Part 141: Escape: PEC
Today, Sigma (1BP, Magenta Pair) and Clover (6BP, Magenta Pair) team up with Tenmyouji (6BP, Cyan Solo) to tackle the most infamous room in the game.
The PEC houses a savefile-ruining glitch. Well, that's not strictly speaking true, actually; every escape in the game houses a savefile-ruining glitch in which savefiles created during the escape sequence are corrupted. What the PEC adds to this is what the medical profession terms "comorbidity" - an unrelated additional problem that interacts poorly with the first. In this case, a tendency to crash the game and boot you to your system's home menu.
For whatever reason, this problem is much more likely to occur in the 3DS version of the game, which is the final gut-punch; the 3DS version only allows one save slot. So if you save in this room, and get the crash, your only savefile is toast. The Vita version is not only less susceptible to the crash but allows multiple save slots, so the glitch is not nearly as dangerous.
Fortunately, a patch was released for the North American 3DS version... or, rather, a patch was included in the 3DS eShop version. No patch was released for the physical version. Or indeed any European version. Also it's not actually a fix for the problem, it just prevents you from saving in this specific room. Even though the crash can (rarely) happen in any escape room.
All told not the most graceful reaction to a showstopping bug.
Please, for the love of God, don't ever save the game in a puzzle room.
Fortunately, the glitch is the only real problem this room has; the puzzles aren't terribly offensive and the layout is uncomplicated; it's just some square rooms, one of which happening to be an airlock.
VLR OST: [Decompression]
This is our backing track. I find it fitting. Don't you?
I, er, think I know what I'd like to examine first.
It's only a model.
A model...?
Yeah. A fake. A replica. Not the real thing.
Why would they put a model of Zero Jr. in there?
He's just screwing with us.
Bastard...
The model is the only thing we can examine through the window, so let's keep on looking around.
It looks like a police car light...
Do you know what it does?
Go ahead and touch it. I doubt it'll do anything.
What? Why?
Before entering the decompression chamber, please put on your viral protection suit.
Failure to do so will prevent you from entering the decompression chamber.
...
...
See?
Fine.
Behind us are some lockers.
Hm... Hm...
What are you trying to do?
Use X-ray vision.
...Right.
Only one of these lockers is actually unlocked:
This's all junk. Nothing useful in here.
Great.
The needle's in the middle... It says it's 1.5 atmospheres.
That must be the normal pressure for this building.
Remember? It said something in the manual about the pressure in here being higher than the pressure outside.
Though some determined prodding of the camera we can see that there is something hidden underneath the barometer (as well as another cardboard box on the floor) but it is quite apparent the game does not wish us to see these yet, and we cannot select them for examination.
Anyway, that's everything down here for now. Let's get in the lift.
Of course there's a puzzle in the lift.
Looks a like a key.
I feel like this glass panel is supposed to open...
...And of course it's locked.
So we can't get to the key, huh?
That would be too easy.
I wonder what this number is. Do you think maybe it's a hint to help us unlock the panel?
Hm... 25113, huh...
Hm...
So yeah, it's a combination lock.
Haven't we seen those symbols somewhere else?
I think this dialogue line is misplaced.
Tenmyouji gets it though.
Yeah.
I'm good.
Okay, here we go...
So, the top floor.
Also a quite uncomplicated room. There are a full three sets of lockers and surprisingly little else - though not nothing.
For example, there's, uh, a bench.
Remember I read it to you?
Oh you mean that thing about how we had to wear the protective suits to enter the decompression chamber?
Yeah.
Well, there was another piece of paper in there. It has some kind of...drawing on it.
What...?
Hum...?
Game, I don't know what you think "instruction manual" means, but...
I'd call it a bench.
Same difference. You put your butt on it either way.
Huh.
Anyway, you see these symbols on the top?
Yeah. Six of them.
Maybe it's a clue.
They do look familiar. But this on its own still isn't particularly illuminating...
This is one of those rooms with silly extra dialogue from examining the same thing multiple times. Like this torn patch here.
