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Chapter 63: 6/23: It’s Showtime (New)
This update covers content from Parts 57, 58, and 59 of the original LP.
Music: Beneath the Mask -Rain (Instrumental Version)
Well, let’s go meet up.
Music: Wicked Plan
I just had an idea—and a phenomenal one, at that.
So, what’s up, Morgana?
Well… It’s something I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately. Now that we’ve all gained some experience in battle, I think it’d be good for us to work on our finishers.
Our finishers? Yeah, I guess if we’re going to keep fighting, we ought to do it with style.
Right? Right!?
Uh, the enemy’s not gonna care how stylish we were. They’ll be just as dead. Who are we showing off for, exactly?
So I came up with just the idea… It’s maybe my best one yet! And we can definitely pull it off if you play a part in it, Lady Ann!
Me? Well, okay—what do you need me to do?
Now that’s our Lady Ann! Quick on the uptake.
Barf.
You can leave at any time, you know.
No I can’t! Did you forget why we’re even here?
What I had in mind was…
Really?
So, is that a no?
Well, it’s not that I don’t want to… it’s more like, isn’t your idea sorta impossible? Even in the Metaverse?
A strange blue glow emanates from Maaku’s pocket…
Could it have reacted to something…?
And now that Ryuji and Yusuke have arrived, we’re going to ignore that strange star development for the time being.
Music: Suspicion
Things would get interesting if my sister ever found out…
There’s no time to be getting sentimental here.
What about that came across as “sentimental” to you? Anyway, I have some quick questions before we begin. I’m afraid I still don’t know much about being a Phantom Thief. Could you teach me about the Metaverse?
Okay, so there’s this guy named “Mark Zuckerberg,” and he looks and acts like a version of Commander Data who got really into cryptocurrency.
Simply put, that world is formed of a person’s cognition. There, you can change people’s hearts.
I’ve gathered that much. I’m more concerned about the method of transportation—the app itself.
You simply need to input a name, a location, and a distortion.
Yes, but if it’s a navigation app, couldn’t someone access our history on the server?
…!?
Welp, see you guys in prison.
Wait, why are you looking at me like that…? Has nobody thought of this before!?
I…
Now she’s catchin’ me off guard too…
Ryuji, don’t pretend that’s difficult.
And we don’t know where it came from, right? It showed up on my phone without any input from me… Do you know anything about it, Maaku-kun?
Okay, I can actually answer this one. The weird dude with the deep booming voice and the nose longer than his forearm gave it to us for mysterious reasons.
Why did I even ask…?
Great, now everyone thinks I’m insane.
I guarantee you do not have to worry about us *starting* to think you’re crazy.
…I don’t fully understand, but I don’t think we have to worry about people accessing our data. From what I can tell, this app is incredibly special. It wasn’t made by any ordinary means.
That is true… Perhaps our information is safe for now if Sis hasn’t already uncovered it and located you all.
We’re still learning things ourselves. I hope your sharp wit can help us with that.
Thank you. I’ll do my best.
C’mon, we just gotta take care of him before the time limit. We’ll bounce back from this. Plus people’ll really start admirin’ us if we can manage to take this bastard down!
Yeah, this is the perfect opportunity. We have to succeed, no matter what!
Even with all this rain, it’s not getting any cooler…
Let’s just head in then.
Music: Price
You all were using code names, weren’t you?
“Narc.” Done, next.
Please actually try.
This time’s a hard one… Maybe somethin’ like “Shoulder Pads”?
Why in the world did you focus on that?
I refuse to be called that.
Gotta be one word anyhow. Snappier that way.
What about “Rider”?
Sounds too much like a smuggler. Next.
I thought that sounded good. Do you want something cool or not?
“Fixer”?
I’m not a mastermind though. Next. Won’t you give me something better to work with?
She reminds me of an empress. You got anything, Joker?
How about “Unpleasable”?
Too many syllables.
“Picky” then.
Guys, she’s clearly a “Queen.”
Uh, I already have the card motif going on. Is this gonna be some weird thing where you’re like, shipping us to clear the way for your Ann fixation? I’m not down with dating a cop.
I believe he’s going for chess, not cards.
Whatever.
But either way, I’ll take it. Pleased to be working with you all.
Now then, could you explain to me the strategy for this mission?
…Strategy?
…You don’t have one? Wait. The Phantom Thieves were acting without any plans!?
…No! We totally had a plan! It was, uh… Dude help me out here
Uhh… We pretty much look around the area, I provide navigation when needed, and then…
If we run into Shadows, we beat the shit outta ‘em!
Great plan. A+.
You wanted the help!
Very well then. I feel like I’ll be useful for sure. It seems my role is to be the brain of this team. I’ll analyze Mona’s information and give out orders. Any objections?
It’s a little haughty calling yourself the brains…
N-None, Queen!
