Part 6: Days 24-Escape: Lost In Blue

Last time on Bear Grylls: Anime Vs Wild we stumbled onto a bunch of ways to escape the island. This time we're going to actually put those into practice and finally finish the game!

Music: Good Morning


Skye will ask you this every time you leave the cave after you've relayed to her one of the methods you can escape the island. This is an absolutely final decision, if you are not ready to escape the island do not say yes.

We currently aren't ready.

No, not yet.
Um, ok.

I head out all the way back to the bandit hideout.

Music: Hideout



I'm going to work hard and I'm never gonna leave my post!



If you change it's because they punish us now by not feeding us, and your stomach can't take it!. [sic]
Shut up!
Uh-oh. Maybe this is not the best time to sneak in...



I do not give a single fuck.

The cutscene positions this guard such that his backside is a total blind spot and you can just squeeze through his back and the door and get in that way.



Once we're actually in the supply room, new things have appeared in reaction to us relaying information to Skye.

Hmm...this is a flare gun! I could use this to signal a ship, if only there was one...

We actually have everything we need to beat the game at this point, this appears in reaction to telling Skye about using her lifeboat to escape and this is the only item you need to escape the island via it.

We're not going to ruin the fun just yet.



Hmm...this looks like the uniform these guys wear! If I put it on maybe I can pretend I'm one of them and sneak around.

If you were like me the first time I played and were outwardly groaning at the prospect of the entire last segment of the game being a forced stealth section, then groan no more because you only have to do it once and then you're given an item to trivialise it.



Lookin' sharp, Keith. Now, ordinarily more objects are supposed to appear in the supply room in accordance with all the ways to escape we've told Skye about but again because I'm making progress at a rate faster than the game can handle, the room is completely empty aside from these two items. So I try and exit and re-enter.







Keith fails to think fast and instead stands there like a lemon.

Hey! You!
Oh no!
I've never seen you before. You, you must be...
!!!
A new guy!

I mean, the guard has no reason to assume otherwise seeing that as far as he knows the island is uninhabited. I give points for NPCs assuming the most rational explanation even if its not the right one.

Eh? Uh-um, yes...
Then as your superior allow me to teach you something. When you pass someone, you go like this



Well placed text-box completely blocks your view of what he's actually doing.

Press Y button in front of an enemy to salute.



Try again!

This will happen the first time you salute regardless of how fast you actually do it.

Good! You were lucky you ran into me. If I was one of the higher ups you'd be in big trouble! Always remember to salute, got it?
Yes sir!

From this point onwards we can walk around the bandit hideout basically unimpeded as long as we remember our brains and hit Y when prompted to by the game. You don't have to do it particularly fast or anything, so whatever tension there was from sneaking about the place is totally gone but at the same time mandatory stealth sections can get lost in blue for all I care.



Out back, we find the Foreman tending to his potatoes. This is reasonably fortunate timing on my part because he does this every day at noon and you're not meant to know this until a later cutscene but I kinda stumbled ass first into it.

You there! You got food?



After saluting someone, you can talk to them to feed them food. If you recall from the list we found in the supply room, the Foreman over here has the Boat Key we need. So I feed him a sleepy mushroom and he scarfs it down without thinking twice.

I'm still hungry, bring more!



People who get drugged apparently just throw the contents of their pockets on the ground when they pass out.

Yes! Now I can get that boat and get out of here!
Wait you fool!
!!!
That steak is mine! zzzzzzzzzz
...



This is supposed to appear in the Supply Room after telling Skye about the boat, but once again I accomplished too much in a single day and broke the scripting a wee bit so only on re-entering did it appear.



Keith is content to meerly peer over the fuel rather than pick it up, a few minutes of confusion followed while I tried to figure out how to get Keith to pick the fucking thing up.



nope that ain't it



really now keith

It's fuel for the boat. With this, I can use the boat without worrying about running out of gas.

Music: Hideout #2


We recommence snooping around the bandit hideout.



Yes I understand, I will contact you again afterwards
That must be a radio transmitter. He's contacting the outside world with it!

This is your lead-in to know the radio ending I talked about at the end of the last update exists.



Now that we've got the uniform, we can just go straight into the living quarters rather than putzing about on the beams spying on people. My target is the Boss's room so I can go rifling through his stuff.



You have no business here. Get out of here, ya little worm, I'm busy!
Y-Yes sir.
It's no good, I can't go in there even with this uniform on.

