Part 1: Playing with Syringes

Update 01: Playing with Syringes



The pre-menu video is chock full of spoilers, so we’ll go right to the title screen.



New Game and Load Game are self-explanatory. Options lets you change the controls. Movie Preview lets you replay any cutscenes you’ve already seen. It’s all fairly standard stuff, so let’s cut to the chase and start a new game. Click here to watch the intro and marvel at the terrible amazing voice work.



The camera starts at street level and slowly pans forwards and up.





: I sometimes have a frightening dream.



Chaotic images flash across the screen.











: Heart rate normal. Administer the Nalcon.



: Won’t that destroy his brain cells and prove fatal?



: It might. But we must follow the Clinic Chief’s orders.

: Okay then.



The perspective shifts to inside the room, where a teenage boy is strapped to an operating table.

: Rion!



: Uhhh…



: Rion!



: Who are you…?



: They’re coming!



: They’re coming to get me!



Robotic arms tipped with hypodermic needles slide down towards Rion.

: Why are you calling me…?

: I’m scared!



The arms descend…







: Ah!



…and inject him with some rather nasty-looking chemicals!





The two scientists meet up to confer, but little do they know…





Rion is psychically unscrewing his restraints right under their noses.



: I’ve never heard of such a quick dosage cycle.



: Me too. I’m afraid it may have destroyed the patient’s memory. I’m surprised he’s even still alive.



: I’ll go check the data.

One of the scientists leaves, allowing the camera to focus on the central monitor.





The security footage reveals that Rion has fully freed himself, and the cutscene gives way to gameplay.



We begin in some kind of operating room / isolation chamber.



Pressing the circle button brings up the map, which will prove very helpful for the first half of the game. Rooms that we have visited will be highlighted in blue, and the room we are currently in will flash periodically.



The X button lets us examine things. Examining the operating table reveals that Rion has come down with a nasty case of jRPG protagonist syndrome.



In any case, getting out of here is probably a good idea. Let’s try the door.



Hmm. Not to worry - the map shows that there’s another door nearby.





Dang. Well, I guess we better look around for something that might help us.



This desk with an ominous glowing red light seems like a good start.



Aha! Scattered documents - that old survival horror standby. Let’s give them a read.

























…Well. That’s quite a lot of information. The medical staff notes provide details on the various PPECs, or Psychic Power Enhancing Chemicals, that we’ll be coming across in the future. From the previous cutscene we know that Rion has been injected with Nalcon and Red, but these notes also indicate that he’s received Melatropin - and that one of its effects is psychometry.



Psychometry is triggered by pressing the triangle button. Rion will raise his right hand, and if the object in question can be affected you’ll either read the object for a brief scene or perform a minor act of telekinesis.



Reading the operating table gives us a creepy image, but there are other things we can examine for more useful information.



A locked drugs cabinet can be found near the northern door. It’s locked, but if we use psychometry…



We get a quick visual clue as to where the key might be.



Anyway, let’s put our newfound power to the test and crack open this door. Click here to watch the scene.



Rion raises his hand and focuses.







Unable to withstand the invisible forces acting on it, the door unlocks and snaps open.





: Where did I get such power?

Come on, Rion. The medical papers told you it’s from all the weird drugs they’ve been pumping you full of.



With the door open we can escape, but I think we can save that for the next update. Join me next time, where we’ll be fighting our first enemies and exploring more of Michaelangelo Memorial Hospital.