49 - New Game Plus
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Last time, we definitively wrapped up a single full playthrough of The 7th Stand User, fulfilling my obligation towards this Let's Play that started back on Cohost dot org. For now, the plan is to skim through NG+ and see how things could turn out a bit differently.
I don't intend to retread every story beat, just show off some things we didn't get the chance to with Cascada. We're going to roll fast and loose.
File 15 is my old file where I've beaten the game four (4) times. That means most of the big things are unlocked, though there's still a ton of stuff crammed in the game that I'll probably never see personally.
thanks cheat engine
Normally, you can't even open the menu in the Dev Room, and therefore cannot save. After beating the game four times, Steel lets you save for the price of one Badge of Honor.
Probably unnecessary. Oh well.
I considered doing a Josuke run as the second playthrough but frankly yall can do that shit on your own.
"Chaos Mode" has the potential for drastically changing what happens in the game. This is a special mode for the people who've played the game many times and want a new experience. The chance for some events is calculated on the fly, but others are calculated right now, if you decide to use the Chaotic Key. Other events depend on your traits and choices.
This is hard "yes" from me, to the point where I'd recommend hacking your money up after a first run to buy it in the Dev Room.
If you want to watch the prologue again you can just read the first two updates again.
Quicksilver was Long/Special (but might as well have been Power, let's be real), so let's do the opposite and go for the Close/Control Stand.
There's cold reading and there's completely missing the mark because I chose answers to get a specific Stand, not to find my personality.
Can't beat the classics...
We're going for The Most Average Boy this time.
This is probably the big downside to Chaos Mode: it doesn't always play nice with King Crimson. A lot of events only happen in cutscenes, so skipping them means you're missing out.
Around here is where I open up the menu and realize I still had the "Deus Ex Machina" equipment on from the end of the last playthrough, which jacks all of the party's stats up to maximum and sets you at the level cap. I start over with another NG+, which doesn't actually affect anything and in fact makes some things worse because I forget to buy some shit from the Dev Room.
I joked about this line in Update 2, but I had no way of knowing exactly how much pain and suffering it'd cause me. Yet here we are, 47 updates and almost two years later.
No time for this shit.
BRADIO did the OP song for Death Parade and in general have some fun music; they refer to their fans as "Funky Party People", hence the catchphrase. A decade ago they were slated to do their first show in America at small local anime con I planned on attending, and then it turned out the guy running the convention was embezzling money and the entire thing got cancelled. I put the refund towards first day showing tickets of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and it was not worth it.
fuck it, they're boring anyway
Right, so, the Deus Ex Machina armor. Basically a win button. It costs 99 Badges of Honor in the Dev Room.
The "doesn't effect [sic] your protagonist" part is because you can just equip something else normal-like. Problem is that we're still at level 50 with all of our attacks unlocked... but there are ways to deal with that too.
I am ethnically obligated to rep Singapore.
If you bought the Game Boy and didn't give it to Kakyoin, that also shows up here.
The state of your family is something with a lot of Chaos Mode variation. So, of course, we roll the most normal one.
We've gotta do something about being level 50.
keep it moving
We head south. This leftmost building opens once you've beaten the game and found a hidden invitation letter in the school lockers.
Aya is from Part 4 and uses her Stand Cinderella to... be the best beautician in town. Multiple people in Part 4 just use their Stands to be good at mundane things and live otherwise normal lives, which is part of why it's my favorite one.
Back to basics... but we still keep all of our learned skills. Alas. We'll survive.
Not a huge difference considering the sprite size. Seems like a pain to implement for little concrete reward, but I suppose that's the story of so many weird details in this game.
We're going to roll with glasses to keep up our The Most Average Boy quotient.
Back home, NG+ unlocks the doors for your sister's and parents' rooms.
Sis will catch you if you move too quickly inside her room.
I looked at the files to figure out how exactly the game tracks this. There's an event tile that spawns in front of you in the hallway, and it's programmed to trace a set pattern around the room at half normal movement speed. A second event tile spawns at the other end of the room and moves at one-quarter speed towards your location. Neither tile can move to overlap onto where you are, but if you step on either, Sis catches you.
There is nothing particularly interesting in your parents' room except for a slight chance to find a Bawdy Magazine under the bed. It didn't spawn this time.
Last, if we go upstairs...
The souvenir room! Stuff appears here as long as it's in your inventory.
This sword is part of one of the most infamous sidequests in the game, one which I have never done because it is a colossal pain in the ass.
You can examine all of them to get little encyclopedia entries. Like so:
Aaaaand the rest...
It's a mask that glimmers divinely with gold. It's a little overpowering for a souvenir...
The Pharaoh is not the name of a single person, but a title equivalent to king in ancient Egypt. The word originated from the ancient Egyptian "pr-aa".
