Part 161: Escape: Rec Room
Welcome to the Rec Room. Sigma (5BP, Cyan Pair) and Alice (1BP, Cyan Pair) team up with K (6BP, Magenta Solo) this time.
VLR OST: [Recreation]
I really like this track. At times it verges into something you might have on in the background. Sort of. I don't know how much of that is the percussion track.
The Rec Room is another quite uncomplicated room. It's a single room with a pool table in the middle that we orbit. The only real problem it has is that the change in rotation isn't quite constant as you walk around the room, which can be a bit... strange. No biggie though.
Let's check that table out.
It looks as though a piece of the felt has been torn off.
Deep.
Yeah, that's where the balls that go into the pockets come out.
I think it's a scoreboard.
Alright, let's look at probably the most striking thing in here...
...So yeah, these are here.
There're buttons to press, too!
There's something on the screen...
"Rectangular button: Turns stage lights ON/OFF
Circular button: Activates armor." Huh.
ABPB.
I wouldn't think we'd be able to see any distinct shadows with the room lights on, but...
It seems a little odd that we can't see any shadows.
Should we turn off the room lights?
I believe the switch is near the exit.
In a sec. We're not done with buttons.
I'm gonna push it.
Hmm.
Yeah... Hard to tell what it is from here, though. And we can't get to it as long as it's covered in glass.
Alright, time to mess with the lights.
In a corner by the door are a couple things, including the safe and keyhole, but also a mysterious button the likes of which we've seen in only one other room in this entire complex.
Now we're talkin'.
Why does the shadow of the suit on the left have an axe?
Hell if I know. Maybe it's a ghost...?
I don't think so.
Perhaps we shouldn't concentrate on where the shadows came from...
But rather, what the shadows mean.
What they mean, huh...
This is not an incredibly taxing puzzle, and yet there are like three different entire progressions of hints for it.
That's about all we're getting out of the lights for now.
Let's try messing with these--
Ah!
K! What was that noise?
I-I definitely haven't broken anything!
You sure?
Aiiee!
What are you doing, Alice? Please don't accidentally break something valuable!
You're one to talk!
I guess it's dangerous to just fumble around in the dark...
--okay fine.
Now.
We can interact with all of these. Let's sweep right to left.
This guy's holding something...
Originally, yes.
I believe this is a slightly modified version, though.
It is known as a trident.
You can swap weapons around between all the suits of armour. It's mostly useless.
In any event, it is a European weapon with a bilaterally symmetrical blade.
In case you need more hints, K has even more to say:
This axe was in the hands of the kneeling suit of armor second from the right, correct?
Yeah. Why?
Don't you find that a bit odd?
Given their poses, would the axe not fit more naturally in the hand of the suit second from the left?
Let's get on that.
You see how the tip is pointed? As you may have surmised, it was used primarily as a piercing weapon.
"Primary" may have been a bit too kind. The truth is that a lance is useless for anything other than piercing.
It cannot cut, for instance.
Good at piercing, bad at cutting...
And yet still strong against swords.
Sigma has one of his rare actual good generic summary lines if you continue to examine this thing:
(A lance. Apparently people sat on horses and used them to pierce things. The lances pierced things, I mean. Not the horses.)
Anyway this all looks good but there's one more weapon to grab... so to speak.
Why was a suit of armor holding a pool cue?
Perhaps it is not an ordinary cue.
The butt end is a little weird...
It's got a hexagonal hole on the tip.
Yes, there appears to be something with a hexagon hole on the butt end of this cue stick.
If we had an Allen wrench, then perhaps we would be able to remove it.
Not so great a weapon from horseback, but handy in a bar brawl I guess?
Anyway let's try this again.
*smash*
The glass is broken...
We can get at that thing on his shield now, right?
Yeah, let's grab it.
You know what that is, right? It's like a screwdriver, kind of. It just uses special hexagonal holes.
What a coincidence.
Yeah. I can't get the wrench back out, though...
Perhaps the wrench is part of it now?
