Part 79: 7/26: Technicolor Dream Pyramid

Part 77: 7/26: Technicolor Dream Pyramid

Before we get back into the Palace, let’s fuse!

Music: Aria of the Soul



First is Zouchouten from Ame-no-Uzume and Clotho.



My power to encourage growth in all that worships me shall become a mask and protect your soul...



Zouchouten is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhist faith, who each watch over one cardinal direction and fight evil. Zouchouten himself guards the South and leads the troop of Kumdhandas and Pretas.



Next, Lilim from Principality and Nue.



I’ll leave the realm of dreams for a while and become your mask...



Lilim are daughters of Lillith from Jewish folklore and similar to succubi.



And here’s where I fuck up. See, I forgot that I needed to get Anzu to level 28 for Dekaja (it’s currently about halfway to 27 or so) and decide to start fusing up Neko Shogun anyway. Kodama is one of the constituent parts of Neko Shogun, so I fuse it first (using Agathion and Berith).



I’ll turn into a mask and head on out with you! I’m gonna echo inside your heart, bro… Wahoo!





A Kodama is a spirit from Japanese folklore that live in trees. Cutting down trees with a kodama inside is thought to bring misfortune.



Finally, Neko Shogun using the Group Guillotine from Anzu, Kodama, and Sudama.



Your future shines bright like a diamond! I am your mask now!



"A prophetic taoist god, originally known as Mao Shogun. Due to a linguistic error involving the Chinese word for "cat," his name was changed to Neko Shogun."

It’s a weird pun, got it.

We have to re-fuse this guy later though, which is gonna be pretty annoying.

Music: The Days When My Mother Was There



Back in the Palace, another slab.

Huh? What is it talking about?
I haven’t the slightest idea. It may be a hint of some kind.

I’ve actually played this game all the way through and I had no idea what this meant until I had to literally draw a diagram for the purpose of this LP.




Urghhh, that’s it! I’ve had it up to here with her!






RUN AWAY



I’m sick of this bullshit! What the hell is she thinkin’!?

Well, that was unfortunate, but let’s try agai--




Welp



It’s hard to see in this picture, but on the other side of the corridor there’s a space small enough to crawl through. That’s where we need to go.





_{Wait, what? No. This isn’t gonna work. Like half of this game is desert.}






This room contains 12 coffins, 10 of which have control panels next to them. We can’t do anything with them yet.



There’s nothing visible on the slab… What do you think we should do?



Nothing is happening.
That’s odd. Is it broken? Or could there be another step to this mechanism?



Up ahead, a door and a plank standing upright next to a gap.






Not much of a puzzle there, but the path forward is clear.



Sounds pretty useless to me. Whaddya wanna do, Joker?




Oooh! It’s shinin’!
Hm, the devices controlling the murals seemed to react in a similar fashion.
Something showed up! It says B01010!
That may be a clue of some sort. Either way, we should search to see if anything has changed.




Quite the impressive contraption. Why don’t we examine it closer?





Nice.



It looks like we should be able to turn the holograms on or off by accessing each control panel. Do you think this is related to that code from earlier?



The color of this hologram is different as well. It’s blue.
That might be pointing us toward what we need to do. Blue… You know, that sounds familiar…

Here’s a helpful diagram I made showing which holograms get left on. Yellow is on and white is off:



It’s fairly simple to reason that 0 is off and 1 is on, leading to this pattern when facing the coffins.



Let’s press the button, then.



Ah! The door opened!
I suppose this is the first step in the process? The next device must be beyond this point.
By the way… what’s up with these things? Are they all because of Futaba-chan’s mental state?
It’s hard to say… But it does prove that she might not be as simple a target as we were hoping she’d be...
I wonder about the meaning behind that stone slab as well…
Hey, our path’s open now. Can we just keep goin’?

Shut up Ryuji, we’re trying to be depressed here.



Touching this one will probably activate it too. What do you want to do, Joker?