I bet Skull’s definitely the type that’ll be under a girl’s thumb.
Mona, will you begin navigating us?
Y-Yes, Queen!
YASS QUEEN oh god why am I like this
Him too, it seems…
Apparently we are acknowledged as customers who can be extorted.
…That’s fine. We can take advantage of his negligence.
Though I will say, it’s a little scary every time.
We haven’t taken a look at Johanna’s Trait yet, so let’s do that. Gaia Pact increases the party’s chance of inflicting Burn/Freeze/Shock by 25% while Queen is present. This trait is all about scoring Technical hits, since Frei gets a free Technical off all three of those status ailments. Pretty cool. Maybe not quite as flashy as Skull’s chance for a 40% physical damage boost, Panther’s chance for lowered SP costs, or Mona’s increased healing, but this is another always-active Trait and it really helps for setting up knockdowns on enemies without weaknesses—but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself there. We’ll cover that in a bit.
Anyway, we’re going in with the slightly unusual starting party of Skull, Fox, Mona. No Queen just yet, surprisingly. That’s for a specific reason we’ll see shortly.
Anyway, let’s head in via the secret passageway under the pig statue.
I don’t remember seeing this place last time. Just where exactly are we…?
There has to be a map somewhere. For now, let’s try to explore and search for the Treasure.
Hmm… I don’t like the looks of this…
You mean ‘cause you’re a cat?
…But, if it does end up making trouble for us, thhat could actually work out in our favor. We’ll have a chance to finally show off our surprise finisher!
Music: Last Surprise
Geez… Fine! Here we go!
Ready to go!
As this tutorial mentions, Showtime is a free team-up attack with no cost that activates under certain conditions. It’s… pretty busted, honestly.
Let’s see what all the fuss is about here.
Video: Mona and Panther’s Showtime (Watch this, even with gifs there’s just no way to properly capture this)
This is how I really feel!
Oh, thanks!
You have such good taste!
Meeeeooow!!!!
*giggle* Yeah!
Get a load of this!
Perfect!
And it just does massive damage.
So, that’s the first Showtime in the game. There are several, each involving a different pair of Phantom Thieves, and honestly? That’s probably my least favorite one. They’re so good.
Music: Price
Heheheh! It’s simply the fruit of our secret, passionate training—
Hmm, yeah, I guess we did put some effort into it. Still, I’m surprised it went so well…
Maybe it was because of the thing Jose gave us? That… star-shaped thing?
I think it even gave off some kinda twinkle back then!
Back… then? Oh, you mean when I told you about the team-up idea?
So, in other words, the… star, I guess we’ll call it… reacted to Mona’s wish to fight alongside Panther?
Wish-granting stars… If that’s truly the case, we’re just encountering one strange phenomenon after another.
I don’t really get it… But, what I know is, if Mona and Panther can pull that off, can’t we do it too? Wouldn’t that be sick!? Hey, Fox, you wanna try comin’ up with one o’ those badass moves of our own? We could call it, like… “Art Run,” or somethin’!
……
C’mon, quit givin’ me that look…
There’s a lot we don’t understand about how this works… as usual…
There’s a few conditions for activating Showtime. If the battle’s going really well or really poorly, it’s more likely to happen.
Also worth noting: you can perform a Showtime with only one of that Showtime’s members in the party, you don’t need both. This is why we have Mona in the party right now, and we’ll swap Panther in after a while to save on his SP.
From there, the opening beats of this bank play out pretty much identically. The treasure chest behind the counter in the lobby now contains a Portable Battery, which gives whoever equips it Shock Boost.
These Orobas(es) have for some reason changed their elemental affinity since the original game. They used to be weak to Bless, now they’re weak to Ice.
Gotta get on top of the elevator, remember?
There’s a new room off to the side here.
If we climb up, we can get on top of this divider wall…
And grapple right over to the second floor. I have no idea why this is here, it’s completely pointless. You skip one fight, maybe.
So, there’s the Sleuthing Instinct ability from Akechi’s Confidant, which reveals one elemental affinity from an enemy. I believe this is the only time this entire dungeon that this procced, so… it’s pretty goddamn rare!
We get it, game. Jeez.
Anyway, let’s head inside the office and get the keycard.
We take these guys down in one round.
Queen, it was in no way difficult.
Use the keycard…
Why is there a whole-ass room here just for the space above the elevator?
And here’s the first safe room. We’re going to take this opportunity to head back to the Velvet Room.
Music: Aria of the Soul
We’re going to fuse Flauros from Eligor, Orobas, and Berith. Unlike in the original game, we can make special fusions without all of the necessary Personas in our “deck,” as long as they’re all registered.
However, you do still need to pay the resummon fee to fuse this way.
We give Flauros Tarukaja, Rakukaja, and Maragi.