Did you eat it, Sigma?
No!
The other main non-locker interesting thing up here is this... uh... thing.
What's going to happen if we do that?
It'll go round and round and round and you'll get dizzy!
...
I'm just messing with you... You see how there's this sort of panel thing here?
I think this machine is some kind of scanner.
If I'm right, maybe it can tell you if there's anything wrong with your body or something.
Really?
I donno.
Just seemed like maybe that's what it was.
Do you think they mean something?
There are three colors and seven squares.
The top and middle rows are green and purple.
Read from the left, the bottom row is cyan, green, and purple.
Man, what is this...?
Another mystery to ponder.
I can't find a power button.
Me either, but there's a cord coming out of the back. See?
Yeah...
That's a USB cable. You think we're supposed to plug it into something?
I get the message.
You almost look kind of like a computer.
Knock it off, Clover. That's handsome and incredibly clever.
You're handsome and incred—Hey!
...
Well, there's nothing left to examine other than the lo--wait...
Give me an "I"!
What is wrong with you?!
I think Clover just... inspires this in people.
Okay. Lockers.
You can actually find these in every locker on this floor, although this set also has this other locked locker for whatever reason.
One of those protective suits...
If we put these one, we should be able to get into the decompression chamber.
...
...
Well, let's do it then!
Yeah. It's a little big on me, but I think I should be okay.
I'm ready to go.
Good. Should we go then?
Not yet. There's some extra dialogue here...
I sure hope Quark's all right...
Why would you think of that right now?
Those lockers just reminded me of him.
He's loved hiding in 'em ever since he was this high...
...
We can also examine other suits.
I still can't believe it... How can the whole outside world be infected with some virus?
Yeah... It's too horrible...
I hope it's not true...
It...it can't be...
...
...
I think Zero Sr. just put these here to mess with us.
I hope you're right...
...
...
Alright, let's get back down.
What the hell?! The handle still won't move!
Maybe that touch screen on the door unlocks it.
What? That's a pain! Why would they do that?
Security, maybe?
Hm...
Right! Let's do this!
Puzzle time!
This puzzle is actually a little different on the 3DS and Vita versions. On 3DS you have to fully draw lines from section to section. On Vita, since you're using your fingers rather than a nice stylus to draw, you just tap the start and end points of each bit of the line, which are all predetermined.
There's no particularly great failure dialogue so let's just get on with it.
In case it wasn't obvious enough, this is what we have to accomplish.
Not really very complicated.
Nice work.
We should be able to get this thing open now...
In we go.
This room is also quite uncomplicated, plus we've already seen it from the other side. There's also not very much in here, so let's just poke around...
Straight away we've got another bench.
There's nothing on the screen.
I don't think the power's on.
Is there a switch or something?
Not that I can find.
Really...?
How the heck are we supposed to turn it on, then...
Take a closer look.
It doesn't have a switch, but it does have a USB port.
Maybe if we plug it in...
It'll turn on?
I think so.
I wonder if they mean something...
Indeed.
It looks like it's actually plastic.
Yeah, it's inflatable, like a beach ball.
Well it's damn creepy, that's for sure...
You got that right.
There's also this somewhat significant looking control panel.
First up there's a key here.
What else would I do with a key?
We've also got two big inviting buttons. One blue...
So if I press this, it'll make me thinner?
Won't work. Not while you're in that suit.
Uh, is that really the issue here...?
...And one red.
Wanna try pressing it?
No rush. We still haven't taken a good look around the room.
We can always decompress later.
Aw...
We've also got lots of gauges.
The needle's in the middle. Looks like it's at 1.5 atmospheres in here.
I'm guessing that's the pressure for this whole facility.
Remember what Clover read in that manual?
Something about the pressure inside behind higher than the pressure outside.
Well, let's keep poking around.
What sort of a box?
Well, it's not a treasure chest, that's for sure. Maybe it's full of, like, electrical circuits and stuff?
Forget about that box. Look at that door.
Do you notice anything?
Like...what?
Uh...
