Marin Karin, Marout Karout - Let's Play Persona 3 Portable

[CmdrKing]

Count me on the "Wiping All Out is way better" train, one of many stark improvements between this and prior versions of Persona 3.

It's weird how even at this point SEES feels like much better friends to Kotone than they were to Makoto at any point.

Edit: Update on last page.

[Quackles]

I've been ruined by Persona 5, so I have 'Last Surprise' stuck in my head for any Persona game battle.

[kokorikopi]

Social Links, and Why You Shouldn't Do Them

Alright. This one's gonna be a long one to make.




> Yeah, I agree.

As many myths as capitalism has provided, I think "humans get satisfaction from work" isn't one of them.

: *yaaaawn* Oh man, I'm getting teary eyed now... Goin' to class is a pain... The only thing I look forward to is after school. How will I kill time...?

Just suck it up and do the work now. You'll thank me later.

After class...



Persona 3 Portable: After School





Hell yes, free food.

> Sweet, let's go!

: Alright, now you're talkin'.





> The special?

On my first visit?



If you say so...




: C'mon, try it.





Damn, this sounds good.

> This is delicious!



: Well then, I'm digging in too. Chow time!

: Ahh, hot hot hot...

: Man, this is great!



Although? Isn't that a thing in Japan though? Like aren't you supposed to eat loud, to show that you've enjoyed the meal?



Eh?

: I heard that while you were out for a while, you were in the hospital.



> Thanks...

Huh. He doesn't seem so bad.




: In your case, you've got all the fighting stuff on top of that... I was wondering if you weren't accustomed to school or whatever...

: Then again, I think you'll do just fine.




Heheh...hm?






The Magician Arcana represents new beginnings, and opportunities. It also represents the bind between the heavens and Earth, as well as confidence in one's self or abilities.

Obviously, these all fit Junpei to a T, but he was not always the Magician for Persona 3.

!! IMPORTANT PORTABLE CHANGE !!

In Persona 3, the only teammates of yours that you could initiate a Social Link with were Mitsuru, Yukari, and a later female party member. All of these routes were forced to be romantic paths as well, meaning if you wanted every Social Link, you were forced to cheat on your girlfriend. The story of Katsura Hashino believing men and women can't be just friends because he's never made a female friend rings frighteningly true here.

In Portable, none of this is the case. Each of your team members gets a Social Link, and all of the men have platonic options. However, this comes at the cost of a handful of routes from the basegame. I'll be bringing these up as they come.

In the original game, The Magician was represented by Kenji Tomochika, a fellow classmate who is into older women, but otherwise is a reasonably grounded individual who helps you around school. He'll be making a few appearances here, but is ultimately not a major player.



> Stop smirking like that.

Oh, Junpei...

: Aww... I can't help it.

: Oh, but I don't drag love into my work. Then again, I can't guarantee that I won't fall for somebody, mwahaha!



Alright, we're good for the day.






This is a mechanic that I'll be explaining in all the wrong ways, because we need to abuse it for this run.



: That's why mine only learns physical skills.

: ...Because dudes are supposed to fight with their fists! Mano a mano!

: Oh, that's right... I use a sword.

I mean, a swordfight is still pretty manly, especially with that big fuckoff hunk of metal you have.



...*cough.*



: What's great about a boew is you don't fall down if an enemy dodges one of your arrows.

: Although... a bow doesn't do very much damage, and it misses a lot...

That sounds like a you problem.



Alright. It's time.



In we go.



I'm as ready as I'll ever be...





After a quick tutorial on the separation of "blocks" of Tartarus, she gives us these items, the most notable of which is Cadenza.

!! IMPORTANT PORTABLE CHANGE !!

In Persona 3 and FES, Cadenza was a Fusion Spell. A Fusion Spell requires two specific Personas, requires a scaling percentage of SP, and usually had powerful effects; in this one's case, 50% HP heal, and Accuracy/Evasion up, requiring Orpheus and Apsaras.

In Portable, these have become consumable items that we can purchase later. This is a nerf to some, due to being limited, but a buff to others, due to not needing to carry around weaker Personas.



So...here's the thing. There's no way I can cover everything I took for this footage in a linear, concise manner that will keep you from getting lost. To keep this extremely brief: I grinded up to Level TWELVE, got 50,000 yen in cold, hard cash, enough items to sell for another 50,000, and Personas of 8 different Arcanas for Social Links. The following pictures will be literally everything of relevance, in chronological order but with no direct connecting tissue.



The Swords card gives you a random weapon, with power relating to both its rank and your level.

The skull is a modifier to any card in Shuffle Time that, when picked, says that "Death draws near." Wonder what that means.



Lv4.



Magic Hands. New enemies. Weak to fire.



Enemies can run when weakened. This doesn't negatively impact you in any way aside from loss of EXP, as opposed to Persona 5.




Orpheus gave me a Skill Card. Skill Cards are consumables that let you give any Persona that ability, regardless of inheritance type. Every Persona has a level they'll give you their card from, and most skills can be gotten as cards.




The Coin Card gives you a chunk of change depending on its rank. This is one of the only ways to directly get more money in Tartarus.



This is the other.




From here on, I'll be skipping grinding session levels unless they result in a new skill.

Patra is a status skill that cures Panic, Fear, and Distress.



Level 5. Will probably stop showing these too.



Dammit. Okay, that's fine. She'll miss this battle's EXP, but I have a revival bead.



Ding! It's gone now.



Hermes gets Agi, which is almost exclusively for knocking down enemies. Yeah, Hermes doesn't have the best Magic in the world.



Io's Garu, on the other hand, is extremely helpful.



In the chest is a Mother Fucking Classic Rock Reference and proof positive that buying items from a cop is generally a bad idea.



Fuck! Alright, guess we're heading back.



It's not a Goho-M, but it'll do.



!! IMPORTANT PORTABLE CHANGE !!

In Persona 3, party members would get tired as you explored Tartarus, reducing their effectiveness in combat.

In Persona 3 Portable, the only way for a Party Member to become Tired is to exit the Labyrinth while fainted. Thus, the one Yawn-B-Gone I have becomes helpful. Aside from that, the only way to gain fatigue is to exit Tartarus. What's keeping you from Blitzing Tartarus until you're level 99?



This. While the price isn't so bad for now, it'll spike dramatically as levels increase.

!! IMPORTANT PORTABLE CHANGE !!

In the original, you automatically restored to full health upon returning to the lobby. This meant that rather than normal resources like you'd manage anywhere else, like Money, SP, or HP, you'd have to deal with a mechanic that matters almost nowhere else and only exists to tip the RNG against you.



Pixie and Apsaras. In the future, assume that when I fuse using a Persona I don't have, I went and got it. I'll show obtaining New Personas every time.




This means enemies won't spawn and there are a ton of Treasure Chests about.



In this instance, there were a ton of normal chests full of money, and one of these which had...




These Men-only shoes. Now, of course, there is a drawback to such a seemingly easy floor.



...Death?



OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT



OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD IT CAUGHT US



GET THE FUCK OUTTA THERE, BOSS

...So that was the Bonus Boss. The Reaper.

4444 HP, resistance to every element, ACCESS to every element, and skills that null immunities to every element. Also has a nuclear level Almighty spell in case you try getting cheeky with reflect spells. We won't be ready for him for most of the game.



Don't buy stuff from cops.



When this happens, it's time for a miniboss.



Miniboss floors have anchor teleporters that let you go from home to them immediately.




Persona 3 Portable: Danger Zone

Very good miniboss theme. Male MC has this:

Persona 3 OST - Master of Tartarus

Which isn't half bad either.

The Venus Eagles drain fire and are immune to wind, but are weak to pierce. Just attack with Yukari for All-Out Attacks.



Not that it isn't entirely free from peril.



We're good.



Empress's Mask: Sellable.



Bead Chain: Fully restores Party's HP.

Good items like this are usually behind minibosses. These are worth saving for absolute emergencies.



BIG CHUNGO. Weak to wind.



Distressed enemies are more susceptible to crits and tend to not attack back.



Don't buy from the cops.



A...Wood Stick?



Oh.

Hockey Stick the herald angels sing and all that.



Those gold bastards are rare shadows. They run away from you on sight and can disappear into walls.

You get really intimate with them on an All Sidequest Run, so I know how to catch the damn things like a science.



In combat is a special variant on the Hands that is resistant to all but one element, dies immediately to Almighty, and is likely to run away.



Wealth Coins sell for cash. But, if you're taking a Sidequest that asks for a drop from them, their drops will be replaced with unique items that sell for 1 yen each until you turn it in. And these bastards are rare.

Fuck these assholes. They've done nothing but ruin my life.



Nekomata+Pixie.