This is a stellar act of miscommunication on the game's part, you can totally go in that room. But only after you've removed the uniform for some reason, if you're wearing it the Boss immediately notices you and just kicks you out.



If you're not wearing the uniform, you can just run straight in but it's dicey because you only have to enter his actually not incredibly short line-of-sight to instantly game over. I ran straight into his bedroom and waited for him to go to sleep which he does at 7PM and ran behind him as he entered the room.



That boss guy was using this to communicate with someone, I wonder if I can use it to call for help.

Not a good idea currently, no idea how to operate the thing.



The relevant object in the room is this Sea Chart, even though it looks absolutely nothing like anything and I only found the object could even be picked up by rubbing my face against it.

Alright! I got a Sea Chart! Hmm, let's see... there's a couple of islands here. I wonder which one I'm on?

At this point I decide to put the uniform back on seeing as I'm done sneaking around and this makes the game behave...strangely.



The boss apparently having seen my compliance with dress code regulations in his unconscious state, immediately bolts upright in shock at how snazzy I look in the uniform.

Who is it?



Keith makes for the door...



But he kinda just runs straight past the boss, who has mysteriously teleported into the center of the room but pays no mind to us running by.



Only now does the Boss scrutinize his surroundings, by which point we've already ran out of the room around the corner.

I can't go in unless he's not there...

He was fucking sleeping! So yeah, apparently wearing the uniform for any reason inside of the room immediately alerts the boss to your being there contrary to all sense and reason. Only by taking the uniform off in the middle of a dangerous hideout of bandits where the uniform is the only thing keeping you from sight-induced instant death can you move freely around without the guy instantly kicking you out. But putting the uniform back on once inside will also immediately kick you out and bug the ensuing cutscene.

This makes no fucking sense. This is such an unbelievable void of sense and I cannot fathom why this section was programmed the way it is.



It's dark by the time we head outside.

A searchlight. If I go in the light I'll be spotted.

This would be a problem if I didn't already have the uniform, but prior to acquiring it you don't want to fuck with the hideout after dark.



One last bout of sneaking around on the rafters before we call it a day for now.



who sleeps like this

Never...call...060.76....

As you may have surmised already, this is the frequency we need for the radio. It is also randomly generated from playthrough to playthrough, so no looking up a walkthrough and skipping a step for you.

Having done all we can at the hideout for now, we head back home.

Music: Progress





Skye expresses her shock at our new get-up by running into the back-wall repeatedly.



skye please what is wrong with you

Oh, oh you scared me....

Choice 1: Hahahahaha, your face, it was funny.
Choice 2: I forgot I had the disguise on.
Choice 3: Sorry, I didn't think it would scare you so much.

Sorry, I didn't think it would scare you so much.
Well it did!
(She looks a little mad)


Game does that thing again where it transitions into a new cutscene in a very jarring fashion once more.
Music: Friends



We may be able to use it to call for help!
We can..call for help?
Yeah, it was a pretty big accident, there must be search parties looking for survivors. We just need to figure out the frequency to contact them.
I see, I see! We can escape from here!
Yes.
But, don't do anything to put yourself in danger, even if it's to get us out of here, ok? You don't have to rush things.
Ok, I got it.

*insert another awkward fucking cutscene transition here*

Look! I got the key to their boat! Now we can escape!
...
Oh! W-what's wrong?
I'm sorry, I'm just a little shocked. It's just that, now that we can escape I'm so happy, I started to cry.
Don't worry, it's going to be ok.
Yes, I know.
Now all that's left is to wait for the right moment. Let's be ready to leave anytime.
Got it.

Now that we're done with all that, the game will actually allow us to sleep through to the next morning. With the Sea Chart, Fuel and Boat Key in hand, it's finally time to escape the island.



Firstly, I have to unequip the uniform because Skye will not hold hands with a man in uniform.



Yes, let's escape together.
We won't be coming back here, do we have everything we need?

This is your absolute final chance to back out if you are not 100% certain you can escape.

Yes, I'm ready.
Ok.

Music: Melancholy



Yeah, we talked about so many things...
We'll probably never come back here again.
I know.
But this isn't the end of anything. The time I spent here isn't what's important to me. It's the time I spent with you.
Thank you.





There's no reason to go back in.