Looks like it.
How are you so nonchalant?
That door and the one we came through that let us in here are the only ways out of this room.
See?
So even if we did decompress this room, we still couldn't go outside?
That's right.
This is a dead end.
No...
That's what I was trying to tell you. Didn't I say it wasn't going to be easy before we got here?
Think about it. There's no way in hell Zero Sr. would let us out that easy.
Otherwise what's the point of all of this?
But—!
...
...
...
...
Damnit...
*Sigh* And I was getting all hopeful...
This sucks...
Hey! Clover, where are you going?!
It's not like I need it, right? It's hot and it's uncomfortable...
I'm outta here.
Hn.
...
...
...
...
Wh-What the hell was that noise?
I don't know...
But I've got a bad feeling about this.
I've got a bad feeling about that...
Preparation complete.
Now beginning decompression.
Three...Two...One...
VLR OST: [Strain]
What the fuck!
Why did that happen!?
Hell if I know! Why are you asking me?!
We need to get out of here, now!
Come on!
WELP let's just get the hell out of--
Just use the panel! Remember? Like you did to get us in here!
Okay, I'll give it a shot!
Pressure differential is too great to open door.
Shit!
Damn... I guess we're going to have to equalize the pressure before we can get it open.
Plan B!
Are you insane?! That window has to stand up to ridiculous pressure differences! We're not going to break it with a bench!
Nuts. Oh, this might not really be the time, but...
Okay, okay. Let's poke around again.
Hey! Clover! Clover! Can you hear me?!
You don't need to yell!
...Huh?
These helmets must have a radio.
We should have realized that earlier. How else would we have been able to talk to each other after we put them on?
Oh...yeah...
I guess the excitement of the moment and everything...
It looks like you guys are locked in there.
I tried to open the door, but...
It wouldn't budge.
...
...
So what should I do?
Can you look around to see if there's anything useful?
You mean over here?
Yeah.
This really is just like old times.
Unfortunately it's criminally uninteresting. There are only a very few things to do.
Um... Well, I would, but this one's locked...
What about the other two?!
Sorry... I already checked them. There's nothing useful in there...
I see...
It hasn't changed.
It's showing the pressure on this side...1.5 atmospheres.
Hey, Sigma.
What?
Doesn't it look like there's something under that machine?
Huh...?
I'll be damned!
Hey! Clover! Look under that machine!
Here...?
Yeah! Do you see it? It looks like a binder!
Y-Yeah...I see it.
Pick it up! Is there anything in it?!
O-Okay, hold on!
This is...
Hey! What is it?!
There's a piece of paper in here.
A piece of paper?
It's just like the one I found in the manual.
...Oh, no, wait, it's a little different...
The picture's similar, but I guess it's not the same...
What's it of?!
Um... Uh... How do I explain this?
There are these color circles...
And they're connected to other circles...
Arg! You're not making any sense!
Just bring it over here and shove it up against the glass!
Right!
Ha! This is perfect!
If we can just connect the dots like this...
Getting a bit ahead of ourselves here, Tenmyouji. We've still gotta deal with the pressure problem. Let's get on that.
Okay, we'll just--
--wait.
Must be the difference in pressure.
You ever taken an unopened bag of chips to the top of a mountain or something and it gets all puffed up likes it's gonna pop?
Same sorta thing.
I guess, but this is just...
Looks like it might be about to pop.
Go on...
I wonder if...
...
...
*Poke*
!
!
It popped!
Don't worry. I think that was the point.
Let's poke around his remains.
He gave his life for... ...For...something...
When he exploded I think he bent this metal plate over here.
Wanna take a look?
All in good time...
Apparently it was inside the other Zero Jr.
There was a Zero Jr. inside of Zero Jr...?
Well, I don't like it either, but we don't really have a choice, do we?
If it's here, then it's probably part of one of these puzzles...
No. That damn thing's not going to help us get outta this room.
Just leave it. We can come back to it later.
Alright, where were we. Right. The pressure.
What's wrong?!
The needle's all the way to the left...
