Part 61: 09/21/09 - 09/23/09

No, don't worry, you didn't miss anything here.



> The typhoon has completely passed. Through the window, the sky looks clear.

> You feel refreshed.

> Today is Respect for the Aged Day. The holiday lasts until the 23rd...

Iwatodai Dorm



No matter how strong you are, if you don't feel well, you won't last long in the ring.

Needless to say, pretty much everyone is going to comment on how we just missed 2 days of not being able to do anything anyway.



Why don't you go get some fresh air? It's really nice out.



You should take today to rest.



Oh wait, that means... since you got sick, you're smart; and since I didn't, I'm an--
W-Well, what do "they" know anyways?



But don't be careless, or you might get sick again.



I feel fine now.
Then, let's explore Tartarus.



Your temperature, pulse, and breathing have all returned to normal.
Congratulations on surviving your illness.

We've managed to avoid dying!



Glad to see you're feeling better.



Since it's a day-off, our options are a little more limited than I'd have liked. We could talk to Mamoru or something, sure, but I think visiting some old friends first is more prudent.

Joy





...Even if the tree is gone... you'll still live on... inside us...

> Bunkichi is sleep talking.



I, uh, didn't...?

Or were you just eager to see my pretty face?
Oof.
I feel relieved now, probably because the problem has been solved.
Even though it's the middle of the day, I feel so sleepy...
Why are you relieved?
...Since Mitsuko is here too, I think it's time we told you.
Makoto-chan, we sent a letter to Gekkoukan.



What!?
Wow, you should've seen your reaction, Makoto-chan! It was totally worth it to surprise you like that!



Sorry that we did it without asking you.
...Recently, I went to visit the persimmon tree, and I met a student on my way back.
He told me that the school is planning to build a new addition.



I think it'd make our son happy, too, since he was a teacher.
Helping those kids is more important than hanging on to his memory.



We're hoping, as we believe our son in heaven is too,
that more kind students like you, Makoto-chan, will graduate from Gekkoukan.

Whew boy, do I have some bad news for you guys...

...Please take this.



Mitsuko is the one who suggested we give it to you, Makoto-chan.



> You feel the old couple's great appreciation...

The Path is Open









Joy



Kohryu, alternatively Huang Long, is a big ol' golden dragon who owns a fair bit in theory... but in practice isn't that great here. He was even buffed to level 66 in this version whereas in vanilla he was level 61. Unfortunately he's technically WORSE here since he lost some of his better skills...



Our son would want us to be happy... I'm sure he's smiling down on us from heaven.
It's difficult having such a well-respected son.
...Oh, does it sound like I'm boasting?

> You talked with the old couple until sunset.

> After saying goodbye to Bunkichi and Mitsuko, you decided to go back to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm



It's most likely because you rested for two days straight.

Yeah, uh, it's kinda surprising how most folks here have something new to say already. Sorta.



I should've made you some chicken noodle soup for your cold.
Sorry I didn't think about it sooner.
Next time you get sick, remind me.



Well, not everything, I guess.
I mean, I didn't see a ramen stand flying through the air...
*sigh* I wish I could've seen that.



Not much damage was incurred. There is nothing else to report.



Yukari-san and Fuuka-san were really scared during it...
Were you scared during it too, Makoto-san?
No, not at all.
That's what I thought. You're never scared of anything.



Our subject today is a girl in her 20s with a very original, short hairstyle.



...Next is news. Pain, pain, go away!



Eriko Kirishima is an actual legit English speaking woman who was even super into the occult. I don't mean that like Lisa's parents this time, though that is an easy parallel. While those are weeby losers, Eriko just talks in actual real English sometimes. She's remarkably capable and competent and does things that help move the plot along at a decent clip the entire time for good measure. She's noteworthy in that she is playable in both the SEBEC and Snow Queen routes... and Persona 2 Eternal Punishment. She IS in Innocent Sin as well, though just as an NPC.

Her primary Arcana is Judgement (which is my go-to when people try and insist that playable characters are only Fool through Death), and her initial Persona is Nike, the Goddess of Victory. And because Eriko is awesome, she'll sometimes summon her Persona just to have someone to vent to.



