Part 14: Winter 1991-Summer 1992

    



Here we go! Last time, Ken visited the Rose Garden and bought himself a talking flower. Also, he got a message from Emory that Linda is ready to be discharged. Upon getting there, it turned out that Linda had run away, presumably not wanting Ken to see her with her "new arm". This was confirmed later, in a message from her. Oh, and also we paid a visit to a place called Dogy Figh, which seems to contain many weird people, and it seems also that we may have stumbled ourselves into a murder mystery of sorts?

Last time also, the commander mentioned that aide Kammer's people will be helping to look for Linda, and Kammer himself suggested that we should go and see him at Ozport hotel, so why don't we start by doing just that!



Over in Ozport, we'll head straight to the hotel!



Here we are, in his room!



If we don't figure this out, both of our futures are looking pretty gloomy...
But, not to worry! I'm already on it! I'm gathering information here, and I'm sure we'll be hearing from the Federation HQ soon, too. As soon as that happens, I will get in touch!
Until then, be patient, Ken! 🎔

All righty then, I guess we really just have to wait for now.

Things being what they are, let's then head back south for some more hunting!



First of all, last time I was complaining that I couldn't find any female boars and I figured it might be worth to try later in a different season. And indeed...



...I do find a whole bunch of boars!



Despite appearances, they are actually pretty weak, so Ken encounters no problems here at all.

I also decide to explore a bit more to the west where the desert is...



...and I run into some new critters, but honestly I don't think there's any doubt what they are!



It's definitely armadillos, but I don't think anybody will be surprised by that!



They, too, pose no real threat, due to their very low speed--so we get a lot more turns than they do.

After this, Ken and Sachiko make camp, in order to replenish HP/BP. It turns out to be one of those situation where you actually get a conversation during a camp!

Ken... I have a question for you, if that's ok?
[ You can ask me anything. ] / Let me sleep!
If the person you loved asked you do die with them, would you do int?
Yes. / No.
Then, if the person you loved asked you to kill someone, would you do it?
Yes. / No.
Would you also do it if the person you loved asked you to kill themselves?
Yes. / No.
Would any ordinary person normally give these same answers?
Yes. / No.
I see... That brings me the peace of mind, then.

I'm starting to worry about getting killed in my sleep. Also, I didn't highlight the answers above because they don't cause any difference in the conversation.

And so, since we have some time now, I head down south again to this lake thing:



We can find here a lot of eagles. It's finally time to upgrade our weapon!

After a short time, I manage to capture 10 male eagles, which is enough to craft the weapon. So we make camp again where I set Ken to do it:



The weapon is called "eagle sabre" and brings up our attack power by 18. It also, as I keep repeating, attacks all enemies in front of us, so it will serve us for a long time.



Ken equips it, bringing his attack power to 223. I might make another of these once we get Linda back into our party, but she'll have the swallow cutter to use until then.



In all that going back and forth, it suddenly becomes Spring 1992. Soon enough...



...we also finally receive a notification that there is a new message! So we head directly to Dogy Figh to see what it is.



The message is from Ben!

It's me! I've just been informed that a woman looking just like Linda has been spotted in the hotel in Dogy Figh! It's not been confirmed at this point, but I thought you'd want to hurry over there and check it out! Dogy Figh is in the south, you can catch a flight from Ozport. What the hell is she even doing there, aynway? Well, I'm sure we'll find out... hopefully you will locate her there. That is all!

So there's good news and bad news. We are already at Dogy Figh, that's the good news. But the bad news is it's spring, so it's going to be all empty again. So I decide to just wait it out until it becomes summer, so we can also make a bit of a tour of the whole arena part. I guess I could have gone hunting instead, but it's only been one year so we really aren't pressed for time at all. And we'll do some more hunting after this tour anyway.

So, bottom line...



...it's now Summer 1992. And this illustrates again the disparity where the despite the passage of time, the actual plot is not at all affected by it--nothing will have advanced, despite the whole season passing. This is mostly not a game of "you have to be in the right place at the right time", although as plot advances you might miss some optional dialogue if you don't seek it out before the next plot motion.



I'm feeling a bit generous today. It's been a long time since we talked to any of the left luggage people. So let's have a chat today!