Woo! It’s lit up now, just like we were expectin’!
There are red inscriptions on there this time. They say… R01100 and B10011.
If this code is similar to the prior one, these would surely be hints for those buttons.
To be honest, it somewhat reminds me of binary.
It makes sense, given Futaba-chan’s hacker background. Well then, let’s go see if anything has changed.




Something changed in the room, just like we expected.
There should be some connection between that and the code that appeared on the stone slab.



Going by the way we solved the last one, it should be this, right? Well...




Enemies spawn.



Just blindly entering whatever you please will be dangerous. We need to be careful, Joker.

Not quite, huh?



It’s actually this, because the game is trying to trick you. See, the fact that “R” is before the code tells us that the red coffin needs to go before the pattern, meaning that we have to input it in reverse. It’s surprisingly devious for this game’s generally rather simple puzzles, especially because only takes about two seconds to notice and correct, making me wonder what the point is.




Guys, look!



Dude, they ain’t stoppin’! Is this gonna be OK!?



The rolling boulders intensify.

Ngh…! That only made it worse!
D-Do something about this, Joker!



Joker just fucking kicks it, because what the hell.



Is this what the slab could have meant by “form a path”?



...It’s broken. Well, I guess it would be a little more precise to say we broke it.
We can’t get through like this! What’re we gonna do!?
Perhaps we could walk over the giant boulders? Let’s try it.



Sure enough, Makoto provides the path forward.



We find another beam of light this way as well.



With another mural, to boot.



Then we just gotta touch it and make something happen, yeah? C’mon, let’s try it out.



It must be scrambled as well. Let’s use the controls to put it back together.

This one involves rotating the pieces, and it’s a bit more annoying than the last one because, as triangles, the pieces rotate with their pair. Still, it’s not a huge problem to overcome.



Is she jumping in front of a car…?
Could this be the moment when Futaba’s mother committed suicide…? Hm? Another voice...



...Y-You… aaaaaareee…




The door unlocks.



That’s horrible…
So, did her desire to forget those memories cause her to repress them?



We’re pretty far in now, right? This has to be past halfway.
Yeah, the Treasure is definitely close. You better be excited!





Right idea, wrong Final Fantasy.



Always love when they let you input a name.



Hehe. Huh? What do you mean that’s his real name? That doesn’t make any sense.

2/3 of the game later...



Okay, we’re finally at the Pyramid. Lenna and Galuf are both dead and we need to get the tablet to unlock the Sealed Weapons.



The entrance is guarded by these Gargoyles, who will revive their partner if they’re left alive for too long after its death.

We have Butts, our Thief, who lets us steal, sprint at lightspeed, flee, and prevent back attacks, you know, generally useless stuff like that. There’s Faris, our Mystic Knight, who can apply spell properties to her swords. Finally, there’s Krile, our Chemist, who can break the game. Lenna’s currently deceased, but she was our Ninja, who could dual-wield and throw weapons. Our main damage dealer is actually our Thief currently, because he just acquired a weapon called the Chicken Knife that powers up every time we run from a battle, but has a 25% chance of making us flee instead of attack. We can circumvent this by selecting “Mug” instead of “Attack,” however.



And so here we enter the pyramid.



SNAKES

I always wanted a snake, but Mom said a pet would be too much work. I think they just gross her out, though.



One fun feature about this dungeon is that it’s chock full of monster-in-a-boxes! Awesome!



*Surreptitiously adds Flee to my abilities so I can get out of this nightmare dungeon without fighting anything because it’s annoying enough to deal with these enemies with a full party*



We enter a maze filled with roaming Mecha Heads.



They’re normally pretty annoying, but Faris’ Thundaga Sword is an instant kill.



Butts, you wimp, the only scary thing about mummies are those review scores wakka wakka



Like the Mecha Heads, these Mummies can also be instantly killed, but with Firaga Sword instead of Thundaga.



