Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love

[The-Excel]

When this game is released, I'll use this thread to document my experiences and set targets. Until then, I'll forward rumors from reliable channels about its release date here.

I hope it goes without saying that there are spoilers in the below journal entries.

[Edit]Apologies for the long delay once again, but it appears that my laser has decided to give before I could start chapter 7. I am currently scrambling for a solution.

Loop 1: Control
Day 1 (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2162#post2162) A (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2164#post2164)
Day 2 (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2167#post2167)
Day 3 (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2185#post2185)
Day 4 (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2198#post2198)
Day 5 (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2203#post2203) A (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2208#post2208)
Day 6 (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2222#post2222)
Day 7 (http://www.japanator.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2533#post2533)

The background for @NISAinEurope (http://twitter.com/NISAinEurope) suggests that the European release will happen next March. Inside sources claim that a target date of February has been set for the US, presumably to distance itself from the release date of Final Fantasy XIII. Said source hopes that the Gamestop listed date of 4 January 2010 is unlikely at this point and that a Valentine's Day release is ideal. Anyone have any idea why that could be?

[PBz0r]

Said source hopes that the Gamestop listed date of 4 January 2010 is unlikely at this point and that a Valentine's Day release is ideal. Anyone have any idea why that could be?

Not really. Setting a Q1 2010 release is like taking your game to the slaughterhouse at this point so I don't suppose it'd make any difference.

...or the source is your girlfriend.

[Lyfeforce]

Subscribed. Very much DO WANT this game, but scared I've overhyped myself.

[The-Excel]

I expect to learn something about myself and be disappointed with how loathesome I can be sometimes to fictional characters. My plan for each loop will look something like this:

Control: Make decisions quickly, acting strictly on impulse.
Optimize for best/worst endings: Make decisions that are likely to result in the best possible ending by appealing to as many characters' self-interests as possible and vice versa.
Optimize target character: For each character in turn, aim to maximize their stats at the expense of all others.
Speedrun/Longrun: Trigger as few/many events as possible.
No input: Return as many blank responses as possible by allowing timed events to run out without an explicit choice.

[Setre]

Can't wait to play Sakura Wars. I'm hoping that it will have Classic Controller support for the Wii, if it doesn't hopefully it won't be a waggle fest.

I look forward to reading your experiences with the game once it's released.

[Arcade Ness]

I've been looking forward to its release as well. I've already played through the original version, but the translation faq I was using stopped halfway through. So I had no idea what was going on >.< in the story. I'm a huge fan of the series, since I have all the games in the main series, for the Dreamcast(all limited edition box sets too). I hope the American release comes with a preorder bonus.

[The-Excel]

Normal cover. (http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sw1.jpg)
Premium cover. (http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sw2.jpg)

Siliconera (http://www.siliconera.com/2009/12/08/sakura-wars-so-long-my-love-says-hello-in-february/) posted these today. I prefer the design of the premium cover myself. The other one is harsh on the colors and even more aggressive. Why do they always feel the need to do that?

I think I'm going to get the Wii version anyway because I hear there's a camera mechanic and I have a vain hope that pictures can be exported to SD.

[Edit]Word says that Europe will get no PS2 release. Here's hoping that the Wii port doesn't turn out to be a disaster.

[Edit]23 March. No premium Wii version. Cry. (http://www.siliconera.com/2009/12/11/sakura-wars-rescheduled-for-march-premium-box-is-ps2-only/)

[Setre]

Well, it seems like the Wii owners are getting gimped. It turns out the PS2 version will be the one coming with separate English and Japanese discs whereas the Wii version only gets the English. Also the PS2 version gets a few extra goodies. Here's a link (http://www.destructoid.com/confirmed-sakura-wars-is-blatantly-better-on-the-ps2-157551.phtml)to the article over on Destructoid.

I think the obvious choice is the PS2 version if you care about the English/Japanese vocie acting and the extra stuff.

Still don't know which one I'll get.

[The-Excel]

Here's a thing I got at MAGFest last weekend.

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/2743/img0072hv.th.jpg (http://img704.imageshack.us/i/img0072hv.jpg/)
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/678/img0073x.th.jpg (http://img704.imageshack.us/i/img0073x.jpg/)
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/5258/img0075xo.th.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/i/img0075xo.jpg/)
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/2350/img0077cw.th.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/i/img0077cw.jpg/)

[The-Excel]

(This forum limits posts to four images each.)

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/7317/img0078z.th.jpg (http://img709.imageshack.us/i/img0078z.jpg/)
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/979/img0079am.th.jpg (http://img709.imageshack.us/i/img0079am.jpg/)
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8103/img0080pp.th.jpg (http://img3.imageshack.us/i/img0080pp.jpg/)

I have no idea what to do with any of this. Playing them is certainly out of the question and I don't have any safe place to store them. No clue what the lanyard is for, by the way.

[Setre]

How much did all of that set you back?

[The-Excel]

$90 total. I didn't intend on getting the Online box, but the seller made me an offer I couldn't refuse, you know?

[Arcade Ness]

Hey Excel, that was a nice deal you scored there. If you have a Dreamcast and a boot disc, like Cheat 'N Codes Vol 1 (it's a demo disc that has a secondary feature of booting imports), then you can play those games. Then hit up Gamefaqs for a walkthrough.

[The-Excel]

I can get those in a hurry. It's just that even if I try, the current guides available would only get me through the first three.

[Arcade Ness]

That's true. Still there should be a guide for the fourth game. However you're not missing a lot in the fourth game. It's the shortest game in the series, and the story is just an excuse to get the Japan and Paris troupe together.

[The-Excel]

So I went through five different boot discs and none of them agree with me. This is all kinds of bull. Does anyone still sell modchips?

[Edit]
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8800/img0090pg.jpg
I won't be documenting my experiences with this one because I will probably get a lot of details wrong. If anything I will be using these as training for the real thing with the English-language title.

After discussing it with a professional, we concluded I just needed a new system, and that turned out to be the case. Was it worth it? We shall see.

[The-Excel]

Can I... you know... (http://www.siliconera.com/2010/01/11/sakura-wars-so-long-my-love-first-impressions-of-gemini-sunrise/)

No, I don't know.

Also, I encountered my first dialogue event with a 3-second timer. It's effectively a QTE in this sense and it didn't piss me off before or after. I think this is one of the few times QTEs should be given a free pass. I can't wait to play this without a guide.

[caddyalan]

Well, it seems like the Wii owners are getting gimped. It turns out the PS2 version will be the one coming with separate English and Japanese discs whereas the Wii version only gets the English...

I own both a PS2 and a Wii, but I decided to pre-order the PS2 limited edition. (Even if you only own a Wii, there's a million or so used PS2 systems still in working condition, and they only cost $60 or so.)

There's a review of the Japanese edition of this game (under the title Sakura Taisen V - Saraba Itoshiki Hito Yo) on RPGFan. It's not stunningly positive, but it states that as far as Sakura Wars games go, it's fine.

In the long-dead podcast Anime Nano, blogger JPMeyer stated that his favorites in the Sakura Taisen series were the second and third games. ...On the other hand, even if you can read Japanese or follow along with an English FAQ, those games require knowing the continuity of the other games.

[The-Excel]

Is anyone here good at writing out-of-context dialogue? (http://www.sakurawars.us/premium/contest2.php) Do something by 23 March to win a prize.

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

..oh yeah, I've been waiting for this game for a while.

So, you mind if I call you "Shiny"? Don't that just seem fancy? (http://youtube.com/watch?v=9UUL_MhA8MA&feature=related)

[The-Excel]

So, you mind if I call you "Shiny"? Don't that just seem fancy?
No. It doesn't.

I can only imagine what the source equivalent of this was.

[Edit]Remain 7 days. I should prepare my journal.

[The-Excel]

What time is it? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2PrFdwMgoA&feature=player_embedded)

Remain 4 days.

