Part 20: Ceremony

Last time on Disgaea 3 Mao lost his mind. Today, we try to get it back. But before we begin, let's talk about our main characters' evilities.

Disgaea 3 101: Main Character Evilities
Since we've got three story characters now and we're getting high enough level to unlock more evilities, let's talk about what our story characters can do.

Mao- Furious Courage- Mao's basic evility increases his stats for every enemy on the map, so he's strongest when the enemies are most numerous.
Physical/Magical Boost- Mao's only unique secondary evilities are these, which increase either his physical special or magical special damage by 15%. They're pretty cheap for what they do, which is going to be something we make use of later.

Almaz- Hero's Oath- Almaz's basic Evility makes him take less damage from higher level enemies. It's really good, not much to say.
Hero Style Defense- Almaz's first secondary evility allows him to automatically defend against attacks from the front without compromising his ability to counter. This combined with his first makes him an incredible tank.

Sapphire- Princess Glitter- This evility is just like Rozalin's passive in Disgaea 2, it makes all males around her better. It's not bad, especially in combination with her others.
Princess Hope- This evility increases the crit rate of all adjacent characters by 20%. It's incredible and worth moving her around to make use of and then cancelling her move after the execution.

Now back to our main feature.

Inside Mao's Heart…

Drama- In The Heart Again


So why are you risking yourself by jumping into more danger…? If I didn't come…
But see? Here you are. Isn't that enough?
Princess…
If you didn't come, then it would've been my fault for misjudging you.
Of course, I might've gone back to slash you to pieces to vent my anger. You saved your own life. Hehe.
"Hehe"? Princess…
And did you forget why I came to the Netherworld? I entered the heart for my own personal reasons, as well.
…But it's so reckless of you to want to defeat the Overlord yourself.
You think so, too?
Of course I do! That's why I-
Why you what?
Uh, nothing…



(I got caught by a demon, was robbed of my hero title, and here I am, in a messy situation.)
You know, it's quite comfortable in the Netherworld. Demons don't distance me for being a Princess. Some even attack!
Princess…?
No one complains that I won't stay guarded, or I'm stronger than the knights. I feel so… light hearted.
I get along better with demons than humans. …More so than I expected.
Don't say that! Demons are cold and heartless and even try to kill their own parents!
Demons are cold and heartless, huh? Then maybe… I truly am a demon.
What…!?



Many heroes passed away, challenging the Overlord on my behalf, but I can't shed a single tear for them, either.
You see? …I am heartless.
There's probably no one left who would cry for me when I'm gone.
That's why I decided to defeat the Overlord myself.
It might simply be that I want to disappear from this world…
But…!



(Even now, she looked like she was about to cry…)
(…Ah, I'm so stupid. I saw her in person and got excited and wasn't looking at the Princess.)
(I didn't know she had chosen to do this because she felt this way…)
(How can I protect her without even recognizing her problems!? Courage, a million times stronger!?)
(What am I…?)


Drama- Futile Revenge Intro


Eringi: Won't let you turn him back, gii!
…Guards are tougher than before! Even though his heart's open? Why…?
It's as if they're trying to interfere with us. I get the feeling they don't want us to set Sir Mao back to normal.
…Huh? Who's pulling on my skirt? Ohh, if you lift it, it's over! I can't guarantee your life-
Ba, babuu.
Oh it's you, Sir Mao. What's wrong?
Babloo.
Oh, is that so? Looks like we're allowed to beat these guys down.
Princess, you can understand what Mao's saying?
No. I just through it would be a lot easier if that was the case.
That's… so irresponsible.



Whoa! They're coming!

Map- Futile Revenge


So, this is an interesting map. It's covered entirely in red and blue Geo Blocks. The red blocks are Warp blocks, the blue blocks are Silence blocks. They are in sort of a checkerboard pattern. The way I prefer to do this map is station on the Warp blocks and draw the Eringis onto the Silence blocks then destroy them. This is a pretty easy map, really. One thing of note is what happens to Mao until we fix him. His title changes to 'Baby' and he only makes 'Babloo' noises. It's pretty funny.

Drama- Heart Vault Intro


There it is! Huh? The Overlord's plug is gone.
???: Ha hah! Looking for something, deary? No use, no use, no use!
Who's there!?



…Another kind of Sir Mao?
Well this one seems kind of… High strung?
YES, YES, YES! That's right, I'm a clone of Mao! I won't let you re-scar my heart, savvy?
Why don't you want to be back to normal?
Why, why, WHY!? You ask? …Take this! URAAHH!!
Owwww!
Now didn't that HURT!?
Of course, you psycho!
Right, now listen up! Scarring hurts! Only special kinds of people like pain! Normal people don't WANT to hurt!
So you see, it's Mao's wish to not be scarred again, for a HAPPY ENDING! It's for his happiness, gent and lady!
That's true, putting the trauma back into his heart will make him have to suffer his burden all over again…
Understand now? If you do, then GET OUT! Scaram!!



Ooh! That dignified, yet cutesy voice!
BERYYYYYYYLL!!?
A scar hurts? So what?
That's just an excuse to run away. Where's the happiness in that?
Miss Beryl…
The Mao I know isn't a weakling who'd run away just because it hurts.
You're a clone of Mao, yet you don't even know that?
Nooo! Shut it! Don't talk as if you know me, you… you… stranger!
Mao and I are enemies, and friends! We're not strangers in the least! We've got a bond as rivals!
She's right! Mao would never want to go on like this!
Mao is arrogant and selfish, and makes me cringe, and gets excited over bizarre experiments! You're not the real Mao!
Babuu.
Well said, both of you. Sir Mao is pleased as well.