The floor here shifts!




Falling down just puts us on the previous floor, though, and lets us grab some other chests.



Oh hey, the tablet! Now we can finally leave this trashfire!



The platform rises!



And suddenly, we’re at the top!






How can you see that? It’s on the other side of the planet.




Well, uh… We don’t have a Summoner, so we’re never, ever gonna do that! Bye!




On the way back, the wind drake drops off Lenna, who’s… alive, I guess? Huh?



But then Exdeath shows up (he’s a tree, remember this, it’ll be on the exam), and there’s a demon in Lenna’s body, and it’s a whole thing.



And then the wind drake swoops down and attacks, expelling the demon, but dying in the process. RIP.



The Pyramid doesn’t actually have a boss fight, so this is kind of it. Melusine’s gimmick is changing her weakness with Barrier Change… and that’s it. It’s more annoying than it sounds. I had to record the entire Pyramid and this fight three times due to recording errors, and on the second time I got through it without any Barrier Changes by using Mix to boost Faris’ level so Firaga Sword, which Melusine starts out weak to, does crazy amounts of damage. This time I wasn’t so lucky, but I still got through it pretty easily.



Also zombie Lenna’s in the party now.





Yeah, I guess you prolly wouldn’t be seein’ anything like this shit if we weren’t in a Palace.
Seriously. This almost feels like a trip abroad or something.
Hey, now’s not the time to be letting your guard down. I can sense lots of Shadows up ahead!




A decent haul.



>Let’s push it.





Further ahead, this sarcophagus is rather suspicious.



That is odd… Why don’t we check it out?

If you want… It’s up to you.







Meanwhile, in another room, a different sarcophagus opens.





If we head over to that one, we can press that button as well.



Ah! It moved!



Inside, another Anubis, with another gem.



C’mon, let’s just take it with us. We can figure out how to use it later.



We near-immediately find a place to put it.

Wait, don’t we have a gem now? We should try putting it in here!
>Insert the gem



This pathway of light is quite impressive. It seems we will be able to pass over it!
It’s not gonna disappear while we’re crossing it, right? This is a little scary...



While we’re here, Morgana learns Wind Break (bleh) to replace Patra, whatever.




Again, some armor and sellables aren’t terrible.



And our next safe room is right up ahead.



It’d suck if we had to go through hell again ‘cause we walked up to her without thinkin’ first. So… what’s your call? You wanna keep goin’?



OK, but we should be careful.



We almost did thanks to you! I mean, do you really wanna help us!? Make up your goddamn mind!
...I’m not sure. There’s not much left at this point though.




This is my fault!?

Everything is your fault, Ryuji.



THIS IS THE PHARAOH’S TOMB. NONE MAY DISTURB HER SLUMBER.
Ngh, we can’t retreat now. We’ll just have to do this!

Coffin-borne God

Music: Keeper of Lust



This is the exact same fight, but the Coffin-borne God just starts with some helpers this time. It’s mindlessly simple, especially because it’s still weak to Wind.



From that fight Makoto learns Dekunda (eliminates all stat debuffs on the party), a fantastic skill that will be replacing Frei.

Music: The Days When My Mother Was There



Can you just try to calm down? Nothing good will come of letting your temper flare up like that.
She did say “there’s not much left” though. The end of this Palace may be drawing close.



Before we leave this area, climbing into an alcove over on the left side reveals another Anubis statue, hidden rather deviously.



I bet we’re gonna have to use it somewhere. Let’s take it, Joker!
>Take the gem



OK, we’ve got it now. Let’s go.



The way forward is where the light is shining, but there’s no way inside just yet.



Another pedestal.



We already have another one of those gems, do we not? We should try placing it in here.
>Let’s give it a try.



Hm, this sight brings a tear to my eye yet again!
You’re so freakin’ weird, dude...



Now we can follow the path of the light.



Next up, jumping across the statues we saw from earlier.




