Part 23: Dating Start!

: I know, I'll call up Bud and Zack! After all, I'm going to be at some boarding school who knows where by the end of next week... ...*sniffle*... Well, guess I'll give Bud a call first.

Surely this will end without a problem and everything will go smoothly.


: .........


: What's wrong? You're calling really early...
: You're free today, aren't you? Bring Zack with you and come to my house.
: Eh? Today? But I've got plans!! Gonna get some awesome pancakes with my mom!
: What awesome pancakes!? You'd rank pancakes higher than me!?
: But I really can't today! We promised each other to do this half a year ago!

In this case, I'm gonna take Bud's side. He's made plans ahead of time well in advance, and it's not exactly something he can cancel; there's a non-zero chance he doesn't see his mother that often, if they had to make plans for breakfast this far out.

Pancakes half-a-year in advance? The fuck? Not going to an amusement park or something like that? The hell is with their living situation.


: Whatever. I'm not going to beg you! Go enjoy your stupid pancakes!
: Ah, wait Prez...!
*beep*

Of course, Luna's not really in a mood to be understanding. The 'next week' comment probably didn't help her temper either.


: I may not even be around next week... On to Zack!!

I'm not even going to joke about it. How is Zack going to fuck this up?


: .........


: What's wrong?
: Zack, you're free today, right? Come over and hang out at my house.
: Um, I'm really sorry, but... I'm attending a seminar about stretching to grow taller...

I didn't make that up. This little stupid shit wants to get taller so he's going to learn about stretching. What an idiot. Fuck Zack.

It's so nice to see Zack's dialogue, for once.


: I get it, I get it!! Go stretch and get taller then! See if I care!!
*beep*

Fuck Zack. Garbage nerd.

To be fair, Luna is really not helping by not saying anything, either. She's just getting pissy. What a nice attitude to have.


: Hmm... I know...

Then she got an idea. An awful idea. Luna had a wonderful, awful idea.

: Maybe I should go see what Geo's up to. He's probably got nothing better to do. He'd better be honored to get a personal invitation from yours truly! ...Hee hee.

Oh this is gonna go just great.

I, for one, support the universe dunking on Luna. Karma, bitch.


: .........


: Wh-Why am I getting so nervous...? It's not like I don't do this every morning!


: Mom, I'm leaving!
: What!?



She can move fast when she needs to, huh.


: I won't!



: Now I'm curious. I wonder where he's going?



: What's there in Time Square for a guy like him? This should be interesting.



And welcome to Time Square! It's the next new area to explore, and you know what that means.




That means it's time to return to Echo Ridge, ignoring the new area entirely, and explore Luna's room.

:Why are you exploring my room, Geo!? I know I'm creepily following you, but THIS is wrong!


...family. Luna looks stiff and nervous in them.


But it's written in some foreign language...


Just one look and you know it's super soft!

:Don't you sit on it, you dirty hooligan! Stop!


It's so big that the only way to have one is to install it right into the wall!

That's... not how that works? If it's wide enough to be installed into the wall then your wall is wide enough for you to have the TV sitting out on the floor?

:Shut up, you boneheaded Internet person! We need to use the floor for stuff, okay!?


...Piano Competition in the Kids' Division. There are tons of other trophies too.

Nobody say it. We're better than that.

:69? Why, that's a Japanese pun for MegaMan, you uncultured swine! Only those with the -proper- education such as myself would understand such intricacies.


There are other girls-only things, but I'm not about to look and find out!


The dark pink color scheme is so Luna.

I, uh. Pink isn't really any part of her color scheme except for in this room. Pink is more Sonia's thing.

:I just want to be pink, deep down.


It smells really nice.

Geo.

:...asdfjdshqw If MegaMan were here, he wouldn't stand for this!


...super-curls of hers here every morning.

So, now that we've seen Luna's room, it's telling a common story. Someone with top of the line, luxurious everything they could ever want, except parents that love them, etc etc. She's clearly trying her best for attention (winning all the awards, being the class president) but her parents don't seem to notice - unless it's bad.



But in the game proper, there's a wavehole here so let's get exploring.




The viruses in Luna's Room's wave road are just the run-of-the-mill enemies you can find in Echo Ridge, nothing special.



The GMW in her room is pretty nice, at least.




Why is the GMW better than the BMW?