[Edit]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1030/img01851.jpg (http://img88.imageshack.us/i/img01851.jpg/)

This is my tally counter. It will accompany me on my adventures as I track the count of typos, glitches, sound inconsistencies, and every other error that really shouldn't be in the final product considering the delays we've put up with.

Remain 1 day.

[PhantomOfTheKnight]

...well, the game is out (or should be shipping) today, so to commemorate, here are some vids from the english version so you can check out all of the English VA.

http://otakuxgamer.com/?p=4824

IMO, Rosita actually has the best voice (Sunnyside and Subaru tying for second place), with Cherry Cocker and Anri having the weakest.

Gemini sounds nowhere near as bombastic as she did in the anouncement trailer, which is a good thing. :)

[The-Excel]

Aaaaaaaaaah!

[The-Excel]

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/9580/img01918939902.jpg (http://img534.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img01918939902.jpg)
It's been far too long.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6935/img01938944354.jpg (http://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img01938944354.jpg)
Now then, Counter-kun. Let's get shit done.

[The-Excel]

Loop 1
Type: Control
Target: Make all decisions impulsively.
Start time: 1 April 2010, 14:39 EDT

Journal

Day 1.
1 April 2010
(Note: Dates and times in the Events write-ups are of in-game plot points.)

Events
(Write a diary of your character’s story.)
The first face I meet is a familiar one: Sakura Shinguuji. She takes me to her superior, Commander Oogami, my uncle. They waste no time telling me that I will be transferred to the New York Combat Revue as their leader and that their theater is a front. Uncle sends me off and hands me a small blue satchel that I did not take the time to inspect. I get the feeling that I will not meet them again anytime soon.

Upon landing, a bank robbery occurs and a dude on a horse makes quick work of the two thieves. As if by contrived coincidence, the stolen goods end up in my hands and the vigilante makes no effort to prevent me from getting implicated in the crime. I’m nearly arrested and then rescued by my escort, who takes me to see Mr. Sunnydale, the commander of the New York division. He and the attendant, Ratchet, are all too happy to tell me about the details of the operation here. Sunny warns me that hara-kiri will not be tolerated, as I am “expected to live with my mistakes.” Not bad advice, since I’ve pledged not to save scum for this run.

I’m given directions for my new quarters and sent on my way. When I exit, I’m accosted by a thick-accented girl who calls herself Gemini. She’s lost, but somehow I find that hard to believe. I used the old excuse “I don’t know my way around here either”, except this time it’s legitimate. Also, I don’t like being called anything I don’t agree to personally. Shame I don’t actually get to.

So we part ways but very shortly after we find ourselves at the same building. Never woulda saw that coming. I then have to talk my way around two of the building’s residents, Cherry and Anri. Flirtatious and self-effacing, respectively, with the looks to match. I’m handed my uniform and a watch. Nothing too showy, but it’ll do.

Since I'm new here, Gemini agreed to show me around, even though I'm the one actually moving. We meet Ratchet at the café, where a minor gunfight breaks out. I’m told such scuffles are routine. Typical. Anri is at the library, even though I didn’t see her leave the apartment building.

As I move away from the area, two strange aircraft of the Star Division pass overhead. We follow it Midtown. Ratchet beat us there and tells us it was nothing particularly important. A crowd gathers at a nearby apartment building. A paparazzi asks me of my opinion, but taking the advice of Sunny to heart, I deny all involvement. Gemini warns me of the danger of doing so. Shoulda known.

Suspended on 1 April 2010, 15:59 EDT
Counter-kun reading: 0000

Resumed on 1 April 2010, 16:43 EDT
I remembered now. Romando is the domain of Kayama, the dude who covered for me at the start. He specializes in Japanese imports. While there, I get a call on the watch-phone I didn’t know I had. Ratchet asks us to return to the theater, so we hurry back. She then takes me to acquaint myself with the rest of the Star Divison. The first is Subaru, another immigrant. She talks weird. She also doesn’t care much for me or my position. The next one is Cheiron, who is outright hostile as seen in her relationship to the manager. She demands I be deported and the real commander be sent in my stead. Rejected by the best, eyed on by the lowest. It looks like we’re off to the races.

I was also given show tickets for the performance tonight. An abbreviated show involving an Egyptian setting, stage combat, and someone dying for no adequately explored reason. They’re good. Just as it concludes, the theater is assaulted and for some reason I’m not allowed to participate. What now?

Counter-kun reading: 0000

Log
(Record branches and actions here.)

1-2
1-2
1-0
1-100% O
SAVE 00:16
1-1
1-3 O
1-2 O
MOVE to Café Samba
1-1 OO
MOVE to Library
1-30% O
MOVE to Exit (A)
SHIFT to Midtown
MOVE to Hightower Apartment
1-2
MOVE to Gold Plaza Hotel
1-2 O
SUSPEND
MOVE to Central Park
CHECK outfit
1-0 O
MOVE to Romando
1-1
MOVE to Manager’s Office (A)
1-1
1-2 X
1-3
1-0
1-1
MOVE to Conference Room (A)
SAVE 00:59


Legend:
#-#: Step – Decision (0 indicates no input.)
#-#%: Step – Analog Decision (1% is the lowest possible input; 0 indicates no input.)
O: Check (Multiple checks/warns can occur in one branch.)
X: Warn
(A): Auto event
MOVE: Go to a different area on the field.
SHIFT: Change locations on the city map.
CHECK: Inspect an area.

Remarks
(Feel free to make any critiques on the systems themselves.)
LIPS is a very tense system, but not as tense as I remember given the very lenient time limit for most of them. I wonder what it would be like if I get only half the time and if making them scalable in a game option would be viable. I still laugh at how a lot of people don’t realize that the time-sensitive approach to character dialogue was perfected 14 years ago.

I find it very jarring how my character has voice only during animated events. It’s like the other characters are speaking to themselves. Is there supposed to be an obligation on my part here? I don’t know what I’m supposed to say here, especially since the emotion of my dialogue is already implied by the color of the frame when I do make choices. I wonder how the voice actors compensated for this. As for the people with voices, we are still too early in to make any judgments. However, because pauses between lines are so long even with minimal timing and the fact that the main character has no voice, the sense of pacing is almost non-existent. Perhaps this is symptomatic of the genre, owing to the large amount of graphical data on display. I would think that this problem would have been solved long ago, at the very least simply allowing characters to interrupt each other without having to wait three seconds for the actual interruption. Even taking into account that this game was initially released five years ago, maybe we just have a long way yet to go. Or maybe it has something to do with the differing sentence flow of dialogues in English and Japanese? Either way, it's not something I can get used to.

I also noticed that the lip sync is completely off. I won’t count that against the localization effort, though. Things I will take against them include:
A lot of Japanese background text wasn’t translated. Normally I would overlook it if it was for effect, but since this is a game set in America, I would think that they should have been done away with like the rest of it.
The quick save function is called “Discontinue”. I confused it with a simple “exit to title, lose all progress” option. I wonder why it’s called that.

I don’t know what the function of the ringtone is yet, but naturally I picked the one that sounds like a Genesis chiptune. Nice touch, that, even if it doesn’t make sense in context yet.

[caddyalan]

I got my copy of Sakura Wars 5, PS2 special edition, yesterday. I logged about 70 minutes of gameplay (just before the first battle). Overall, I'm pleased.

I tried to avoid story spoilers for this game. So I was pleasantly surprised how much comedy there is. This is the first game in which the main character has been able to yell in a library, which made me laugh for a minute or two. The pacing isn't perfect, but I can't complain.

It's a little disappointing that the game is "dubtitled"... but I can not name any translated video games which have separate translations for dubbed and subbed dialogue. In fact, it's very rare to find translated mainstream games which contain the original Japanese dialogue. (In other words, anime DVDs have kinda spoiled me...)

