Part 29: Parts Twenty-Six and Twenty-Seven: Two for the Price of One!

Parts Twenty-Six and Twenty-Seven: Two for the Price of One!

Here comes the longest update ever! Rather than spreading this part over several updates, which would've extended this thread yet another week, we'll tackle the next three dungeons all in one fell swoop!

Last time on Persona 2...
Maya and the crew battled the Chinese Mafia and New World Order at a ridiculous factory filled with conveyor belts. They discovered after doing so that Tatsuzou was headed to a cruise ship in order to make his way to some undersea ruins, where he hoped to release the Blue Dragon. With that in mind, they raced to Nate's yacht in a desperate attempt to finally catch him.




First, though, we've got some other things to take care of. This, for instance, will produce the Blue Cape rumor demon when spread...

With a thing like that, I can't even work! If something happens, I have to write a report...Anyway, somebody do something! If possible, I would like some proof! I'm sure no one will believe just a report. Someone! Please!
...this one, on the other hand, unlocks the Mu Continent bonus dungeon.





Jun, Lisa, and Eikichi are all hanging around the Araya Shrine. Funny that we see these three together, isn't it? They're not why we're here, though...

My Daddy said that there is! Fine! Be that way! I'll just have the Shiraishi lady look for it! I'm getting a sword! ...But a gun is good, too.
...this kid is. Talking to him unlocks a new mansearch over at Shiraishi.

It's only a hundred yen, and we love kids, so of course we take it on.

Unlike most mansearches, though, we can't actually find Asano unless we ask the Security Guy here for a hint.



Here we see why - Takumi Asano doesn't actually exist. We have to spread a rumor before we can find him. Isn't it fun to fuck around with colossal forces beyond our understanding? We head back over to Araya Shrine after spreading all our rumors.

This guy looks like a winner.

Bingo.
You're looking for the Legendary Blacksmith? Well, it IS true my family made wares over the generations. But that was up until just recently. When my father died, I also stopped...why? Because you can't make a decent living. This is my first "real" job at age 35. Business is hard. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I have gotten used to working...See! My hand can't move. I need time to rehabilitate. I'll let you borrow this secret document. "Isn't it important to you?" you ask? Don't worry. Everything's in my head. And besides, I do not need it anymore...

Maya and company can't do anything with this, but we know somebody who can.


What's that? Legendary Blacksmith?! Secret Document?! Sounds suspicious...Here, let me see. ..!! Holy crap! If I made it like this, it'd be powerful! But I know even the black market doesn't carry those materials...If you want me to forge you this weapon, then bring me the necessary materials. If you've got the goods, I can make it!
The Padparacha designer is all too helpful...

...and with the help of the Secret Document, he's able to forge the five Legendary Weapons, the best available in the game if I'm not horribly mistaken. The only problem, as he mentioned, is that Legenbrights and Akashic Rings are seriously fucking rare. We'll have to keep an eye out and make the superweapons as we go.

While we're in Narumi, we turn in our most recent map as well, which earns us the Salam Select Card Set Booster Pack.

This has two of all the -kaja cards, which is fucking awesome. Kaja spells in case you're just tuning in, are buff spells, and they're absolutely broken in this game. Maka Kaja in particular increases magic attack power, and makes even the nastiest bosses easy as pie. Also, since he gave us two of each, we're able to register them AND keep one for our own personal use. Mapping is an enormous pain in the ass, but rewards like this make it worthwhile. With that taken care of, let's head over to Mu Continent and do something about this Mussie.

Here at Mu Continent, we are having a "special campaign"! Find out what it is!! Oh you are a lucky gal! Behind that door is a big dungeon! At the end, there's a brutal boss monster waiting! If you are able to defeat the monster and bring back the secret treasure...you will receive a reward! But of course there is a time limit! If you don't return in time, you're out! Even if you've defeated the monster! If that happens, there will be no reward, and you lose the treasure. You CAN'T save in there, but you CAN come back out!

Sounds good to me. You're given a ten minute timer when you step into the dungeon.

We've got time, so let's check out the new contact option that's opened up between Katsuya and Baofu: Investigation of Terror. It's similar if we perform it with Ulala and Ellen, so we'll just look at the Katsuya-Baofu-Ellen version.



The screen blacks out...yes, he fucking tortures the demons. If you needed any more convincing that Baofu is the single most incredible video game character in the universe, well, now you've got it.

Continuing through the dungeon after Baofu's torture session, we come across that money-grubbing bitch of a fairy, Trish. She seems to be in a little bit of a bind.
A weird demon suddenly came to my fountain and settled there! I can't do business like this! Hey, get rid of that demon for me please! You can beat it up as much as you want, so please!
Despite the great schadenfreude we experience from Trish getting kicked out of her extortion fountain, it turns out that the demon in question...

...is Mussie herself!

Mussie is one-shot by a Maka Kaja-charged Ziodyne spell, so quickly that I forgot to get a screenshot. Whoops. We grab the fang that she leaves and rush back to the entrance.