I mean, IceMeteor2 isn't terrible. Plus, GMWs were generally better than blues. Why do you think I keep telling you guys to use Untrap!


: I am responsible for maintaining the security of the Platz home, and keeping questionable individuals away from Ms. Luna!

: I'm deleting you.



Way better than BMW.



Let's hop in here.


: DO YOU KNOW WHAT MAKES BEAUTY? THAT'S RIGHT! MAKE-UP! BEAUTY BEGINS WITH MAKE-UP! NO MATTER HOW SAD YOUR FACE LOOKS, YOU CAN COUNT ON A HAPPY MR. HERTZ LIKE ME AND MY FULLY AUTOMATIC WAVE MAKE-UP SYSTEM TO MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A STAR! *BEEP BEEP*

Mr. Hertz, no... That's not... Thank you for trying to help?

Very sad undertones, though. Luna is sad, but she "puts on a face" at school. Makeup is just symbolism.




New enemies are in here, though! LuPavarot is a weird version of the Lupa virus; I honestly don't know what it does because when it sings, it's not making enemies invulnerable and if you have a barrier up it can't affect you.

Crowket is the second rank of the Crow viruses and just moves faster.

Gooey are actually new enemies. They'll slide around underground for a bit, then pop up and try to rain on Geo's square. The rain won't do much damage, but it doesn't put you into I-frames so it'll hit multiple times. Their counter timing is as they pop up but before they start raining.




LuPavarot doesn't actually drop a unique chip, because it can drop any of the other Lupa cards.




JetAttack2 is an upgrade to something I use, so it goes in the folder. StickyRain is actually one of the best cards for S-ranking certain bosses, so that'll be fun once we get the higher-power versions.

A 110 HP virus for a chip that deals 150 damage in a line. Wow. They don't want you to have any sort of challenge, do they?

The one downside to JetAttack cards is that the viruses deal contact damage to your barrier when you crash into them.



Hey, it saves me some money. Though I still haven't found anything to unlock yet.



Anyway, back to Time Square. Let's look around here, now.



This area is pretty big, but there's really not that much to look at. We'll be done quickly.


If you look real close, there's a wavehole here!


The sweet smell of cakes gets me every time.



That's two waveholes open now. Most of the waveholes are hidden now that we're pretty far into the game, so you do have to be rubbing your face on everything.


...object made by a foreign artist R. Checo.

I'm not very knowledgable about art and things like that, so I don't know if this is referencing anything in particular.

Yeah, I got nothing. Art is for losers, anyway.



There's also a goodie.



Hark, a good boy.


The smack of pins is music to my ears.



These chairs are floating, wtf.

Waves did it.

And that's the interesting things to look at. How about some of these NPCs wandering around?


: ...really popular meeting spots for people.




: My grandchild loves to watch that thing spin.


: ...Surprise, is really, really delicious!

Are any of these people relevant?



As it turns out, not very many. This is the part of the game where the designers gave up on making Transers for everyone.

It's always at just past the halfway point, too. Sigh.



There's also this wavehole here, so let's check out the wave world before we talk to Sonia. (Of all people, she'd probably understand when she saw Geo running around in the Wave World instead of going on their date.)

She's already accepting of his bad habits.


: ...and then it's off to... Phew, there is so much data that I'm constantly busy, busy, busy!



So, this area is basically a big square. As fitting the name, Time Square.



This is every new virus in the area. Gooey we've seen before, but Moaian are weird. They'll let their head topple forward and then it bounces towards Geo, occasionally taking a diagonal path to aim towards him. The counter timing is right before its head falls off its pedestal.

HotMotor is just an upgraded variant. Same as its friend in Echo Ridge just faster with more health.

Moaian can actually be a decent enemy to fight. Their head falls somewhat randomly and it can't be blocked. The easiest way to deal with them is either holes, or lure them to one side of the field then quickly move to the other.







The chips they drop. MoaiFall is good, but not quite as good as StickyRain.

You have Pegasus version. That's prime Break-type material for your combos, you fool!



Very welcome!



Less welcome! The rewards in GMW aren't as good as in Luna's Room. That place would be good for grinding, except that it takes a long time to get there.

Grind out the green datas wherever you go you lazy fuck. What did I tell you? Eat. Your. Greens.



It's okay bud, we're in your way.