Orpheus+Apsaras. Not my best move in hindsight, but that's my fault.



These bastards are on floor 10.

They can use Elec, Ice, Fire, and Wind to easily dispatch of your whole team, but are weak to Bash physical moves, which Forneus has.





It's not entirely free from peril...



But clever use of Dizzy to stun while we heal gets us the win.



Huh?



I sure hope he has if he could move while being frozen.



Mazio Gem: Does a fixed 50 damage that triggers elec weaknesses to the enemy party.



And that's the end...of the first recording. I still have like an hour and a half to scrub through.



Don't Buy From The Cops



Angel has started showing up in Shuffle Time. Your results are based on both the current block and your level.




Single target speed up, which is shorthand for Accuracy and Evasion. Not sure if it actually affects turn order.



Eventually it might become worth it to buy things from the cops, but early on just get your shit from Tartarus.



Floor 14's boss.



Unique dialogue. Reflects Bash, nulls Slash and Pierce, neutral to Fire, Elec, Wind, and Ice. Hit it until it dies.



Balm of Life: 100% Revival.



Soma: Full HP and SP recovery for the party.



Single target defense buff. This matters more than you'd think, Attack and Defense buffs and debuffs are a BIG deal in SMT games.



Floor 16 is the end of the first block.



A key item with some scraps of lore in it.



This matters later.



Oh, but we're not done. Not even close.



Pixie and Angel.



Forneus and Ara Mitama.



ALRIGHT ASSHOLES, FROM THE TOP




Random event that can happen. It's nice, but not huge.



There's a ton of Fast Forward that happens, but whenever it's one of the no enemy floors, that shit is OFF.



AND THAT'S WHY



the rewards are worth it, at least.





At level 10, we can now carry 8 Personas. This helps immensely, as we need to leave with 7.



Angel and Nekomata.



This is our third time fusing Nekomata for a fusion and I'm already tired of it. It's not gonna stop anytime soon, since Nekomata is our bottleneck.



Nekomata has shown up in randoms, which is convenient but unreliable.



Forneus and Nekomata. This is why I needed to grind to 12.



Also I got this Thing that I haven't needed to fuse yet so whatever



EVENTUALLY I got everything I needed. This fucking sucked, by the way. I needed Nekomata for basically all of these, which necessitated a Pixie and an Apsaras for each one. Then imagine my frustration when after realizing I needed Nekomata, I needed one last Pixie on top of it.



But, I did it. 50k yen and all the Personas I'll need for quite a while. I'm fucking done. This recording lasted 11 minutes shy of 2 hours, after spending an hour in the previous recording, and there was a metric fuckton of speedup involved as well. God help anyone who tries this on a normal console.

[Quackles]

The story of Katsura Hashino believing men and women can't be just friends because he's never made a female friend rings frighteningly true here.

Aside from that, that was a buttload of preparation! Why are these personas the only ones you need?

[ChaosArgate]

The story of Katsura Hashino believing men and women can't be just friends because he's never made a female friend rings frighteningly true here.

Aside from that, that was a buttload of preparation! Why are these personas the only ones you need?

I imagine its for social link stuff.

[theshim]

Sukukaja/kunda do not affect turn order, only accuracy/evasion.

You mentioned them briefly, but Skill Cards are half the reason P3P is incredibly easy and busted compared to the original and FES (the other half, naturally, is Direct Command). It's trivially easy to get nearly every skill you want on any Persona without mucking around with inheritance.

[kokorikopi]

You mentioned them briefly, but Skill Cards are half the reason P3P is incredibly easy and busted compared to the original and FES (the other half, naturally, is Direct Command). It's trivially easy to get nearly every skill you want on any Persona without mucking around with inheritance.

While this is true, the mechanics they replace end up making FES difficult through intentional bad design, rather than any...real difficulty. Hell, even inheritance isn't fixed until P4G, but...we'll get there.

You're Very Brave For Getting Sick

...Hm, maybe that title's a bit too real.



As the Dark Hour becomes morning, our condition becomes Tired. This also applies to Yukari and Junpei, but they're not gonna do what we're doing.



I skipped the morning gossip talking about it, but the game beats it over your head that you should go join a sports club.



First, though, I jump over to Kurosawa's to sell our shit.



In case my exhaustion providing a small update didn't capture the scale of how long I was grinding, let this fill you in instead.



Or this. I didn't get shots of how much Armor I had, but there was a good chunk of that to sell as well.




Also, these.





These upgrades are definitely more substantial, but overall I'm just going to keep my money.



Anyways, back to school, we need to go to the Nurse's Office.




: This is the perfect opportunity to try my new concoction.... Ehehehehehehe.

> Mr. Edogawa has a huge grin on his face.

I dunno if I should trust this...



: It includes bitter mugwort, poison carrot, henbane, jujube, rabbit's foot, etcetera, etcetera... Even Hakusan's finest alchemist would be astonished by the ingredients. I shall treat your illness right here and now. Now drink this... Come on... Drink up!



To be fair, no medicine tastes good...



Down the hatch...



Well, shit.



: Whether or not you get better is inconsequential... You survived!

Is anyone at this school at all qualified for their fucking job? I oughta--



...I will be here every day I can.



Hopefully there aren't any long-term consequences to this.





You have two choices for a sports club, but it really doesn't matter.



So I'm picking Volleyball.

Persona 3 OST - Joy





Ms. Kanou has a minor role in FeMC's path, but has a slightly less minor role in MC's, where she's the teacher Kenji has the hots for.

> Nice to meet you!



> This club seems to have a rather friendly atmosphere.
> At the very least, it seems that you're welcome here...

: Um, who was the leader for the juniors?



: Oh, good. I'll leave the rest to you. I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here anyway. *giggle*

: ...All right.

...Alright, not sure why she's being kept around either.

> Ms. Kanou left.




So it's an act...?



Right, let's not focus on gossip.



Rio Iwasaki. No voice actor in the games, though trying to find information about a potential voice actress led me to discovering that she made a cameo appearance in the Persona 3 Movies, despite those being based on MC's route.

...Oh, yeah, the Persona 3 Movies. I'll get to those another time, since I haven't watched them myself yet.

: I'm in charge of the juniors in the club, so don't hesitate to ask me anything.



No school clubs meet the week before a test, so keep that in mind. You're not mandated to come here every time, though, as other clubs can and will overlap.

> Thanks.

: Well then, we're gonna concentrate on doing basic exercises today, so come on and join in. Just keep up as much as you can.



Buddy, do you wanna get good at sports or not?

...Probably not, actually, considering that you're forced into this...

: I keep telling you all that the fundamentals are important! Let's start off with some running.

"Alright..."

: Kotone-san, you stand in this line.



I suck at athletic activities. I may have not ever had an attack, but my asthma still fucking kneecaps my ability to breathe after very little action.

> I'll be all right!

In hindsight this was the funniest social link I could have done after 6 hours of grinding, explicitly leaving me "tired".





I'm not gonna say it...I'm not...






The Chariot represents control, power, determination, and success. However, even upright, not all of its meanings can be good things. It can also mean presumption, vengeance, or trouble. Characters of The Chariot arcana tend to be the Athletic types within the story, also belonging to kung-fu enthusiast Chie in Persona 4, as well as ex-track team Ryuji in Persona 5.

In the original Persona 3, The Chariot was represented by Kazushi Miyamoto, the guy who was being scolded on our first day. The Male protagonist has the option of joining Kendo, Swimming, or Track, but much like the choice between Tennis or Volleyball here, the actual "plot" of the Social Link doesn't much change.





> Then you diligently went through basic drills in serving and receiving. You decided to go back to the dorm after practice ended.




> Yep.

We'd have been forced to eventually.

: Oh yeah? That's cool. ...You seem pretty talented, so I'm not surprised.

Eh, talent is fake, I'm just lucky.

: Oh, by the way, maybe we should go to Tartarus tonight...

Is this a joke?




"Well, we could sleep our tiredness away, but I wanna play games instead", I write into Notepad++ at 4:31 AM.





Hell yeah.



Next day, we're tired again.




Oh yeah, we saw that while we were torturing Junpei. I guess we could stop there.



First, I stop by the Nurse's office again. It's the exact same text.



I also get more Yawn-B-Gones; not for me, but for my allies, just in case.



You're capped to 3 per week.



Over at the Strip Mall, here's the bookstore.






That's...random. Huh.

: Hey, you're a student, aren't you? You must be from Gekkoukan High, right?

I guess the uniform gives it away.



> Persimmon Tree?

: Do you think I'm making this up!? ...I'm serious! It was planted right beside a walkway in a courtyard at the school.



I guess we should go check that out.



It's over here, on the path we passed to get to the sports club.