The Pharaoh would wear a headdress called a nemes when appearing in public. Though these were not exclusive to royalty, it's so recognizable that even Tutankhamun's famous gold mask wore one.
It has a drawing of a scene resembling an Egyptian wall carving. The surface feels rough and crisp.
Papyrus not only refers to the paper, but also to the long-lived plant species that it's derived from. The stem of the plant is cut and the fiber inside is woven into strips.
It's extremely long-lasting and difficult to tear, but making it is a time-consuming process, hence the high price tag.
It has the head of an elephant and the body of a human. It's small enough to be displayed on a shelf.
A Hindu god recognizable by his elephant head, his broken tusk, and his four arms. Ganesha's mantra is said to grant success, prosperity, and protection against adversity.
It's carved from stone and fits in the palm of your hand. You can feel a strange power coursing through you...
Pyramid is a general term for buildings made up of monoliths placed in a quadrangular pyramid shape with pathways and rooms arranged inside. The silhouette of an isosceles triangle is commonly associated with the three pyramids of Giza.
It's made of metal and surprisingly heavy. If you dropped it, you could hurt yourself.
The Sphinx is a mythical creature with the face of a human and the body of a lion. The largest and most famous example is the Great Sphinx of Giza that guards the pyramids.
At 241 feet long, 63 feet wide, and 66 feet high, it is the largest monolith (carved from a single rock) statue, and the oldest known monumental structure in the world. It's believed to have been built during the reign of Pharaoh Khafra, around 2500 BC.
A dreamy lamp made to be sold as a souvenir. You could probably use it as an aroma diffuser.
The shape is reminiscent of a watering can, but it's a functional lamp. Oil is poured into the top, and the nozzle is lit like a candle. Many different types of oils were used, such as olive oil, fish oil and other animal fats, and sometimes even whale blubber.
It's a beautiful porcelain tea set with a flower motif.
China, like Japan, has a traditional tea ceremony (chayi). However, the preparation and tasting methods as well as the occasions for which it's consumed are quite different.
This set not only includes a teapot (chahu) and teacups (chabei), but a special cup for infusing tea leaves called a Gaiwan, which is considered essential to Chinese tea brewing.
It's a large, single-edged curved blade. The steel carries a ripple pattern reminiscent of flowing water.
The Talwar is a curved sword popular in 16th century India. Made from Damascus or Wootz steel, it's flexible but resistant to shattering and can be honed to a sharp edge. Unfortunately, the smelting process required to make Damascus has since been lost to time, so the remaining ingots are of priceless value.
It's a big, soft giant panda plush. It feels nice to cuddle, so you can use it as a cushion.
In China, pandas are called Xiongmao, or "bearcat", but they are not related to either bears or cats. It got its name from the Red Panda, which was discovered long before Giant Pandas.
It's a gigantic wooden carving. Where are you going to put this thing?
Shiva, the god of destruction, is a deity of the highest order in Hinduism, and part of the Trimutri, or the Great Trinity, which personifies destruction, creation, and preservation.
It's incredibly soft to the touch... You could almost lie down and take a nap.
Pakistan was one of the first regions to adopt the art of weaving. It can be traced all the way back to the Mughal dynasty in the early 16th century, but may date as far back as the 11th century. Even today, the distinctive designs and high density of fibers makes these traditional rugs beloved worldwide.
We also have one very special souvenir that isn't upstairs.
F-Mega sucks. I will die on this hill.
VICTORY AT LAST
We went out of our way to get this back in Update 22.
This is a simple RPG wherein the Hero must collect the Dragon's Eyes in order to save the planet. Defeat enemies in battle to gain experience and level up. You can view your stats and use medicines by pressing the cancel key. Each time you start a new file, the position of items and obstacles on the map will change. You can stop the game using the Shift key. If you reach a game over, you must start from the beginning. You can also reset your save data voluntarily after starting the game.
Yeah so this is an entire little sub-game with NPCs and towns and all. Honestly absurd.
Defeating a monster increases your score while resting at an inn lowers it, which sucks because we can handle maybe one monster at the start of the game.
Fighting one (1) slime did this to us. Tedium!
Start over!!!
I don't particularly care for playing Dragon Question III, but experience you get in the game carries over to real life. It's a risk-free way to get a good 4-5 levels without even leaving the house.
The magic circles are spawners. Slimes will pour out of there indefinitely.
I spend probably a solid 15-20 minutes playing this, running directly into slimes like it's Ys or some shit and then running back to town to heal.
Alright enough of that. We're supposed to keep this NG+ brisk, I'm already doing a terrible job.
One fun quirk is that the UI styling stays either F-Mega or DQIII style until you leave your room. Cute.
Next time, we'll tackle some other NG+ additions and hopefully get this damn show on the road. See you again!
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