I shall become a fiery mask of thine, with my powers to see the past and future…
I can also see the past, it’s not that impressive.
Worth noting that Flauros with Tarukaja was our current Strength request, which we have just filled.
What is it, Inmate? Need to check on your penal labor? So, you’ve brought us another Persona we asked for.
You did indeed bring a Flauros with the skill Tarukaja. That completes our current assignment…
That’s a fair assumption, I’m very lazy.
I’m almost impressed, Inmate! That task list Justine wrote is really be helping you grow!
…I didn’t write the list. I had assumed you did.
Huh?
Though now that I consider it, there’s no way you could have written something so precise.
What!?
Still… this is quite the conundrum. I do not believe our master created this list, so who could have?
I want my reward! Give me the serotonin, I earned it!
Shut up, Inmate!
Caroline, should we consult with our master about this?
Nah, it’d be a waste of his time.
What are you two whispering about? Please cut me in, I’m so fucking bored, you have no idea.
Anyway, Inmate, you have earned this new function of the Velvet Room. Please use it wisely.
I feel like my bond with Caroline and Justine is growing deeper…
Oh boy… Lockdown… Yay…
Okay, I kid, Lockdown is actually much more useful generally than it was before. Still not gonna get much use out of it, though.
You may now place a Persona into Lockdown and train it to learn new skills.
While you’re lazily wasting away, your Persona’s gonna grow all on its own. Talk about hospitality! …Anyway, time for your next task! According to the list, it’s… uh… What is it, Justine?
The next task is…
One more thing… The next privilege we provide for you will unlock great power. Therefore, we will need you to fulfill two more tasks before we can hand it over to you.
Heh… The world’s not so easy, is it!? First up, bring us a Phoenix that has Counter!
…I just said that, Caroline.
As always, speak to us once you have obtained it. We will know if the deed is done. Am I clear?
That’s the only business we had in the Velvet Room for now.
Music: Price
Return of the security cameras. Security cameras are annoying because you can’t cross their field of view, even when jumping between hiding points.
Smash the box to turn ‘em all off.
Ngh… But we’ll have to get through this area… Let’s do this, guys.
Good to know, Queen.
We freeze the enemy using Fox. Unfortunately, Queen isn’t in the party so we can’t properly take advantage of this.
Anyway, here’s Fox’s Scoundrel Eyes proccing to protect the party from Oni’s Rampage.
Here’s Black Ooze, a recolor of Slime. It’s weak to Electricity and Psychokinesis.
We eventually enter a large atrium, where we have to get keycards from these two guards inside this locked room.
I was always more of a Public Enemy guy myself. Anyway, that’s a weapon for Skull.
Here’s the vault we need the keycards for.
Apparently Treasure Demons can spawn into regular enemy encounters now? Huh.
Oh hey, a hostage situation. Forgot this was even a thing.
Fuck you I’m not giving you a goddamn Bead, are you kidding!? Sorry, Fox.
I have definitely gotten some absolutely vulgar team names from this assist mechanic before. Thanks anyway, PRH1104.
Well, let’s keep going. We can grapple up here.
Big bad shadow here, best be careful.
Motherfucker! And it’s been pretty long since the safe room, ugh. What happened here is that this Take-Minakata is weak to Psy—which I have on Matador. Unfortunately, Matador is weak to Electricity, which this Shadow uses. So it zapped me then took me out with Assault Dive, ouch.
While fighting our way back to where we were, I get Mazio for Skull.
And Mindfulness procs for the first time ever, and the only time in this dungeon! Remember, this was a Maruki Confidant ability that gives a chance to replenish Maaku’s SP when it’s very low.
When we get back, we find that the Shadow was near a Will Seed, which we grab. But not before that Shadow almost mercs me again.
We’ve finally smashed all the cameras, let’s eavesdrop.
I sure do love having these two keys that open that big door downstairs! Those intruders will never get through here!
Son of a *bitch*.
They look strong, let’s split them up and fight them individually. We’ll lure one away with the communication equipment upstairs.
Sure, whatever. We could probably handle them both though, honestly.
On the way, Fox learns Counter.
I also notice the elusive “Persona summoned facing backwards” glitch, which seems to have survived into Royal unscathed.
We’ve been ambushed! Please send exactly one person to help us!
(over intercom) We’re on break. Ask someone else.
Please! We… need someone… tough?
Fine. I’ll take care of this. Gary, stay here.
This run animation looks so weird I thought it was a glitch at first. The speed of the movement in no way matches with how dramatically this guy is running.
This was a trap!? You bastards!
Anyway, that takes care of itself rather quickly.
And let’s head right back for the second one.
Where’s Charlie?
We fucking killed him, man.
Eh, I never really liked that guy. He stole my lunch last week. But, uh, I’m still gonna have to kill you guys. Sorry.
The second one goes down just as easily.
And we head into the next portion of the Palace.