Part 11: Fast As Lightning

After robbing the museum, a new sewer has opened up and there's a few things to take care of down there.



BGM: Sewer



First..



Er, guys? Thought I kinda got "defeated" by you?

The DB Busters will actually continue to appear in subsequent sewers, but all they'll do is spout the same lines from when they got you to surrender.

There's some more familiar faces down here.



: Yo, looks like you're managing to get by somehow.

Takashi! I mean, Kyouji! What are you doing down here?



: But your fighting needs work, so let me give you a piece of advice. Go into the back room in the office to find something to learn a spell. Well, you can't learn magic, so get Rei to learn it instead. Later.

Man, I sure am glad you just found a dead body to inhabit, it was stuffy with both of us in this body.



And one more old friend.

BGM: Doctor Thrill



: A true genius'll never be discouraged. My newest creation is better than ever. Kekekekeke.
: Hm? Who's there? Aah! The one who destroyed my darling Gargantua! But I'll get you this time. My Gargantua Q will end that sad life of yours! Thanks to the Rampart Suit it's wearing, you can attack it as much as you want but it ain't gonna feel a thing! Now go! Gargantua Q! Don't hold back!



GARGANTUA Q: Hohohoho. I understand, Dr. Thrill. I'll beat him good!

BOSS #12 - GARGANTUA Q

VS Zoma Gargantua Q
Thrill finally gets the right idea and makes this Gargantua different. His physical defense is pretty good, making magic the way to go. It's mostly a boring beat-em-up battle, especially if he decides to use Rakukaja to raise his defense, but things may get dicey if he continually uses Tarukaja to raise his attack. Other than that, he can use Tetrakarn to send your physical attacks back at you, but our heroes are much faster and so it doesn't really affect us that much.



: W-What?! I can't believe Gargantua Q could lose!! This definitely ain't over! I'll remember this!!

You're getting a bit better, Thrill. Maybe one day you'll get it.

Now we might as well follow Takashi's advice.



>Look in the back room like Takashi said?



>Found the Shuffler book. Rei can now use Shuffler.



: Oh, this is the spell that Kyouji was always using.

I basically never use Shuffler because Rei's accuracy isn't the best and I'd rather do damage than hope the ailment sticks and THEN attack.

And since we're here in Yarai Ginza, let's go and find out our next objective. We won't be going to Marie this time, though. Madam Ginko, who was mentioned all the way back near the beginning of the game, is the one who's requesting us this time.

BGM: Innocence



WELL-INFORMED MAN: Yo, Kuzunoha. The madam said she wanted to see you.

Well, first we have to get past her bodyguard, but then we'll be talking to the madam.



WELL-INFORMED MAN: Normally she only takes visitors during the new moon, but she said it was important. Alright, hurry and head into the back room.



BGM: Cretaceous



MADAM GINKO: Welcome, Kyouji Kuzunoha. I have something to ask of you today.



: East Asia Television has been taken over by demons. Please quickly get rid of them...Devil Summoner. I'm asking you not as a detective but as a Summoner.

Madam Ginko shows up again in Soul Hackers, but her design changed so much that she basically looks like a different person. I guess she decided to go for a new look? To keep up with the times, I suppose.

Before we head off to the television station, there's a particularly suspicious person in Club Ezekiel.



MAN IN BORDER SHIRT: This place is really awesome. Hee-ho...oops. I knew that humans had such cool stuff. ...Maybe I'll bring Pyro next time.



Alright, now we're off to the station. It's located in the southwest of the Yarai district, and it's also one of the game's only double dungeon, with the radio tower beside it. You must go through the television station to reach the radio tower, and you must go back through the television station if you want to leave the radio tower.

DUNGEON 11 - EAST ASIA TV
New demons:
Bifrons Yuki Jyorou Dzolob Tengu
Kwancha Power Purski Naga
Zaccoum Gdon Gashadokuro Patriot
Zhen

BGM: Otherworld Dungeon 3



Is this really a television station? Looks more like a club.



The first floor has a heal space as well as four stairwells. This dungeon is loaded with one-way doors, warps, and pits, as well as six different sets of stairs.

There's also a few people still wandering around inside.