There are leopards to the east of the town, and crocodiles and wild boars around the lake. Crows, centipedes, armadillos and camels in the western desert... They are all not to be trifled with, so please bring at least two hunters and two hounds of level 17 or above. You should definitely stay away from the desert if you're bringing anybody whom you'd be sad to lose!

Well, we mostly did all this, except I guess we didn't run into any centipedes. We'll have to see about that later.



So let's head straight to the hotel.



Inside, we can talk to this ranger...

Linda seems to have gone on a rampage, like a mad dog... Would you really still marry her after seeing her like this?
[ Of course. ] / I guess I'll probably reconsider.
I see... Then I'd advise you to first make sure you're in good shape physically...



Here in this room, there are two people. First, the person (ranger) on the sofa...

It seems Linda was talking to the members of Mr. Orman's family. Apparently she thinks that Mr. Orman who committed suicide in Minago church is somehow connected to the massacre. Maybe you can find out where she is if you also talk to them.

Yeah, we've definitely stumbled into some kind of murder mystery here. Now we even have to talk to suspects! But first, the person on the bed, with a broken arm!

I can't believe that Linda! She breaks my arm and then just says "sorry"! She once broke my arm when we were kids and now again! I can't believe I've had my arm broken by the same woman twice!

We can also talk to the guy in the white shirt standing outside in the hallway:

Miss Linda is truly some kind of a force. She sent two huge guys flying 3 metres into the air with just one arm! They were squealing in panic!

She's nothing if not determined! But then, she's always been, so...



We'll now head downstairs, to where the arena is.



Except now, it's not actually empty here! So let's start with the lady sitting here by the dog pictures.

If you go one floor down, it's th residence of Mr. Orman, the owner of the dog fighting ring. Mr. Orman himself is dead, but he has three children and a beautiful lawyer. There is also a nurse and some dogs living there.



Let's actually do that first, and then we'll come back and check out the arena. We've already been downstairs, but we'll se what's changed since then.



First this guy, Beagley, one of Orman's children. I remember him being not very nice last time!

What the hell! Why is that Linda woman asking me over and over again about my dad. I am Beagley and and I have no time to keep telling the same story... unless this young lady here wants to be nice to me and ask...
[ Sure. ] / You've got to be kidding me!

If you don't like this guy, then let Sachiko ask him. Because, this is what happens:



She punches him! And this joker has a bit more to say...

Ouch, it hurts. That's some kind of a punch... she's just the same as that Linda woman. Why are all women so quick to start hitting people nowadays? You know, let's be cool, you and I. I don't know the details, but I think my father has been doing some kind of secret work for the Federation... That's all I know, so... please don't hit me any more, ok?

Well, good. At least we found something out.

Then, as we leave his room...



Good. / [ Bad. ]
Oh, I see! I learn so much when you explain me things! Thank you!

Then, let's continue by talking to this guy here in the room on the other side...



I am Orman's second child, Shepherd. DId you want to talk to me about my father?
[ Yeah. ] / Not really...
In the end, it was murder, right? My father was a person with many enemies... So, do you have any idea who could have been the murderer?
Sort of... / [ Not at all. ] / I can't say.
Did you check out the alibis of my brother Beagley and sister Pomerania? It might lead you to the killer pretty quickly... Also, when you do catch the killer, can you please say "thanks" to them for me?

Seems like one big happy family...

As we leave the room...



[ Good. ] / Bad.
I admire you for being able to distinguish between good people and bad people so quickly! 🎔

Next, we stop to talk to the nurse here...



The people who are the happiest about Mr. Orman's death are his three good for nothing children. Next thing you know, there's going to be a bloody inheritance war. Someone's going to die, I'm sure of it.

Unless Ken and/or Linda manage to solve the case first! Ken and Linda, amateur detectives, to the rescue!

Next, we'll stop by to talk with Pomerania, Orman's third child.



You wanted to talk about my father? He committed suicide, right? Do you think that will be enough, or would it be possible to get more insurance money if it's a different cause of death?
[ He did. ] / I don't know...
It seems he got a phone call from a woman the night before he died. He seemed quite flustered. But then again, it wasn't unusual for him to get tired of one woman and switch to another, so...