Going through the Transers for anything interesting...






Six Bombalizers, huh.





Six Moai heads. This guy's interesting because when the game has NPCs with virus cards like this, they usually have all three variants of the chip. Instead, he has three MoaiFall1 and three MoaiFall2.

MoaiFall3 is in the postgame area.



And that's it. Like I said, they kinda gave up on making sure everyone had a Transer. So, we can move on to the more important aspects of the wave world, the comps.




Nice, 40 HP so far.


: STOP ME! *BEEP BEEP* I'VE BEEN SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL FOR 200 YEARS! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! HELP! *BEEP BEEP*

Oh no! We have to save him. But then the moai would stop spinning...

Wait, 200 years? This opens up some lore questions. Was he a Prog that got updated and was spinning even then? Or was he always a Hertz?





There are LuPavarots in the cake comp, but like I said they don't have a specific chip.


: THE MELLOW AROMA SMACKS MY SENSORS SO HARD THAT I START TO LOSE CONTROL... AAAH, MY FREEEEQUENCY! *BEEP BEEP*



50 HP. They're just throwing these things at me, so I'm confused why they couldn't space them out a little better.



Flicker effects... Anyway, this is the reason StickyRain is good. It hits everything on the field five times (so 100 base damage) and doesn't stun them. It's phenomenal for countering any enemy that stays in place before attacking.

Fucking StickyRain was always absurd. It does not need to hit 5 times. PLS.



I also didn't show it before, but there's a wavehole in the Nacy's sign.


: MY JOB IS TO DISPLAY IMAGES ON THE ENORMATRON'S HUGE SCREEN! I'VE PUT MY FACE UP THERE BEFORE, ONCE OR TWICE, BUT I DON'T THINK ANYONE NOTICED.

Mr. Hertz is famous now!

I'll make him infamous.



This place also has MonoSwordin, the second level of the BraveSword guys.




Aaaand gonna farm a set of those to add to my folder.

Good choice. BraveSword was my jam.



This is a GMW in Luna's room, game! You can't fool me.

Yeti has become just like me -- complaining about drops. Once you start to actually pay attention to the things you get, particularly from Greens, you see where I get my commentary from. And you all thought I was crazy.



Well, let's talk to Sonia now that we're done with the wave world for a short bit.


: It's OK. I just got here too. Well, you wanna get going to Nacys?
: O-OK.
: What's wrong? You're kind of quiet...

I'd really rather be fighting viruses and earning zenny, probably.

For once, we are in agreement.

: Um, well I don't really come here all that much, so I feel kinda lost...
: Aww, you don't have to feel that way. Just take a few deep breaths! Now come on!
: O-OK...




Geo is so incredibly out of his depth. And Luna's been watching.

: Isn't that Sonia Strumm...? Why is Geo going shopping with her!? I was going to invite him!! OK, calm down Luna... I can't let my pride get the better of me. I can't let them see me following them!

She's in trouble. She wants to talk to Geo and spend time with someone, but also she's too proud to admit to it.



Let's just... get this over with.



New area means new things to look at.


: I'm the security guard in this here store! I'm always on the alert for shoplifters! No one gets away with anything on my watch!



Geo just doesn't understand fashion. (I don't either and this confuses me beyond 'cute girls sell product'.)

Is there anything you need to understand besides 'cute girls sell product?' Not sure you do.



There's also a wavehole here but we can't get to it. Penguins are in the way! Stuck-up birds.


: Please take your time here!


Hip, cute yet with a certain grown-up appeal. Perfect for up-and-coming young people.

You can't fool me, Geo is reading off of a poster or something.

Yo, but seriously, WHERE is my Omega-Xis snark?



We'll be dealing with this... later, at a less than opportune time.


Seems to be targeting women in their 30s.

I really don't know what that greeter guy wants Geo to do here.

ArmNavi? Help us out.


The price tags are more eye-catching than the jewels themselves.


: I wonder how much this ring is... 1000000 Zennys!? W-Wow...

I've never understood why large clothing stores like this have expensive jewelry lying around. Anybody that wants jewelry like that would go to an actual jewelry store, and everyone else can't afford it.

Typical BN-universe map shortening. Can't take everything to scale.


: ...what's good and what's not.


: Please feel free inquire[sic] any[sic] time.