I would like to give you your prize, but this is Mu Continent. That would be just too boring. How much it will be is completely up to the customer! Rapidly hit the X button to increase your winnings. You've only got 10 seconds...are your fingers ready?! Here we go! START!
Oh shit where's my autofire controll--



--damn. Well, that's not that bad I guess. We take our paltry sum and head back to the guard who gave us this rumor in the first place.

You defeated that monster?! Thank you! Thank you very much! Now I can work without worry! ...You may not need it, but take this. It's a token of my appreciation.

Sources are accessories that, when equipped, provide a free point to their associated stat when your character levels up. Agility isn't really an important stat, but hey, it's better than that tiny chunk of yen the other employee gave us. Since this was the only sidequest we've got to worry about (there's another part of the Bomb Shelter open, but there's not much point in going there until the entire thing's open), it's time to get ready for the cruise ship.

First off, we summon Heinir, who was mentioned earlier as a Persona we wouldn't be using much (his info was mentioned earlier as well, if you're curious). We ARE going to do something with him, though.

Specifically, he's just a mutation bitch. Later, Heinir!


And hi, Peri! Peri, like basically all the other Minor Arcana Personae, is fucking awesome. Agidyne is nice, Maha Agidyne is REALLY nice, Ziodyne is essential for the next dungeon, and healing and status curing are just icing on the cake.


We also call up Parvati and add a Maka Kaja card to her. She isn't exactly an offensive force, but Recarm is nice to have; otherwise we really just used her because we needed something to put Maka Kaja on. Parvati goes to Ellen, Peri to Baofu.

After some ranking up, we're ready to hit the Nichirinmaru.

It looks like a cruise ship, but it seems the inside has been modified greatly...

Maya apparently declares that she'll be driving the yacht...


...but Ulala will have none of it.


Baofu takes control of the situation like the badass he is, and we're off.

Meanwhile...


Guido and Chizuru are having an evil, evil conversation about evil, evil things. Basically, they're being evil. If there's one thing I've learned from JRPGs, it's that if something is sealed, it's a seriously fucking bad idea to try and break that seal.
Chizuru: Master Guy, no, Guido...There's been something I wanted to ask you. Why would someone as great as you be controlled by one such as Tatsuzou?
Guido: Do you despise him? Because you are a woman...
Chizuru: You should exterminate the old order and become leader! You must lead us...
Guido: It doesn't matter to me...
Chizuru: Your only concern is with them and that boy of the Paradox...Why are you so obsessed with them?
Guido: Ha! You underestimate me...

There's an explosion, heralding Maya's group's arrival, along with that of Tatsuya.







Guido and Chizuru haul ass in a submarine as the group boards the ship.


Baofu and Maya take out the soldiers on board the ship...

...the ones Tatsuya didn't already waste, anyway.
Katsuya: He doesn't look it, but he's quite violent. Once he's enraged, there's no stopping him.
Ulala: What the hell is going on around here?!
Baofu: Either way, he's gonna be ahead of us at this rate. Let's get going.
We head on inside...

...and immediately run into the Blue Cape. How convenient.

We cast Maka Kaja on Baofu...


...and use him to lead a Tower Inferno fusion, which reduces the Blue Cape to a large pile of blue ash. That was easy.

We fast forward past the boring walk-around-and-grab items part of the dungeon to the interesting bit where we find that Conference Room we keep seeing in cutscenes.

Baofu: Hmm...Where are the Undersea Ruins?
Katsuya: Right around where Miss Amano is standing.
Baofu: No time to waste...Let's move.

Katsuya makes a keen observation - where the hell did Gozen's head go?

We come across a material card, but we're a little busy at the moment, so we'll look it over later.

After some more exploring, we're hit with some resonance from Tatsuya. Looks like it's boss time.


Well shit, Tatsuzou's about to get away. Again.



We head out to the heliport right as Tatsuzou's about to leave...

...but Tatsuya has other ideas; he cuts down Tatsuzou's guards and tries to reason with the man.




Right before Tatsuya can start spouting off bad poetry, the team makes their dramatic entrance.






You all sound like chapters from a self-help book! PREPARE YOURSELVES.


Tatsuzou gets away. Again. God damn it all to hell.


He leaves us to fight a boss...

...three bosses, actually. Remember those Metal Gear robots from the factory? Well, we're dealing with a group of three here. This is a pretty tough battle, though not quite as luck-based as the Shimazu fight way back when, so we've got a chance.


After some buffing up with Maka Kaja, we combine two Lightning spells (Zio-line) to create Lightning Blast...

...which does a fucking ridiculous amount of damage to all three robots.

Three rounds of electrical bombardment is too much for them, and the robots die horribly. Go team!



After the battle, Tatsuya's still being his same old emo/mysterious self, so Maya tries to talk some sense into him.

She fails...

...and Tatsuya runs off. Again. Noticing a pattern here?

Afterwards, everybody suddenly remembers that Guido and Chizuru are trying to get away as well, so we need to get our asses down to those ruins.

Conveniently enough we find a sub almost immediately after leaving the heliport.


Tatsuya shows up in a mech...

...causing Katsuya to be unintentionally hilarious. Again.



Everybody hops into the sub, and we're off!



COMING UP NEXT: So this must be the Undersea Ruins!