[The-Excel]

Events
Resumed on 1 April 2010, 20:09 EDT
Rank: *

The next morning, I discover from Sunnydale that he's in the process of filling out paperwork for my return to Japan. Screw that, I got a country to save. I return to the theater instead to do usher work in the meantime and on the way I pass by Diana, some random girl in a wheelchair. Or is she?

I really have nothing better to do now, so I'm doing what any gentleman would do and assist in preparation for tonight's show. It involved wiping down the halls and going into town and distributing fliers. During this excursion I learned four things:
Gemini is prone to breaking things that I have the ability to fix. Reminds me of certain people I know.
Cheiron loves her job and respects people who acknowledge that.
Subaru is some kind of fugitive. For some reason I decided to go to the library and bother people there, but at the front door she had me assist her in fleeing a mob. Her tendency to refer to herself in the third person is even more interesting now.
Dual analog sticks are hard to use after a long while of non-use.

Just before the show starts, things go tits-up and the power mains go dead. After fiddling with the plumbing and rushing to activate the circuit breaker with Gemini before anyone gets suspicious, the show apparently is a hit.

I'm getting a headache. Gemini offers to walk home with me, then asks me to step inside her own apartment. It's a modest room with a clash of American and Japanese fittings. Also a horse.

We barely get to know each other (Larry the horse, that is) before the emergency goes out: the Statue of Liberty is under attack! Ratchet is waiting outside and drives me to the Conference Room, where I'm quickly briefed and suited up. Anri and Cherry are support members. I knew they don't look like the type to do any combat. In any case, I get to actually do something for once! Usually I have to undergo a two-week evaluation period for even this level of action, but whatev. Now, I had heard that the launchpad is located under the theater and that a large section of the surrounding street is built to raise like a drawbridge to allow the craft to move out. I didn't expect the launchpad to be a freaking crossbow.

Counter-kun reading: 0004

Log
1-1
1-0
1-2 O
1-2 O
MOVE to Rooftop Garden
MOVE to Lobby (A)
MULTI O
- 1-1
- 1-2
- 1-1 O
SHIFT to Midtown
MOVE to Subaru (Gold Plaza Hotel)
1-2 O
MOVE to 5th Avenue
1-1 OO
MOVE to Central Park
MOVE to Romando
1
SHIFT to Village
MOVE to Café Samba
1-3 O
MOVE to Maggie's Grocery
MOVE to Library
1-15% O
SHIFT to Theater (A)
MOVE to Rooftop (A)
1-2 OOO
I-Pass O
I-Pass
I-Pass
I-Pass
1-100% O
1-2 O
SHIFT to Village (A)
I-Pass O
1-1
SHIFT to Theater (A)
1-1 O
1
1
1
1-2 OOO
1-2 OOO
SAVE 01:41


Legend:
MULTI: A chain of branches.
I-Pass: Cleared an interactive event.
I-Fail: Did not complete an interactive event.

Remarks
I counted three grammatical errors in this session. Two of them are missing commas. It's something I've been noticing a lot lately in text-heavy games of this nature. Does no one know how to use commas anymore or what? The other was inconsistent capitalization of emotives. If a sentence starts with *sigh*, is it capitalized? They can't decide.

The fourth is a noticeable lip sync fault in an event.

[The-Excel]

Day 2.
2 April 2010

Events
Resumed on 2 April 2010, 11:02 EDT
Rank: **

May 1928. A small company of enemy robots is assaulting the symbol of freedom in our country, and none of us appreciate it. A shadowy freak in a dark magical girl outfit laughs at our values and we don’t care much for that either. At any rate, my first combat mission is against 8 low-level mooks. Yet somehow we didn’t notice the true enemy until well after half the battle. Its scythe ruins Ratchet’s STAR in one hit, and none of us have the power to do something about it. I do, though. I’m the hero. I’m cool like that. As if I needed to decide to. And I still do, since LIPS events occur even now. It’s more flexible than I thought. In the heat of battle, the life of every soldier is more important than the chain of command. Now I’m the real leader, just like the circulars said I would be.

A few more broken mooks later and we’re suddenly engaging the big boss man in the air. For a first battle, this is taking forever.
Suspended on 2 April 2010, 11:46 EDT

Resumed on 2 April 2010, 12:34 EDT
I should have known to attack those passive tanks on the back of the thing first. They fought hard, in contrast to first battles of similar strategy-based games. I nearly lost. Still, I have emerged victorious, as I am wont to do. Shame that my first commemorative photo had to get botched. I wonder if that’s necessary as well.

The next day is business as usual. I think no one actually remembers my name well enough to keep it consistent. They must be doing that on purpose. No matter. I’m a real member of the division now. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would.

Chapter 1 end. 2 April 2010, 12:55 EDT

Counter-kun reading: 0004

Chapter 2 start.

I’m a captain-in-training now. I didn’t even know they called it that. Now the pressure is on, just as I expected. I’m told that Tokyo, Paris, and New York are built on nodes of “pneuma”, which have some kind of affinitive power that attracts extreme good and extreme evil. It’s on me to keep the two balanced. And by that I mean 100% good.

We’re in this giant museum. It has exhibits from the world over, including Japan. Kayama tells me that the Demon Blade that caught my attention is real and that immigrants take with them a piece of home in this melting pot of a country. I have to wonder who exactly brought this thing here and allowed it to be put on display. He also affirms my obligation as a soldier of Japan and that its fate is on my shoulders. He claims to be a man of the world. I thought I was one.

Back to the theater. That night, I resolve to tell people about my new-found status. Before I can do that, I walk in on Cheiron changing and now I’m in an impromptu trial with Subaru (her fault) as jury. They’re hardcore. I didn’t know lawyers were allowed to judge in the absence of an appointed one.

As I leave, I’m given a last-minute errand to Harlem. I don’t like how I’m supposed to do it without a partner. It’s not safe. Now who do I know is familiar with the locals? I’m turning up nothing, so off to wander the streets we go until something happens.

As I wander, I’m informed of a photo contest run by the theater. They want background shots that highlight specific members. I know a few things about photography, but it’ll have to wait. Now that I think of it, this pocket watch thing is capable of playing radio signals and taking photos. If only it could make me invisible, too.

First stop is the village. In the café, some girl with a ferret runs into me and flees in a hurry after dealing with some mob guy. I think she had a gun, too. Next is the general store, where for some reason Cherry and Anri have me do hula-hoops. Darn these random analog-stick exercises. Gemini got into a fight with Larry while I was out. Turns out he ran off to Harlem. This is just the excuse I’ve been looking for.

The horse was found in good time. I delivered the letter as well. On the way out, though, the ugly side of Harlem showed itself as the letter turned out to be a directive to drive bulldozers through the neighborhood. Cheiron wants to tear it all down and reconstruct it from the ground up and the people won’t have that. She proposes that the fate of Harlem be decided through a mock trial, again without a judge. She values the fate of these people more than her duties as my subordinate. It looks like I have no choice. They say that you can take the black man out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the black man. Like I said, hardcore.

The next morning is spent searching for evidence. It’s not nearly as exciting as it is in Ace Attorney, probably because there’s a lot more interviews and a lot less actual investigation stuff. So how is it that Cheiron is always where I happen to be?

In my searches, I’ve learned that Cheiron is haunted by mistakes past due to her inability to protect the very people she is butting heads with. Driven by legalism, she intends to wipe the slate clean and start over, thinking it will solve everyone’s problems. Silly Cheiron, don’t you know that transplanting a population out of their habitat can cause considerable trauma? Oh wait, World War II didn’t happen. Never mind. I’ve gathered a bunch of information for the trial. It better be enough.

Counter-kun reading: 0012

Resumed on 2 April 2010, 19:38 EDT
Rank: **

I think I’m losing it, because my character is learning plot points and names before I do. Whatever. Mock trial is in session. The prosecution and defense face across each other, like in Ace Attorney. Suffice it to say that it was a bomb until the very end, when things get emotional and we play the “will of the people” card. In the end, we end up reminding Cheiron that the point of the reconstruction is all about money and not the people she swore to protect. For the first time in what must have been years, she is able to say her own name with pride. Then, an actual legalist named Kokuryu shows up out of nowhere and declares with a thick Eastern European accent that the law demands Harlem destroyed. Can’t be having that, so off to battle we go. But not before Cheiron shows off her riding skills and sacrifices her motorcycle to no avail.