> A small tree is growing here.
> It must be the persimmon tree that the old couple at the bookstore was talking about.
> ......
> You found a leaf on the ground.



That was easy. Back to Bookworms.




I think that's his idea of a joke, but he might be senile.




Not much reason to say no here.



: It must have grown quite a bit to produce such splendid leaves...



> Yes, I did.

: I knew it! I knew right from the start that you're a kind young lady!

: I've been meaning to go see that tree for a while now, but I'm not sure if these stumpy old legs will make it that far...



You not trying to make a pun made a better pun than Ikutsuki.

: Very clever, dear.



Their last name is Kitamura.

: If you don't mind, would you tell us your name?

: So your name is Kotone Shiomi... Then, we'll call you Kotone-chan from now on!




...(cough)





The Hierophant represents education and wisdom, as well as authority. Absent is the more notable two-pillar design, representing Law and Liberty, but those are also notable aspects of the card. Characters of The Hierophant tend to be older, wiser figures, but those who linger on an incident in the past, including Ryotaro Dojima in Persona 4, Sojiro Sakura in Persona 5, and a later character in this game.

Unlike the previous Social Links we've encountered, the Bookstore Owners are a Social Link in both MC and FeMC's path. There is a minor difference in the two, which I'll get to in a minute, but the text is also more or less the same.



On MC's path, Sunday is their closed day. Why the difference, I'm not sure.



That was fun.





I could probably kick your ass right now.



Anyways, this recording isn't over, but now I need to save my game.




We have to play the quiz game again, but also...



Shit.

See, we need to reset until our tiredness continues. Every day we're tired, we can go to the Nurse's office for Courage boosts that don't take up time.



It takes a few tries, but here we are.

[Quackles]

"I've got the fever" [music plays]

What does Courage do?

[ChaosArgate]

"I've got the fever" [music plays]

What does Courage do?

It, and the other social stats, gate you from progressing in certain social links. There might be some dialogue options that are also Courage stat-gated, but that could very well be a Persona 4 thing.

[kokorikopi]

Seito Kaicho

It's unfortunate that we need to be sick on our day off, but it had to happen.

Being sick keeps you from doing a few time-passing tasks that raise social stats (specifically, studying for Knowledge), but it mostly affects your performance in Tartarus.



This is our first day off, so we're allowed to explore freely. Sadly this doesn't mean we have 3 free periods or whatever, it just means no school access.

If you leave, you can't return to the dorm without time progressing, meaning minor dialogue is very missable. The same thing happens on school days, but it's more important here.




We're going to be spending the day with Hierophant, and this is why I grabbed all those Personas on my first night.

Seeing a Social Link and selecting certain dialogue options grants points with that link, which contribute towards a total you need to hit to your next meeting that will result in a rank up. If you have a Persona of the matching Arcana, your points gained are multiplied by 1.5x.

This bonus is mandatory to see every Social Link in the time provided. First meetings don't provide any points, so I technically didn't NEED all of the Personas I had, but with the amount of grinding I needed to do anyways, I figured I might as well. I'd rather be safe than sorry on a run like this.




> I'm from Gekkoukan...



So he's...not senile yet, it looks like.




Assume I pick the best option whenever possible. Sometimes incorrect options can still give some points, but it is possible to pick choices bad enough to fuck up relationships. We'll get to this.



...Merry Christmas...Melon Breadmas...



MERRY CHRISTMAS!

> Thank you.





He...?




Sure, I guess I might need some to distract a dog.

: Alright, here ya go. Um... uh... err... What was your name again...?



: I'm sorry, Kotone-chan. He's terribly forgetful lately. Here you go.



Okay, so he's just forgetful. Big mood.

Melon Bread: HP Recovery, outside of battle only.




The other answer is supposed to say "Who are you talking about?"

> It's okay.

I still don't actually know who you're talking about, but I'll be polite.





Huh????





> Who's "he"?



...Oh.

: My apologies, Kotone-chan. I hope I'm not making you feel uncomfortable.

> Bunkichi and Mitsuko shared their painful past with you.
> Your relationship is stronger now!



RANKU AAAAAAAAAHP

...GOD DAMMIT!




: ...Please, come again. We'll be waiting for you, Kotone-chan.



An alternate welcoming message to Mitsuru's "Welcome back."



"A charming flavor that will turn on your charm."

Our night will be spent here.



There's a tutorial about the cafe, but this is the only relevant part; If the opportunity comes up to spend time here on one of these days, don't waste your money. You get a Charm up just the same.



> You enjoy a cup of Pheromone Coffee.
> ...You feel people looking at you.
> Is this an effect of the coffee...?



Tadaaa.



Another sick day. It's fine. We're fine.



Hi, Garfield. Didn't know you were a human here.




Oh, for fuck's sake.






If you expect me to transcribe this one, don't.






How funny you say that, Yukari, because for some reason, this assembly is stored in the same group of text as Junpei's introduction, meeting Ikutsuki, etc.




Well said.

: The Principal doesn't know anything about the Shadows, anyway.

: I just hope this doesn't take too long...

: I know. His speeches always drag.



Once again, fuck this.

[msg MSG_005 [Principal]]
[f 0 5 -258][f 2 1][f 4 6 51 161 0 0][f 3 1 1 0 0 10]Ahem. Today, I'd like to tell you about my, um, vision for this school year. [f 1 3 -1][f 1 1][e]
[f 0 5 -258][f 2 1][f 3 1 1 0 0 11]As you are aware, strange incidents have been reported on the news lately. [f 1 3 -1][f 1 1][e]
[f 0 5 -258][f 2 1][f 3 1 1 0 0 12]It is my firm belief that none of you are involved. [f 1 3 -1][f 1 1][e]
[f 0 5 -258][f 2 1][f 3 1 1 0 0 13]However, if we want to better our school, then we all need to accept responsibility for change. [f 1 3 -1][f 1 1][e]
[f 0 5 -258][f 2 1][f 3 1 1 0 0 14]Dig deep down inside, and tap into your imaginations. ...But don't lose touch with reality. [f 1 3 -1][f 1 1][e]
[f 0 5 -258][f 2 1][f 3 1 1 0 0 15]As they say, "There's no use crying over spilt milk." [f 1 3 -1][f 1 1][e]
[f 0 5 -258][f 2 1][f 3 1 1 0 0 16]This is the key to reaping all the rewards that school has to offer... [f 1 3 -1][f 1 1][e]

[msg MSG_006]
[f 0 5 -258][f 2 1][f 3 1 1 0 0 0]> The Principal continues with his speech... [f 1 3 -1][f 1 1][e]

This is such a weird plot point, because IIRC it never comes up again.

At Lunchtime...




> What kind of request?




I forget if I mentioned this yet, but Mitsuru speaks some French here. As you might expect from other Japanese games where characters speak French, she spoke English in the original text.

Anyways, back to class...



...This looks like War On Drugs propaganda that went too far.

: Hmm? It isn't? Oh, I see, this becomes 11, so... I'm sorry, you're right. X=2. Wait... Is that right? Okay, uh, your assignment is to figure this one out. Anyway... Wasn't that incredible? Even with a difficult problem like this one, once you solve it, X still equals 1. Or maybe 2. What I'm getting at is, math is fun! Don't you think so? Civilization owes its very existence to math!

I'm getting a lot of conflicting emotions from this one.



Weirdly, the date is stored as a variable here. Maybe this comes up on a different day as MC?



> 6,000 years ago.



: You got it! The Sumerians invented numbers 6,000 years ago. Later, Arabic numerals were invented in India, which brought us the number 0 and countless equations! Ahh... the beauty and wonder of it all! Math is MAGNIFICENT!

Technology is INCREDIBLE!



Woo.




...Wait, I get to be a Student Council? Do I get to go behind your back to help out the School Idol club? Can I get a super skimpy outfit that lets me beat the shit out of shadows?

> Sounds like a lot of work...

I'm not sure why I picked this option, that sounds awesome.




Is that all?

...Oh, is that it?

...Can I start my own School Idol culbclub?





> Roger.

Sure, whatever.








Alright, sounds good.




This first.



Now we can go to the Student Council room.



It's over here.







...This is everyone? I see why you needed help.

> Nice to meet you all.



: ...You must be talented if the President hand-picked you. Nice to meet you.









The Emperor Arcana represents a desire for control over one's life, generally to a fault. It symbolizes authority and structure. Characters of the Emperor Arcana in the Persona series...don't have too much connective tissue. In Persona 4, you have Kanji Tatsumi, and in Persona 5, you have Yusuke Kitagawa; all three of these characters are rather different, and it's only made more confusing by Akihiko's personal Arcana also being The Emperor.

Though the text claims that this Social Link is for the Student Council altogether, really, it's Hidetoshi's. Chihiro had her own Social Link in the Male protagonist route, but it was one of the ones replaced by one we'll see much later.