If it is, that makes things easier for us.
How so?
Well, look at it. Doesn't it looks like a tubular key?
I think we can use this to open the lock.
Getting a tad ahead of us there, Alice.
Alright, we're done with the suits. Let's continue our tour with the dartboard.
Does this explain how darts works?
Apparently. I wonder if these are instructions for the dart scoreboard here...
Are these the rules darts normally uses?
I have no idea. Isn't darts just a way to flirt with girls?
I guess some people use it that way, but darts is a legitimate and dignified indoor sport for gentlemen.
What, where you compete to see how many girls you can get?
What the hell happened to you...?
Darts tournaments make surprisingly enthralling viewing. I recommend trying it sometime, if only to hear an excited man yell "oooooone huuundred and eeeeeightyyyy!"
If we had some darts, we could play a game or two...
This is a very convoluted way to hit on us, Alice.
A well-stocked fridge is the cornerstone of any rec room.
They look rather odd, though. Aren't pool balls usually painted a variety of colors?
These appear to all be white. Although they are numbered...
Hm...
Well, might as well try using them with the table.
Well apparently, they're billiard balls, which is just plain wrong, because billiard balls aren't numbered at all! Also, they're like twice the size of pool balls. Really this whole thing is a mess.
Where were we.
Right, the fridge.
Presumably because it has been soaked in something.
I wonder what this is, anyway?
It looks as though it was torn from a larger piece.
Perhaps you should see if you can find where it came from?
Do you think we're supposed to pick the right bottles or something?
I hope not. They all look exactly alike to me.
Then just take whichever one you want.
Then it must be luminol spray.
It reacts with certain things, such as blood, and glows with a very faint bluish-white light.
It's often used in forensic investigations.
Huh. What're we supposed to do with it?
Maybe you could spray it on the pool table?
The pool table?
Why?
When I was examining it earlier, I noticed a few areas where it looked like something had been wiped off.
If it was blood...
Moving on.
They're those balls from that kid's show, right? If you collect seven of them then you get a wish.
But there's more than twice that here!
Oh, then it's a set of billiard balls.
"Then"?
Look, I think it's probably a hint. Just grab it and bring it with you.
Even the damn script can't keep its balls straight.
Well now.
It looks like Zero Jr.
I get the feeling someone's laughing at us...
I don't like it.
It looks like this extension cord is plugged into the ride, but... I'm not sure why?
What do you mean? It's probably there so the ride can get power.
That's not what I mean. There's way too much slack. Doesn't it look like the ride's power cable is long enough without the extension cord?
Then let's take the extension cable with us.
Don't forget to plug the ride back into the outlet.
Yeah, yeah.
It's got a pretty long cable on it.
This might come in handy if we find a power plug that can't reach an outlet.
Don't you have something that's shaped just like that keyhole?
Oh yeah, now that you mention it...
Okay, we'll come back to this when we're done with our rounds. Not long now.
One last corner.
Perhaps something round goes in it?
Do you think this might be for displaying a record?
It looks like it's just the right size...
There's something in there, but we can't take it out if it won't open.
Well that was fruitful.
One last stop.
Why don't you hit it? A little damage might make it more flexible.
What the hell kind of logic is that?
If being locked means it's working correctly, then if it's not working correctly it won't be locked!
Nope. If we break it completely then we're boned.
What an astute observation.
Almost forgot.
My God! This deer must have phased halfway through the wall and then gotten stuck! How horrific!
That's just a mounted head! It's a decoration.
Ah. I did think it had extraordinarily long legs.
Alright. Time to follow up the leads. Let's start with the pool table.
Yeah, I was thinking about trying to fit it into this bare spot on the pool table.
Aaaand...there.
Why do you think that is?
Perhaps someone was chewing on it.
...
That was a joke.
I imagine there is an excellent reason as to why the scrap of felt you had was damp.
This is just a thought, but... Have you considered making the entire table wet?
With some sort of spray, perhaps.
Spray the table to get it wet?
