OK, this is a new thing for me; the First Impressions post for Shin Megami Tensei IV ended up like an LP sort-of by accident, this time I'm doing that on purpose. And, yes, I do realize that this game came out several years ago. Still the only endings I've managed to see are the Ax and Submarine endings... (**** you really suck at this game.) And there's only one save file, so for a clean play through, I had to delete my previous data. Also, due to the nature of this game, yes I will include repeat playthoughs, but only include anything that's different from any of the previous ones. I Don't want to repeat myself more than necessary here.
So, now that that's out of the way, let's play...Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors! (Or "999" for short.)
Warning!: This is based upon a game that's rated M for Blood, Drug References, Strong Language, Suggestive (read 'Sexual') themes, and Violence. If any of these things offend you, don't click on the link.
"This game is fiction. All names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious." But the following reactions and jokes about the above are from a real person. (Except for any of the stuff said by me.) (Or me.) In any case, event's mentioned are still fictitious.
It's a dark and stormy night... (Aint' it aways...) and a timer counts down from nine.. (Of course!) and a ship, presumably a cruise liner, gets hit with an explosion.
'A loud noise startled Junpei awake, and his eyes snapped open. As they adjusted to the light he realized that he didn't recognize his surroundings.'
Junpei: Ow!
Must of hit his head on something. (No shit, Sherlock!)
'With a "crack", Junpei's head connected with something metal. He rolled over and threw out his hand to steady himself, but he found himself groping at empty air. His balance lost, and his still-fuzzy mind struggling to understand what was going on, Jumpei tumbled down to the cold, grey floor.'
Junpei: OOOOOOWWWCHGODDAMNIT! Gah! What the hell?
(Hey! Watch you're language mister!) I think this is one of the few times that calls for that sort of language if you ask me.
'Junpei glared around the room, still trying to determine where he'd woken up. The fall had shaken the last cobwebs of sleep from his mind, and finally he understood where he'd fallen from. It was a bed. A 3-level bunk bed, in fact. Junpei had fallen, apparently, from the topmost bunk.'
Ouch, that has got to hurt! Yes, I know I have a tendency to use the word "apparently" in my writing; no, that was the game saying it this time not me.
'His shoulder hurt, his knee hurt, his hip hurt... His entire body hurt. He could feel a bump forming on his forehead, where he'd slammed it against the low ceiling. He wondered if that bump was the reason he felt his vision wavering a bit, but that seemed unlikely. At first, he thought the tremor that ran through his legs was another effect of his rude awakening, but as he looked around, he realized it was real...the whole room was shaking. Was it an earthquake, he wondered.' How would you be able to feel an earthquake on a ship at sea? (Assuming, of course, that he's even on that ship that exploded.)
'It was shaking far too quickly for an earthquake. Then again, Junpei had no idea what it was, if not an earthquake.' (Not the sharpest tool in the shed, I see...)
'He tried to tell himself it was important. Junpei rubbed the growing bump on his head and gingerly climbed to his feet. His balance regained, he finally took his first good look around the room...and muttered to himself.'
Junpei: Where...am I...?
'His pain momentarily forgotten in the face of the confusion of his circumstances, Junpei looked around the room once again. Minutes passed while Junpei struggled to get his bearings' (It's coming, I know it is...)
'Then, as suddenly as they had begun, the tremors ceased. A cold silence fell over the room.' (Aw, man!) Calm before the storm...
'From somewhere far away, Junpei could hear the sound of metal squeaking. He felt his stomach tighten. There were a thousand things the sound could have been, but none of the things he could think of were good.' (Here it comes...)
'In an attempt to distract himself, Junpei looked around the room once more.' (I didn't even need to say it, good for you!)
'There was a stove that looked more antique than functional.' (Sort of like...) Don't say a thing about my grandma!
'The 3-level bunk bed had mattresses that were so thin that they were little more than blankets.' Wow, beds that are worse than my crappy bunk bed.
'On the other side of the room was an identical bed, and set in the wall between the beds was a slightly dirty iron door. The first thing Junpei noticed about the door was the number roughly emblazoned across it. On the surface of the door, in red paint, someone had written...'
