Part 28: Episode 27: Dryfield After Dark
Hey, thread. Long time no see! I hope Rattigan caught you guys up on the story so far so we can just dive right back into this. As an aside, Aya enjoys taking relaxing midnight walks with adorable puppies.
Anyway, we're supposed to be returning to Aya's hotel room right now, but there's actually an optional scene to go find that we can only see after delivering the gas can to Douglas, but before taking our nap.
You see, while we've been running all over town and fighting dozens of bloodthirsty abominations, Kyle has been sitting in the diner and drinking. Thanks for the help, bro!
: Ouch! Ya caught me!
don't do it, he has cooties
This line feels like it should come from Kyle, but okay.
: Mr. Douglas's lending us his.: Finally, progress!
: You...
: Well, it's only half-true.
: That being...?: 
Umbrella Inc. knows a good deal when they see one.
: They carted in loads of construction materials and fertilizer.: Construction, I see... but fertilizer? In the middle of a desert?
: So, let's go check it out!
: I've helped out a little, haven't I?: Very little, yes.: Fine, then...
That's the end of the conversation, but we can actually talk to Kyle once more to discover something that boggles my mind.
I can understand removing references to alcohol in something like Chrono Trigger, but this game started with policemen being eviscerated and a young woman graphically mutating into a hellish monstrosity. I would imagine those sorts of things would be more controversial than a bar serving whiskey, but what do I know?
Oh well, time to mop a few hot zones before progressing.
These guys are back. They're still not nearly as threatening as anything else we've faced in the last few hours of the game, but if they get too close they'll start telling you about why Evangelion is totally intellectual and clever and sooooo much better than anything a plebeian Westerner could ever create.
This is fatal.
This is Necrosis, by the way. It doesn't do a lot of damage on its own, but it does inflict poison, which can rack up the hurt pretty quickly. Why yes, it is poisonous green lightning, why do you ask?
With all that taken care of, there's nothing left to do but hit the sack.
: I am a little tired... Maybe I'll rest until the truck's repaired.
So, based on past experience, what normally happens when Aya goes to sleep?
Oh yeah, freaky dreams about some kid wondering around Sealab or where ever.
The girl seems just as confused as the viewer.
Looking back, she finds herself menaced by something that looks oddly familiar.
Naturally, she books it.
But she is surrounded by the strange golems.
Oh, hello, FMV.
Aya is awoken by screams and cheesy horror music coming from her television.
She has reverted to Parasite Eve 1 levels of skinny-ness. Poor girl needs a sandwich or something.
"Sup."
: Sup.
You may notice Aya looks slightly different in this FMV, as if more effort was put into this one cutscene than any other. Well, that's because...
...this is the shower scene, ladies and gentlemen. This is the scene that was featured prominently in most of the game's advertising, and probably the reason most 14-year-old boys wanted to play it at all.
Playing the game now, I feel compelled to point out that despite Aya being completely nude, this scene is still classier and less creepy than any scene in The 3rd Birthday.
I'm not just bagging on 3rd Birthday here, either. This scene actually works for the narrative, and adds a bit of characterization. Yes, it's fan-service-y, but it's not just there to be fan-service.
After hours of wandering around a ghost town and fighting for her life, Aya finally gets a moment to calm down and relax. Remember, since she arrived in Dryfield, Aya has been wading through legions of horrible mutations and chasing leads into dead-ends for hours. The only rest she's had up to this point came after she powers went out of control and knocked her unconscious.
And now, when she finally gets just a moment to herself, a moment to catch her breath, the hotel begins to rumble and shake around her.
Although she is exhausted and vulnerable in the shower, the world refuses to stop for her. Disaster strikes before she even has a chance to forget about the gruesome day behind her. A hero's work is never done, and there is no rest for the wicked.
But Aya never complains. She just gets dressed and grabs her gun. Because she has a goddamn job to do.
Plus, boobies, I guess.
So what is stomping around out there?
What lurks out there in the night? What new challenge awaits our heroine?
What...the FUCK IS THAT?
Also, it's fucking huge!
And it has a flamethrower in its mouth. Of course it does.
: Oh, for fuck's sake.