As we leave the room...



Good. / [ Bad. ]
I knew it! That's what I thought! People with thick lips are good people and thos with thin lips are bad, right?
Probably... / [ I'm not sure that's right... ]
It seems being good or bad is hereditary... But then, I'm not sure what happens if somebody has a thick upper lip and thin lower lip. This is hard...



Next, we'll talk to this lady here...

Hello! I'm Natasha, the lawyer of Mr. Orman, the owner of this club! Nice to meet you.
Actually, I've been thinking... his three children are all good for nothings who just know how to spend the money. So I wonder if perhaps he hadn't killed himself simply out of heartache. It's quite troubling...

As we leave the room...



[ Good. ] / Bad.
Is there no middle ground?

Talking to Sachiko is fun, right?

But anyway, that's all we can do down here for now....



...so let's head back upstairs and explore the whole dog fighting situation now that there are actually people here!

On the upper floor, we can start talking to this gentleman here...



Mr. Orman had three wives during his life... all three of whom gave birth to useless children and then foisted them on him and left him. The three wives, Louise, Carole and Kate... he loved them dearly--they were only second to his dogs, and to nobody else!



Next, we head towards the bar, where we can talk to the waitress in the usual bunny attire.

Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Orman's second son, is quite a passionate gambler... I once got myself completely "ripped off" by playing a game of poker with him! And what happened after was... he he...

And then the other waitress (the one standing all the way on the left)...

Sometimes weird people come here. They bring their dolphins and want them to compete in a dog fight! They say, well they are my hounds so they should be able to compete! I've learned to recognise them easily!

This alludes to the fact that you can have other animals in your party in the place of dogs, such as dolphins, eagles, and a couple of others. Let's also talk to the guy in white sitting there on a chair.

There must be something with this guy Shepherd's cards... or he wouldn't be able to win like that. There's only one man who's ever won a game against him. I think his name was Van... or Ben... something like that.

Hmm... Ben, you say? I think I know somebody with that name.



Next, there's a bunch of people here by the arena, so let's go in order. We start with the guy in blue, on the left.

If the dog is ranked in the top three, the owner will start to receive a seasonal salary. In addition, you get to use the kanji to name your dog and can say goodbye to the your old and uncool katakana-only name!

Haha, this is funny. So we can rank in the first three and that unlocks the ability to use kanji in dog's names.

Incidentally, in the original Japanese, the conversations here which are related to dog fighting mostly tend to use sumo-wrestling terminology, e.g. when talking about ranks and stuff. So this talk about names also frames this in the concept of "name succession" where a sumo wrestler might inherit the "ring name" ("shikona") of a previous famous wrestlers and such.

Let's talk to the next guy.

Even if your dog gets knocked out, it will still help you to learn to be a better hunter. It's all part of the practice.

Next.

When your dog is in a fight here, all you can do is cheer them on! If you see that your hound is about to lose, push the X button to throw in the towel and save the day!

(Note: an actual thing you can do during a dog fight!)

Finally the guy in white, on the right side:

Be careful with Natasha, Mr. Orman's lawyer. I've heard she's even more of a maneater than Pomerania. Pomerania is apparently like a little girl compared to her! She's cute, though.



Next, we can talk to this guy at the counter. Here's where we can register to participate in a tournament. He also explains us the rules:

In short, it's a fight between dogs! Each time you win the monetary award will keep rising. If your dog is knocked out, or you throw in the towel, you lose. If the dog loses, all the winnings are forfeit, so it's up to you to decide when to stop. The participation fee is 50 G and you're not going to win anything by just standing around and watching!

So basically, you can keep going with stronger and stronger opponents until you either defeat everybody, lose, or choose to cash in in between two fights. We'll check that out in a moment.

Meanwhile...



...there's this gentleman here whom we can talk to.

The main thing is to enter the dog fighting ring being aware of what is your dog's strength. The problem is, the more you keep winning, the more you lose sight of that and the more you are likely to make a mistake. Poor dogs.

We can also talk to the woman in a blue dress...