'----[5]----'
Junpei: [5]...? What's this [5] mean...
'Suspicious, and still utterly confused, Junpei approached the door, slowly. Standing, at last, in front of the door, Junpei grabbed hold of the L-shaped handle. A push yielded no movement, and a pull the same result.' (Come on game! Get on with it!)
'A few more tries cemented the truth in Junpei's mind: it wouldn't open. It didn't matter how much he pushed and shoved. The handle wouldn't budge.' (Of course it won't open, it's a locked door!)
'Next to the door was an odd-looking device that reminded Junpei of a card reader. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the odd-looking device was keeping the door shut.' (See, told ya!)
'Junpei knocked, hard, on the door.'
Junpei: Hey! Hello? Is anyone there!? Open the door!
'There was no response.' Great, just, great!
'Junpei threw his left fist into the door--' I don't think that's such...
'--and stopped.' ...a good ide...what?
Junpei: What the hell is this...
'He wasn't really sure what else to say.' OMG! Is he actually hearing me...
'On his left wrist was a bracelet of a sort he'd never seen before.' ...of course he isn't.
'In the center was a large LCD display.' (That stands for 'Liquid Crystal Display'.) Stop mansplanin' to the readers...
'It looked like thing else so much as a watch, but it clearly wasn't that. After all, it showed only a single number.'
Junpei: (5)...That's...that's the same as the door...
I think the readers can figure that out.
'True, the numbers were the same, but he had no idea what that might mean. All he knew was that it was strange, and new, and he wanted it off. Junpei flipped his hand over, as if to remove a watch, but...The other side of the bracelet was solid: no buckle, no clasp, nothing.' (There's no way you're getting that thing off any time soon! MUHAHAHAHA! And when's that creaking metal sound going to pay off?)
'He sighed, and flipped the thing back over. There were a number of rivets around the rim of the face. Perhaps...He pushed them, but nothing happened. On a watch, they might be dials for adjusting date or time, but on this bracelet the did nothing.' Like most goggles seen in fiction.
'Junpei was at a loss. What was he going to do?' ([sarcasm] I don't know, find the plot. [/sarcasm])
'Growing more desperate, he began to tug at it.' Somehow I highly doubt you're in any way double-jointed.
Junpei: Urrrrng! Damn!
'However...' Here it comes...
Junpei: It's no good...Damn thing won't come off!
Told ya. (At least a prediction of yours got some kind of pay off.)
'A steel ring ran from the face, around Junpei's wrist, and back in to the face. He wouldn't be pulling the bracelet off any time in the near future.
Junpei: What the hell is the deal with this thing?!
'Frustration and desperation were beginning to mix as the reality of the situation began to dawn fully on Junpei. So much was happening, and none of it made sense. Junpei felt as though he were about to explode.' (I HOPE SOMETHING EXPLODES AROUND HERE! At least that'd be interesting.)
Junpei: Where am I!?
(You're on a boat!) That's only been implied so far... (And no rap references out of you!)
Junpei: And why the hell am I here!? Why! Why!?
(All of us are asking that question.)
Junpei: What the hell happened to me!?
'It was at that moment that he noticed the window.' (Is the creaking metal finally going to pay off!?)
'The window was round, rimmed in riveted brass, like a window from an early 20th century ship.' Hopefully that's Junpei's first clue about where he his.
Junpei: What...? Wait...Am I in a ship?
(Congratulations Junpei! You win...nothing and you'll like it!)
'Junpei walked slowly toward the window. He could see nothing beyond it but thick impenetrable darkness.' Huh, Junpei, I think you should back away from that window now...
'Junpei squinted, trying to see something...anything...' (Get on with that pay off already!)
'It was at that moment--'
Junpei: What the--!? ...You gotta be kidding me! Wh-What the hell is going on here?!
(Finally! Hail Satan!)
'A crack split the glass of the window, and for a moment Junpei stared at it.' Are you trying to drown!?
'Then the window burst, and water began to pour into the room.' (Kind of jumped the gun there.)
