Part 18: Autumn 1993

    



Welcome to the dramatic(?) finale of Scenario B! Last time, someone (again) kidnapped Linda from the hospital. It turned out to be the No. 1 and No. 2 clones, a.k.a. Sumire and Yoshiko, who apparently found a way to restore Linda's left arm via a surgery. In order to help out with that, Ken needs to go and bring four pieces of scorpion meat from the nearby cave!



As the clones have mentioned, we need to head a bit south from Garex...



...to this place here.



This place is called Sand Hole and there are definitely scorpions to be found here (among a couple of other species which we won't bother with today).



Hm, the colours are all wrong, but that definitely looks scorpion-shaped! Let's see...



They definitely look like scorpions, but as it turns out, unfortunately, they are fakes! The name of this enemy in the game is literally "fake scorpion". As with most other non-capturable species, these too are mostly a distraction which serves no real purpose. As you can see, they don't even have a gender designation on them, if you needed more indication that they are fake (if the name itself wasn't enough!).

Anyway, continuing down into the cave, you will eventually come to a place like this:



And here, in quicksand pits like this one, is where the real scorpions can be found!



Here are a few real ones, for a change! As you can see, the only difference from fake ones is the colour scheme and also the fact that these do have the gender designations. Well, also the name.



In any case, we need to capture at least four. I decide to capture two extra so that we can hand them in at the ark. It's not necessary as we already have the needed 50 species and also it doesn't give you any kind of an additional bonus, but since we're already doing it, why not, right?

Once that's done, we can head back outside. By the way, you have to use the run button to get out of the sand pit, so it does cost a couple of HP.



As before...



...we'll make camp with Ken and select for him the option to process meat. We'll process four of the scorpions into meat, as requested.



Coming back to Garex...



...we'll go straight to the bottom floor where the clones are. It appears that No. 2 (Yoshiko) has already been prepared for the surgery to remove her left arm and give it back to Linda, while No. 1 (Sumire) will be actually performing the surgery.



Ken handed over to Sumire four pieces of scorpion meat.

Ken, would you mind please to wait upstairs? Don't worry, we'll be done in no time! I'll call you as soon as the surgery is finished, so don't go anywhere.
Also... there is some interesting looking equipment upstairs. I've fixed it, and it looks like it contains some cryogenically preserved animals.

Ah, still more of those?



Aynway, Ken goes upstairs, and in fact even if he wanted to he can't leave because of those closed doors.

(from below) Three, two, one, go!
......

While we wait...



...we can check out this computer which wasn't operational previously.

TransCargo IN: Tree Frog ♀: 1, Tree Frog ♂: 1.

So the game basically gives you a total of three species for free, like in the previous scenario! This time it's harder to miss it since Sumire even directly tells you to check the equipment on the upper floor.

(from below) Three, two, one, go!
Man, it sounds like things are getting a bit out of hand down there...



Ken is walking around nervously...

(from below) Three, two, one, go! *sound of laser firing*
W-will it really be all ok? I hope it doesn't end up with her saying to me something like "I'm sorry, but..."

But soon enough...



...Sumire shows up to talk to Ken again. So at least now we'll find out what happened.



It was all because of the scorpion meat you brought! Also, Yoshiko helped during the process, which increased our speed by a factor of 1.5x.
Miss Linda should wake up soon! Let's head downstairs!



And here is the situation downstairs: Linda seems to have gotten her arm back, but of course Yoshiko now has only one. Of course, Linda's arm was transplanted on Yoshiko so that she could activate the ark with it, but what exactly happened with Yoshiko's original left arm? I guess we'll never know...



She's still not regained her consciousness, so feel free to do it wherever you like!
Hair / Forehead / Nose / Cheek / Ear / Lips / Neck / Hand.

You can choose whatever, but it makes no difference.

Ken presses his lips on Linda's <insert_chosen_option_here>







What were you planning to do! Even if you are Ken, I can't let this just go! With this arm of my daddy, I will...
......?
Hey, Ken... But... My arm...? Is this a dream?
Ken! Can you come over here for a sec...



He does...



And, finally, the Linda we all know and love is definitely back!



What? If you want to say something, then just say it! Hm?
[ We fixed your arm, now if we could only fix your personality... ] / Is it ok if I hit you back? / You've no idea what I've been through...





That is a very cute animation, no two ways about it.

It seems all sorts of things have happened while I was out of action! Tell me about it?

Ken explains to Linda everything that has happened in the meantime.

I think I understand everything now. Still, however... your mother is absolutely unbeatable! I want to be strong like that, too!

Then, finally, Sumire, who's been standing around during all this, approaches.



