Part 6: Episode 6: NYPD Blue

Episode 6: NYPD Blue

Last time, Aya failed to apprehend a dangerous fugitive then took a nap. This time, we open with a panning shot of Manhattan and a spooky narration

Like so




I'm pretty sure people will remember that time Carnegie Hall burst into flames.






That would make it Christmas Day, by the way. Happy b-day, Jesus!


We open on Aya and Daniel chillin' at the office.

: Hey, you OK ? You ought be resting.

: Wish I could, but I'm the only one who knows what happened last night.

: I've been gathering some info on Melissa. She's got no relatives and no close friends. She was sick often-always on some kind of medication. The people at the opera said they were amazed she could even stand on stage. Her apartment burned down right after the incident, so we have no info on her medication.



: It wasn't exactly spontaneous. People were actually set on fire.


Werner and Nix here are completely incidental, by the way. They have no artwork or pictures, they do basically nothing, and they could easily be renamed "Detective 1" & "Detective 2" without impacting the story at all. Because I'm lazy they're useless, they get no funny portraits.

What kind of name is Nix, anyway?



Warner: ESP, huh ? Well I'm not buying it.

Nix: But if you're right, how are we supposed to deal with something like that?

What is standard police police procedure for mutant wizard-monsters? Send in STARS, I guess.

: I believe her. After all, Aya's the only witness so far. But if you're gonna take on a suspect like that, you'd better ask Baker for a better sidearm.


Hell yeah, let's go ask the Chief for a fuckin' grenade launcher or flamethrower or Terry Crews' crazy-ass super shotgun from The Expendables!

: Yer outta control, Brea! I got the DA so far up my ass over the stunt you pulled, I can taste his shampoo! Hand over your badge! I'm takin' you off the case!

: You gonna fire for me for doin' my job?! Take your damn badge. I'm solvin' the fuck outta this case whether you like it or not!

: BREAAAAAAAA!






Wait, what? He believes us? He's being helpful and supportive? I was not prepared for a non-belligerent Police Chief.


He even gives us this. You need Mod Permits to begin modding your weapons. And I don't mean slapping a laser sight on that bitch. I mean like building a shotgun that shoots rockets. Rockets filled with acid.

Weapon Modding is basically this game's Junction System in terms of hilarious breakability. But, more on that later.


Before we go meet up with Torres, we can stop by our desk and see that Aya actually has a police sketch of Melissa. I never noticed this before, and I think it's a nice detail.


We head out into the corridor and are treated to the Police Station's chill tunage.



: You didn't hit your head last night, did you? It's right downstairs!


Well, sure it is, but fuck that, let's check in here first!


Ah, the ol' unisex locker room. Sinks, lockers, bodily smells, and a pile of riot shields just tossed in the corner. You'd think those would go downstairs in the armory, but nah. This is fine.


Hey, good advice! Luckily, located in a nearby locker...


...is a handy new vest! It has higher defense than our current armor, and apparently protects against goons, so we slap that shit on. That "AUTO" icon down there means this armor also has Auto Med, makes it use Medicines automatically if your HP gets low enough. Not terribly useful, since it can eat up your medicine reserves pretty quick if you don't pay attention. But, whatever! I can heal myself with MAGIC, bitches!

There's also a Medicine 2 in another locker. Heals 90 HP, nothing special.


Y'know what? Let's just...let's just go.


We head downstairs, which I apparently missed a screenshot of, and head into the door in the foreground.


Inside, we find the armory and, apparently, a Tunnel Snake.

: Cut the crap, Wayne. Where's Torres?

: That baldy? Who knows. So, what'll it be...Shotgun? Rocket launcher?

: Ever seen The Fifth Element?


Busted



: Get your ass back to weapons storage! You're far from ready to be handling guns in here!

: OK, OK...Sheesh...


Wayne goes into time-out, and Torres takes his rightful place.

: Torres, I need some equipment...

: For last night's case ? Heard it was quite a mess. But as long as cops rely on guns, criminals will too. It's a vicious cycle. I hate to hand a weapon to a young cop like you... But I hear this isn't your ordinary crook. Guess I can't send you off empty-handed.


: Wayne! Take some of her things and put them in storage.

This only happens if your inventory is full. If its not, you still gain access to Wayne's storage services after the conversation. The Storage System is the only way to ditch key items you no longer need anymore, like those keys from the theater. Still can't remove the Club, because the game doesn't want you to be defenseless without bullets. Not a problem, since the Club is great fun.




Now I have a machine gun

HO HO HO

: Captain Baker already notified me. Show me your modification permit again.


Here's how Mod Permits work. You hand one over to Torres, pick a gun, and he'll add a Slot to it. In order to put fun effects on guns, like shooting goddamn rockets for example, the gun needs at least one free slot.


Oddly, open slots are represented by a completely blank space. The 1911 here, for example, has two open slots. The half-gray box is essentially a big red circle with a slash through it saying "NO FUN HERE", and shows a place a slot could be, but isn't yet. Got it?


Torres gives us some wise words before we go.


Wayne also has some tips to give us, even though it kinda sounds like sexual harassment. The Tool he's referring to is actually an item called a..."Tool". These let you move stats or addition effects from one piece of equipment to another. The item you take an effect from, however, is destroyed in the process.

Later, this will be key to breaking this game like a sheet of glass getting hit by a train.


This chest contains our first Tool. There's also a Medicine 1 in the back and some ammo on the counter.


Further down the basement corridor, we find these two doors. The far door leads to the storage room Wayne uses, and we can't get in there. This door, however...


DOGGIES!!!!


Ahem. We, uh...we should probably go tell Baker we got armed up.


Hey, who's that?



: ...Ahh

: Ben!?

: Daddy!


This is Daniel's kid, Ben. He's eight years old, and for a second I thought he was wearing a smoking jacket. Sadly, Ben just isn't that classy. Yet, at least.

:Ben, this is Aya. Now, what are you doing here?

: Here...
Ben fishes something out of his pocket.

: Tickets? Oh...yeah. The concert... Sorry son, daddy's really busy today. I promise I'll make up for...

: FINE!

: Ben!




Ben runs off and storms out the front door. Cats in the Cradle begins to play softly in the background.

: Guess every kid needs a mother...

: That's not true! I was raised by my father too, after my mother died. I'll always be grateful for him.

: Yeah, well, HIS mother's still alive...


And Daniel walks off, shoulders slumped, while Aya looks on sadly.

But hey! Let's talk about costume design! See what Aya's wearing?


This is her primary costume for 90% of the game. Notice how it's just a leather jacket, a t-shirt, and some jeans? It's so simple and sensible, I can hardly believe it's in a Squaresoft RPG! I love it! Guess who designed it. Go on, guess!

Tetsuya Nomura. Y'know, the guy who would later design this:



The fuck happened? How do you go from something a person would actually wear to that? How do you go from anything to that? Apparently, Nomura was a pretty sane character designer back then. Let's see what else Nomura did for Parasite Eve.



...god dammit, Nomura...