Junpei: WHAT THE HELL! GODDAMT IT!
Hey, it's going to end up there if it's damned.
'Junpei yelled, and spun around.' ...like a chicken with it's head cut off.
'His feet slipping on the water already coming through the window, he ran for the door.' Don't you remember the thing is...
Junpei: Hey! Anyone! Is anyone there!? C'mon, if you're there, say something!
...locked.
'There was no reply.' I think that was established earlier.
'As Junpei screamed, and pounded on the door, the water began to rise. It was now ankle-deep on the floor, and rising quickly toward his knees. Things were not looking good for Junpei. Not good at all.' [sarcasm] Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious! [/sarcasm]
'He needed to find a way out--and quickly!' (Are we going to get to the actual game play now?)
'Junpei ran a hand across his forehead, brushing the sweat out of this eyes, and looked around the room.' Time to...
------------SEEK A WAY OUT!--------------
[Insert Escape Tutorial here] Good news here is that there isn't an actual time limit here, although in-story it's implied that there is one.
I take a closer look at the sink area and look at the picture frame on the shelf above the sink, obtaining the picture frame. "It's an old picture frame with a picture of a ship. There's [screws] keeping the back of the picture frame on." Might want to make a note of that, maybe there's a screwdriver somewhere around here.
Above the shelf is a cork board with a note tacked to it, obtained the note. "The note's got [filled in and out lined triangles] in red and [same thing] in blue." Along with an arrow going from left to right that's red on the left half and blue on the right half...and nothing on the back.
I take a closer look at the piping in the corner.
'It's a pipe.' Duh!
Junpei: I know! I'll crawl into the pipe and find a way out!
At best it looks like there's an air vent there, besides...
Junpei: ... ...There's nobody here to make fun of my lame jokes...Man, this sucks.
(At least you admit that they're lame.)
I look to the right and take a closer look at the antique stove, and then remove the lid from the...coffee pot... (Maybe...) ...on top of it.
'Well, let's see if there's anything in here...' Indeed.
'Huh. Looks like there is...' Tried to click the key, only to miss and hit the pot.
'...a key? Yup, that's a key all right. A little blue one.' Still obtain the key anyway. "This key's pretty small...Definitely not for a door. What's it for, then? This key's blue...Is it supposed to open something else blue?" Well, it's got to be obtainable for a reason. Then again half of that note had blue triangles...Wait, on the bottom bunk of the nearby bunk bed... (Not the one Junpei fell out of.) ...there's, a blue suitcase! But first, what's in the actual stove.
'This is the door to the stove. Well, it opens easily enough. Sure wish the door to get out of here was that easy to open...' Clicked the stove.
'Well, that solves the mystery of whether or not this stove has been used before...What's this...It looks red...' Maybe something to do with the other half of that note? Nope, I obtained a screwdriver. (Oh well and what do you know, there was a screwdriver in this room.) Now to use this bad boy on the picture frame!
'Well, the screwdriver got those screws off easily enough...And here's the picture.' (Will you stop screwing around...oh no.) Yeah, you just made a pun. Yay! I flip over the picture of an old cruise liner...and it has a key... (Not the physical object this time; the cheat sheet for reading a code.)
White triangle pointing SW = 1, " " " NW = 2, " " " NE = 3, " " " SE = 4, White square = 5, Colored triangle pointing SW = 6, " " " NW = 7, " " " NE = 8, " " " SE = 9, Colored square = 0.
Ah, so that note is two halves to two combinations... (Most likely for a red and blue suitcase.)
Red Combo: 7 4 X X
Blue Combo: X X 6 3
I check out the top bunk, can't see what's on there from down here.
'There's a pipe at the other end of the bed. There's nothing up top.' Good to know. I look to the right again and there's the metal door with the five painted on it and another door to our left. I click on the area and...I obtain...
"A small [red key]...Maybe I'm supposed to use it to open something red?" Like a hypothetical red suitcase I haven't found yet?