It's fine.
But, we... Your parents...
I said, that's enough. I'm not so nice like Ken's mother, and I'm not as strong either!
Ken! We've finished here what we came to do! Let's go home!

As we leave...

Don't worry about Yoshiko. She's just passed out because we only had enough anaestethic for Miss Linda. But don't worry about it since we're both used to it.

And with this, we can leave this place.



The lift, unfortunately, is out of action for some reason, so we have to take the stairs.



It all goes fine for a while, but...



...on floor no. 3, we unexpectedly run into Emory. Well, figures that he was not going to let this go so easily!



Oh! You've reattached your left arm, haven't you?
Well, no matter... because you aren't getting out of here alive anyway!

Sumire shows up suddenly!



Who are you to have the right to call me "father"! You're clearly defective! Get out of my sight!



I'm not even going to use any weapons! I will tear you apart purely with the strengh of my bare hands!
My precious Sachiko... Daddy will avenge your grudge now!
Shut it! You have no right to talk about any kind of grudge!



Well, I guess he's taken that parasite growth accelerant thingy! Also, I love how he just casually lights up in the middle of all this!



Time for a "boss" fight, it seems?



Indeed. Pretty cool design, I have to say.

The fight itself, though, is much easier than the one with Hume, mainly because he just doesn't do a huge amount of damage. Also, there was almost double the amount of capturing to be done in this scenario, so you will naturally be a higher level, making it even easier.

We can start by transforming both our characters into the strongerst animal they are able to. For Linda this is rabbit with +48 in attack power and for Ken, it's still the eagle which at this point brings a crazy +131 to his attack!



Ken's attack easily does nearly 200 HP damage to him (and he only has 800 HP total to begin with!).



Eventually, he'll summon a bunch of these parasite tentacles on the sides... but just deal with them, they pose no huge threat.



He doesn't exactly fight just with his bare hands, as you can see here!

But regardless, this is soon over.



Didn't I tell you that I always do everything I can and the best I can?
Three, two, one, go!





He creates a big explosion which causes the rubble to collapse on the stairway!

I've rigged this whole place with explosives and I've blocked all the exits! I'll be waiting for you in hell!

Well, we can't get past the ankle-high rubble, so, instead...



...let's check on Sumire.



Oh hey, she's still alive!



Also she morphs into her robot form!

Both of you, stand back please!
Tree, two, one, fire!



She causes another explosion...



...which eliminates the rubble!

And back to her normal form.



Also, in Hospico...
......
No, it doesn't matter any more. Thank you for everything, Ken.
Now you should go!



And so, Linda and Ken make their way back out.



And then...



...another explosion...



...finally destroys this place, once and for all. Unfortunately at the cost of Yoshiko and Sumire sacrificing themselves.

That comment about Hospico is interesting, though. It seems there is still a bit more of this plot to unravel, so we'll get to that in just a moment.

In the meantime we should make camp with Linda, since she has something to say.

If you were in the same position as Dr. Emory... I mean... If your daughter had killed herself and you had enough power to clone her and carry out your revenge... Do you think you would have done the same?
Yes. / No.
I thought so.

No difference here either no matter what you choose.



Well then, let's head to Dogy Figh via this tunnel. It is definitely a pain that in the south area there's really only one place with Bird Line facilities, but what can you do.



There's actually these two people here in the tunnel which we haven't really talked to, but they actually have some interesting things to say! First this guy here.

That botanist, Flora, she has a pretty face, but she's a real piece of work... She throws away all her research failures into the forest at B-14 to keep them out of the public eye! I mean, she lives in Hospico, so why does she have to throw away her rubbish down here anyway?

And the other guy.

The locals refer to that scum who only shows up when others are vulnerable and takes advantage of their weakness as... "kangaroos"!

So... those are both hints that we'll have to take a look in the next scenario for sure. Especially interesting is the second one which seems to indicate a way to get kangaroos to appear so they can be caught. So we'll try to figure out what it means soon enough. But for now, let's be on our way. We have an ark to launch (after we finish the last few bits of cleanup, of course!).



As we walk through the tunnel, we get another notification of a message. What could it possibly be at this point in time?



In the Dogy Figh entrance area, we can read the latest news bulletin.

N.K. News Bulletin

A new explosion in Garex!

The Ozsat meteorology department has announced that a small explosion has been detected in the vicinity of C-21 location. Experts believe that the explosion was caused by some transformation in the unrecovered explosive material in Garex.

Well, that's one way to put it, I guess.

Since we're right next to the phone, let's also check the message...

