Part 117: Episode CXI: Soft-Looking Tush

Episode CXI: Soft-Looking Tush


Music: Grey Memories ~ Map of Japan



The game gets rather vague as to what the heck we're supposed to do now to further Roger Bacon's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Coping Method of resurrecting Alice Elliot from the dead.



But if we swap over to the European map, which we've had access to since that business teaming up with the Mutant Apes to beat up a err... mutant dog, we find there is a new location accessible. We've just had precious little reason to trek back there. That is no longer the case as The Queen's Garden has unlocked in northern Scotland



That said... we are not going to head there and enact the worst possible idea with dark magicks just yet. We are rapidly approaching the End Game which is where about a quarter of the total side content of Shadow Hearts: Covenant lives. So before we dive headlong into plot central and live there for a fairly long stretch, we are going to further every sidequest we can to its final stages. Other than a couple we could start and would very awkwardly halt just before the final step.


Music: In Darkness of a Labyrinth ~ Dungeon



To begin with, we have one last order of business in Azabu Kamiyashiki. The Iron Soldiers have all cleared out, due to all being killed by Yuri and friends, so there is no risk of random battles. Ishimura and his bed pisser grandson have also dropped off the face of the earth and there is nothing of note to be found in his former office.



Our area of interest is the Locker Room mid-way through the brief dungeon. Now that we've cleared the area, we find a locker slightly ajar with something behind it. If we have Yuri click on that, we discover...



<becomes Lottery Member 5> If you promise not to tell, you can do the lottery, okay? So you keep your mouth shut, right?!
I'll keep quiet.
I don't think there is anyone left to care. You may want to look for new employment. Kind of beat up your boss. And all of your co-workers. Everyone in the building, really...





We have another Lottery Member and their gimmick is a Reverse Ring. This one is actually kind of tricky since it's on the hardest to judge distance part of the err... Judgment Ring. That angle is a pain in the ass. But, through perseverance and certainly not abusing save states on an emulator because I'm too old and tired to deal with this kind of bullshit anymore we gain a Slow 3. I grabbed an extra Ninja Gi too since that was far easier to obtain and our cup runneth over with a bounty of Lottery Tickets at this point.



And thus, gambling with a man hiding in a locker concludes our business in Azabu Kamiyashiki for the remainder of the game. Scratch that one off the location list.



We have a short order of business left in the Imperial Capital. We'll be returning to Nihonbashi once more.


Music: Rising Sun ~ Japanese Town



Particularly, we want to return to the Great Gama's wrestling arena. We do not have business with Great Gama just yet. << THE FESTIVAL >> is sequestered to the End Game. You are not prepared for << THE FESTIVAL >>. Nobody is...



Instead, we want to chat with this new NPC hanging out on the sidelines of the squared-circle.





Woken-up Yamaguchi hands over the final Stud Card of the original version of Shadow Hearts 2 -- Mr. Wrestler. In case you needed a big helping of the Great Gama's ass, look no further. There is nothing to be done with this Stud Card at the moment. It's the only one not used to obtain a Cornelia dress. We'll need to participate in << THE FESTIVAL >> to unlock the hidden potential in this Stud Card. Let's just remember this NPC is here for now.





That concludes everything to be done in the Imperial Capital at the moment. We're now going to return to Yokohama. I should play more of Yakuza: Like a Dragon... But beyond that, we do have a few things to clean up in this city. First, we'll return for a last bit of business in the Brick Warehouses.







Remember there was the solitary merchant that was stalker Frenchmen in a magic sales automobile? You likely don't recall it, but he was selling a Magic Crest. At a price that was quite high for our funds in the war chest during the initial parts of Disc 2.



That is very much no longer the case. So we can pick that up to add to our collection. And that clears out any relevance the Yokohama Brick Warehouses have to our adventure.





Next up is Yokohama Streets which I forgot had two maps and I had trouble finding the new NPC that spawned here. We start at the far western side of the area and need to continue to the far eastern end where that hotel we crashed with Kawashima Sr. and his daughter is located. Here we now find...



Give my quiz a try! If you get all the questions right, I'll give you a prize. Not much chance of that though Hehe!
If it's about monsters, I'll do it! No thanks! You're a jerk!

Do you remember the weird quiz on Battleship Mikasa with the captain of the ship? That is actually part of another questline of quizzes of that nature. And this is the second of four. All the quizzes feed into other quest line collectibles or segments and there's not a cumulative reward because Shadow Hearts 2 does whatever it feels like.



As before, the text scroll is insanely slow and there's no way to speed it up as mashing X will make the game assume you selected the X-marked question answer. So we really have about three seconds to read and answer most questions despite it being a ten-second countdown.

This first answer is Skull.



If you'd like to become a Shadow Hearts: Covenant loremaster, here are the questions given. The answers are at the end. They're randomized from a pool of twenty:

What's the name of the flag in the otherworld of the Foreigner's Cemetery?

> Hero-hero.
> Hena-hena.
> Pero-pero.
> Pera-pera.

Veronica summoned a monster called Meursault. What's its favorite thing?

> Human flesh.
> Blood of a live creature.
> Sushi.
> Liquor.

Tammuz, who shows up in the mine in Rhondda, is a human mixed with what?

> A centipede.
> A cockroach.
> A slug.
> A scorpion.

What's the name of the airborne weapon controlled by Dr. Hojo?

> Fuji.
> Donyruu.
> Comet.
> Master Cylinder.

