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Ah, time to play more Endwalker, virtually the only thing I’ve been doing since it launched four weeks ago!
Ugh. 3,191st in line, huh? Well… I guess I could go do something else while I wait? Was there anything I’d been putting off? …Oh. Right.
Chapter 64: 6/23: QueueAnon (New)
That title scans, right? “Queue” like the line, and “anon,” because we’re… y’know, phantom thieves? Eh? …Shut up.
Music: Price (Another Version)
So he took all of this from the weak…
…He’s going to pay for this.
Yeah, I know, I took a month-long break halfway through a Palace. In my defense… uhh… really thought I’d think of something! Let’s just say I had “other priorities.” One of those priorities being finals, but I spent so little time dealing with those versus the other thing I was doing that it would be borderline dishonest to bring them up! Which is why I just brought them up anyway, but with a veneer of irony and self-deprecation so I seem “cool” and “aloof” and “sort of responsible, I guess.” Hell yeah, I can feel it working, you’re all like putty in my hands.
We enter the hallway where we’re introduced to the devious cameras that turn on, then—and you’re not going to believe this next part—off! Never really understood why we can tell when they’re not actively recording, that seems like a glaring flaw in this place’s security. Maybe we’re just that good, I guess?
Leanan Sidhe here uses Rakunda, Psio, and Marin Karin. She’s weak to Fire and strong against Wind and Psy.
Leanan Sidhe is a “female” Shadow type, meaning that Panther’s Girl Talk will work if she’s in the party and we anger this Shadow in negotiation. It’s mildly handy, though I’m almost certainly never going to do anything as grognardy as building my party around maximizing the chance to pick up a Persona I particularly want.
Here, we need to go out onto this ledge to proceed, just like in the original.
However, there’s now a Will Seed located in this room we’d be remiss to pass by.
If we jump down from the first ledge, then turn around and jump down again…
…we can reach a spot to grapple from.
Wheeeee.
And we get the Will Seed.
Anyway, from here we can grapple to another point. From there we can head into the hallway we need to enter to proceed, or…
…we can grapple again to this catwalk.
From there, we jump down and open this chest for some infusion material.
One more proc of Sleuthing Instinct. Guess it did proc at least one other time, whoops.
We get this Thieves’ Den award when we do some random smash-and-grab of placed items before the next elevator. But before we head further down…
Wow… 20% done… joy… let’s get back to it, then…
It is difficult to hear what he’s saying from where we are now…
Well, then let’s get down there.
This Take-Minakata puts us in a bit of a rough spot here.
It’s about to follow up…
But no!
Panther’s Sexy Technique♥ activates and prevents the action! This has been changed from an ability used to “seduce the enemy during negotiation and steer discussion,” whatever that meant, to something that prevents an enemy’s action in battle. Pretty useful.
We find a locked chest here, which we open to find a new weapon for Queen.
It’s also at this point that we switch out Fox, as he’s running on fumes. We’ll finally swap in Queen to replace him. This will be our party for the rest of the Palace.
We get another award from recruiting a certain number of Personas.
Around this point, Panther learns Agilao. Jeez, already? Skull just learned Mazio…
And we find the second safe room. It’s really far away from the first, and way too close to the third!
From here, we go confront Kaneshiro.
Ugh, I really don’t want to go to Rhonda’s baby shower later… Think I can skip it?
You’re eight feet tall and bright yellow, my guy. I think people will notice if you don’t make an appearance. Besides, these events are good for morale.
*ahem*
Sorry, that shit was a piece of cake for us!
…Well, I wouldn’t say it was that simple…
Nah, Skull’s right, it was pretty trivial.
H-Hey, finish off these vermin here! Keep them away from the elevator at all costs!
Spoiler: he does not succeed.
Grrr, he took off while we were busy fightin’…
It’s a journal. Let us see what lies inside…
The pages afterward have been torn out as well. Could it be a code of some sort?
If we’re not gonna figure this shit out now, we should just keep goin’ forward, yeah?
Considering Kaneshiro’s reaction, this elevator should lead us to the innermost part of the bank. If so, it’ll be the most secure area as well. Let’s make sure we’re ready for whatever awaits!