Before he opened the dog fight arena, Mr. Orman was a commander at the Federation HQ. He was a disagreeable and quite singleminded fellow. Well, at least that's my opinion.



And then, there's this weirdly dressed guy here. Let's see.

Sit down, shut up and listen and you'll win! For 11G I will tell you your hound's fortune. If you know your dog's strengths and weaknesses, you'll be able to use daring tactics and avoid disaster before it even happens!

Well sure, I'll pay 11 G, let's see.



You can choose which dog you want to have the fortune told. We have two dogs, one named Tsuki (=moon) which we got from the little girl, and the other, Aki (=autumn) which I bought myself. So let's see what he has to say about Tsuki.

Tsuki... that's not a bad name. Now, let's see it's fortune. Sirius the dog god star! Show me the fortunes of Tsuki! Guide me to the path of light!
I see it now! The more Tsuki grows, the more her strength and her attack power increase! And, the word "daring and resolute" is the right one for this dog. She is a strong ally who will take any opponent without fear!

Uh... even at only 11G that doesn't seem worth the money. Although it gives us an idea about what stats a particular dog might be good at--not that you can't actualy see that yourself simply by comparing their stats!

We are definitely not strong enough to win the whole tournament here, but we can give it a try anyway. It looks like this:



So it's literally your dog against another. As always, you don't really have control over what the dog does, so all you can do is watch (or press X to stop the fight if you're losing). We can definitely win the first few rounds, but then it starts to get difficult and we pretty much hit a brick wall. So we'll have to try this later when our dog(s) are stronger. One warning though: if your dog gets its HP reduced to zero here, it counts for real and you will have to take it to a doctor to get it revived. Luckily there is a doctor here just a few steps away, so it's only a monetary issue.

And that concludes our business in Dogy Figh for now. Clearly if Linda was here at some point, she no longer is, so we'll have to go find another clue as to her current location.



Just as we're about to leave, we get our next message notification!



Let's check it out. It's from Ben, again.

Ken! She's in Ozport now! Linda has apparently been talking to the staff members at the airport! Just get over there and find her! We don't want any more people to get hurt! Well anyway, I wish you luck. That is all.

I guess we could head to Ozport. Or... we can go and so some more hunting first! A hunter must hunt, after all.

Well, anyway, being that it is now summer, the first thing to do is go back to Rose Garden and check out if we can now find cockroaches of both sexes there now.



Ah-ha! There they are! Let's see...



Oh, yeah. As expected, we definitely can!



Don't they look ridiculous by the way? Their design was much weirder in the PC Engine version, though:



But as for the abilities, the only real problem is their chance to reduce your attack power. Other than that, they are a little tougher on attack/defence than what you might expect, but overall it should be possible with no huge problems. Just try not to run into any roses, because... they are quite deadly, as we already know!

To continue, I head to this cave here which can be entered from a shallow lake (ignore the eagle).





This place is called "Dark River" and is mostly a large underground river, but there are some drier parts. There are a couple of species which cannot be found anywhere else but here (and also a few items), so let's get started. As always, we're not at present going to explore every part of the cave.

First of all...



...you can find dolphins here, so I guess I didn't need to buy one that time.

And then...



...here we have a large group of animals from a new species!



You can probably tell anyway, but these are definitely some shrimp!



Lots of different abilities, but so weak that they are unlikely to be able to use. Especially that one which destroys your equipment potentially! They also have an annoying tendency to run away.



Oh, hey...



...it's turtles! But we are already familiar with them.



We proceed to wander around the cave...



...which does also contain a few chests with items! This one contains koala gloves, which is in fact a weapon you can equip if you want to punch enemies. It is however definitely weaker than our eagle sabre, so we won't.



You can also find earthworms here, but we already did those so we don't need to fight them. This is what they look like on the map--in Marblepolis they were hiding under stones, so we couldn't see them properly.



Moving on, we find another chest. This one contains the snail hat.



Unlike last one, this item IS worth equipping, for a slight increase in defence.

Going a bit further into the cave...



...we find something that does not look at all familiar!



Well, these are clams, and I'm not sure what to think of the design!



We're probably a bit underleveled for this area, but it's ok, the battles sometimes just take a bit longer (like in case of these guys).