June, 1928. Harlem is hit with a sudden thunderstorm. Our objective is three lightning generators placed in different areas of the city. They’re quickly dealt with. Just then, the real enemy appears from underground and taunts us to chase it. We fly down the hole it made and start our pursuit in an infinite subway. The imposing scorpion-like robot flies through the tunnel intent on busting up the steam pipes that power everything. First, off goes the tail. Then out of nowhere a subway train catches up and allows us to land on it, giving a clear shot to the weak point under it. It’s dealt with in good time, but stupid me forgot to change tactics and Subaru died because I wasn’t able to heal her in time. That’ll teach me. The day ended with Cheiron cutting all of her connections to the unsavory folks who sought to reconstruct the city and softening up considerably. I didn’t think we’d get this far so soon.

Also, what is it with female lawyers and whips these days?

Chapter 2 end. 2 April 2010, 21:35 EDT

Counter-kun reading: 0013


Log

MISSION
1-2 O
1-1 OO
1-2 O
1
JOINT O
1-3
1-100%
1
1-1 OO
SAVE 02:46
1-3 X
1
1
CAM O
1-1
1-3
SHIFT to Theater (A)
1-2
1-0
1-3
SHIFT to Harlem (A)
MOVE to the Lobby
1
SHIFT to Village
MOVE to Café Samba
MOVE to Maggie’s Grocery
I-Pass OO
MOVE to Gemini
1
SHIFT to Harlem (A)
MOVE to Mercury Club
MOVE to Cheiron’s Law Office
1
MOVE to Back Alley
1-0
MOVE to Cheiron’s Law Office
1
SAVE 03:27
1-2 O
1-1 O
1-0
I-Pass O
SAVE 3:38
1-1 X
1-2 X
1-2
1-2
1-0
SAVE 03:47
MOVE to Library
1-1
MOVE to Café Samba
SHIFT to Midtown
MOVE to Hightower Apartment
1-1
MOVE to Central Park (A)
MOVE to 5th Avenue
1-3
SHIFT to Harlem
MOVE to Church
MOVE to Back Alley
MOVE to Mercury Club
MOVE to Cheiron’s Law Office
1-3
MOVE to Back Alley
CAM
MOVE to Church
MOVE to Mercury Club
CAM
MOVE to Church
1
SAVE 04:07
1-3
1-2
1-1
1-1
1-1
1-2
1-2
1-3
1-100%
1-1
1-100%
2
1
1
1-1
1-1 O
1-1 O
1-100% O
SAVE 04:35
MISSION
1
1-0
1-2 O
DEATH Subaru
SAVE 05:22


Legend:
MISSION: Started a combat mission.
JOINT: Jointly destroying an enemy results in a check.
CAM: Took a photograph.
DEATH: Unit defeated, resulting in a warn.

Remarks
Well, the dub is much like a typical anime voiceover. In other words, it has all the same quirks and flaws as a DVD release. I especially don’t like how awkward it sounds for two or more people to speak at once. Their voices mix together too much. Good thing I can skip animations, too. Those get old fast.

Another big problem is that I was under the impression that the English and Japanese discs can share save files. They can’t.

Error #5 is an unnecessary line-break. They really need to decide if emotives are capitalized or not. It bothers me. Each count regarding this from on out will occur when the case of these things changes. I can’t decide if lowercase or uppercase is right myself, but is it so hard to just pick one and stay with it?

As I feared, an error regarding the name changes has reared its head. They forgot to rewrite the name on Cheiron’s office door. How could you overlook something like that? I can only hope this is isolated. In any case, almost every error I’ve seen involves missing commas. Maybe others can excuse that, but not me.

#13 is a missing space.

[Arcade Ness]

Wow Excel you're really into this game, enough to make journal entries. Well I got my PS2 Unforgettable Memories Edition today. I was toying with the idea of playing the Dub, but since you can't share save files between the two discs(thanks for that headsup Excel) I'm not going to do that yet. I'll give it a shot on next playthrough.

The special edition package was pretty cool, though not nearly as impressive with the bonuses as the JPN Showtime Box the original release got. The special goodies you got were a t-shirt, special pin, a full size LIPS Theatre boxlet, a dual shock controller made by Hori specifically for this game, and a pair of matching headphones to plug into the controller. I felt a little let down with the American release in that ascpect, but I'm just happy we got a release over here in the states at all.

I'm really looking forward to figuring out what the full story is about. I had to use a walkthrough that limited the dialog and story progression to about halfway into the game, so I missed out on a lot of what was going on.

As a side note if you guys really enjoy the game, then I would suggest picking up the Dreamcast games of the rest of the series. They should be fairly easy to pick off ebay, and not too expensive(unless you go for the limited editon boxes like I did). You'll need to use a walkthrough, which you can find on Gamefaqs.

[The-Excel]

I just wanted to write a journal of something that didn't involve school for once. I'm also enjoying logging every action I take for some reason.

Also, if anyone wants that clock, I'm considering letting it go. It's still in the box.

[Arcade Ness]

You know what would be cool for you to do Excel, if you did a Let's Play video of the game. I like what you're doing with the journal as well.

[The-Excel]

I don't have the facility to come up with captured video at the moment. I also don't have a SomethingAwful account or a license to produce a Let's Play either and I'm not proud enough of my voice to apply for one. I should, though. I monologue over everything I play and I would like people to hear what I think when I encounter something I don't entirely like.

Anyway.

[The-Excel]

Day 3.
4 April 2010

Events
Resumed on 4 April 2010, 00:37 EDT
Rank: ***

Chapter 3 start.

How did I end up at Wall Street? That location isn’t even on my map yet. Before I have time to think, a bank is robbed. Again. The hero this time is that one girl I ran into last chapter. She calls herself Rosita and her weasel Niccolo. She asks only whether the robbers would prefer to be executed by gold gun or silver gun. I personally would have asked for the silvergun just for the reference, knowing that only I and a handful of other people on the planet will ever get it. Gemini recognizes her as the next employee of Littlelip Theater. Fair enough.

Back at the theater, we learn that she has a typically overactive appetite and that sometimes, doing what you think you should be doing just because you can is not a good idea. Rosita is, in a way, unpredictable. Most bounty hunters are, I suppose. Shortly after acquainting herself, she claims to be a perfectionist. We quickly learn what she means at her first performance when she completely upstages the regular performers. Fearing the worst internally, I decide to cut the lights and pull her offstage. The show was barely saved, Rosita apologizes for her addiction to applause, and I’m charged with taking her home. For some reason, Sunnyside sees it fit to issue her a Cameratron. And by take her home, he really means show her around town until nightfall. I have no idea where I should do this, so I just wander around again until something happens. It’s at this time I realized that absolutely every location has something happening by the time I get there and that visiting these places every single time is the best way to learn about the characters. Cool.

As a brief aside, when we pass by my apartment, she demands I show her inside. I do so, and she runs around for a while and crashes on my bed. I’m very protective of my den, so I have to do something to get her off. Pinching her cheeks is the only thing that makes sense, and it takes a lot of it to get her to wake. What surprised me is that she took offense to this. As if she had the right! And I’m issued a warn for completing an interactive branch! What’s that about?

A little more exploration later and we find ourselves in the Bay Area, where Rosita lives. She made her house out of a corner in a warehouse and it definitely looks the part. While there, I get her to open up and reveal that she’s an orphan. (I wonder where I’ve heard that story before.) She had only her father and lived and died by her performance in gun shows. A raging river took her father away and Rosita has been doing her best to get over it. I’m not confident her façade will last for long. At the end of the day, I stay with her that night against my better judgment.

Counter-kun reading: 0023

Log
1-0
1-2 O
1-1 OO
1-3
1-1 O
1-1 O
1-1 X
1-3 O
SAVE 05:37
1-3
1-0
MOVE Rooftop Garden
MOVE Rosita (To The Lobby)
SHIFT Village
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE Hightower Apartment
SHIFT Village
MOVE Café Samba
I-70% X
MOVE Shinjiro’s Place (A)
I-Pass X
MOVE Maggie’s Grocery
MOVE Gemini’s Place
CAM OO
MOVE Library
1-3 OO
SHIFT Bay-area
MOVE Wall Street
MOVE Construction Site
1-2 O
MOVE Chinatown
MOVE Battery Park
CAM
MOVE Warehouse District
2
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE Subaru’s Suite
CAM O
SHIFT Bay-area (A)
MOVE Warehouse District (A)
CHECK Guns
CHECK Bed
CHECK Toy
1-3 O
CHECK Chair
CHECK Fireplace
1-3
CHECK Chair
1-1 O
1-3 O
SAVE 06:19

Remarks
Once again, the LIPS system takes me by surprise. It’s easy to forget that no input is a valid option, even when you’re given double analog control.

I was wondering why Rosita's home location wasn't on my map when I was asked to take her home. I'm normally used to going straight to an objective point the instant I learn where it is, but the game forced me to just screw around until the time came. I suppose this is another way the game is very different, but I don't play a lot of RPGs, so.

Either I need to take English 101 again, or NIS America needs new writers that know how to use commas.

[The-Excel]

Day 4.
5 April 2010

Events
Resumed on 5 April 2010, 17:51 EDT
Rank: ***

Rosita strives to be a perfectionist because she associated her father’s death with a failing on her part during one of her shows. Ratchet believes there’s more to it than that, and I can’t disagree. Surprisingly, no one makes anything of me spending the night with a girl much younger than me. In an attempt to get more out of her, we schedule a one-week sleepover at the theater, which is met with approval all around. Rosita is quite proud of her homemade pancakes handed down from her father, enough so to put me through more of those blasted dual analog exercises. I should stop whining about those, really. I don’t think I’ll be seeing any less of them. Just as it ends, the next big boss man appears and ransacks Wall Street for gold. He should have gone down to Fort Knox if he wanted gold so badly.

July, 1928. Dokurobo favors brute force over strategy, but in our first confrontation, he doesn’t even enter the fray himself. Rosita apparently has her bounty hunting experience to guide her in battle, as she’s allowed to participate in the Star Division without much fanfare. The several goons in Dokurobo’s employ are no match for Rosita’s long range, but Dokurobo himself is not amused. His armor proves too durable for Rosita’s guns and I have to jump to the rescue. We retreat, and Rosita runs away in shame.

Days pass and she’s nowhere to be found. A search throughout the city commences. However, no matter where I look, her pet weasel manages to nearly escape my grasp, carrying a random food item with it on the way out. At the end of the day, I find that she locked herself up in her abode in the warehouse, and she’s taking her failure far too seriously. She is convinced that because she failed to destroy the boss the first time, someone important to her has to pay for it. That’s the weirdest way I’ve seen for someone to take responsibility for their mistakes, and I won’t have it. Through a heartfelt talk about responsibility, I reversed this disgusting mentality just in time for Dokurobo’s return.

The next battle takes place on a set of rooftops. Each one is checked by a cannon that fires on anything that passes on the opposite side. Not knowing any better, I order super moves on all of the cannons without realizing how excessive they are. In good time, we make it over to the far end of Wall Street, where Dokurobo alone awaits. A series of joint attacks pushes him to flee, but again we catch up to him, this time on another skyscraper. He augments himself with skull-shaped armor and calls it a transformation. Amusingly, no one is impressed, and he takes offense to it. After all, all he did was install a pair of shoulder cannons and double his HP. His normal attack can push units off the building, causing them to lose three turns. It takes a little longer than before, but we eventually prevail. Rosita has finally learned the meaning of friendship through training from the other actresses and repeated joint attacks.

Chapter 3 end. 5 April 2010, 20:05 EDT

Counter-kun reading: 0039

Log
1-2 OO
1-3
1-2
1-3 O
1-3
SAVE 06:34
I-Pass O
1-2 O
SAVE 06:41
MISSION
1-100%
SAVE 06:58
MOVE to the Rooftop
MOVE Rooftop Garden
MOVE Exit (A)
SHIFT Bay-area
MOVE Rosita's House
MOVE Chinatown
SHIFT Village
MOVE Maggie's Grocery
1-2
MOVE Gemini's Place
MOVE Café Samba
1-2 O
MOVE Shinjiro's Place
SHIFT Theater
MOVE Bar
1
2
SHIFT Harlem
2
MOVE Mercury Club
1-2 XO
MOVE Church
MOVE Back Alley
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE Central Park
1-3 O
1-1
SHIFT Bay-area (A)
MOVE Rosita's House (A)
1-99%
1-3 O
1-2 O
SAVE 07:29
MISSION
1-50%
1-1 O
1-1%
SAVE 08:33

Remarks
Rosita’s voice is like a cross between Radical Edward and Dora the Explorer.

[The-Excel]

Day 5.
6 April 2010

Events
Resumed on 5 April 2010, 23:57 EDT
Rank: ****

Chapter 4 start.

The sickly girl, Diana, I keep running into at the park is actually Sunnyside’s niece. She has a huge Pneuma but lacks the will to live necessary to harness it. Doctors have given her one year to live, and she has absolutely no intention to use any of it wisely. Understandably, Sunnyside is very serious about getting me to do something about it. I meet her in the usual place and she’s tending to an injured bird. She stops short of actually healing it, saying that all things will die and it’s torturous to the bird to allow it to live longer. I take him in instead. After showing it to the rest of the crew, we decide how to go about healing him. I had no idea what I was thinking bringing up Diana’s suggestion, and I’m given dirty looks all around. The original plan to rehabilitate it is on.

Sunnyside allows me to take Diana to meet the staff. In advance, Cheiron decides to bring a little something to make her feel better. Subaru warns that getting gifts for strangers is dangerous. After we introduce each other, Cheiron brings out her idea of a welcome gift: fried chicken. Ignoring the obvious joke, it turns out Subaru is right. The sight of fried bird traumatizes Diana. I take responsibility, like a good Captain-in-training should. Sunnyside is not kidding around about restoring her willpower for reasons I’ll get to later.

Counter-kun reading: 0050

Resumed on 6 April 2010, 10:39 EDT
Tonight’s performance is Hamlet, one of Diana’s favorite plays. We arrange to have her wheelchair fit in the front row, and in the meantime, I show her around town. She wants to see the quiet places of the city and makes it very clear that she be kept away from all the noise. As in, she tells me to go somewhere quiet after every location. I hope that she wasn’t diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. That would be way too much for this setting.

I don’t know many quiet places, but the obvious ones are where the most exciting things happen. I trip and injure myself at Central Park, and Diana’s medical knowledge comes into play. Small injuries like this are apparently her specialty. Eventually, we decide to return to the theater and allow Diana to see Sunnyside. While I wait for her at the rooftop in front of his office, I check out the hot spring that happened to be next door. Rosita somehow got caught in the pole used for hanging the clothes. Pressed for time, I help her down. I don’t even want to know how that happened.

The day after the show, we receive notice that the birds in Central Park have gone berserk and started attacking the citizens. The police have set upon exterminating them all, but Sunnyside does his best to intervene. It turns out that they’re all being controlled and Diana could track down the source, but she is adamant on being as unhelpful as possible. Some nonsense about sensing their death and not wanting to get in the way. I want to slap her in the face and say something like “You feel that? Those birds are feeling much worse!”