TV STAFF: Hey, what's going on? All these ghost stories and paranormal shows are out of season, but I guess we can make it work. Call the producer! The producer! Jeez, what are they shooting? And who are you? You can't do anything without an appointment.



FEMALE ANNOUNCER: There were g-ghosts! Ghosts just suddenly showed up in the station! I'll give an eyewitness report. I can't believe ghosts are just showing up like this in this day and age. Please...I need somebody on the air saying they were surprised, even if they're lying!!



AD: No doubt about it. That's definitely the guitarist Speedy. I just saw him in the power chamber. He died after he began to dabble in some dangerous drugs. Ugh...you really were a genius, Speedy. It was stupid of us to never see it. Please just move on and leave us alone.

Let's see what "ghosts" are roaming around the premises.



ARE TROOPS is found in the form of Patriot, who disappeared until SMTIV. Yuki Jyorou is joined by new demon Tengu]Tengu. Tengu showed up in many early SMT and Persona games, but has been phased out in return for new tengu demons Koppa Tengu, Karasu Tengu, and Kurama Tengu starting with SMTIII.



Similar to Tengu in terms of appearance is Purski, though he had the good fortune to return in the Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner series. Behind him and in the next shot is Naga, a much more popular demon who's appeared in every SMT game and many times in spin-off games. Last in line is the skeleton Kwancha.



More skeletons appear, this time in the form of Gashadokuro, whose color changed from a cool green to a bright red in Soul Hackers. The colorful bird beside it is Zhen. The large-headed fellow is Dzolob, who appeared only in Devil Summoner - he didn't even get to appear in the trading card game.



Last are Zaccoum and Power. Originating from this game is Power's "octopus shield" design.



Heading up to the fifth floor, we find the boss room. However, the boss in here is actually optional. There's a reason to want to beat it, though - defeating the boss here will weaken the boss in the next dungeon as well as change his moveset.



JULIA: I'm the ultimate idol! A super idol!! An eternal idol!!
SPEEDY: I'm the best guitarist in the world! I'm a superstar, second to none!! With Orgone Ghost's energy, I'll be a superstar forever!! We'll kill anybody who gets in the way!!
MIKIYA: ...

BOSS #13 - SPEEDY, JULIA, AND MIKIYA

VS Ghost Speedy, Ghost Julia, and Ghost Mikiya

Both Julia and Mikiya have been a part of the story before. Julia was the idol who committed suicide and had a rumor about the vacant lot spread about her, while Mikiya was part of the band Moloch, whose reunion concert was the concert that Kumiko asked us to buy tickets for.



Onto the battle itself. The trio specializes in electricity and ailments. All three of them can use the multi-target electric attack Swing Thunder, which doesn't hit for that much on either Rei or I.



Each of them has a different ailment-inducing attack: Sexy Dance for Julia, Panic Voice for Speedy, and Insanity Eye for Mikiya. Mikiya and Julia should be targeted first because they have less HP and more annoying ailments (Bind and Charm).



Luckily they're all weak to fire, so they're not much of a problem.



JULIA: ...Nooooooo!! I need to be on TV and be an idooool....
SPEEDY: ...I guess they're right when they say geniuses die young...
MIKIYA: ...



>The power chamber stopped functioning.



Alright, now that those goons are taken care of, we can head on over to the power plant. After a few one-way doors, pits, and stairs, we make it to the entrance.



>Enter the radio tower?



DUNGEON 12 - RADIO TOWER
New demons:
Legion Holawaka Spriggan Purson
Succubus Basilisk Virtue Mothman
Chemosh

BGM: Otherworld Dungeon 3



Whoa, this place looks even worse. Is this safe?



This dungeon is much shorter that the TV station, though it's also filled with pits. The most dangerous and annoying part of the dungeon is the demons. At this point, many of them can induce deadly ailments and some have Death skills.



Legion (as well as Gashadokuro from the last dungeon) can use Mudo, and we really don't have any options for armor that nulls Death. Really the best thing to do is hope it doesn't hit you or cast Tetraja, sending its attacks back to you.



Another dangerous demon is Basilisk who can cast both Venom Breath and Paralyze Needle and the especially dangerous Petra Eye, which causes Stone. When somebody is inflicted with Stone, they cannot move and have the chance to break and die if they're hit with a physical attack.