You'll get this response everytime you try to re-enter the cave, your decision is very final. I do keep bringing that up, I know but it's another example of the game being made to work in ways that don't make sense to me. I do not see why I couldn't just drag Skye the boat and have escape occur, but I just can't do that unless I officially declare victory beforehand. I just don't get why it has to be that way, that's the kind of stuff I expect from incredibly fiddly board games.

Nothing special happens from here to the boat, so cutting right to the escape...



With this Boat Key, I can use this boat to escape!











We finally got off the island!
If we keep heading east, we should reach the neighboring island.





I pretty sure it's this way but I don't see anything...



I never saw that kind on our island.
Maybe the other island is close! Let's follow that bird!









The game fades to white...





The experience I had on the island was something that totally changed my view on life.





Music: Reflection





When I close my eyes,
I see that sky.



When I listen closely,
I hear that ocean.







Music: Credits


The credits are a series of images with Skye's book on her experience available to flick through on the bottom screen. The contents of the book changes depending on how close you were to Skye, if you weren't good to her the book will barely mention you, but this is the book you get for the best ending possible.

This must be a bad dream.
I buried my face in my knees and wished to be awakened.
When I opened my eyes, you were standing in the light

"Let's work together"
As we hold hands,
I can feel your warmth
flow through as it melts
my chilled body.
The island that I gaze
at over your shoulder
suddenly seems so beautiful.

Is it about that time?
That time you get hungry?
When I ask,
"Do you want to eat"
You show me your bashful
yet happy look
on your face.
That's what I want to see.
Your expressions.
Your every movement.

You say,
"You can sleep first."
but I don't want to.
I feel that if I don't say
"good night".
I won't be able to say "good morning"...

That's why I'll stay awake
and wait for you to return.
But if I
oversleep because of this,
will you smile and forgive me?

Clear skies.
White Clouds.
The sea is beautiful today.
The sea gull's cry echoes.

I won't say this to you...
Sometimes I forget about
escaping and
feel it would be nice
if days like this could continue on and on.

The moon shines
the ocean in silver.
The blackness of night
shifts to blue.
I want to know all the
names of the grass, trees,
flowers enveloping the island.
They all remember me.
I want to call them
by their name as I
watch them beside you.

You say to me.
"Don't over do yourself."
But this is the first time
I felt so strongly
about helping someone.
That's why,
as long as you are here
I have nothing to fear.

I heard that watching flames
soothes the heart,
but this effect is probably
because you're sitting
at the other side of the fire.
"This is the first time
I've spoken of such things
with someone."
Actually,
this isn't the only "first".

Feeling at ease with
someone by my side...
Feeling that I truly need
someone by my side...
Feeling that I truly need
someone from the heart...
Forgetting about sleep
when talking with someone...
You were the "first".

I say "I'm not alone."
I then silenced myself.
Words are important,
but I wanted to be careful
of how I convey them.

The tree branches are being
pelted by the rain.
The wind rustles as it blows
across the ground.
I don't mind if the storm that
surrounds us rages on.
I don't mind if you can hear
the whispers of my heart.

The warm water
was just right.
It made my hair
soft to the touch.
Immersing myself felt
as if I was enveloped by
the fragrance of flowers.

Our wall was melted away.
The warmth made us
speak our true feelings.
The hot spring has
cleansed and gave us
something new to dream of.

The beautiful shell
found on the shore.
When held,
each one felt as if
they were all special.
I will give you this.
It's a present from
the island to both of us.

Your sad look said it all,
"This is all I could get."
As we sat quietly,
we smiled shyly together,

but before you knew it,
you slept, tired and weary.
As I gazed
at your sleeping face,
another part of me
found contentment.
Let's face tomorrow together.

Did you think
I wouldn't make it?
Did you feel
you were going to lose me?
My heart knew that
when I open my eyes
you would be beside me.

What I believe in,
is actually here.
I knew that
your warm hand would be
there for me to touch.

Good morning!
You were in my dream.
The rest? Well,
it's secret.

The morning dew makes
everything look
fresh and new.

I have your warmth
to start the day.
My voice resounds
throughout your day.

The sea leads our hands.
The wave pushes our back.
Together we draw
our future in white
across the sky.

Seek and we will find.
We can go anywhere.
I see the island
and I see you.
What we believed in,
we will receive together.

Those last two paragraphs are determined by your method of escape, but we'll be taking a look at the other two endings (that I was able to get) shortly.



