Part 36: 5/23: Paint Me Like One Of Your Ukiyo-e Girls

Part 35: 5/23: Paint Me Like One Of Your Ukiyo-e Girls

Music: Tokyo Emergency




Music: A Woman



It has to be “Kitsune.” You know, with that kitsune mask and everything.
Hell yeah. That really leaves an impression.



What do you want your name over here to be?
I’d say “Da Vinci.”
Nope.



Well, you’ve got that mask like Ann said… and there’s that weird tail...



What?



Oh. Well, that didn’t translate at all.

Snrk…!
Very well.



It’s decided then: Abura-age.
Nuh-uh! Not happening! Do you have any ideas, Joker?



Ohhh, just keep it literal, huh? Sounds good to me.
What do you think, Fox?
It’s acceptable.
It’s set then. Let’s go.



Starting lineup? You mean the ones who’ll be going in first?
Yeah. Now that Fox has joined us, it’ll be harder to move around as a group. We’ll stand out more too. Considering how we’ve operated to this point, we should have four starters. Anyone else can be backup.
And I guess we always gotta have our leader with us, right?
Exactly. That’s why we’ll have Joker choose the remaining three.
And what should the backup do? Would it be best for them to stay outside of the Palace?
No, they should come in as well, but maintain a reasonable distance from the main group. In other words, the starting lineup is the first wave of our infiltration force. Well, we’ll leave the team composition to you, Joker.



We can change our party members through the menu at any time, unlike in P3 and P4. Also thanks to our current rank in the Moon Confidant, backup party members end up gaining a limited amount of experience.



*sigh* Thanks to all my hard work.
...What do you mean by that?
Don’t worry about it. C’mon, let’s keep going!



These Jack Frosts go down quick to Fire.



In the next hall, we see a large statue of Madarame.

I guess Palace rulers like makin’ statues of themselves.
It was the same with Kamoshida. I guess this one’s a little better-made though.
I-Is that so…?



Ooh, do you think that could be another pamphlet? Let’s take it with us, Joker!



You’re right. It says it’s the second out of two.



Now we can use it to figure out where the Treasure is, right?
I suspect it’s in the innermost point of this place. If that’s the case…



Hm, we will need to pass through the lounge and the gallery in order to reach it...
The deeper in we go, the tighter security’s going to be. We need to advance carefully, OK?




Looking into the large hall before us, we see it’s filled with a maze of lasers.

I’m curious about the paintings further in. It feels as though I could walk right into them...



Nearby, we use our last Lockpick on a chest and receive some alright rewards.



And further in, we see a hallway with the lasers turned off...



...only to turn on when we approach.



These Inugami are weak to Wind and like to use Physical strikes.



This statement would make a lot more sense if the lasers actually showed up in this scene.



Much better.



Remember how in the castle Heavenly Punisher (Archangel) was several levels higher than us, meaning that not only could it stomp us flat, we couldn’t add it to our party? This Nue is the same way. In addition to feeding us a healthy diet of Skull Crackers...




...it also loves to hit us with multi-target Curse, which we don’t have a great way of dealing with. It’s thankfully weak to Fire, though.



Just like before, we should be able to turn off any systems that are giving us trouble there.
Though it’s prolly gonna be tough gettin’ in at all...

Behind these shutters is a security room. The room only has one unsealed entrance, so we’re forced to look around for another route.




Indeed. It bears such a bizarre texture as well. It’s as though I could simply slip inside...



The painting shimmers and warps.

Wh-What the!?



M-My hand… It actually entered the painting...
So we can go inside of it…? Well, I don’t see any other path for us to take. Let’s give it a try!



Well, you heard the cat, let’s jump in.



What the heck was that…!?
We’re probably just hearing Madarame’s thoughts. There’s no need to panic.
Madarame...



We run to the left...



...and warp into another painting.

Hm… So this space is not merely one, but a multitude of paintings.
...You’re tellin’ me they’re all connected? Which one goes where?
That, we will have to continue walking to find out…
Hey Joker, can’t you spot the connections with your skills?

(He means use Third Eye to see where the paintings connect)




So he dares call us thieves who dirty his heart… The one who has sullied the very nature of art itself has no right to accuse us of such a thing…!
Save your emotions for later. We have to keep moving!



Nearby, a vent takes us into the next room.



There, another Shadow waits.



His stance conveys the notion that he is no ordinary foe.
I think the control room’s behind him. He’s probably guarding it to make sure nobody gets too close. However, we’ll need to disarm the security if we want to ensure we have a safe infiltration route. Forcing our way through seems to be our only option… Hey, are you ready to do this?



Music: Blood of Villain




You expect me to move just because you tell me to!? I’m afraid you’re sorely mistaken!



Boss: Bringer of Misfortune

Music: Keeper of Lust




In the two turns this guy gets before I kill him, we learn that he blocks Physical and Gun (annoying, especially because I brought Ryuji instead of Ann), inflicts party members with Rage (really annoying, because he blocks Physical and I only had two Relax Gels) and likes to raise his Attack (meh). I believe he also uses Gun attacks, but fuck if he got a chance to use them.

Music: A Woman



Phew, that guy was tough… I guess that’s just par for the course in a Palace...
It really was on a totally different level from the other enemies though…
Hm, he dropped some sort of card.