For now, it’s useless to convince her otherwise. We still have to do something about it, but without her power, finding any kind of lead will be guesswork at best. That night, I do some patrolling around the city in hopes of finding anything that could help. My search starts at Central Park, but there’s nothing of interest there. As I walk out, I see Gemini getting kicked out of one of those high-class department stores. They don’t take kindly to people of her persuasion, unfortunately. She just wanted a new outfit to blend in with the city people and made it clear that she had been working a very long time to afford one. In the end, she is refused even that opportunity. I believe she will need a lot more than money to become a classy woman, but now isn’t the time to debate this. My search has me meeting up with Subaru at Harlem and Cheiron at Maggie’s Grocery. Everyone is all over the city looking for something. I have to admire that. In the Bay-area, Rosita’s weasel has been kidnapped, and she asks me to retrieve him. It turns out that a mafia boss ran off with him. She injures her knee, but we eventually prevail. Niccolo stole some huge diamond, but Rosita just dumps it in the ocean, not seeing the value in it. Unable to get a word in edgewise, I continue my patrol.

Nothing else happens, so I return home, but just before I can get inside, I see Cheiron attacked by a flock of birds at Maggie’s. I disable one and see that a large insect was injected inside. I take a photo for investigation later before it fades away. The next morning, the real threat emerges and makes her move on the entire city. The manipulative, sadistic enemy Yumedono injected all of those birds with her insect “children” just because she hates birds, and by extension, the humans who care for them. You gotta love those cut-and-dry motivations. The bird that I raised and nursed back to health runs off from my apartment just as I get a call to the conference room. When I get there, Diana is being attacked by the very birds she has given hope on. Serves her right, I guess. The bird I continued to care for attacked the other birds and destroyed the insects controlling them. This inspires Diana to action at last. Time to suit up for battle! Even though she has a terminal disease and no prior combat experience! But first, down to the city where she sees the police opening fire on a group of hostile birds. Diana intervenes and explodes in a wave of neutralizing Pneuma energy, instantly freeing every last bird. Yumedono is pissed. It’s on, beeyotch.

August, 1928. Central Park is the point of attack, appropriately enough. Diana is none too pleased that her feathered friends are being used to kill things. Even though I expected her to be our requisite support mech, she is quite capable at the front line as well. Insect nodes are being planted throughout the park from above, so I order the forces to split up. A nasty concentration of dark insect power has filled the sky, and after it’s cleared up, Yumedono herself appears and mocks us from behind impenetrable Dark Pneuma shielding. A few turns and wasted joint attacks later, the cavalry appears in the form of a bunch of those birds and dissipates the Pneuma shield, giving us a clear shot. It takes forever, but Yumedono goes down soon enough. Diana’s aggressiveness has not gone unnoticed, and neither has her newfound sense of idealism. Somehow she is allowed to participate as an actress as well, even though she has not demonstrated any acting ability. Appropriately enough, her debut is a reinterpretation of Hamlet. I think it originally has a bad ending for a reason, honey.

Chapter 4 end. 6 April 2010, 12:47 EDT

Counter-kun reading: 0056

Log
1-1 O
1-1
1-1 O
1-1
1-3 XXX
1-0 X
1-2
SAVE 08:55
1-3 O
MOVE Ratchet (Subaru's Suite)
SHIFT Bay-area
MOVE Gemini (Wall Street)
1-1 OO
MOVE Battery Park
CAM O
SHIFT Village
MOVE Rosita (Maggie's Grocery)
1-2 OX
MOVE Library
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE Central Park
I-Pass
I-Pass
I-Pass O
SHIFT Harlem
MOVE Subaru (Mercury Club)
1-2 O
MOVE Church
1 X
SHIFT Theater
MOVE Rooftop
MOVE Hot Spring
CHECK Pole
CHECK Shirt
CHECK Pole
CHECK Shirt O
MOVE Manager's Office
2
MOVE Rooftop Garden
1-2 O
MOVE Lobby
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE 5th Avenue
SHIFT Theater (A)
O
1-2 O
1-1 OO
1-1 X
1-80%
SAVE 09:45
1-1 O
MOVE Lobby
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE Central Park
1-1 O
MOVE Hightower Apartment
MOVE 5th Avenue (A)
1-2 X
SHIFT Village
MOVE Maggie's Grocery
1-1
MOVE Café Samba
SHIFT Harlem
MOVE Subaru (Back Alley)
1-65%
MOVE Back Alley
SHIFT Bay-area
1
MOVE Construction Site
I-Pass
MOVE Chinatown
1-1
MOVE Battery Park
I-Pass O
CAM
MOVE Wall Street
1-1 O
SHIFT Theater
SHIFT Village
MOVE Gemini's Place
MOVE Shinjiro's Place (A)
I-Pass O
1-2
CAM O
1
1-1 O
1-2 O
SAVE 10:21
MISSION
1-1 O
1-3 XX
PROTECT Rosita
PROTECT Rosita
PROTECT Rosita
SAVE 11:54


Legend:
PROTECT: Used the Protect function to counter an attack trained on an ally, resulting in a check.

Remarks
As much as I don’t want to claim that the editing staff just didn’t care, it’s looking more and more like the case. The omission of commas is driving me up the wall, but that isn't as bad as the other things I've seen in the last chapter and a half: No ending punctuation, leaving words out (“I don’t much about…”), inconsistent name spellings (the spelling of Maggie’s name in the script and on her storefront don’t agree)... How could they miss things like this?

From here on I’ll be more lenient with the commas. In particular, the use of “Well then” and “Well, then” and even “Well, then,” is at issue. At least one comma is needed here, but I’m not clear as to where exactly. All further counts of missing commas will be toward the first form with no commas at all. All I ask is for some consistency. Please?

It’s a good thing that Diana is ill, because her voice actress sure sounds the part.

[The-Excel]

Events
Resumed on 6 April 2010, 21:56 EDT

Chapter 5 start.

Next up on the Wheel of Hostility is Subaru. I was wondering why we hadn’t gotten to her yet. This morning she suddenly turns inhospitable and begins questioning my leadership skills. Rehearsal similarly ends miserably as a fight erupts between her and Cheiron and Rosita, and all parties involved storm off despite my attempts at defusing the situation. On the way back up to the rooftop, Ratchet tells me that she used to lead the European Star Division with Subaru as her lieutenant. Back in Europe, she was some kind of introverted insufferable prodigy. Reminds me of a certain someone. Things changed after I transferred in and they were all happy to see the old Subaru disappear. For some reason, she has returned. Also, Cheiron and Rosita have started plans to get their revenge and they want me in. They even managed to convince Diana to help, despite her initial reservations. As for me, no thanks. I don’t want any part of this. Oh wait, yes I do. Just not directly.

I keep forgetting about the photo contest, so before I head out, I pay a visit to the bar. I’m given the usual instructions. Because I keep forgetting to actually submit the photos I take, I’m not credited for them. I also go across the hall to the gift shop, where I’m allowed one free pass at any photo I missed. Stupidly, I get the one I could have gotten normally this session. That’ll teach me. Oh well.

Various amateurish traps are employed to get Subaru to beg for forgiveness, but naturally they all fall flat. Along the way, I meet Diana at the apartment building in midtown. She’s moving back in, so I help her unpack. After that distraction, I somehow run into her again at the construction site at the bay, where she’s setting up a trap. It unravels, and a scorpion is released dangerously close. I skip my first instinct to use her loosened shoe and reach for a slab of wood to abort this plan. So how exactly did those two manage to safely handle a scorpion up here in New York?

That night, Gemini visits my home and discusses the drama. She offers some profound insight to the difficulty Subaru faces with me in command, and I have to say that I would only have thought of that myself long after it had ended. I see her home, but on the way I hear a scream and run to it to find only a suspicious-looking dude and what must be a smuggled statue of a woman. The enemy must be stepping up their game if they’re now allowing themselves to be seen in plain sight like this.