And that's Lost In Blue! If you want my closing thoughts on the game, it's a game with a strong premise and decent initial hook but the pacing hits an absolute brickwall towards the middle and it never ever recovers and seems to spend the rest of the game attempting to deliberately be as tedious as possible.

I really wish it was better, I remember it being a hell of a lot better when I started doing this LP but having actually spent a lot of time with the game now as a result of LP'ing it, I don't really recommend it to anyone. Maybe I ought to replay Lost In Blue 2 one of these days...



For our efforts in clearing the main game, we unlock "Girl's Story" where we can play the entire game again from Skye's perspective. Now before you get all interested and excited, let me immediately piss on your fun by saying that I will not be covering Girl's Story at all and the reason for this is that it's incredibly boring.

You play as Skye, obviously. But remember that Skye is completely blind and can't go anywhere without help, consequently playing as Skye consists of you being able to only go out to the starting beach area to dig for coconuts, cook meals for you and Keith with the food he brings back in a fashion identical to the crafting mini-game and completing requests he asks of you by simply pushing A in front of a work station and letting the game tick while you make a cup of tea. Lacking any direct control over events, the best you can do in instruct Keith on what to gather for you and he will occasionally report back to you with progress with which you can provide your opinion on to kinda influence the ending and sometimes drag you with him if he needs you to push over a rock.

Besides being incredibly non-interactive since most of the game is being done by somebody off-screen (which I guess is at least a faithful recreation of Skye's experience) it also puts your success far too heavily in the hands of the maddeningly brain-dead AI. Much of Skye's gameplay is just waiting around for Keith hoping he doesn't fuck it all up by dying in the wilderness and it's so very very boring. There's nothing new to show in the mode and nothing to be gained from showing it. The only noteworthy thing about Girl's Story is that clearing it unlocks "Challenge Mode" which is an unlimited day survival test where you control the Boss of the bandits (this is a model replacement and nothing more) and attempt to survive as long as you can on the island. "Challenge Mode" can't be saved in the two conventional save slots you're given so once you unlock and play the mode, it permanently occupies your QuickSave slot because apparently having the mode just have its own savefile was too much effort.
In short, fuck Girl's Story. I ain't doing that shit.

Now, on with the other two endings!



I wonder if we can use it to escape the island.



Ready?
...Yes.















I should use the flare gun to signal them!

The ending sequence plays out exactly the same as last time but with a different ending from the book:

The flare that you fired
is proof of what we have
gone through together.

We made it
together.
I had the courage to use our
last supply because
you were beside me.

Now, we're going for the Radio Ending which is a bit more complicated and functions differently from the other endings, namely in that I think it's the only ending you do not have to call yourself into on leaving the cave due to how it works.

We start by heading back to the bandit hideout and triggering a cutscene.





The game provides us with an excellent view of the scene.

What's wrong?
I came into this business looking for a thrill. But we just do the same thing everyday. We're no different than some underpaid movers! I can't take it! Why did I choose to be assigned on Kauia Island!
Not this again...

Kauia is two transpositioned letters off from being Kauai, which is one of the main islands of Hawaii and the oldest at that. It is not what one would call a deserted island at any rate.

Continuing onwards towards the radio...



I catch the Foreman on the way to the bathroom, which he does everyday at precisely noon for a very brief period of time and this is the only time during which you can intercept the Foreman and give him drugged mushrooms. If you recall, he has the Warehouse Key for the Crate Ending.



Now, I did this anyway just to show the annoyingly narrow timeframe you have to do this, but I won't actually be showing the Crate Ending. Why? Because I apparently managed to screw myself out of it somehow.

You see, there's a cutscene you need to view beforehand that talks about the crates being shipped out from the Warehouse and what one to get in to escape. I'm reasonably certain it's not a time-sensitive cutscene but I could not get it to trigger no matter how hard I tried and if you don't trigger the cutscene, the correct box just doesn't spawn in the warehouse so you're not allowed to just skip the step and guess the right box. I have no idea what I did to break the scripting such that it locked me out of an ending but I'm not particularly eager to re-do the entire game just to show this one ending. I'm sure you all can find it in your hearts to forgive me.



Getting back to the matter of the radio...



I hope you wrote that frequency down, I don't know if you can even repeat the cutscene that gives it to you so if you forget you might just be fucked. I forgot but luckily all I had to do was check my footage for the proper frequency.



May Day! S.O.S...um, anyone out there?
beep...zzzt...(static)....
This is Ocean Disaster Search Party (static)...
I got connected!