What's the name of the Imperial Army's unmanned airborne weapon on the Mikasa?

> Flying Drone.
> Flying Buzz.
> Flying Bot.
> Flying Mech.

Peryton, who attacked Russia, has the body of a bird. What is its head?
> A cow.
> A horse.
> A sheep.
> A deer.

What kind of toy is the monster Ducky Toy, which appears in Domremy?

> Swans.
> Drakes.
> Ducks.
> Lions.

What's the worm-like monster possessing antibodies for Idar Flamme?

> Zamuza.
> Megafilaria.
> Echidna.
> Hati.

On Manmariana Island, what's the name of Carla's cat that she got at a festival?

> Oscar.
> Antoinette.
> Andre.
> Felson.



The answers were:

2. Pera-pera.
3. Liquor.
4. A scorpion.
5. Master Cylinder.
6. Flying Drone.
7. A deer.
8. Drakes.
9. Megafilaria.
10. Andre.





And for our efforts, we gain Anastasia's second-best weapon -- an alien techno egg that grants her +178 Physical and +194 Special Attack Power.



That concludes all our activities available at the moment in Japan. We now return to the Europe map after an extended hiatus and will be sweeping through here now. Our first stop is Anastasia's hometown of Petrograd. Do you recall there being a drunkard selling a high-priced item to the tune of 100,000 Cash which would have bankrupt us toward the end of Disc 1? Probably not but they are around and... again, we're flush with cash now and even 100,000 Cash drained from the bank won't hurt us too much.


Music: Town of Twilight ~ European Town



Oh, yeah! I found something! I'm sure it's really rare! You can have it for 100,000 Cash, of course! Well?
You got me! Here!
I am strangely compelled to 100% collect anything that is vaguely collectible. Another curse... I think I am collecting those too.





That nets us the Asmodeus Crest. Yes, the final insult to Rasputin is his life-essence was blown out of Idar Flamme as some shitty Materia knock-off and ended up in the hands of a street drunk.



Not that the Asmodeus Crest will fill out any particular area as all the big boss soul crests are filled in the central, last-to-be-completed region of Solomon's Key. But I did snoop around the Key of Solomon and discover we CAN finish another region on the board.



Particularly, the Eternal Boneyard can be filled in now as we have obtained all the Magic Crests for it. It's just a matter of placing them correctly. The central region is the Palace of Trans and there is a Boneyard right next to it so it would seem Furcas goes to this bone zone.



There is only one area you could describe as a mansion in the boneyard so Murmur seems to live here.



There is a solitary space next to Murmur available so that seems to be Samigina's resting place.



And since Samigina only has one space next to them, this seems to be the hole meant for Bifrons.



This is the only available space next to the Wilderness of War region in the north-central part of the map. Thus Bune finds a home here.



And there's only one space left and wouldn't you know it, there's a marsh here. So Glasyalabolas find its place on the board. Thus completing the Eternal Boneyard section of the Key of Solomon.



For our efforts returning these demons to their home on this crummy board game, we net:

Galsyalabolas - Arc Surge.
Bune - Arc Cure.
Bifrons - Cure All.
Samigina - Cure Plus.
Murmur - Resurrection.
Furcas - Rage.

A lot of curing and buffs going on. I won't thumb my nose at that.



We are going to let Gerome Valley and doing more trials ride until the end of this session of sidequest activity. We'll get back there in a bit. St. Marguerita Island has the Fort of Regrets but that will completely stall out right now until End Game. SG Italian Branch HQ and Manmariana Island will never become relevant again. Cannes has a quest we could begin. But again will just stall out awkwardly at this point. Trust me I wasted 40 minutes recording it and was severely annoyed it just stops for no reason other than fuck you end game flag.

We can check in on Florence.





And discover that we still need 1,578 more steps in a dungeon to complete the Steps sidequest. One day I'll take that Pedometer accessory off you, Blanca. One day...





There is one last activity we can do today before heading north to the UK. Hey, didn't we finish up the Wolf Bout card...? Let's return to Montmartre, Paris, and have Ernest give us our due for Blanca becoming the Wolf Bout champ after defeating his undead grandpa. And the mysterious message about learning the truth from him.



I am already noticing a distinct lack of Ernest and that is troubling. But Tetsu the wolf is still hanging out. Let's chat with him. Or have Yuri awkwardly glare while Blanca chats with him.



Awroo... Awroo! (Where's Ernest? I've got some things to ask him.)
*whimper* (I don't know. He went away all of a sudden.)
*whimper, whimper* (But he told me to give you this.)



Tetsu forks over two items for our troubles.



The Seventh Key is the highest level multi-turn item in the game. In a different timeline, Yuri used it to punch the living fuck out of an alien god in a single round.



We also gain The Emperor Tarot Card for Lucia. This one can either double or half the speed of our party on use. The Special Effect is Quad-Speed or 25% Speed for our party. I don't know if that was worth all these Wolf Bouts.

Tetsu gives Blanca a note.



But the Wolf Bout still isn't over. When you've really gathered all of the stamps... I promise we'll meet again. Sincerely, Ernest.
Awroo, awroo... (What's he talking about? I filled in all the stamps already...)
Awroo?! (The back?! Damn! What kind of childish trick is that?!)
Hey, Blanca. Did you see there's a backside to this paw print thingie?
...Awroo. (...I have become aware.)



And so the fight continues. As does Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Stay tuned...









Blanca Pachinko Renders - Nobody is safe from the siren call of Japanese pseudo gambling via dead IPs.