…How’s the queue?
*sigh*
Music: Disquiet
Wh-What the hell!? Are these all vaults!? How messed up is this guy!?
We’re supposed to check all of these for the Treasure!?
Guys, why would the Treasure be stored in a normal vault, identical to all the others? None of those vaults even seem big enough to hold a decent Treasure. There’s probably, like, a bigger one somewhere.
Hold on, this distinct shape… Could it be…
What’s the matter?
If my prediction is correct, we won’t need to check every single one of these small vaults.
See? Smarty McCopPants over here agrees with me.
For real!?
…That is, I hope. I’ll explain why once I’ve confirmed my theory.
I guess you’re gonna save it for later to be *dramatic*?
Er… yes, exactly!
No, her actual plan is to conveniently not remind us of her theory if it turns out to be wrong, thus saving face.
…Ouch. You really seem to have it out for me today.
Oh, that? That’s just standard hazing, don’t worry about it. I think I kinda went softer on Fox than he deserved after the whole “pervert” thing so I’m doubling down on you.
I suppose I dodged a bullet there.
Wait, pervert? What?
We immediately find a safe room upon leaving the elevator.
Music: Price (Another Version)
PIN…? So is this gonna open one of the vaults?
Hm, there’s something written above the number pad on here. “RICH”… This is disgusting. How obsessed can one man be with his money?
Wait, there might be something more than that! Do you think this is connected to that journal…?
Hm, let me think… If I remember correctly, it said R=C=0 I=1 H=2.
See? It has all of the letters in the word “RICH”!
Shut up, guys! I wanted to figure it out myself!
Gonna write these down for the sake of convenience, it’s just easier to keep track that way.
Easy enough, just a simple substitution.
So my deduction may be correct…
As long as I’m rich, anything will be possible…
That voice… It’s Kaneshiro! Is he watching us!?
That doesn’t seem to be the case. It sounds more like the voice of his heart… I guess all he really thinks about is money, after all.
So he blackmails people outta their savings and that’s still not enough? What a douche…
More importantly, the message in the journal was the PIN code!
Yes, it seems so… but I doubt it will be that easy from this point forward. The rest of the pages were torn out of the journal. Who knows what clues they may hold…
Well, let’s not get pessimistic. We should look around and try to find some other clues. Time to head further in and find those PINs!
A little further in, we run into an incredibly rare sight: A Showtime that fails to defeat a normal enemy. This was actually a “strong” red Shadow, but still!
In the first offshoot of the main area we find these controls to open a shutter.
(PA System) Hey, uh… The intruders have made it down here… You guys should probably, like… protect the golden pig.
Golden pig?
Yep, the golden pig… You know, with the code inside? That pig? Everyone remember? Just… protect it. Okay then… Well, I’m gonna go back to *not* fighting Minotaur… Oh fuck off, Walter again!?
Think he’s talkin’ bout that golden pig right over there?
Worth a shot.
I swear to god, when Joker presses the nose on this pig to open it up, it makes a very distinct fart noise. I have no idea why they did this, it freaked me out reviewing the footage.
And we get more of the code.
Further in, another note.
And another input device.
All right, it worked!
(inner thoughts) Time to REAP the rewards of all my backbreaking labor! C’mere, little wallets! Come to your new master!
Oh, I see, he uses the word we “solved.” That’s… not really that interesting.
Let’s just head back.
This is the second one… I wonder how many more there are…
I’m sure we’ll find out as we go. Let’s keep moving to our next one!
Back to the queue…
YOOOOOOOOOOOO
In the next offshoot, Skull learns Memory Blow, which deals Light Physical to all foes with a low chance of inflicting Forget. This is actually a replacement for a different skill he learned in the original, Bad Beat, which dealt Medium Physical to all foes with a low chance of inflicting Despair. I guess that was a little broken, huh? Unfortunately Memory Blow is also weaker than other skills Skull has available. There’s really not much reason to use it over Rampage, and he’s about to gain third-tier Physical damage with Assault Dive at 26, so it’s just a bit of a waste.