Several different species on this screen, but we're interested in the one directly in front of Ken!



Leeches!



They're pretty weak, so nothing much to say here, really.



Going a bit further, we find a further two chests here in a little nook. Usually there might be here some turtles and such you'll have to fight first in order to access the chests.

The first one contains the hippo shoes.



This is a bit of an upgrade for our footwear (surprisingly, Ken was still wearing his starting footwear, the squirrel slippers!).

The other chest contains the hippo tomahawk, which is a weapon with +4 attack compared to our eagle sword, but it also hits only one enemy, so very definitely NOT worth it.

In the end, we got a bit damaged in all these fights, so I figure we might make a camp here before heading out. But there is one thing I haven't yet told you about camping. You might recall that there is a screen where you can select what everyone will do during camping--the default option is to sleep. But as it turns out, it's possible to get ambushed at night by a surprise attack from an animal. In that case, it's a bit of a problem since your entire party will start the fight in a "sleep" status, which is not good. You can avoid this by selecting at least one person to be keeping watch--then at least you have somebody who is not asleep. There are also some animals that you can only catch by being ambushed by them.

So when I make camp here, I set everybody to sleep, but what ends up happening...



...is that we get attacked by a quartet of cats!



I get a bit lucky here, because even though everybody is asleep, Ken manages to randomly wake up after one turn, so he can finish the battle. They may be ferocious and have strong abilities, but when their defence and HP is so low, chances are they will anyway never get to use any of that. And so it happens here too.

But can I just say, what a disappointment? They just look like ordinary cats! Especially when THIS is what they used to look like in the PC Engine version:



I mean, c'mon. Why would you get rid of this insanity in favour of just ordinary looking cats? I truly don't understand.

In any case, we have things to do, so let's finish hunting here. We need to head up north anyway, so let's first go to the ark to hand everything in, and then we'll be on our way to Ozport.



Back at the ark, after handing everything in...



...the robot informs us that we're now at 32 species out of 50 required. Not bad.

And now, straight to Ozport!



Here we are!



First, there is a ranger here who we can talk to.

I saw Linda upstairs in the airport building. She was asking the staff about the dead airport commander. I'm sorry... I went to call the captain to tell him about this, but in the meantime she'd disappeared. I think you should go and interview the people who she talked to and see what you can find out.

Other than beating up people over in Dogy Figh, she truly does seem to be trying to figure out the whole mystery between the suicides and the massacre and everything. So I guess, let's head inside and see what we can find!



To start with, let's quickly check with the lady at the information desk.

If you are here to board an escape shuttle, please proceed to the transfer centre on the third floor, in order to reach the orbital satellite Ozsat.

Well, ok, we already know that. But the guy in white sitting there has something interesting to say.

Did you know that the girl at the information desk is actually a robot? She's quite well made, no? These days the only real difference between a human woman and a robot woman is the amount of idle chat that they engage in. But I suppose that is also a matter of personal preference.



We'll take this staircase up.



We have three people here. Let's see if any of them know anything about Linda. We'll start with the person directly in front of us.

Miss Linda was asking everybody about the details of our recently deceased airport commander...

And then the other person in white.

I don't think there was anything too out of the ordinary regarding the commander's behaviour. The only thing I can think of is that he often went to the room of aide Kammer who was staying here in the hotel next door. Do you think it might have been a suicide because of a tragic love affair between them? I'm not sure, really...



Suddenly a ranger comes in and approaches Ken and Sachiko...

You're Ken, right? I was hoping to find you here. Aide Kammer has requested that you come to the Ozsat shuttle launch gate immediately. He wants to talk to you urgently. Please get to Ozsat as quickly as you can!

Sure thing... eventually. First we have here one last person to talk, the guy in a suit.

As I've already told Miss Linda, the commander received a strange phone call the day before he died. The normally calm commander turned pale and started shaking. It was as if he'd seen a ghost.

Huh, this is the same as what happened to that Orman dude. Also, I would here say, "did we just stumble into an Ace Attorney game?", but of course this game predates that series, so...



Well, the teleporter is one floor up, so let's head there!



Here we have a few people also, for example this woman here.