Two typos in one dialogue box, impressive. (Probably supposed to be "Please feel free to inquire at any time.")

A 2-for-1 bonus!



This thing is also here. It's got better cards on average.



Like this Bombalizer, which will save me 15000 zenny. Nice pull for five PowerBomb1 cards. (That was a 2.5% chance on my first attempt, by the way!)


The event stage on the roof looks cool.



No leaving Sonia behind. She's a good friend and doesn't deserve that.


: The owner of the clothing store next door is atually my twin sister! Don't we look exactly the same?

Ha ha, very funny game.


: Are you looking to buy a present? If you need any help, feel free to ask!


They're all so nice, I can see why going shopping takes so long...

Whew. Finally, we're done looking around (for real this time). Sorry this update really isn't doing anything other than exploring a few new areas - we got access to three big places at once.

Let's just talk to Sonia.


: When I get a bit older, I'm going to wear cute outfits just like these!
: So, um, what are we here for?
: What we're here for?
: I mean, don't you usually know what you want to buy when you go shopping?
: No, not always.

That answer right there made me exhausted. I can't imagine not knowing what you want to buy.

Same. The best way to handle a situation like this is to pick out outfits she might like. You can even be wrong, but bonus points if you have a good eye for style and what she likes to wear. If you take control of the situation this wa-

Why the fuck am I telling Internet goons how to take charge during situations like this?

Because you're charitable at heart.


: ...nice accessories sometimes, you know? And if you see something you want, then you buy it!





ArmNavi you've come back!

: Have fun, kid!
: Come on, Geo! Hurry up! I found a really cute handbag!!
: Coming...

It's worth noting he really is having fun. The smile icon has been used the entire time.


: Um, uh... yeah...


: And look at him, he's copping an attitude!

Geo is just being an awkward dork, and Luna's reading too much into it. Yes, she's being difficult, but she's understandably stressed and reacting poorly to a lot of things. This overreaction is important.


: Attention, shoppers. Starting today, Nacys is proud to host a special subtropical jungle exhibition on the roof of this very building where we have a variety of snakes on display. So please feel free to visit the roof, and enter the Subtropical Zone today!


: A subtropical jungle exhibit? That must be the one my mother and father were working on... But somehow, I don't think they'd be very happy to find me here...


: Doesn't that sound exciting!? Let's go take a look!


: Um, sure. Sounds fun. Let's go.


: But what if I bump into my parents...? ...Whatever. I don't care! I'm going to follow them!!

And so the date continues.



I promise, this is the last area we're exploring this update.


: ...mountaintop, but the cityscape from a rooftop isn't all that bad either, don't you agree?


If I laid down here, I'd probably fall asleep.

Very uncomfortable looking bench, though. I guess Geo's just very tired. Or narcoleptic.


Put money in and it moves around violently.

Violently? Some ride for little kids this is.


Pandas are really a kind of bear.

Stupid shitty bears that can't even eat or fuck right, they fail at evolution so hard the only reason they're still alive is that humans think they're cute.



After turning the ride on, a wavehole appears.

Remember kids, pandas have waveholes in them.


: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!


: ...real jungle! Ah, my grandchild will love it!


: My son really loves this character, but I don't know what he sees in it, I suppose.


: ...been cornered by snakes like that...

Hope nobody in the crowd reading this has an irrational fear of snakes. Sorry, folks.

No, shut the fuck up. These are tiny sprites you piss-ant cowards. Read onwards. Master your fear.




This will come in handy in a little bit.



As expected, it forces a battle drop. Using this against Cancer Bubble is honestly one of the best ways to grind money in the game, and I'll take advantage of that from time to time. It's also not a bad weapon, but I'm not going to use it unless I have to.


Is[sic] the Mowai Galaxy Burger[sic]

Ah, yes! A double 2-for-one bonus! Hooray!


The DoubleCheese Mowai Burger is the best.

For someone who doesn't come here often, Geo has some opinions about a garbage burger chain.


If you get in and put in 100 Zennys, it'll roll you around. But it looks a little scary.



Just add it to the pile.



There's no special dialogue for examining this with PitcherMan out, sadly.


: ...all of a sudden. ...I'll hold off on pulsing in.

A warp hole is over here, but we can't go in just yet. That really only leaves one place to go.



Surely this won't end poorly.

snek snek snek