So, we're off to Tartarus tonight. This is a trip that we're doing for a couple reasons. We're delaying a phone call so that we get a thing for Sunday, sure...



But we're also running Tziah a lot to get this thing to spawn. It only appears in a Gold chest on floor 118 (and a couple above 122 but that comes later).

The Poem For Everyone's Soul



So, we have some new Fusion types what we can do. Cross, Pentagon and Hexagon are the three we just unlocked and they're all much simpler than you'd think. Unlike Normal/Triangle...



We don't select 4+ demons from our stock. Rather, we select from a small list of predetermined results and it tells us what we need instead. We'll make Black Frost now that we can, and... uh... wow, yeah, um they really delayed giving you these a bit too much.



It must be the mischief maker, Black Frost, come out from the Darkness to play.
Actually, this is the first time I've set eyes on him.
I'm sure there are others I've never seen before, sleeping deep within the human mind...
Please accept your reward.



Well, hellooooo there! This is an upgrade over the Mage's Mark, of course, but a bit more than you'd think. Mage's Mark is just Invigorate 1 (regens 3 SP a turn) as an accessory. The Wizard's Mark is Invigorate 3 (regens 7 SP a turn). Yep. Thanks, Elizabeth! It doesn't sound super great, no, but it actually really kinda is.

Would've been better if we could get it earlier, though.



I heard that it's named for its resemblance to the crescent moon...
It does look very much like that. It's very beautiful work...
I wonder... Do they make swords in shapes other than the crescent moon?
Just once in my life, I'd love to see a heart-shaped sword.
Please accept your reward.



Well, these aren't great by any means, no, but free stat boosts are never a bad thing. I might end up using them one day, maybe.



Next on our chain of fusion requests is to just make a Girimehkala. I get the distinct feeling the game expects us to be about 5 or so levels lower than we reasonably should be at this point. For some reason.



Because we can make Girimehkala right now. Even if I didn't try to keep everyone around the same level, this'd still end up happening right now.



As you might've figured, since we have three Phys elements, someone like Girimehkala isn't anywhere near as good (on paper) as they normally are. We definitely won't be using this guy much because only repelling Slash is pretty niche and then we have two weaknesses on top of it...



Well done. You have fulfilled my request.
I have prepared a special reward for you once again...



If you are strong enough to control this Persona, then please give it a try.
Please accept your reward.



Sadly, we're not quite a high enough level to make Nebiros yet. He's level 50 which we're closer to than I'd have expected (and honestly liked) right now, though.



Ooh, well, well, well. Hello there. I see that Elizabeth now wants us to make one of the best Personae in the game to begin with. So, Daisoujou is level 53 so we can't make him juuuuust yet. As soon as we can though, Daisoujou will pass level 56 by default from fusion (he's a Hierophant) at which point he gives us our earliest and first unique skill. Exciting!

Silence



That's it for what we're doing in Tartarus today, though. We'll be back in the near future to actually climb it higher, though.



Oh, right. I forgot about that up until Aigis reminded me. Still wasn't sure of what to do but I finally got an idea last night.

Iwatodai Dorm



Dammit... Why won't they just disappear?
......



Newscaster: Everyone with laundry out on the line can rest assured that it'll be dry by afternoon.

Not much in the dorm today, since everyone's just repeating stuff from yesterday evening now.

So... I think it's time we go and do it. It's time we finally meet the best character in the game.

Other than Koromaru, who's a dog and thus shouldn't be counted because of his unfair advantage.

When the Moon's Reaching Out Stars (Reincarnation) / Way of Life -Deep Inside My Mind-



Wh-What? Don't look at me while I'm eating.
You're making me feel self-conscious!
Agh! You've spoiled the moment! I can't savor the flavor of my limited edition gourmet sandwich with you here...



We only need Charm 2 for this guy. So, uh, yeah we may have sat on this for a little bit longer than expected! Well, Kenji can tell you about him reaaaaaaaaally early after all.

...What do you want?
What are you eating?
Oh, you're curious? Do you consider yourself a gourmet?
Is that possible? A slim guy like you? ...Prove it.
If you can pass my Gourmet Quiz, then I'll believe you.
Ummm, what should I ask...? I don't want to make it too difficult...
Give me some time to think... *munch* *munch*

Isn't the entire point to make it difficult? Like, I'm not exactly much of a gourmand but c'mon.



Anyway, despite implying that we need to come back at a later date that's not true at all. Let's just talk to him again right now.



Phew, I finally swallowed it...
Now, the quiz begins. This first question is a freebie.



Wow, he wasn't kidding. That really is a freebie!

Pheromone Coffee.
...Correct.
Here's question number 2.
What color is the mascot for Wild-duck Burger?
Green.
Ahh... You're pretty good.
Question 3: What is the secret menu item at Hagakure?
Hagakure Bowl.
...I'm impressed.





If you succeed, then I'll accept you as a fellow gourmet.

Hmm, y'know, I think we might have something. How's this?



G-Give that to me!



Ughhh... This is... awful!
But, I'm impressed. I haven't tasted something like that in all my life...
I like you now.

Joy



...Umm, I'm kind of embarrassed to say this to you first thing, but...



If people start thinking we're best friends or something, I'm going to end up as "the uncool one."



Middle-aged Man: You know what I'm here for. Hand it over.

Wh-Whoa... It-It's you...
H-H-Help! Uh, emergency!
H-Hey y-y-you, call the fire truck... er, I mean the... the...
Call the police?



Middle-aged Man: ...Pipe down. I don't wany anyone getting suspicious.



Middle-aged Man: You're going to have to reconsider. I really can't let this one slide.



My name is Nozomi Suemitsu!
By the way, about what I said before... Maybe it's not so bad having you stand in front of me.

> Nozomi seems to have warmed up to you.

> You became acquainted with Nozomi Suemitsu, the Gourmet King.

The Power of the Heart



> A mysterious voice rings in your head...





Joy



You want to tag along? Do you know who I am?



That's right, it's my little nickname. I'm Gourmet King 2009... Or, was it 2010? Eh, whatever.
I know all the best places for-- uh... wha?

> Nozomi's stomach is growling loudly.



This is gonna be too expensive. I'll have to treat you another time! Don't worry, I'll remember!

> Nozomi ran off.

> It was getting dark, so you returned to the dorm.

Now, I know what you're thinking. I called Nozomi the best character. I'm memeing you hard right now, right?

Heh. Heheheh. Heheheheheheh...

Iwatodai Dorm



Anyway, Junpei's wishful thinking!

Maybe it could blow a ramen stand into a Shadow and kill it with one hit!
Wouldn't that be awesome!?

Well, in my experience throwing a ramen stand at a Shadow deals Force damage... and that isn't an element here, so...

......
......
......
......



Well, I think we'll lose our Persona abilities and return to our daily lives...
But, we won't be the same as we were before.
Thanks to all the experiences we gained fighting together, we'll all live richer, fuller lives.



Next mission, it is highly probable that they will be unable to determine our location.
Right... Having someone like that makes a big difference.
It's hard to interfere if you don't know where to go.
But, be careful, just in case...
The other two seem dangerous...



Perhaps. We should train in Tartarus as much as we can.

Well, if all 3 attack at once that might get a bit risky and dangerous. If it's one-by-one then we can walk it no big deal, though.

And, we're not off to Tartarus just yet.



We'll wrap up this break, at the very least, though.



We did briefly hear about this extra movie day exactly once before now.



Did you know there's a one-day-only Film Festival today?
The promoter said there was so much demand, they decided to hold another one. I guess people liked it!

Well, if we ever needed proof that sometimes capitalism works then I guess we found it. Good ol' indie movies.



Newscaster: They have calculated the timing of when victims will recover, and when new victims will be claimed... People are waiting to hear the exact day that victims will begin to increase next month...

Did it happen...? Did they finally notice the full moon thing? That we noticed back in May, because the SEES gang are not-so-secretly really competent?



I totally forgot they had those... Not that I've ever been to one.
You wanna come?
...With me?
Don't you wanna go with someone a little closer to your age?

Shinji is only one year older than we are, remember. He ain't exactly an old man or anything.

......
Hmph... weirdo.
Well, let's go.

When the Moon's Reaching Out Stars (Reincarnation) / Way of Life -Deep Inside My Mind-





Are we... really watching this?
......
Well... If this is what you really want, I guess I'm game too.





Unsurprisingly, this would be a Courage boost if we somehow still needed that.



It just... washed that dog away...
......



......



Not quite the best movie date we've ever had, but it's certainly up there.

Iwatodai Dorm



I was going to inquire earlier, but I thought you might be "sick" of everyone asking you if you're sick...
I'm fine. Thanks.
That is good to hear. Please take care of yourself.
AH-CHOO!



Still cracking those lame jokes, I bet.
Yep.
His jokes are the worst. So lame.
Nah, not really.
You can't fool me.

Well, we're not quite off to Tartarus today but... we probably will like tomorrow or Friday. To that end...






Master of Tartarus / Danger Zone



Let's talk about the boss real quick. The Sleeping Table is one of two infamous bosses in Tartarus for when things quickly escalate. It is, for my money, the relative hardest fight in the main game because he has... 50 Magic, Maragidyne (which hitting a resist still does about 150 damage because fuck you), Megidola (which is Almighty damage so... gg no re) and the nastiest combination in scaring someone with a near guarantee and then using an instant kill that wipes out everyone who's inflicted with Fear.

Also he has Hamaon so even if you try and be clever he'll nuke you with Megidola or just murder Koromaru with expel.

Mercifully, he only has 20 Endurance and only resists Phys and Fire (Strike is the only non-ID elemental null).

As tempting as it is to put this to a vote, that's what I'm...



Going to do, fuck it. There's a couple restrictions this time though:



Junpei is coming, no questions asked. Pretty much entirely because he tied with Aigis last time, yeah. He'll maybe get Marakukaja on the way, and is almost certainly going to be running pure support the entire fight. There's even technically a chance Re Patra could be useful for once ever. But, uh, probably not.



Koromaru is banned. I know, I know, it's Koromaru and he nullifies the Maragidyne and all but he's just an active liability. And not even a fun one! Being weak to Hamaon is a literal death sentence and his only attacks being Slashing, Fire and Dark is just a waste of everyone's time. He's not even a good support character here.



Shinji is also banned, because he also has nothing to contribute. Unlike with Koromaru, this is just a boring reason. He only has Strike which is nullfiied and Slashing which is resisted and Evil Smile would be nice and funny but... Shinji has 20 Luck. He's going to die to the same thing we could do with it, pretty much guaranteed.

Everyone below this point is fine and dandy, though!



Yukari better get that Mediarama otherwise she's not gonna be able to keep up with the Table. ST Diarama isn't sufficient (all of the Table's attacks are either MT or instant death...) and Media is adorably worthless. Her damage from Garula'll be okay the one time she'd maybe get to do it, but that's not why we'd be bringing her.



Akihiko only has one skill left before he's learned everything, wow. And while he's not gonna be super-great for damage (at least Elec is neutral...) or healing, ST debuffs are all we need here and he can just chain all 3 in perpetuity which is very nice.



Mitsuru's... risky. She's not a bad pick, per se, but she's not gonna be super useful either. Ampted Bufulas should be doing pretty okay damage, at least. The biggest mercy is that since Maragidyne is multi-target her Fire weakness doesn't let the Sleeping Table get One Mores.

Except in Portable, but shhh don't let anyone know.



Aigis is pure support here, but not even really good support. That her buffs are all ST means that she can only bolster one person at a time and she usually goes Suku and then Raku on one person... before shifting to someone else to start to do the same too. Her AI is not very good at support, no.

Dekunda's not gonna be useful at all, since the Table has no debuffs at its disposal.



Ken's really not useful here unfortunately. Portable gives him Mediarama, which he is lacking here entirely. His skill after Hamaon is Recarm at level 42, which'd be nice - considering his own resistance to that pesky Hamaon floating around - but not critical. There's nothing really that he can do that someone else can't already do better. Zionga's his biggest contribution and it's not a very well done one at that. Oh well!

So, all that said we still have two slots to fill.

Who gets 'em?