Counter-kun reading: 0061

Log
OOO
1-1 X
1-1 O
1-1 OO
1-1 X
CHECK Rosita O
1-2 OO
CHECK Costume
CHECK Hat O
CHECK Ribbon
1-97% O
CHECK Costume
1-2 O
1-3
1-0
1-50%
MOVE Lobby
MOVE Bar
2
1-3
1
MOVE Gift Shop
1
CHECK Photo 2
2
1-93% X
3
SHIFT Village
MOVE Café Samba
1-2 OO
MOVE Gemini’s Place
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE Diana (Hightower Apartment)
CHECK Window
CHECK Window
CHECK Model house
CHECK Model house
CHECK Picture
CHECK Picture
1-1 X
1-50%
MOVE 5th Avenue
MOVE Subaru’s Suite
MOVE Central Park
SHIFT Bay-area
MOVE Construction Site (A)
MULTI
- CHECK Shoe
- 1-1 O
- CHECK Wood
- 1-2 O
MOVE Wall Street
1-2 X
SHIFT Village (A)
MOVE Shinjiro’s Place (A)
1-1
MOVE Gemini’s Place (A)
SAVE 12:42

Remarks
I think I’ve worked out the structure of the game. I see what the reviews mean when they say that 100% completion of this game in good time is a pipe dream.

[Arcade Ness]

Ok so I actually enjoy the American Dub version, in all its corny, campy glory. It just feels more natural this way. I'm only on chapter two, so my favorite character's VO is Diana. A close second would be Gemini. I found her voice kind of jarring at first, but it has grown on me and now I find it rather charming.

[The-Excel]

I have a saying: Give all dubs a chance.

I've gone on record as a Laura Bailey fanboy. I was one of the few who appreciated the trailer. To that end, I noticed something just a little concerning. No mention of the game is given at Lizard Bee, nor is it listed at IMDB in any way, shape or form. I would think that the extra publicity would help, but no one has yet bothered. So either there's a good reason Laura Bailey has not yet been credited by herself or anyone else, or we're dealing with a very convincing sound-alike.

[The-Excel]

Day 6.
8 April 2010

Events
Resumed on 8 April 2010, 15:00 EDT
Rank: *****

The secret word is “revolution”.

Before I know it, the tension culminates in a duel between me and Subaru. I’m not entirely sure what it means, but the obvious choice is my last instinct. It’s an actual battle with weapons and everything. For some reason, I end up losing. As punishment, I’m to take Subaru’s place in tomorrow’s show. Fair enough, I reasoned. Of course, true to form, I forget that a revue is composed entirely of women. Cherry and Anri burst into my home the next night and dress me up in drag. Actually, it’s more prim than anything, but at long last I’m given a legitimate excuse to wear leggings outdoors. That came out wrong.

As per expectations, on the way to the theater I run into the other actresses and end up having to resolve the misunderstandings that ensue. I think it’s a little funny how Gemini is jealous that I am the prettiest pony. Don’t hate, girl. We can’t all be beautiful. Especially not me.

The show is a hit, and the new actress Peppermint is an instant sensation. So much so that my character’s name is replaced with “Peppermint” in the script. I still don’t get how they came to that name. Subaru isn’t impressed, at any rate. At least, if she is, then she’s doing a good job of hiding it. Later that night, we notice that Cherry and Anri still aren’t back from that fancy party on a cruise liner they were invited to for no good reason. Surprise, it’s a trap by the enemy, Tsugarubi. They’re turned into stone like the rest of them. The game is afoot.

The next morning, a meeting is held to discuss the “mysterious disappearances” of random women throughout the city. In their place are statues that look just like them. One idiot had the nerve to actually buy one. I have no idea what the man was thinking, but the transaction did give us a lead. Some Asian dude is making a killing selling these things and it’s probably against the law. Subaru runs off at this deduction, and I have no choice but to follow her to her suite. Once there, I see she has dressed up in very formal attire. It appears she has a plan. Whatever; we’re in a hurry. When we get back, everyone else has also suited up appropriately. Off to that cruise ship.

Which still has most of the bodies intact. The enemy has made no attempt to disguise his operation. An arrogant enemy, to be sure. With some combing, we find Cherry and Anri. Subaru attempts to make some kind of self-sacrifice by transferring her own Pneuma into them in an attempt to reverse the petrification. I had no idea they were allowed to do that. Why am I not being informed of all of these weird powers? Whatever the reason, it’s not enough, so everyone chips in. When that’s done, Tsugarubi himself shows up and threatens to take everyone’s Pneuma. We make a mad dash to the deck, where the Ahab has appeared with our STARs, as if on cue.

September, 1928. The luxury cruise liner Princess Manhattan II has set sail to disaster. Our mission is to escort three stone statues to the Ahab before the enemy runs off with them. And by that, they mean push them to the exit. We don’t get to actually pick any of them up like the enemy does. And before I know it, one gets away and my no continue goal is thrown out the window. Balls.

Retry. After the hostages are secured, Tsugarubi pulls a cheap shot and disables half of my team. Only Subaru and I manage to avoid his Pneuma absorption ray thing from his forehead. We have no choice but to dismount and give chase to the bridge. There, she executes the rest of her plan, which involves distracting Tsugarubi in a convoluted, symbolic manner long enough for me to get a good swing at him. He flees with a heavy wound, then threatens to just abort his original plans and crash into New York itself. His mecha emerges to do just that, and the two of us take to the skies to stop him. Our priorities have to wait, though, because now that the collected Pneuma container has appeared, we have to destroy it in five minutes else we lose our team forever. I have to wonder why this apparently doesn’t apply to everyone else who was turned. I know my group is special, but I would think that they would be more resistant to permanent petrification than ordinary women. And why just five minutes? Those other people have been that way for hours! Rule of drama, I guess. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

To bust up the tank holding the Pneuma, we have to ignore the eight mooks and desperately spam it. I like a good opportunity to spam, so I don’t question it for now. It takes a moment, but it works. Just in the nick of time, too. In the time between Subaru’s despair moment and the emergence of the Dark Pneuma core, those eight enemies have either been destroyed without me noticing or absorbed into those spirals of fire that now surround the mech. The team is back, but this battle is more straightforward; a few super attacks to the head and it’s done.

Subaru was in personal crisis all this time. She felt that she was supposed to change, but had no idea how. After seeing me in action and allowing me to take my course, she discovers that it’s totally okay to admit you can lose once in a while. How appropriate that this is the first chapter where I have to restart a battle. Still, there are several questions left unanswered: Why does she refer to herself in the third person sometimes? Why are people seriously questioning her gender? Exactly when did she serve in the Flower Division?

Chapter 5 end. 8 April 2010, 17:03 EDT

Counter-kun reading: 0065

Log
1-0
1-20% O
1-1 X
1-3
1-3 O
1-1
1-75%
I-Pass O
1-100% X
I-Pass OOO
SAVE 13:01
1-2 O
MOVE Shinjiro's Place (A)
1-1
MOVE Gemini's Place
1-3 O
MOVE Maggie's Grocery
MOVE Café Samba
MOVE Library
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE Central Park
MOVE Diana's Place O
SHIFT Bay-area
MOVE Gemini (Battery Park)
SHIFT Harlem
SHIFT Bay-area
MOVE Chinatown
SHIFT Midtown
MOVE Subaru (Subaru's Suite)
1-2
SHIFT Theater
MOVE to the Auditorium
1-1
I-Pass OOO
1-0
1-3 O
SAVE 13:32
CHECK Mark
CHECK Mark
CHECK Zipper O
1-3
MULTI
- CAM O
1-2
OOO
1-2 O
SAVE 13:46
MISSION
DEFEAT
MISSION
1-1 O
1-1
1-2 O
O
1-1 OOOO
SAVE 14:45

Legend:
DEFEAT: Failed a combat mission. Retry attempts are marked with subsequent MISSION headers.

Remarks
I've noticed that there's actually a lot of data I didn't realize I'm not recording. These include checks between other members, the status of the links between me and my comrades as well as between them, and the current condition ranks. It's too late to go back and start recording them now, so subsequent playthroughs might include them if I remember to.