Skill cards first appeared in Persona 3 Portable, and in Persona 4 Golden were known as one of several ways to break the game wide open. They’re nowhere near as common in this game, to the point where they might as well not exist unless you really take the time to engage with the proper systems, but they’re still handy if you know what you’re doing.

What’s this for? I’ve never seen anything like it...
Ain’t it just some kinda loot? C’mon, let’s get back to explorin’.



We pass another treasure chest we can’t open. One day I’m gonna look up what’s in those chests, but not today.



Sweet! Let’s turn that shit off already!



Ugh, another one…?
We’ll just have to look for someone else who might know it...



Circling back around to an earlier hallway brings us within earshot of a couple of familiar faces… er, masks.



Yeah. I just got a call earlier to change the password here too…
What to? It better not be simple.
Well, I was having some trouble coming up with a good one… For now, I set it to the numbers for Lord Madarame’s feet.
Lord Madarame’s feet? What are you talking about?
Let’s get back on duty. There’s a chance the intruders are nearby.



Maybe… his shoe size?
Yo, Yusuke. You know that bastard’s shoe size?
Unfortunately, I have never heard him mention it. Are we sure that is the proper password…?
Madarame’s feet… What do you think that could mean…?

Whatever we do, let’s not look for the answer on the internet.



We head back over to the statue. On my first playthrough, this took me an absolutely embarrassing amount of time to find because I had ignored the statue completely.

”Here we praise our most holy lord Ichiryusai Madarame, the one ray of hope in this depraved world. He stands alone as his two adept hands paint into the future. None shall ever match his excellence.”
Pffft! He’s really puffin’ his chest out here, ain’t he…?
Hold on a moment… Could this be the spot of “Madarame’s feet” that the security guard mentioned?
It’s at his feet… Oh, right! But isn’t the password supposed to be a number of some kind?
Hm, I do believe there are numbers here though… “One” ray of hope stands “alone” with “two adept hands.” “None” shall match him… That means…



Yeah, that must be it!
Sweet! Let’s head back and shut down the security!





The shutters open and all lasers on the floor deactivate.



We’ll definitely be able to go to more places now! Come on, let’s get moving!

We head past the laser hallway we saw earlier into a new hall.



There is something off about these though...
Why don’t we go take a closer look?



Hm… It looks like these ones are all completely different.
And look. There are even two frames with no paintings at all.
That is strange… but we don’t have a choice. Let’s go, Joker.



The slow drain of my skill is inevitable when I am surrounded by such mediocrity...
...So he’s gonna blame the world for his declinin’ skill? Heh, that bastard never had any real talent to begin with!

From here, we head right.



People gather under shrine gates, offer their money, and return home fully satisfied. Art is practically the same. In the end, it is all just a matter of imagination…!
Huh!? Even if that’s true, that doesn’t give you the right to be deceiving people!

And, right again.



So they’re not connected exactly as they seem… We’ll have to keep trying until we find the right way.

We head right into the gate painting once more...



...but this time, we head forward, into the gate itself.



Too many young people do not see the true value in youth these days. What fools… Is it truly wrong for an expert such as myself to capitalize on that youth before it wastes away?
What the heck? He’s basically saying he’s jealous of young talent… Look at me! I was turned into a cat, but I’m still fighting. Age isn’t a valid excuse.



Now, we jump out of the painting onto the nearby platform.



There, we press the button.




A new painting appears in one of the empty frames.



So passing through one hidden route leads to the formation of another… What an elaborate ruse. It’s highly likely there is a new path through the paintings. We should investigate, Joker.

We head back into the painting, left to the desert, right to the gate, and right again to the new painting.



Art, life, water… They are all identical. The one who ascends to the summit is the victor!
So he’s usin’ all those pretty words, but he’s basically sayin’ people are like steppin’ stones. That’s just like what he did to all those kids—crushed ‘em for his “art”! What a piece of shit!

We approach the octopus on the side of the boat.




I guess it is just a painting, after all. I’m sure we’ll be OK...



The boat shakes and the octopus swings one of its tentacles…



...knocking us straight out of the painting.



We land unharmed on the floor.




Shit.



Fighting these enemies gives Morgana Magaru, finally letting him hit multiple enemies.




Ignoring the previous incident, we make our way back up to the boat painting, jump out, and hit the button.



Another new painting appears.



Ah, there are no longer any empty frames at this point.
I bet there’s a new path again too. Let’s get in there and check it out.

We can’t jump back into the boat painting from here, so we’re forced to jump down and re-enter from the desert painting, then head right to the shrine and forward into the gate.



Back in the forest, we climb along the scenery and head forward once we reach the peak.



My fine mansion, my lifestyle among the chosen few… Those things are the true “art”!
So running your atelier out of a shabby, run-down shack was simply an act after all… How foolish I was to have been deceived for so long...
Fox...




How despicable… We have encountered so many of his paintings, yet not once did he mention a love for art. These are no “paintings”… They are just meaningless self-assertions placed into picture frames…!
I’m excited to see how the change of heart alters him. Now, let’s hurry!

We’ve made it through the painting maze, but there’s still a decent amount of this Palace left. Next time, we’re making it to the end.