Most of the Phantom Thieves have exactly one difference in their Persona’s skill list between vanilla and Royal, two of which I’ve actually already missed and had to go back to edit in: Mona learned Pulinpa at level 19 (high chance of Confuse to one foe) where previously he learned nothing, and Queen starts off with Makajama (high chance of Forget to one foe) now.
Queen also learns Freila. She and Panther are the only two we have with second-tier elemental spells yet, so that’s useful.
There’s a locked chest in here that contains a Golden Vest, a decent upgrade. I equip it on Joker.
Up here, we see a golden door. Unfortunately, I immediately notice it’s locked and fail to notice that it’s gold, meaning I don’t inspect it. I’d go back to rerecord for this, but… I got overzealous recently and overwrote my Palace save files with stuff from a bit later. This isn’t the only one of these doors, though, we’ll see what it does later.
Further in, Fox learns Rising Slash, which like Giant Slice increases its damage after a Baton Pass. This one is just Heavy damage instead of Medium.
There’s an annoying segment in here where we have to navigate a corridor with very inconvenient camera placement. The game does this like, once or twice in this part of the Palace, but it sucks. I was backtracking heavily looking for a camera box to break before I realized I actually did need to carefully walk between them, which it isn’t even immediately clear is possible.
Another pig, another code.
Likewise.
Here, we find ourselves on the other side of the golden door.
Hmm… and there’s also this weird pig. Maybe we should do some reconnaissance first.
So he even takes money from his employees… and at a terribly steep rate, I see. …Hm. It would seem only Kaneshiro has the clearance to change prices.
…Maybe we won’t have to pay if we just bust it up? Breakin’ shit’s always worked for us before! Let’s give it a shot.
We’re the least subtle phantom thieves ever.
And now that door is open.
It says “HUGE,” you moron! Can you even read?
Uh, wow. Rude. Just literacy-shame him right in front of me, jeez.
Well then, we should keep—
(inner thoughts) Need to… need to get HUGE! Muscles, money, power! No one will ever walk all over me again!
He is beyond redemption… It seems he cares not for those he tramples upon himself.
Every step we take is strengthening my resolve. Let’s push onward.
This movement… There can be no doubt.
Hm? Did you notice something?
I don’t know what that means…
Uh, well… When you insert a key into a lock, if the key is the right shape, the cylinder’s tumblers will all line up and allow the lock to turn. That’s why the path forward has stayed straight.
So you’re saying the whole floor is just one giant lock…?
That’s right. All the smaller vaults in here aren’t important. There has to be an area further in, locked away by the room itself.
And that’s where the Treasure’s gotta be! Sweet, let’s get goin’!
Huh, so that was your theory. I’m impressed enough with the results that I’ll cut down on the sass. That said, cat, don’t you make *lockpicks*? How do you not know about locks?
Uhhhhh… let’s just keep going, okay?
Next up, miniboss Shadow time.
You guys are those thieves, right? Man… I better get hazard pay for this… But I’m a security guard, so surely it’s part of the job description? Maybe I’ll get a bonus if I kill them? Oh, whatever. Sorry, please die!
Oh no, Fear!
Oh, well I guess this fight’s over.
And so it was.
So, here we come to the right/left switch that will change the position of the gap in the wall for us to move through. We need to set it to “left.”
Mona senses a Will Seed!
And left again.
There’s another miniboss Shadow to guard the final Will Seed.
>Leave it to me.
But since you’re here… It’ll be the last of you!
This fight’s not going great for us…
Oh, I guess this fight’s over now, huh?
I really can’t wait for us to unlock like, any other Showtime.
We equip that Crystal of Gluttony right onto Queen. It lets her use Marakukaja!
Now we set both switches to “right” and proceed. Let’s check on the queue again…
Maaaaaaaaaan… So close…
Based on how this looks, we’re going to have to find a bunch of power boxes…
Hidden grapple spot here, which we can use to get up above for chests to open and power boxes to break.
We spend our final Lockpick to receive a full-party full-heal item. Not too shabby.
And that’s all the security in this room. We can go floop the pig now.
