54 - Serenely Skedaddling
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Last time, we skipped most of Singapore to show off some cool optional sequences. This time, we're going to speed through the hub events both there and in Calcutta.
The random numbers changed when I loaded the save and Yellow Temperance has returned to impersonating Kakyoin.
Polnareff has multiple Singapore events so we roll with him first.
Can you figure out what we might have done that caused this to increase?
Joey is one of the bosses who can just hide out of sight and become untargetable. Sigh.
Nuclear Warheads are inferior to Wave Motion Gun via this small yet crucial difference. They cannot hit targets at "?" range.
The Murderdolls aren't remotely near a threat so it's just playing the waiting game until Joey decides to reappear.
We've seen these FP events before with Cascada, so let's keep it moving.
Bradio gets a bit of extra dialogue here because we joined the Handicraft Club.
Polnareff also has the event at 7-11 where he gave Cascada some rouge.
I was about to research if 7-11 has any connections to military organizations and then stopped myself because I feel like I would just make myself sad.
What do you think Ripple-Infused Vinegar would taste like? Anywyay, Polnareff: done. Moving on.
There's a secret shop in this alleyway that I don't think I went to with Cascada. We wouldn't have had enough money for it in any case.
You can buy a maximum of five items here before they're sold out.
We didn't fight Utah in Hong Kong, so he's absent in Singapore. This is a secret technique that will help us later. I think.
Knowing what we know now, I'm kind of torn on having Vins be an optional boss this early in the game. I think it's good to have antagonists be present throughout the story rather than showing up out of nowhere at the end, but I cannot deny that it makes her seem like kind of a chump when you've already kicked her ass two or three times by the time she's the True Final Boss.
Since we're playing as Bradio (he/him), this guy is just a garden variety asshole rather than trying to pick up chicks.
Basically the same.
No difference.
I fight Diavolo a couple times to get some easy EXP for the rest of the party.
If you recall, we did this event with Joseph previously. Early game has a few of these either-or events, like the dropped wallet at the Harbor.
Actually, why bother fighting Diavolo when we can grind the easy way?
You may remember these from the Dev Room vending machine. They do exactly what it seems like.
Nice and expedient.
I won't show them off on every map (because I simply don't remember where most of them are), but here's the ghost room entrance in Singapore.
Let's do a quick check-in on the afterlife.
For ghosts you have to stand directly on top of them to interact.
Including Real Tennille is the kind of detail that could be easily overlooked and another good example of 7SU's charming granularity.
Not sure what I expected.
I'll probably leave the ghost house alone from now on until we're way further in and it's more densely populated.
"Coffee" is a cognate or loanword in almost every widespread language. I believe its original root stems from Arabic.
Kakyoin only pranks you like this if you're playing a male character. He makes the proper order for female characters.
Alright, that's enough Singapore. It's a totally normal fight against Yellow Temperance this time.
Pretty sure this is also the exact same spot Jotaro started calling Cascada "The Machine". Which makes sense seeing as I'm still doing every single FP event.
The Satanic Coupler event only happens if you go to sleep. We're not doing it this time.
If I skip a cutscene you can assume there were no meaningful changes.
Most of the events in Calcutta are going to be identical.
We're actually be able to afford a Talwar this time, too!
You have one in the souvenir room at home! You know this already!!
The Talwar is a re-usable battle item that makes a slashing attack. Useful in the right circumstances.
I'm glad I was able to play this game with a guide. Trying to ferret out every FP event with every character seems like it'd be kind of a pain.
...Not that you'd have to do that in the first place, but, well. I am who I am.
Without the "Perverted" trait, a male player says, "Woah... you really are girl-crazy."
And, while we're here...
Now for the events on the west side of town.
Alas, Deep Purple does not do machines, despite its color.
This is what happens if you cross the street without Jotaro to protect you.
Jotaro's still ending up in the lead just due to the number of events, though this should change pretty quickly.
The "8th Schedule" is the, well, schedule of the Indian Constitution that categorizes its official languages. Kakyoin is anachronistic here; there were only 18 languages listed when JoJo Part 3 takes place. The 92nd Amendment in 2003 added four more (Bodo, Dogri, Santali, and Maithili).
Alright, with the normal stuff out of the way, I can finally highlight some differences from Cascada's playthrough.
The bunny outfit was infamously the waitress uniform at the Playboy Club, and wasn't quite as revealing as it seems. The pantyhose were always worn over a second flesh-toned pair.
I wonder if Austin Powers has like, a tiny devoted fandom or something in Japan.
Every NPC on the map starts to chase you; you're going to get into a minimum of six or seven battles in a row. I believe this is also the only place in the game where the EX variant of Murderdolls appears.
The other "guests" attack you too.
I don't believe we ever actually encountered this enemy with Cascada. As you might expect, they use gun and explosive attacks.
The front door's locked. You've got to fight your way over to the bartender.
This club sequence is the male-exclusive Joey event. The fake church one in Karachi is female-exclusive.
Whenever I start to kind of feel bad about glossing over battles like this, I remember how I've been stuck on this Let's Play for almost two years and desperately need to wrap it up for my own sanity.
There's one last thing here in Calcutta that I skipped with Cascada.
Under normal circumstances this is just a weird little zombie area. But we found the mysterious cyborg Nazi back in Hong Kong, which means...
Speedwagon joins the party! Temporarily! He's not meant to join at level 50; we're still dealing with Deus Ex Machina aftereffects and I don't think the "reset party" Dev Room effect works on him due to said temporary status. If you're playing normally it would behoove you to actually run around and get him a few levels before going back to the hotel.
Speedwagon's got some basic physical and explosive skills, along with status-healing "Wisdom" skills in reference to how he thawed Will A. Zeppeli's frozen arm by swaddling it with his steaming abdominal muscles. Unfortunately, he's like Gallahad or early Iggy where you can't control him directly.
Speedwagon's also capable of learning Ripple attacks despite not having the aptitude back in the actual series.
This pretty much hits the nail on the head according to what Alicia and Berlin told us in the Dev Room. Steel's Dann Penn can read memories, Berlin's Living Things can implant that information into corpses, and Alicia's Element of Freedom can imbue them with life energy. Technically this wouldn't be "reviving the dead" proper, more akin to summoning a copy-paste version like in Fate/Stay Night.
With that, Speedwagon leaves the party and we end up back in the main Calcutta map with a hefty +2 FP with Joseph.
And that'll wrap up the Singapore/Calcutta FP hoedown. Next up is the rematch with Hanged Man. See you again!
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