Part 193: 12/24: The Sweet Embrace Of Nihilism

Part 182: 12/24: The Sweet Embrace Of Nihilism

Music: Freedom and Security




So, we start off this update immediately bumrushed by Shadows and caught in an ambush because you’re not ready for a fight immediately after that cutscene with the camera facing the wrong direction! Also, it’s a double fight, because fuck you.



Ryuji learns Maziodyne to replace Mazionga.



Futaba also learns Subrecover SP EX, which automatically replaces Subrecover SP. Now backup party members will have their SP restored by 3% instead of 1%.

Anyway, we continue.



Destruction is… pleasing? She cannot be in her right mind. It is as though she wishes for the world to end…



This is Chernobog. It is weak to Bless and Fire, uses a bunch of different Physical moves, and can cast Mudoon. It also drains Curse and Ice and blocks Electricity.



This is Baal. It drains and uses Wind, as well as Physical, Matarukaja, and Charge.



I heard there were some others who escaped this place, but they found their way back recently… Wouldn’t it be better if people just lived with the hand they’ve been dealt? How hilarious…
Is she talkin’ about Kamoshida and all the others…? I dunno how to put this… but I’m thinkin’ these people’re more human than the ones in reality…



And besides… it’s going to be happening soon…
So he just wants to see the world from online, huh…? I know how that might feel, but it gets old after a while. I can speak from experience… And besides that, what’s “happening soon”?



So, why don’t you guys come join us? The world’s going to end soon anyway, so you might as well…
When did these people begin to think this prison is a comfortable place to live…?



Ann learns Fire Amp to replace Evade Ice.



Haru also learns Cripple (50% damage boost to Gun attacks, stacks with Snipe) to replace Amrita Shower. Amrita Shower is plenty useful, but here in the endgame we’re generally going to want Maaku to be taking care of ailment relief.



We finally come to our first safe room. This dungeon isn’t terribly long in comparison to the others, but the safe rooms are still spread very thin.



Even though this is the cognitive world, I find it hard to believe this is underneath Shibuya…
It’s known as a city of freedom, both in fun and in fashion…

“Freedom” is certainly a way to describe the fashion of TWEWY, sure.

Yes, it’s a brilliant place. The crosswalk in front of the station is internationally-known nowadays. And yet, people seem to somehow consider it a prison for them…
A city of freedom… Is that really true?
What do you mean?
Like, all Shibuya really is to me is a congested station where changing stops is frustrating… Are the people here really free…?
That aside, how far you think we’re at now, Mona?
O-Oh, let’s see… Maybe halfway…?
Hm, we’ve come pretty far.
But wait… The Treasure feels a lot closer than it ever has before… What’s going on here…?
We did pass through Mementos to get here. It may make sense if we take that fact into consideration.
Welp, we just got another half to go! Let’s get fired up and do this!



The saferoom itself is at a minor fork in the road. We head north and immediately come across another device.




Looks simple enough. Start on A2, south to B2, east to B3, south through C3 and D3, west through D2 and D1, north through C1 and B1, east again to B2, and north to A2.



Uhh, hold on a second. South… West… East… Argh, no!



Thankfully, Makoto’s here to inform us we’re boned.

Huh? Whaddya mean?
Given the room’s shape and number of spots, there’s no mathematical way we can make it all blue.
Then, what do we do…?
I’m not sure… but if this is really a security system, there has to be a way past it.

Makoto doesn’t seem to understand what the purpose of a security system is.

We may want to try checking elsewhere for the time being.



On our way out of this area, we spot this weird indentation. I forget to examine it, but you’ve played enough JRPGs to know that we have to put some manner of doohickey in there.



We head south at the fork this time.




There’s something shining back there… What could it be?
Either way, if it is worth being protected, it should be safe to assume that it’s of value to us. What do you think, Joker? Shall we defeat it and take whatever it is protecting?



Understood!




Hmph, I won’t deny that you’ll need it to continue onward. But mark my words, you’ll never get your hands on it. After all, you’ll have to go through me to do so!



Aaaaaaaagh.



This guy’s weak to Psy and Nuke and drains Physical, Gun, and Curse. He uses powerful Physical attacks exclusively.



He doesn’t put up much of a fight, though.



Hm… What do you think this could be used for…?
Who knows? It’ll prolly come in handy though. I mean, that strong-ass Shadow was guardin’ it.



I’ve heard there’s a place reserved for the most terribly evil people of them all…
...Do you think that could be the Quarantine Cell we heard about?



Here, any wish can become reality… and isn’t that all anyone wants out of life?
These people really think their wishes are going to come true…?





The platform lowers.



Now, let’s try this again.



South to B2, east to B3, south to C3, west to C2, east to C3, south to D3, west to D2 and D1, north to C1 and B1, east to B2 and B3, south to C3, north to B3, west to B2, and finally north to return to A2.