'Junpei grabbed the key and shoved it into his pocket. He intended to leave immediately, but...Something stopped him. His reflection stared back at him from the mirror, but the had scarcely recognized himself.' So that was a mirror and not a door, oops, silly me.
Junpei: What's up with my face...
'His confusion was well-justified. His face was drawn and pale, and the dark circles under his eyes made him look as though he was nearly dead.' (If you take any longer solving this puzzle, he WILL be soon!)
Junpei: Man...What the hell happened to me? How did I end up here...?
'Even as he said it, something in his mind opened, and a memory bobbed to the surface. It was the last thing Junpei remembered before waking up in the strange room.' Finally, some back story.
'It was past midnight when he came home. Junpei shuffled up the stairs, and opened the door to apartment 201. Inside was his apartment. A small, one-bedroom affair, that ran him about $630 a month.' Last I checked, a two-bedroom apartment cost about the same per month about when this game came out, higher land costs in Japan after all.
'He moved into it when he entered college, and so far he'd been there for 3 years and 7 months. He stepped inside and turned on the lights. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling blinked and flickered slowly to life, as if waking from a deep slumber. Their cold light illuminated the landscape he'd come home to so many times before...Everything was as he'd left it. The magazines piled up in the corner. The text books collecting dust. The CD cases covering the floor. The jeans and t-shirt he'd worn the day before, then tossed onto the floor.' I bet something strange's going to happen soon...
'There was one thing that didn't belong however. There was a breeze. Breaths of cold night air wafted into his apartment, carrying the smells of autumn with them.The white curtain framing his window swayed gently in the wind. Huh. That's weird...Did I leave that open...? Junpei walked towards the window, trying to remember if he'd closed it or not before he left.' Get out of there! You're in grave danger! (This is a flashback, nothing you say is going to change what's going to happen next.)
'One of the panes was hanging open. He stuck his head out, and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.' Key word here, "seemed"...
'Junpei shrugged. He must have just left it open earlier. He closed the window.' Great, that's one escape route gone.
'Then it happened.' Told you.
'Junpei turned, and found himself face to mask with a man dressed all in black. The man wore a deep hood, and a bulky gas mask--his face was entirely hidden. Junpei tried to scream, but all he could manage was a strangled croak. He tried to step toward the man, but his legs could no longer support his weight.' Oh-no! Junpei got gassed!
'Junpei collapsed to to floor--a crumpled heap of limbs, like a discarded puppet. Too late, he noticed the white smoke that was quickly filling his apartment. A small object, shaped distressingly like a grenade, sat on the floor in front of his face, hissing. The white smoke poured out of it at an incredible rate.' Once again, I was right.
'The smoke had grown so thick that the details of Junpei's apartment began to fade in to the white haze. He could feel his mind begin to fade as well, a white haze that was not the smoke creeping into the edges of his vision.
???: Consider this a privilege. You have been chosen.
For what? An anal probing?
'A rasping voice wormed its way out of the gas mask. It was cold and harsh, and distorted in some way Junpei couldn't put his finger on.'
???: You are going to participate in a game.
(Jigsaw did it first!)
???: The [Nonary Game]. It is a game...where you will put your life one the line.
Like the classic version of Spleef, but in this case you're forced to play it. (I already made a Saw reference here.)
'That was the last thing Junpei remembered.' Huh...don't we have more pressing issues at like, THE ROOM IS FLOODING!?
'The white smoke overpowered him, the masked man faded from his vision, and he felt his consciousness fall away into the white mist.
Junpei: That's right! That guy with the gas mask! That son of a bitch must have taken me here!
What? You have something against half-dog people?
'As to who the man was, or might have been, Junpei had no idea.' Maybe the unknown assailants' voice sounded distorted because voice altering software was involved, so who's to say that said attacker wasn't a woman. (Dun-dun-duuuun!)
'Indeed, he wasn't even sure that his assailant had been a man. The voice had been cold and mechanical--likely passed through a voice-changer--and the body had been covered in a thick cloak.' Indeed, maybe our hero's smarter then we thought.
'Who was the man in the mask?' Still, defaulting to 'dude' though...
' "'You have been chosen.'" Junpei remembered that much, but...What it might mean...That was beyond him. Junpei had no idea where he was, or why he was there. There was only one thing from his memory that seemed important...'
???: You are going to participate in a game. The [Nonary Game]. It is a game...where you will put your life on the line.
Junpei: The Nonary Game, huh... What the hell is a Nonary Game!? Goddamnit!
'With a yell, Junpei drove his fist into the mirror.' Back to attempting self-imposed injuries I see. Well, enough exposition, back to escaping from this death trap. I check the middle bunk of the bunk bed Junpei fell out of...and there's nothing, so I take a look at the bottom bunk...then look under the pillow, and there's...another note, with the other halves of the two codes!
"The note's got [ square and white triangle pointing NW] in blue and [white triangle pointing NE] in red." Along with that same arrow, but this time with the colors reversed.
Red Combo: 7 4 8 5
Blue Combo: 0 2 6 3
We have the codes, to that blue suitcase I pointed out earlier!
Junpei: No dice...It's locked tight. Let's see if there's anything in the keyhole...
I see a number lock and a keyhole.
'Looks like I've gotta put the key into the keyhole in order to enter a number.' I click on the keyhole with the small blue key in hand.
'All right, let's see what happens if I put this blue key in the keyhole...Aaaaand nothing. I guess I'm gonna need some sort of code for the dial.
[Insert Minigames Tutorial here]
Let's see...it's already set at 0...2...6...3. This had better work...
'All right, let's see if these numbers work...A turn of the key, and...hey, looks like it's working!'
Junpei: Yes! All right, let's open it up! Yes! It opened!
I open up the suitcase to find...
'Looks like there's something in here...What is this...? A file...?' A red-colored file to be precise.
[Insert File screen Tutorial here]
'All right, let's see what's in this file...Hm... "[Digital root]"...Let's see here...Compute a [digital root] with the following steps: First, add all the numbers in question to one another. If you end up with something greater than a single-digit number, add the digits to one another. (For instance, in you have a double-digit number, add the number in the [tens place] to the number in the [ones place].) Keep adding digits in this manner until you have a single digit answer. That final single digit is your [digital root].' You know, this is how you figure out what your number is in Numerology.
'EX: The [digital root] of (678) would be...6 + 7 + 8 = 21 [insert arrow here] 2 + 1 = [3] Therefore, the [digital root] of (678) is [3].
EX: The [digital root] of (1234) would be...1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 [insert arrow here] 1 + 0 = [1] Therefor, the [digital root of (1234) is [1].
Junpei: I see...So I just keep adding numbers until I get a single digit number.
The number for my name is 9 in case anyone was wondering. Speaking of which...Junpei = 135759... 1 + 3 + 5 +7 + 5 + 9 = 30. 3 + 0 = 3. Interesting...
'...Oh. Looks like there's something on the back of this thing...A notebook, a pen, a calculator...And a stack of [key cards]. Huh.' Obtained a stack of blue key cards. "These look like [Key cards]. There's a number on each one...(6) (7) (8)..."
[Insert Calculator Tutorial here]
I check out the curtain next to the antique stove and...there's that stupid red suitcase! (But not before checking the antique stove itself again like a dumbass.) Quiet you!
'This's just like the blue briefcase.' You say potato, I say potahtou; you say tomato, I say tohmatou. Let's just call the whole thing off.
'Yup, there's a lock on this one too, and it's not opening.' But I know how to fix that!
'All right, let's stick that red key in there...It's not opening. In fact...It's not doing anything at all.' No duh, it's like the blue one.
'...Well, all right, I take that back. I guess I can move the dial now. So, it looks like I'm gonna have to put in the right numbers and then turn the key. I do that, this thing should pop right open. Let's give it a shot.'
Let's see here...7...4...8...5, here goes something!
Junpei: Yes! I unlocked it!
(Good for you, now open the damned thing so we don't drown!)
'It's opening.' And I obtain a stack of red key cards. "These look like [Key cards]. There's a number on each one...(1) (2) (3)..." I put the curtain back in it's original position... (Not sure why you'd be doing that but, OK...) Remembering that device that looked like a card reader, I go back to the door with the five on it and click the device with the red cards.
'These cards with numbers on them...I'm pretty sure this is where I'm supposed to use them.'
Junpei: All right, let's slide this card and see if it works.
'Aaaaaand...'
Junpei: Huh...? It's not working? Why!? Damnit!
Maybe you need to swipe those cards in such a way that the numbers on the cards have a digital root of five?
'No...no, that's right! I still have cards I haven't used!' Used the blue cards on the device.
Junpei: Damnit! Not again!
'There aren't any more cards in here...' Dude, hello!? Digital roots, there's a reason they were mentioned; and not just so I can spout numerology trivia.
'I've only got one other hint...'
Junpei: Of course! The files!
'That file said something about a "[digital root]"...' Finally catching up here.
Junpei: A digital root...The digital root huh...
'What am I supposed to do with--There's a [5] on that door.'
Junpei: Do I have to get a [digital root] of [5]?
Yeah! You've finally got it!
'I'm not really sure about this...' But I sure am.
'Ah, whatever. It's worth a shot.' [sarcasm] Not like we have our lives at stake here. [/sarcasm]
Junpei: Let's see if this works...I'll just slide the cards that give me the [digital root] of [5] through the reader.
[Insert card reader tutorial here] (Enough with the bloody tutorials all ready!)
OK, here goes nothing...
1 + 7 + 3 = 11. 1 + 1 = 2. (Wrong!)
1 + 6 + 7 = 14. 1 + 4 = 5. (Correct!) I win...the right to not drown! (Hurray!)
'All right, I think this is gonna work...There we go! That's a new noise! Huh...Did it just unlock!? ' Only one way to find out!
'Well, that light was red, and now it's blue. No doubt about it...There's nothing keeping me in here now!' Aside from your monologuing about it.
'Time to go!' (It's about time!) I click on the door, it opens...
------------YOU FOUND IT!--------------
'Accompanied by a wall of angry water, Junpei shot out of the room and into the opposing wall.' Again with the slapstick comedy.
'Gasping to catch his breath, he looked around. He was in a narrow hallway. The water that had followed him out of the room was rapidly pouring out of the door. It flowed quickly down the hallway, and slammed into the foot of the short flight of stairs. Just 5 steps in fact.' Very interesting...
And at the top of this short staircase...
Junpei: A door! Another door!
'Junpei leapt up the stairs, straight for the door. The door burst open, and Junpei exploded out of it, only to freeze in his tracks. What other response could there have been to what he saw?
Junpei: Wha...what the hell...?
'His voice trailed off, and all he could do was stare. A polished floor stretched out before him, ornate staircases rising up from the edges, each one of them equidistant from the others. The stairs and pillars were solid wood, and Art Nouveau embellishments and decorations covered the walls and pillars. It looked like nothing so much as the entrance to a luxurious mansion from the early 1900s. Junpei couldn't help but wonder... Was he really in a ship?' I thought that much was obvious. Kind of like the...no! It can't be! If this is what I think it is...we're all doomed.
'The water quickly filling the hallway behind him suggested that yes, he was. As he looked, a fresh wave rolled out of the room he'd been in, gathering speed as it moved toward the stairs.'
Junpei: Yeah, that's what I thought...This is a totally a bo--
...ner?
Junpei: What was that? A wave! Sh-Shit! I gotta get outta here!
'Junpei spun around, his wet shoes squeaking in protest on the polished floor, and ran toward the tremendous staircase in front of him.' Up [C Deck], then [B Deck]...
'As he ran, he glanced quickly at the plates mounted on the wall, denoting the decks of the ship. He took the stairs 2 at a time, not entirely sure where he would find himself. Just as he began to wonder where, in fact, the stairs did lead...Junpei saw another person out of the corner of his eye.'
------------------------------------------------
And that's it for part one, I know it's a cliffhanger, but this post is already getting long enough. I'm feeling hungry and there's some anime shows I haven't seen yet. But, I'll be back...
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