Part 10
Anyway, now that we've got our first demon, I'd like to explain the basics of devil summoning for those of you unfamiliar with the original SMT games.
Once you get a demon to join you, you can summon it from your computer by paying a nominal fee of makka, the demon's currency. (You can get makka in the usual RPG manner.) Once summoned, the demon will stay in your party until you dismiss it or you run out of magnetite, another resource you must collect. Demons need magnetite to maintain their physical forms, so no magnetite means no demon. You also cannot level up a demon, nor can it equip items. However, you can fuse demons together to produce a new, hopefully more powerful demon, as long as the resulting demon is of your level or lower. Your stock of demons is finite, however; Tammy can store only 12 at a time. As tempting as it is to keep a supply of demons as fusion fodder, you'll need to manage your party carefully so that you can defend yourself from the onslaught of random battles and be in a condition to take the bosses on.
So, how do you recruit demons? Very few demons join you through events like our Jack Frost just now. Usually, you get them to join by talking to them in battle. You can choose to start with a friendly or threatening approach, and from there make selections and hope that the dialogue/action tree you go down will end in a offer from the demon. The best results are a) you get to ask the demon to join, give you makka, give you magnetite, or leave; b) the demon offers to join you or forces its way into your party if you have room; c) the demon gives you makka/mag/an item. You can also sometimes talk demons into leaving if you don't feel up to fighting them. Note that whether a demon will accept a recruitment offer or offer to join you does depend on your stats/level.
As it stands now, we have a pitiful amount of makka and magnetite since we've only won a single battle, so we're not quite ready to summon up a party yet. We're going to have to get a bit stronger and earn a bit of cash and mag for that.
Now that we're a little stronger, we go back to that area before and walk around a bit so that we can return to our Waterloo...
Yousei Pixie x3 appeared!
Tammy and Reiko get off to a good start by landing hits on the Pixies first, but one of the Pixies heals back some health with Dia. Meanwhile, the other two attack us, but their generic attacks are nowhere near as strong as their magic, so they only do a couple points of damage. We've still got a chance to win here.
Tammy starts the next round by running one of the Pixies through with her ice pick, killing it. A Pixie attempts to avenge its fallen partner, but the attack is weak and Tammy makes it, while Reiko dishes out more pain with her baseball bat. The other Pixie fires off a Zio at Tammy... and she dodges! We're going to make it!
The next round, Tammy and Reiko gang up on one of the Pixies, taking it out immediately. We're left with one weakened Pixie, so as long as it doesn't kill Tammy, we can win this battle. The weakened Pixie casts Dia to recover health, so we're still okay.
Finally, Tammy and Reiko finish off the remaining Pixie, avenging our first defeat.
The result? Over 100 makka, and enough experience to gain two levels. Thank God for our focus on Speed and Strength.
We spend a short bit of time in the corridor, getting used to battle and getting to know our enemy. A strange assortment of demons are gathering here: there are Zombie Dogs, Pixies, fire sprites called Willy, and Poltergeists.
During our training, Reiko falls to an Agi fire spell from a Willy.
Reiko gets up, and says "You thought I was dead, didn't you?"
Guardian: Kinnari
Atlus appear to have mixed up birds and horses here, but that's okay. Kinnari gives Reiko a boost to Int and Mag, which is just what we're looking for. On top of that, she gives her some fantastic spells in Agi, Agilao and Bufula and a relatively crappy status spell in Hapilma.Wikipedia posted:
Kinnari is a figure from the Indian epic Himmawatpradhes, which is in Thailand known as Himapan Forest. Kinnaris are depicted as half-bird half-women creatures in Thai, Cambodian and Lao, and Burmese mythology. One of the many creatures that inhabit the mythical Himapan Forest, Kinnari has the head, torso, and arms of a woman and the wings, tail and feet of a swan. She is renowned for her dance, song and poetry, and is a traditional symbol of feminine beauty, grace and accomplishment.