I’d expect so. Joker, if you please.



It may be a rather difficult puzzle for us to solve…

Not really, no.





More voices…
I’m… I’m tired of eating dinner alone all the time. It’s always just convenience store bentos…

For those of you who don’t know, a bento is a common, extremely Japanese form of cuisine. It’s basically an entire meal packed into a box, whether takeout or home-packed. Rice is a traditional ingredient, as well as meat and vegetables. I think the closest thing we have to that is like a TV dinner but this doesn’t seem nearly as outrageously bad for you, as well as possibly being homemade. Anyway, back to the sadness!

I wanna go somewhere. Take me on a trip!
The one clinging to her mother would be Futaba-chan, right?



You know I’m working hard to support you, right!? Ugh!




The door unlocks.



Is that the maternity neurosis the voice from earlier mentioned?
I thought it was prettty normal for a child to want to spend time with their parents though…
Yeah. Looks like Futaba was a pretty lonely kid growin’ up…
So these incidents compounded, forcing her mother to suicide…?

The only impression I’m getting here is that Futaba’s mom seemed like an awful person.



Huh?
I killed her… That’s why I’m here in this tomb…
Don’t say that!
I will die...



Why’d she get so quiet all of a sudden? What happened to that snarky personality!?
Could her heart perhaps be growing weaker?
We have to hurry and save her!







When last we left off, Steely Dan was seemingly defeated when Jotaro plucked his Stand, The Lovers, out of the air!




Jotaro’s all “I’ll punch you to death if I ever see you again” and Steely Dan’s like, OK.




But Steely Dan’s not done!



Jotaro!




My Stand, The Lovers, just went into her ear!



If you don’t want her to get hurt, stand still and let me stab you in the back! I’ll make sure you never move again!



*crazy laughter*

Steely Dan, you fool, Jotaro’s music is still playing!



Go ahead.
Did you not hear me? I told you not to--



Weren’t you gonna stab me? Like this?



Why can’t I move?



Unbeknownst to Steely Dan, one of Hierophant Green’s strings was attached to The Lovers the whole time, wrapping it up!



And The Lovers gets pulled right out of the girl’s ear!



Forgive me!



Ask for forgiveness from Enya, the woman you killed. Forgiving you never even crossed my mind.



DIO paid me in advance… You can have it all…
Good grief… You really are scum.



What you owe can never be paid back with money!



Oh shit, Quick Time Event, gotta mash Square for the ORAs!



ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA



ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA





ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA



he ded




Here’s your receipt.



He signed his name and it’s _badass. All right, what’s next?



Sun!? Ugggghhhhhhh.



Music: Suspicion



Hm? This door...
It looks familiar...
Oh! Futaba’s room!
That’s it!
Why ain’t it openin’?
It must be her cognition that no one can enter it.



Beyond lies the Pharaoh’s Chamber.



Indeed. However, you need my permission to open this door.
Then open it for us.
I cannot. You must have her invite you in.
What the eff. Ain’t this your Palace?

Ryuji, having briefly flirted with the word “fuck,” decides he doesn’t actually like it after all.

What’s she mean, Mona?
The Shadow is Futaba, but not Futaba herself. In other words, we need the real Futaba’s permission.
So, we need to have Futaba-chan open her room and let us in?




But I remember Boss saying that she won’t let anyone in.
Right. She’s a serious shut-in.
How will we convince her to allow us entry?
Standing around here won’t help. We’ll just have to give it a try… That’s what she wants, after all.
I think that we should do it too, even if it means we have to force ourselves in.

Uhh, didn’t you hear the Shadow? Forcing our way in won’t work. This works on vampire rules.

Someone sure is stoked about this...
We have no choice but to sneak in again.
Joker, it’s your call when we do this. Make sure you think of some excuses just in case Boss catches us.