I doubt it’s the first time it’s procced, but this is almost certainly the first time I’ve mentioned Harisen Recovery in Royal. It functions exactly the same as it did in the original game: a party member with Harisen Recovery has a chance to slap another party member afflicted with an ailment with a harisen (large paper fan) to cure them. Also, Ryuji’s isn’t quite in his hand here.
What!? No one told me there would be math! I’m an English major! I was specifically avoiding this!
Safes everywhere… Kaneshiro must have gained an obscene amount of money. Though, walking around the Palace, I don’t see anything that he seems to have spent it on…
Perhaps all he wants to do with it is hoard it…
Ah, I see. The acquisition of money itself, not the consumption, is the status symbol to him. Interesting.
Now’s not the time for this discussion, though. Let’s keep going.
And isn’t that the power for the bars?
Oh. You’re right—we can’t go this way. *sigh* I guess we’ll just have to look for a different path.
What should we do? I don’t think we should have to pay Kaneshiro…
Yeah, I think we’d be better off looking for some other
solution here.
This is what it looks like on the other side of one of those golden doors. We’re not going to pay to skip anything, though. It’s not a huge skip anyway. However, I will mention that I neglected to fully explore this final area of the Palace and didn’t notice until just now, so I’ll be coming back here when we return to steal the Treasure (because I still have that save file, at least). If there’s anything interesting, I’ll show it.
Panther learns Fire Break. Lame.
Mona learns Diarama. All right, now we’re talking.
Grappling here leads us to a chest with some incenses. These are for Lockdown, and we’ll see what they do in an update or so.
More negotiating narrow gaps between cameras here.
The gold vaults here will automatically extrude as we approach so we can climb on them. But anyway, how’s the queue now?
Oh man! Just a few more minutes!
Final pig found.
And now for the final code.
U+G=L? O+H=10? What manner of horseshit is this? I can switch numbers with letters just fine, but you want me to add fake numbers to get another fake number? No thanks!
I’m cheating! Fuck you!
Man, I love gold! I’m gonna make everything in my house gold! Golden sink, golden bed, golden sho—you know what, this was a bad idea.
With this much, I will be invincible! Omnipotent! I’ve changed… I’m no longer the person I used to be…
The person he used to be…? What could have happened to make him so distorted?
It’s either going to be some extremely lame Freudian bullshit or literally nothing.
I think it’s implied to be some extremely lame Freudian bullshit if I remember correctly, but I also remember the game never actually telling you what happened so it might as well be nothing, honestly.
I don’t know, but no matter what kind of past he has, his actions are unforgivable.
That’s right. Now, if my deductions are accurate, that should’ve been the final mechanism.
You’re like some kinda prophet, Queen…
It’s mostly thanks to that notebook. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that. More importantly, did you hear all those things Shadow Kaneshiro was saying?
Oh yeah, I was wondering about that! Didn’t he seem kinda… insecure or something?
Exactly. He kept bringing up how rich and powerful he wants to be.
So if he’s insecure about that shit… he thinks he’s really just some poor weakling, huh?
Maybe by thinking he was going to be a strong, wealthy man, he convinced himself it was true.
I wonder… Well, we will discover the truth for ourselves when we change his heart. Let us hurry, Joker.
I don’t see anything.
Once we get this far, we need this callin’ card thing.
A calling card… I see… Making the target believe that the Treasure is in danger will cause it to materialize. That’s quite a bold trick.
Huh? She understood?
Stop showing off, newbie.
Joker, we’ll defer to you regarding its timing.
Okay guys, let’s get ready for the heist!
In the end, that Kaneshiro bastard only showed his stupid face once…
That doesn’t matter. As long as we steal the Treasure, we’ll change his heart.
Then let’s act as the Phantom Thieves should and send the calling card. It’s on you, Joker.
If you wish to train or explore further before sending it, that decision is purely yours.
Yeah, no pressure. Sheesh.
Hey, remember that scene when we were going down the elevator into this room and we could look down on it from high above? …Isn’t the ceiling too low here for that scene to make sense? Oh, whatever. Let’s just go back to the queue. I can’t believe I finished this entire update before I got in.
Oh yeah, baby! I can taste it! Just one more refresh and—
*sigh* Yeah, that’s about right.