As the exodus is progressing, the number of people on the planet is decreasing. But you don't have to rush around to hear what everybody has to say... Because most people on this planet don't really have anything important to say anyway!

This is so subtle that you're likely to miss the true meaning of this comment on your first playthrough! In reality, this is a direct information about a somewhat important game mechanic! It's really simple, and exactly as she said: as time progresses, more and more people actually do leave the planet. That includes people who work in shops and other facilities, meaning, especially in later years you will find more and more shops getting closed and various facilities slowly becoming unavailable over time! This is an actual thing that happens in the game, although not yet at this point in time since it's still only 1992.

For now, let's check the poster on the wall...

The galactic paradise to end all paradises!

The wilderness of Neo-Kenya awaits you!

The guy in the white shirt has a comment about this:

The one thing this poster doesn't lie about is that it's the "end".



On the other side of this room is, of course, the teleporter which takes us up to Ozsat. Let's take it.



And a second later, we're up in the sky!



Taking the staircase up to the departure area for the shuttle.



First we talk to the old lady here.

When the escape shuttle takes them to a new planet, most people will end up again in temporary housing, same as our parents did when they first came here. Their chidren will have to make their future in supporting them and postpone any fun until after their parents die.

Man, some of the comments that characters say in this game are absolutely brutal!



Next we head through this door/hallway...



The boarding gate is downstairs, but first, we'll go though another door and talk to people!



First we'll talk to the pregnant lady.

I am due to give birth soon, so I can't travel on the shuttle in case it happens en route. Therefore I'm here to see off my husband who has to leave ahead of me because of work. I'm a bit nervous, but there was nothing else we could do...

And then the guy standing there in the corner...

I came to see my childhood sweetheard off... I'm sure there were many other things I could have said, but I just said to her, "see ya later".
......
I guess I'm ok with that.

It's a bit depressing here, unfortunately... so let's head down the stairs.



The boarding gate is over to the right...



Ah, here is Kammer (and also what looks like a flight attendant in the back, dressed in blue).



We've almost identified the perpetrator of Minago murders! Based on the pattern of the crimes, the computer at the Federation HQ has determined that there is a 92.3% probability that it's "The Puppet Master"! He's a professional assassin, whose identity is unknown and he's one of the biggest names on the Federation's most wanted list!

At this point, the flight attendant approaches, interrupting our conversation.



I know, I know, let me finish!
In addition, the computer has predicted that The Puppet Master's next target with the probability of 38.8% is going to be... me, the aide Kammer! But don't worry, I have already taken measures. The Puppet Master won't be able to follow me in my near-light speed spaceship. And also, shortly a top class bounty hunter will be arriving on the planet, carrying all the known data on The Puppet Master.



Don't tell me what to do. So impertinent...
Anyway, I also found out where Linda is hiding. It was... uh... "Para"-something.
Paraside?
Yes, that's it, Paraside. Please remember it, Ken. Linda is in Para... Para...
Paraside.
I know it! Stop correcting me you annoying girl!



I know! I know! These young people are so annoying these days! You keep repeating the same thing over and over!
Well, anyway, Ken, I won't say farewell, since I will be coming back here again soon! 🎔

Finally, they all go in and we can leave. As we exit...



Finally, the shuttle departs...



Ken and Sachiko return back to the main waiting area.



As we approach the stairs to leave...



...a woman comes running up the staircase!

Has the shuttle left already? I'm late again... Ugh, why does this always happen to me?

I don't know, why does it?

Well, anyway, we head down to the teleporter.



But, just as we are about to head back down to the planet surface...

...a large explosion shakes the satellite.



The flashing emergency lights and the siren come on! What exactly has happened? What was that explosion? Let's try and find out!



Let's talk to this person at the desk.

What the heck was that just now...? Did the shuttle explode?

Oh, no! That pregnant lady's husband was on it! And also that guy's childhood sweetheart! I guess also Kammer and the flight attendant. But at least that one lady who was late didn't get killed!



Two more people here in the corner... First the guy in blue.

Oh no! Aide Kammer was on that shuttle! It exploded! I'm sorry, but can you go around and talk to the civilians here and try to calm them down so that they don't panic?

Sure thing buddy, but first we'll talk to the lady sitting at the computer there.