Same schedule as Volleyball. You don't need to show up here every time, thankfully.








I dunno, I think we could use another member or two.



Anyways.





Hell yeah.



I don't actually need to do this, but I figure I might as well.




: By the way, there's something I forgot to tell you... Most times you can find me in the lounge. However, I won't be there if there is something I must attend to. So, if I'm not in the lounge, we will explore Tartarus the following day.

I think this means "We won't be able to until the following day"? I'm not sure what she means here.



Alright, chow time.




Social Links who are available that day will come up to you during lunch and let you know that you can see them. Sometimes they'll just let you know like this, but other times they'll ask you then. Don't accept them on the spot, even if you planned to see them anyways; the free roaming time is more important.

> I don't know yet.






Another courage boost.



On the way back, though, I try to talk to Mitsuru.

> Yeah, want to come?






Ah, I guess that makes sense. If memory serves, the 3rd year of Japanese high school is mostly exams.





...Jesus, no pressure there.



Alright, let's talk to Yukari instead.

> Wanna go somewhere?





Sadly, this is not a free charm boost.




Hm?

> What is it?

: Um... You probably might not remember, but... Um... When you woke up in the hospital... You know, after the dorm was attacked by a Shadow and you discovered your Persona...

...Is there another RPG protagonist listening in on us give hamfisted exposition?



: Like, "you're the same as me," and "you're alone," and stuff about your parents...

: Um... I think that I might've been making assumptions about you. I mean, I lost my dad, but in your case it's both your parents...



: But I ignored how you might've felt and forced my own opinions onto you.

These lines are hysterical but I can't talk about why for seventy to a hundred hours. If you know, you know.

: I've been worrying all this time that I might've said some unfair things to you that day. ...And I want to properly apologize for it. I'm sorry.

Worrying that you said things wrong and came across the wrong way is also a Big Mood. We're, what, four for four now?



More than you know, but go on.

: You might not like it, since it's the fact that we're both missing parents... Still, I've never had anyone who could understand it around me before...

: It's different for everyone else at school. They have both their parents at home...



: I... When I hear stuff like that, I feel jealous. But I hate feeling that way, so I hide it... And because I can't tell anyone that, I feel distant... I felt lonely. So when I heard about you, I felt that you could save me from that...

Coming on strong there, but I don't mind.



: But the fact that you're part of our group now makes me feel a lot better.



: Haha, I'm just going around in circles with this pity party, aren't I? But... That's how I really feel.








The Lovers Arcana...doesn't actually represent Love at all. Instead, it represents a choice, often between two decisions. Generally it symbolizes a crossroads in your life where a major decision needs to be made, and originated as a man choosing between a mature, older woman or a beautiful younger woman, symbolizing the choice between the "right" path and the "easy" path. Characters of the Lovers Arcana tend to have issues with their self-worth, but they all express it differently. Persona 4's Rise Kujikawa and Persona 5's Ann Takamaki are both wildly different characters from both eachother and Yukari.

In the Male protagonist route, Yukari is still an option, but she isn't available until you max out your Charm. The thread has been talking about how Yukari seems to like FeMC more than MC, and this is the most drastic example. The text of the Social Link is also fairly different, most notably excising a notable point where new players got tripped up, but We'll Get To That.







...Awfully cavalier for an ally, don't you think...?







...Who's gonna tell him that the game has less than twelve months until it closes?

Oh, right, I guess that doesn't make sense to newcomers. Innocent Sin Online refers to one of MC's options for a Social Link, when Junpei gives you a copy of the game. You end up meeting someone online, and bond over the game, only to later find out the game is shutting down. It was replaced in FeMC's path, which is both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, it's generally fondly regarded by the community and leaves a certain character later without much to do, but it also takes up not just a time period, but an entire day to progress one rank.

Also, the title Innocent Sin Online is a reference to one part of the Persona 2 duology, but it's actually a dubism. The Protagonist and the Hermit's online names of Tatsuya and Maya, as well as Maya's catchphrase "Let's think positive!" are all replacements of equivalent references to Megami Tensei II, where the protagonists are known as Devil Busters. The online game, then, is referred to as Devil Busters Online, with the characters' names being Y-Ko and N-Jima.



All that for something that isn't even in this run. Let's just do this for the night and--




Aha! I actually got this early, since I took the extra sick day. The second rank of 5.



Now, I can rest.

[ClaudiaSilvestri]

: By the way, there's something I forgot to tell you... Most times you can find me in the lounge. However, I won't be there if there is something I must attend to. So, if I'm not in the lounge, we will explore Tartarus the following day.

I think this means "We won't be able to until the following day"? I'm not sure what she means here.

When I saw this, I know I first read it as meaning if Mitsuru's not in the lounge, then she's getting ready for something and we'll be forced to explore Tartarus the following night. Of course, I quickly discovered that I was completely wrong there, and the reading of it you have here seems to be the correct one.

Also, the principal plagiarizing a high school student for his big speech is pretty pathetic.

[ChaosArgate]

Yeah, that should definitely be "we can explore," not "we will explore."

[kokorikopi]

Falling In Love With A White-Haired Girl Voiced By Tara Platt

...Okay, there's one more Edelgard joke.



Sometimes days off happen. Usually based on the Japanese calendar. Showa Day honors a previous emperor of Japan, who ruled from 1926 to 1989.




Usually, on days off or Sundays, one of your Social Links will call you to hang out. Generally, we won't be doing these, as they mostly only serve to get additional points for the next rank-up.

> Sorry, I'm tied up.




Sorry, buddy. Hopefully I won't be ignoring you for as long as I ignored you in my first run.



Instead, we're spending time here.




Usually in situations like this, it's been in your back pocket the whole time.

> Looking for something?






...Probably not in your back pocket then.

> I'll help look for it.

: Wow! Kotone-chan, you really can read minds! I was just thinking it'd be nice if someone gave us a hand.




Riveting...Nah, I jest. This is fine.



It's not, like, in one of the books, is it?



Huh?




...que es que fuck?



: Well, it's not a golden wallet, but I'm still happy to have it back!

Hopefully nobody took anything from it...though, at that point, why not take the whole wallet?



: Aren't you ze transfer student everyone eez talking about?



...Is everyone talking about me?

Wait, going to school with Yukari, being pulled aside by Mitsuru, being absent for almost two weeks...Yeah, I can see it.

> Nice to meet you.




...How the fuck do you get Bebe from that?



: I work in ze Home Economics Room every day. If you get bored, come say 'ello! I 'ope to see you zere. Sayonara, goodbye!

...Alright.



Yeah, that's a way to put it.



: ...Ah, here it is! I knew it was in here!

: ...Dear? Is that key for...?

...In your wallet?

: Come on, dear, you know what it is. It's the key for our son's car. Kotone-chan reminded me of how things used to be... I haven't heard the roar of the engine in a long time. How do I look, dear?




...I think I see what happened.

: Um, Kotone-chan... I'm sorry for raising my voice. Did I scare you?




That's...that's rough.

> I'm sorry to hear that.



: With all my excitement, I forgot to consider how my wife might feel... I'm such a... I'm such a...









: Since I found my wallet, why don't we eat out, dear? Thanks for searching with us,Kotone-chan. Consider this your allowance.



Nice. Take that, Maruki, Persona 3 did it first!!!![/s]



Our night activity.




No longer a Slifer Slacker are we, now we're...Raverage Yellow? Fuck it, I'm dropping that bit.



: I dunno, do you think any of this is relevant? I mean, I can make better tomb decorations than the ancients. I can't wait until we get to the Sengoku era... It's so exciting! Speaking of the Sengoku era, there was a general who was called "the war hawk of the battlefield."

Bruh, go be a college professor, you'd do great there.




Remember, literally never do this.

: ...And that's how the period came to be known as the Sengoku era. Huh? You want to hear more about the ancient tombs...? Well, if you insist... Study the Kitora Tomb in Nara, because it'll go on the exam.





Huh, wonder who that could be?




Wait, what? How did--wait i can't say that





... Alright, I guess I'm going there.



: I have a big favor to ask. I have been looking for someone with exceptional strength. If you don't mind, will you accept my requests?





Sidequest time! Lemme get into this...



We've got multiple types of quests. First up here is the specific Key Item quest. On the date specified, and only the date specified, you can talk to one of your party members to recieve an appropriate key item. These are missable, and it sucks.



Rare sword quests. These will make the appropriate weapon more common when accepted, and you must turn one in.



Dates! These trigger a social link-esque scene with Elizabeth. Not an actual social link yet, though.



Another item quest, but for normal consumables.



There's a quest for each document, and they serve as your soft time limit for exploring Tartarus at a decent pace.