We're slowly but surely getting an edge on the demons. We still need some backup, though.
> Tammy spoke to the demons.
> Threatening
Willy:
Ho ho!
Let's CAMPFIRE!
Crackle crackle BURRRRRNING!
Willy:
I'm gonna set fire to the school!
> Try it!
Willy:
Huuuh? How come you can talk to me?
Whhhyyy?
> Because I have a program.
Willy:
NEAT! Can I go inside there?
> Yes
> Willy was sucked into the monitor of the Arm Terminal.
...Willy became your minion.
I won't go through every encounter, but I wanted to demonstrate at least one conversation path.
Anyway, Willy is a very weak Fairy-type demon, but he can throw out some average strength Agi spells, and can boost party strength with the Taru Kaja spell.
During our training, we get into a conversation with a helpful Pixie, who offers some interesting information:
> Professor Otsuki
Pixie:
That guy's a pervert! He's in love with the Demon Emperor.
Sadly, the Pixies keep telling us to get a bit smarter before they'll join us. We spend a bit more time training, until one finally agrees to join as long as we don't fuse her with a Willy.
Yousei Pixie
-Zio
-Zionga
-Hapilma
-Dia
Pixie has always been a crucial beginning-stage demon in SMT games, and if... is no different. She's fragile, but she packs a magical punch.
Now that we're finally "established", let's go and check out the gym.
At the entrance to the gym, Tammy uses the spoils from her training to summon Jack Frost, Willy and Pixie for support.
> The corridor leads to the gym...
> Go to the gym?
Reiko:
Let's search for that item.
> You search the remains of the ritual, and...
> You find the Ring of Humility.
Voice of the Demon Emperor:
...Looks like you've found it.
I will give the ring to you.
You'll arrive at the Room of the Seal just after you leave the school for the Demon World. If you use the Ring of Humility there, the seal will break slightly. Naturally, you must break the seal completely to return your school to your world. I'm sure even your primitive brains could figure that one out.
But first... you must fight Faunus.
If you can't beat him, there's no point. Well, good luck!
Haahahahahaha...!
Majuu Faunus x1 appeared!
Tammy leads the charge by attacking straight on, while Jack Frost boosts our defences with Raku Kaja. Meanwhile, Reiko swings her bat into Faunus' face, and he counterattacks with his Fist of Death, which knocks a good chunk off her HP. Pixie, however, is the real star of the battle, and takes out Faunus with a well-placed Zionga. I guess we figured out his elemental weakness.
Wikipedia posted:
In Roman mythology, Pan's counterpart Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, the di indigetes, who was a good spirit of the forest, plains, and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He was consulted as a god of prophecy, under the name of Fatuus, with oracles in the sacred groves of Tibur, around the well Albunea, and on the Aventine Hill in ancient Rome itself (Peck 1898). The responses were said to have been given in Saturnian verse (Varro, L. L. vii. 36). Faunus revealed the future in dreams and voices that were communicated to those who came to sleep in his precincts on the fleeces of sacrificed lambs.
Tammy received the Ring of Humility.
On our way back from the gym, we're stopped by a member of the disciplinary board.
Disciplinary board member:
Hey, you!
What were you doing in the gym?!
I'm gonna tell Professor Otsuki!
Smells fishy. Tammy decides to investigate.
Professor Otsuki:
So, you've taken the great Demon Emperor's jest seriously and gotten the Ring of Humility, eh?
There is no scientific basis that you may leave the school!
Professor Otsuki x1 appeared!
Professor Otsuki turns out to be stronger than he looks. Tammy and Reiko's physical attacks don't do much, and he kills Willy right off the bat with a critical hit that did about 7 times his max HP in damage. However, a swift punch to the face from Jack Frost and Zionga from Pixie, and he's history.
Professor Otsuki:
Y-you...!
I won't forget this, you little whipper-snappers...!
There's no scientific basis that you'll be able to get back to the human world safely...
Well, it looks like we're done here. Time to head off to the Demon World!
That's it for today.