We’re countin’ on you, leader.
On that note, is everyone clear on what needs doing?
Oh, that reminds me. Gimme the calling card. The one Alibaba sent us.
What are you going to do with it?
We’re the Phantom Thieves, you know? We gotta announce this. If the Treasure’s there when we get the room open, givin’ this to her will let us take it right away.

Translation: We can prepare the calling card and take the Treasure on the same day.

Queen, help me think of what to write.
I suppose...
We got this covered! You decide on a good time we barge into her room! That’s all you!

Music: Aria of the Soul



We didn’t quite get Anzu to level 28, but we can Gallows away our Leanan Sidhe to make up for the experience deficit and get Dekaja.



We even get Anzu Eiga for our trouble.



And we fuse our Neko Shogun with Dekaja.



Oh? Good, you’re here...
I can sense it within you… A Neko Shogun with Dekaja...



……
What’s wrong, Justine?
It is nothing vital… However… presiding over the growth of another feels almost… nostalgic, in a way… Do you feel the same, Caroline?
Whaddya mean…? We’ve never taken care of someone like this before.
You are not wrong about that… And yet, our duty to aid his rehabilitation aside, observing his growth feels oddly familiar...
That can’t be right! The inmate’s growth and this rehabilitation are the exact same thing!

I kinda lost the plot of this conversation.

Hey, Inmate. The growth you’re getting from these tasks is helping with your rehabilitation, right?



I mean, probably.

See, Justine? They’re the same.
Is that not something we should judge for ourselves though…?
Anyway Justine, don’t forget about our job. The duty we’ve been handed is all that matters. Don’t think about anything else.
I suppose… you are correct...
*sigh* I guess you’re gonna keep worrying about this till the inmate finishes his rehabilitation, huh, Justine? Look what you’ve done, Inmate. Getting us all wrapped up in your fate… Ugh.




Could it be…?
What’s up?
...Nothing. But… I believe I am beginning to look forward to seeing whether the inmate can complete his tasks.
You heard her. Don’t disappoint us, Inmate!
I feel like my bond with Caroline and Justine is growing deeper...



OK! On to the next task! ...Justine?

Justine stares blankly.



We would like you to harbor a Lachesis with the skill Tetraja within you. You only need speak with us once you obtain it. We will be able to tell.
Bring us a Lachesis, you hear!? One that knows Tetraja!

We’re actually a high enough level to try and fuse Lachesis now, but this update’s monstrously long already so let’s save it for further down the road. For now, we should just head home.



We finally secured our route to the Treasure! All we need to do now is send the calling card.
Mkay, I’ve been waitin’ for this! Anyways, when’re we gonna send it? I guess that part’s up to you, dude. Let us know when you need us!



I’m sure the Phantom Thieves will do something about it…
We don’t even know who Medjed is… What can they do about it?
August 21st is the deadline, right? I can’t wait!
Aw man, we have to wait a whole month?

Music: Beneath the Mask



That was fast!
I mean, I already wrote three of ‘em before this, remember?
But I came up with almost all of the sentences...
You don’t gotta mention that!
Smooth, Ryuji...
The real question here is when we should go to Futaba’s room...
Well, um… I think our leader should decide.
Look who’s the smooth one now...
It really should be up to him though… don’t you think?
Absolutely. We have no choice but to carry this out.
It’s all on you, Maaku!
...There you have it. Sounds like a pretty important task got pushed on you. No point in thinking about it now though. We have to do it. Once you’ve made up your mind, just give the order as usual at the hideout.



Ah, what about the beach? I could buy a new swimsuit!
There’s nothing to do at the beach, and it’s going to be hot. We should just go to the movies.

Boyfriend of the year over here.



After issuing their second statement, people are concerned about an impending cyber attack. The Phantom Thieves, however, continue to remain silent.
This is really getting to be a big deal. I want to just go and take Medjed out, but…

Well, we’re ready to send the next calling card. I’d hope it all goes smoothly, but when do they ever with this group of chuckleheads, am I right?