Simple.



Another one of these massive spirals downward, eh?



We’re so far underground at this point…
I hope we don’t suddenly find ourselves in a giant pool of lava…
Still, we gotta keep going…!





And one more cutscene room.



Doesn’t that cell seem… different from the others?

Music: Disquiet



Supposedly, the most sinful, most dangerous inmate is held within…



This place smells familiar for some reason…
Mona-chan…?



This is it.




What!?

Born…? Inside the prison?
Wait, then are YOU the dangerous inmate!?
No… the inmate wasn’t me…



Someone created me here… To guide all of you…
Guide…? And who is this someone…?
Ngh… I can’t remember… Damn it… I’m so close… but my memory is too foggy…
Y’know, hearin’ all this just makes me wanna know what’s inside.



Alert! Alert! Capture them at once!




And the game throws you into an automatic ambush. Bullshit.

The dragon dude uses Fire and Physical (which he can Charge), and the Nebiroses are near-identical to their regular Shadow forms. The only hurdle here is the fact that they get to act first.

Music: Suspicion



Given how important this cell appears to be, the depths of Mementos must be near. Mona’s memories may return if we continue on…
Yeah…
So, we’re finally gettin’ close to the public’s Treasure, huh?
Now that I think about it, it makes sense that Mementos would connect to some place like underneath Shibuya. Everyone crams themselves into packed underground boxes day after day without any complaints… From my standpoint, those are the true inmates of Mementos. It’s no surprise the places are connected.

Really makes u think

You know, the voices of the public may have led the Phantom Thieves on more than any criminal…
Seriously! Let’s hurry up and steal that Treasure so we can crush Mementos!
We truly are reforming society… Let’s go!

Everyone nods.

Music: Freedom and Security



I guess we’re just leaving the Quarantine Cell behind, then? No way that could possibly be important.



This is Thor. He’s weak to Psy, drains Electricity, and uses powerful Physical and Electric skills. He can also use Tarukaja and Charge, and he has Shock Boost and Elec Amp.



Yusuke replaces Kamu Susano-o’s Heat Wave with Vorpal Blade, which deals Severe Physical to all enemies.



Morgana learns Wind Amp. I replaced Masukunda with it, but immediately realized that I fucked up and actually wanted to get rid of Samarecarm, oops.



The guy on the right is Belial. It’s pretty much identical to its “boss” form, in that it has no resistances outside of blocking Curse and uses Maragidyne, Myriad Slashes, and Charge exclusively.



The only reason you can act so grand is that you live in a safe zone, devoid of possible failure. How does it feel to hear the truth? Are you relieved to know you’ve been fooling yourselves? Now what I really can’t understand is what you call “happiness.” But whatever, I guess. Everyone has their own way to reach it. Either way, stop trying to tell us what to do. This is how we can attain true happiness. I don’t care what you guys think of it. We have no reason to listen to your complaints!

Jesus christ, we get it.

Hm… If you truly believe all of that, then you are free to do as you wish.



It was a fun joke while it lasted, but it’s old news now. Tell me something a little more exciting.
A joke!? Bullshit! Y’know people have actually died from those mental shutdowns, right!? You ever thought of that!?



I’d rather use that time for myself before it’s too late…
There’s no such thing as “time for yourself” in a prison cell. Why are they acting like this…?



How can one who cannot open their eyes be a judge of beauty…?



Another device here. It’s hard to tell in this image, but the platform we’re currently walking on is transparent. This doesn’t actually effect anything in the upcoming puzzle, and it might as well just be a blank tile. I will mark it red in the diagram.





Hm… as we step on more tiles, the lights on them darken.



Still, nothing to worry about. East through A2 and A3, south through B3 and C3, west through C2 and C1, north through B1 and back to A1. Finished.



But what could those patterns on the floor have meant…?
I’m pretty sure I figured it out while I was watching… There was a limitation on this area. You could only change the colors up to ten times. Any more than that and we’d have had to start over.
You solved a puzzle like that on your first try, Joker…? That’s seriously incredible!

Eh, not really. As long as you don’t double back you can’t fuck this one up.

But Futaba’s correct. Stepping on an eleventh tile will deactivate the whole thing and you’ll have to try again.



And my dreams…? I just have to deal with never seeing them come true. It’s a cruel fact of life.
“Reality is ending”? That is similar to what the others in the prison are saying… What could that mean?




Up ahead, we come across another barrier and another device. We obviously can’t solve this one yet due to the presence of the barrier, but here’s what it would have looked like:




My apologies, but we did not come here seeking approval.



Another device.




West from the start at A2 to A1, south to B1, east from there all the way to B5, north to A5, south to B5, north to A5 again, and west three to return to A2.




