Part 7: Episode 7: Friday the 14th

Last time, we opened up the rest of the level via this handy escalator. Let's head over there, shall we?


We'll just head out this door we passed by last time.


We find ourselves in a plant-laden walkway filled with a very loud and annoying sound effect.


Oh, I guess it's the giant elaborate fountain. Jesus, this place is ostentatious for a glorified mall. Any L.A. goons wanna let me know if you guys have a lot of Greco-Roman art installations in your shopping centers at the top of skyscrapers?


Naturally, we can examine the fountain. Maybe it's just me, but I always got the feeling that Poseidon was kind of a dick, even for an Olympian.

: A large bloodstain... Something's floating in the water. It's hard to see -- the water's cloudy.

Hmmm, we may have to do something about that...


The fountain actually alternates between water falling and nothing happening. Neat effect.


Whoa, what's this?



: A curious sight, don't you think, Zach?

: Some kind of tree disease? Wait, there's a small path beside it.




Well, I'll be damned. There is, in fact, a small path here!


It just leads to a dead end with some loot, though.



: There's something inside.


Normally, I wouldn't condone substance abuse, but this is totally worth the trip.


It's a permanent health boost item, that also gives us a full heal when we use it! You could pop it right away for that extra 5 HP, but it's better to save it for boss fights. Y'know, just in case. By the way, aside from equipping better armor, this is the only way to increase Aya's max health.


Back to the fountain, there's two doors, one on either side of the fountain. Both lead back to entrance hall, but we're better off taking the leftmost one.


Because this one is actually locked from this side. By unlocking it now, we can give ourselves a handy little shortcut in case we need to come back later.


See? Okay, we'll loop back around to the "Forked Road", stopping at our magic ammo box on the way.


Here we are back at the now-open escalator. Yeah, there's a lot of Resident Evil style running back and forth in this game.


Aya actually stops and stands still on the escalator as it leisurely carries her to her destination. You'd think she'd be in a bit more of a hurry, what with the crazy monsters eating police officers all over the place, but meh.


Fun fact! My physical disc copy of this game will just stop loading anything but ambient music after the escalator ride about 50% of the time. Every time I see this screen is a quiet relief.


There's another pair of these goofballs waiting for us up here.


Guess how that turned out


With that handled, let's take a look around.

: I bet the view is nice.


I am so confused about what kind of place this is. Aya mentions going to a clearance sale here, but we don't see any stores. There's a Greek restaurant that looks like a Taco Bell but apparently needs reservations to get a table. Now we have telescopes and fancy fountains, like it's some sort of tourist trap. I never even really thought about it until this play-through, either.


Oh, good. I could use a cool, refreshing drink after all this craziness.


Squaresoft!


Hey, what's that smell?


Oh.

: No good... There's no pulse. The armor he's wearing isn't so badly damaged.


Haha, really, Aya? Dude's not even cold yet!


Well, I guess we did get permission from our boss.


All and all, it's some pretty damn good armor. Quick Fire let's us ready and fire our guns faster, like the Shoulder Holster did, and HP Recovery gives us a small amount of health back after each fight, like MP. Very nice.


We can examine the poor guy a second time so Aya can practice her CSI skills.

: Looks like an attack from behind, by a "civilian" he was trying to help. There's nothing I can do for him now.


Welp, time to move on.


Yes, the only way to reach this side of the shopping center(?) is to ride an escalator up and then back down. Why do you ask?


I just like Aya's Robocop walk when you have handguns equipped.


Who the fuck are those guys?


Oh, it's cool, I think I traded Pokemon with this dude one time.


So, the Brutes here are kinda pathetic. They have loads of HP, but they move incredibly slowly, and can only swipe at you lethargically with their meat mitts. You can just stand a few feet away and unload into them, and they can't do shit about it.


Here I am, backed into a corner, and the poor fella can't even manage to land a hit. Maybe he's just intimidated, because Aya's, y'know, a girl


The big guys give a good helping of BP, at least. They also dropped a Recovery1, which is nothing to write home about.


After the fight, we hear some gunshots from within the church! Wait, why is there a church here, too?


It could be Rupert! He could be in trouble!


Eh, he seemed like a capable guy. He can wait a minute while we scope out this dead dude.


Starting to worry? Really?


Y'know what, Aya? I'm not even gonna complain about robbing the dead this time. Because I also played Parasite Eve, so I share your fond memories of SMGs. Oh, shotmachinegrenade-gun, how I miss you


Yeah, no, I'm keeping this, pal.



: He died heroically.


So, the MP5 uses 9mm ammo, which is the same kind our pistol uses. It's also the same kind that is in that infinite ammo crate back in the entrance. So, we have a fully automatic machine gun and a source of unlimited ammo. Hell yes. The flashlight doesn't do much; it stuns some enemies, doesn't effect others at all, and out right kills moths for some reason. Not a bad gun, all in all.


There's always time for action poses


Alright, let's see what's shakin' in the church.



: Rupert! I'm here to help with this SMG I've had the whole time!





: Uh...











: Is this a bad time?










: So, what, you just want me to read this? I thought you had that rat guy doing this. He did what? Well, what did you say to him? Alright, whatever, let's just do this.



: You've already talked about the Strangers, right? Well, this is the Grin Stranger, and it's the smallest and weakest of the lot. I've already fought a few of these little bastards at Akropolis. In fact, I'm pretty sure the first Stranger I found outside the cafe was one of these ones. Either way, they're complete push overs. You can easily slap their shit with your club if you want to conserve some ammo.



: I think I saw some of these guys wearing howling wolf t-shirts at the mall last week. Was...was that good? It wasn't in the script, but I just thought...Y'know what? Whatever. This script blows anyway. All you need to know about these guys is that they are a complete non-issue. I guess they could potentially take you out if you fell asleep in front of them and were also a 112 year old man with no limbs. Anyone else, though? Just shoot 'em, you'll be fine. Just keep your distance; if that smell gets in your clothes, it will never come out.

: Y'know, this is pretty easy. And Rattigan used to get paid for this? How about we let him do the 3rd Birthday, and I'll just sit here and make puns all day. Square-Enix can suck my--