As much as I want to go for the funny response, this is a series of choices where the wrong option kicks you out of the dialogue.

Please help!
Could it be that you're a survivor from the passenger boat accident a while ago?
Yes! Yes I am! I washed ashore on an island!
Hey, I've got a survivor here! He said he washed ashore on some island!
What? Let me speak to him! You, put together a list of islands within a 400 kilometer radius. This is the captain of the search party speaking, what is your name?
I'm Keith.
OK Keith, are you the only one there?
No, there's another survivor.
What is the other person's name?
Skye. Also, there seems to be a group of criminal-like men living on this island too. I've snuck into their hideout to use this radio...
Hmmm, I've heard rumors about an unmarked ship loitering around this area. Well, thanks for the information, we'll be prepared.
Captain, there are many islands in this area.
Hmmm, there's so many. Keith, are there identifiable landmarks on the island?

Pop quiz, nerd! Hope you were paying attention.

Choice 1: Um...there's lots of fish.
Choice 2: There's a lake that looks like a volcano crater.
Choice 3: There's some ancient ruins.

There's a lake that looks like a volcano crater.
These three are the only ones with a freshwater lake. Good, it must be one of the three.
Oh, wait! I have a Sea Chart of the area surrounding the island.
Well that would be helpful. What is the name of the island you're on?

Choice 1: Island of Kauia
Choice 2: Island of Nalai
Choice 3: Island of Kolomai

Nalai and Kolomai are once again alluding to real Hawaiian islands, called Lanai and Molokai respectively. At least the theming is consistent even if none of them are actually uninhabited islands.

Island of Kauia.
Good! I got it. Well then Keith, we'll head out there right away. But it looks like it'll take some time to figure out which island you are on. So please be safe and stay strong until we get there.
Ok!

Yes! The search party is coming to rescue us! I should tell her right away!

At this point, we are now 100% locked into the Radio ending and can no longer declare ourselves to be escaping to achieve a different ending. The search party will arrive to rescue you from the cave in 3 days from the point when you called them, so I promptly head home.

Music: Friends



Oh! W-What's wrong?
I'm sorry, I'm just a little shocked. It's just that, now that we can escape I'm so happy, I started to cry.
Don't worry, it's going to be ok.
Yes, I know.
Now all that's left is to wait for the right moment. Let's be ready to leave anytime.
Got it.

Then the game shifts into another cutscene.



*one fade to black later*

Music: Melancholy


Yeah.
Pretty soon, we won't be living here anymore.
I know.
Since coming here, I think I've changed a lot. I can see it in myself. Things I'd never noticed or never thought of before. Now I can see them within me.
I see.
It's because of you.
Huh?
Um..never mind...
Even if we get out of here. Even if we get back to our normal lives. Will you still be by my side?

Choice 1: Of course
Choice 2: Yes
Choice 3: I don't know

Of course.
Yes...
Oh, hehe, that makes me so happy! Thank you.

They share a laugh as the game fades out to the Today's Result screen.

The next morning...

Music: Cave #2


Morning.
Hey, I have something I want to give you.
Hm?
Here, I made something out of sea shells I found at the beach.

Got Charm Bracelet

Wow, thank you!
Hehe, I just made it for fun.

This is one of the other things you can do in Girl's Story. Dig up seashells to make friendship necklaces and stuff to raise your friendship with Keith to make him more likely to listen to you and thus less likely to kill himself.



In the most awkward cutscene transition yet, both characters immediately go from standing upright talking about gifts to both sleeping in their beds.





There is a faint sound of a helicopter present during this cutscene.



The game then fades to white with the usual ending, but another unique ending paragraph from the book:

After successful contact established by radio:
"As the island fades away
we fade away likely
into the pure white cloud

As a final epitaph to the book, you may have noticed one of the choices when telling Skye you're going to escape is "Yes, I'll go get help.". This is functionally identical to doing the ending with Skye but obviously you don't have to drag her with you and it slightly modifies the escape cutscene due to her not being there. It also carries its own unique paragraph in the book:

Your promise, my promise.
Each connected together
with a fine gold line.
Waiting is no ordeal.
All I need to do is
have faith.
See?
I'm keeping my promise.

And that's it for the LP! Thanks for sticking with me between computer failures and taking far longer to update than I really should. It's been fun seeing what people made of this game and replaying it now and still learning new things about it.

though really I'm still wishing I LP'ed Lost in Blue 2 instead