And, lastly, the Item Drop quests. Once accepted, the enemy in question will drop an otherwise-worthless item until the quest is turned in. This also is obnoxious, as enemies requested include Hands, and quest drops override their normal valuable drop.

I accept Date, Muscle Drink, and Document, since I can do all of those immediately.




: Have you already read it? It's quite interesting... If not, then I definitely recommend you take a look.



Bead Chain: Full HP Restoration to the entire party.

That's awfully powerful, and thus will likely never see use.




: I've never tried a Muscle Drink before... Is it safe? Well, you have my thanks. I look forward to tasting it.



An equippable I'll check soon.



If you thought I was being facetious when I called these dates, I'm being entirely literal. Gay rights, babey.







: It makes sport of water, well known to all to be the foundation of life... How wicked!



These are fully voiced, by the way, and Tara Platt is fucking unrecognizable as Elizabeth. It's unreal.

> Maybe so...

I can't crush her dreams, man. I can't do it.



: Fortunately, I anticipated this, and brought a good supply of coins.



...Wait, what?



WHERE DID YOU GET THAT???





There's a sound of coins falling. It's even animated as you'd expect in the PS2 version.

Technically, you asked me out on this date. Can't you pay for a fancy meal or something with that?



: I was so caught up in the excitement of tossing in coins, that I hadn't given my wish any thought.

... So remember when I said Elizabeth was best girl?

: This won't do... I shall give it more careful consideration before I return here in the near future...



: There are some stern-faced gentlemen inside... And these photographs displayed so prominently... Most Wanted... Reward...



> You don't kill them...



To be fair, cops. They don't care.

: You've sated my curiosity.




: Dancers, dictated by the sway of one's inner passions... A subterranean garden of uninhibited spectacle...

Elizabeth's tone here is so perfect. I cannot tell if she's horny or if she's just innocently amazed.



Hence, deadline.

: ...Such a pity. I had hoped to join in on the wild ritual...





The text doesn't do this justice. Look up this scene, voice acted.



Don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me...

> Try and keep up!





I love you so much.



: But I'm overwhelmed... Everything looks so new and inviting. Everywhere I look, something catches the eye.



I've spent the past week in the arcade, I think I'm justified in singing my heart out here.

> Karaoke.



Elizabeth also says Karaoke weird, which implies that Kotone also said it weird.

: The place where one can challenge even professional singers at the touch of a button...!?



We hear her talents later, but not now.




... Oh no.







I'm pretty sure you could feed all of Japan's homeless population with that kind of money...

: ...I apologize for the wait. Let us continue.






HELL YES! SECOND DATE IS A GO! WE DID IT LESBIANS!





Luckily, she'll get her wish... But I'm saving my discussion on that.





I love you.





Hua Po is a Level 20 Magician Persona, so we won't be getting her for a while, but this is a good reward.

Before leaving, I accept the last three quests and go back to school.

Oh, did I not mention this?

Elizabeth dates don't use up time. Keep this in mind.






Time for Junpei Rank 2!







Oh, hell yeah! I love seeing movies in the theatres! All the sights, and movie theatre popcorn, and the soda just hits differently, and...

...

Why did I just get a chill down my spine?



With a title like that, the lead better be voiced by Stephan Weyte.




If you're so excited, let's not wait.

> C'mon, let's go in!








By "Surprisingly Complex", are we talking The Dark Knight or John Wick?





: The villain wasn't all that evil. It kinda killed it for me when he started talking about his tragic past...

: It isn't cool if you have to beat somebody who didn't want to be a bad guy. Bad guys should be evil all the way to the core. It's just more satisfying.

This feels alarmingly prescient of modern cinema criticism. Sometimes people have a reason to do what they do...and sometimes they don't.




Somehow. Time works weird in my world.

: Let's grab something to eat on the way back.

Hell yes. Dinner before or after a movie is such a refreshing feeling, for some reason. Even better is dinner during a movie, but Chunky's Cinema is only so close.




Breaking kayfabe, I actually filled up on popcorn earlier, but if I hadn't, I'd kill for some garbage fast food right now.



Pfft, let 'em talk.

: I mean, it looks like there's a lot of guys interested in you.

: Plus, the famous Yuka-tan and Mitsuru-senpai live in the same dorm, too.



> I'm...sorry?




Hah.



: I mean, you're not all excited and asking me who's saying all this stuff.

Hey, now he notices.




... Not the reason, but okay.

: Also, I know you've probably got your hands full with your own stuff now. Actually, the same goes for me, too...










I do mind. Get your own, and I'll get my own.



Print club.



Tadaa! Now all of our stats are level 2!



And now, it's May! That marks the end of this recording session! If you have any requests for gameplay, they won't show up until the next time I need to record more footage! I will be telling you whenever this happens! That being said, I have a schedule to adhere to for social links and stats, so this is primarily in regards to Personas and minor dialogue.

[clearcardinal]

Hi Bebe! You're a good boy.

[kokorikopi]

Got a short one here, but I wanted to get this update out today specifically.

Persimmon, Pine, it's all in the ground.

Happy May!




Thanks for the Orphaned Punchline.¹



This answer would have been more true if the first 3 days of October hadn't felt like a decade each.







Mmm, I see what you're saying. You're honestly more helpful than Junpei for the moment, and I don't mean that as a jab towards him.



Yeah, let's.





I think I'd trust Junpei for that more than Yukari, actually.



Oh.

: H-Hey, I resent that!

Better than resembling it.

: *giggle* I'm just kidding. So, what'd he want you to bring?

: The class roster for 2-E.

: What's he want that for?



Okay, so Akihiko did trust Junpei more.

I'm thinking too hard about this.



Sure.

: Cool.

: W-Wait a minute...

: Is there a problem?

: Well, it was ME he asked...

Oh well.





I know it's not, but it'd be funny if this were the same room we were in.






Not a very talkative guy, that one is.






They seem to know eachother, if he can call Akihiko "Aki."



He's looking directly at me. This would be a great picture to add realistic hands on.




Even breaking kayfabe, I'm not sure what this means.




I haven't seen him around anywhere...

: You know how the number of Apathy Syndrome cases has been increasing? Well, he knows a few people who are suffering from it, so I was asking him about it.

He actually says "have been" instead of "has been." Also, seems a bit casual of him to call you "Aki." He doesn't seem like the nicknaming type.

: Hey Junpei, did you bring what I asked?

: Of course, senpai!

: Sorry for the trouble. Well then, let's get going!




Mmhmm. Looks like we've got a Saiyan on our hands.



: You mean, why did I choose that sport? Well... It's not the sport itself I like; I just wanted to learn how to fight.




Hmm, okay, I see. At least it's not strength for strength's sake-

: Besides, I'm curious to see how strong I can get.

Yeah, that's about what I expected.

: It's like a game, only I'm competing against myself.





Something something, Madden Kombat¹...








I think we're more than strong enough, but I'm gonna need to head back in eventually anyways.



Anyways, super seamless recording switch! I actually couldn't save between the end of the last update and the previous bit of text, so I cut it off early for last update to start in May.

Ignore the mouse cursor. I freaked out when getting pictures, but it goes away almost immediately.



Horror House.





Tanaka's show? Eh, I probably won't wanna move out of bed to see it...




Shrug. School goes by without a hitch.



We'll be spending our Saturday afternoon with Hierophant.




That's a bit of a walk, isn't it? Even by train...







Walking sounds, that are much faster than you'd expect, play.





You should sit down and breathe.











: The persimmon tree by the walkway, at your school... My wife heard a rumor that it was going to be cut down, and she almost fainted.



> That makes me worry...



: I'm worried too. I tried to look into the rumor, but...




Womp womp.






More!




It's no trouble at all.






Can't tell if he wants to hit on women or just doesn't wanna hang out with chuds, knowing our school...




And here comes the obligatory "oh man i hate tests" from--



Oh, you too, huh? Interesting.




Anyways, it's May 2nd, so we need to do this now or forever miss it.

: ......! Ohh, okay... You mean the powder we use in Archery Club, right? The yellow stuff? We use it even in practices, so it runs out quick... But I think I have some left... Hang on.

Fade to black.





Guess who missed this on her first run?










There must be some joke I'm not getting here.



Quiz game.



Oh, Dark Hour time?






Huh?




That's just Persona in a nutshell, really.




...Well, that didn't tell us much.


¹_{Warning, link leads to TV Tropes. Kokorikopi nor the LPBeach will not be held responsible for hours lost as a result of following them.}

[AradoBalanga]

I'm willing to bet that the whole pine resin/soybean powder is some weird Japanese phonics joke. As in, "write/pronounce the character a bit differently and you get a whole new word!" joke that Japan loves to drop from time to time.

[Quackles]

Japanese loves its puns. I only know one, but it also works in english.

Q. It's the medical center. Who keeps running into parked cars?
A. The dent-ist.

This works in Japanese because apparently haisha can mean either 'dentist' or 'scrapped car'.

[ClaudiaSilvestri]

Can't tell if he wants to hit on women or just doesn't wanna hang out with chuds, knowing our school...

That's a relatable idea, for me. I remember sometimes wondering things like that about myself for several years, unsure of how I should feel about generally wanting to spend more time with and feeling more comfortable around women. Eventually I figured out I was a trans woman and a lesbian, and a lot of it make more sense. So far I don't think I would see that being it for Junpei, though.

[kokorikopi]

Man, work takes a lot out of you. I was hoping to get at least one update done a week, but...I guess not. Here's a thick one to make up for it.

Everyone's Friend of Desire

Before we start, let's go over the equips I forgot about. The bow is a nice boon for Yukari, though we'll be seeing...better Elizabeth rewards. The Angora Sweater, on the other hand, is a boon that will last us quite a while; 30 SP is a lot.



Anyways, it's Sunday morning, so let's check the TV. I wanted to make another Tanaka-Kun Is Always Listless joke, but I couldn't get out of bed to write it down.



Persona 3 ‒ "Tanaka's Amazing Commodities" (PS2 Game ver.)




"Anata no, terebi ni, Jika-netto Tanaka
Mi-n-na no, yoku no tomo"






Honestly, the localization team knocked it out of the park with this guy.







Yawn-B-Gones are limited, it might be a good idea to stock up... I say, forgetting to purchase them from the school store. Oh well.



It's not like we're at all short on cash.



Rare cards, huh? Are we talking, like, Black Lotus, Ten Thousand Dragon, Charizard Gold Star...?




"Anata no, terebi ni, Jika-netto Tanaka
Ka-u no wa, ima shika nai"



Well, that didn't take up our day, so we'll be spending more time with Hierophant.





Nah, it's nut-rouble at all.





I've got a friend who really ought to take some lessons from you...



: Before his death, he was a teacher at Gekkoukan High School... He planted that tree on graduation day with the students in his first class.









... I'm not sure how to feel about that.





Damn, we're already halfway there.




CRAB BREADDLE!



New outfits for the crew.




I don't remember if this means "Fusion Accidents", which are a mechanic we haven't seen yet, or the weird variant floors. The former won't matter, but the latter might be vital.



Because we're going in tonight.



Green...




Just as a reminder, we're here for these two quests, as well as becoming tired for school starting up again.




Honestly, the Beetle Shell didn't take that much work; they're rather common enemies.




... I cannot even begin to imagine what she'd want with a Beetle Shell.



I start from the ground up trying to find the Juzumaru, which shows up in Rare Chests. If I were lucky, I could have had one already, but they become significantly more common when the quest is active.




It takes a bit, but here we are. It's objectively an upgrade, though a small one.




Not the right series, there.




"Approximately."



This is nice though.



So, in trying to leave, I discover that you don't automatically become sick by visiting Tartarus, as opposed to going to the TV or Cognitive worlds in Persona 4 and 5.



So I try to get the shit kicked out of me for a sec.



... No dice.



So I do some more, but this time versus things that can actually hurt us.



Still nothing.



Turns out, you need to walk some 2000 steps in one night to get this message, and then you'll become tired. I hate when games count your steps but aren't on a grid that determines what one step is, modern Pokemon does this too and I hate that people backlashed against XY's roller skates so hard and--

Separate tangent. Gotta keep my commentary on-topic.



We're tired now, that's what's important.






That said, Golden Week isn't over, so we still need to kill the last few days.



Happy Birthday, Morgan.





We actually got a whole set of Yawn-B-Gones! Nice.



Sorry, Junpei. Soon.



This is very important. Remember this.




That aside, we just do this twice.




In an attempt to progress the RNG, I talk to some of The Lost around town.




I also did this. I didn't expect this, much...





I won on the first try! We'll find out what to do with this later.






To be fair, rabbits can die from... a lot.




Something to keep in mind, I guess.



I don't feel like standing at a register when I wake up, but sometimes you just gotta do it anyways. Sometimes those end up being your best ones.

: I was watching TV last night, and there was a special on weight loss. "The more you drink, the thinner you get!" Yeah, right! What about the osmotic pressure, huh? It's misinformation, but people believe what they see on TV...







The answer is Soft Water.



: Most of the water in Japan is soft water. That's why many Japanese find it strange to drink hard water, because they're used to the other kind. Remember, cooking rice with hard water ruins the flavor. Now, let's look at the various ions in water...

I'm already not huge on rice with soft water, I can't imagine what Hard Water Rice tastes like...






Sure, I guess..



Well, first...



We'll be learning a lot about determination later on, trust me.




...Actually, she's somewhat related to that, but...we'll get to that.



"Bad to the bone, baby," I say, feeling bad that I turned down Junpei to go to help console old folks about their son.









Round, soft, and hot... Stew on that for a sec.



First off... Well, we know the answer can't be croissants.



A tutorial that I think can explain better than I can!




Honestly, I have no idea who this is supposed to be. The Fox from Persona 4 can't talk...





This... is frustrating. While it doesn't consume money like P4G, nor a consumable like P5...



Imagine this image some thirteen or more times.



And a few of this one for good measure.



Eventually this shows up. Only time will tell if I'm back for it.



Five days, huh? That's the eleventh.



Anyways, the takoyaki place has what we need.





As long as there isn't a spicy one...



Yay.







Did you remember?





You're like, 5, should you be drinking this?



"You and your identical twin that I can only half-see are so nice!"




Sure.






Anyways, that didn't actually use our timeslot, so we can go here.




I guess this means you need Academics-2 to start this.




I am incredibly fashion-blind, so this might be helpful.




Oh, you.









: Zis eez tanoshii, very fun! Would you like to try?



Sure.






: But, now I am 'appy!

God, localizing this guy must have been a nightmare...




It's that time again...






The Temperance arcana represents balance, and means having a clear vision of your goals when it appears. It also suggests being calm through stress, and finding ways around extreme situations.

Characters of the Temperance arcana in the series tend to have a difficulty understanding someone important in their life, and are also unable to stand up for themselves. Persona 4's Eri Minami and her son Yuu struggle to connect to eachother, Persona 5's Sadayo Kawakami is guilted into paying off a family due to believing their son's death is her fault, and Bebe here, without spoiling much, joined Home Ec to deal with family matters of his own.

Bebe's status as a Social Link remains consistent across versions, and even the text remains mostly the same; he became somewhat noteworthy for some homoerotic undertones in the original version, though wasn't an actual romantic partner because...Atlus.






For people who don't understand Japanese, this means nothing, so let me go over these.

Mata ne: A casual goodbye, roughly equivalent to "see you later".
Genki de ne: More formal, as well as long-term; wishing good luck for the future.
Ototoi kiyagare: "Come back the day before yesterday", or basically, "Fuck off and never come back."
Aishitemasu: "I love you."



I'll be nice. I can't be mean to this kid.



o/




no




gamin'



Next day, this first.




I said soon, didn't I?




Oh, neat.




Not if you're a coward.







Honestly, that sounds sick. I'd be okay with a date taking me to McDonalds.





Huh, didn't take you for the guy who thought this much about his coffee.






> Hot cocoa




It's. A drink.




Man, this guy just does not get the hint, huh...





Ugh. No thanks. Probably will want me to put protein powder on my popcorn, or something...

[A-choo!]

...Huh. Wonder what that was?







Junpei, I just said--

: A transfer student swoops in and steals the heart of the boy every girl wants... Don't you think that would be totally cool?



...Okay, that does sound a little fun... If only to make the other girls upset. And jealous. Of me.

> Maybe I should give it a try, then.














Someone in the thread suggested Egg Junpei before I edited the screenshots for this update and this line took all the wind out of my sails with that thought in mind. I can't stop thinking about it.





Trying to crack a damn egg, apparently.





My boy(?), this peace is what all true warriors strive for.



no








Nice! We're getting closer to being all done with these, and that frees up a TON of time.



I think we're good on Courage for now.

[Quackles]

I'm already not huge on rice with soft water, I can't imagine what Hard Water Rice tastes like...

Mike's Hard Water, anyone?

https://i.imgur.com/6yzxX6p.png A transfer student swoops in and steals the heart of the boy every girl wants... Don't you think that would be totally cool?

I mean. What about, like, a transfer student swoops in and steals the heart of the girl everyone thinks is cute?

Sadly, this is only Persona 3, so perhaps not...

[kokorikopi]

Another shorter one today, but there's a good reason for that.

Doki Doki Health Club

Bah, fine.





To my knowledge, much like sports, this doesn't mean much. The actual events of the following Social Link go unchanged.

...Oh, spoiler alert, I guess.





Health it is, because I picked Library last time.



Oh, hey man. Can you hook me up?





...Hello, nurse.






I'll get as close to you as you like.



HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS





God she's even a saint too.



: They're all just very busy... Um... Let's see, where should I start explaining things to you...? ...Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't even introduced myself yet.



Pleased indeed.




> But that senior a moment ago...



: I'm actually two years older than you. I studied abroad, and took some time off from school. I'm the oldest student in the school right now. ...That's why the upperclassmen all speak politely to me. I really wish they'd stop... but I've pretty much given up about it. ...Still, considering that we've just met, it'd be nice if you didn't feel you had to be like that around me.



...ohsweetgodshesolderthanme YES SURE ABSOLUTELY WHATEVER YOU SAY










The Hermit represents wisdom and solitude. It is a card of self-reflection and clear guidance, but can mean being too withdrawn as well. Characters of the Hermit arcana have chosen to stay separate from society for one reason or another, also being represented by The Fox in Persona 4, and Futaba Sakura in Persona 5.

In Persona 3 FES, The Hermit is represented by Maya, who... I already went over! Easy bio for me.

...Who's gonna tell him that the game has less than twelve months until it closes?

Oh, right, I guess that doesn't make sense to newcomers. Innocent Sin Online refers to one of MC's options for a Social Link, when Junpei gives you a copy of the game. You end up meeting someone online, and bond over the game, only to later find out the game is shutting down. It was replaced in FeMC's path, which is both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, it's generally fondly regarded by the community and leaves a certain character later without much to do, but it also takes up not just a time period, but an entire day to progress one rank.

Also, the title Innocent Sin Online is a reference to one part of the Persona 2 duology, but it's actually a dubism. The Protagonist and the Hermit's online names of Tatsuya and Maya, as well as Maya's catchphrase "Let's think positive!" are all replacements of equivalent references to Megami Tensei II, where the protagonists are known as Devil Busters. The online game, then, is referred to as Devil Busters Online, with the characters' names being Y-Ko and N-Jima.

Mmhmm.




: We have a number of tasks here on the school health committee, but our main job is to be on duty after school. Of course, we can't tend to people who are actually injured, so we need to go get Mr. Edogawa in those cases. Mr. Edogawa will always be in the small room off to the side, but we're not allowed to go in there.



... Should I tell her I've seen this man nearly every School day since I've gotten back?











Hmm, that's concerning.




Anyways,



It's a Full Moon tonight.




We're already a higher level than you'll be when you get back, so,



Mhm.




Sounds big enough to be its own update.

Anyways, IMPORTANT QUESTION!!

Should the next update, covering the first Full Moon Event, be done as a normal update? OR, should I cut my footage into an uncommentated video, from the beginning of the next scene through the next day transition? Let me hear your suggestions!

[clearcardinal]

Haha, I picked the library both times I played because I thought I might have to look at Mr Edogawa more if I picked the health committee. I like Saori's link a lot.

I like normal updates better but video is fine if others prefer.

[Quackles]

I vote for normal updates by default, but in the end it's your choice.

[ClaudiaSilvestri]

I'd also vote for normal updates, I think. And I have to say, I'm very much liking your narration for Kotone around girls.

[kokorikopi]

Priestess of the Rails

It's midnight.







: To be honest, I lack the power... Maybe this is the best Penthesilea can do in terms of data gathering.

Namedrop for Mitsuru's Persona! I'll go over what it means when she joins us.

: Although, the power of Persona seems to be much broader than I thought. We've even got someone who can switch Personas in the middle of battle.



You think?

: It hasn't been that long since her awakening, either.

: I have to admit, I was surprised too. But in the end, it's up to her whether or not she can reach her full potential.

I suppose that's true, it is up to whether I can make myself form and maintain 22 different bonds...



: It's a Shadow!



: Wait, something's not right. The reading is too big. We've never encountered anything like--

: You mean, it's one of those?!



...One of...? Like, is it on par with the one from last month?



: I'll go wake up the others.

: Indeed.

Christ, so much for the extra hour...





Chill, dude.



: We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one. We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible. Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs.

Honestly, I... didn't even think about that.




Once again, chill.




Man this guy cannot get it through his head, huh

: You still need to recover. You'll just be a hindrance.

: What?!

: They'll fare better than you, in your current state. Have faith in them, Akihiko... They're ready.

I think she's just doing this to make sure we're ready, he'd probably be fine if he came along.




We're probably fine. I didn't spend all that time grinding for nothing.

: I guess I've got no choice.



Nice.



Quit whining. Queen's orders.



> Leave it to me!




Junpei, kindly shut the fuck up.




Thank you Mitsuru.



Well, what is it, then?



: Indeed. Let's rendezvouz in front of the station.

: Got it!

: Alright, let's go!



Hm, I've got the strangest sense of deja vu...







: But, it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour...






Oh, hell yes, biker babe. Wish she had a real outfit for it.



: Listen carefully. Tonight, I'll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same. The Shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not far from the station. To get there, you'll have to walk on the tracks.



Ah, come on, it'll be like that movie! You know, the one with the...four boys...

Okay, maybe not.





This isn't an asspull, but it isn't explained for a while.

: Now, if circumstances change, I'll notify you immediately.



Let's go.



This is it, Luigi.




Loud, and, uh, loud.

: We just got here, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary...

: The readings are definitely coming from that monorail. Proceed with caution, and stay together.

: Got it.




Got a bit of the bloodlust, Yukari?




Yeah, Junpei.

: I mean you too.

Dammit.





Junpei, I...



I'm so tempted.




Sucks to suck. They're probably fine.

: Huh...? Wait a minute. We're not at a station, but the doors are wide--

...Maybe we won't be.

: Damn, it won't open!

: Ow, my fingers!

: Will ya look at them! They're all jacked up!

> Oh, yeah...
> Are you alright?
> Be serious, Junpei.

Inoperable, huh?

: It must be the Shadow... It knows you're there. Be ready for anything! Proceed with extreme caution!



That's not either of our names.



Hey, real gameplay.

Persona 3 OST - Deep Breath Deep Breath



Fuck, dude, it sure is.



408 EXP, huh? Every day I rewatch this footage, I kick myself over a later decision.


We have no choice.
Next.





Too quiet.







It's... running away? Can shadows strategize?



: Wait! Something's not right... The enemy is acting strangely.

: But, if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!

He's got a point, but...



I think we need to be cautious.



: It would be foolish to blindly chase after it.




JUNPEI!




God dammit, GOD DAMMIT--







Fuck outta our way!

...Wait, EIGHTY EXP? Jeez, wish I could have grinded here...



: We have no choice. You have to go after him, or you'll be picked off one by one.



Stupei? Heh, that's clever.

[achoo!]

: From what I can tell, he's only a few cars ahead.

: Okay, we'll catch up to--




HATS ON STONE STATUES, BITCH!





It's fine.




Hot damn.



Let's get going.














Y'know, with all the no damage he's taken, I think he was doing fine.






We're better, though.







What's your friggin' problem, man?

: Be careful, you three! I don't detect any movement, but stay alert!



... Why are we moving?



WHY ARE WE MOVING?!







YOU'RE AWFULLY CALM, MITSURU!

Oh, God! What are we gonna do?!

: Calm down and listen. I sense a strong presence in the front car. That must be the one we're after. You'll have to defeat it to stop the train!

Oh, is that all?!



FUCK OFF!




: Yomotsu-Shikome!






Move! Move! Move!




Nice, but move!




Seven minutes... That's all I have to spare to GET THE FUCK OFF THIS TRAIN!






I sneak around this Shadow, which I keep kicking myself over, since it definitely would have been enough experience for Yomotsu-Shikome to get Auto-Tarukaja.



I definitely do not need to do this, but I use a Snuff Soul each on Yukari and myself. Better safe than sorry.



Let's go.



... Is someone recording this?








First real boss is a go!



I have!
...You don't want to know where.



First.



Neutral to wind.



And slash.




You fucker!



Leftmost is immune to Fire, you bitch.



Wind works.



You fucker!



That's just a pierce attack.





Adds are both weak to Ice, but the boss reflects it. Fucking...



Shoot it until it dies!



It can also cast its own Bufu. Apparently Mabufu is also possible.





Eventually it goes down.



That's a nice chunk of EXP that I'd rather give to another Persona. The Diamond, we'll learn more about later.




Auto-Tarukaja casts Tarukaja for free at the start of every fight. Extremely helpful.







NOW OR NEVER, SHIOMI!










Gross, dude...



My body just... Moved on its own.



Oh, hush.



: I'm sorry I couldn't do more on my end. I don't detect any more Shadows. You guys did a great job, so come on home.



I'm sure you could have done the same, in my shoes.



Pshaaww.





Speak for yourself, motherfucker. I got delivery at midnight recording this.




...That'd also be nice, but none of them are open at midnight around here.

Are we gonna raid one while it's still the Dark Hour? It's not like I don't have the money, but...












Another feature backported from Persona 4! I think this qualifies as an

!! IMPORTANT PORTABLE CHANGE !!

since I believe it applies to MMC too. These will typically appear when you fail to knock down every enemy, but still knock down some; using group-targeting Magic, failing to crit every enemy with group-target Melee, etc.







: Now, I don't have to worry about tomorrow's headlines.

: The team did a great job. They're learning quickly.

: But, what are the Shadows up to? Taking over a monorail... This is getting out of hand.

: I'll be looking into the matter.



Ominous.

: Hmmm... Let's not jump to any conclusions. For now, we should study their behavior for patterns or clues. We cannot afford to always wait for them to make the first move.

: If I had more power, things wouldn't be so difficult for the others.

: Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing fine.




...Huh?






Womp womp.









It's over. We're done. And we get a free Tired for our troubles.



Nice, we can enjoy our tired day in peace...



...*sigh*, who is it--



...Hello, beautiful.






Oh, nice! I think this means she has new requests, too.

Anyways, now we're done. That also marks the end of this recording! Any gameplay recommendations can be submitted now and I'll at least consider them.

[AradoBalanga]

The only gameplay recommendation I have is "For the love of YHVH, can Mitsuru and Akihiko hurry up and join so we can bolt Junpei's dumb ass to the bench?"

[kokorikopi]

Bumping to note that the next recording is completed and goes up through May 31st.

[kokorikopi]

The Persona Compendium

The more I comment on extended breaks, the longer breaks I seem to take.




First, from the Home Shopping Network: This is honestly not bad, since I don't have anything that gives the Zio card yet.




Then, I head to the mall, 'cause Elizabeth wanted to talk to me.




This feature is goddamned essential and the fact that you don't get it immediately is a war crime. Now I don't need to carry around literally every Persona, I can just grab what I need when I need t.




I fused away Orpheus before I could register her, so her stats are still at the base level. That said, this is also proof that losing Orpheus isn't permanent.



Most low-level Personas you want to keep at that low-level, due to needing to grab them for Social Link bonuses multiple times; the stronger the Persona becomes, the more expensive it'll be to resummon. However, I'm going to register this Yomotsu Shikome, not only due to being right below the level it will get its Skill Card, but also due to having Auto-Tarukaja. I'll be able to fuse that onto a number of other Personas in the future.








There are a number of new quests as well; the Jack Frost fusion quest is the first in a chain that I seriously recommend even if you're not going to do every Elizabeth request.



I'm not going to get into the mundane minutiae of fusing, I'll just say what ingredients I'm using. Assume I have the required Persona for a Social Link unless I say otherwise.




I decide to do this.






...Oh, wow, didn't expect that so early.

This is a mechanic exclusive to Persona 3 known as Heart Items. These have a rare chance of showing up when fusing a Persona, and when they learn their final skill, they'll give a unique piece of equipment to you.



If you want multiples, you can register a heart-enabled Persona to the compendium and resummon them multiple times. However, every Persona except for one has only one Heart Item.

Unicorn's Heart Item is the Alicorn, which provides Null Poison. Decent, but not outstanding.



Then, by fusing Unicorn with Pixie...



...Oh, alright, twice in a row then.

Jack Frost's Heart Item is the Frost Cap, which provides Null Freeze.



Also, Junpei's Social Link gets us some levels on Jack Frost.



This is a thing that can happen as well! Sometimes your skills will mutate into other skills. I'm going to say no just so I'm not wasting my Dia Skill Card, but this tends to be a good thing to do.



And we get this at Level 10. Just a phys skill.






...Huh?



...Sorry, Yukari.



I also grab this back. Heart Items are Heart Items.



The shop doesn't have much new, except for this. Obviously not worth it as armor, but it will actually change his model while in Tartarus.

Still not worth that kind of cash.



Anyways, more fun times with the old couple!







...Yeah.

This what's known as a Spend Time event, or Holdover Visit if you prefer, and it's what happens if you don't have enough points to rank up a Social Link. Sometimes these are necessary, and it never feels good to do.




ha



It's fine, Mitsuru. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine.





That's... rough, actually, wow. Didn't think of that.





Jeez...




We're doing this tonight. Our sickness is carrying over too.






Yeah, I'd say so.




Ehh, "saved the city" implies some sort of permanence.



Lunchtime, who's available today?







Uh-huh, alright...


nice typo




Well, alright.



First.








...Wait, is she a Persona-user as well? Huh?



...Okay, thanks for getting my hopes up.



After making Jack Frost with Dia, this quest opens up. It doesn't actually require passing a day, I just forgot.



By fusing Forneus and Yomotsu Shikome, we...actually, hold on.



There we go. You need to deselect the Personas in question and re-select them for fusion to reroll what skills get passed on. Yes, I'm serious.

This wasn't fixed until Persona 4 Golden. Fuck, man.







Either Irfanview or Imgur ate an image here, but yeah. We won't be making Pale Rider for a bit, but this is actually necessary for something later. Much later.






You slept in class! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!






Let's go.




Yeah, I figure that's important.



: Huh? But we're just getting started!

Short-Haired Member: But we're all tired! It's not like we're gonna make the finals or anything anyway!

Not with that attitude, you're not.






: True, our team might be weak now, but who knows what we can do if we seriously put our minds to it!

> The club members fall into a sullen silence...




Bitch.











Where the hell do you think you're going? You signed up for this yourself! You chose this!





I didn't choose this, but I'm still staying with you.




Ah, the simpler goals in life.





Is this a consistent problem? Want me to kick their asses?




I'll do it.



: Everyone else just spends all practice talking about guys or loafing around... ......



: Oh, I shouldn't be saying this to someone who just joined up.



Time spent with others is time well spent.





Yay!



Aw, HELL yes!







Hmm?





...Revenge for being spied on? Don't mind if I do...







: Monorail...



...Ah.



: Ooh, I must make a note of that one...

Wordplay alone does not a pun make.

: Luck played an uncomfortably large part in the victory...

: Especially towards the end... if she hadn't guessed at the right controls, things could have been very bad. For Shadows to work in a group to overrun large machines is unprecedented... The engine...



Better.



Dan Woren is having the time of his life here.

: Oh yeah, better write that one down too...

: One should always wear bright clothing at night...



... Man...




Please don't...



That's not bad.





... Well, after THAT...



I'm single-handedly funding this fucking arcade.



This took a bit to make happen.





Yaaaaaaay.






That's nice and all, but what about the people who already have it? Are they just fucked?








Oh?



Nice mid-frame. But yes, get Top 10 and get a reward! That's some incentive!





Lunchtime.





...Also Lunchtime. Jesus Christ, people.



First.






Nice, and entirely free too.




Yukari time.






Ehh, I'unno, flowers don't do much for me.



Roses, I guess.





...

Nice?



: My mom really liked flowers, so she always bought a lot of them. She'd decorate with the ones I'd pick, too. That's probably why I like them so much... But for a while, there was a time that I didn't like seeing flowers. They would bring back memories... And they reminded me that what is beautiful can quickly wither away.

That's... a little dark...















...I can't comment on flowers. No idea what a good price is, nor what Baby's Breath is.



And one more for Jenny and the Wimp.

[ClaudiaSilvestri]

Thanks for the update! I was very confused by that 'equipment problem' for a while when I played. I thought there was an actual problem and kept searching around for how to fix it. Apparently it's just to guide you to seeing those recordings?

Aw, you can't pick lilies as your favorite flower? I'm a little disappointed. I also know just about nothing about flowers, but I do know where 'yuri' comes from.

Oh, and one of the images isn't loading for me (between Rio's "Everyone else just spends all practice talking about guys or loafing around" and "Oh, I shouldn't be saying this to someone who just joined up.")

[clearcardinal]

Welcome back!
I get annoyed by how the other club members do Rio dirty in this bit. She's just trying to do well, you meanies.
Baby's breath is gypsophilia, the little white flowers that are often used as filler in bouquets.

[kokorikopi]

Oh, and one of the images isn't loading for me (between Rio's "Everyone else just spends all practice talking about guys or loafing around" and "Oh, I shouldn't be saying this to someone who just joined up.")

Huh, weird. Well, it wasn't a major thing, just a gag that popped into my mind when she said "loafing." Fixed now.

[Quackles]

Ah, nice to be caught back up with this LP.