That seems...odd...
All of the felt is damp now.
Well, yeah. I sprayed luminol all over.
Shall we check for a reaction then?
Reaction...?
Yes, to see if the luminol has reacted with anything. Turning off the lights should give us the answer.
Once more to the light switch...
Yeah, looks like they were written in something that reacted with the luminol.
They appear to be the letters A through F.
No pattern that I can see, though...
I don't see how this couldn't've been guessed, honestly.
Well, let's play pool, I guess.
No, it's too dark. Donno what might happen to them.
Better turn the lights back on before I get my balls out.
Loooooool
Maybe you need to drop them into the pockets on the pool table?
All right, let's give it a try!
Okay, so this is a puzzle.
It's rather straightfoward, conceptually. We need to put six specific balls into the correct pockets, in the correct order. It's just that chaining everything together is a mild to moderate pain, and the ol' pen and paper becomes necessary for most.
The poster we got shows us what pool balls are supposed to look like, and the coloured letters on the top display map each letter to both a combination of colour and spot/stripe - which in turn maps to a number - and to a pocket on the table. So work through all of that and you get numbers -> pockets.
(The balls in the top display become greyed out if you get one wrong)
It looks like something came out of the ball retrieval slot...
You see? Down here...
What is this...?
There's something inside. Why don't you take it out?
Sounds good. I'll just hang onto this then...
Alice, please, try some.
I'm not eating that!
I don't care what kind of claw it is!
Are you even looking at them? These are obviously dart tips!
I donno, I'm just not seeing it. They look like peppers to me.
Do you know what soft darts are?
They use plastic tips instead of metal ones.
I'd never heard of the Hawk's Claw Chili before but it turns out it's real. It's grown in Japan.
Alright, let's go thieving.
It took a bit of work to make, but yes.
The tip does look remarkably similar.
Okay, here we go...
It opened.
Then let us take a look inside.
Well wouldja look at that? The lion slot takes sun coins.
You know, I was all excited about finally being rich after we found these in here but... They don't look right.
I agree. The markings are...strange.
I have a feeling they only work on this ride.
That seems likely. In any event, we may as well take a few of them.
I don't know if they have any actual value, but they may be useful elsewhere in the room.
Have we seen any devices that appear to accept coins?
Just the ride and the jukebox.
Well, I don't see how this will help us, but...
Oh? Were you planning to put a coin in there?
Yeah. I figure if I put a coin in here, then maybe it'll start up, right?
Hm...
Okay, I'll just drop a coin in and—
K?!
Why the hell are you riding it?!
Eeeeee he he he he he he he he! Look at me go!
Ahahahahahahahahahaha!
I...I can't watch this...
There is no god...
Heeeey! Sigma! Alice!
H-He's waving at us now... Alice, what's going on? I'm scared...
I'm not watching. This isn't happening. Everything is fine.
Huh? What was that?
It seems to have taken a picture!
Hooray!
Ahahahahaha!
Now, where is that photograph...
Excellent.
I give this to you as a memento of our time together, Sigma.
U-Uh, I...I don't really...
Just holding it makes me feel...wrong...
Now now, that's hardly necessary.
Why couldn't these rooms have been voiced.
I would have very much liked to give these out to the others, but it seems I can't print any more.
Terribly disappointing...
...Oh? Wait... There's something written on the back.
"Z9" "D1." ...I wonder what that means?
Hm... Letters and numbers...
Hey, do you think these could be song numbers?
Songs...?
Yes. Music. Rhythm. I assume you've heard of them?
Jeez, Alice. Somehow I don't think that was what he meant by that.
Well, for good or ill we have a lead...
Oh, how nostalgic. This is a jukebox.
It plays an old form of music media known as a "record." With the push of a few buttons, you can listen to your favorite songs.
Looks like it's not plugged in.
There's an outlet over there, but I don't think the cable is long enough.
It won't reach?
Doesn't look like it. Guess we can't use the jukebox right now.