Hello! Do you know who this is? It's the real Sachiko Emory. I just woke up a few minutes ago and we have a lot to talk about... don't we?
For the time being I'm in rehab in Hospico. I've been asleep for so long that I've lost use of my muscles... I can't even go to the toilet on my own, it's just pathetic.
Well, I look forward to seeing you soon. Bye bye.

The "real" Sachiko? Could it really be? Well, Sumire did also mention something about Hospico, so there's definitely something going on.

First, though, let's head over to Ken's house in Hardia.





Ken's mum and Ben are here...



Although this has caused some delay to the Escape Project, at least now we can hope that this will be the last of this matter and that we can look forward to a happy end!

Depends for whom...



But, they said they loved me and Ken and Linda and everyone else... That's the only thing that brings me some relief. Nothing makes me happier than when people love other people.
Sumire, Yoshiko... I'm glad I gave both of you names... So we'll always have the names to remember you by.

As always, Ken's mum stays awesome. That was a nice little optional scene, but now let's head out.



First, we'll stop by the ark to hand in those few remaining animals: anglerfish, cobras and tree frogs which we got from the cryogenic storage, and also a pair of scorpions that we ended up having as extras.



So that brings us to a total of 54 out of required 50. As mentioned, we didn't need to bother handing in those last four, but since we were already here, why not, right?



While we're outside, one last overnight camp with Linda, at least for now.

Hey Ken. Do you think we'll have more kisses until we die that there are stars we can see from here?
......
Ken! You're definitely getting better at this lately! 🎔

I love these little bits! However, now is the time to finally head over to Hospico and find out what's going on.



While we're here, we can still talk to a couple of people we missed before who have something a bit interesting to say.



Like this gentleman here...

The balance of an animal's body is a mechanism that works in truly interesting ways. For example... life threatening stress can boost libido and significantly increase fertility rates, thus proving an evolutionary stimulus. In this sense, since the human species has prevailed over the other species and thus won the interspecies "contest"... in a way it has reached and evolutionary dead end.

Very interesting, and it ties in into the whole backstory of this game, how humans started exploring deep space and arrived on this planet to begin with! We should try to find out more about this at some point.



This guy here has no "lore" for us, but he IS very funny.

While waiting to se a doctor, you might sometimes get other more serious ilnesses! That's the real thrill of the hospital waiting room! Today I've got 5 wins, 2 losses and 4 draws so far, so I guess that's not too bad, right?

All right, now let's head over to that one hospital room that always gets used when a game's character is hospitalised!



Well, that surely looks like yet another Sachiko! Let's see.



I'm Sachiko Emory and I'm going to tell you the truth now.

But... Isn't the real Sachiko dead?

Just like No. 1 and No. 2 I am also a clone. After the real Sachiko committed suicide, she was in a vegetative state for a while, but then one day we found out that she'd died.
We drew lots which one of us will take her place... because we felt sorry for father.

Just so he would think that she's still alive? This is all so incredibly messed up.

......
I guess it's all over now, isn't it?
I've tried to resonate my thoughts, but I can't feel anything from No. 1 and No. 2.
The last thing I felt from No. 1 was a soft, warm vibration. If I had to try and put it into words, I suppose it would have been something like "I love you" or "thank you".
So, that's about it... I have something else I want to talk to you about, Ken, but maybe another time as I'm a bit tired now...

No, you can't just... We're about to take off with the ark!

However, nothing we can do. Let's just go then.

But as we do...



Oh, good.

But... If it's ok, I would like Linda to leave the room for a moment.
[ It's fine. ] / That will not be possible.
Hey, as far as I'm concerned, no problem! So, I'll wait in front of the room then!



She goes outside. Also, this is one of the dialogue choices which do make a difference. If Ken chooses the second option above, then this following conversation doesn't happen and he and Linda just leave.

So let's hear what this is all about.

I'm sorry about this... but I think it's better to keep this between the two of us.



Waitwaitwait! Where is this coming from now? In this Scenario B, Ken certainly has no knowledge of any kind of a twin brother!

Yeah, I did. / [ No I didn't. ]
No! You did have one! How can I be so sure? I will explain it to you now. Listen carefully and try not to be surprised, ok.
Your brother... we would not exist, were it not for him. So he's almost our real "father"! We were "born" of him!

What the HECK are you even talking about!

Some years ago, a few of the old-model clones went to the West Area to investigate.

Reminder, West Area is where the abandoned Beastian town of Koshikata is, and where we had met Nek in Scenario B. Also I still maintain it should be called North Area instead. Anyway, sorry for the interruption here.

Some years ago, a few of the old-model clones were sent by father to the West Area to investigate. One of the clones found him, and thought, being dead he was also riddled with bacteria like everyone else. But... he wasn't! He was miraculously clean, while all other bodies were rotting and in various states of decay.
They even found some unknown enzymes in his body, but could never fully figure it out. Then, father thought that he might try to clone and re-create him. He failed in that, but when he integrated Sachiko's genes on a cellular level, he was able to produce a working prototype.
You're looking at it!
......