I won't let anyone interfere! I will personally guard Mao's heart and keep it tightly locked as is!
Hmph, looks like it's impossible to solve this one through negotiations!
But I can't give up here! Or else it'd be meaningless of me to have boycotted my precious class!
Did you say boycott? Speaking of which, today's class-
Who cares about me? More importantly, get Mao to-
Our lady has ditched a class for the first time since school began… How is this going to set an example?
Oh, Kyoko, you dummy. Don't you think it's even more delinquent to rush to a rival's aid than to go to class?
Girls!? After all those times I told you not to come after me…
Miss Beryl. You really do care for Mao…
Babuu.
Heh… My rival's in this situation. I can't just sit around watching. Though… I lost my perfect attendance.



A mixture of various spices, combined to form an aromatic symphony? *sniff * Curry!? Which means… could it be!?
Hyahyahya! No need to worry about your perfect attendance!
Master!
Raspberyl, No. 1 Delinquent of the Academy! You girls shall become the first ever graduates in school history!
Graduates!?
You doods went to class so much, you've got enough units to graduate already, or something, dood.
But they haven't even attended the school for a whole year…
The Academy figured the best way to get rid of them was to give them what they want- full academic completion, dood.
Hyahya! So, that's it! Care to relish in the delicacy of the season? We will now commence graduation!



Were Miss Beryl and friends.
We were invited to volunteer work…
And were verrrry annoyed.
…The end. …Dood.
Wasn't that a little short?
Heh. Next up is our reply speech. Let's do it Kyoko, Asuka.
On this glorious and unlucky day…
We look back on our lives, like the flashbacks before our deaths…
A teacher was eaten…
During a field trip.
We watched blood vessels pop…
During athletic events.
On orientation day…
We found a mummy of a student.



Please watch over us form within your graves.
Representing the graduating class, Raspberyl.
Hmm. Such a perfect reply address, as if it was practiced routinely.
Of course it was. We trained rigorously for the day when we might be able to graduate.
Graduation speech practice within months of starting school!? Such peculiar preparation! I should learn from you!
Evil Academy's first graduating class, Raspberyl! You fulfilled your units to graduate, surprisingly. Congratulations!
And the same to the rest of you! Here are your graduation diplomas! Take them while they're fresh!
This is the graduation diploma I've always dreamed of… We've accomplished an achievement no one has ever done!
My Lady! We no longer have classes or curfews! We're free to save others to our hearts' content!
Your perfect attendance shall continue to shine radiantly throughout the history of this school!



Yes, I have no regrets now! Mao, I'll turn you back to normal!
Babloo!
System Message: Beryl and her sidekicks join your group!
NoOoOoOoOo! I won't let youuuu!
…You were waiting during the whole graduation ceremony? That was awfully considerate of you.

Map- Heart Vault


We're back at the Heart Vault again for a decidedly nasty boss fight. Beryl, Kyoko, and Asuka have now joined us for good, although Beryl's not at her best until we can go back to town since she doesn't default with Fire. The map is largely covered with purple Ally Damage 20% panels. This is obviously a bad thing. What's worse, the block that provides it is all the way across the map. We have an Ally Boost +50% block near us that we could use to clear the effect, but we'd really like to actually get to use it against the boss. There's a little trick, though. There's a Warp block on a blue panel near us, and a pair of blue panels in the back of the room as well. We put Mao on the Warp panel and wait a turn, then have him clear the Ally Damage effect. Then we can move the Ally Boost block onto the panels and deploy our party. Savvy Mao is going to Magichange with a Mystic Beast early on, which makes him even more dangerous. Besides Savvy Mao we're also up against four enemy Archers, who can dish out some serious damage as well. What's more, there's two of a new human class, the Cheerleader. Cheerleaders specialize in buffing magic and each one on the map gives every friendly character a straight up 5% stat bonus. We want to take advantage of the Ally Boost panels and hit the enemies with overwhelming force before they can hit us. This is one of the hardest maps yet and don't feel bad if you have to grind a bit first.

Drama- Heart Vault Outro


Babuu.
Now, plug the cord into the socket!
Wait, please! Before that…
Huh? Where are you going?



This. My title of hero… I'm putting it back in the vault.
…Why?
I have no right to call myself a hero right now. Well, it's not like I had any right to do so before, but anyway…
It was my fault Mao ended up this way. So if I'm ever gonna call myself a hero again…
It'll be when Mao's heart opens up the proper way…
So… I'll entrust this title to you.
…Is that so? But if you lag around too long, you will turn into a real demon.
Hmmm…
…"No matter what trouble awaits, a hero must stand, face forward, against it!"
It's easy to quit here and now. But to open up Mao's heart, I need to find my own courage!
I need to show him a real hero's heart, or else Mao will probably never open up!



I'm impressed! And I want to help you become that great hero.
Princess?
Heh. I see you in a new light. You are a hero after all. Now you better gimme an autograph.
Sir Hero. Though what little we can do, please let us help, too.
It's a dream come true to join a hero's party.
Thank you, everyone… I'll do my best!
Babuu.
Hm? What's that, Mao? This title?
Babloo?
…Yup. I'm going to put this title back into the vault.
Until the day you open your heart… Until the day I become a real hero… You hold onto this title for me.



And now for a preview of coming attractions…

Episode 4 Ending






















Next Time on Disgaea 3: The Grand War Begins!