Well, this isn't exactly a mystery.
How about you try putting in one of those coins we found?
I think that should start it up.
Guess it's on now.
Alright...
Again, this barely qualifies as a puzzle. Can you press the correct button followed by the second correct button... twice? If you can...
This is not to be confused with your product reaching gold master, or with having a rating of 4.5 after 50 votes.
I don't think it's actually gold.
I wonder if you can play this?
I don't really think the point of having a gold record is to play it.
They're usually just put up on a wall or something.
There is no different dialogue for the second code, which produces a second, identical, gold record.
It's also no great mystery what we do with these things.
Look. The light on the frame in the middle is green now.
Oh yeah, so it is...
I'm guessing that means it might have unlocked.
It's a box with darts in it, isn't it?
They don't have tips, though... Just the shaft and fletching.
It looks like there's some kind of picture inside of the case.
And have you noticed these markings on the lid?
We can worry about that later.
Right now I think we should focus on making complete darts.
If you say so.
Well, now that we have darts, there's only two things we can do with them.
Either we throw them at a dartboard, or we throw them at a picture of a boss we don't like.
Well, I haven't found any pictures of undesirable bosses, or indeed bosses of any kind.
Then it looks like we can narrow things down a bit.
Worth a shot, but it just results in an error.
But, y'know...
Not for holding darts, no, but it's got some markings on it...
You're right. Look here...
It says "SCORE 91."
I wonder what it means...
But we can examine further...
You see? They're all different sizes.
The red one is the smallest, and the green one is the largest.
So ordered by size, they'd go red, blue, green.
And further...
If you go by them, then the order changes to green, blue, red.
It's exactly the opposite of their sizes.
I wonder what it's supposed to mean?
Perhaps that there are two answers?
Oh...
Hm...
Hm indeed. Two solutions? Whatever could it mean.
What. Indeed.
In case you forgot from just now, you need to get a score of 91.
Of course, the puzzle comes from the fact that unlike actual darts you don't have free reign of the integers 1 to 20, and you also have to satisfy some weird conditions such as having exactly one red, blue and green dart whose scores satisfy certain inequalities.
I don't know if the numbers in play here are such that there is only one solution to each puzzle, but if so then it's very clever. There's precedent for that; when writing 999, Uchikoshi started from the end and wrote backwards, and designed the Nonary Game and everyone's bracelet numbers in a way that would result in the grouping possibilities seen in the game. This series does that.
The dialogue here is not very interesting.
Here's a way to get 91 where red < blue < green.
Looks like you got it!
Well done, Sigma.
Look, the screen has changed.
Oh, well done!
This must be for the safe.
You did it!
But of course, that's not all.
Here's a solution where red > blue > green.
Yeah, I did. Looks like it worked out.
See? The screen changed.
A new password?
Alright. We out.
It looks just like the one I found in the last room.
Putting in a password should open it up.
Assuming it does work the same...
Now, shall we collect our spoils?
First...
It says "FLOOR B."
The one I found in the lounge said "FLOOR A."
Then that must mean floor A is the top floor.
We rode the elevator down to get to this floor, after all.
Yeah, makes sense.
Okay, moving on...
Next we've got... Uh...
They have an image of the moon on them.
That must mean these are what the announcer was talking about.
The moon keys...
We've got two of them, just like with the sun keys.
All right K, you take one.
Why?
You're a solo. Alice and I will take the other one.
Ah, yes, of course. Thank you.
And the last prize...
Let's see here...
A key.
This must be for the exit.
Now we can leave.
What're we waiting for, then?!
Well...
Damn right. Now let's go.
Time to kiss this weird-ass room goodbye!
I actually had a rather nice time.
Whatever. I'd rather forget any of this ever happened.
Three...two...one!
Stellar model work there, game.
There is, as always, time to rifle through our Secret Files. I'm skipping two, not for spoilers, but because they're boring.
Coroner:
Autopsy:
Luminol Mixture:
Bracelet: 2:
Generalized Amnesia:
