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[cj_iwakura]

Actually...

Spoiler

That's the normal ending. Starting a New Life is the True Lover/Good Katherine ending. I'm the Lawful side, so will the 4 finale questions change the ending to Just Like Old Times?

Yep, as long as you're lawful, those can get you any one of those endings.

 

[Kambing]

So, I started the game on hard... Didn't think I would spend 15 minutes trying to get past the first puzzle.. lol

LOL, i seriously think you should reconsider playing on hard the first time man. You are going to rage so hard, hahaha.

It takes place in America. The only one who might be of Japanese-descent is Jonathan, but that's just speculation.

His room looks really Japanese. But i can see how the game can be set in America with very heavy Japanese influence.

 

[thetrin]

It takes place in America. The only one who might be of Japanese-descent is Jonathan, but that's just speculation.

That is the most Japanese looking America I've ever seen. Stray Sheep looks exactly like a bar I used to go to when I lived in Japan.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

A lot of the tertiary characters are very American/caucasian looking, too though.

Spoiler

Archie and Todd in particular look like "stereotypical greasy temp" and "guy who wishes it was the 50s" respectively.

Stray Sheep looks almost exactly like Vic's in Olympia, WA.

 

[ULTROS!]

It takes place in America. The only one who might be of Japanese-descent is Jonathan, but that's just speculation.

Vincent's apartment looks pretty... not-American tbqh.

 

[thetrin]

Everything in the game looks like Japan to me. I say this having used to live there. It looks like a bunch of foreigners living in Japan.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

I think the Japanese looking stuff is probably a case of anachronistic customs put in by the developers rather than it being set in Japan. All the characters have Western names.

 

[thetrin]

I think the Japanese looking stuff is probably a case of anachronistic customs put in by the developers rather than it being set in Japan. All the characters have Western names.

Dude, I'm not talking about what they're doing. The PLACES look like Japan. Every real world location looks like Japan.
It's not the layouts of the places. It's the little things, like the restaurant branding on the seat pillows. The mats on the tables. Vincent's apartment size and the mail slot on his apartment door.

It screams japan.

I've lived in both Japan and the US. If someone just showed me pictures of the locations, without context, I would assume it's set in japan.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

Dude, I'm not talking about what they're doing. The PLACES look like Japan. Every real world location looks like Japan.

Oh, the apartment for sure, but I've seen stuff like the Stray Sheep in America. Like I said, there's a place down the road from me that looks the exact same.

Later in the game (not a huge spoiler but just in case)

Spoiler

you see Vince go outside and the architecture is very American

.

 

[tiff]

It wouldn't exactly surprise me that a game that's supposed to be set in a foreign country happens to look more like the homeland of the people who created it.

 

[thetrin]

It wouldn't exactly surprise me that a game that's supposed to be set in a foreign country happens to look more like the homeland of the people who created it.

Doesn't surprise me either. I'm just saying, it looks a LOT like Japan.

 

[truly101]

So I ended up taking the plunge anyway and got through the 1st couple of days and the first torture chamber puzzle, so far so good. The story has dropped some subtle hints that

Spoiler

one of your buds sent you here to get you out of the way so they could make a move on Katherine, but I haven't decided if its the blond haired skittish guy or the smary asian smoker guy, but its one of them. I guess the credo of Bros before Hos hasn't made its way to Japan yet

 

[cj_iwakura]

Dude, I'm not talking about what they're doing. The PLACES look like Japan. Every real world location looks like Japan.
It's not the layouts of the places. It's the little things, like the restaurant branding on the seat pillows. The mats on the tables. Vincent's apartment size and the mail slot on his apartment door.

It screams japan.

I've lived in both Japan and the US. If someone just showed me pictures of the locations, without context, I would assume it's set in japan.

The developers were Japanese. It's bound to be an influence.


Also, look at Vincent's bookshelf sometime.

Persona, Harryl Potter, and some C++ manuals.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

I just beat the game last night - going for a Platinum trophy! Can anybody with a Platinum tell me how much time this took to do?

It screams japan.

Yeah, playing this game is bringing back some memories of Japan for sure - that restroom in the bar, the green pay phone (I think I saw this by the door in the bar), the open air kaiten-sushi (I think that in the US the sushi must be covered; also pretty rare here), etc.

I think I know why they made the pseudo-Western aesthetic choices but I hope that they do not do this in Persona 5. That game would feel strange to me if it wasn't taking place in Japan.

 

[JohngPR]

Does anyone know if there's somewhere I can download a printable version of the standard cover? I still have Killzone 3 sealed and I'm thinking of returning it but I think Walmart only has the alternate cover. Seems silly to pay $60 for the game when I can just exchange KZ3.

 

[cj_iwakura]

And finished. The final battle wasn't much tougher on hard, just a few extra ledges.

Stage 7's was easily the toughest.



Ending stuff:

Spoiler

Got the True Lover ending this time.

I actually liked the 'Good one' most, where she decides to marry him, but they're planning the wedding instead of having it.

The art for the wedding was wonderful, though.


That sheep block cake.

It all comes together greatly once you understand everything behind it.

Spoiler

Shame you never see Astaroth's face, though.

 

[Erigu]

Yeah, playing this game is bringing back some memories of Japan for sure - that restroom in the bar, the green pay phone (I think I saw this by the door in the bar), the open air kaiten-sushi (I think that in the US the sushi must be covered; also pretty rare here), etc.
I think I know why they made the pseudo-Western aesthetic choices but I hope that they do not do this in Persona 5. That game would feel strange to me if it wasn't taking place in Japan.

Like I said earlier, I think the game doesn't take place in the States anyway [you might not want to read the following if you haven't reached the "Freedom" endings, but this isn't really central to the plot]

Spoiler

, or not as we see them nowadays, anyway: it looks like the game takes place in a space colony.
In the Freedom True ending, Vincent appears to be leaving for space from a space colony. Would also explain how they're able to predict the weather so precisely in the animated cutscenes: it's not "real" weather.

I don't know if that's how they justify the cultural melting pot, or if said melting pot just "happened" naturally when (insular) Japanese developers tried to come up with a "Western" setting, but that's a possibility to consider...

Spoiler

Shame you never see Astaroth's face, though.

I think you can still make some theories/deductions about that... Beating Babel helps though.

 

[Natiko]

Finished my first run last night. Reloaded to get a few different endings. Really enjoyed the

Spoiler

True Katherine

ending. Working on my second playthrough now.

 

[Dark Schala]

Finally got my copy... very unfortunate that it was delayed here in Canada. Apparently it was shipped somewhere else? Oh well. I have it now. Goes quite nicely with my copy of the OST. Definitely going to import the artbook one day when I have some extra money to spare, though.

It looks really nice. Some of the dubbing seems odd (ie: some of the lines in the opening scene with Midnight Venus seemed to end abruptly to fit the speed of the scene, and it was a little jarring). The audio levels in different scenes bother me a little as well... But the Meguro music is stellar as usual.

Other than that, I'm digging it a lot so far. Can't wait for Persona 5. >.>

 

[cj_iwakura]

Try to up the difficulty and/or go for some Golds. At least get seven Golds to unlock Obelisk(and its awesome music). Gets you more jukebox tunes, too.

 

[RDreamer]

What the hell? I'm trying for golds, and I can't get it on 3-1. I can beat it with a "perfect" score and never lose the combo at all and get up there really fast, but that still gives me a silver.

Edit: Weird, I inexplicably got a gold that time. May have picked up one extra money pile, but still that seems weird.

 

[MotionBlue]

To get gold you have to get most/all the money piles.

Just beat it again, love this game. I'm amazed they could turn a romance/horror into a puzzle game!

 

[RapidCancel]

Goddamn why is 6-3 so tough? Everything up till now wasn't too hard, but it feels like it just spiked here. Don't really want to look at a guide and not sure how to proceed...

 

[Papercuts]

Just failed the second Babel level around 30 steps. Daaamn, those are serious, really don't think I have it in me to ever be able to beat them.

 

[PewPewK]

Incoming spoiler regarding the discussion on the mysterious voice...

For those complaining that

Spoiler

you never see Astaroth's face, he referenced that you can see him in a place far removed. They're referencing another ATLUS game where he is a recurring character. You can see his artwork/learn more about the character here.

 

[Grisby]

Day 8 is amazing.

Great escape indeed.

 

[Yuripaw]

Man, I wish there was more Persona 4 music in the jukebox! lol

 

[meltingparappa]

At least get seven Golds to unlock Obelisk(and its awesome music).

It's a shame that rocking tune is so hidden away. On the plus side though, Meguro is still amazing despite juggling this, Persona 2 and Persona 4: Anime all so close to each other.

 

[FateBreaker]

Just failed the second Babel level around 30 steps. Daaamn, those are serious, really don't think I have it in me to ever be able to beat them.

I can't even get past the first Babel level...and I'm always so close...

 

[Papercuts]

I can't even get past the first Babel level...and I'm always so close...

Oh, me either. I get around 95 or so, though I haven't tried it since I beat the game. I've been going through again and have gold up to stage 5 so I decided to try the second one for the hell of it, crushed my spirit.

 

[brianmcdoogle]

I don't want to replay the game over and over, so are the alternate endings in English on YouTube?

 

[cj_iwakura]

If you have a real hard time with Babel, get a friend. The co-op variants are much easier.


(I've only cleared Altar and Menhir, so I'm not that good either.)


Menhir requires mastery of the three-block-width trick.

(Two on the left, climb and pull from the left and move it to the right, pull from center, climb onto that, repeat.)

 

[RDreamer]

Just got through 6, and it was much easier than I had anticipated, and a bit easier than some of the previous ones. I think I'm just getting better at the game.

 

[Erigu]

Incoming spoiler regarding the discussion on the mysterious voice...
For those complaining that

Spoiler

you never see Astaroth's face, he referenced that you can see him in a place far removed. They're referencing another ATLUS game where he is a recurring character. You can see his artwork/learn more about the character here.

Spoiler

You don't even need to go look in another game (and Atlus didn't exactly invent Astaroth either)...
Doesn't he also say something about meeting him again once everything is illuminated by Venus? (<-not sure how they translated that part exactly in the English version)


BIGGER SPOILERS AHEAD, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK
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Venus = "planet of gold" in Japanese.
Getting the Gold Rank on all stages (on Normal) unlocks the last Babel stage and tells you a lot more about Ishida Rue. A.k.a. Midnight Venus. The one who let you follow the events of the game courtesy of the Golden Theater.


WORSE SPOILERS AHEAD
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"Ishida Rue" = pun on "Ishtar"
The name "Astaroth" is derived from "Astarte", a Phoenician equivalent of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar.
So Astaroth was Ishida Rue / Ishtar in the Golden Theater, in her male form. They're both voiced by the same actress (in the Japanese version, at least).

And now for the crazy speculation...
Who else is voiced by that voice actress (still in the Japanese version)?
Gender-confused Eric / Erica. Who has a lot of weird legends surrounding her and has been working at the Stray Sheep with Mutton from the beginning.
Huh.

 

[Dr. Chaos]

Day 8 is amazing.

Great escape indeed.

Spoiler

Bitch was going to stab me!

Katherine = hardcore alpha female.

Got the wedding ending. Don't believe in it myself but I lied my ass off to get Katherine basically since it didn't seem like there was any other way to get her without commitment. Glad to see a happy ending though. Chapter 8 was depressing as hell.

What exactly was Jonny talking about in the dream world when he said he betrayed his best friend? Was he talking about Vincent? I assumed he might have slept with Katherine at some point.

 

[Caelestis]

Spoiler

What exactly was Jonny talking about in the dream world when he said he betrayed his best friend? Was he talking about Vincent? I assumed he might have slept with Katherine at some point.

Spoiler

Yeah, it's Vincent. In bad Katherine ending he tells Vincent that he is asking her out after they broke up.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Ugh the Ice Block boss thing on the 5th day is annoying, I kept getting into lenghty moments of "Undoing" and it ended up putting me right as the boss was attacking. I wonder if its possible to get into an infinite unplayable loop like that.

 

[ErasureAcer]

3rd ending i got is

Spoiler

Lord Of The Night.

the true Catherine ending . Got a save to switch an answer and get the good catherine ending, so that will be 4 down and 4 to go. yay! edit-better? dont see how what i posted is a spoiler. shrug.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

snip!

Dude come on, spoiler that shit

 

[FairXchange]

6-4 on normal is just unfair. I get slaughtered every time. I want to finish this game asap, I'm dying to see the ending.

Also, I had to resort to a youtube walkthrough for 6-3, I would have never thought of the correct strategy without watching it.

I'll have to try/thinking harder, I don't plan on using a walkthrough again.

 

[schlew]

I'm really early on, and I'm not sure if I've activated Very Easy or not. I held the Select button for awhile, but didn't notice any chime as mentioned. So I clicked on Easy. The game shows I'm playing on Easy, but I wasn't sure if Very Easy is some sort of balancing done in the background or something. Can I change the difficulty later if I've done this incorrectly?

 

[Papercuts]

If you have a real hard time with Babel, get a friend. The co-op variants are much easier.


(I've only cleared Altar and Menhir, so I'm not that good either.)


Menhir requires mastery of the three-block-width trick.

(Two on the left, climb and pull from the left and move it to the right, pull from center, climb onto that, repeat.)

How much easier? The only person I have that'd play it would be really bad at it, lol.

I unlocked Obelisk and actually got a lot farther than I did on Menhir, which which went astronomically terrible. Really love the music in these stages.

 

[Cheska]

Jesus, I wish we could turn off the bell when you're in the meeting area with all the other "sheep". It's so annoying and distracting.

 

[Hours Left]

Jesus, I wish we could turn off the bell when you're in the meeting area with all the other "sheep". It's so annoying and distracting.

Yeah, it's a bit tedious.

 

[Crash Station]

Just beat the 4th night and I'm.... starting to get a little worried. I've gotten by on pure luck so far and it definitely wasn't easy. Trying to calculate where the blocks will fall and all that is making my head hurt. Losing confidence that I'll be able to beat this, especially if I'm not even close to the super hard stages.

 

[frogg609]

During the conversations that characters have (say Katherine and Vincent), I'll see the little good/evil meter pop up. Is there anything I can do during this time, or is it just there to show me how little or how much of a douche Vincent is being?

 

[CatPee]

My god. This game delivers. Just finished with the 8th night and saw the revelations. Holy holy fucking hell.

During the conversations that characters have (say Katherine and Vincent), I'll see the little good/evil meter pop up. Is there anything I can do during this time, or is it just there to show me how little or how much of a douche Vincent is being?

The location of the meter's pointer affects the dialogue and story.

 

[∀ Narayan]

Beat it a couple hours ago.

This is probably going to be my game of the year.

 

[jimmyhowlett]

Finally beat this game! Five months of my life I'll never get back. It was such a hard (but fun) game. Last time I'll ever play a game on normal. I don't understand how you guys are beating this game so fast. Didn't the US version just come out this week?

 

[XANDER CAGE]

Beat it a couple hours ago.

This is probably going to be my game of the year.

I just beat it, and damn, I can't wait to go back again. So... about my ending,

Spoiler

True Lover

...

Spoiler

I ended up with a fairly adorable and almost-too-perfect ending scene where Katherine and Vincent got married in the bar. However, two things caught me off guard:

1. Did they imply that Erica was a transexual? "I want my v-card back! You used to be Eric in school!" If so, wow, that's a fairly positive portrayal of a transexual in a video game. I could totally be reading that exchange wrong but yeah.

And...

Spoiler

THE STAR OF THE SHOW HAS ARRIVED? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT TURN THE DAMN CAMERA AROUND!