The pressure in here is 0!
0?! That means we're in a vacuum!
Yeah. That's about the size of it.
Shit...
Without these suits, we'd be toast.
...
Alright, let's--
What the hell are you doing?!
That's the decompression button! It's not gonna do us any good now!
--right, right. Other button.
Hit it!
Right!
...
Insufficient power for repressurization.
Please route additional power.
...
...
...Well, that's that I guess.
Damnit!
Okay, I guess we'd probably best take a look at the back wall.
Zero Jr's explosion probably knocked it loose.
I think maybe we can get it off now!
Give me a hand!
Fine.
Fortunately we don't have to do this for every panel.
There are some things here.
There's a yellow one and a purple one.
Looks like they're part of some kind of machine.
What the hell? That sounds like something from a kid's show.
Well what am I supposed to call it? That's what it is.
What does it do?
Focuses and emits a high-intensity laser. They're usually used to transmit energy.
Didn't think I'd find one of them here...
...
Whatever. C'mon, let's hook it up.
Hook it up to what?
The end of one of these cables.
They look just like the other ones we found.
Well then.
This is another odd little puzzle that uses the inventory as a stand-in for a puzzle screen.
Fortunately it is trivially easy. The only thing that might stop you from immediately solving it is...
...if you don't realize you can emit lasers at angles, and even through cables.
The slightest application of spacial reasoning...
...produces the solution.
Wh-What was that?!
Maybe it's the pressurization system starting up.
It should have enough power now...
Good, maybe now we can get out of here...
Promising.
Press the damn pressurization button!
On it!
Repressurization preparation complete.
Repressurizing...now.
Three...Two...One...
VLR OST: [Decompression]
Thank goodness... Looks like we did it...
Whew. We're not quite out of the woods yet though...
I don't think Clover noticed us repressurizing the room.
This time around the puzzle is a tad more devious.
Good work!
What's going on?! Did you guys unlock it?!
Yeah, looks like it.
Hold on, I'm opening it now.
Okay!
Thanks to you, Clover.
We would've been toast without you. Thanks.
Aww... That's okay, you don't need to thank me.
Very touching. Now get in there. We need you for something very important.
Ker-pow!
That's a punch.
Moo...
That's a ranch.
I wish I was ripped.
Wh-What...?
I keep working out, but...nothing.
...
Let's see what happens if I press it...
What?! No! Don't!
He he... Oh come on. I'm not gonna do that.
Damn... Don't scare me like that...
Okay, thanks Clover.
How the hell is this cute?!
It's hideous!
You really think so...?
Uh, guys... Did you look at the stomach?
Creepy...
What do you think it means?
Most curious.
Alright, let's start chasing down leads. We've got a key...
Huh... Is this a journal?
Looks like it's blank. Not much—
Wait... There's a slip of paper in here.
This is...
'Kay.
There's another lead we've got to follow...
...but first let's just deal with these suits.
Yeah, I think so.
I mean, we unlocked the door to the decompression chamber, right?
Yeah. No point keeping the damn things on now.
Off they go.
Clover, you're drenched in sweat.
Hey! You're not thinking...creepy stuff, are you?
Of course not!
Just put them back in the locker.
Okay!
You better not, like, smell mine or something, Sigma!
I'm offended you would even suggest such a thing!
Despite not being suited up anymore, we can still enter the decompression room whenever we want. There's at least one good reason you might want to do so - to look at the blatant puzzle hint (although you could conceivably also have missed the Zero doll and the key).
I'm not sure if the game actually tracks which set of lockers you took the suits from when deciding where to place this dialogue, but if it does then I'm moderately impressed.
Maybe just...just once. Who would it hurt...?
No! You idiot! What are you thinking?!
This isn't the time for that!
But...just a little...
*Sniff* *Sniff* *Sniff* *Sniff*
Aaaahhh... Clover's smell...
Wait...why does she smell like...old people and booze...?
*Sniff* *Sniff* *Sniff* *Sniff*
Hey! What are you doing, you creep!?