N-No way! The shuttle that just left has stopped responding! And judging by the unusal disturbance in the electromagnetic field, it seems like the shuttle has exploded! Anyway, contact with the ground is temporarily suspended... it will take a few minutes to repair the damage to the satellite.

Ok, so I guess we have to stay here for a bit. That was definitely an unexpected turn of events... but it seems like the Federation computer is pretty good at predicting stuff, though.

But for now, let's go back and see what the lady who was late for her flight things now!



Oh god! T-Thank you for giving me a life-long habit of being perpetually late for everything ever!

Then we can also talk to the scientist dude on the room on the right side...

W-What the... Isn't it a bit too early for the arrival of The Grim Reaper?

I... don't think this was The Grim Reaper.

Now, the lady scientist in the room on the left:

Uh... I hope I'm wrong, but... it seems to me like we are getting closer to the planet. Could it be that we're falling?

Nah, probably not.



We should also check with the old lady again!

Forget about old people like me! Talk to that pregnant lady in the observation lounge! You've got to look after her! Bringing a new life into the world is the most precious thing!

Sure, let's go back through that corridor.



Stop by here quickly on the way...

N-No... I d-don't want to die yet...



Ah, here she is.

N-No... I-It's not true... My husband can't be dead... Just a few minutes ago we were talking about whether the baby is going to be a boy or a girl... He's not dead! He can't be!

The other person in the room...

Aaah... why? Why did it explode like that?

And then back again once more to the pregnant lady...

I-It's ok. I will be ok. I have to be strong for my baby!

Finally, the alert stops and things go back to normal. Let's just check if the guy at the desk there has calmed down?

I'm not sure I can keep doing this job... Maybe I'll trade for a position down on the surface.

Sounds like a plan.

But for us, let's really make our way back down to the planet now.





As always, we'll check with the old lady...

Eh. Good grief. It seems I have again failed to die today... I guess I'll still have to live tomorrow.

As we are heading down to the teleporter...



I wonder if Linda too cried when her parents died...
[ Probably... ] / I have no idea...
In any case, I will have to tell father about this immediately. But first, Paraside! If we use the Bird Line, we should be able to get there quickly!



Before we use the teleporter, let's just check with the technicians here if it's safe! First the guy in blue:

Somehow we've managed to get Ozsat back into its orbit! It's all back to normal now! The coordinates are locked and the teleporter is operational! Why don't you give it a try?

Somehow, I'm not confident. Let's talk to the other person...

All right! There seems to be a bit of background noise, but whatever human bodies are noisy anyway. But it should be safe enough to try it out!

Uhh... Oh well, it's not like we have a choice, do we?





Ah, I guess it worked.



Let's see what the tehnicians here have to say... the blue guy first.

That was quite a mess up there... By the way, are you sure you have... all your body parts back where they're supposed to be? You might want to ask her to check you out tonight before you go to bed!

Well, that's reassuring. Let's check the other two people on the right.

It's best not to talk in public that the shuttle had exploded. It might cause panic...
You look a bit pale... Did something happen up there?

No, nothing... don't worry about it.

But anyway, we're done here. We know our next destination, Paraside.

Before that, though, let's make just a quick stop at Hardia and see if Ben has anything new to say.



As we leave, it turns out that this news bulletin they have posted on walls has changed.

N.K. NEWS BULLETIN

All the inhabitants in the Beastian town of Minage have been attaked by unknown persons.

The only survivors are Ken and Linda, the two crew members of the ark. The authorities are investigating the connection with the previous suicides in the same town and also with the massacre in Koshikata a few years ago.

As I've mentioned, even though the events in the scenarios differ, they do share the same history/lore, so one scenario may provide answers to mysteries in another!

Let's head to the Ranger HQ and see what Ben has to say.



But you know that there's only one rule in that town: violence! So please be careful, ok?

Hmm, so nothing about the shuttle, huh? Oh well.



So, let's head to Paraside then next time, and see if we can finally catch up with Linda! Maybe she'll tell us more about what she's been investigating so far!




For today, another funny one from the PC Engine times:



And then one more of those which are concepts for a poster or advertisement art or something like that: