Part 168: 11/24: Nice Boat
Part 158: 11/24: Nice BoatMusic: Desire
This is bullshit ! A country that children can be proud of, my ass! Its completely sunken in his head! If a guy like this stands above everyone, were seriously done for!
This is beyond ridiculous!
The same goes for Akechi.
Oh, that rapscallion!
What in the world is he thinking ?
Probably something along the lines of Im gonna get that paper, boy!
Whether it be for glory or for simply a reward
This is not how any human being has ever formed a sentence in all of recorded history.
My father died because of someone like this !
We gotta sink Shido instead of this country!
A Palace with not just the center of the distortion, but the entire country sunken I cant believe theres someone with this tremendous of a desire Be careful! This will be completely different from past Palaces!
Were definitely gonna take his Treasure!
All right!
We must put an end to this by December 17th, the day before the elections!
Let the infiltration begin! Time to pay him back for setting us up into a trap!
I swear to god Im not altering these lines, this is actually what the characters say. This shit is voice acted, how rushed was this production?
Music: Ark
This song sets the mood pretty well. Unfortunately, this Palace is long as shit and you are absolutely going to get sick of it.
Speakin of that, shouldnt Maakuve been disguisin himself on the way here?
Uh, seeing someone in a disguise with a bunch of kids in school uniforms would be super weird
I get that they really want us to not worry about the whole forced clothes swap for the sake of the animated cutscene, but they also really shouldnt be drawing this much attention to it.
Well, we wont have to worry about any of that once we steal the Treasure Lets do this!
Lets go find out. Its time we begin our infiltration.
We walk inside
...and our clothes change, to boot.
But why are even the passengers wearing masks?
You think theyre tryin to be Phantom Thieves, back like Haru with that Beauty Thief stuff?
Th-Thats quite enough!
Whatever the reason, it reflects Shidos mentality. Surely he doesnt view others normally.
Given the insane nature of his distortion, Im surprised they even appear as people
These people suuuuuuuuck.
When we head up the stairs, we are accosted by a Shadow.
Joker, an enemy!
Urgh, its attackin us with all these people round!?
This is Cerberus. Its weak to Ice and it attacks with Fire and Physical. It also Drains Fire and Resists Nuclear. While again, we cant negotiate with miniboss Shadows (really just any Shadow in a scripted fight, as this barely even qualifies as a miniboss), well encounter its regular Shadow form from the dog-type Shadows of this Palace shortly and pick one up for our collection.
I mention that it resists Nuke because while its really the only option in the long run due to her lack of good Physical skills for the endgame, getting rid of Makotos Flash Bomb and leaving her with only one damage type makes some fights rather annoying. Still, shes incredibly useful and I wouldnt switch her out of the party for anything.
We switch out Harus Climate Decorum, which we sadly never really got a chance to take advantage of, for Snipe, a skill that increases her damage with Gun skills by 25%. Again, building Haru towards Gun is fucking broken and I highly recommend you do whatever you can to follow my example, its great. She gets a couple more Gun-related skills and theyre all excellent, so its well worth it.
Indeed! Those privileged enough to be on this ship are all on the winning team!
Ahahahahaha!
Hahahaha!
It seems they think no harm will come to them because theyre here on Shidos ship.
Theyre not even sensin the danger Cmon, lets make em see what this ship really is!
Joker, we should go. It would be a problem if we started drawing attention to us.
First off, starting!? We just fought a literal Hellbeast! Second, I wanna talk to the evil political conspirators!
This is Dakini. It has no weaknesses and Resists Fire, but it uses party-wide Physical.
This is Narcissus. Its only skill is Nocturnal Flash, which inflicts party-wide Dizzy. Its weak to Fire, Resists Wind and Bless, and Blocks Electricity.
An interesting component of parts of this Palace is the huge-ass loudspeakers literally BLARE-ing Shidos bullshit campaign speeches. Its honestly kinda charming. Not the speeches, I mean.
Theres a climb spot next to this chandelier leading to probably the most well-hidden treasure chest in the game.
If we climb all the way up...
We obtain an Idaten Ofuda. Probably never going to use this, but its a party-wide Agility buff. I only include it because its absurdly out-of-the-way relative to what it actually contains.
Lets head into the next room.
Hrmmm I can sense the Treasures presence! Its that way. Lets go, guys!
Music: Suspicion
There are slots to stick in something like a keycard Whoa, theres five of them!
I hear something.
You heard something? From the loudspeaker? Right next to us? Better declare it!
Since there is no one against the plan, this bill will be unanimously passed as drafted.
Passed? Whats goin on? Was that Shidos voice?
...The what now?
Its that large conference room thats usually seen on the news.
Ohhh, that thing. Gotcha. So, whatre they doin inside?
Most likely a meaningless vote one in which whatever Shido proposes will always go unopposed.
So hes doing whatever he wants by keeping only his supporters in there.
What do we do to get in, though? Should we find these keycards?
Maybe we need some kind of qualification, one that vows to be his follower or swear loyalty.
So basically, we need to prove that were on his side.
You sure move on quick
But whats this qualification thing about?
That thought never crossed my mind.
Asking around doesnt sound like a bad idea. The guests here are the cognitive versions of them in Shidos mind. Theyll know any secrets he shared.
True. You have a point.
That said, the ruler here is that evil Shido. It wouldnt surprise me if they did turn hostile.
Right Yeah, wouldnt they attack us ?
We should prepare for the worst, of course, but I think well at least be able to talk to them. This ship is most likely an ark loaded with those that Shido believes are worth keeping alive. Itd explain the luxury cruise ship. I doubt idiots who cant even hold a conversation would be here.
We can at least gather information. It helps that everyones wearing masks. Well blend in even with our attire.
No we wont!
He must believe that no one shows their true face to anyone else just like him.
The group nods.
Music: Ark
Theres no doubt I can sense the Treasure behind this door. Looks like weve already hit the jackpot. Lets go talk to the others!
So, for this segment we have to walk around this room and find the rest of our party to advance. Theyre not hidden or anything, just scattered among the main room and the connecting hallways.
Yes, that must be why he can enter the sacred place. I heard hes not easily seen either
But why would someone of his stature always be by the poolside?
Well, he must like it there for some reason but I dont think its the swimming. Hahahaha!
Beyond this door is the VIP area, and the main assembly hall is a sacred place. It looks like we cant get in unless Shido accepts us.
My, such flattery! A high-class aura emanates from you as well!
So you noticed! Hahahaha!
Most certainly! Ahahaha!
Man, I hate these people.
Hey, these guys totally ignore me when I try and talk to em Do I look that much like I dont got any money ? Is it cause of the skull mask or something?
Poor Ryuji.
But Ill do it Im going to avenge my mom.
I dont normally point out random chest contents because theyre generally pretty banal, but a Model Gun is great.
I either remained silent or spoke in simple pleasantries during Fathers business relations
Thats all she has to say to us! How productive!
I just saw him at the restaurant To think an important politician like him has been invited here Well, support from the political world should mean mental shutdowns are as viable as ever!
Ahaha, Im quite envious I wonder if theres a way I can get to know him better myself
Hahaha, if you wish
Hearing people speak so casually about the mental shutdown business makes my head spin ...But it seems as though we need certification from five VIPs to become a special customer. These people are willing to share anything. Perhaps its because their faces are hidden?
If we try to head upstairs to the next area
...were blocked by a Shadow.
Causing a commotion might ruin our ability to gather intel. Lets leave it alone for now.
Indeed. Mr. Shido has quite the large circle of acquaintances.
It seems you have to be at least that important to be considered a VIP Im truly envious
Why dont you go play the slots with him? That might get his attention
It appears these people all want to be accepted as one of Shidos special customers. Either way, Ive gained some information on the VIPs. We should discuss later.
I actually saw what looked like a map on our way here. Why dont we go check it out?
Not great, but not bad either.
I was able to get a bit of intel as well. We should sort through what all of us gained for now.
Well, I took a look at the map we obtained earlier and found what appears to be a safe room.
Oooh, its close.
Perfect. Lets go over our intel there.
Lets head over to the safe room, then.
Music: Wicked Plan
The casino earlier looked pretty real too, but talking with these guests was a whole nother story.
You have that right
This rulers observational skills and insight are off the charts. Shidos a formidable foe
Cmon, no need to freak out!