It’s like I’m going through a checklist of possible localization problems. The latest atrocity is a mismatched voice sample. Have these people no scruples? Why am I not doing something about this?

The story/gameplay divide is at an all-time high here. I won’t go into the details, but suffice it to say that I don’t notice things were supposed to be happening until long after the fact. I have to wonder why we’re not allowed to holster our weapons and physically carry the things to the exit.

[The-Excel]

You know what? Forget it. It’s been more than a month and as long as my brother’s out of a job, his antics in here make it very difficult for me to get anything done. So as not to delay this any further, I’ll just write out a list of all of the events I can remember in roughly chronological order.

Day 7.
9 April 2010

Note: This chapter was completed a month ago but the writeup was finished on 15 May 2010. Many omissions and inconsistencies are likely to appear here.

Events
Resumed on 9 April 2010, 00:05 EDT
Rank: ******

Chapter 6 start.

Before this chapter starts, two characters I keep forgetting to mention are crossing swords: the rabbit-like enemy leader Red Eye (who is nonchalantly revealed to be a dude with a feminine voice; didn’t see that coming) and that masked girl from the beginning that gets in our way once in a while. Apparently, the latter holds a grudge over the death of her master and has deduced that Red Eye was responsible. It’s a good thing they were both shown first or I may have never mentioned them.

Reports of that vigilante are on the rise. Seems like she’s after something, but it’s hard to tell what at this point. The next morning, we go out to 5th Avenue for shopping. While there, one of the buildings is attacked, and in the confusion, she showed up again. Just after she departs, Gemini rises out of the debris. Suspicious. I don’t remember getting what it was we were shopping for. Also, pick one pronunciation of “Gemini” and stick with it, please.

On the way home that night, I’m attacked by her in a dark alley. She’s on the run from the police for some reason, and she’s also convinced that I’m in the way. Thinking quickly, I have no choice but to defend myself with a section of pipe. A minute or so of that song and dance and she flees.

Gemini has been accepted into the team as a fighter under the condition that she trains harder than normal. That turns out to be a non-issue as she accepts my mock order of 50 push-ups willingly. Why is it that only the things I don’t say seriously are the ones that people think I mean for real?

It turns out my suspicions were right—at least in part. Sunnyside tells me that Gemini does in fact have dissociative personality disorder, but not in the way it usually works. She was supposed to be born as twins, but something happened and only one body came out. She has two hearts, one of them vestigial. Somehow, a second personality was attached to the other one and it is allowed to take over the body. This other personality has named itself Geminine, who is not only convinced that she is the real one, but that she does exist. I hope that makes sense because it did when I typed it.

I learn from Gemini that she came here following the death of her sensei, who told her to flee to America with her horse should anything happen to him. Guess who was responsible for that.

…

The next morning, I get up early for work. I’m told to return at 10:00, so until then I get some time to stroll the city. In the village, I’m approached by Diana, who wants me to help her collect pieces for her model house. Why not, I say. I’ll tell you why not: I find it hard to believe that five minutes of game time was spent visiting four areas at least three times each. After that exhausting scavenger hunt, it’s almost opening time.

I rush to the theater and learn that Gemini is already there. She’s bathing in the hot spring on the roof. I’m asked to deliver a towel to her, but the only one on hand is too small. I don’t have time to look for a better one, so I deliver it personally. She’s none too pleased with it, and before I can return to apologize and offer another, my vision inverts and Geminine appears and runs off.

…

October, 1928. Times Square is under attack, but Gemini is nowhere to be found. Right when that’s brought up, Geminine is spotted at the Brooklyn Bridge about to take them on without the requisite armor. I’m sent after her while the others stand their ground. I manage to convince her one final time that there is no reward in bloody vengeance. In her own master’s words, punish the offense, pity the offender. In other words, hate the game, not the player.

In the time we’ve been gone, headquarters was attacked and the rest of the team was captured. The two of us rush down to Times Square, but we get lost trying to find everyone. That minimap is not as helpful as it should be. No one in the New York Combat Revue had a compass or anything?

We barely manage to rescue everyone and the leader reveals himself once more. It’s a rehash of the first boss with more powerful attacks and fewer weak points. I would say that it wasn’t too much trouble, but my impatience costs Rosita her life. Opps. At any rate, Geminine lets him live, knowing that taking one more life wouldn't be any more impressive.

A party celebrating Gemini's induction is held later that night (or was it some day later?). Geminine goes into a long rest, pledging to emerge when she is again needed. I think that won't be far off.

An aside shows us that Red Eye steals that important demon sword we saw at the start (I wonder whose fault that is?) and that Sunnyside is going to fight me in the future. Now that the superteam is fully assembled, I expect the game dynamic to change completely.

It’s on, old man.

Chapter 6 end. 9 April 2010, 03:27 EDT

Counter-kun reading: 0079

Log
1-3 OOO
1-2 O
1-0
MULTI O
– I-Pass
– 1-2
– I-Pass
– 1-3
– I-Pass
1-2 O
MOVE Cheiron (Wall Street)
MOVE Chinatown
CHECK Hand
CHECK Eyes
CHECK Lips
CHECK Lips
CHECK Hand
CHECK Hand
1-15% X
SHIFT Midtown
1
MOVE Central Park
1-2 X
MOVE 5th Avenue
1-2 O
MOVE Romando
MOVE Diana’s Place
1-1 OO
1-1 O
MOVE 5th Avenue (A)
1-2 O
MOVE 5th Avenue
MOVE Romando
1
1
2
SHIFT Harlem
MOVE Back Alley
1-1 O
MOVE Mercury Club
CAM O
MOVE Cheiron’s Law Office
MOVE Church
1-2 O
1-3
SAVE 15:25
1-3
1-3
1-2 O
1-2
1-1 OO
1-2 OO
1-3
1-2 X
1-3
1-45% X
1-1 O
1-2 X
SAVE 15:46
I-Pass O
1-1 X
1-2 X
MOVE Central Park
SHIFT Village
1 O
MOVE Café Samba O
MOVE Library
MOVE Gemini’s Place
MOVE Shinjiro’s Place
MOVE Maggie’s Grocery
MOVE Café Samba
MOVE Shinjiro’s Place
MOVE Gemini’s Place
MOVE Library
MOVE Maggie’s Grocery
MOVE Café Samba
SHIFT Midtown (A)
OO
MOVE Romando
1
1
1
2
SHIFT Bay-area
MOVE Battery Park
1-1
MOVE Chinatown
SHIFT Village
CAM
SHIFT Theater
MOVE to the Backstage
MOVE to the Rooftop
MOVE Hot Spring
1 OX
1-2
1-2 O
1-3 O
1-3
1-1 O
1-1
1-2 O
1-2 O
1-2 X
1-1
1-2 X
1-0
1-1
O
1-3 O
SAVE 16:44
MISSION
PROTECT Cheiron
PROTECT Cheiron
PROTECT Cheiron
1-3 O
1-1 O
HELP Gemini
DEATH Rosita
SAVE 18:05
Legend:
HELP: Used the Help Me! command to summon an ally to commander’s position, resulting in a check.

Remarks
I think I’ve hit an undubbed line. I’m not sure of it since it was so short (after changing strategems with only one ally), but still.

Research tells me that the order of players in the Condition screen will affect my ending. Until now, I’ve neglected reporting it and the numbers in the Friendship screen as well. Because the game flow will likely be very different from this point on, future segments will have data recorded for these at the start and end of each chapter. In addition, checks between two partners will also be represented in the log in the future.

Also I looked up Laura Bailey's birthday (28 May) and it turns out she's a Gemini. lool

[The-Excel]

This post will resume when Exy's system decides to cooperate.

Day 8.
?? May 2010

Condition
Chapter 7 start

DCSRG
Rank: ******

Friendship
Chapter 7 start


G S D R C
G 2 2 2 2
S 3 3 2
D 2 2
R 2
C
P 2 3 3 3 3