A lie, huh? Yes, I'm sure you made up this very specific elaborate story just to mess with Ken. Absolutely. Not to mention, that portrait in Sachiko's room, which we have some vague idea might also be of Nek!



Also, what a thing to drop on us, just minutes before the end! Good one, game. Good one.

I'm also pretty sure you can entirely miss this conversation if you don't come here before taking off with the ark. Remember that Linda's arm is healed, so nothing is stopping you!

Anyway, Sachiko is not yet done talking to us.



Ahahaha this thing again!

Let me see here, what shall we choose?



*kiss* That is for No. 1.
*kiss* This one is for No. 2.
*kiss* And the last one... is for me!

We're still not done here.



Good person. / Bad person.

Man, this conversation is like "the greatest hits of Sachiko(s)". But we are actually done now finally.

I see. Well, let's leave it at that for now. I enjoyed our conversation today!

All right, let's see now, Linda is probably getting annoyed by now!



......
Well, all right. I guess I will let it go for this time, out of respect for Sumire and Yoshiko.

Before we leave Hospico, there's just one last thing we can do.



Go over to Panheim's lab and talk to his assistant.

I was quite surprised when Sachiko suddenly emerged out of that pod there! I always knew there was something strange about that girl...

So I guess this is where they kept her while in a vegetative state and where the switch happened with the clone.

All righty, that's everything. It's time to head to the ark!



Before we go up, here's where everything ended up level-wise with our two characters:



Now, let's make our way up to the control room.



But getting there...



...somehow Emory drops out of somewhere!





Well then.

What nonsense are you even saying! The nerve of this geezer. And also, Sachiko is...

Suddenly...



...one of the Sachikos shows up from somewhere.



She takes him...



...and starts dragging him away to another part of the ark. Ken and Linda follow.



S-stop! No. 2!

Ah, so Yoshiko/No. 2 somehow survived the explosion!



C-Mode activate! Three, two, one, go!
S-stupid! Get off me! Sachiko!



She jumps off together with him.



And being that C-Mode is the self-destruct mode, they both explode together on their way down!



Sa... Sachi... ko.



Let me quote myself: "Well then." At least the third clone still lives.

But, there is definely nothing else left to do now but to take off! So let's go back to the control room door.



[ Yes. ] / No.
All right! On three, we put we're going to put our hands on this panel here to open the door!
Here we go! One and two and... three!



Inside...



...of course we need to activate the console, as always.



[ Now is good. ] / Let me think about that...
Is it really ok?
[ How many times are you going to ask? ] / Let me think about that...

Of course, we have no reason to turn back as we've done all we needed to do already.



And well, it's take off time!

[Photosensitivity Warning: The following video features brief instances of rapid flashing.]



Well, the song is different from last time! But seriously, this is the second and last time with this kind of ending.

About the song, this one is called "Linda's Song", and as before, is performed by Linda's voice actress, Minami Takayama. Also, as before, an alternate version was recorded for the soundtrack CD which was included in the Sega Saturn version. That one is, still as before, performed by Ryouko Kihara, who composed the music for this game:



And so, here we are.



I know what you're thinking. Not only was not much of this planet's mysteries even touched upon, but we even have more of them added to the list! For example...
- What is the whole story about Ken's father?
- What is the deal with Minago, anyway? We never really get to do anything there as it always gets annihilated. We also never got to hear much of that story that the animal expert in Minago was going to tell us!
- What is the whole story about Nek and this cloning stuff that we just now heard from Sachiko?
- What is the deal with those blue teleporters we never really figured out?
- What is the deal with the strange status we saw in dungeons around the teleporters?
- What is the deal with the Beastian Elder dude?
- What is the deal with the dog fighting arena owner and his weird family?
- What is the deal with that kid whose father works away but in reality is actually divorced from his mother?
- What is the deal with the mythical snow beast? (Yeah I know you forgot this one, it was back in Scenario A!)
- What is the deal with this whole planed to begin with?
- And the most important one... will Sachiko ever stop being utterly perplexing?

...and many, many more, including a whole bunch of heretofore unexplored game mechanics!

Well. Not to get ahead of myself, but I'll just say this. Scenario C is (more than) a little bit different from the first two. But we'll get into that next time (No tease this time, it's time to start delivering on the promises!).

Until then, take care!




Today, a couple of storyboards from recently seen cutscenes:



And then a bit of a, shall we say, risky one of Linda, from the PC Engine era: