Part 43: Update XLI

♪ BGM: The Forbidden Playhouse ♫

Now it's time to check out the third level.



This area doesn't have moving lasers - instead, there's a whole bunch of lasers focused on one area, preventing us from progressing.



At least that means we can grab collectibles in peace.



Some more stuff on what they're building in here. I wonder what it is?



...oh.





Don't worry, if you input the password in the Management Room, the lasers will shut off.



Just a bit more... If we can get to that elevator, we can get to the deepest area. Once we're there...the trump card is ours.
Jeez, this sucks. I'm starting to wish I just left...

Well, let's go and check out that room then.



♪ BGM: DSO_Despair-Syndrome ♫

...Just like I thought.
What, you expected this!? Explain!
This guy wasn't killed by a kid. He was killed by a Guard Monokuma that went haywire. But this is a problem... He's the only one who knows the password to turn off the lasers.
Then what are we gonna do!?
We gotta find that password somehow... I'm sure there's a clue or something in here. We can't just give up...
Oh, c'mon, don't start complaining... Let's just do this.
...



♪ BGM: Riddle Land ♫

So, did anyone expect a password puzzle? Because that's what you're getting. Let's check around for clues.





We put the password in here to stop the lasers.
B-But there's no way we could possibly know what it is...
We've got to look for a hint, there's no other way. After getting a good look around, let me know. Maybe I can think of something...
I don't really expect a punk like you to come up with a bright idea, but thanks anyway.



The fact that I'm starting to get used to this kind of thing...disgusts me.
Huh, what's this?



A passage is written in the bloodstained notebook. "The 3rd Saturday is my son's birthday this year. I can't wait to spend time together." "I can see my son and my wife's smiles in my mind. What should I buy for a present?"

I wonder if he was able to spend time with his son on his birthday...
...No time for tears right now.



Something's written on the bloody photograph. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 69 8"

With the blood on it... It doesn't feel like a happy birthday picture at all...



It says, "The password is my son's birthday."

Wow, actually writing down a password like this? How technologically impaired are you? Should I use this to log in to some shady mail order website?
Toko... Why do you know about shady mail order websites?
Sh-Shut up! That's not important right now!
Anyway... We get the password if we can figure out his son's birthday, right?



We should be able to guess the son's birthday from all the information we've got.
Hm, his birthday is the 3rd Saturday, with the numbers 69 and 8 on the photo... ...Argh, that's not enough info at all!
Hey, don't give up now!
I can't think of anything yet... But talk to me later. I might think of something.



So, we should now have enough information to solve this puzzle. And, well, I don't have a fucking clue.



Thankfully, the game allows us to get some hints, and eventually it will just outright tell us the answer. So I'll just do that!



Like, the 1st day of the month can never be the 3rd Saturday, right?
Right! The 1st can only be in the 1st week of any month! Then a 3rd Saturday, that could be... Toko, from what day to what day would it be?
Don't ask me, I'm liberal arts to the core!

So that's the first hint.



Maybe you should think of it as something other than just a number...
Not a number...?

That's the second hint.



The 3rd Saturday should be between the 15th and the 21st for any month.
Which means, problem solved if I just input 7 days worth of each month!
Hey, wait! Are you seriously gonna stand there and try 84 combinations!? Think about it along with the number on the photo, and then you should get the password.

That's the third hint.





Sign of Cancer...?
It's a thing used in horoscopes. If you think of it that way, the star makes sense. It's definitely Cancer's sign.
So the 8... Is that August?
...Are you really a high school student? Cancer is from 6/22 to 7/22.
Meaning the 8 has to be a date. That would make the most sense.
Either the 8th, the 18th, or the 28th...
If you think of that and the 3rd Saturday, that should give you the answer.
The 3rd Saturday?
You already forqot?
The 3rd Saturday is between the 15th and the 21st for any month.
You're right! Now we know the answer!

That's the fourth hint. And finally, if you tell the game to just outright tell you the answer:



The birthday is on a 3rd Saturday, under the sign of Cancer. All good so far?
Yeah but...I can't figure out anything else...
Well think about it like this... Regardless of the month, the birthday has to be between the 15th and the 21st. And it's got to be between 6/22 and 7/22.
To fulfill both requirements, it's some time between 7/15 and 7/21, so 7 days.
And within those 7 days, the correct date has an 8 in it.
So that means... 7/18?
Yeah, I think that's it. It's got to be. The correct password is 0718.
Hurry up and input it so we can get out of this room...

Alright, let's do that.





And that turns the lasers off!



♪ BGM: DSO_Beautiful Dead ♫

You sure talk big, you couldn't even look us in the eye a while ago!
N-Now now...



♪ BGM: The Forbidden Playhouse ♫

Now we can take the elevator, but first, collectible!



Huh. Well that's just rude.



Also, there's some sparkles in front of the giant... spinning... Monokuma ball thing?



♪ Jingle: Hidden Kids Discovered! ♫

Now, with that done, let's head down.



The fourth floor doesn't have a lot.



There's an area where discarded Monokuma parts get smashed up and scrapped.



There's this "Monokuma Maker", which apparently takes palm trees and spits out Monokumas.



Occasionally, these two guys also come out over the assembly line. They're a sort of mascot for Sony / Playstation in general.



Revolutionary!



We have one more collectible.







Looks like Nagisa was harboring a lot more doubts than he was letting on. Well, there's probably nothing left of that now that Monaca, uh, set him straight.



We have a skill shop, but it's still all sold out.



Our last hope...
We've come this far, but... This is just too suspicious... Komaru, open the door...but be careful.
...So *I'm* the one who has to open the door.

Well, let's do it.





Upon entering the door, Komaru doesn't know what the fuck.



Toko is pretty shocked as well, though Haiji doesn't really look surprised. What is it they're seeing?



Oh, nothing special, just A GIANT FUCKING MONOKUMA.



♪ BGM: DSO_Weekly Despair Magazine ♫

Th-This is...a Monokuma?



This Monokuma is the last hope...?
It's not just an oversized Monokuma. It's a secret weapon that was built by Towa Group in case we ever needed to defend the city. If we use Big Bang Monokuma now... We can put up a fight and take back the city.
I-It's just as I thought... This is wrong! Why did Towa Group make such a thing!? And not only that, this whole factory! You were building Monokumas here!?
What's the meaning of this? Why are they being built in Towa's factory?
...
Oh, don't tell me... You better not turn out to be the mastermind or some bullshit like that.
Hey c'mon, if I were behind it all, why would I make Monokuma break my arm?
Then you better start talking.

♪ BGM: Ghost Stories From the School District of Revolution ♫

The Monokumas that are built here were supposed to be introduced to the world as Maid Robots. They were developed to assist daily life and also to help with dangerous labor tasks. But...those kids ended up taking over...
In wh-what way would this giant thing be a maid, exactly!?
This one's special. Didn't I tell you? This was built to protect the town from danger.
Then why make it look like a Monokuma? If these things were supposed to be maid robots...
Don't blame me, I didn't pick the design. The one who developed them chose that on their own.
"Don't blame me" is a classic excuse for dodging responsibility... Typical.
It is what it is. At the time these were being made, I wasn't even aware of it.
Ah, wait... About the one who developed them...



Suddenly, an interruption!

Wh-What is it now!?



♪ BGM: Sortie! Its Name Is Robot ♫

A robot crashes through the ceiling!



What the hell happened?



It's Nagisa's robot!



And where Nagisa's robot is, there is also Nagisa.



He's, uh, not looking so good.



♪ BGM: Absolute Terrified Girl ♫

That kid... He's the one who wanted to let us go, right?



Found you... Demons... I can't believe it... Hiding something like this...
Let me guess, did she tell you about this? If she can't control it, she wants you to destroy it?
Well, I won't let it happen! This is the hope we've finally got for ourselves...
You want to crush our paradise...with something like this... I won't let you... Everyone expects so much of the Warriors of Hope... And of me...



♪ BGM: Like I Would Become A Monster ♫



I'll work harder! I'll do it, anything, just please don't abandon me... Father... Mother... Big Sis Junko! Monaca! More, more, more! Expect more from me!
Wh-What's wrong with him!? He's batshit crazy!
How did he get like this...?
I can do it... I can really do it... Because out of all the Warriors of Hope... I'm the best at controlling these robots!



♪ BGM: Sortie! Its Name Is Robot ♫

The robot starts blasting away, having Komaru running for cover.



Shit! This is bad!



Toko! This way!



Whether they're Demons or not... anyone who gets in the way of paradise... I'll defeat each and every one of them!



So please! Give me high expectations! Expect more of me! More! Please expect the best from me!



♪ BGM: DSO_DISTRUST ♫

What do we do? Should we just run?
...But... Haiji said... The big Monokuma is the last hope for everyone back at the base...
If we run now, that Monokuma's gonna be destroyed, right? The last hope for the adults will be gone...
Y-You... Are you actually going to protect that thing!?
D-Do you realize what you're doing!? It's too dangerous...
...But then again... Maybe we have to fight.
Huh?

♪ BGM: DSO_New World Order ♫

Maybe a certain someone's speech actually influenced me a little... That's so unlike me...
But it's going to be alright. Look how far we've come already...
Yeah, you're right.



The two step out in front of the robot. It's boss battle time.



♪ BGM: The Warriors Of Hope ♫



Well. Nagisa's robot represents a step up in difficulty. There's a large amount of cover in this arena, and Nagisa's robot will slide around the arena, taking aim at Komaru and taking shots.



After the shots, you're given an opportunity to snipe its eye, which is its weak spot. After hitting it once, it's stunned and you can get a few shots off.



After getting hit, it jumps up to the three higher pillars in the arena and does a surrounding shot that hits you regardless of cover. This shot it's doing right now will hit me in a few frames, and I never figured out how to dodge that particular one. I assume you have to just be far enough away or hide behind the other large pillars, though I never managed that in this fight.



Getting caught out in the open and getting sniped is surprisingly easy.



Thankfully, the game drops health pickups when you're low on health, and thanks to our plentiful amount of skills, they heal 3 HP instead of 1, and I have 5 HP instead of 3. So that helps a lot. I think I take somewhere around 8 HP damage in this fight.



After a few hits, the Monokuma shield on its eye breaks and the core is exposed, leading to the second phase. Here, the robot swoops around in the windows and occasionally stops to take a shot at us.



It also throws grenades, which was an unwelcome surprise to me.



When it takes a shot, there's a chance it'll stop to reload, giving you a chance to take a shot yourself, or it'll swoop around again and take another shot. Assuming it'll reload without making sure that it's doing that will lead to getting shot.



From that point on, it's just about taking shots when you can get them until the boss goes down.



Finally, after defeating the boss, it has one last trick up its sleeve - it'll jump onto the central platform and scatter grenades everywhere, which is pretty much guaranteed to get you if you're not prepared for it.



♪ BGM: Punishment Of The Sage ♫



Nagisa's robot is not having a good time.



Nagisa just keeps trying to control it, which isn't a particularly good idea...



...particularly given the way that one arm is leaning.





And, well, uh...





...things end poorly.



♪ BGM: Silence ♫

But what about that kid...?



...Sorry, that wasn't funny.
Now's not the time! We gotta save him!
Just leave him...
...Huh?
If we save this crazy-ass kid, he'll just end up doing the same thing again. He probably got crushed anyway. We can't save him even if we wanted to.
...



♪ BGM: DSO_Welcome Despair Academy ♫

Hahahaha... The hope... We've finally got our hope...
H-Hope...
Alright, let's ride this right to the enemy's HQ!
Ride? On the Monokuma?
Oh, don't worry, you aren't driving this time. You wouldn't be able to, anyway. The only ones who can control this are me and my old man.
So I've gotta move this myself...
Now, let's begin the counterattack! Once the others see this, they'll be pumped for sure! Haha...hahahaha!



♪ BGM: It's a Kids' World ♫



Meanwhile...





Just as Monaca expected.
Ufufu, it's just like I thought. He met my expectations to the letter. Now then...I should get started on the final preparations.



♪ BGM: Like I Would Become A Monster ♫

You too, Mom and Dad.



Your child will be born again as The Successor to Junko Enoshima. Aha, ahahaha.

Well, that's not foreboding at all. As an aside, "Let's open the gates of Hell with Monaca" is one of my most favorite lines in the game. It's delivered with the kind of cadence that you would expect a kids' educational show character to say "Let's count to ten" with. But instead of that, it's opening the gates of Hell. That kind of sums up one of the reasons I love Monaca so much - pitch-black evil wrapped in a saccharine shell.



So that's the end of the chapter, and, uh, yeah. That didn't go well.



♪ BGM: Absolute Delusional Girl ♫



I already know you're useless, but maybe you can at least be useful as a garbage can.

Our bonus here is a pathetic 50 Monocoins.



♪ BGM: Chapter End ♫





And with that, Chapter 4 comes to a close. Next time, we'll redo this chapter and do it right, and then, it's the final chapter. Shit's gonna get real.