Uh, Sigma...that's... That's my suit.
O-Oh my God...
For better or worse, there is no dialogue for Clover's actual suit.
Okay. Leads.
This is definitely a lead.
So yeah, this is pretty obvious. It's a straightforward mapping of shapes to numbers.
It's still irritating to use the Vita notepad.
Looks like you were right.
Hey, look!
I have a notion.
Hum.
Is this a protective suit?
Maybe but it's so small and cute... Maybe it's for a kid?
I know! Isn't it cute?!
For you?
No, of course not... I mean, I know I'm a tiny, delicate flower, but even I wouldn't fit into this.
Then who would it fit?
That doll you found in the decompression chamber.
Wouldn't that just be adorable?
...Uh, sure, let's just leave that alone for now.
Okay, now we're done down here.
This is our last big un-interacted-with thing.
Much to poke.
...
...
Nothing's happening...
Yeah...
Maybe the doll by itself isn't enough?
What do you mean?
Just pick it back up.
...?
Okay, we've got other avenues...
"Inspecting the protective suit"
"System is still operating in diagnostic mode. Full range of scan is not possible, so small suits must be used for calibration.
"Please place the child-size protective suit in a standing position in the designated location."
"Touch the screen to begin inspection."
Hm...
So I should stand up that suit and put it here?
I think so.
Okay, fine.
Pretty good fit.
Hey, isn't there something on the stomach there?
It looks like an 8...
Yeah, like you'd see on a calculator or something.
Alright. Let's interact.
This puzzle is just a tiny bit obtuse, although really its biggest problem is that the game doesn't really explain it very well.
Fortunately, once you start poking at it, it tends to click pretty quickly. As we can see, each segment has a colour associated with it. We've seen these colours before... along with those particular arrangements of dots representing 1, 2 and 3;
In retrospect I don't understand why they bothered with the arrows. It only serves to confuse the issue.
Each collection forms a group of segments, which form a digit. Forming them all give us...
Don't patronize me!
Hey, the color's changed.
You're right...
Looks just like the passwords I found in the AB room and the infirmary.
Yeah!
This oughta open that safe!
And the second, super-secret solution?
It's literally on a note stuck to the side of the machine.
Looks like it.
I mean, the color changed and everything...
You think it'll open the safe too?
Well, no harm in remembering it.
Okay, let's give this a shot!
Alright. One more bit of dialogue before we get outta here.
It's a wrench.
Ouch! That hurts.
It's a pinch.
They're here all night, folks.
Yeah. It's just like the ones I saw in the AB Room and the infirmary.
So we just type a password in here, and it should open...
Everything else looks the same.
Hm. Good job.
Whoa, what is all that stuff...?
Hold on. I'll take everything out, just be patient.
Let's see... First off...
It says "FLOOR B."
The one we found in the infirmary said "FLOOR A."
So that means floor A must be the top floor, huh?
I mean, we took an elevator down to get here...
Yeah, seems like it.
Keep going. There's more in there.
This looks like...
They've got moons on them.
That means these must be the moon keys the announcer was talking about.
There's two of them, just like with the sun key.
You take one, Tenmyouji.
Huh? Why?
You're a solo. Clover and I only need one.
Ah, right. Thanks.
Okay, got a couple more things... What's this?
I feel like I've seen something like that before...
But...where...?
I wonder what's on it...
Well, unless we can find something to stick it into we won't be finding out any time soon.
Hm...
...
...
...
Well, we can figure that out later.
For now we'll just take it with us.
All we've got left is...
Is that the key to the exit?!
What else would it be?
We should be able to get that door open now...
C'mon, there's no time to waste! Let's move!
Well hang on now...
Capital.
So long, PEC.
Let's go!
Okay!
Right. Let's do this.
Three...Two...One!
In case you're wondering, there isn't any particular dialogue for skipping the room.
Secret File is a bit sparse today - not because of spoilers, just because a lot of it is really, really boring stuff (like a two-page recap of the AB Game rules).
Scotch:
Root Beer Float:
