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Minor content warning for this one. Nothing graphic or explicit, but it brings stuff from update 1 back up.
Lux De Luna
We're in the late afternoon of our first day of properly looking aroun town, and we just now get a text message. Well, two of them.
They're pretty simple right now, but I'm not sure I like the idea of the nurse describing herself as "beautiful" to a student.
Anyway, we're in the city proper so we get to wander around a bit. We've a few places to check out, and there's no time limits or anything that can be missed here. Game starts us at the police station in Area 2, so that works for me.
Malum
Just then, a child runs right by a detective.
Uh-oh, hey id, don't run around here like that.
The people in the area are at first shocked, then they quietly laugh while walking by the detective.
The cop stands up and quickly meets Atsuki's eyes.
Since you saw me... Gimme your hand!
You're under arrest!
.........
Ahaha, just kidding! Sorry!
I haven't seen you before. You from another town?
Well, that's not true. She has seen Atsuki, briefly. At 1am. Understandable that she wouldn't remember it though.
No, I moved here.
I thought so.
But, the fact that I didn't know you means...
You've moved here recently.
I remember most of the people in Kisaragi City.
Okay, now I've got your face down, too.
If you ever have a problem, come to me for help, okay?
Ah!
I didn't introduce myself.
But enough jokes. If you ever get lost, call me.
Just yell and I'll be right there.
It's really weird, to me, how two of the three adult women we've met in this in-game day have said this now. Is this supposed to be some kind of flirty thing? I sure hope not, but the context is really giving me pause now.
Arguably weirder is that this is how the scene ends, even.
We're just booted back to the map at this point. Might as well go through the Areas in order so that means Area3 next. As you might expect, we'll mostly be seeing new places this time around...
Though only one of them is this awful shade of green. And has a cardboard cutout of two generic anime girls.
...And even has it as a decal on the counter. Great.
Well then, I'd better introduce myself.
May or may not be a popular opinion, hard to say, but I like Yuzi's jacket. I dunno, I'd wear it.
Hey, this is something I always ask new customers:
Whaddaya like about here?
Even though we consulted many pros when we made it,
We just can't settle on a unified opinion.
I guess this is how we can decide a clear result.
So, I'd really like to hear your honest opinion.
I haven't bothered to show the dialogue choices yet, because... well, it's kinda bland. Noting them here, though, the right options up until now have always been the top one. Here, the top 2 both give a Joy Down result and we don't want that of course.
I will say one thing that I like about the layout is the completely inexplicable and seemingly out of place astronomy theme. It's extra cheesy but I kinda dig the stars that spell YUZI in the top-left.
It's not bad.
Yeah! I thought you'd understand me!
It's relatively hard for most people to understand.
...As hard as that may be to believe!
This shop's "sense" selects people carefully.
People don't choose here, the shop chooses people!
Mannnnn... I'm shocked at your honesty!
Well, I'm afraid I have a job to do.
YUZI is a very rare thing for this game, in that it's one of... I wanna say two places in Kisaragi where we can sort of do things. We can read the local Bulletin Board System (...forget where, this makes me question when this is set), but not post there.
If you wanna read 'em, you can do so in the second post. I'll update it every chapter (where applicable) like with the profiles and datalog stuff.
We'll just carry on to Area4 for the time being, though.
Sunny Spot
...Okay, yes, the Seagull building also looks quite garish and bad. It pulls it off better, because it's not just a singular mass of colour.
Talking excitedly, they don't seem to notice Atsuki.
Is he a friend of yours?
Uh, no... Yeah. My classmate, Atsuki Saijo.
I must introduce myself.
I'm a newscaster for Seagull. Nice to meet you.
And wow... You've got such handsome friends.
Nice one, Nozaki!
N-no... He just transferred here today...
To call him a "friend"... I just met him today...
This has happened twice now too. I don't get this one either!
Whaaaat?! Of course not?!
Hehehe, kidding, kidding.
You're so serious, so it's fun to tease you.
So Saijo, you didn't know Nozaki's a journalist?
For a student, she's a first class reporter, our star.
What an exagerration... And to hear you say that...
Hehe, don't be modest. It's the truth, you know.
Um, thank you very much.
I must go get ready for the next broadcast.
Saijo, if you have time why not come visit Seagull?
You can watch a broadcast.
I've never been so highly praised by Razzly before.
You probably don't know, but this is Seagull studio.
Razzly is a newscaster at this station.
Typo aside, there's something strange about her putting "nationwide" in air quotes. Like it's not a real thing or she doesn't know what it means or something.
But she liked this city, so she transferred here.
Usually someone like that'd never talk to me.
Oh no!! I haven't set the recording timer!
Sorry, Saijo!! See you tomorrow!
Only two places left to go and they're both in Area7. One of them we should recognise even from here. This one, however...
Company F
The older man appears to be your soulmate.
"R-really?!"
Yes, I can see you and him at your wedding.
"With him? Really? And, and, one more person...?"
I'm afraid I can't see him. I see a man in his thirties, with dimples, standing next to you.
"Really..."
"I understand. Thank you so much! Now I feel I can make a decision."
Atsuki approaches as the woman bows her head in appreciation to Rui.
This is one of those things where you can tell what this is actually saying, but the wording of it is pretty mangled.
What're you doing here, Saijo?
How'd you find my shop? Was it a coincidence?
I just happened on it.
I don't really know why these are options at all. They both give you the same emotional change.
You probably heard about a student fortuneteller.
Really? But I don't even advertise.
...For once, this makes more sense in the text. Not sure how that happened either.
Was it truly a coincidence?
If it was, maybe it's fate.
Okay, I'll show you around.
I don't like fortune-teller sounding names.
But some people doubt my skill because of the name.
That's kinda weird, isn't it? The "F" in the name is pretty clear in context. The real odd part of the name is that it implies more than one person.
I'm known for being one hundred percent right in my readings.
I mean, that's why I get so many customers like that one.
Little bit of Sigma here, nothing too taxing.
Divination Customer
About Atsuki
For the second time this chapter, we get these two to mix together giving us a third:
Did He Hear?
It is mildly annoying, to me personally, that these don't have little descriptors.
Oh and we get our first Rank Up here. Apparently "Forincar" is Spanish for "forcing," though, so there's that I guess. The first one, "Dimentear", is also Spanish for "tell." Apparently. I don't speak any Spanish myself. Either way, this is not a pattern, though, and is likely just a coincidence. None of the others are Spanish. I think they're either truncated or portmanteaus or something, but they mainly just read as gibberish. "Dimentear" is clearly meant to come from "Dimension" and "Tear" but "Forincar" is a bit harder to say.
Anyway, the Rank Up rewards are useless and garbage and not worth worrying about. This one ostenibly gives us a larger Search radius and more Time when using Sigma on people. In practice it... doesn't. Not really. See, later on, the search radius starts to get smaller and the time limit drops from 90 seconds to 80 seconds. This just keeps things where we've got them now for a bit longer. I think. Yeah, it's unclear and dumb.
So, you can come anytime to get your fortune told.
End
Nice of it to shake things up a bit here, by giving us the generic talk stuff after we use Sigma. Memory is still unusable, so we'll just gloss over that one for now.
Talk
Anything's fine, I'm on my break now.
Alright, shoot.
Not even anything new or different here either. Might as well just keep going top-to-bottom since that's pretty effective.
Art Teacher
Something the matter?
AAAAAHH!!
Ah hahahah...
Sorry!
I just... forgot.
Well, I can't tell Mika to shape up anymore...
I can do it tomorrow if it's alright.
I'm really sorry.
Kisaragi School
Thanks!
Wow, when you first asked me, I really irked...
I don't think there's really much of anything here that I need to say about that sentence, is there?
But while touring, I saw a new side to the school.
It was a good experience.
I really appreciate it!
Kisaragi School (2)
There's a dorm behind our school. Lotta people there.
The cafe used to be the auditorium. See the stairs?
Huh. That might be a better spot for Atsuki to be staying while here. Might be a reason for why not, though.
Morning PC Room
Oh, I do yoga in the mornings.
So i'm usually here right as the bell's ring.
So I didn't have time...
He's like some kinda time-keeping idiot savant.
He won't even give you a second's leeway.
Don't tell Yamato! I don't know what he'll do to me.
Keep this between us!
Alright, time to start preparing for my next job.
See you tomorow!
Last place to go, then. Let's see what our neighbour's up to.
Kisaragi
His face is familiar. Then, two female students passing by Atsuki scream.
The girl chatter excitedly as they walk by.
Come to see my shop?
"Unami's outside his shop!"
"Oh, what do I do...?"
Two girls are debating entering the shop.
"He's looking at me!!"
Ryo looks back, and the girls go back into the building, embarassed.
Oh God... Them again...
I see them every day... They never buy anything.
Now an old book seller on the other hand...
That's the old book shop I inherited from my grandpa.
Do you like old books?
Let me know if you do.
I can probably find something you'd like.
Oops, I'm talking too much.
When it comes to books, I get really absorbed.
I should get back to work soon...
A woman's voice comes from inside the shop.
Now this is a weird one. The person that speaks here is an actual character. She never appears on-screen during the main game. But she has a name, a character design, a FORT profile and she does appear in-game on screen. But only in side content that's sequestered away in its own special area.
What a game.
Hahaha, see?
Ryo laughs and tells the girl where he is.
Sorry, I have to get back.
See you tomorrow!
Only one spot added this time around. Let's have a gander, then.
Oh, this place. Been a hot minute since we've been here, huh?
Kamishiros
Mystic
The girl Atsuki met last night is mixed in with the gawkers. She sees Atsuki and comes closer.
Did you come to look too?
It was him after all. The guy on the second floor!
Why would you do that? You're 11!
And the man was dead.
He deserved to die. That's what happens!
Like, do you know what happened inside?!
Cardboard boxes filled with dead animals.
Surprised by Nami's sudden outburst, the other gawkers start looking at her.
S-sorry... It's got nothing to do with you.
But Melody told me...
It's okay, I won't tell.
It's pretty obvious that she can speak with Melody. A regular little Doctor Dolittle.
Sigma goes here, but it's very quick. Just the one Worm to deal with.
Same as Nami
Atsuki's classmate, Yayoi Kamishiro, walks over.
Look at this nerd, still wearing her school uniform. No one else is!
Why- how do you know Nami?
We're friends. But you, how do you know him?
Friends? Nami, you're...
He's a stranger, and much older than you.
So what? He's not a bad person.
Anyway, you know him, right?
At least let me tell him thank you.
Huh? Helped you? Saijo, you helped Nami?
Yeah, he protected me from some weird old guy.
I guess that's not strictly untrue. Kinda. It's more than a bit of a stretch, though.
...I-I'm sorry.
I had no idea at all. That was rude of me.
Can we? Let's all go together!
What? Right now?
Yeah, of course!
Nami leans in to Atsuki, and whispers to him.
I'll go on ahead! You guys hurry up!
Okay, let's go together.
Could say no, but that changes nothing important or relevant at all. Not even the emotional response is different.
Okay, let's go, shall we? Do you know the place?
It's here. This is what changes if we said no to Yayoi. Saying yes makes entering Triple Step automatic. Saying no lets you manually come here, instead of the zero alternative options you have.
Ticktack
You could see Nami setting the table way back there.
The manager came from the counter and spoke to Nami.
"Hey Nami, is this enough?"
Melody's here, so four!
"Okay, could'ja make chicken and four triple burgers?
...Oh no, we're stuck in a quote that doesn't close. At least it's not a parenthesis!
Okay, it's all ready!
Sunny Spot
Oh, oh dear. The bulk of this scene now takes place in this weird little format. Remember how the text here broke quite oddly the one time we saw it before? Yeah... At least there's voice acting here to hopefully make it decipherable by humans.
Here you go Atsuki. Here, Yayoi.
Here, Melody, chicken! Be careful, it's hot!
Nami, have you been here alone before?
Not alone, with Melody!
That's not what I meant.
So, the obvious downside to this format is that without the audio or portrait changes, the dialogue here is unattributed to anyone. This can be a problem a few times where it matters more than this.
The other downside to this format is that it's clearly always stuff they did later, so proofreading is even less prevalent than usual. But we've seen that already.
That's called a Triple Step Burger, Atsuki.
The best one here!
Nami, are you listening?!
Yeah, but I'm not a kid any more! I'm okay!
...I said it already, but Nami is 11 years old. Literally still a kid.
And the manager's my friend.
Anyway, the chicken's good. Just been cooked.
Uh-huh...
How do you like it, Saijo?
Sorry, Nami didn't even ask.
It's gonna get cold. Eat it quickly.
You're right, let's eat.
I was surprised yesterday. Was that fate?
Melody said that you have intentions.
Okay, this line is just kinda nonsense no matter how you slice it. That's just gonna happen sometimes, I guess.
That we were supposed to meet.
She says weird stuff sometimes, but I agree.
You don't seem like other people.
Nami, don't be rude!
I'm not. I just felt something mysterious.
But I met you outside that place...
I can't forgive that guy! He's just garbage!
He killed so many animals, you know?
The pet rabbit disappeared at school.
Do you remember the rabbits, Jumpy?
Then chickens started disappearing, too.
I knew it was him. The animals told me.
The teachers wouldn't listen to me.
Nami and my friends were looking into it.
We talked to the police, but...
They didn't listen to me at all!
Why don't the police get it?!
Unfortunately, I don't think "animals told me via my psychic powers" is the kinda thing that the police would seriously look into.
And really, that's when we gave up.
So, I went there every day...
Making sure he didn't do anything bad.
It's dangerous to be out alone at night!
Oh, Melody, you wanna go home?
Okay, let's go!
Huh? Oh...
See you, Atsuki! Bye bye!
Ah! Nami!
Well, this makes three. At least it makes more sense than the school nurse.
She's too free, or maybe too selfish.
I'm really sorry. I'll talk to her about it.
That kid, I swear...
Oh, sorry! I was complaining...
See you at school tomorrow. Goodbye.
End
Only one thing left to do tonight, it seems. All we can do now is go home, so it's time to report into FORT...
FORT
It's not bad.
Okay, that's good.
You need to blend in to investigate properly.
Okay, let's start today's briefing.
World famous artist, known for his work in surrealism.
For two years, he's been an art teacher at Kisaragi.
But, for the last two weeks he hasn't shown up.
Like reciting bad poetry at 1am in the middle of town.
Liu Yee is checking up on him now.
Prepare to move as soon as we hear from him.
One more person of interest.
From the Shinen you read, he's probably not infected.
He erased all the data, so he must have problems.
Watch what he says and does.
She's a special telepath we're watching.
She's not an enemy, but let's keep an eye on her.
Okay, good luck tomorrow.
So, as the first full episode of the game, Mystery is more representative of the general overall flow of the game. It's still not perfect at that, since it's purpose was mostly to slowly introduce new characters over time. This makes sense, since the cast of this game is frankly huge and we'll be seeing at least one new character every chapter for... a while. We haven't even met every important character yet, never mind side ones.
Unfortunately, this also means it's an utter pacing killer in a lot of respects. Hopefully the next one will be better about that.
Oh, and we have our first scene in the side story section. They're sequestered away in a different area of the game entirely. Probably not getting all of them because there's over 30 of them and some are mutually exclusive. What even is game design, really.