Im not freaking out! I was just thinking itll be easier to make a plan since they can talk normally. All right, lets put together the information we gathered.
And those letters become the keycards?
Exactly. Now, lets go over what all of us have learned. First, according to my intel One of the VIPs is an influential politician by the name of Ooe. Hes supposedly seen at the restaurant at night and sits at a table near the window.
Um, Ill go next. I heard about a prominent VIP who used to be nobility? It sounds like hes usually by the pool.
Next is my intelligence. It seems the president of a television station is also a VIP. He always plays slots at night. It would seem he spends his money quite lavishly.
Crap, Im startin to forget people already
Next is my turn!
For real!? Even you got info?
Of course. I eavesdropped. Supposedly one of the VIPs is the president of an IT company. Hes always in his room and reportedly enters from an exclusive hallway.
Well then, Ill close us out!
How the helld you get info with your looks ?
It seems like some guy they call the cleaner is another VIP. Ive heard that hes cautious, so its probably best if we check the other VIPs first.
Isnt that backwards? Shouldnt we get him before raising a fuss with the other VIPs so he doesnt catch on?
Cleaner? I wonder what they mean by that.
Wait a minute. After all the VIPs we listed, this ones a cleaner? Is he really a VIP?
Man, were idiots.
...Supposedly.
Im sorry I couldnt get any information.
Me neither! So dont worry about it, OK? Lets just work harder during the battle.
Youre right Ill do my best!
But theres a bigger problem, yknow My memorys, uh not so great. Anyways, who was who ? Uhhh
Some time later
I can only remember about two of them What about you, Joker?
Oh dear lord
The politician Ooe, a former noble, a TV station president, an IT company president, and a cleaner. We get certification from them and obtain letters of introduction thatll serve as keycards.
For some reason the voice acting swaps the order of letters of introduction and keycards.
But only go for the cleaner after the other four have been dealt with. Right?
Whoa! Now thats impressive! You go, genius!
If we cant remember the details of the VIPs, lets reconvene inside a safe room.
All right, lets get this done quickly!
Huh? You wanna go back already?
There are people in here with special letters. That means Shido trusts them to a certain extent.
It would be best to consider them as powerful individuals We do not want to get too hasty. Let us take our time here.
Normally Id complain about the game forcing us out, but I wanna get the rest of my party Confidants up before we tackle this.
I guess we do have a little time to spare. Well then, lets head back for today.
Music: Ark
Now returning to the real world from Shidos Palace. Thank you for your hard work.
Music: Beneath the Mask
Do what you need to. Ill try to help any way I can. Just dont be reckless, got it?
Whaddya mean?
I have to agree. Im sure hes quite used to traveling, especially on extravagant ships.
and it should be obvious hes not using his own money for it. There are all sorts of rumors online.
Ohhhhhh, I get it! Hes using tax money? Not cool, Shido.
I think he believes that which belongs to others in turn belongs to him.
Even peoples lives.
Right. We gotta pay him back for what he did to Maaku too.
Keep Futaba safe. Im counting on you.
Roger, chief.
The Diet decides things with a majority vote, but what happens if the vote is split fifty-fifty? A: Speaker of the House decides/B: They flip a coin
The correct answer is A! The Speaker of the House decides! Lets hear an explanation!
The Speaker of the House decides, in accordance with Article 56, Section 2 of the Constitution. After the general election, by law, the Diets first act must be to appoint a new prime minister.
Oh, you got it right! A tie probably doesn't happen very often, though.
Maaku gains Knowledge +1.
Ive decided what I want to do with Shido after goin into his Palace.
Lets kill him.
We cant let him run free. If theres a heart we gotta steal, its definitely gotta be his.
Oh, you want to do the same thing weve done with everyone else? Thats lame. Why even bring it up?
I really get it now. I want to avenge you, thats a no brainer, but thats not it. If we let him run the country, the weak will be totally effed. Isnt it our duty to protect them?
Remember when I told you that heroes who lurk in the shadows are borin? Forget what I said. Those heroes are way cooler. Hey, Maaku. Once we change Shidos heart ...No, never mind. Forget it. Lets do it. Lets steal that bastard Shidos heart. Ill do everythin I can to make it happen. Thanks for listenin to me, Maaku. Seeya.
Sure thing, buddy.