Part 12: 11. "I'm no cop, I'm a Junker."

I am very glad to see Metal Gear back. Yay!

I wonder if Benson and Random are gonna notice...

11. "I'm no cop, I'm a Junker."



The first thing I decide to do is use some extra cash and upgrade my weapon to the K. Sprint. It's got higher strength than my previous guns, at least.



The K. Sprint is my fourth weapon and marks the first time I have to manage guns in the equipment locker. Again, I can only have three with me at a time, so I have to pick which to bring with me in the field.

The answer is almost always the three most expensive guns you own.

You might also notice a SKL% rating. Gilian gets better with each particular gun as he uses it, which adds more depth to combat.



My Junker staff is as helpful as always.





Alright, continuing where we left off, we're looking for a man named Baran Purnet and he usually frequents a snack bar called Rand Shaft.



So with that, let's go to South Downtown!



This place is sort of a dump, though...



And it's infested with killer robots, like before. Yep, we're in a dungeon. I have no idea why but there are regular people just walking around these parts.



Hit The Targets is back, but this time, you want a new strategy for him. In Center Plaza, it's best to ignore his antennae and let him call his easy-to-kill friends so you can farm them for XP. Here, however, he can call a new buddy.



Meet Tanks For Nothing!

Tanks For Nothing has a gatling rocket launcher. When it shoots, it fires five rockets... one at a time. They're actually not very strong, but the one-rocket-after-another-until-five attack takes awhile to actually perform. By the tenth or twentieth time you fight them, they're just annoying because you have to sit there for awhile waiting for them to finish the attack.

Which usually misses anyway.



I don't have any great strategies for Tanks For Nothing, except that if you want to get things over with, you can take off the most HP in the space between the outer most wheels and the inner most cannon and eye (on the bottom).



I think as proof that whoever designed the map here was really mad at someone and took it out on you that day, most of downtown is full of narrow alleyways, so you can't really dodge the robots. Combat's kind of mandatory.



And here it is, P. Ra Sft. Or P. Rand Shaft. Your guess is as good as mine.







I'm glad this guy is the bouncer of a closed establishment and that apparently, killer robots are cool with him and leave him alone.

I guess... as long as we're here, let's go hit the casino.



Incidentally, this is what Metal says if you manage to destroy a robot's antenna when it tries to call for reinforcements.



But with two antennae to destroy, and the fact that he dodges, Hit The Targets is always likely to call at least one more robot.



Maybe this nice gentleman with the mohawk can help out.



Well, that's nice of him. I was going to try and explain away why the robots aren't attacking these people, but I can't really think of anything. If they had some sort of item that made them robot-invisible, I don't know what it is and why Gilian wouldn't get one. Maybe they're just fighting them like Gilian.

I don't know.



Gilian: Wait a second... I know this place!





This is why I don't think English is the guy's first language. This is now the third time he's spelled it "off-course."



One nice thing is now every other dungeon is going to have a Joy Division where we can heal, stock up on ammo/health, etc. If we try to buy something from his ETC line...



Don't be so hard on yourself, Mr. Jawa! We all have something special.



In the northeast section of South Downtown, there's a building advertising Sony CDs. We can't get in there, yet.



The good news is that the eastern section of S. Downtown is pretty robot-free.



I wonder if this woman knows anything.





Wow... this woman knows everything!









And welcome to Dice Shaker! The most unoriginally named casino since "Gamble Town".





Gilian: We'd better question more of the patrons.



Gilian: See? There's tons of clues to be had.
Metal: Gilian, learning about gambling is not a clue.



And like Napoleon, you can't talk to these dealers over their counters. I'm sure there was nothing important to be said anyway.



Gilian: Alright, let's try the slot machine on the left out.
Metal: Hurry it up, Gilian.
Gilian: ...Well, I lost. Let's try one more time.
Metal: ...
Gilian: ...Third time's the charm.
Metal: Gilian.
Gilian: Oh hush, you.
Metal: Gilian, all casino games are designed so that probabilistically, the odds are stacked in the house's favor. It's mathematically proven that the longer you gamble at a casino, the more guaranteed it is that you lose.
Gilian: Yeah, but theoretically, I could hit a hot streak and leave early.
Metal: How much have you spent currently?
Gilian: Never mind. Maybe you're right, Metal. Maybe this place is a rip-off.

Long story short, the left slot machine is a sure-fire loss. The right one is fair... well, as fair as a video game slot machine can be.





Gilian: You and me both, pal.







Mansion? Oh, the game's gonna make me do two dungeons in a row, isn't it.





Version Differences
- This is completely different from the original - there's not even anything close to a parallel or likeness. If I had to draw the loosest connection possible, it's that gambling is mentioned once in Japanese Snatcher: There's a sign for "Pachinko" in Alton Plaza that's burnt out, so it says "Chinko" - which is slang for penis. In the western version, this is changed to a "GREAT MEALS" sign which is burnt out to read "EAT ME"

Relevant Snatcher Media
- N/A