And our reward is another thingamajig.




Put it in the slot…



...and activate the device.



There are a couple of ways to do this one, but I did a figure-eight: east from the start at A2 to A3, south to C3, west to C2, north through B2 to A2, west to A1, south to C1, and east to C2, whereupon we use B2 again to reach A2. Please note that the diagram and these instructions are relative to the default camera position when you start the puzzle, not the map. I actually had to go back and remake some of my diagrams because they were inconsistent about this.



Further in, we come across Yamata-no-Orochi. It is weak to Nuke, blocks Ice, and uses Mabufudyne and Oni-Kagura (Medium Physical to the party with a chance of Rage).



Aaaaaaaaaaaaand this is a visit from your IT department, also known as Mara. It blocks Gun, drains Fire, and reflects Curse. It also uses Fire, Curse, Physical, and Almighty.



It won’t matter soon enough anyway…
I see… She doesn’t realize what being governed by someone really means…



Just let me see out the end of this world in peace…
I’m curious as to why everyone believes the world is coming to an end… What could they mean…?



Another puzzle up ahead.




Let’s try this one. West from the start at A3 to A1, south all the way to D1, east to D2, north to C2. Then, west to C1, north to B1, and north to A1… and we’re out of moves.



Are you certain about that?
Absolutely. Taking the shape and number of spots into account, no route could complete that quick. Having said that, there seems to be another device in this room. Why don’t we try that first?

Yes, there are actually three devices in this room.



We’ll start with the third one, all the way to the east (because that’s the one we need to do first).




Start at A2, west to A1, east to A3, south to B3, north to A3, west to A2, east to A3, west back to A2. Easy peasy, and with two moves left.



The device’s platform lowers, allowing us to complete the next puzzle in the sequence.





The platform that lowered was C2. We start at A3, west to A1, south to C1, east to C3, north to A3. Bing badda boom.



And now the obstruction that prevented us from finishing that first puzzle is gone.



One more time, shall we?



Start at A3, west to A1, south to D1, east to D2, north all the way to A2, south to B2, north to A2, east back to A3. Ten moves.



About time… Now we can keep moving forward!
Nicely done, Joker!



And we finally come across another safe room, which means we’re at the end of Mementos Depths.



It seems we’ve made it quite far… What are your thoughts, Mona-chan?
We’re almost to the Treasure… Its presence is really close now…
So the time has finally arrived…
Yup, this is seriously it. Let’s take the public’s Treasure, you guys!
But… what’s going to happen once we actually take it?
I doubt that alone will be enough to make everything right. Still, it is worth going through with…
Mm-hm. I’m sure that everyone’s hearts will change somehow.
It’d be super weird if people all over the city just started crying and apologizing for stuff though!
Well, results are yet unknown, but we have come this far… We must continue onward.



Hell yeah!
The word failure’s not in my dictionary!
This is the end!
The labor we have put in up to this point shall finally come to fruition!
That’s right!
I’m here too, so you guys don’t gotta worry about anything!
Let’s bring all of our hard work to a triumphant close!

Before we continue, let’s do some last-minute fusin’.

Music: Aria of the Soul



First, Cybele from Yamata-no-Orochi and Baal. We have to pay 94900 yen to fuse above our level, though.



I’ll hunt you down and skin you if you dare cheat on me. I’m your mask now… You better be ready.



Cybele is the Phrygian mother goddess of the earth, who is also associated with wildlife (lions in particular) and vegetation. She was a protector of several city-states, including Athens. According to her in-game description, she took Attis, her priest, as a lover, but he was driven insane when he was forced to marry another.



Also on the docket for today, Siegfried from Thor and Byakko.



Your soul shall act as a tool to transform my dauntless might into an unstoppable mask.



Siegfried is the German name of the hero from the epic poem “Das Nibelungenlied.” His original Norse name was Sigurd. He slayed the dragon Fafnir, and bathed in his blood to make himself invincible. However, a leaf that had stuck to his shoulder gave him a weak spot.

Now, let’s head back down and make our approach towards whatever lies at the heart of Mementos.

Music: Freedom and Security



I feel sick just thinking about it. All I can really do now is ignore it, I suppose.
What a load of shit… Hey! The world’s not gonna get better on its own, y’know!



I might lose the one place I belong if I put myself out there… I’m afraid of that happening, so I think I’ll just stay as I am…
Uh, your current situation should be what’s scaring you! How’s he OK with all of this…?



Only one way forward now. What’s that ahead of us…?



It’s so big… I can’t believe there’s such a giant thing all the way down here…
Is everyone’s Treasure inside?
Yeah… That should be the case.
But this bizarrely ominous air about it… It could be likened to a temple of sorts…
Th-There’s no point freakin’ out now! C’mon, let’s go!





And so we descend into the belly of the beast…