The last of the demons to be wary of is Mothman. He has an incredibly cute design, but he can use Blood Sucker to inflict Vamp. Unlike the Strigoii and Strix battle, Vamp is bad here because the nearest healing station is all the way back at the beginning of East Asia TV.



There are still some less-threatening demons, though. There's another rainbow bird here, Holawaka, as well as Purson, both whose only main game appearance was Devil Summoner.



Spriggan shows up in here, and I get one to make a nice Spriggan Vest for myself. We also find Succubus, in hot pink instead of her later black, and Virtue with the first appearance of his glass design.

Virtue also gives me the chance to show off the Hanma attack animation. Many of the attack animations in the game are pretty cool (though annoying to see after the first two times), but Hanma has an extra layer to it.



The characters flashing across the screen are "Rin, Hyo, Toh, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen" - the kuji kiri ("nine symbolic cuts") grid lines drawn in a special hand form that's used to focus energy. Perhaps it's used with Hanma, an Expel move, to symbolize cleansing? Devil Summoner has a lot of cool little touches like that.



Surviving the demon onslaught and making it to the 20th floor gets us to the boss. The door says "Do Not Enter" but, well, I guess we don't really have a choice.



ORGONE GHOST: Uoooooo...What happened to those three in the power chamber...I'm not getting any power...

BOSS #14 - ORGONE GHOST

VS Foul Orgone Ghost

Yes, Orgone Ghost is indeed referencing the so-called "lifeforce" proposed by Wilhelm Reich. It's not the last time that MegaTen will reference pseudoscience with a demon.
In its weakened state, it's a huge pushover. It's weak to swords, so it's even easier to take down than most bosses. Like the three in the power chamber, it can use Swing Thunder, as well as Thunder Break which is basically the same thing. It can also cause Bind with Brain Burst and restore HP with Rest.
Its special move is the electric-based insta-death attack Volcanicker, which it didn't see fit to use in the video.



ORGONE GHOST: Uoooo...Without my energy...I can't...

Now for the other version.



ORGONE GHOST: Guooooooo! I'm overflowing with energy! I'm taking in all the hatred, all of the electric waves! This feels amaziiiiiing! I'll get you and take your energy, too!

VS Foul Orgone Ghost



No video because it's basically the same battle. The stronger Orgone Ghost is 15 levels higher, has 400 more HP, loses the moves Swing Thunder and Rest, and is more likely to use Volcanicker. The reward is different as well - you get the electric attack item Stinger instead of the escape item Stun Grenade.



ORGONE GHOST: Guoooooo...My energy is leaving...



Now this is a much better color. Just a short path to the exit, and we don't even have to go through East Asia TV to leave! Gotta tell Madam Ginko that we did it.



: It's good to see you, Mr. Detective. No, I suppose it's Mr. Summoner. Good work taking care of those demons at the station. You're as strong as they say. Your work has saved many people already. It may be a thankless and difficult job, but please keep up the good work.

Well, hard work is I guess its own reward, but at least Marie paid me...

Two small things to do in Yarai Ginza before I end the update. I have no more room in my COMP for demons, so let's mosey on over to Victor's place.

First are two demons that didn't exactly ever make it big.



Yatsufusa showed up in the Devil Children games, and as a Pentagon Fusion in Persona 4. The characters on his balls are the eight virtues held by Confucianists: filial piety, sibling piety, loyalty, trust, courtesy, righteousness, integrity, and humility.



Nagasunehiko showed up earlier in the original SMT as well as both Majin Tensei games, but this particular design never showed up again except in the Raidou Kuzunoha series, where Nagasunehiko fought with his brother Abihiko in a boss battle.



Last are demons that I actually fused - Amazon, who only showed up in Soul Hackers and then faded back into obscurity, and Quetzalcoatl, who's shown up in many games but whose Devil Summoner design only reappeared recently in SMTIV. Amazon has Dekaja, which allows me to dispel any buffs the enemy used, as well as some nice physical attacks. Quetzalcoatl has a nice array of ailment-healing moves and, well, I just really love his design.

And finally, let's check in with Redman.



: Magnum. I would very much like to get the opportunity to see you. I know you are very busy, so we might not be able to get the chance...Well, I'll message you again later. That's all for today.

______________

Next update: We break into prison.