warriors of Hope, because yes, they have logos! You might notice them come up at some point. The easiest to notice is the right one, which is the general symbol for the Warriors of Hope. All five wear this one as a pin of sorts. The left one is Jataro's symbol, which I don't think we've really seen yet except with the others in the arena where we fought Masaru.



The left one here is Monaca's logo, which is also drawn on the wheels of her wheelchair. The right one is Masaru's logo, which he also had on his shirt.



Over here on the left is Kotoko's logo, which is also on the horned head-dress thing she wears.



Finally, here on the left we have Nagisa's logo, which is also on a small red and yellow pin he wears. Also, there's a collectible on the right!







It's depressing! Yayifications!



Next, we head down some stairs and start making our way along the railway tracks.



There's some Monokumas to deal with, but nothing that causes problems.



At the end of the path, we have another collectible.



Remember this one, she's going to be relevant later. Like, WAY later, but later. Also, it might be hard to tell in this case, but this is Leon's motive prisoner.



We need to head through some train cars to keep progressing, and these look really swanky.



♪ BGM: Silence ♫



After that, we get a cutscene!

For some reason, it's getting darker and darker... shouldn't we start heading back now?
Oh, don't say that. Let's just keep going a bit farther...



But suddenly, Bombers sneak up from behind!



They toss their grenades, and...





...they bounce off the ceiling and land right back in front of them.



That didn't go so well. But then, out of the smoke...



...Monokumas in riot gear!



Komaru takes a shot...



...but it just bounces off the shield!





That shield... the gun and grenades don't work!
Then we need to get out of here fast!



♪ BGM: Absolute Despair Girl ♫

Eh, you know what, Toko, I think I've got this.



I still have a powered-up Break shot stored from the last nice shot I got, which can also take out these Guard guys. The other one, however, will now be a bit more of an issue.



What follows is a bunch of grab ass trying to goad the other one to use the attack where he tries to bash us with the shield, which gives us an opening to attack, but it doesn't really work all that well.



After that, I just circle around the guy a bunch trying to hit him in the side with Dance, and eventually succeed, letting me get a shot in and killing him. Could've gone a hell of a lot better, though.

We then move on, heading further along the rails, until...



♪ BGM: DSO_Despair-Syndrome ♫



Aha... Ahahahaha... Having luck this bad? It's almost comical...
No it isn't! It's not even one micron funny!



Wh-What!? What was that?
Something...hit my head. It felt like something fell on me from above.
...From above?



It's time for "rocks fall, everybody dies"!

Th-th-this is your fault for yelling so loud!
What do we do?
What do we do?



And then Toko gets brained by a massive piece of ceiling like we're in a cartoon.



Toko!



But suddenly, she rises back up, and...



♪ BGM: Fever Time ♫

Take a good look, the cute one is here!



Huh?

Komaru, once again, doesn't know what the fuck.

We gotta run, Dekomaru! Come on, let's dash!



To our...



...horizon!
Hey! Wait a sec!

I can't shake the feeling that this sudden art shift is a reference to *something*. I'll be damned if I know what, though. Audience?



♪ BGM: Monster That Shouts Its Love in the Middle of Hell ♫



Anyway, it's time for a timed escape segment, this time with us playing as Genocider.



The basic gist of the segment is that there's Monokuma kids blocking the passage we need to get through, and in order to scare them away, we need to beat up all the Monokumas in the area.



When we do, they bail, and we're free to head to the next part.



In the last bit, we have a whole bunch of Monokumas to deal with, but it's not that hard when we can just use Genocider freely.



And with that last group dealt with, we can head back to the station we started from.



It turns out being a very close call.



♪ BGM: DSO_Junk Food for a Dashing Youth ♫

Ufufu! Boy crazy!
Wh-Why? Why did your personality change? You didn't even shoot yourself with the stun gun!
Huuuh, I didn't tell ya? My personality switches when I go unconscious, too! And I'll stay this way until I go unconscious again!
What!?
Sneezing is the same way. My personality totally changes! It's downright refreshing!
You...also change by sneezing?
That's right! If I have a little pepper in my breakfast or lunch--
A-A-Aaachoo!



♪ BGM: DSO_Beautiful Dead ♫

She really did change!
I-I don't know what happened, but... I can take a guess.



This is...wrong... Definitely wrong.

♪ BGM: DSO_Welcome Despair Academy ♫

I just want to get out of this place. Why...? Why can't I do it?
Was I right...? Is it really impossible? I'll never escape?
...That might be the case.
...Huh?
But even if you can't escape, you can still survive.
All you need to do is face them. Fight them.
F-Fight...?



♪ BGM: DSO_Beautiful Dead ♫

Don't be so sure!



...Huh?

What did Toko see? Well, that'll have to wait until the next update, mainly because this upcoming segment is a whole bunch of dialogue that goes on for about 13 minutes and probably will make up an update all by itself.